Business Fish (ビジネスフィッシュ, Bijinesu Fisshu) is a fictional character created by Yuichiro Ohno and produced by the Japanese company Quan, Inc. Featuring a salaryman with the head of a fish, the character has been featured in a web comic series by Quan, Inc., as well as being known for its stickers on Facebook and Line.[1][2] A 3D motion-capture anime series aired on Tokyo MX from July 7 to August 11, 2019.[3]

Business Fish
ビジネスフィッシュ
Anime television series
Directed byTakashi Sumida
Written byOhkura
StudioIANDA
Original networkTokyo MX, BS11, Hulu
Original run July 7, 2019 August 11, 2019
Episodes12 (List of episodes)

Background and creation

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Business Fish was created by Yuichiro Ohno and published by Quan, Inc.[4] Ohno posted several web comics with Quan, Inc. featuring Business Fish. A sticker sets featuring the character were released in 2015 on Facebook and Line.[2] The Facebook sticker set was downloaded 250,000,000 times worldwide.[5]

Characters

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The original creation concept and web comic focused on Business Fish, a white-collared salaryman who often skips work but uses his abilities to help people in need. Other characters who appeared in the web comic include Craig,[a] Business Fish's colleague; Chairman, Business Fish's best friend; Octopus CEO, the CEO of the company; Dog, Business Fish's pet dog; Manager, Business Fish's manager; Amuro, a colleague from the R&D section of the company; and Lady Fish, Business Fish's older sister.[7]

Anime adaptation

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Tai Uowaki (魚脇 タイ, Uowaki Tai)
Voiced by: Takuya Nagaoka[3]
Tai is a salaryman with the head of a fish, working at Sea Vision. He feels inadequate about his life.
Mai Otohime (乙姫 舞, Otohime Mai)
Voiced by: Rena Takeda[3]
Otohime is Tai's high school classmate who was popular when they were students. She and Tai begin dating.
Fudō Umino (海野 ぶどう, Umino Fudō)
Voiced by: Motoki Ochiai[3]
Fudō is Tai's junior colleague, who Tai feels is irresponsible.
Hachio Takoyama (蛸山 八男, Takoyama Hachio)
Voiced by: Ryosuke Takei[3]
Hachio is Tai's colleague and confidant.
Ebika Ise (伊勢 えびか, Ise Ebika)
Voiced by: Takemi Fujii[3]
Ebika is Tai's colleague with the head of a shrimp.
Asase (浅瀬課長, Asase-kachō)
Voiced by: Hiroki Ōtsu[3]
Asase is the chief of Tai's department.
Mosugu Isono (磯野 もずく, Isono Mosugu)
Voiced by: Yua Shiraishi[3]
Mosugu is Tai's colleague.
Ika (IKAちゃん, Ika-chan)
Voiced by: Kenshō Ono[3]
Ika is a fashionable employee of a café with the head of a squid.

Media

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Anime

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In June 2019, Quan, Inc. announced that a joint partnership had been formed with Toho to create and distribute a 3D CG anime adaptation based on the original Business Fish character.[8] The series began airing on Tokyo MX, BS11, and Hulu from July 7 to August 11, 2019.[b] The series is directed by Takashi Sumida, who created the drama Kakū OL Nikki, with animation provided by IANDA. The voice cast features a variety of Japanese actors, television personalities, and voice actors, who were selected out of 100 applicants and provided the motion capture for their characters.[2][9] The ending theme song is "Don't Stop Moving" by Sarah Kelly, and the animation featured in the ending sequence was motion captured by dance group Shit Kingz.[3][10]

Episode list

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No. Title Writer Original release date
1"The Supporting Character Elite"
Transliteration: "Wakiyaku no Toppu" (Japanese: 脇役のトップ)
UnknownJuly 7, 2019 (2019-07-07)
2"Tai-me to Break Up"
Transliteration: "Wakaretai" (Japanese: 別れタイ)
Tai, who desperately wants to be seen as the main character instead of a supporting character, runs into Otohime, a popular classmate from his high school, and decides to ask her out as he consults Hachio for advice. However, his feelings of inadequacy get in the way of their relationship.
3"Uowaki's Harassment"
Transliteration: "Uowaki no Harasumento" (Japanese: 魚脇のハラスメント)
UnknownJuly 14, 2019 (2019-07-14)
4"Ika's Concerns"
Transliteration: "Ika-chan no Nayami" (Japanese: IKAちゃんの悩み)
5"Nobody Compliments Me, So I'm Not Complimenting Anyone"
Transliteration: "Ore ga Hito Kara Homerarenai no wa Dare no Koto mo Homenai Kara da" (Japanese: 俺が人から褒められないのは誰のことも褒めないからだ)
UnknownJuly 21, 2019 (2019-07-21)
6"Tai-me To Call Me By My First Name!"
Transliteration: "Tai tte Yobaretai!" (Japanese: タイって呼ばれタイ!)
7"Chief Asase's Challenge"
Transliteration: "Asase-kachō no Chōsen" (Japanese: 浅瀬課長の挑戦)
UnknownJuly 28, 2019 (2019-07-28)
8"What's Otohime's First Name?"
Transliteration: "Otohime-san no Na wa?" (Japanese: 乙姫さんの名は?)
9Transliteration: "Uowaki, Oyogase Oyogasare" (Japanese: 魚脇、泳がせ泳がされ)UnknownAugust 4, 2019 (2019-08-04)
10"Otohime and Tai's Relationship"
Transliteration: "Otohime-san to Tai na Kankei" (Japanese: 乙姫さんとタイな関係)
11"Tai Uowaki, Viral on Social Media!"
Transliteration: "Uowaki Tai, SNS de Dai Bazuri!" (Japanese: 魚脇タイ、SNSで大バズリ!)
UnknownAugust 11, 2019 (2019-08-11)
12"Responsibility of the Lead Actor"
Transliteration: "Shuyaku no Sekinin" (Japanese: 主役の責任)

Notes

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  1. ^ The character's name is Craig (クレッグ, Kureggu) in Japanese,[6] but the English version of the comic lists his name as "Colleague."[7]
  2. ^ Tokyo MX lists the air date as July 7, 2019 at 24:00, which is July 8, 2019 at 12 AM.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Dredge, Stuart (February 19, 2015). "What is Business Fish and why is he in your Facebook comments?". The Guardian. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Dennison, Kara (June 21, 2019). "Business Fish Makes the Jump from LINE Stamp to Anime Star". Crunchyroll. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Hodgkins, Crystalyn (June 21, 2019). "Business Fish 'Motion Capture Anime' Announced With July 7 Premiere". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  4. ^ "PROFILE - ビジネスフィッシュ / おどるモワイくん / Mr.Egg / キャラクターデザイナー、イラストレーター、クリエーター". Yuichiro Ohno (in Japanese). Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  5. ^ "新時代のサラリーマンキャラ「ビジネスフィッシュ」東宝が開発・発信へ 頭は魚、体は人間". Oricon (in Japanese). June 5, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  6. ^ "ビジネスフィッシュ - Quan Inc". Quan, Inc. (in Japanese). Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Business Fish - Quan Inc". Quan, Inc. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  8. ^ "スタンプ発、世界2.5億ダウンロード超のキャラクター「ビジネスフィッシュ」を"全編モーション・キャプチャー"で東宝がTVアニメシリーズ化!". PR Times (in Japanese). June 21, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  9. ^ "声優×俳優×タレント... "体は人間、頭は魚"なサラリーマン描くTVアニメ「ビジネスフィッシュ」7月放送". Anime! Anime! (in Japanese). June 21, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  10. ^ "アニメ「ビジネスフィッシュ」頭は魚、体は人間の会社員がキレキレダンス披露". Natalie (in Japanese). July 8, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
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