A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow, Vol. 9 (2024)

3/5 ⭐️
Overall this series was super cute and I loved all the cute animals! But as far as the romance goes… there really wasn’t any, and I’m disappointed that they didn’t get together throughout the series, not even like a kiss or anything.

A więc mówicie mi, że przebrnęłam przez 9 tomów, żeby na koniec nie dostać nawet pocałunku? Aha. Rozumiem.

CUTE MANGA WAS CUTE

As graduation draws near, Koyuki is doing a lot more with her classmates and has withdrawn from the aquarium club. Konatsu has kept things going, but still wants to get her feelings across, whatever they are. Stay tuned for more frog and salamander and not much else!

So, it’s not bad. This final volume has the girls reaching out to one another and making their feelings, whatever they’re supposed to be, known and has lots of time to show how they’ve grown as people. I wouldn’t be complaining if this was strictly the focus.

We also get a little development on the Kaede front, showing that she’s become a bit more responsible, and Koyuki’s brother definitely has an eye for her. Their relationship is also subtly developing right up to the ending.

But that’s the thing about this, there’s nothing definitive here. It is very much a fill in the blanks story. Do the girls remain close friends? They do! Do the girls become lovers and live against the prevailing heteronormative Japanese society? They do! Do they find spirit fairies and become magical girls? Why not!?

Because this story stands for nothing, it concludes nothing, and, frankly, comes perilously close to meaning nothing. There is ambiguity and then there’s authorial obstinance and the mangaka saying this isn’t a yuri story when it’s been coded like one the whole way is just aggravating.

Especially because that refusal just leaves the narrative twisting in the wind. It has some strong moments, although if that frog and salamander metaphor comes up ever again it’ll be too soon, and signs of real growth and change that I like (the uniform bit is, in fact, really good).

Konatsu’s ploy to show Koyuki how much she means to her is as close to a confession as we’re likely to get in many books, but again, not a yuri, apparently. When they realize that they’ve gotten through to one another it’s genuinely sweet.

If you don’t mind a story where the journey is the entire point, even if the path it’s pretty obviously on isn’t the one it’s apparently actually on, then you’ll probably be okay with the narrative here. This has been utterly frustrating for several volumes now and it continues that trend right to the finale.

I do not need every story to be yuri, but it’s hard not to feel like you’re being jerked around by the mangaka while reading this series and if I was not aware of their thoughts on this I probably wouldn’t be so annoyed with it. Sometimes the smallest things can throw you off a manga and that really did it for me.

If it walks like a yuri and quacks like a yuri and all that. Anyway, it’s over and done with and I’m pretty sure this won’t be a series I come back to any time soon, if ever. It has a lot of potential that it sort of wastes by refusing to acknowledge what it pretty much is, even if it doesn’t do a bad job. I could probably review this another day and feel quite differently about it.

3 stars - in case you couldn’t tell, this story got me into a bit of a snit and sadly I couldn’t manage to separate the art from the artist, which I acknowledge as a bit of a fail on my part. By trying to both sides itself, however, it doesn’t quite do either justice and there are much better girls love stories and much better ‘female best friend’ stories out there to be enjoyed.

3.5
i binged read this manga in 24 hours, and all volumes feel like one to me. so i'm going to leave my review for the whole series.
art style and covers? stunning!
the characters and the relationships here were the most interesting part. also, the loneliness of the girls really spoke to me in more ways than i want to admit.
yet, i'm a bit disappointed in the ambiguity of the romance. i don't feel like there were romantic feelings for sure, so i'm kinda confused why it's marketed as a gl manga. it pretty much can be read as a manga about friendship and it won't take anything away from the plot.
i liked it overall. it was very sad but inspiring at the same time, so... totally my vibe.

jako oddzielny tomik to bardzo zadowolona jestem, ale jako zakończenie serii troszkę za mało dla mnie:(
ale to chyba i tak będzie jedna z moich ulubionych serii.

yes, yes. i binge-read this manga so here is my review for the entire series, effectively.

this was one of the cases where “i came for the shōjo ai, but stayed for the profound themes and storytelling.” and all these people saying it was bait - no it ain’t.

nettaigyo wa yuki tells the intense, codependent friendship between girls that can only happen in this particular moment of adolescence. this clingy, despairing need for another person because of how they were there for you in the depths of your loneliness. the usage of the salamander short story throughout the narrative was impeccable, dare i say, aspirational? it was fantastic. in particular, how the role of the salamander and the role of the frog tend to change because of the sheer codependency of konatsu and koyuki.

it’s not yuri, but it IS shōjo ai. this is, to its core, love between girls. it’s not romantic, but it isn’t normative in the sense that it doesn’t fit heterosexual expectations. that’s why i shelved it in my queer shelf.

but man. i really do love this series because of the permeation of “loneliness and what it drives people to do” as a theme. it touches on raw nerves. i’m not disappointed AT ALL about the lack of romance, because while the relationship wasn’t romantic, it was intense, soul-edifying, frantic, and passionate. and that’s all i want in a love story - romantic or platonic.

I read this really early thanks to some online translated scans.
While I’m glad that this series didn’t end on a sour note between the girls (and everyone for that matter), I’m slightly confused on the exact ending. I know that the girls had managed to confess to each other, in subtle ways, but do they ever really become a couple? I feel like the ending was left a bit open-ended in that aspect.
Overall, I really liked the series but I feel like I would’ve enjoyed it more if there were more volumes.

為了接上新書的八九集劇情
慢吞吞的重看
從第一集到看完花了快一個月吧~

這部的風格跟之前看的百合都不大一樣
兩位主角的互動沒有戀愛情愫的感覺
不過說是友情似乎又太過濃烈
(譬如學姊送學妹制服穿?!)
或許可以類比成希臘史詩裡那種兄弟情誼的感覺?
至少我沒有這種交情的"朋友"
實在挺難想像的~

另一方面這部讓我想到以前讀一篇文章說
日本人雖然要讀空氣
但就算是日本人
也常常讀不懂或讀錯空氣
小雪和小夏兩人鬧彆扭就很有這種感覺
在劇情中段實在看得讓人心情難受

還好有看似脫線其實敏銳的女三(?)小楓救場
但小楓不可以這樣撩國中生底迪!!
照劇情來看小楓大弟弟君五歲
第九集似乎暗示還有戲XD
(是說黑長直整個我的菜，羞)

總之呢~喜歡歸喜歡
但短時間內應該不會再重看了
現在就是愛吃糖，不動腦
最喜歡看無腦發糖戀愛戲了XDD

整部從井伏鱒二的山椒魚發想
但我讀了小說全篇
還是想不出與漫畫劇情的關聯性
權將譯文附上
井伏鱒二短篇小說／《九彎十八拐》第71期

this ended up being more on the queerplatonic side but the characters, the art, the symbolism with the frog and the salamander, the theme of loneliness shshhsjsj i

I loved this series. However, this whole time I thought there was this lead up to a romance between the two characters. In the end it kind of left things a bit open, leaning more into the friendship side. It was a little disappointing since I thought there would be something from all the lead up from the other books. But I still really enjoyed the series, it was really cute and lighthearted

I have enjoyed this series but it was a bit of a disappointing ending. I was hoping the main characters would be romantically involved but nothing really came of it, they just ended as close friends who had realised they needed each other more than thought.

rozczarowujące zakończenie ;(((

9 volumes expecting a smooch. No smooch

Ending was disappointing

I love how this manga series shows how much a person can mean to you, even after meeting for the first time and not knowing anything about each other. Even after having only talked once, or perhaps not even that much, maybe your eyes only have met, and now you want to know everything about that person.
Not only that, it shows that this feeling often is mutual. Yet we don’t talk about it because society raised us to think that talking about our deep feelings is embarrassing and selfish and kinda creepy. Which is sad honestly.
Looking back, what do you think how many deep friendships would you have had, if you were more honest with people? If you just told them how you felt?

This manga really did a great job in showing the insecurities of each person, when it comes to relationships like these. I love how slow-paced each volume is, making it very realistic.
Perhaps not even that realistic, because nowadays it’s rare to actually get this close. Most of the time, people just accept that their feelings are one-sided, thinking they can read someone else so well, that there’s not even a point in asking how they feel.
More often than not, feelings are more mutual than we think.

~

While this manga series wasn't typically Yuri, as in sexual or explicitly romantic, it was a love story and therefore I don't find the GL tag clickbait at all. It's more of a deep platonic relationship, like a QPR, but that still is love.
Besides, I did read somewhere that sometimes "Yuri" is also referred to a very close friendship between girls and doesn't have to be romantic per-se, after all.

Also, I totally didn't mind. Their friendship was just as intense as a typical romance story would have been, so I don't see the problem. Sure, there wasn't a kiss, but I don't think it was needed. Them learning to communicate and coming in terms with their feelings and their true selves was much more important than any physical stuff.
So I'm very glad that books like these still exist and not every author falls into the pressure of doing fan-service, just so their manga will do better on the market. Thanks Makoto Hagino for such a wonderful series!

I really hope this will get an anime someday because this would be exactly what our society needs to watch, in times like these.

Y con este noveno tomo concluye Los peces tropicales anhelan la nieve. Ha sido un cierre (casi) perfecto para la serie y ahora os explicaré el porqué.

Este último volumen me ha gustado mucho. Por una parte, por fin vemos totalmente el desarrollo de Koyuki y Konatsu, cosa que se hace patente al saber llevar situaciones que en el pasado no sabían. Por otra parte, su relación avanza y se consolida al llegar a ese punto en el que se comunican y confían plenamente la una con la otra. La confesión usando la metáfora de la salamandra y la rana o la recreación de sus primeros momentos juntas me ha encantado.
Entonces, ¿por qué digo que es casi perfecto? Pues porque parece ser que todos los lectores sabemos que estamos leyendo un romance sáfico, excepto la autora. Cuando acabé el primer tomo, busqué reseñas de este último tomo y me enteré de la situación: más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo. Gracias a eso, he aprendido a leer el subtexto romántico entre las protagonistas y he podido apreciar esta historia, pero sé que si no hubiese sido así ahora mismo estaría furiosa. En realidad, al negarle a la historia seguir su curso natural, la autora desaprovecha parte de su potencial y es una lástima. Creo que es una buena serie, eso sí, sobre aviso, pues esa ambigüedad en el ámbito romántico puede arruinarle la experiencia a un lector. Por esto, no puedo ponerle las cinco estrellas.

En definitiva, la saga me ha gustado bastante. La exploración de la soledad de las protagonistas ha sido uno de los aspectos más interesantes, sin duda.

P.D. Me parece un juego MUY sucio publicitar esta serie como un romance entre chicas cuando la autora se niega a reconocerlo o explicitarlo. Todos sabemos que lo es, pero no lo veo justo, puesto que crea falsas expectativas.

This was sweet and I’m glad they grew as people, but seriously, no actual romance by the end was disappointing.

July 2023. The final volume of a GL manga about two high schoolers who bond over the aquarium club and grow together over a year of high school.

This was very cute, and I appreciated the character growth. It really ended up being a coming of age story with queer subtext that was never made text, which is pretty frustrating in the 2020’s. We see other positive friendships between girls that don’t have the sapphic undertones but we never get anything that feels like canon queer relationships.

No kiss, no coming out for either of them, no labels, etc. which, I’ve read in a couple fairly recent BL manga and liked in this “we’re something more than friends but young and not seeking to define it or do anything physical, but we acknowledging it together” which worked okay for me because it was 1-2 volumes.
For a 9 volume GL manga to not have anything that felt like overt confirmation of it as GL at the end was frustrating, especially when casual small gifts or small signs of affection are much more normalized among girls and less likely to be significant or unique to their relationship.

I think if it was portrayed as queer platonic or hom*oromatic asexual with some sort of more clear acknowledgement and discussion of queerness (even if just in one of their head) that would have made the final conclusion feel like less of a fizzle out.
They are also different years and one is living across the country for college and it ends with the other visiting, so not having something more clear or tangible to wrap up the series when they can no longer see each other daily was a bit of a bummer.

So it was an okay conclusion to a slow but sweet series. Still enjoyed it but the pacing especially in the later volumes made this a “borrow from the library” not an “own to reread” for me.

“A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow” volume 9 by Makoto Hagino.

Ce tome termine en beauté la série, les "leçons" qu'on en tire sont juste trop bien. Le seul point négatif c'est que la série est vendue comme une romance lesbienne mais il n'y a aucun passage explicite. Même si on comprend que les deux personnes sont amoureuses l'une de l'autre à plusieurs reprises, il a zéro scène de déclaration ni de bisous, ce qui m'attriste un peu. Donnez nous des romances lesbiennes assumées et pas des trucs à moitié dissimulés sous l'étiquette "elles ont une forte amitié". Mais hormis ça, ça reste une très très bonne série que je recommande énormément. (Bonus si vous avez lu Bloom Into You je trouve que les 2 séries se complètent car même si les thèmes entre les 2 sont similaires, ils ne sont pas abordés du même angle donc je trouve ça chouette de lire les 2 séries !!!)

1000 ⭐
this manga is the best thing that ever happen to me ok, i love it SO MUCH, it's been such a journey and i can't believe it ended already.
I was expecting a little "something" between the main characters but still what the autor show us was lovely and i connect so bad with the two of them that i will always keep them in my heart.
I don't have a lot to say, i am completely in love with this story and all that makes me feel, i cry with it, i laugh with it, i got sentimental and the ending brought me so much joy but also that little emptiness in my chest because I will miss reading it every month.

Koyuki and Konatsu are endgame in my head, i have NO doubts about it, what they have was more than friendship.

I went into this series because I read it was a yuri. I don't have any issue with subtle or hints.

Overall, I enjoyed this series until the final two. The girls were going separate directions because of Koyuki graduating and leaving for Tokyo while Konatsu had one more year left and was continuing the Aquarium Club.

The end has been meeting in Tokyo which I am not going to lie was a cute scene and mirrored a little of their first meeting. So the last few pages made me smile.

The salamander and frog comparison got a little over the top and confusing to me after all while but I think it was way for the girls to get their feelings across.

Overall, it was cute and their feelings were hinted at. I wish there were more volumes but maybe we will see them again.

The entire series is just wholesome. It tells the story of Konatsu Amano, a high-school girl who has just moved to a seaside town in Ehime prefecture. At first, she has to adapt to this new environment, and the question of loneliness recurs a lot throughout the manga. She turns to Koyuki Honami, a senpai who is very popular but considered a bit "unapproachable". She then decides to join the Aquarium club, where Koyuki is the only member (so they'll be spending a lot of time together). They become closer and closer... I really like the use of metaphors and animal names to express feelings (the salamander, the frog...), and the drawings are super cute!

Overall, nice story.
The theme of isolation is present within the main characters, Amano and Honami, from start to end.
The third girl in the story, Hirose, I was really confused by her part in the tale. She didn’t seem to have much of an impact on the story so it felt odd when there were several chapters dedicated to her; which ultimately didn’t lead to anything.
Good story throughout though. The art is nice and simple and the message within is really easy to connect with on a personal level.

rating overall for the series: 4/5

I really liked the conclusion for this!! I did think that vol. 8 was kind of... filler-y in a way, but I did enjoy the entire thing.

Even if the relationship isn't explicitly 'romantic' it still can be read as them having very deep feelings for each other (clearly) and this was such a heartwarming conclusion.

A tropical fish yearns for snow is definitely a manga that I'll reread in the future.

This was a really sweet ending for the story. Along the way it felt there was a bit more to the girls' feelings so I'm a little sad it didn't manifest here. But it was still a nice story about two people who felt kinda lonely and lost but found a friend and support in each other. And I liked that Konatsu made decisions (not going back to Tokyo) mainly for herself even though Koyuki was now super important to her.

I read this series around a year ago. It’s still remains one of my favorite series till this day. It is about a new girl in high school and she’s looking for friends so she walks in to the aquarium club and she finds another girl and she tells her about salamanders and basically the story goes on to where it’s like I’d say a love story, but it’s not that obvious, but there are major hints. I’d say the story developed at a great pace and I just loved it overall. 🫶 5/5 stars ⭐️

3 stars. This series is sad and melancholic and I love that and the characters are wonderful but this ending was a total let down. It not being a romance is fine but it just was a lackluster conclusion to this series overall. This is a very sweet series that touches on loneliness really well so I would still recommend it.

przeurocza, przepiekna kreska jestem tylko trochę rozczarowana, że nawet się nie pocalowaly:( szkoda że nie ma pokazanych więcej scen z okresu skończenia szkoły, jednak sam styl/klimat mang był bardzo dobry 🌌

This series is a heartwarming series about two girls learning to make friends, handle loneliness, and learn to move forwards in life. The art is amazing. Keeping a simple manga style for the characters but still pumping in so much detail in the background. It’s so wholesome, I love it.

I kinda left it too long between reading the others ans this last volume - slightly disappointed that its labelled a girls love but never actually has the girls kiss/say theyre in a relationship. Cute slowburn but kinda dances around saying we’re gfs