User reviews

There isn't much to this quiet little film about a young woman who is researching tuna and figuring out who she is. The story can be quite slow (and actually very informative about fish) with a lot of time in between laughs, but our protagonist is very energetic and often entertaining. The film also seems a bit unclear of what it is- is it a comedy or a children's movie or something else? And who is the target audience? All in all, the movie is alright.

It's an interesting premise - a story about an eager but dizzy marine biology student working with fish researchers and clashing with all her nerdy and equally quirky colleagues. Unfortunately, it is boring.

Do watch it if you enjoy all things tuna or comedy dramas about aquaculture :D. I even learned some things, such as panda research is more sexy than tuna research!

Still, despite that this movie is also educational - tuna farming is difficult! - in the end it is just too esoteric for the general audience.

If I'm being honest I've watched it 3 times now. I find this movie to be relaxing. I don't know if it's the environment or characters but it's an easy movie to watch. Like I could put it on in the background while doing something and tune in occasionally for the scenes I like. I don't know why people rated it so harshly. Like it's a short, cute, and educational film. It's not trying to be a masterpiece. I liked it so... there!

This fun, entertaining, and even educational comedy-drama evolves just in the way good comedy-drama naturally grows and evolves. The principal naïve female character is klutzy and naïve and will eventually come of age in this what becomes a rather fascinating rather in-depth introduction to tuna farming in Japan. Usually these sort of comedy dramas have a way of becoming unbalanced in their presentation of drama and humor. But the experience of Tuna Girl there is something acceptably transforming in how the comedy and drama present themselves throughout the movie. What is quite satisfying in this to be expected, predicable movie is how it is accomplished with the direction and acting performances, especially by the tuna girl played by Fûka Koshiba. Without the usual romance element, though there are some indirect subplots, surprisingly there is actually more substance and captivating focus to this simple comedy drama that lifts it up from a majority of movies in its genre. A quite satisfying, informative, and enjoyable.

Ok, this is indeed an obscure subject (farm raising tuna in Japan is a huge industry, that claims to be as good and more ecological than wild-caught tuna). So you'll learn a thing or two about tuna (which also gives indication of the stakes of tuna research and farming (not quite like pork industry I guess, but getting there), but pickings on Netflix are not that great, so one draws all the positives of such an oddball movie getting in your selection. It's a rather formulaic movie and script, yet it works in conveying the usual message: everyone makes mistakes, which are forgiven because you took a chance. There's an awful lot of film time dedicated to make the mistake, then apologize with dramatic self-flagellating, chest-beating, and crying confession to said mistake. I think this is really what the film is about. I suspect the movie may have been 'commissioned' by the actual tuna research center or even the tuna farm raising industry to polish their images and send out the message out there that tuna from farms is as good as wild-caught. But in its barebone, raw ways of film making, it also offers a great diversion that somehow captivate the mind of 90m, in times of this nasty virus going 'round.