THOUGHT BUBBLE MONTH 2026! Fumika is a Japanese artist bringing with them to Thought Bubble a wide range of products graced by their classic illustrative style. Most sought after should be the absolutely beautiful comic, The Golden Fish.
The Golden Fish is a fantasy story with the rather dark undercurrent of fish being extinct. Emil learns about fish in school and by coincidence finds an ornate fish bowl in a shop. This sets him off on a journey through his town and beyond, ending up on a park bench near a very wise talking tree which sends him in the right direction.
Pages read from right to left
Fumika’s art in The Golden Fish seems more rooted in classic children’s book illustration rather than modern Manga stylings. The characters are realistically depicted in precisely rendered ornate backgrounds. Fumika does wonderfully complex panel-to-panel transitions. Both abrupt scene changes and lingering establishing shots keep the eye moving through young Emil’s adventures.
The muted colour scheme lends an air of antiquity to this near future, instantly establishing a conflicting perception of whether The Golden Fish takes place in the past, present, or future. Though we can’t read the original Japanese lettering (a convenient English-language translation is included with every copy!), the square balloons evoke century old newspaper comic strips further adding to the atmosphere built throughout.
If you’re looking for a tightly written, gorgeously illustrated fantasy story look no further than The Golden Fish.
Fumika(W/A/L/C/T) • Self-published, ¥500
Review by Gary Usher
Fumika is at Table C28a in the Travelling ManHall at Thought Bubble.
Thought Bubble 2026 runs from November 9th-15th with the convention weekend taking place on the 14th-15th. More details on the Thought Bubble site here.
Read all our Thought Bubble 2025 coverage so far in one place here.
Poster art by Núria Tamarit
