Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night (夜のクラゲは泳げない, Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai) is a 2024 original drama anime. The series is directed by Ryōhei Takeshita (Pokémon: Paldean Winds, Eromanga Sensei, New Game!), written by Yūki Yaku (author of Bottom-tier Character Tomozaki), and produced by Doga Kobo for the company's 50th anniversary.
The story follows a group of girls in Shibuya as they try to chase their dreams, banding together to form an artist group called "JELEE":
- Mahiru Kouzuki, aka "Yoru Kurage" (voiced by Miku Itō); a shy girl who left behind her love for art out of fear of being made fun of, but is inspired to become the group's illustrator.
- Kano Yamanouchi, formerly "Nonoka Tachibana" (Rie Takahashi); a former idol who was kicked out of the industry after a scandal, seeking to get back into it on her own terms as JELEE's lyricist.
- Mei "Kim Anouk" Takanashi (Miyuri Shimabukuro); a loony fan of Kano in her Sunflower Dolls days, and a distinctively talented pianist who joins the team as a composer.
- Kiwi Watase, aka "Nox Ryugasaki" (Miyu Tomita); a shut-in VTuber and Mahiru's childhood friend who lends her talents as an editor and mixer.
The series premiered on Tokyo MX on April 7, 2024. A tie-in manga adaption of the same name began serialization on the same day. A light novel adaptation will be scheduled for on May 24, 2024.
Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night provides examples of:
- Animal Motif: The titular Jellyfish, used as a symbol for the collective.
- Fatal Flaw: Fear of how others perceive her for Mahiru. She is so scared of being considered cringy or of being made fun of that she is unwilling to stand out at all, and hide and lie her interests. She claims that she wants to someday learn what she wants to be or what her interests are, but the truth is that she is already aware of what she is interested in, but unwilling to follow her passion.
- Ironic Echo: Mei uses the phrase "betrays my expectations" to two situations in her introductory episode: In the first one, she is disappointed to learn that the idol Nonoka will never come back; in the second, she is elated to have become friends with Kano and Mahiru, which is more she ever thought she could be with her idol.
- The Leader: Kano is officially recognized as JEELE's leader on episode 4. Played with in that while she is definitely the heart of the team, capable of motivating and driving her teammates, she is not good at planning for them; her plans are vague and her goals are unrealistic, leaving Mahiru and Kiwi to pick up the slack in that department.
- Mythical Motifs: Episode 3 has one for the Japanese myth about Amaterasu and the Cave, where Ame-no-Uzume lures Amaterasu out of hiding through dance. In this case, Mahiru plays the former role, and uses a dance presentation to encourage Kiwi, representing the latter, to reconnect with her and show support for the latter's emotional isolation.
- Ordinary High-School Student: Enforced. Mahiru's fear of stands out has her constantly try to appear as ordinary as possible and call herself this trope repeatedly to ward off the assumption she is still interested in art.
- Phoneaholic Teenager: Kiwi's addiction to her phone and to a mobile game's microtransactions are shown to be a defense mechanism as she has gotten more and more isolated. When particularly mad, she will start spending more money in upgrades for her character, to the point the payment service temporarily blocks her from doing anymore.
- Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: Kano turns down Mei's 100 thousand yens because Mei wants her to come back to being Nonoka and rejoin the Sunflower Dolls. She regrets soon after, realizing that 100 thousand was a lot of money, but she gets better.
- Shout-Out: Episode 3 opens with Kiwi playing an online game. The defeat animation, showing a character being torn apart by dinosaurs, is a perfect recreation of a lost match in Exoprimal.
- The Shut-In: Kiwi, as it turns out, has become one after failing to connect with her peers in high school.
- Superhero: Nox Ryugasaki is a superhero themed VTuber.
- Two Aliases, One Character: When an idol, Kano went by the name of Nonoka Tachibana.
