# Cold Fish (冷たい熱帯魚)
**Cold Fish** (*Tsumetai nettaigyo*, 冷たい熱帯魚) is a 2010 Japanese thriller directed by [Sion Sono](https://www.edgepedia.org/sion-sono) (園子温) about a meek tropical-fish shop owner who is drawn into the orbit of a charismatic fellow dealer who turns out to be a serial killer. It was produced and distributed by Nikkatsu, ran 146 minutes, and was rated R18+ in Japan for its extreme violence and sexual content.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/55654/) • [2](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=41523) The film premiered in the Orizzonti section of the 67th Venice International Film Festival and opened in Japanese theaters on 29 January 2011.[3](https://www.cinematoday.jp/movie/T0009264) • [1](https://eiga.com/movie/55654/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / screenplay | Sion Sono, co-written with Takahashi Yoshiki[4](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2011/films/cold-fish) |
| Production / release | Nikkatsu; produced 2010, theatrical release 29 January 2011[1](https://eiga.com/movie/55654/) |
| Runtime / rating | 146 minutes, R18+ (some festival prints listed at 144 minutes)[2](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=41523) • [5](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/cold-fish1/) |
| Basis | Inspired by the 1993 Saitama dog-breeder serial murder case, with occupation and ending heavily fictionalized[6](https://www.vod.pricey.jp/cold-fish-spoiler/) |
| Principal cast | Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Denden, Asuka Kurosawa, Megumi Kagurazaka, Hikari Kajiwara, Tetsu Watanabe[4](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2011/films/cold-fish) |
| Awards | Denden won Outstanding Supporting Actor at the 35th Japan Academy Prize (2012)[1](https://eiga.com/movie/55654/) |
| Critical scores | Metascore 66; Rotten Tomatoes 75% from 24 reviews[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/cold-fish/critic-reviews/) • [8](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/cold_fish) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Shamoto (Mitsuru Fukikoshi) runs a small tropical-fish shop and lives with his second wife Taeko (Megumi Kagurazaka) and his teenage daughter Mitsuko (Hikari Kajiwara), who resents her stepmother. When Mitsuko is caught shoplifting at a supermarket, the incident is smoothed over by Murata Yukio (Denden), a jovial fellow fish dealer who owns a far larger store, Amazon Gold, and employs young women in a live-in arrangement. Murata offers to take Mitsuko on at his shop, and Shamoto, grateful and anxious to defuse the family conflict, accepts.[9](https://www.nikkatsu.com/movie/32321.html)
Murata then draws Shamoto and his wife into a lucrative tropical-fish breeding venture. The business conceals murder: Murata and his wife Aiko (Asuka Kurosawa) kill business associates and dispose of the bodies, and Shamoto, once he realizes what is happening, is coerced into complicity. The Busan festival synopsis describes the turning point as the moment Shamoto witnesses Murata murdering an investor and is forced to help dispose of the corpse.[10](https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_view.asp?kind=history&m_idx=15065&page=25&pyear=2010) The film ends without redemption: after attacking Murata and reporting himself to the police, Shamoto returns home, kills his wife, and takes his own life in front of his daughter.[6](https://www.vod.pricey.jp/cold-fish-spoiler/)
## The real case behind the film
The film is inspired by the Saitama dog-breeder serial murder case (埼玉愛犬家連続殺人事件) of 1993, in which a pet-shop operator cheated buyers over rare dog breeds and killed those who complained. The Guardian's review describes the real case as involving a dog-breeder who scammed buyers and murdered them when they complained, disposing of their dismembered remains.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/apr/07/cold-fish-film-review) The film changes the setting substantially: the real perpetrator ran a dog-breeding business in [Saitama Prefecture](https://www.edgepedia.org/saitama-prefecture), while the film's Murata runs a tropical-fish store, and the occupation, plot details, and ending are heavily fictionalized.[6](https://www.vod.pricey.jp/cold-fish-spoiler/) • [10](https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_view.asp?kind=history&m_idx=15065&page=25&pyear=2010) A Filmarks reviewer notes that in the real case the animals were dogs rather than fish, and identifies the model for Murata as Sekine Motoharu.[12](https://filmarks.com/movies/6701/reviews/158107051)
Sono said the project began when his producers asked him to make a film based on a real case, and that he deliberately made it a story without salvation, saying that because his own situation at the time felt unsaved, it mattered to him to make a thoroughly unsparing film rather than one in which he would be consoled.[13](https://www.hmv.co.jp/news/article/1101280045/)
## Production and festival reception
The film was shot on 35 mm in Japanese, with cinematography by Kimura Shinya, editing by Ito Junichi, production design by Matsuzuka Takashi, and music by Harada Tomohide; special-effects makeup was by Nishimura Yoshihiro.[4](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2011/films/cold-fish) • [14](https://d.hatena.ne.jp/keyword/%E5%86%B7%E3%81%9F%E3%81%84%E7%86%B1%E5%B8%AF%E9%AD%9A) It was an official selection in the Orizzonti section of the 67th Venice International Film Festival, where it screened alongside Miike Takashi's *13 Assassins* as one of the Japanese entries.[3](https://www.cinematoday.jp/movie/T0009264) • [15](https://thefraser.com/pdfs/gekkan-fraser-2010-10.pdf) It later played at festivals including [Rotterdam](https://www.edgepedia.org/rotterdam) (Spectrum), Busan (A Window on Asian Cinema), Melbourne, the [New York Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-film-festival), and the New Zealand International Film Festival in 2011.[4](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2011/films/cold-fish) • [10](https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_view.asp?kind=history&m_idx=15065&page=25&pyear=2010) • [16](https://miff.com.au/festival-archive/films/24320/cold-fish) • [5](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/cold-fish1/)
## Awards
Denden, a former comedian cast against type as Murata, won the Outstanding Supporting Actor award at the 35th Japan Academy Prize in 2012 and the supporting actor prize in Kinema Junpo's Best Ten of 2011 (85th edition).[1](https://eiga.com/movie/55654/) • [17](https://296.fm/tsumetai-nettaigyo-netabare/) Japanese reviews frequently single out his performance; the aggregate site Kinenote records an average user score of 75.7 points from 1,185 voters.[2](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=41523)
## Critical reception
Anglophone critics were divided. The film holds a Metascore of 66, with three positive, one mixed, and one negative review counted by Metacritic.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/cold-fish/critic-reviews/) Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times scored it 90, calling it "a deliciously warped wallow in misogyny, depravity and dead-eyed manipulation" that charts "the twisted alliance of two tropical-fish salesmen with baleful glee."[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/cold-fish/critic-reviews/) Mark Olsen of The Village Voice called it "wild, head-turning, stomach-churning stuff" and a bracing addition to serial-killer cinema.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/cold-fish/critic-reviews/) Leslie Felperin in Variety judged it too long but noted its gleeful humor and dare-you-to-watch aesthetic.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/cold-fish/critic-reviews/) Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave it 2 out of 5, finding the gruesome story freaky but far too long and wearying.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/apr/07/cold-fish-film-review) Slant Magazine's Jaime N. Christley gave it 0 out of 4.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/cold-fish/critic-reviews/) On Rotten Tomatoes the film stands at 75% from 24 critics, with an audience score of 74%.[8](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/cold_fish)
A recurring critical theme is length: at 146 minutes the film drew repeated complaints that it overstays its welcome, even from reviewers who admired its energy.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/apr/07/cold-fish-film-review) • [7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/cold-fish/critic-reviews/) Film at [Lincoln Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/lincoln-center)'s synopsis reads the film as "a post-economic bubble ero guro parable about the ordinary fascism of contemporary Japan's middle class."[5](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/cold-fish1/)
## Availability
As of late 2026 the film streams on subscription in Japan on U-NEXT, Hulu, and DMM TV, and is available for rental on Amazon Prime Video; it is not on Netflix.[6](https://www.vod.pricey.jp/cold-fish-spoiler/) • [18](https://www.justwatch.com/jp/%E6%98%A0%E7%94%BB/leng-taire-dai-yu)
## References
1. [冷たい熱帯魚 : 作品情報・キャスト・あらすじ・動画 - 映画.com](https://eiga.com/movie/55654/)
2. [冷たい熱帯魚 - 作品情報・映画レビュー - KINENOTE](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=41523)
3. [冷たい熱帯魚 (2010)：キャスト・あらすじ・作品情報｜シネマトゥデイ](https://www.cinematoday.jp/movie/T0009264)
4. [Cold Fish - IFFR 2011, International Film Festival Rotterdam](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2011/films/cold-fish)
5. [Cold Fish - Film at Lincoln Center](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/cold-fish1/)
6. [『冷たい熱帯魚』ネタバレ｜結末と実話との違いを解説 - VOD TIMES](https://www.vod.pricey.jp/cold-fish-spoiler/)
7. [Cold Fish critic reviews - Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/cold-fish/critic-reviews/)
8. [Cold Fish - Rotten Tomatoes](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/cold_fish)
9. [冷たい熱帯魚 | 映画 | 日活](https://www.nikkatsu.com/movie/32321.html)
10. [Cold Fish - Busan International Film Festival archive](https://www.biff.kr/eng/html/archive/arc_history_view.asp?kind=history&m_idx=15065&page=25&pyear=2010)
11. [Cold Fish – review, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/apr/07/cold-fish-film-review)
12. [冷たい熱帯魚のNのネタバレレビュー - Filmarks映画](https://filmarks.com/movies/6701/reviews/158107051)
13. [『冷たい熱帯魚』園子温監督 インタビュー｜HMV&BOOKS online NEWS](https://www.hmv.co.jp/news/article/1101280045/)
14. [冷たい熱帯魚(映画) - はてなキーワード](https://d.hatena.ne.jp/keyword/%E5%86%B7%E3%81%9F%E3%81%84%E7%86%B1%E5%B8%AF%E9%AD%9A)
15. [Gekkan Fraser, October 2010](https://thefraser.com/pdfs/gekkan-fraser-2010-10.pdf)
16. [Cold Fish - MIFF Film Archive](https://miff.com.au/festival-archive/films/24320/cold-fish)
17. [「冷たい熱帯魚」ネタバレあらすじ完全ガイド - ふくろうFM](https://296.fm/tsumetai-nettaigyo-netabare/)
18. [冷たい熱帯魚 映画 動画配信 - JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/jp/%E6%98%A0%E7%94%BB/leng-taire-dai-yu)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Horror films (individual works) › Exploitation and extreme horror films*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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