Review of The Disabled Tyrant’s Beloved Pet Fish (1/2)
When I first heard about The Disabled Tyrant’s Beloved Pet Fish by Xue Shan Fei Hu, I was… skeptical. Not going to lie, I tend to be more drawn to danmei stories that are a little on the serious side. I love humor as part of a larger story, but I’m not sure I’m the target audience for a book about a crush on a transmigrated fish. I lumped it into the same category as that one potato shifter romance I read a year or two ago: an exercise in absurdity, potentially good for a laugh but not much else.
And yet, somehow, I found myself in Barnes & Noble the day before a long business flight, grabbing the first volume off the shelf. I wanted something entertaining for the interminable airport hours ahead of me. I had also just finished re-reading TGCF, and I knew I needed a palette cleanser before diving into another complex story.
On the plane to Warsaw, I covertly looked around to be absolutely sure no one I knew was sitting nearby. I’ll happily flaunt Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation in front of coworkers, but I draw the line at the fish book. Seeing I could be happily anonymous, I dove in.
Reading Reactions
These chapter headings are wonderfully silly, just look at them! The Fish in the Soup, The Fish is Angry, Fishy… Suck? Well look, the potato shifter romance was probably 85% smut so if that’s what this is, let’s do it.
Chapter 11: OMG the fish just bit his nipple. How did this even happen?! What is happening with the book. Why are there no pictures in this section? Am I reading fish smut? Do I *want* to be reading fish smut? I don’t even know anymore…
“If any other fish tried to seduce Prince Jing, he would chase them away. […] Prince Jing was not swayed. To Li Yu’s relief and delight, the pretty koi had failed to tempt him.” Okay this is kind of funny and kind of sweet. No other fish are trying to seduce your prince, Li Yu. You are the only fish who wants in his pants.
What is this. This is a fish/human kiss. This is weird. Why do I want more of this content???
Okay now the fish is jealous of cultivation. Chill your fins, my friend, it’s all smut for you.
Reflections
Given all the buildup, I was surprised that Li Yu initially did not welcome Prince Jing trying to kiss him as a human. I do appreciate that there’s a reckoning with the forcefulness of that kiss, and Prince Jing mends his ways. This does feel in contrast with the lower bar around consent that I’ve found in a lot of danmei I’ve read, with both Mo Xiang Tog Xiu and priest often relying on dubious consent.
Alas, it turns out to my disappointment that there’s no actual smut in this book and only fade-to-black. I am relieved that all of the hanky panky seems to be happening between two humans, though. The early fish nipple-biting was just a red herring, perhaps?
I also appreciate the somewhat believable way this plays out, with Prince Jing convinced that Li Yu is a yao. Prince Jing may have the wrong kind of magical being, but within the context of his world he’s made some sense of Li Yu’s odd existence. It helps suspend my disbelief, even if it shows how much Li Yu has his head in the clouds.
Conclusion
The plot to this book is lightweight, with political machinations but no real sense of danger at any point. The protagonist, Li Yu, is sweet and sincere but also a little silly. This is indeed cotton candy fluff. By the end of volume 2 I was ready for a bit of a break (and my long flights were behind me), so I picked up the next “serious” danmei on my pile instead to read for a while. I’ll likely come back and finish up The Disabled Tyrant’s Beloved Pet Fish one day soon, maybe when I need another palette cleanser. Against all odds, the first two volumes of this book are 3/5 stars for me.
You can purchase these books and support this website: Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, Preorder Volume 4 (regular) or Volume 4 (special edition) (releasing March 25, 2025), or read more about how to purchase SevenSeas danmei.
