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January 21, 2025 9 min read

Fish Out of Water Trope: Writing Outsider Characters

Master the fish out of water trope for comics. Learn to create compelling outsider characters navigating unfamiliar worlds with humor and heart.

A demon lord enrolls in high school. A medieval knight wakes up in modern Tokyo. An alien tries to understand human dating. The fish out of water trope drops characters into unfamiliar worlds where everything they know is wrong—creating comedy, drama, and fresh perspectives on familiar settings.

This guide explores how to write compelling fish out of water stories in comics and manga, maximizing both humor and emotional resonance.

Understanding the Trope

Fish out of water stories feature characters displaced from their element:

The Fish: Someone with skills, knowledge, and assumptions suited to a different context.

The Water: An unfamiliar environment with different rules, customs, and expectations.

The Gap: Comedy and drama emerge from the mismatch between fish and water.

Why This Trope Works

Natural Exposition

The outsider must learn the world, providing organic reasons for explanation:

Characters explain things to the fish that readers also need to know
Questions the audience has are questions the fish asks
Learning happens on-page, naturally

Fresh Perspective

Outsiders notice what insiders overlook:

Absurdities of the new world become visible
Commentary on real-world parallels feels natural
Taken-for-granted elements get examined

Built-In Comedy

Misunderstandings create humor:

Wrong assumptions lead to funny situations
Culture clash generates comedic moments
The fish’s solutions using wrong-context skills amuse

Character Development Engine

Adaptation creates growth:

The fish must change to survive
New environment reveals hidden qualities
Competence in new context is satisfying to watch

Types of Fish Out of Water

The Time Displaced

From past to future or vice versa:

Historical figure in modern day
Modern person in historical setting
Different expectations about technology, society, values

The Dimension Hopper

From one world to another:

Isekai (another world) stories
Parallel dimension travelers
Fantasy/reality crossovers

The Culture Crosser

Same world, different culture:

Country to city (or reverse)
Different social classes
Different countries or regions

The Species Stranger

Non-human in human context (or vice versa):

Aliens among humans
Supernatural beings trying to blend in
Animals gaining human situations

The Role Reversal

Placed in unexpected social position:

Rich person experiencing poverty
Adult in child’s situation
Authority figure without power

Building the Fish

Establish Original Context

Readers should understand where the fish came from:

What skills made sense there?
What assumptions governed their world?
What was their status/role?

This establishes the baseline for contrast.

Give Them Transferable Strengths

Some abilities should remain useful:

Combat skills might still work
Intelligence adapts
Core personality traits translate
Specific knowledge proves surprisingly relevant

Completely helpless fish become frustrating.

Create Charming Flaws

Their out-of-place nature should be endearing:

Earnest attempts that fail adorably
Outdated attitudes played for humor
Confusion that’s relatable, not annoying
Persistence despite setbacks

Maintain Agency

Even lost, they should act:

Make decisions (even wrong ones)
Pursue goals actively
Not just passively receive help
Drive plot through their choices

Building the Water

Define Clear Rules

The new environment needs consistent logic:

What’s normal here?
What’s taboo or forbidden?
How does society function?
What do insiders take for granted?

Create Contrasts

Maximize the gap between fish and water:

If the fish is loud, make the water quiet
If the fish values honor, make the water pragmatic
If the fish has magic, make the water technological
Opposites create more dramatic conflict

Include Guides

Characters who help the fish navigate:

The patient explainer
The bemused observer
The irritated local forced to help
The fellow outsider who’s adapted

Add Threats

The unfamiliar environment should have dangers:

Misunderstanding with serious consequences
Predatory characters who exploit the fish
Rules that carry harsh penalties
Situations where ignorance is dangerous

Comedy Techniques

The Misapplied Skill

Using abilities from the old context inappropriately:

The warrior trying to solve problems with a sword
The noble expecting deference
The wizard attempting magic in a mundane world

The Literal Interpretation

Taking idioms, customs, or figures of speech literally:

Following instructions too exactly
Not understanding social shortcuts
Misreading implicit communication

The Overcorrection

Trying too hard to fit in:

Adopting new customs too enthusiastically
Misunderstanding what “normal” means
Creating new problems by avoiding old ones

The Accidental Success

Getting things right for wrong reasons:

Old skills solving new problems unexpectedly
Outsider perspective providing needed insight
Naivety cutting through complications

Drama Techniques

The Isolation

Being alone in strangeness:

No one who understands your context
Missing everything familiar
Longing for home
Identity crisis in new environment

The Stakes

What happens if they don’t adapt:

Physical danger
Social ostracism
Mission failure
Permanent displacement

The Choice

Having to decide between worlds:

Opportunity to return vs. reasons to stay
Changing vs. holding onto identity
New relationships vs. old loyalties

The Growth

Becoming someone new:

Integrating old and new selves
Finding home in an unexpected place
Realizing change was needed

Visual Storytelling

Contrast in Design

The fish should look out of place:

Different style from native characters
Clothing that doesn’t fit the setting
Body language that reads as foreign
Color palette that stands out

Environment as Character

Show the unfamiliar world as overwhelming or strange:

Architecture and setting emphasizing difference
Small details that confuse the fish
Familiar things rendered strange through composition

Reaction Shots

The fish’s response to new things:

Confusion, wonder, fear, delight
Physical reactions to unfamiliar stimuli
Eyes going to “wrong” things in scenes

Adaptation Visualization

Show them fitting in over time:

Clothing changes
Posture and body language shifts
Blending into backgrounds gradually
Design elements borrowed from new context

Common Pitfalls

The Incompetent Fish

Too helpless to be interesting:

Give them skills that matter
Let them succeed sometimes
Make their perspective valuable

The Judgmental Fish

Constantly criticizing the new world:

Balance critique with appreciation
Let them be wrong sometimes
Show growth in understanding

The Instant Adaptation

Fitting in too quickly undermines the premise:

Maintain fish-out-of-water elements
Let some differences persist
Adaptation should be gradual

The Static World

The water should be affected by the fish:

Their presence changes things
Others learn from them too
The environment shifts in response

Repetitive Gags

Same joke about their foreignness repeatedly:

Vary the types of misunderstanding
Progress their adaptation
Introduce new challenges as old ones resolve

Isekai Specific Considerations

The isekai (another world) genre is fish out of water at scale:

Often includes power fantasy elements
May have meta-awareness of genre
Frequently involves game-like mechanics
Balance wish fulfillment with genuine challenge

Getting Started with Multic

Fish out of water stories with branching narratives let readers choose how the protagonist adapts—embracing the new world, resisting it, or finding balance. Multic’s collaborative features let multiple creators build different aspects of the unfamiliar world, ensuring it feels rich and consistent.

The fish out of water trope takes readers on journeys of discovery alongside characters, making the familiar strange and the strange ultimately familiar.