After a 17-year-old gang leader from New York City meets a Japanese reporter, they are sent on an adventure that involves the mafia and a mysterious entity known as “Banana Fish.”
Synopsis
During the Iraq war, a soldier named Griffin massacres his entire squad. Before he collapses to the ground, he mutters the words “banana fish.”
Now, Griffin spends his days sitting brainlessly in a wheelchair while his 17-year-old brother Ash searches for a cure. The only words he can speak are “banana fish.”
Ash Lynx comes across a dying man in an alleyway. The man gives him a vial and tells him an unknown address. His last words are, coincidentally, “banana fish.”
The next day, a Japanese photojournalist arrives at one of Ash’s gang’s hangout spots, an underground bar. The journalist’s assistant, Eiji Okumura is fascinated by the gang, and he asks Ash if he can hold his gun.
The entire bar goes silent, as nobody would dare to ask such a favor of their leader. To everyone’s surprise, Ash hands Eiji his gun, seemingly unbothered. It is clear that Ash sees Eiji differently than everybody else.
Suddenly, a mob of gangsters breaks into the bar, sparking a chaotic fight. A boy named Skipper helps Eiji escape the fight; however, they end up getting kidnapped in the process.
Now, it is up to Ash to save his new friend. Meanwhile, there is still a mystery as to what exactly “banana fish,” is and how it could be related to Ash’s brother Griffin.
Review (contains spoilers)
One thing that I love about Banana Fish is the action. Many of the episodes are packed with action scenes, and the fast-moving plot makes the show exciting and unpredictable.
Banana Fish has an amazing cast of characters. Ash is the coolest protagonist, with a determined attitude and amazing gun skills. He’s also very pretty. With Eiji (a former athlete who can pole vault) as his chosen sidekick and his resourceful friend Shorter Wong as backup, they are unstoppable.
Another admiral component of Banana Fish is the special relationship between Eiji and Ash. Eiji is the only person who Ash seems to feel safe with, and the comfort he brings Ash is absolutely heartwarming.
On the other hand, Eiji wants to stick with Ash because Ash saved his life. While this does lead to Eiji (who requires constant protection) getting kidnapped, the two develop an unbreakable bond that embodies all of my relationship goals.
Being a show about friendship (and arguably romance), Banana Fish carries heavy emotional baggage. Trust me: this show WILL make you cry. From Ash’s devastating childhood trauma to the painful goodbyes, only a soulless person can make it through without shedding a tear.
Luckily, Banana Fish also has funny moments, such as Ash’s fear of pumpkins or Eiji’s culture shock when he realizes how abundant guns are in America. The motif of the dangers of America is repeated throughout the show, revealing an eye-opening message about how other countries view the United States.
If you like mystery, action, and romance, and you are in a healthy mental state, then I highly recommend this anime.
Ranking
- Banana Fish
- Link Click
- Spy x Family
- Jujutsu Kaisen
- Given
- The Promised Neverland
- Demon Slayer
- Cowboy Bebop
- Tokyo Revengers
- Your Lie in April
While Link Click is a great psychological thriller, I find the action, romance, and mystery of Banana Fish more exciting and engaging to watch. If Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang were gay lovers, maybe I would like Link Click better. Banana Fish is and always will be my favorite anime, as it has the best of all worlds.
Sadly, this is my last blog post of the semester. It was really fun making these reviews and reminiscing with my friends (especially Rachel Lau, the co-author of this post) about our favorite shows!
Also, I hope Ash wakes up from his nap – sweet dreams!
~ S a y o n a r a
Image Sources:
Allepuz, Edu. “La Relación de Amor Entre Los Protagonistas de Banana Fish – El Palomitrón.” Elpalomitron, 20 Dec. 2018, elpalomitron.com/relacion-amor-protagonistas-banana-fish/.
“Banana Fish – Episode 1.” Anime Feminist, 6 July 2018, www.animefeminist.com/review-banana-fish-episode-1/.
“Banana Fish Fanart.” Fanart.tv, fanart.tv/series/343384/banana-fish/.
Jihye. “Reseña | Banana Fish バナナフィッシュ – Capítulo 23.” Kudasai, 17 Dec. 2018, somoskudasai.com/resenas/resena-banana-fish-capitulo-23/.
Sean. “Banana Fish Ep. 1: Curiosity Killed the Cat.” Moe Sucks, 6 July 2018, moesucks.com/2018/07/05/banana-fish-ep-1-curiosity-killed-the-cat/.
Ufaq, Yousuf. “I Mean What Is with the Librarians Letting People Nap Peacefully in Library??” Reddit, 26 Oct. 2020, www.reddit.com/r/BananaFish/comments/jif4d4/i_mean_what_is_with_the_librarians_letting_people/.
I really like how there are two main components to your blog, the synopsis and the review. As someone who doesn’t watch anime all that much having the synopsis really helped me understand what each anime was about so that way, I could read the review and understand what you were talking about. I also liked how your reviews were very honest you didn’t sugar coat anything to make the show seem better. You also made it very apparent when you liked or didn’t like something, but you did so in a comical way that kept me entertained. I also really really like the how you broke up the blog with pictures they made it feel like I wasn’t reading, and I like that. I also noticed that you put the categories that each anime falls under on the side of each post and I think that is very useful for someone like me who may be interested in watching a certain anime but also is pretty selective about shows I watch. Overall, I really enjoyed the look and content of this blog a lot, thank you Alex.
((Spoilers))
Anyway, I really like this anime. It’s sad and made me cry and think about world issues. Actually, the ending is infuriating.
Ash talks to Eiji about Hemingway’s story about the leopard. This story is supposed to parallel Ash’s life, at least I believe. It makes sense, though: leopard, lynx, yadda, yadda, yadda. The leopard dies in the story, foreshadowing Ash’s death. I had to find the manga, but Ash even tells Eiji, ” ‘When I think of my own death, I try to picture that leopard’s carcass’ “. So that means he already sees himself as a dead leopard. Pretty negative attitude, honestly (self-fulfilling prophecy type thing). But Eiji doesn’t see him as a leopard (I wouldn’t want my boyfriend to see himself as a dead leopard either), he believes that Ash can change his destiny. The problem is that Ash doesn’t change this fate. He still dies in the end. What’s worse is that he chooses to die. He couldn’t have avoided being stabbed, but he had enough time to go to a library, meaning he had enough time to get help. [PSA if you are stabbed, go to a hospital or seek any form of medical attention].
Now I have to dwell on why he would do something like that. My conclusion is that he “[climbed] higher and higher until he used up all his strength and collapsed”, just as the leopard had. From childhood, he has been climbing this mountain filled with abuse and suffering, but he hadn’t given up yet. He could only rest once he had reached the summit and fulfilled his goal. The romantic part of me says his goal was the protect Eiji. It’s not that much of a stretch though, I don’t think. In reference to Eiji, Ash says, “I know there’s at least one person in this world… who cares about me. Who doesn’t want anything from me… and that’s worth more to me than anything else”. So of course he’s willing to do anything to protect Eiji. And what’s putting Eiji in more danger than Ash himself? The conclusion Ash came to was that as long as he was in Eiji’s life, danger would always find them. The only way to end the suffering was to end his own life. So I don’t think Ash was murdered, rather, he committed suicide.
I think it’s a little dramatic to call Ash’s nap in the library his “death,” though I totally get the leopard metaphor and Ash’s reasoning. I too would be tired if I climbed an entire mountain, and I guess Ash taking a nap and deliberately missing his flight would ensure that Eiji would have a safe trip home. I’m not sure if I would call that “suicide,” but rather a “self-induced shift in states of consciousness.” To each their own, I guess.
Bro, he’s dead.
Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse.
You’re abusing yourself. That has nothing to do with me.
“Projection is the defense mechanism by which unacceptable psychological impulses and traits in oneself are attributed to others.”
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1413-1
“By denial individuals cope with stressors by not acknowledging their reality and/or their consequences.”
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_1373
Denial is a river in Egypt
That’s a pretty sad, gay story.
yeah (っ╥╯﹏╰╥c)