Banana Fish

Aslan Jade Callenreese, known as Ash Lynx, was a runaway picked off the streets of New York City and raised by the infamous godfather of the mafia, Dino Golzine. Now 17 years old and the boss of his own gang, Ash begins investigating the mysterious "Banana Fish"—the same two words his older brother, Griffin, has muttered since his return from the Iraq War. However, his inquiries are hindered when Dino sends his men after Ash at an underground bar he uses as a hideout.

At the bar, Skip, Ash's friend, introduces him to Shunichi Ibe and his assistant, Eiji Okumura, who are Japanese photographers reporting on American street gangs. However, their conversation is interrupted when Shorter Wong, one of Ash's allies, calls to warn him about Dino. Soon, Dino's men storm the bar, and in the ensuing chaos kidnap Skip and Eiji. Now, Ash must find a way to rescue them and continue his investigation into Banana Fish, but will his history with the mafia prevent him from succeeding?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Callenreese, Aslan Jade Main

Uchida, Yuuma Japanese

Okumura, Eiji Main

Nojima, Kenji Japanese

Wong, Shorter Supporting

Furukawa, Makoto Japanese

Lee, Yut-Lung Supporting

Fukuyama, Jun Japanese

Sing, Su Rin Supporting

Chiba, Shouya Japanese

Blanca Supporting

Morikawa, Toshiyuki Japanese

Lobo, Max Supporting

Hirata, Hiroaki Japanese

Bones Supporting

Niwa, Masato Japanese

Randy, Jessica Supporting

Fukami, Rica Japanese

Blood, Cain Supporting

Miyake, Kenta Japanese

Ootsuka, Manabu Producer

Uryuu, Kyouko Producer

Utsumi, Hiroko Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Yamada, Haru Sound Director

Reviews

Dec 20, 2018

Lunallae

Recommended

Since its publication in a shoujo magazine in the 1980s, Banana Fish has received several labels such as boys’ love (BL), shounen-ai, and yaoi due to popular misconceptions. Not only are these terms incorrectly applied to the work, but they also do not cut at the meat of what Banana Fish is. And even its original shoujo demographic tag deeply misrepresents the content of this anime.

Drugs. Rape. Pedophilia. Gangs. PTSD. Violence. Corruption.

These are the terms at the core of Banana Fish. Though at the same time, the crime and gangster backdrop is not all the story is about and confining it within those ... boundaries massively undersells the broad scope of topics this anime covers. Because while Banana Fish's pragmatic and deplorable world is filled to the brim with death and sexual violence, the tale it tells of its main character, Ash Lynx, is a visceral story about life and love. And just as deliberate as its juxtaposition of death with life and lust with love, Banana Fish is a carefully woven story about dichotomies. Its two halves, like the darkness and light reflected in its two main protagonists, Ash and Eiji, permeate this character drama in numerous ways to paint a grounded tale about both the ugly and beautiful aspects that make us human.

With little exposition to back it up, Banana Fish sets up intrigue from the outset and primarily uses its early episodes to build character back stories, motivations, and tension until its first major climax. From there, the copious amount of setup spent on its foundation gets grounded and becomes meaningful. Although Banana Fish has an overarching narrative, its story can be broken down into multiple arcs. The narrative shifts seamlessly from arc to arc; however, the tone between them can vary drastically. These tone shifts combined with Banana Fish's brisk pacing, does cause sudden mood swings, that at times lead to whiplash. But overall, its purposeful tonal dissonance is used to great effect to accentuate the light and dark themes that imbue its story. Its pacing allows eventful occurrences to happen every episode but sometimes hurts the show in its calmer hours. And unfortunately, the anime rushes a few episodes in the second cour to accommodate the daunting task of adapting nineteen volumes of manga into twenty-four episodes of anime. While in its other weaker moments, Banana Fish can suffer from clumsy plot developments, become somewhat fantastical, and get repetitive with both innocuous and annoying elements, overall, the story rarely ceases to entertain and because it is comprised of many moving parts, it often takes unpredictable turns that keep its audience on their toes. Though because a large amount of finer details were cut, viewers are required to pay close attention and often read between the lines, which at times, can lead to the discovery of surprise character nuance.

While Banana Fish's story can be described as its weakest element, its characters are its strongest. Despite having a rather large cast of relevant main and supporting characters, Banana Fish adeptly characterizes the important ones in a short amount of time and consistently develops them throughout the narrative. As a result, characters as well as their interactions are both dynamic and engaging. At the center of this ever-evolving maelstrom of personalities is the two protagonists, Ash and Eiji. No other character in Banana Fish is as carefully realized or developed as Ash, who teeters between his hardened persona and vulnerable self seamlessly, but the complex, multi-faceted relationship Ash and Eiji share come close. Their relationship, while not the focus of the story, is just as important as the plot. It never becomes physical because of Ash's past, but the emotional connection between the two cannot be understated as it develops both protagonists and organically becomes the emotional foundation in which the narrative is founded upon. However, unfortunately, due to the limited episode count, several side characters are stripped of their more nuanced character traits that can be found in their manga counterparts. And even Eiji was regrettably simplified in the anime. Antagonists of varying degrees of depth and competence will come and go. All are twisted in their own way, most will be hated, and some are more than they seem. While Banana Fish is not one to have overly complex antagonists, mainly because writing sympathetic rapists and pedophiles goes against the themes of the piece, they all serve the narrative purpose that they were written for even if it is not entirely clear from the outset. However, Yut-Lung and Blanca deserve special mentions for not only being complicated and interesting, but for also highlighting Banana Fish's themes by serving as impressive foils. Each character has been made to life by talented voice actors, but most notably, Uchida Yuuma, the voice for Ash, has given a powerful performance with resounding care and heart put forth in conveying all of Ash's complexities.

Consistent with other series produced by studio MAPPA, the animation and art quality are spectacular for the first several episodes before eventually becoming a series of ups and downs. The latter half of the show and the action-oriented episodes in particular have suffered as the anime progressed. For this sole reason, it is recommended to watch the Blu-Ray release, which has already been confirmed to have touchups. Despite its dips in animation and art, Banana Fish's cinematography remains very strong throughout its entire run. Storyboarding is consistently dynamic, and when applicable, framing is done with a certain message in mind. The music composed by Shinichi Osawa, also known by his stage name, Mondo Grosso, while not necessarily memorable, is distinct, stylish, and fitting.

As an adaptation, the anime does a commendable job in keeping the manga's spirit in spite of its brutally short episode count. MAPPA makes predominantly solid decisions on the material to cut and while the anime loses some of its plot cohesiveness as a result, prioritizing the character moments was the correct call. And in general, the manga is a highly recommended alternative for those interested in the gritty details that the anime had no choice but to leave behind. However, despite the strengths of this production, not all of MAPPA's adaptational choices enhance the experience. Most notably, the decision to update the original manga's 1980s setting to modern day in the anime has been baffling. Character designs have been modernized and smartphones have been given to the majority of the cast but the world continues to exude an anachronistic 80s vibe. While this may seem to be a harmless cosmetic overhaul, contemporizing Banana Fish means covering dated topics. This becomes most apparent when the anime delves into political maneuvers that would be more plausible in the Cold War environment that the original manga was written in. And because Banana Fish is a product of its time, the anime, though not always through the fault of MAPPA as Amazon has also mistranslated generic insults into homophobic slurs, contains elements that can be considered tone-deaf in today's sociopolitical climate. If anything, this adaptation should be treated as if the setting was still in the 1980s as the moderization Banana Fish's world received are largely superficial and even leads to plot inconsistencies.

With the vast majority of anime released nowadays abiding by successful formulas and character stereotypes, Banana Fish stands out as one of the rare few that is unafraid to take risks. Its brashness in that regard will inevitably land itself many criticisms but hidden beneath its rough exterior is a gem worth digging for. It touches upon heavy subjects without sensationalizing or sugarcoating their brutality and its grounded approach makes it a unique work that is more reminiscent of old Western action films and television than that of anime. It shows us the truly wretched sides of humanity but also reminds us of the hope and love individuals all possess while expertly invoking an array of emotions. From start to finish, it is a hauntingly real depiction of the very essence of being human. And despite the flaws in its story and adaptation, it leaves much to ruminate about. It is a deceptively simple story that can become complex in the themes it explores and the topics it leaves its viewers to ponder. Even the series' namesake, derived from the short story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" by J.D. Salinger, and references to other American literature in the form of episode titles or overt mentions offer food for thought. Banana Fish is far from perfect, but at its core, it is an unforgettable rollercoaster of relentless action and raw emotion. The manga broke genre barriers over thirty-years ago and while the anime regrettably does not retain all the qualities that made the manga as groundbreaking as it was, it does deliver its own one of a kind experience with much of the same heart. There really is no other anime like Banana Fish. And it is one no one should miss.*

*Disclaimer: but only if you can stomach the long list of heavy content this show has

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Dec 20, 2018

Krunchyman

Mixed Feelings

[Spoiler Warning]


Summer is the time of year for promiscuous young-adults to experiment with their sexual desires, in a hassle free relationship that requires no commitments from either party. But why limit one’s exposure to the opposite sex, when there are plenty of “gay-fish” — I mean, banana fish — for the taking. Why else would a Shoujo anime feature two young queens in New York? For a “crime” investigation? Now that’s rich.

Speaking of wealth, the main character in the show, Ash Lynx, was groomed to inherit a vast amount of opulence and power through the successive process of becoming Dino’s heir. ... Be that as it may, the early steps of “graduating” to his “destined” role were mired with egregious abuses of standing law and personal freedom. Not one to remain docile and allow circumstances to be determined by the judgement of others, Ash seized the initiative in an attempt to ameliorate the atrocities of his past. This manifested into a plot to assassinate Dino via — and I kid you not! — standing on top of a moving truck in a public arena, while shooting a pistol.

O—KAY, then….

Not one to put all his pumpkins in one basket, Ash used his adroit computer skills to plunder $90 million from Golzine and severely handicap his financial clout as a Mafia Don. This blow to the ruthless Kingpin allowed Ash to claim an important victory and set the stage for the ensuing battle to come. That being said, however, Ash’s ability to steal Golzine’s money and manipulate his company’s stock price seemed too straightforward. If Ash had that sort of capability, why not use that skill to make himself fabulously wealthy (say, like, a billionaire) and use his newfound fortune to assemble a crime syndicate that would dwarf that of Golzine’s? Furthermore, why did Ash risk his life with ridiculous, poor planned stunts when his intellectual prowess could easily circumvent Golzine’s physical brutality?

To underscore this point, allow me to present the following:

1) Ash has an IQ of 180; placing him in an echelon of exceptionally gifted individuals (rarified air, if you will).
2) Ash understands military-level tactics at a proficient level, commanding his gang to coordinate attacks against their various foes.
3) His various senses are finely tuned and his anticipation of danger is second to none (well, maybe Batman has him beat).

Yet, instead of making use of these various skills to sidestep hazardous situations, Ash willingly embraced instability via having a knife fight in a subway station against his gang rival, Arthur. In the midst of their battle, predictably, Ash get’s ambushed by Arthur’s gang — proving how poorly planned Ash’s plans truly were — and is forced go John Wick on their candy asses (highly unrealistic, by the way), before his final Mortal Combat-esque showdown.

Look. Ash has far too many advanced abilities for his own good and they become contradictory at times. Most protagonists who are portrayed as elite fighters have a weakness in the planning/thinking department and vice versa; however, Ash literally can/will do anything. Even the greatest QB of all time, Tom Brady, can’t run faster than a six year-old girl to save his life (butt-hurt Patriot fans incoming). Counterbalancing greatness with a deficiency elsewhere is a great way to explore a character’s resolve, through their willingness, or unwillingness to ameliorate their weaknesses. Match Ash’s flawlessness with his attractive appearance, and you have a character that is simply too good to be true.

Eiji be like, “he’s a sweet candy bar in the bedroom, especially when he wears his nurse outfit.”

“Yes. I can confirm this.” — Golzine

“Me too.” — Shorter

“Hershey chocolate is so delicious, sweet caaaaaaannnndddy bar.” — Arthur, Max, Su Rin, Yut-Lung and about half of New York City (everyone except for the LAY-DEES!)

This brings up another concern with the story, that being that everyone and their father are homosexual, or have homosexual tendencies. I have no qualms about an individual’s personal choice, but is it conceivable to think that every man Ash runs “into” has the hots for him? Seems rather absurd, when only ~4.5% of the population identify as being gay.

Due to the plethora of melancholic moments throughout the series, it was quite evident that the conclusion of said events would not be a happy one. Deducing the exact ending was nigh impossible (unless you read the manga), but anyone who presumed that Ash and Eiji would both survive their ordeal was ignoring the foreboding atmosphere established in the prior episodes. This insight on “where” events would lead, sort of ruined a level of anticipation for the viewer, but not enough so to be a significant hindrance.

The review thus far has been scathing, but there are redeeming qualities that make Banana Fish worth watching. While the characters within the show are not layered or terribly complex, they do come off as being “real,” particularly with the omission of classic anime tropes. Their actions mirror that of “normal” people, making the flagrant abuses seen or talked about feel extremely impactful. It’s hard not to become attached to Ash’s cause of exacting revenge on Golzine, especially considering that his brother became entangled in the B1 (i.e. Banana Fish drug) “experiment.” Banana Fish, to its credit, pulls at the viewer’s heart strings — perhaps, too frequently — to establish an atmosphere not unlike our world. It damn near forces the audience to empathize with the plight of Ash Lynx and cheer him on as he dismantles the mob empire that robbed him of his innocence. Is it rudimentary in its approach? Yes, as indicated in the earlier parts of this review; nevertheless, Banana Fish provides exhilarating action sequences (even if they don’t make sense within the context of Ash’s projected character), moments of shock and awe, and some rather interesting character interactions.

With that said, Golzine’s character felt pedestrian, exhibiting features that were not distinct enough to differentiate him from your standard mob boss. The biggest takeaway anyone could discern from his screen time, is that he is a closet homosexual and he is infatuated with making Ash his sex slave. In essence, he merely serves as a mark for Ash to conquer in his quest to liberate himself from the crime syndicate. Marlon Brando’s, Vito Corleone, is an excellent example of how one could/should construct a terrifying human being who instructs his “business associates” to leave a horse head in a director’s bead, but also lives by a set of principles and accumulates wealth for the sake of his family. People, even the so called “evil” ones, will always have redeeming qualities that contrast the malicious activities they deem necessary to accomplish their goals. Rarely does anyone consider their own actions to be immoral, giving a writing staff an opportunity to flesh out these “justifications” and determine why these particular people think in ways that abnegate the norms of a typical society. Deep, complex characters with diametric views always make for interesting conversations, forcing the audience to introspect and reconsider their own viewpoints about topics that have no clear answer. Banana Fish, unfortunately, fails to entertain these narrative motifs.

TL;DR

Much like its namesake, Banana Fish is a mixture of good and bad. How so?…

Bananas are high in potassium and other useful nutrients; Bananas contain high amounts of carbohydrates.

Fish are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which lessens one’s risk of experiencing a heart attack or stroke; Fish can have high amounts of mercury, leading to brain defects.

Banana Fish is an exhilarating ride with a large cast of diverse characters; Banana Fish presents an unrealistic protagonist who takes unnecessary risks to take down an underdeveloped antagonist in Golzine.

5/10….meh, make it 6/10 (tis the season, after all)

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Mar 4, 2020

ktulu007

Not Recommended

Banana Fish is a 2018 anime based off of a manga that ran from the mid 80s to mid 90s. The original manga was written by Yoshida Akimi. Who I am not even slightly familiar with. The anime version was handled by MAPPA. The same studio behind rubbish like Kakegurui and Sakamichi no Apollon. But they also worked on Dororo. So, we have to give them some credit. 

Story:

Ash Lynx is a New York boss in charge of a small street gang. His life changes when he finds a dying man who gives him a small item, a location and the words "banana fish." He soon finds ... himself on a quest to unravel the mystery of those words and the contents of the mysterious powder all while befriending the innocent Japanese youth Okumura Eiji and trying to sever his ties from the area's largest mafioso, Golzine Dino. 

There are quite a few narrative issues with this series. The first is that it quickly falls into a somewhat absurd pattern where Ash will be captured by Golzine or his men, he'll escape causing a tonne of damage and then Golzine will order him to be brought back alive. Because when you've captured the same kid four bloody times only to have him escape, you definitely want him brought in alive again. At least, if you have no pattern recognition. 

There are also problems with consistency. Golzine starts out saying he doesn't care if Ash is crippled. He just wants to break and then kill him. This quickly shifts to Golzine wanting to force Ash to be his successor. Because he can't change his mind about bringing him in alive, but he can easily change his mind about the fundamental reason to do so. There's also a point where Ash is considered dead and brags about how this frees him up to move around without anyone looking for him. About three episodes later, he has to disguise himself to visit a particular person because he's a wanted man. We don't see any signs that word's gotten out that reports of his demise were greatly exaggerated but he's suddenly a wanted man again. I see the writing in this is going the Final Fantasy VIII route of not even trying. 

Then there's the sexual assault stuff. This series features a lot of rape. Particularly within character back stories. And a lot of it isn't handled in any meaningful way. It's just basically used as an excuse for why characters like Ash & Lee Yut-Lung got to be the way they are, for cheap tragedy, and as an easy way for Ash to get some dirt against Golzine. It just comes across as in slightly poor taste and excessive. I also find it hard to believe that Americans would victim blame a literal child by acting like he seduced an adult. I know the culture around sexual assault is pretty bad there and grown women get victim blamed a lot, but that seems ridiculous. I don't know, American readers can tell me if children actually get victim blamed after being raped over there. 

The big, climactic action sequence at the end is also a bit of a let down. It all feels rushed. The whole plot with the banana fish also gets pretty much dropped and all the build up surrounding it is completely wasted. It also feels a bit deus ex machina that a certain character who gets shot twice and left for dead returns to save the protagonists twice. 

The story does start out with a lot of potential. The idea of the boss of a street gang fighting to take down the big mafia leader who mentored him is compelling. The first few times Ash gets captured or arrested have some interesting, tense moments. It just stops working when the third time hits because, at that point, it's an obvious story pattern. 

A lot of the build up surrounding banana fish is also really interesting. You want to see what's going to come from it. Until you get to the end and it's all a big fat waste of your time. 

Characters:

There are certainly issues with the characters. The big antagonist is a moron who never learns from his mistakes. Colonel Fox makes no sense as a character. Maybe it's because he's only in the last four episodes or so, but he's a mercenary who loves to kill. But he wants to set Ash up as a puppet leader because... Code of Hero is the best Transformers episode. 

There are some pretty strong dynamics with Ash and his gang. Well, with Ash, Shorter & Eiji. Pretty much every other character in his gang is bland. Which is a definite ongoing issue in the series. There are a few focus characters who are kind of interesting and developed but for each of them there are three side characters who might as well be unseasoned bricks of tofu. And one antagonist with rubbish or inconsistent motivations. 

Art:

This is actually one area where I have to give MAPPA a lot of credit. This anime looks great. The action sequences are dynamic. The characters have strong designs. The backgrounds and various objects are nicely detailed. And the series restrains itself and doesn't show the various sexual assaults in any kind of detail.

Sounds: 


The acting is solid. Nojima Kenji, Uchida Yuuma, Morikawa Toshiyuki & Furukawa Makoto are all strong in their roles. And the rest of the cast is, at the very least, completely competent. The music is decent enough. I'm not really a fan of the theme tunes, personally but they're fine. 

Ho-yay:

There's a lot. Ash's back story involves him being raped by a whole slew of dudes. And there are a lot more who come across as sexually attracted to him. His dynamic with Eiji is also pretty homo-erotic. 

Areas of Improvement:

Keep it consistent. Yes, motivations and situations can change. But you need to illustrate that instead of having situation or motivation A and then swapping to B with no explanation. 
If you're going to include sexual assault as a significant element in a story, you really need to handle it well. In this case, the history of sexual assault is largely there for the sake of having a tragic back story. And it's barely handled beyond being there, much less handled well.
Don't drop your important plots. Like I said, the whole Banana Fish thing comes up a lot and goes nowhere by the end. 

Final Thoughts:

Banana Fish had a strong start and real potential. Unfortunately, the repetition of Ash gets captured plots, poorly handled sexual assault, main antagonist's stupidity, consistency issues and other problems quickly evaporate the good will it starts with. By the end, we're left with a sub-par work. I'm giving it a 4/10. And that's mainly because of the strong start and those well executed dynamics. 

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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