Banana Fish

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During the Vietnam War in 1973, an American solider goes insane and starts gunning down his allies and friends. After killing off a majority, we see that he has gained a form of dementia, and keeps repeating one line, over and over: “banana fish”. This manga was created by Akimi Yoshida (who also made Kisshō Tennyo) back in 1985, and it's the most manly shoujo to date. In fact, Frederik Schodt, popular translator (whose works include Phoenix, and Rose Of Versailles) remarks that it's “...one of the few girls' manga [a]...male adult could admit to reading without blushing.” The series, Banana Fish –which ran until ... 1994 with a total of 19 tankobon volumes– now remains one of 50 best classic manga of all time.

It's very hard to say how the plot, narration, and pacing came about in Banana Fish. Even as you begin the manga, the overwhelming intensity is just there, even if any characters haven't been fully introduced. It is certainly not a straight-forward series: there is no “beginning”, no “rising action”, no “climax”. As it chronicles and documents the lives of NY gangs (and gang warfare), it does so extremely realistically. It can fluxuate between something that can only be described as “tension, strain, bombs, and anxiety” and a calm, relief-filled respite. This is easily the best part of Banana Fish: there is no filler, and the way it goes about presenting the story is invigorating and interesting. The plot is air-tight.

As a result of such an amazing plot line, we are also given the characters, along with the development that comes along. There is no “real” main character in this, as there are several ones that are heavily expanded on. But that's not the amazing part about it. All major main characters are introduced extremely early on (and no, there isn't a problem about memorizing names here!). There is no character in this introduced for the sake of plot. There is no Person XYZ who can offer a solution to the problems they face. Oh no. All major characters are given three dimensional personalities (along with some sort of backstory that is frequently talked about and expanded on) and they all have inner, realistic struggles which can apply to most of us. In short: yes, they're pretty great.

Ash Lynx, as an example, is the head of his gang. Blunt, rude, and often recognized as juvenile, we are led to believe that's all we should expect. But that's not so. Although he has killed, he is no heartless thug. It's important to note that, although he's got years of trauma under his belt, he is still the softest gang leader out there. The tough cynicism he takes on conceals a wish to be treated as a normal human being, for he has never wanted the life that Dino Golzine has given him. In contrast to him, we're introduced to Eiji Okumura (who is equally as interesting): a fresh-out-of-highschool althete who has travelled to New York to be a photographer's assistant. But that kind of description doesn't do him justice.

Although I won't say that every single one of the characters are memorable, but a great amount of the complex ones are.

The atmosphere and the setting in Banana Fish is spectacular. I, myself, haven't lived in NY, but the amount of time and research that went into understanding the city as a whole is great. It wasn't just some label stuck on the city to make it feel pretentious or whatnot, I mean, I'm sure some of us have read a manga that use NY as a foreign city to make it seem 'cooler', but this was not the case. Banana Fish made me feel like I knew NY (and I probably really don't, so that is just a testament to the incredible, “slummy” atmosphere Banana Fish created). It was the little things: actual street signs, large neighbourhoods, or building complexes in relation to certain areas. And it wasn't just NY that was researched, there was also the nature of drugs, which is a key plot point. The planning and effort were used to their fullest during the creation of this manga –brilliantly.

Despite how many times I've said how good this is, what really stands out is the fact that it was made for girls (as it was serialized in Betsucomi). Although Banana Fish can be easily treated as a seinen (or a mature shounen/josei) it is probably best read as shoujo. This manga is proof that, although most modern shoujo are bad, classics (or “hidden gems”) of shoujos still hold promise. Reading this can drastically change one's opinion on shoujo for the better, which is amazing on it's own. Not only that, but this manga holds tons of historical value to the 80's and 90's, as it was extremely popular in Japan. Back in 1998, the japanese magazine Comic Link hosted a poll for the "50 Best Manga", and unsurprisingly, Banana Fish ranked #1.

That kind of respect and praise definitely holds merit in the manga world today.

To be completely honest, there were some minor nitpicks I had when reading this, but by the time the final few volumes came around, the mangaka, an experienced professional, had not only noticed them, but also fixed/rectified them. And they weren't even “problems” per se; the criticisms I had were just some minor things I thought would give the manga that extra edge. And it did.

Certainly, there should be no disagreement. Banana Fish is a gritty, detail-oriented masterpiece, as well as a big milestone. Lines such as “Know how to use a M-16?” to “He's got a grenade launcher!” will not be found in shoujo today, which makes Banana Fish just that much better. There is a little something for every kind of manga reader to enjoy in this (and yes, I may be specifically looking at you fujoshis). So without a doubt, it gets a full 10.0/10.0 from me. Definitely, definitely check this title out; I really don't know what else could be said.

And finally: I will put a warning on this manga, as there is harsh rape and paedophilia portrayed; so caution to younger readers.

★★★★★★★★★★
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

This is a very uncommon shoujo manga, full of action, violence and almost no woman.
Social justice warrior in our current political climate often complain about lack of representation of nonwhite nonmales. Therefore its funny that this manga which i assume targets young females has almost no important female character. Some people might argue that this is no shoujo manga but they would be wrong, the portagonist Ash is written to be the crush of most young girls.His IQ is 200, he sacrifices himself for his loveinterest, he is acknowledged by every other character to be stunningly beautiful (also i find most characters look very much ... alike), he is courages and so on. The only thing that could stand in the way of being the crush of the female reader is his love interest in another boy, but yaoi is very popular with females so that shouldnt be a problem. He beeing the perfect human is really a problem. Everyone is familiar with mary stu characters. On the other hand one must give the manga credit for introducing a character that is so capable that even our demigod ash capitulates before him.

What i disliked the most was this repetitive sequence of: ash is captured, it looks like its game over, ash frees himself, ash is captured, it looks like its game over, ash frees himself...
If the important characters are always saved in the last minute than it doesnt surprise the audience anymore. Its no fun. To be able to take the manga seriously there need to be serious consequences somethimes. Even though everyone knows that Ash is the smarter than Einstein his enemys always underestimate him, then they lose, then they underestimate him again. Very tiresome.
But its still a decent read.

Banana Fish is a work that gets better the closer you are to “I basically only read shoujo manga”. It is certainly more unusual in its genre, but it’s an “uniqueness” that starts to pale once it’s being compared to more varied works.

First thing that is obviously different from a regular shoujo manga is the artstyle. It’s not frilly and sparkly, it’s clean and readable, overall looking more “mature”. Well, “mature” being a double-edged sword as it also ends up looking as some BL works. That said, it is certainly a change for better over the standard. Both at that time and the current. Still, ... it does get a bit stale and uninteresting, there are some panels that are nice but there isn’t a single panel or page that will make you go “wow”. Being a dialogue heavy piece it doesn’t waste that much resources on the illustrations which is a pity.

Now for the story itself, I can’t really say there was a part that piqued my interest. In a core, it’s just a basic “you took something important from a mafia, now you become an outlaw as they try to get it from you and get their revenge". In a fact, it’s exactly that, but also most of the cast is gay. Not explicitly *shown*, but the dialogue makes sure to mention it. Or at least allude to it, in cases of more minor (pun not intended) characters. Anyway, it drags on way too long with little points of interest, would I not have a no drop policy I would have long dropped this before getting in the half of the manga. Sure, it does have themes usually not seen in shoujo manga such as drugs, prostitution/sex trafficking or actual murders, but that those themes alone does not make it good. It’s how those themes are treated that decides it. It also isn’t “mature” just because of those themes. At first I wanted to at least commend it for not fetishizing the rape (that much) and for a more serious portrayal of it. That was until the “I just got gangbanged, come here my ex-husband, let’s make out” scene. Also, the Dino ex machina in the final fight and the finale after that felt really underwhelming.

One of the main reasons why the story is not entertaining is because the protagonist just isn’t interesting. Sure, he has some childhood trauma, but other than being raped he’s pretty much a Gary Stu. Stunning looks, charismatic personality, great combat ability both hand-to-hand and armed and most of all, a fucking genius. Literally. Dude has an IQ over 180, which is something very few people have. Does it actually have an impact on the story though? No, not really. It’s just the author flexing on the reader with this random revelation, but nowhere in the story Ash feels as an actually genius. Not dumb? Sure. Clever? I guess. But he is simply not written as a genius. And no, “but it gets cancelled out by his personality” doesn’t count as an explanation.

Overall, I would recommend just watching the anime instead as it has better pacing and cuts out some parts (which is actually an improvement in this case) and the MAPPA animation does great service to the watchability of it.