Title: Banana Fish
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Written By: Akimi Yoshida
Synopsis: Ash Lynx is a 17 year old boy who is a boss of a gang in America. One night while he was walking down a dark street he met a dying person talking about "Banana Fish" which was the last words heard from his brother. With this he started to investigate what is Banana Fish without knowing that he is trying to enter the deeper world of Golzine (Ash' "owner") and fought to live and destroy that man with Okumura Eiji.
(Ash' bravery even though he was about to be raped ;-;)
Thoughts: While Banana Fish is still airing, my friend and I actually was wondering why this anime is always sitting on the number one spot of the of the weekly top 10. Then a lot of anime fans trying to ship the two protagonists of Banana Fish. As a proud fujoshis, my friend and I waited for this series to be finished airing to binge watch it after thinking that this might be one of the BL (Boy's Love) Manga that was adapted to animation.
This anime is like Fullmetal Alchemist (FMA) that makes every fan cry or feel a great sting on their chest, or might be better than FMA when it comes with dark plots. The story involves war, crime, prostitution, murder, gang, rape and real life stories. Personally, I think this is darker than FMA.
(Eiji talking about Ash)
I cried a lot. This anime hurts my heart and makes me think "why am I living like this?", "my life is actually better than I think". Ash is just a teenager who can use gun and kill every man that needs to be killed for Eiji. He was also living in hell, being raped with different kinds of man and dealing with people with authorities. Try to think of it. He is just 17 years old, When I am in that age, I just shrugged of my homework!
Ash and Eiji's love for each other actually exceeded the romantic love that we know. They are connected not with just the word "friends" but also with "trust", "faith" and "soul" and I think that is beautiful. I consider this anime as BL since the two male protagonists have this unbreakable connection to each other.
After watching this anime, I read the last chapters of the manga. We finally understood why this anime always at the top and Shingeki no Kyojin (I am a SNK fan afterall) is either second or lower.
(Ash while chasing the car who kidnapped Skipper and Eiji)
Animation: 10/10
I am impressed that they mostly restored the art plus the animation is just my type of animation. It is much alike with BONES. They have this little movements that actually makes you think that it was the right way of making the characters move.
(Eiji's letter)
Soundtrack: 10/10
The opening and ending songs were made just for this anime. It really suits with the mood and graveness of the story. Plus the original soundtrack was also cool. It actually made the character cooler.
Overall: 10/10
Perfectly recommended for above 18 viewers! Ready a box of tissue cause feels are going to eat you up each episode!
A little heart fluttering photo of Ash to reduce the bittersweet feeling that I am feeling while i write this blog. This anime really made an impact on me. Anyways, to know the real ending of Banana fish, read the manga's last two chapters (I think) and you will read the story of Eiji after 8 years.
