Nature made Ash beautiful; Nurture made him a killer!
VICE NEW YORK IN THE 80s...
Nature made Ash Lynx beautiful; nurture made him a cold ruthless killer. A runaway brought up as the adopted heir and sex toy of “Papa” Dino Golzine, Ash, now at the rebellious age of seventeen, forsakes the kingdom held out by the devil who raised him. But the hideous secret that drove Ash's older brother mad in Vietnam has suddenly fallen into Papa's insatiably ambitious hands--and it's exactly the wrong time for Eiji Okamura, a pure-hearted young photographer from Japan, to make Ash Lynx's acquaintance... Epic in scope, and one of the best-selling shojo titles of all time in Japan, Akimi Yoshida put an electric shock into the genre and gained a huge crossover audience through Banana Fish 's stripped-down, non-stop style.
The idea that Ash Lynx would be more controllable in jail has worked out for nobody, because in between gang rape and random assaults, Ash has not only managed to get Eiji to carry out info to his allies in Chinatown, but he's met cellmate Max Lobo, another survivor of his brother's unit in Vietnam. That means as soon as Ash makes bail, he's only headed for bigger trouble. But what's more dangerous for him, confronting Papa Dino or his real father...?
Akimi Yoshida (Japanese: 吉田秋生, Yoshida Akimi) is a Japanese cartoonist from Tokyo, best known for her manga series Banana Fish. Yoshida studied at the Musashino Art University in Tokyo and made her professional debut in 1977. Despite serialising her works in shōjo manga (girls' comics) magazines, most notably in 'Bessatsu Shōjo Comic' and 'Monthly Flowers', during the 80's she developed a visual style akin to the aesthetics of shōnen manga (boy's comics) of that era, contributing significantly to creating a bridge between these two traditions. This is particularly evident in her international best-seller Banana Fish (1985-1994), a thriller set in New York City blending action and homoerotic romance. Among her other major works are the series Yasha (1996-2002) and Umimachi Diary (2006-2018). Yoshida's comics have received a number of accolades in Japan, including three Shogakukan Manga Awards (1983 and 2001 in the category 'shojo', 2015 in the general category), an Excellence Award for manga at the Japan Media Arts Festival (2007) and the 6th Manga Taishō award (2013).
It was interesting to learn more about Ash's background in this volume. The first half was a little dull for me, but tons of action soon followed. I was surprised by how quickly Eiji jumped into the crime scene to protect Ash, so I'm really excited to see how he fares as the gang faces more trouble. (Also, poor Griff!!)
I know in the Banana Fish community we see Ash as a cutie that must be protected at all costs, but he's a stone cold killer. Think we tend to forget that.
4.5 I think this volume is my favorite so far, even though I rated it the same as volume 2. I guess we're finally getting to explore Ash's character better and seeing Eiji become much more fierce. I love Shorter so much but the fact that he's still bald is still a shock every time he appears, but that's because of the anime. This one was really action packed and moved the plot a long a lot and I can't wait to read the next one.
Aksiyon ve dram yönü ağır bir cilt oldu. Ash ve Eiji arasındaki ilişkinin boyutu da biraz daha netlik kazandı. Asıl beğendim kısım ise sonunda Banana Fish'in ne olduğu ve nasıl çalıştığı konusunun açıklığa kavuşmuş olmasıydı. Biraz daha uzatılsaydı iyice tadı kaçacaktı. Nasıl çalıştığı konusundan sonra da kimlerin, hangi kurum ve kuruluşların bu maddenin arkasında olduğu gibi konulara da epey yer verildi. Dino-Ash mücadelesini sevsem de hikayenin biraz daha boyut kazanıp genişlemesi şarttı.
- Ash + Shorter + Eiji = Ultimate Loser Trio ♥ - The art is so chill and relaxing? - Ash is so snarky I love him (PROTECT HIM) - Eiji is so much better in the manga already! - Fast-paced - MAX AND ASH ARE THE BESTEST FATHER/SON DUO EVER
Feels kind of unfair to 4-star this when I’m enjoying it more than most things I read this year.
If I was being totally critical, I’d probably say the characters are a bit cliche, that some of them are even two-dimensional. The big reveal in this book I already knew. There is a mystery, but we’re not quite to a point in the series where we’re learning things we didn’t already know from the first volume.
But everything just clicks with this series. I just started back up at work last week. The pandemic feels kind of like it is coming to an end. I’m cleaning up and losing weight (like I do every year once the fall semester starts). Maybe it is just that things are starting to feel right with the world (a bit) and this book happened to fall on my lap at this time. It’s certainly happened with other books and sometimes video games.
Se que me debería leer los cómics de avatar pero tengo ganas de sufrir emocionalmente ASÍ QUE BANANA FISH SERÁ.
🚍Escala de dolor: 4/10 🚍Razón del dolor: ASH CRYING 😭 Wey no lo manden para su casita, que ahí está el inútil de su padre. 🚍Información nueva: Ash estuvo en la cárcel por 2 MESES??? WHEN??? 🚍Momento favorito: Cuando Ash le enseña a disparar a Eiji 🥰 (Also me reí mucho con “Just a scratch, Now I know why Japan lost the war) 🚍Comentario: No me acordada del drama de las visas 😂 Tampoco me acordaba que le disparaban a Ash en la escena del camión. Also ODIO AL PADRE DE ASHHHHH, me desespera 😡
“Nadie puede escapar a su destino… haha y buenos perros rastreadores por todas partes.”
Casa ves esta historia se torna un tanto más serie, en este caso al proyectar el trasfondo político y los negocios turbios que tienen las personas de alto poder adquisitivo y el cómo en ocasiones experimentan con personas porque asumen que valen muchísimo menos que ellos, incluso nada.
“Una bestia salvaje no tiene ambición ni gratitud… Como mucho aspiran a la libertad, su es que eso es algo…”
Pasaron cosas un tanto fuertes también en este tomo, porque ¿Cómo enfrentas el después de haber tenido que asesinar a tu mejor amigo? Y ¿Como un niño puede afrontar el ver como violan a su madre?
“No tienes que sentirte mal por hacer perdido… No hay nada mas temible Que un tigre herido.”
När man jämför mangan till animen ser man några skillnader. Förutom faktumet att mangan tar plats på 80-talet och animen i 2000-talet, så ger mangan mycket mer kontext till handlingen. Det finns flera scener och dialoger än i animen som får allting att vara ännu mer logiskt. Dock tycker jag att animen får de känslomässiga scenerna att hit harder än mangan.
Kommer säkert vara min favorit bok/serie för all evighet (det är svårt att toppa banana fish). Allt är bara så kalkylerat och realistiskt, den perfekta berättelsen med de hemskaste handlingarna. Jag tycker så synd om alla karaktärer. Det här är inte en bok som skriver om fuckade saker bara för att få ut en reaktion. Den behandlar temana med respekt och äkta känslor. Det är svårt att förklara, men om man har läst hela serien förstår man vad jag menar. En klassiker som jag tycker alla bör läsa/se någon gång i sitt liv🫡
Me gusta mucho Enji, posiblemente sea mi personaje favorito por los momentos... ahora, me sorprende que los padres de Ash estén vivos, pensaba habían muerto por alguna razón xd