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BANANA FISH #3
Banana Fish, Vol. 3
Yut-Lung hace que sus hombres ataquen a la familia de Max y aprovecha la ausencia de Ash para secuestrar a Eiji. Ash se enfurece, pero justo entonces descubre al doctor Dawson escondido en la casa, que es el único que sabe todo sobre el "Banana Fish". Shorter, ahora un conejillo de indias para probar los efectos del Banana Fish, se abalanza sobre Eiji tan pronto lo ve. El grito desesperado de Ash hace que por un instante Shorter recobre la cordura y, en esos segundos de lucidez, aprovecha para pedirle a su amigo que lo mate.
373 pages, Paperback
First published March 26, 1987
48 people are currently reading
1130 people want to read
About the author
Akimi Yoshida
185 books250 followersAkimi 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).
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).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews
June 12, 2023
pain nothing but pain
July 10, 2022
3.5 stars! ⭐️
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!!)
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!!)
March 21, 2023
Ughhh my babiezzz <<<3
January 4, 2025
PROTECT MY BABIES, MY POOKIES ASH AND EIJI AT EVERY COST!!!!!
May 21, 2025
eiji’s so cute brooo
January 18, 2026
“When you’ve run away from. home as a kid… Your hometown doesn’t exactly fill you with warm feelings of nostalgia.”
This volume stayed heavy from start to finish, and I don’t think that’s an accident. It’s uncomfortable in a way that feels very intentional, almost stubborn. I love fluffy stories. I love comfort. But I also believe there’s value in reading things that are hard to sit with. Not because they’re enjoyable, but because discomfort often teaches more than safety ever does. Reading this reminded me that sometimes the point isn’t to feel good, it’s to understand lives and pain that aren’t your own. I didn’t like how tense and bleak it felt, but I respected it for refusing to soften what it was trying to say.
What really kept me invested was the characters. Ash especially feels like someone who is constantly breaking himself just to keep moving forward. I didn’t always agree with him, and there were moments where his choices scared me or frustrated me, but that made him feel real. He isn’t written to be heroic or admirable, just painfully human. Max and Eiji don’t exist to comfort him or magically fix anything, and that honesty made their relationships feel raw and believable. The supporting characters also carry real weight, adding layers of loyalty, fear, and anger that made the story feel grounded rather than dramatic for the sake of it.
The pacing never really lets you breathe, and the world feels unsafe no matter where the characters go. Violence has consequences, silence has consequences, and nothing comes easy. This is not a comforting read, and it’s not one I’d recommend casually. But Banana Fish feels important in the way it asks you to sit with discomfort and witness pain without offering easy relief. I didn’t enjoy reading it, but I’m glad I did.
Date Read: 2026.01.14
This volume stayed heavy from start to finish, and I don’t think that’s an accident. It’s uncomfortable in a way that feels very intentional, almost stubborn. I love fluffy stories. I love comfort. But I also believe there’s value in reading things that are hard to sit with. Not because they’re enjoyable, but because discomfort often teaches more than safety ever does. Reading this reminded me that sometimes the point isn’t to feel good, it’s to understand lives and pain that aren’t your own. I didn’t like how tense and bleak it felt, but I respected it for refusing to soften what it was trying to say.
What really kept me invested was the characters. Ash especially feels like someone who is constantly breaking himself just to keep moving forward. I didn’t always agree with him, and there were moments where his choices scared me or frustrated me, but that made him feel real. He isn’t written to be heroic or admirable, just painfully human. Max and Eiji don’t exist to comfort him or magically fix anything, and that honesty made their relationships feel raw and believable. The supporting characters also carry real weight, adding layers of loyalty, fear, and anger that made the story feel grounded rather than dramatic for the sake of it.
The pacing never really lets you breathe, and the world feels unsafe no matter where the characters go. Violence has consequences, silence has consequences, and nothing comes easy. This is not a comforting read, and it’s not one I’d recommend casually. But Banana Fish feels important in the way it asks you to sit with discomfort and witness pain without offering easy relief. I didn’t enjoy reading it, but I’m glad I did.
Date Read: 2026.01.14
April 26, 2023
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.
February 17, 2023
Actual rating 4,5
This series brings me back to tears ALREADY.
This series brings me back to tears ALREADY.
June 28, 2020
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.
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.
June 4, 2021
Cape Cod, 1985 🥲
February 2, 2024
kaç yaşına geldim hala üzülmeden okuyamıyorum kaç kere yaşadım bu senaryoyu ama alışamıyorum ya
February 7, 2024
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.
August 17, 2018
I'd like to give all the stars to this one but I know it'll get much better. But yeah, pretty much delivered everything I wanted, no complaints here.
I love Ash, Eiji and Shorter so much. Max Lobo is becoming a fave too.
I love Ash, Eiji and Shorter so much. Max Lobo is becoming a fave too.
January 1, 2022
Porq sufren todos tanto :(
August 20, 2021
- 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
- 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
March 17, 2023
Pain.
June 7, 2024
Ugh so goood.. I love them and my poor baby just keeps suffering.
July 15, 2025
Impossible de m'arrêter dsl
September 16, 2020
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.
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.
January 8, 2021
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 😡
🚍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 😡
August 30, 2020
Poor Ash.
November 9, 2021
yes, let’s binge read the sad, violent comfort manga.
June 22, 2022
“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.”
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.”
May 18, 2025
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🫡
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🫡
January 30, 2023
remember anything banana fish is getting 5 :)
March 6, 2023
4.1/5 estrellas
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
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
March 10, 2024
o prison break
Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews