These are the type of comments I’ve seen floating about in regards to Banana Fish. I wanted to address this first, because it’s a huge misconception about what the show is about. In fact the closest thing to “Yaoi elements” is the relationship between the two main leads.
Story (10/10):
In a time when most shows nowadays are generic isekai light novel adaptations, or eechi harems with self-insert dense MC, filled with cliches and troupes- Banana Fish manages to be a compelling, gritty, complex story about gang warfare, drugs and the mafia. There’s no fanservice or silly harem here, hell there’s barely any women in the show!
The story is set in the 1900s, about a rebellious gang leader named Ash Lynx, who wants to get revenge against Papa Dino Golzine (who happens to be the man who raised him and treated Ash as his sex toy) for having his older brother injected with a drug named Banana Fish, which through a circumstance of events results in his death. The story may sound simple, but there’s a lot more plot threads and characters at work along with the mystery about what the Banana Fish is, that slowly build the story making it more complex.
Banana Fish tackles dark and mature themes such as: drugs, violence, mafia, gang warfare, rape, child trafficking, pedohilla and corruption. However, it’s not used to be “edgy”, but done in a subtle way without sugarcoating the brutality, to serve a narrative purpose in the story. Due to the realism and raw storytelling, there may be moments where one might find it uncomfortable to watch, so in other words, Banana Fish is not for the faint of heart.
Characters (10/10):
The characters are complex, well written, diverse and memorable. You have amazing side characters like Shorter Wong, Max, Sing, Yue Lung and his revenge arc against his brothers, to Eiji- who’s depicted as a innocent, pure hearted retired athlete who knows nothing of the world of gang he’s suddenly thrust into, but wants to stay by Ash’s side. However, none of the characters are as carefully well crafted or developed as the main protagonist, Ash Lynx. Ash is honestly becoming one of my favourite characters of all time because of how complex and multi faceted he is. I love the dichotomy in his character from a beautiful, cold hearted, ruthless, competent, mature, gang leader & hacker- to this innocent, down to earth, kind hearted, 17 year old kid who’s never had much of a childhood and has been dealing with years of insecurities and psychological trauma. Also, the parralels between Eiji and Ash are well written.
There’s some overreaching villains like Arthur and Dino who admittedly aren’t amazingly well written, but they’re still good characters who are developing and give off a threatening vibe.
Animation (8/10):
Compared to it’s manga counterpart, due to Studio MAPPA’s storyboarding and beautiful dynamic animation, the anime is a thrilling experience to watch!
Sounds (10/10):
The opening is amazing. I love the visuals and the fact that it doesn’t spoil too much of the story. I listen to it everytime I watch an episode. The chorus especially is catchy and memorable “Inside my head, inside my head!!” xD
The osts are really good and the ending song is amazing.
Overall (9/10):
I love Banana Fish. There’s not been one episode where I felt was boring or thought was filler because of the well paced narrative. It saddens me to think of how many people skipped this anime because they heard about a Yaoi anime. Banana Fish is a underrated gem that deserves a much higher ranking on MAL.
