I binged watched this anime in two days and was left with a multitude of feelings. The subject matter was dark but at the same time not overly graphic. A lot of things were heavily implied but lefty no doubt as to what happened.
The characters were a work of art. You could feel their motivations and emotions through the screen. So much so you rooted for characters who were clearly flawed because the story allowed you to understand their motivations without sugar coating them.
The ultimate win for the anime though was the relationship between the two main characters. It didn't feel forced or fake. It flowed as the plot flowed and in the end you couldn't help but root for them. The side characters also had depth that widened the world.
I won't go into details but the plot was full of twists and turns. Light and shade. Never dull. The whole dark underbelly was fully realised without taking away from the characters that lived in it.
The animation is the only real flaw I found in Banana Fish. It was mostly beautiful and I loved the designs. However the sidelong view you got of the characters faces was marred by overly fat chins that looked out of place as they occurred on every character; even those who on other angles had very slim looking chins.
Overall those minor quibbles get it a 9 rather then a perfect 10. If you don't mind mature subject matter and love a good character driven story then this is a must watch.
