Once you've overcome prejudice against sketchy art, you will begin to realize what a masterpiece this is. And no, it's not a masterpiece just because of the story or the setting. The reason this manga truly shines is 'cause of Ash's character. The circumstances that he goes through, his hatred and loneliness, all endow a certain humanity that no other character in this manga has.

In any case, There is a dearth of manga that accord such depth to the Protagonist's personality. Highly recommended for those who are sick of shallow plotless manga, that have been plaguing the scene lately.

PS: Those who have ditched this manga 'cause of the art are brainless twits who can't comprehend the sheer beauty of well-written plots.

... Last updated on September 23rd, 2013, 2:00pm

It's not easy to keep up the pace in a manga but the author managed. Expect some exaggerated bits, some badly solved conflicts, and unnecessary dialogue that left me asking why the author did it. Still, the weaknesses of this story are small in comparison to it's strengths and she wrapped up the story in a way that left me missing the characters. The story is gripping mainly because of the characters themselves and their interactions with each other. It's not necessarily the plot that makes this story worthwhile.

The allusion to my favourite short novel turned out to be my favourite manga.

It's so deep it'll pull you in and you won't notice until you finally start suffocating overwhelmed by the characters' feelings that you can no longer separate from your own.

As a mafia/gang manga, I'd argue this is even better than Sanctuary or Soul to Seoul because the character growth here is unlike in any manga I've read. None of them was overly-simplistic, generalized or over-exaggerated. They were so... human. Which is amazing, given that there are not that few characters in this manga.

The plot, the plot, the plot... Just read it for yourselves. It's so original and complicated, and detailed but I love how it never lost its purpose. Unlike many grand mangas, and even novels, none of the sub-plots, no single small action was left insignificant, without meaning and consequence in the later chapters. Every single thread is necessary in this giant cobweb, and you, unlucky fly, will not be able to escape it.

Overall, I'm in tears right now and my screen seems blurry as I am writing this review just to get it off my chest. I hope I don't misspell anything. This work has given me a lot. A lot to think about, a lot to remember, a lot to take into my heart...

... Last updated on July 5th, 2013, 3:14pm

I had read New York New York of Ragawa Marimo, Let Dai of Woon Soo-yeon, 1999 Shanghai of Mizushiro Setona and they are at the level of wonders. I would commend the same for this great piece of work. Being able to enjoy those are worth living.

This is what people are talking about, relationship that does not need to be named. They are two different young men and they get along so well, so fast.

... Last updated on August 10th, 2013, 9:20am

(Warning: Please excuse all my dramatic-ness.)
Damn. I cried a river. That was...beautiful, ravishing, mind-blowing, gratifying, and also captivating.
But none of those words are enough to express how I feel about this manga.
It's the type of manga which gives you this terrible feeling of hate. You will despise it, yet you will love it. I can't even say what the best part about this was. The story was brilliant and the characters...Oh, God. I just...They were so...good. I just can't explain it. I could relate to them so much and it all felt so damn realistic.

Either way, this story was just too good. It made me question many things about myself and about life and even about friendship. It made me wonder if, in real life, could such a great bond of friendship even exist?
Ash and Eiji's friendship, for example. How Ash, in the beginning, would sometimes act cold toward Eiji, but we all knew he really just cared about him and didn't want Eiji to get dragged into 'his world'. Despite this, Eiji would never give up. He kept trying to convince Ash, to persuade him, telling him that he could start a new life.

Anyway, I have this really good satisfying feeling in my stomach right now. To all of you who are wondering if you should read this or not, GO READ IT RIGHT NOW.
Like Furan said, you will suffer if you read this manga. But trust me, it will be worth it. Also, if you're an emotion-masochist, then reading this will definitely be heaven for you. *winks*

I'm not sure what part of the manga's my favourite, but I swear
I've got just one more thing to say.
Banana Fish is one of those mangas which should never be judged by its name or by its art.
You'll learn soon enough that the art isn't what matters.

... Last updated on November 30th, 2013, 7:46am

I finished this a while ago, but I decided to wait a little bit to actually review it. It just made me feel so many strong emotions that I needed to calm down for a while.

First things first...
I can't believe some people have rated this manga with a low score (as low as 1!) just because of the art. Thank God that it's only a minority. I want to clarify something: The art is old-fashioned, not bad. We're so used to modern mangas with absurdly beautiful people (by the way, I don't have anything against this kind of art) that it's shocking to see something different. This manga is from the '80s, you can't expect the art to be the same of what's fashionable today. Just have some time to get used to it, and believe me, you will.

And why? Well, not only because the art is good, but also because the story is just wonderful. All of the characters are well developed, so well that you feel for them and actually want them to be happy. At least I did. Especially with Ash and Eiji. Their friendship is so, so, so inspiring. As a reader, you really get to understand their relationship. Ash is trapped in his hellish life and the only way he can feel free is by being friends with Eiji, who has no relation to that kind of life. Eiji, for his part, knows that he doesn't really understand everything in Ash's life but he still wants to be there for him. The way this manga shows how they influence each other is just beautiful.

As some people already stated, this is not a shounen-ai. And I also want to add something else: Even though it deals with pretty heavy stuff (pedophilia, rape, drug-dealing, and so on) you'll never see shocking or disgusting scenes. Being really sensitive to images, this is something I'm really thankful for. You know that horrible stuff happened, but you will never see it and you don't need to. The reactions of the characters are enough for you to know just how much they were affected by it, and there's nothing else you need.

I think this manga is so good that it goes beyond being a shoujo. Everyone should read it. And about the ending, don't worry - it's perfect. At least, I'm satisfied with it, even though I cried for several days because of it.


If you haven't read this, do yourself a favor and read it. You will suffer. But it will be worth it.

No, I don't mean the art, though I give it an A++ for its realistic depiction of physical characteristics of the different races. The Caucasians don't look like the Asians don't look like the African-Americans.

The plot is very riveting, and the characters are all multi-faceted individuals with different motivations. Although I was hoping for more romance between the two main characters (this is the BL fan in me speaking), I wasn't dissatisfied with how the mangaka portrayed their unbreakable bond. After all, it would be unrealistic for the two to dive into a relationship what with all that was happening.

This manga will make you think, make you hold on to the edge of your seat, and make you realize that the world is full of grays. I seriously cried buckets at the ending; I cried at the mere mention of this manga's title DAYS after I finished it. I'm a sucker for happy-ever-afters, but I believe that the ending was the most realistic, the most logical and keeps with the manga's whole violence-begets-violence tone, and without it Banana Fish wouldn't be as memorable as it is. (PS: The epilogue will make you cry more.)

In short, this manga was just... just heart-wrenchingly beautiful.

I've only read the first chapter, but I've got to give it some credit. When I read the comments, I thought "Christ some two year old must be drawing again". I found such thinking to be incredibly wrong and I just postponed a peep at what could be a memorable read. The art isn't filled with hot guys which doesn't fit the shoujo sterotype and some are blindsided by that. I'm just going to read it as if it were a Shounen with subtext.

I couldn't get past the first page.no Matter how beautiful the story is if the art isn't I can't never read this.if you want an interesting manga with beautiful art and story line than this go for kuroshitsuji

... Last updated on August 22nd, 2012, 2:35am

I've heard of this title before, way back when I first started reading seinen and josei, and I straight out ignored it simply because of the ridiculous title. But then..man was I smacked in the face when I decided to read it years later. BF got me hooked in the later chapters when I realized that this is no mere manga about NY inner-cities gang conflicts. It's about sacrifice, relationships, love, danger, dignity, shame, and so much more that this 19 volume series contains. Other being super violent and action packed, it's also about the impenetrable bond between two boys who are polar opposites of each other.

However, it really isn't for every body. If you are looking for a steamy yaoi smut, or any kind of shonen-ai action, THIS IS NOT IT. The relationship between the two main protagonists is up to the reader to decide because the author has made it so. Also, don't be too turned off by the art at first if you really do want to give it a try. I wasn't too put off by it..and it gets better later.

Overall, I seriously love this manga to death. I finished the ending a few days ago and I still can't stop thinking about it. It will always be in my heart. Yoshida Akimi is brilliant and the translations for the English publications is astounding. I almost forgot it was a Japanese author that wrote it. Wow. Thanks for reading this long ass review.