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Description
From Viz: 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...
I just finished Banana Fish...and i'm still crying...at first i was wary due to the Shounen-Ai (i mean come on all or nothing)...but Eiji and Ash's relationship was more than that...Ash was a product of circumstance...and Eiji was like a fresh breeze...he swept Ash up and just gave him a purpose...their friendship (and i use friendship...but it was more than that...) was not a weakness, well maybe at times it was, but a redeeming quality for everyone...
At times i found myself laughing at Eiji's broken english....and Max and Jennifer...i especially felt close to Sing...but that is another story all together...ha ha ha...but that end!!! i could not stop crying...i just...that was, just too much...i mean it hit me but i couldn't absorb it until i read the last bit with Akira and Eiji and Sing...then the tears hit me and i couldn't stop...
And as for the Art...YOU GET USED TO IT...my God why put off a good story because of art...in my opinion it was perfect...after you get used to it...and if you don't want to get used to it then you are missing out on a Great series...
The Plot...i read 5 volumes after class...and had to FORCE myself to stop....at 3 AM...ha ha ha but i mean you lose track of time....you get so caught up that you forget it is just a manga...I'm from NY and i couldn't help but remember all the places there and the people...
the author painted a beautiful work that i may never read again, not because it was bad, NO, but because it was on of those things that when you know the end it is hard to go back to the beginning and get that same feel, quite frankly i think knowing what i know now....i would read it and stop halfway...i don't think i can handle that end twice....
I wish i could vote it higher than 10/10...I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS MANGA!!!
When I picked this up there were so many things I didn't liked, starting with the art and the slow building plot but the art gets better (around vol 4-5) and the plot is catchy. While reading the last volume I was listening over and over again Sonne by Rammstein and it sounded like a funeral song to me, I just cried and cried and cried... After finishng 18 I was so happy, I should have stopped there, the author should have stopped there... I would give this 100 if I could, and I don't even give 10 easily. I don't have words to express how beautyful and touching it is, so just read it.
Left with tears streaming down my cheeks at the ending... god damn it, it wasn't supposed to turn out this way!!! Fuck it... i'm just sad... sorry. Anyway, this manga is beyond real. While the drawing style is from the eighties and not much to look at (though it's better than much that I've seen out there), it works wonderful with the story. All characters are developed superbly, and the plot if not masterful, is absolutely genius. Contrary to what is listed, there's no shounen ai. Don't know where that categorization came from. The two are just friends and nothing more, don't get the wrong impression. Anyway, this is just... freakin flippin awesome. This is one of the basics in manga repertoire... can't call yourself a manga fan by any means if you haven't read this... dear lord, i'm still crying. You can't help but flip through the chapters and volumes, and amaze yourself you're already on volume 4 by the time you've stopped to take a break. It's so fast paced yet so beautifully done, that you'll wake up after reading the whole thing and wonder where the time went. This is a gem of a piece and the mangaka has my full respect.
Quite simply one of the most amazing, elaborate, emotional and entertaining mangas I've ever read! An absolute must read for anyone. It has a great deal of action set agains the New York gang scene but the rivalries, power-plays and loyalties are well potrayed without any melodrama or shying away from the grizzly details which made the whole story seem very realistic.
It is Ash and his relationship with those around him that are the driving force in this manga. Most significat of these is with Eiji. The clash of two very different worlds and the struggle to form, and keep, the bond of friendship when it is Ash's mere existence which pulls them apart is touching and Eiji's presence allows Ash to show a deeper, more emotional side that would otherwise be hidden and supressed. It is not very often I get very emotional when reading but this one had me totally gripped and I ended up forming attachments to several characters and investing more than a few tears throughout the story.
Rather than dragging the 19 volumes seemed to fly by. The plot was elaborate yet at no point was it confusing despite all that was going on and the core element of gang warefare was never lost. This is a remarkable achievement in storytellingand one which deserves every credit.
The artwork is not great, especially to begin with, but it does improve and while Ash is supposed to be gorgeous he never achieves bishie standards. However this adds something to the realism of this manga I believe and one thing I can't fault is the sheer variety in terms of apperance. This manga drags you into it's whirlpool very easily and artwork, love it or hate it, no longer matters.
Despite the plot being mostly gritty action there is an awful lot of character development. As you learn about each character you can find yourself switching opinions and allegiances without even realising. This is a very serious manga tha deals with some very delicate and difficult issues but there is comic relief throughout in the interactions between the characters as good natured banter occurs alongside life-threatening gun fights. Which is another reason this manga is so realistic.
In conclusion this is one of the best manga I have ever had the delight of reading and anyone who doesn't will be missing out on a real gem.
Some people just don't understand the beauty of the artwork of this manga. It is not ugly. It is not messy. It is unique and original and beautiful. It doesn't show unrealistic anorexic bodies, saucer eyes and princess faces. I admit it takes some getting used to after all the same old processed shoujo we're acustomed to but the art has it's own captivating charm, if you'r stupid and you miss it then thats your problem. Stop saying the art is bad. -_-
Now that thats outa the way, WOW!!!! I've only read 3 volumes so far but I'm already basking in the glory of this manga. After all the boring manga I've picked up and been disapointed in, this is like a breathe of fresh air, a work of pure genius!
The characters are heartbreakingly beautiful, well planned out, well shown and well developed. The plots are elaborate and exciting! It's like a game to try and keep up with the events of this manga, like have a Jason Bourne film on paper, only a hundred times better!
This is a story laid out by a genius mangaka everyone should read.
I don't like the artwork, many times they look raw and rather messy, but it doesn't mean this manga isn't good. Actually it's really good. Recommended for those who are looking for a serious, complicated manga. Has the feel of Shounen Ai but it's never stated so, the main characters were bound by strong emotion that seemed to have meant strong friendship instead of anything romantic. Anyway few of the characters were mentioned (or even showed up) in Yasha, Yoshida-sensei's work after BF (I recommend Yasha highly for everybody to read), and also in Eve no Nemuri, Yasha's sequel.
I think the last volume of Banana Fish was the finest, most beautiful volume.
This series has allot to offer. Its a High Action, suspense, mystery, boy-love, science fiction, maffia-thriller kind of joy ride. Each volume has a ton of action, gun slinging, gang banging, soap-opra like awesomeness going on. It moves fast, and it moves hard. Eiji (pictured on the cover of vol.1) is a sweet, inocent character that has a special talent for finding people who need him most. Ash has experience in the child sex slave business, mafia prostitution rings, and gang leadership. Ash is a hard fighter that can kick ass harder than Rambo and The Terminator.
The cast of characters spans across the Cacasion, Asian, and black gangs of NY. The gangs were not sugar coated, nor was the mafia or the sex trade. This series is very raw. Despite the pain of living in such hard conditions, Ash and Eiji form a tight bond that each have to fight for. There is not allot of touching between Ash and Eiji, and no declarations of sappy, obvious feelings. Akimi Yoshida finds subtler ways to communicate the still obvious fact that Eiji and Ash have an extremely deep love for each other (be it brotherly, or otherwise).
The plot is an interesting drug war (in its own way) that encompasses lowly thugs, the U.S. government and many people in between. The characters are perfectly made for the roles that they play, and they have interesting back stories that help make them into dynamic players that move this plot along. There is allot of personality in what most would not consider a character driven plot.
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