Banana Fish – 4 [This Side of Paradise]

Welcome to another week of Banana Fish! I don’t have any clever hooks for this one sadly, it’s just too good to lampoon. This week we have more attempted prison rape, both of which end badly, and more info on the elusive Banana Fish. Lets jump in!

So general stuff out of the way first, Banana Fish continues to nail the pacing. So far, it never feels like nothing is happening, like a scene is just filler. For example, comedy. In a lot of anime there are little gags thrown around to keep everything light. Most don’t mean anything at all, and are often an entire scene. Banana Fish uses comedy to bookend its more serious scenes, to signify that we can relax for the moment. Like Shorter revealing himself as the waiter at the restaurant. Or the Afro Prisoner barging in on Max and Ash. The comedy doesn’t exist for the sake of the gag nor are they sprinkled throughout to just to keep the tone light. I love how Banana Fish’s comedy actually serves a purpose. So yeah, I gushed on its writing, lets get into the actual meat now shall we?

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Banana Fish – 3 [Across the River and Into the Trees]

Heads up Yuri on Ice, your place as the top homosexual romance anime is being challenged. This week Banana Fish charms us with a new character, disgusts us with a glimpse of prison life and teases us with a growing relationship. Lots to love, so let’s jump in!

So general stuff first, Banana Fish is moving pleasantly fast. The pace is juuuust right. Everything feels like its happening at a reasonable time, no characters are just sitting around waiting. Even Ash, in prison, is actively making things happen. There’s not a dead moment. It makes Banana Fish a treat to watch. Like My Hero Academia, it makes a 25 minute episode feel like it past in 10, though for different reasons. Banana Fish also does a good job with the music, which I only just noticed this week. The music from so many scenes just worked, it wasn’t intrusive, and when there was no dialogue it was catchy. I don’t know what it is lately, but anime in general seem to be stepping up their music game. But, general stuff done, let’s get to what you really want to talk about this week. The meat, pun intended.

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Banana Fish – 2 [In Another Country]

This? Banana Fish? This right here? This is what 91 Days could have been. An intriguing crime drama, with interesting characters all around and the willingness to go all-in on its story. Lets jump in!

Banana Fish did a much better job of holding my attention compared to last week. With all the characters established, it was just on GO the whole episode. So many things happening, one after another. I loved it. Banana Fish is dedicated to its location and this crime/gang drama story. Everything just feels… different, set in a modern day New York City compared to a Japanese High-school/Tokyo. What I find most interesting though is how the story has been updated. The original manga was written back in the 80’s, and was based after the Vietnam War. I’m curious what sort of changes, if any, MAPPA will have to make to account for the time switch. Whatever they do though, I am excited, because just 2 episodes in and they are not pulling any punches. From Marvin and Ash, to Skip. There’s just so many great scenes.

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