Category: Finished Series: Mystery/Suspense

Ah, finally Banana Fish is back in form. This week we have murder, intrigue and a new terrifying character. Lets jump in!

With the hospital arc done, Banana Fish seems to have found its footing again this week. The hospital, while it had its moments, was largely dull compared to what came before. This new arc of cat and mouse however is much more interesting. With Ash being this unstoppable genius, having him on the back foot provides a much better story. Banana Fish can do a lot with it, especially considering it’s a much more personal one than the last. Add on to that Yut’s current story, and Eiji’s confusion as to where he stands, it gives Banana Fish a lot to work with. All it really needs is to make good use of Sing and all the characters will be moving in a good direction.

Continue reading “Banana Fish – 17 [The Killers]” →

Another week, another episode of Banana Fish. This time we have a quality escape, an expected murder and some odd comedy. Let’s dive in!

This week Banana Fish managed to, just barely straddle a very fine line. Being an escape attempt, Banana Fish had to make it both difficult, yet possible. I felt that Banana Fish straddled that line rather well. The security came off as competent, with good coverage, yet sabotaged from the inside by Dino. The fact that Ash and Co were routinely found and chased/captured really made the chase much more engaging than the guards also just barely missing them. Combine that with things like the infrared cameras giving Ash away and shutting down the elevator, and Banana Fish accomplished a good escape sequence. My only gripe is that, at parts, the felt out of place. I will get into more specifics on this later on, as quiet a few of the jokes worked and none were bad. It was just a matter of timing to me.

Continue reading “Banana Fish – 16 [Lo, the Poor Peacock]” →

Welcome one and all to perhaps the weirdest episode of Banana Fish yet. This week we have Eiji stepping up to the plate, Dino returns and Ash… puts on a show? Lets jump in!

So startin off, this current arc of Banana Fish is in my opinion starting to drag. With Arthur dealt with and Ash basically shut down, yet very little focus on Eiji, it feels slow compared to the pacing of the first half. I am just not as interested in what is going on with this current arc, because the only character in true danger is Ash, who has plot armor. Shorter’s capture worked because he didn’t have the title of main character. Another problem with this episode is the comedy, and how it just didn’t work this week. With the story starting to drag a bit, the comedy stops being a tension breaker and becomes filler. There is a specific instance of that this week, involving a song and candy bars, which I will get to later. For now, just know that I loathed it.

Continue reading “Banana Fish – 15 [The Garden of Eden]” →

Welcome to an all new episode of Banana Fish! This time with a new OP, ED and progressed plot points. Lets jump in!

So before I get into spoilers, let’s talk about the new OP and ED. The OP is Freedom by Blue Encount, while the ED is Red by Survive Said The Prophet. Personally, I am not to fond of the new OP. It’s good, but unlike the first one Found & Lost also by Survive Said The Prophet, it just doesn’t captivate me. It’s something I am going to listen to once, say its neat, then skip each episode. Meanwhile the 2nd ED hits me just as hard as the first, Prayer X by King Gnu. It’s different no doubt, and Prayer X is still probably my favorite ED of the year, but it works. Maybe its just Blue Encount, as to me their song feels more like generic rock while the others feel more unique. Either way, Banana Fish is doing good on the music front.

Continue reading “Banana Fish – 14 [Tender is the Night]” →

Hello and welcome back to Banana Fish! A new season, a 2nd Cour and the continuation of a personal favorite. This week we close out Arthur’s story, though not without some bumps along the way. Lets jump in!

So, starting off, Banana Fish didn’t quite live up to last season this episode. Banana Fish was by no means bad, I still quite enjoyed the episode. It just fell a little below Banana Fish’s average. Take for instance the animation this week. There were a lot of slips, a number of scenes that just didn’t look right or roughly drawn faces. When the animation worked, it did great things. The direction of the scenes really pulled it all together, and I have some screenshots below of some of my favorites. But many of them just felt… unfinished. It is possible that with all of the action this week, Banana Fish focused mostly on that. It makes some sense, as the actual knife fights and train scenes are some of the better looking parts of the episode. But overall it was disappointing to see Banana Fish slip up like this.

Continue reading “Banana Fish – 13 [The Snows of Kilimanjaro]” →

Welcome to the halfway point for Banana Fish. This week Ash prepares for his final showdown with Arthur, he has some moral quandaries, and gets terrified by pumpkin pie. Lets dive in!

So, general stuff first, Banana Fish’s pacing this week felt a bit fast to me. Banana Fish covered a lot of ground, from introducing new gang members, to explaining Dino’s grand plan and conveying Ash’s moral position. I have said it before, but the fast pacing only really works in the actiony parts. When bullets are flying and lives are at stake. In times like that, the fast pacing helps emphasize how hectic things are. In the slower moments like this however, the fast pacing just feels like Banana Fish is rushing everything. For example, I would have liked more time with the new gang leader Cain, assuming he is going to be a semi-important character later on. It doesn’t hurt Banana Fish much, because the actual content being rushed through is still good. I just think it could have been better.

Continue reading “Banana Fish – 12 [To Have and Have Not]” →

Welcome to another week of Banana Fish. This week it slows down, gives us some heartwarming character scenes and the beginnings of a gang war. Lets jump in!

So, starting off, the general stuff. Overall I enjoyed Banana Fish this week, but we have started to see issues with the breakneck pace it’s had until now. Banana Fish tried to cover so much this episode that the tone felt all over the place. One scene we are enjoying some light hearted banter and fun between Ash and Eiji, then the next there’s a tragic heart to heart over Shorter. Throw some serious paranoia in there and it just feels… off. Individually each of these scenes were great, I enjoyed each one. But the pacing Banana Fish has had really hurts it in these slower moments. There’s just not enough time to really soak it in before something else happens. It’s a shame because in the action segments, the pace helps everything flow, so nothing drags. But slow moments are supposed do that, at least a little.

Continue reading “Banana Fish – 11 [The Beautiful and Damned]” →