Banana Fish, Vol. 1

While the story started out a tad confusing it got me hooked by 2 simple words Banana Fish! I know, I know, kind of a basic thought, but it is true. What the heck is it? As the characters were introduced it started off a little slow, layering mystery and clues on top of one another deepening the intrigue, and by chapter 3 things took off like a bullet. With a bullet. The art is obviously done in an older style (originally published 1985) but I feel that it matches the aesthetic of New York c.1985 very well. Now I haven't watched the anime so I can't compare, nor would I. While both are Banana Fish I believe both should be judged by its own merit, it's hard to translate everything from book to show and back again without differences due to a myriad of ways. I can't recommend this manga enough. Also is there a I-heart-Ash-Lynx fanclub? Cause I want to join.

I thought that this was a very well written book. The story was very easy to follow and you can get a feel for what the charecters are going through. The nonstop action and all the twists and turns really got you thinking!

Ash Links, the hero of this story, is a "poorest" guy who has everything such as money, beauty, power, skill and inteligence. He is respected by everybody but did not have a friend who shares his saddness. The drama starts with a key of mistery and and goes to the end without stop. Whole story is filled with violence and conspiracy at the dark side of Manhattan, but it's a grace story which express a warmful heart of a sensitive innocent boy. I have read more than 20 times, and could not end without tears every time. Among 1000s of Manga in Japan, some titles have great stories that can not be fond on even highly applauded novels, and can be understood by real adult. This is obviously one of such segment. One thing to my regrett, US version of Banan Fish has two series. Prior one (that I have) terminated at Vol.7 which is almost the half of whole story. Beware to get continuing series by cheking the design of cover. Jinsei

I've been collecting manga since before they ever hit the American shores. As such, I've read a great many crap load of manga. And, yeah, this one's old, but you know, so is Akira and that one kicks ass too! Do not, I repeat, do not look this manga over simply because of the old school style drawings. The story more than makes up for it, and yes, the drawing style does grow on you. Ah! I can not even begin to tell you how great the story is! It's filled with plot twists and all that good stuff! You know, the stuff that makes stories worth being told. Go out and get this gem now! You'll be hooked by the second volume! Basically, it tells the story of Ash Lynx (not his real name) who is a freakishly smart and very dangerous street punk. He's got what it takes to become so much more though, so he's adopted and raised by Papa Dino (who also uses him as his personal sex toy, the perv!). Ash isn't about to just take it though, and fights back. One night, he comes accross this stranger dieing in an alley way who gives him a vile of some powder and says "Banana Fish." Ash nearly freaks out because unbeknoweth to all, he has secretly been taking care of his brother who was a mental casuallty of the Vietnam war. And the only words that his brother has ever mentioned since his return are "Banana Fish." Now Ash is hot on the trail of figuring out what the hell "Banana Fish" actually is. He'll just have to go up against a mafia boss, his own father, the US police, and travel several states accross and who knows what else just to figure it out. Some of his friends are killed as he's escaping and he swears revenge against their killers. Up for the ride is his brother's vietnam buddy (who is the guy that shot him up after he went mental and killed everyone in their platoon) who is now a reporter; a Japanese photographer's assistant (aka, a cute kid who is slowly growing sweet on him); his Chinese buddy from another rival gang; and others. Every last one of the characters has a back story and thoughts and feelings. You grow to care for them all! So, stop reading this and go get this manga now!! You'll love it!

Ok well, not only is the book not about a banana and a fish as one might expect, I hardly found the book's outside to depict the inside at all ! Yes it's called a shoujo , however I found it to read more like a shonen.. and although there is a few suggestive things within the first volume (just of a backround history of the main charecter being his boss's play thing) nothing is shown , not even a kiss, so don't worry yourself if the label shoujo is keeping you from reading this well written manga ^-^

"Banana Fish." A gritty crime drama set among the drug infestation and gang warfare of 1980's New York City. The story revolves around the recurring, mysterious name "Banana Fish," and a rash of murders and suicides that draws young gang leader Ash and a ragtag circle of aquaintances and villians into the crossfire.What can I say about "Banana Fish"? I absolutely LOVE it! Why do I love it? Well, for several reasons. One: I'm a fan of shounen ai (a genre of manga created for females, usually by females, that focuses on love and relationships between male characters). It's really difficult to get a hand on such manga here in the States for various reasons, such as marketability, prudishness, etc. Any such manga that do make it across the ocean are often bastardized through translation to tone down any homosexual references. But since "Banana Fish" is currently being serialized in "Pulp," an American magazine featuring manga along a more sophisticated vein, we avoid this problem.Two: Not only is it shuonen ai, but it's shounen ai with an edge. One the one hand you've got your moments of angst and emotional corkscrews as associated with girls' manga, and on the other you've got flying bullets and spraying blood galore. This sort of schizophrenic mix made this manga wildly popular with female as well as male readers when it was released in Japan.Three: Story, Story, Story. I've never been hooked so by ANY manga, EVER. There's the main plot of the elusive name "Banana Fish," and from that branch several subplots; Ash's dark, disturbing past, his burgeoning relationship with Japanese reporter Eiji, Vietnam vet Max Lobo's marital woes, tensions between mob boss Papa Dino's crew and the Chinese Mafia, you name it. It's complex, its intense, and its better than any Superman comic you'll ever read.Now, I've read a few comments on the web by people who say that the artwork in "Banana Fish" is lacking. Well, I have to say I agree. It's quite spare. The characters are drawn well, but the art consists of a rather stark contrast between black and white, with little gradation in between. Not necessarily a bad thing, but spare nonetheless. Whether this is an artistic choice by artist Akimi Yoshida, her individual style, or a question of skill, I can't say. But being an art student myself, I can be pretty critical of the the composition of a piece of work, and basically if a manga doesn't hook me visually, I might not pick it up at all. In other words, I wouldn't be reading "Banana Fish" if the story didn't grab me by the tail and drag me along with it. The story more than makes up for any shortcomings in the artwork.And who can say the look of "Banana Fish" won't change in future installments? Yoshida started the manga in the mid eighties, and ended it in 1994. That's almost a decade of storyline! It's one of the things that makes me so happy about picking up this manga. Not only is a story I love predestined to continue for a long while hence, but we get to se