Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Banana Fish
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#885526
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The author’s implication that Ash is even necessarily the more “dominant” character is pretty silly, honestly. |
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rizuchan
 Posts: 980 Location: Kansas |
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My first thought was that the slurs/reference to pedos as just being "gay" was supposed to be in line with the story taking place in the 80s, when many people (especially in Ashe's world) would not have made the distinction. I don't say that to excuse them by any means - while you could argue for historical accuracy, 1. it really seems better that you just, you know, go the route that isn't controversial and offensive when possible and 2. the anime supposedly takes place modern day (even if it's not very good at making that clear) so it's a moot point.
I actually kind of wonder if the translator is aware that it's supposed to be modern day, and if the slurs they're using were present in the original Viz translation, since they're trying to be faithful to it.
Uh, as far as I can tell, everything else published in Kimi to Boku was older shoujo/borderline josei. As for the "shounen-ai" thing, that's what western fans were calling softcore BL at the time (with "yaoi" being for explicit stuff). Don't know how that matches up historically to how Japanese fans referred to it.
I didn't get the feeling that was because Amazon had some anti-non-binary agenda or anything though. All of the characters look female and have female voices. The only indication that they're not intending to present as female is that many (all?) of them use male first-person pronouns, but it's not unusual for girls in Japan (anime characters especially) to use male pronouns. Maybe I just wasn't very observant, but aside from a vague recollection of them saying they were genderless at the beginning, I had no idea that they weren't supposed to be girls. |
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katscradle
Posts: 469 |
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Oh thank you for catching and correcting that! Yes, apologies I meant starting at junior high/middle grade (age 13+). I don't know why I wrote elementary.  I’ll correct my post now too so no one gets the wrong info.
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musouka
Posts: 718 |
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I don’t think it’s particularly difficult to understand the way Ash treats Eiji at this point in time. Eiji has helped save Ash’s life and shown himself to be a stalwart ally even in the face of police pressure. No, Eiji isn’t experienced in using a gun, but that’s why Ash makes it clear (more than once in the episode) that he personally thinks Eiji is in over his head and should go back to Ibe.
On the other hand, the episode also deliberately calls back to Eiji’s incredible high jump, with Ash acting like it’s a point of pride that he knows someone that’s capable of that sort of feat. Even at this early stage, there are things they admire (and slightly envy) about one another. |
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zawa113
 Posts: 7358 |
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Ash & Eiji are just so cute together! There's a reason all my Twitter feed is filled with fanart now (something I never thought I would see is a folder on my computer of Banana Fish fanart and I'm almost 1,500 images and still going!)
Next week's episode should bring some interesting stuff! I'm really hoping they'll animate that one really funny scene (as a manga, Banana Fish doesn't really have any "beach episodes" for R&R, but it does have some nice comedic moments and sweet moments to help break up the drama here and there while still adding to the characters) |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11586 |
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Ya know, if Ash had laid down flat on the top of the truck he probably could've gotten Dino without getting sniped, but no, he had to ride in like a cowboy standing up, gun blazing, giving warning and making himself a target (harder to aim that way too). But he looked very cool doing it, and that's what counts!
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Color2413
Posts: 49 |
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Yes to No. 6. In a reply to one of Guardian Enzo's reviews of an earlier episode of Banana Fish, I wrote that once I found out the Ash was something of a closet intellectual in addition to being an action anti-hero, I was getting some Nezumi vibes. But mostly I observed that BF and No. 6 are two of a very rare breed of anime that happens to have gay protagonists, yet also has a strong, dramatic story that is not defined by the sexuality of its main characters but instead integrates it naturally. BF is my only "must watch this episode the same day it's released" anime of the summer season. It's encouraging that BF is a two-cour show, because No. 6's rushed, unresolved ending was its weakest part, and I'm hoping that BF will have time enough to come to a dramatically satisfying conclusion. (In fairness to No. 6's anime production staff, as far as I know Asano herself has yet to weigh in on whether Nezumi will ever keep his final promise to Shion.) |
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catandmouse
Posts: 219 |
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To me, watching this series I'm getting 91 days vibes. As for the No. 6 vibes, I can see it a little, but I didn't like the No. 6 anime ( maybe because I've read the novel and manga and I hated the course they took for the climax in the anime). |
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katscradle
Posts: 469 |
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Episode 5 was very good.
Though this week had one part I always criticize and almost laugh a little at. In the comic Ash explaining the 1911 was a panel. So it’s a tiny bit better in the anime. Still you don’t just hand someone, who this is their second time even touching a firearm of any kind, a pistol and say four things about it like that. Ash was leaving out stuff about it and firearms in general. Eiji should probably be taught more if he’s sticking around. Banana Fish is always in a rush! Anyway I’m also looking forward to hopefully seeing some scenes animated coming up too. |
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zawa113
Posts: 7358 |
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Their road trip to LA is short in the manga too, but they cut out the chicken scene! Which was adorable and hilarious! It's just a few pages in the manga, worth seeking out!
The shots for next week show we're going to be introduced to some major characters! Can't wait! |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11586 |
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Small town? I don't remember seeing more than the cafe and their house. But more than that, I'd like to know where this remote, beachfront property is with no one in gun-shot-hearing distance owned by people who can apparently afford to let a house stand idle. You can find a bit of that along the northwest coast, but while I could be wrong, it seems to me highly unlikely on the eastern seaboard near major cities.  (and does Cape Cod have cliffs?)
Likewise, there's no sneaking up on L.A. without knowing it's there (wouldn't they have approached it by freeway?). Yes, there are remote places in the surrounding mountains where you can look down on the spectacle of a kaleidoscope of lights (though you can't really make out the buildings of central L.A.), but they're not easy to get to, certainly not without intent to avoid the city. I suspect given the density of Tokyo, it's hard for Japanese people to truly grasp the immense sprawl of Southern California. Ash's father's reaction to the molestation baffles me. I could see if he'd blamed him somehow from the start, as that attitude is unfortunately not uncommon, but he was angry and tried to do the right thing. But when that didn't work, why would he tell him to keep being molested, just get paid for it?  Most parents who were on their kid's side as he was would do everything in their power to keep him away from the coach, or maybe even have beaten the crap out of the bastard or shot him himself. At the very least, move his family away from there (selling that house on its prime real estate would've financed it). His bizarre, split personality response just made no sense to me.
As for Afghanistan, the US has been mucking about there since before the Soviets invaded in 1979, and in fact deliberately provoked the invasion by funding and arming the mujahideen via Pakistan in hopes of handing the Soviets their own VietNam quagmire. So coach could've been a CIA operative there. Would that have been common knowledge among the community though? Probably not. Maybe he just said he was a military advisor there or something. |
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SailorTralfamadore
 Posts: 499 Location: Keep Austin Weeb |
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Yeah, I considered that it might be a reference to the earlier conflict, but because he's framed as a "war hero" and it seems like common knowledge around the town what he did there, I figure they actually meant for him to have fought in the 2001 conflict and muddled up the dates (as anime often does with US history, nbd, not like we don't screw up their history in our media, too). If they did enough research to know about the earlier one, I think they could've added those details as well. The Persian Gulf War would've been the best choice to get the time frame right, though. |
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Graceful Nanami
Posts: 303 Location: United States |
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Spoilers and such.
Best episode yet. This adaption is so great, it stays extremely close to the manga while giving it slight little pops of its own flavor (yay for Shorter keeping his mohawk). They need to kick up Shunichi a tad, though. He's got a bit more personality in the manga. The modern day crap is also quite easy to overlook but it's also stupid. It takes place in the 80s and I don't care, haha. I love the anime's portrayal of Jennifer. I always liked her. I know most of the women in BF don't get enough time to shine (can't wait for Jessica, though!) but she's one of the very few people to ever care deeply about Ash. I'm glad they didn't have her strip down to her bra like in the manga, too. Classy. Watching her get shot was so awful for me. Also interesting to hear Rie Kugimiya as her. Great choice. Yut Lung is going to be a hoot, oh geez. Get ready everyone. Also just sticking this in here but I could die happy if they actually animate Garden of Light at the end of volume 19. I love that short so much, its unexpected and makes the end so much easier to swallow. I'm going to try and not get my hopes up, though. And just a friendly reminder that the protagonists are not gay. At least not canonically. |
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Dragonsandphoenix
 Posts: 82 Location: Malaysia |
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Just caught up and I'm beginning to like the characters more and more as we get to know them. I did find myself feeling really disconnected from Ash's dad who honestly felt like the worst. It felt like the show wanted us to see that he had some good points but all his actions barring the last one were just outright abusive.
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katscradle
Posts: 469 |
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The anime showing that picture in Griffin's room is a new addition.
There was just a photo frame sitting there in the manga. I’m thinking 2005 would have been the earliest possible for Griffin and Ash to have been together in the baseball uniforms like that. In the manga the baseball coach is a Korean War veteran. I thought it was a little odd too for the anime to choose a more recent war. It’s not like there is a lack of numerous other conflicts the US has been involved in over the years. There were several other changes from the manga as well. One that was already mentioned was Jennifer was roughed up more in the manga before she died. Alone I wouldn’t think about it much but, it made me recall choices the anime has made with other characters so far. In the anime scenes Ash’s body has been more exposed after being beat up by Marvin or assaulted in jail. In the scene on the truck trying to kill Dino, Ash's jeans were also really low again. Yet, the same episode when Eiji is startled awake by Ash and the pistol Eiji is wearing a top, whereas in the manga he is shirtless. I think Rose caught on to some of the framing too with the first episodes. So I don’t know it’s making me wonder. |
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