Character Info
This info is cut/pasted directly from Eiji's application. To read more on why I placed this Japanese kid in a lunatic asylum, click here.
EIJI'S CHILDHOOD BACKGROUND:
Japan-born Okumura Eiji grew up in a safe, normal neighborhood. He has a little sister and two parents. Not much is known about his childhood, except that it was fairly sheltered and otherwise unremarkable. In Japan Eiji was an up and coming athlete: a pole vaulter with a lot of talent and passion for his sport. In fact, he loved pole vaulting so much that it's how he met Mr. Shunichi Ibe, who felt that the sight of Eiji's high jumping skills was so awesome that it needed to be photographed -- and Ibe was the photographer for the job.
But Eiji's run of good luck and talent didn't last. When a leg injury left him unable to compete in contests, he quickly fell into depression. Not only did he feel discouraged about losing the contest, but thanks to his injury, former competitors and coaches ridiculed him, and worst of all he was in danger of losing sports scholarship. What he needed -- decided his parents and Ibé -- was a change of scenery. So Ibe named him Photographer's assistant, and they traveled to New York to do a story on youth street gangs. At this point in time, he is 19 years old.
EIJI'S BACKGROUND AND ROLE IN 'BANANA FISH:'
In New York, he meets Ash Lynx. They first meet when our intrepid Japanese photographer interviews him for Ibe's story on American youth gang warfare. Ah, let me tell you, mods, their first meeting is legendary. ("That gun is real, isn't it? In Japan, only toy guns are legal. Say, may I see it for a moment?" "... Sure.") And from that conversation a few things are made clear to Ash: one, that Eiji is a total innocent who doesn't know what a gun looks like; two, Eiji needs protecting; three, that this kid is Ash's achilles' heel (he figures that part out later when they're trapped like rats with Dino's henchment threatening to blow a bullet in Eiji's head if Ash won't put down his gun)
Now, I could summarize the entire manga for you guys, but as this is an epic length series spanning 19 volumes, and I'm not a sadist let's not. Here are the bits of the story that are most relevent to understanding Eiji:
But first of all, let me define Banana Fish. Half by accident, Eiji helps to uncover the conspiracy that surrounds this thing called Banana Fish. Banana fish turns out to be an experimental drug of death. Its effects are similar to LCD in that it causes in humans hallucinations. But unlike with LCD, every trip is a bad trip, and the person relives their greatest nightmares, not mention driven to suicide. Also, those under its influence are highly suggestible to orders. As we find out later, Ash's 'Papa' Dino, leader of the Corscian mafia, made a deal to develop this drug. It's up to Eiji and Ash and their allies to stop Dino from selling this drug to the US Military, who are very very interested in using BF to make people into living weapons.
So after Eiji and Ash deal with Dino's henchmen in Volume one, Eiji manages to escape and alert the police by pole vaulting over a wall with a rusted pipe. So even though the kid's a failure when it comes to gang violence, he's still brave enough to make the jump without a mat on the other side to catch him. Eiji's next big moment is when he tries to track down Shorter Wong in Chinatown for help in springing Ash from prison. Sadly, that mission doesn't go well. It ends with Eiji getting followed by Dino's henchman, which results in Ash's vegetable brother Griffin getting killed. Naturally, Eiji blames himself. Ash tells him: "You Japanese people, you have to apologize for everything? It wasn't your fault." As the series progresses, Ash and Eiji's relationship grows to the point where Ash doesn't trust anyone else to protect the kid as well as he can. When they are separated, there is much anguish and angsting on both their parts. As a result, when Eiji's not being kidnapped by Dino Golzine or Chinese assassins or Ash is trying to trick him onto a flight back to Japan where he'd be safer, Eiji's usually hiding out with Ash and his gang. But one thing is absolutely for sure: no matter how many obstacles or people separate them, Eiji will find his way back to Ash.
Saint Edelweiss!Eiji comes from volume 6. This is when Eiji is kidnapped and given to Corscian Don Dino Golzine as a 'bait' to lure Ash Lynx. Golzine wants to punish Ash for interfering in the banana fish conspiracy, so Shorter, Ash's oldest friend, is injected with banana fish and ordered to kill Eiji -- right in front of Ash's eyes. Frustrated and horrified, Eiji and would have died in the knife fight if Ash hadn't jumped in and killed Shorter at the right moment. So this in when Eiji Finds himself in Edelweiss: He's just drifted into a fitful sleep, with visions of Ash screaming, and a bloody hole in Shorter's head the words from his guards flashing through his mind: "Be a nice kitty and Dino may keep you on his lap longer." One of his friends has just killed another. Somewhere, Ash is being tortured and Eiji can do nothing about it, and if the guards are to be believed he's bound for sexual slavery ...
CHARACTER PERSONALITY:
Okumura Eiji is a sweet guy. At first glance you would think to yourself: no way this kid is 19 years old! He's earnest, and well meaning and cute and totally out of his depth in Ash's world. Those two are like night day.The oddball couple. Despite that they come from entirely different worlds, Ash is the best friend he's ever had. He's the black to Ash's blond hair. Together they're Pacifist and Killer. Ordinary and Extraordinary. Innocence and Cyncism. Protector and Protected. To his friends Eiji's personality is ordinary but "soothing." To his enemies there's something about him that's "irritating" or as Yutlung puts it so eloquently: "to be crushed under my boot into so many pieces."
He's ... utterly hopeless when it comes to living the life of a gangster. As I mentioned before, he can't kill to save his life. Even when holding Super Evil Golzine or Yutlung at gunpoint, Eiji couldn't shoot either of them. It's not that he's a coward, but he was never raised to it. "Only police officers have guns in Japan!" he explains in volume one. So there's that and he hates senseless loss of life. Perhaps he thinks that even black souled Golzine and Yutlung can change for the better. But at same time Eiji doesn't impose his views of anti-violence on his friends. (When in America do as the Americans do.) It's an interesting contradiction that Eiji doesn't like unnecessary killing, but still (albeit warily) supports Ash's one man crusade of revenge against Papa Dino. Let's chalk it up to guilt for Griffin Callenreese's death, and his knowledge of Ash's horrific past in which Dino played a horrific part. To Eiji, Ash is a truly a Good person, because up until the later volumes Ash only kills when necessary. Though as the story progresses, Eiji has learned to not trust everyone he meets. He's not the same innocent, naive kid stepped off the plane at JFK.
At heart Eiji's just a nice kid from Japan. There must be moments when he feels homesick for his culture. At one point when Ash's crew buys Japanese cuisine for him, Eiji is very happy, and teaches Ash how to eat natto and dried fish. If he is homesick, he doesn't show it in ways that are obvious to us. Rather, Eiji has been known to hide his worries before -- one time in volume 7 he suppressed his worries for Ash, who kept coming home really late at night, until it erupted into a small fight.
It's safe to say at this point in the manga, Eiji is obsessed with Ash. They share a relationship that is EPIC. Whether or not that relationship is strictly platonic or something more is never explained, but oh come on. He trusts Eiji like no other, entrusting him with the most secret info about his brother. And Eiji is one of the very few -- if the only person -- allowed to touch him without Ash erupting into a freakout. Like the time when Ash took a two hour nap, Eiji woke him up and everyone there was Shocked that Ash, who usually has a horrible temper when first woken, didn't claw his face off. Eiji has proven that he's determined to stay by Ash's side. the more they're drawn together, the more Ash tries to push Eiji away. Getting Eiji involved in the war against Papa Dino is the last thing that Ash wants. Yet, at the same time, he doesn't want Eiji to leave. So they trust each other. They like each other well enough to fight without it ending in bloodshed. They believe in each other. They protect each other. While Ash protects Eiji's from getting blown to smithereens every day, Eiji guards Ash's heart.
EIJI'S CHILDHOOD BACKGROUND:
Japan-born Okumura Eiji grew up in a safe, normal neighborhood. He has a little sister and two parents. Not much is known about his childhood, except that it was fairly sheltered and otherwise unremarkable. In Japan Eiji was an up and coming athlete: a pole vaulter with a lot of talent and passion for his sport. In fact, he loved pole vaulting so much that it's how he met Mr. Shunichi Ibe, who felt that the sight of Eiji's high jumping skills was so awesome that it needed to be photographed -- and Ibe was the photographer for the job.
But Eiji's run of good luck and talent didn't last. When a leg injury left him unable to compete in contests, he quickly fell into depression. Not only did he feel discouraged about losing the contest, but thanks to his injury, former competitors and coaches ridiculed him, and worst of all he was in danger of losing sports scholarship. What he needed -- decided his parents and Ibé -- was a change of scenery. So Ibe named him Photographer's assistant, and they traveled to New York to do a story on youth street gangs. At this point in time, he is 19 years old.
EIJI'S BACKGROUND AND ROLE IN 'BANANA FISH:'
In New York, he meets Ash Lynx. They first meet when our intrepid Japanese photographer interviews him for Ibe's story on American youth gang warfare. Ah, let me tell you, mods, their first meeting is legendary. ("That gun is real, isn't it? In Japan, only toy guns are legal. Say, may I see it for a moment?" "... Sure.") And from that conversation a few things are made clear to Ash: one, that Eiji is a total innocent who doesn't know what a gun looks like; two, Eiji needs protecting; three, that this kid is Ash's achilles' heel (he figures that part out later when they're trapped like rats with Dino's henchment threatening to blow a bullet in Eiji's head if Ash won't put down his gun)
Now, I could summarize the entire manga for you guys, but as this is an epic length series spanning 19 volumes, and I'm not a sadist let's not. Here are the bits of the story that are most relevent to understanding Eiji:
But first of all, let me define Banana Fish. Half by accident, Eiji helps to uncover the conspiracy that surrounds this thing called Banana Fish. Banana fish turns out to be an experimental drug of death. Its effects are similar to LCD in that it causes in humans hallucinations. But unlike with LCD, every trip is a bad trip, and the person relives their greatest nightmares, not mention driven to suicide. Also, those under its influence are highly suggestible to orders. As we find out later, Ash's 'Papa' Dino, leader of the Corscian mafia, made a deal to develop this drug. It's up to Eiji and Ash and their allies to stop Dino from selling this drug to the US Military, who are very very interested in using BF to make people into living weapons.
So after Eiji and Ash deal with Dino's henchmen in Volume one, Eiji manages to escape and alert the police by pole vaulting over a wall with a rusted pipe. So even though the kid's a failure when it comes to gang violence, he's still brave enough to make the jump without a mat on the other side to catch him. Eiji's next big moment is when he tries to track down Shorter Wong in Chinatown for help in springing Ash from prison. Sadly, that mission doesn't go well. It ends with Eiji getting followed by Dino's henchman, which results in Ash's vegetable brother Griffin getting killed. Naturally, Eiji blames himself. Ash tells him: "You Japanese people, you have to apologize for everything? It wasn't your fault." As the series progresses, Ash and Eiji's relationship grows to the point where Ash doesn't trust anyone else to protect the kid as well as he can. When they are separated, there is much anguish and angsting on both their parts. As a result, when Eiji's not being kidnapped by Dino Golzine or Chinese assassins or Ash is trying to trick him onto a flight back to Japan where he'd be safer, Eiji's usually hiding out with Ash and his gang. But one thing is absolutely for sure: no matter how many obstacles or people separate them, Eiji will find his way back to Ash.
Saint Edelweiss!Eiji comes from volume 6. This is when Eiji is kidnapped and given to Corscian Don Dino Golzine as a 'bait' to lure Ash Lynx. Golzine wants to punish Ash for interfering in the banana fish conspiracy, so Shorter, Ash's oldest friend, is injected with banana fish and ordered to kill Eiji -- right in front of Ash's eyes. Frustrated and horrified, Eiji and would have died in the knife fight if Ash hadn't jumped in and killed Shorter at the right moment. So this in when Eiji Finds himself in Edelweiss: He's just drifted into a fitful sleep, with visions of Ash screaming, and a bloody hole in Shorter's head the words from his guards flashing through his mind: "Be a nice kitty and Dino may keep you on his lap longer." One of his friends has just killed another. Somewhere, Ash is being tortured and Eiji can do nothing about it, and if the guards are to be believed he's bound for sexual slavery ...
CHARACTER PERSONALITY:
Okumura Eiji is a sweet guy. At first glance you would think to yourself: no way this kid is 19 years old! He's earnest, and well meaning and cute and totally out of his depth in Ash's world. Those two are like night day.The oddball couple. Despite that they come from entirely different worlds, Ash is the best friend he's ever had. He's the black to Ash's blond hair. Together they're Pacifist and Killer. Ordinary and Extraordinary. Innocence and Cyncism. Protector and Protected. To his friends Eiji's personality is ordinary but "soothing." To his enemies there's something about him that's "irritating" or as Yutlung puts it so eloquently: "to be crushed under my boot into so many pieces."
He's ... utterly hopeless when it comes to living the life of a gangster. As I mentioned before, he can't kill to save his life. Even when holding Super Evil Golzine or Yutlung at gunpoint, Eiji couldn't shoot either of them. It's not that he's a coward, but he was never raised to it. "Only police officers have guns in Japan!" he explains in volume one. So there's that and he hates senseless loss of life. Perhaps he thinks that even black souled Golzine and Yutlung can change for the better. But at same time Eiji doesn't impose his views of anti-violence on his friends. (When in America do as the Americans do.) It's an interesting contradiction that Eiji doesn't like unnecessary killing, but still (albeit warily) supports Ash's one man crusade of revenge against Papa Dino. Let's chalk it up to guilt for Griffin Callenreese's death, and his knowledge of Ash's horrific past in which Dino played a horrific part. To Eiji, Ash is a truly a Good person, because up until the later volumes Ash only kills when necessary. Though as the story progresses, Eiji has learned to not trust everyone he meets. He's not the same innocent, naive kid stepped off the plane at JFK.
At heart Eiji's just a nice kid from Japan. There must be moments when he feels homesick for his culture. At one point when Ash's crew buys Japanese cuisine for him, Eiji is very happy, and teaches Ash how to eat natto and dried fish. If he is homesick, he doesn't show it in ways that are obvious to us. Rather, Eiji has been known to hide his worries before -- one time in volume 7 he suppressed his worries for Ash, who kept coming home really late at night, until it erupted into a small fight.
It's safe to say at this point in the manga, Eiji is obsessed with Ash. They share a relationship that is EPIC. Whether or not that relationship is strictly platonic or something more is never explained, but oh come on. He trusts Eiji like no other, entrusting him with the most secret info about his brother. And Eiji is one of the very few -- if the only person -- allowed to touch him without Ash erupting into a freakout. Like the time when Ash took a two hour nap, Eiji woke him up and everyone there was Shocked that Ash, who usually has a horrible temper when first woken, didn't claw his face off. Eiji has proven that he's determined to stay by Ash's side. the more they're drawn together, the more Ash tries to push Eiji away. Getting Eiji involved in the war against Papa Dino is the last thing that Ash wants. Yet, at the same time, he doesn't want Eiji to leave. So they trust each other. They like each other well enough to fight without it ending in bloodshed. They believe in each other. They protect each other. While Ash protects Eiji's from getting blown to smithereens every day, Eiji guards Ash's heart.