Banana Fish # 1, by Akimi Yoshida: Read-a-thon # 1
This is for Day One of a two-day read-a-thon to benefit disaster relief. Click on the link for details. It’s not too late to sponsor me!
This manga was sponsored by
cyphomandra.
”When you meet the ‘Banana Fish,’ you want to die. It’s the fish of death.”
This is the first volume of a manga from the mid eighties, which I read in an old, flipped Viz edition. I can’t tell if the more recent printing I link to below is also flipped, sorry.
In 1973, an American soldier in Vietnam suddenly turns on his buddies and kills three of them before being taken down. His only explanation is the muttered words “Banana Fish.”
In 1985, where the rest of the story takes place, he’s catatonic and never says anything else. Meanwhile, his teenage brother Ash, a gang leader, is given a vial of a mysterious substance by a dying man who also whispers “Banana Fish.” At the same time, cops are investigating a series of unusual suicides, and two journalists from Japan show up to write an article on American gangsters. Naturally, they decide to interview Ash.
If you’re reading this summary and thinking, "20th Century Boys meets Miami Vice," add in a little more homoerotic subtext plus 80s manga art, and you won’t be far off. For the first half of this volume, while the story and intricate storytelling was intriguing, I wasn’t grabbed by any of the characters. Then Ash, his gang buddy Skip, and the teenage assistant journalist get kidnapped, enabling male bonding, hurt-comfort, and heroic pole-vaulting. At that point, I was hooked. I’ll definitely read more of this. (After the read-a-thon.)
Caveats: So far, there are no female characters unless you count a few walk-ons. The African-American characters are drawn with prominent pale lips, which makes some panels edge into caricature. They’re not particularly stereotypical as characters - okay, they are mostly gangsters, but most of the total characters are also gangsters - so I found this more distracting than horrifically offensive, but your mileage may vary. I did like that there are major white, African-American, and Japanese characters, and Latino and Chinese-American characters who seem likely to become major later.
The series is complete at eighteen volumes. Has anyone read the whole thing? What did you think? Please don't give away major plot points, but I am curious - does the gay subtext and discussion ever become an actual gay relationship?
Banana Fish, Vol. 1 (Banana Fish (Graphic Novels))
Crossposted to http://rachelmanija.dreamwidth.org/897490.html. Comment here or there.
This manga was sponsored by
cyphomandra.
”When you meet the ‘Banana Fish,’ you want to die. It’s the fish of death.”
This is the first volume of a manga from the mid eighties, which I read in an old, flipped Viz edition. I can’t tell if the more recent printing I link to below is also flipped, sorry.
In 1973, an American soldier in Vietnam suddenly turns on his buddies and kills three of them before being taken down. His only explanation is the muttered words “Banana Fish.”
In 1985, where the rest of the story takes place, he’s catatonic and never says anything else. Meanwhile, his teenage brother Ash, a gang leader, is given a vial of a mysterious substance by a dying man who also whispers “Banana Fish.” At the same time, cops are investigating a series of unusual suicides, and two journalists from Japan show up to write an article on American gangsters. Naturally, they decide to interview Ash.
If you’re reading this summary and thinking, "20th Century Boys meets Miami Vice," add in a little more homoerotic subtext plus 80s manga art, and you won’t be far off. For the first half of this volume, while the story and intricate storytelling was intriguing, I wasn’t grabbed by any of the characters. Then Ash, his gang buddy Skip, and the teenage assistant journalist get kidnapped, enabling male bonding, hurt-comfort, and heroic pole-vaulting. At that point, I was hooked. I’ll definitely read more of this. (After the read-a-thon.)
Caveats: So far, there are no female characters unless you count a few walk-ons. The African-American characters are drawn with prominent pale lips, which makes some panels edge into caricature. They’re not particularly stereotypical as characters - okay, they are mostly gangsters, but most of the total characters are also gangsters - so I found this more distracting than horrifically offensive, but your mileage may vary. I did like that there are major white, African-American, and Japanese characters, and Latino and Chinese-American characters who seem likely to become major later.
The series is complete at eighteen volumes. Has anyone read the whole thing? What did you think? Please don't give away major plot points, but I am curious - does the gay subtext and discussion ever become an actual gay relationship?
Banana Fish, Vol. 1 (Banana Fish (Graphic Novels))
Crossposted to http://rachelmanija.dreamwidth.org/897490.html. Comment here or there.