Akimi Yoshida’s Banana Fish is the thirst-quenching anime we all need after Netflix’s Devilman Crybaby: Episode One Review

With all the philosophical exhibitions of 21st century animes and massive circulation of adaptations from the free-willing 80s circa of quality mangas, 2018 keeps on proving that it is not only a year for the gays, but also, inherently, for gay nerds who read dark, chaotic same sex mangas in the ungoldly hour of 3 am to avoid unnecessary confrontation from their religious parents. Yes, we’ve been there. And now we’re getting anime adaptations of our childhood secrecies.

2018 started with Go Nagai’s infamous Devilman series animated by the ingenious Masaaki Yuasa, giving a timely revision of Nietzsche’s Ubermensch and morphed moralism in today’s era; and of course our New Year gay ship: Fudo Akira and Asuka Ryo. And in the middle of third quarter, they gave us the nihilistic, realist depiction of homosexuality and gang crime in 70s America. Akimi Yoshida’s Banana Fish is one of my main turnover from problematic, romanticized boy’s love culture, to deep, politically correct side of queer visual literature.

This is kind of long introduction for the pilot episode of the said anime. But hell, I’ll start doing a review of it with a comparative relation towards the manga.

Again, Banana Fish never disappoints. If I still haven’t stated that, then expect me to be redundant starting from now on. The first sequence opened with the ongoing Vietnam war and a normalized consolidation of being in the war — friendly fire berated by psychologically scarred mind — until it uttered the word ‘banana fish’ that will not only make its cameo once in a while, but also to the related Western literature of the manga, J. D. Salinger’s ‘Perfect Day for Bananafish’.

Then the introduction for our protagonist, Ash, sets on, giving us the conversational narrative to do the work while the audience threads on the flow of the story; an element that will stay for the whole episode; which I really expected from Noitamina producing the series. Sequential introductions happened, also giving us enough foreshadowing for our next protagonist, Eiji — which in all summation, a smooth flow that gives out a vibe of heavy plot and side line idiosyncrasies. This is just the first out of twenty four, and if the producers continue this kind of quality story flow, it can make similar artistic revelations like Masaaki Yuasa did to Devilman Crybaby.

The anime is actually loyal to the manga, something I was not really expecting as I did a comparison between Devilman Crybaby and Banana fish — Devilman Crybaby deviating from the gekiga resonance of Go Nagai, have imprinted on me a similar outcome for this, but it stayed loyal, with cuts right here and there for technical reasons only. It’s still on its first episode, I was expecting everything and at the same time giving them all the creative freedom they desire to do.

Well, all I can do now is what for (technically, sub-wise) Friday to come. I’m going to be frank now, if you a intellectual anime or manga, watch Banana Fish.