Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Banana Fish
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katscradle
Posts: 469 |
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I get the impression it’s always been a fight for dominance. Ash being a pretty boy fooled Arthur, messed up his hand when they fought (apparently beyond the scars it interferes with him shooting a gun), and continues to thwart and weaken Arthur even though Ash was Golzine’s toy. It’s all like emasculating to Arthur? So he’s got a large identity crisis? It would have been interesting if Yoshida made some more backstory for him because he is so extreme. edit: Oh and I think he was either raised or educated by nuns. So some nuns can be sadistic? |
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Romuska
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Not to mention the fact that he's a minor who was interrogated with no legal council and shown his own child porn. Also I'm pretty sure that not everyone in jail is a rapist. This show is 80's melodrama at best. |
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Graceful Nanami
Posts: 303 Location: United States |
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Yup, that's what happens when mangaka assume a lot of things about America and write about them. It's glorious. |
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katscradle
Posts: 469 |
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Episode 11 covered parts I was waiting for and very nice. Sort of where the story hits more conventions and one can settle in if they were anxious over what the series is. Ash and Eiji are very good together. There were many things different from the manga so I continue to encourage people to try it too.
These things are hard. I think some of what I see people having more trouble with in Banana Fish are not such a stretch for me, or at all. I am not trying to exculpate Yoshida and MAPPA on failures the audience can feel around these subjects in Banana Fish. Banana Fish itself is not perfect, can stretch the imagination and is fiction. When I say things like fiction I’m trying to say it is simply a different type of story— not a judgment of its value. Real experiences or ideas of the world can be held as a litmus test for fiction in certain schools of thought and cultures. But, that's not without pitfalls either since one has an unfortunate chance of also obscuring truth and the search for it which can be another function of fiction. Yet, Banana Fish is also a story with many elements that people can draw parallels. To me also a narrative about the violation of power and the widespread corruption existing in systems of it. So I guess I'm thinking on where failure is arising in its execution, or experience and culture that is causing friction too. I’m not saying to people believe all Banana Fish; just maybe believe in the possibilities of it? So it’s maybe good in addition to the roles fiction can play we’re thinking on and having the discussion about portrayals? One of the great struggles in the world is that often times, sometimes things that should not happen do while, things that should do not. Life can be absurd in that way. When growing up I and other children in my community were taught a heap of victim-blaming messages, boy or girl among them one being if you didn’t scream you were guilty. If the person accused was the same sex that was an even more awful matter. I don’t think I’m going to get into it here. At least not right now. I have been enjoying reading these reviews. Despite my disagreement or critique of things along the way I hope that is coming through. |
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katscradle
Posts: 469 |
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I thought this was covered in a comment by someone here before but, checking I can’t find it. Ash is 17. To the best of my knowledge in the case of NY, until this year 16 and 17 year-olds have been treated as adults automatically regardless of the crime. Neither does New York automatically assign legal counsel for juveniles for custodial interrogation. The circumstances of Miranda and its waiver can get complicated. In the comic the dirty cop uses an underhanded tactic saying he respects Ash for not asking for a lawyer. The anime has the cop asking if he’s remaining silent in a passive way. Ash does not ask for a lawyer nor, explicitly say he wants to remain silent which are his rights. Yes, using the CP is a horrible psychological shock tactic that should not happen. In the US, likewise teenagers Ash’s age have been sent to adult facilities instead of completely independent juvenile facilities. With adult facilities it’s been the case they are housed separately, in the same spaces as adult detainees or, there are instances where interaction occurs. It’s only been more recently laws around age of criminality and detention have changed. Of course not everyone who is detained (or works in prison) is a rapist. The US is 15 years on from PREA which among other measures has impacted the fight to eliminate sexual offenses in prisons. The US also has the highest amount of people behind bars pre-trial, some who will be there a long time. I would enjoy to be corrected on any of this. So anyone is not just taking my word for it, here are a few long reads about youths in the justice system, detention and the 3rd cw/tw on rape in prison: http://njdc.info/snapshot/ https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2018.html https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/02/rape-in-the-american-prison/385550/ |
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zawa113
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While this ep might have been the numerical halfway point of the series, I personally think next week is more of the story-wise halfway point of the series. It kind of makes me wonder what's going to have to get cut from part 2 to make the episode count!
Anyway, I'm very much looking forward to next week! They had better not disappoint on the action scenes here! This (and in the manga, one other) is one the epic blockbuster bayspolsion fight scenes of the series! This episode needed to do a lot of the setup for it, but I just love seeing Eiji be cheeky with Ash while everyone else is terrified and wouldn't even dream of doing things that Eiji does to Ash! Like slapping him awake! |
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AA751
Posts: 72 |
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This is way more clear in the manga, they kind of downplay it in the anime. I don't know if saying what happens in the manga is a spoiler, but there is some differences in this scene spoiler[ In the manga when Ash leaves, you see had been sleeping beside Eiji on the floor, so you can kind of implicate something happened (I think it was either a kiss or a sloppy makeout), and they leave out all the blushing as well in that conversation. In this anime they have them have this conversation on separate couches, in the manga they are right next to each other etc.] I do recommend everyone read this chapter.
No, I actually don't think he does. He keeps using Ash as a reference for what he should be, the person he looks up to as an inspiration for what he has to do. Little does Yut-lung know that Ash isn't the cold efficient killer he thinks he is. I really hope they don't skimp on his story later on in the anime.
Same with the manga. I'm still WTFing about it, the anime makes me even feel more WTF because it's so much more stark. I don't get to this day why Ash suddenly goes into terminator mode. It just never made sense to me. I think it was a bad narrative choice. |
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AA751
Posts: 72 |
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Not next week, there is a week break. The next episode won't be until Oct 5. 
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MarshalBanana
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Ash in this episode Ash went from being a ruthless gang boss to a shy tsundere and back again.
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zawa113
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Aww, damn! I did not realize that! Why is there a break, is there a holiday over there or something? Or is it to add more polish to the inevitable fight scene next week? Either way, I shall be sad next thursday! |
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AA751
Posts: 72 |
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I don't know. I think it just works out that way as it's the half way point between the summer and fall seasons. A lot of series won't start until the same time. |
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Graceful Nanami
Posts: 303 Location: United States |
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I am not liking the modernization in the recent episodes but what can you do? Ash was supposed to meet with Shunichi and Max in person not with phones. Oh well. Its the 80s, its the 80s, its the 80s... heh.
I'm so glad MAPPA kept the conversation about Ash's girlfriends in, though. He's trying to say that his world won't allow him to be happy. There's always temptations and they get taken away because of his circumstances. He knows that now. She must have been special and he was careless. Ash is starting to realize he's doomed to confinement and that scares him, which is why Eiji is a weakness. He continues to tell himself that even if Eiji is definitely his savior. One of the many reasons Banana Fish is such a tragedy. And that's also why it's so good. Ash goes into "terminator mode" because he's pissed. He's endured a lot for a long time and it all came to a head in the past few months or so. He wants to get crap taken care of. Over the past few months a TON of horrible stuff has happened to him because of Dino and Arthur. He knows important people to him are being used to get to him so he's trying the best he can to retaliate. It's all he can manage. I'd probably want to take control and bust some heads to follow through if I were him, too. He's done with it all. Or at least he wants to be... poor soul cannot get a break. |
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katscradle
Posts: 469 |
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Episode 12 was a good episode too. I'm glad the girlfriend scene was adapted pretty well because it is nice. Both character-wise for Ash and Eiji in the circumstances they are in and for the possiblities of a character whose sexuality is more fluid or multisexual.
... *sighs* Pizzagate is a horrible hoax, not even the first of such false conspiracy theories over the years. So I don't want to give any doubt about that. Reality though, some traffickers can use otherwise legitimate businesses. Including a restaurant. Sorry I'm not here offering a more detailed explanation. *sighs* Not like there have never been real scandals involving politicians and minors either. Every community and vocation experience this. Hey Banana Fish can be a lot of things and I've said over and over it's got its faults. But, sorry in 2018 I'm sort of at a loss over the certain elements in Banana Fish people are choosing to so strongly characterize as absurd, implausible, unbelievable, etc. |
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Graceful Nanami
Posts: 303 Location: United States |
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Well said.
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zawa113
Posts: 7357 |
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And we're officially onto the second half! And we got that nice new OP and ED too! I loved them as well! And we got our first look at our last major character for the series in the OP and I'm sooo happy! Because he's another awesome character! And this is BF, it's obviously going to be another male character, right?
I think we moved at a pretty break neck pace on ep 14. The last ep ended a tiny bit into vol 9 and this finished off the whole vol, so it was at least 3/4ths of a volume in this episode. I'd need to read through the manga a bit more carefully to see what they cut (probably more of the political stuff, which tends to involve Max and his writing on things and being a journalist, which is what they've mostly been cutting out so far lately). But at this point, we've got 8 full vols and a tiny bit to adapt and 10 eps left to adapt it! I'm trying to think what else they'll be cutting or shortening, but I guess we shall see soon enough. I'm still hoping for the manga's 4 side stories to be OVAs or something, but ESPECIALLY the epilogue chapter (which just needs its own OVA, plain and simply, even before any other chapters might get one. I think it's been popular enough in Japan that it'll probably get it). This was definitely more of a "set up" ep, but the manga doesn't have a lot of pure down time either. I like how it's not going to be a beach ep that breaks things up, but just a "slow set up ep" that'll do it. But at least these eps are still interesting and easy to watch (much as the manga was addictive to read at all times for me). And yeah, it'd hardly a spoiler that "Ash isn't dead", but I also assumed it'd make for a nice cliffhanger to annoy people! Actually, when I first read the manga, I had the whole thing, I can't imagine waiting months at a time for the next vol, only for MORE CLIFFHANGER to appear at the end of it! I guess it's a bit similar for people now with the anime (though I'm curious how many ran off to just read the manga after the first few eps, plunging themselves into that lovely pain that is Banana Fish) |
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