jadedlynx | FAQ/Questions

I've seen some questions about Banana Fish, and I know some people have questions of their own. This is a spot to give my opinion on some of those I see floating around and also to answer some questions others may have for me. Please note, this is not a HMD. If you want to drop a note about my portrayal of Ash, feel free to drop by here. I'll be happy to hear from you.

If you have a question, feel free to leave a comment below, and I'll answer it. Anon is on, screening won't be. Due to the disturbing nature of his canon, I'll have some questions hidden below a trigger warning label. If you're unsure what the triggers may be about, you can find more information here. Also, as a general note, you're free to ask about other characters if you want, but I can only assume so much about their motives, etc, and anyone who plays them may have a different take. With all of those disclaimers out of the way, let's get started.

⊙ You say Ash is 16-18, but we very clearly hear he's 17 at the start of the series

This was later retconned and while I prefer to use what we hear in canon more often than not, the rest of the series was written with the retcon in mind. I go into more detail here. Basically, the series starts in March, and Ash's birthday was later made to be in August, and he doesn't turn 18 until much later in the series.

⊙ Canonically attractive, super skilled in combat, a genius, etc etc... Is he a Marty Stu?

That's a fair question. I think without his trauma, he likely would have been. Without being forced into such a dark world, he actually probably would have been nice and sociable, too. However, the Ash we're presented with is a deeply broken man. His sarcasm may be funny to the viewer, but it's less so when you're the subject. Ash is genuinely rude and can be genuinely cold, having killed men begging for their lives. He feels like there's no other world than the world he's in, and his temper is actually much shorter than his icy persona sometimes suggests. Adding to his complex emotions, Ash lies to himself about his own cold nature to make himself seem even worse than he is, twisting events to give himself the worst positive motive. To himself.

Possible triggers below here

⊙ It sounds like there's a lot of rape/sexual assault in Banana Fish. How is it handled?

In my opinion, it's handled very well. A huge majority of the time, the series doesn't gloss over the weight of the trauma, and its effects on Ash are always glaring. No rape scenes are shown in detail, though we do see enough hints of what's happening a time or two that it may be uncomfortable; it's meant to be, a statement that the topic should be hard to hear about. There's also some onscreen nonconsensual touching, but it always cuts away before going too far.

That said, the prequel mangas don't handle it quite as well. While Angel Eyes has the same content as the prison arc, Private Opinion shows a more vulnerable Ash. Though it's a short series, rape is mentioned many times, but that can be justified by the setting. A shot early on is just a little less sensitive to the subject matter than I'd like, a bit more glamourizing than how it was handled any other time in the story. Aside from that, it really is handled very, very well.

Those who'd prefer not to deal with the subject of rape and/or pedophilia will have a hard time no matter how well it's handled. The series establishes Ash's reality very early on and while the middle focuses more on the effects on Ash with the ending adding a bit more sexual assault, it's a theme Ash can't escape and so neither can the audience.