The hardest part about covering Banana Fish is episodes like this one, where so much of it is pure adrenaline pumping action that is hard to put into words. Hostage situations, bullets flying everywhere and people running from location to location all trying to capture and kill one another.
I can only really comment on a few things that really struck me in the episode.
Sing, just Sing. His character development and the way he is carrying the burden of knowing the truth and not being able to share it with anyone. As he is questioned by one of his own men on why they are supporting Ash after Ash killed Shorter. How he insisted that Ash was the only one that could be the unifying boss of downtown and keep it properly together, how they risked another Arthur by not backing Ash in all of this.
He knows what really happened to Shorter, but he also knows he can’t share that info with his men for their own safety.
Blanca, who is working to fulfill his contract to Yut-Lung in protecting him but also protecting Ash and Eiji.
Yut-Lung is trying to kill Eiji and capture Ash and use the capturing of Ash to use against Golzine.So basically, outside of Ash and Eiji helping one another and all of the gangs helping Ash a lot of these people are out for themselves.
Though of course, the highlight of Banana Fish is always Ash and Eiji’s relationship which shines the brightest in the scene where they are hiding underground and Eiji warms up some soup for Ash. This is strongly symbolic in the fact that we know that Ash hasn’t been able to eat, he developed a eating disorder while he was with Golzine and while he was getting medication and therapy. This is probably some of the first food he’s able to keep down without help.
It’s the first food that’s tasted good to him since being taken to Golzines house, despite the fact that we know the quality is actually probably much worse.
Speaking of Eiji, I can’t say this enough. I love the character he is evolving into, he started out the series very innocent and naive. A poor innocent boy pushed into a world that didn’t fit him, but somehow he managed to adapt and now he’s actually gained a lot of backbone. He even knocks Ash out of the way and purposely uses himself as a distraction so Ash can get away, leaving Ash to Cain. He knows that he’s not as important or valuable as Ash and while he still has trouble shooting a gun I like to see how much he’s adapted since the beginning.
This review looks like a mess, but i’ll be honest. This is an episode that really needs to be experienced, more so then some of the others I think if only because of the sheer amount of action. It never calms down, it moves from shoot out to shoot out and hostage situation to hostage situation at the drop of a hat. It’s almost a small miracle that everyone makes it out of this episode alive, we’re reaching the end stretch and i’m getting nervous about where this is heading in the end.
On a side note, i’m a little sad we didn’t end up with any Max/Ibe moments in this episode. Am I weird for shipping this? Yeah, probably.