Banana Fish
| Banana Fish | |
Cover of the first volume of the manga released by Shogakukan
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| Genre | Drama, Adventure |
|---|---|
| Manga | |
| Written by | Akimi Yoshida |
| Published by | Shogakukan |
| English publisher | |
| Demographic | Shōjo |
| Magazine | Bessatsu Shōjo Comic |
| English magazine | |
| Original run | May 1985 – April 1994 |
| Volumes | 19 |
Banana Fish is a classic shōjo manga by Akimi Yoshida which ran from 1985 to 1994 and spawned several mini-spin-offs: Private Opinion, Angel Eyes, and The Garden with Holy Light. The series was very popular in Japan.
1973, Vietnam - an American soldier goes mad and guns down his buddies. Since then, the only words he has uttered are "Banana Fish"...
Twelve years later, in New York City, police investigate a series of puzzling suicides and a dying man gives a charismatic young gang leader named Ash Lynx a vial of a mysterious substance...
Banana Fish began publication in May 1985, in a supplementary issue of the girl's manga magazine Shōjo Comic, running until April 1994.
There are nineteen Japanese tankōbon or eleven bunkobon reprints published by Shogakukan, an art book, Angel Eyes and Rebirth: The Banana Fish Official Guidebook. The spin-offs are collected in a single bunko titled Another Story. There was also a NHK radio drama, released in 1996 on CD as "BANANA FISH Part 1-3". Eiji was voiced by Kazuhiko Inoue and Ash Lynx was voiced by Tohru Furusawa.
Banana Fish is published in English by VIZ Media. The first (now out-of-print) graphic novel edition spanned the first seven volumes and featured 'flipped' artwork, subsequent "shōjo" editions are in the original right-to-left format, spanning 19 volumes, and have been retranslated. The series also ran in both of Viz's now defunct manga magazines, Pulp and Animerica Extra for several years.
Frederik L. Schodt identifies Banana Fish as:
...one of the few girls' manga a red-blooded Japanese male adult could admit to reading without blushing. Yoshida, while adhering to the conventions of girls' comics in her emphasis on gay male love, made this possible by eschewing flowers and bug eyes in favor of tight bold strokes, action scenes, and speed lines.
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Wikipedia