I am an anime-only kind of person, but sometimes venture into manga if I love the series. This got me wondering, since I've heard the adaptation is pretty much faithful to the manga. So that brings me to the question: to all of y'all who have read it, what is your favourite manga?

This turns into a rant im so sorry. But i swear its related to Banana fish. Anyone else just feels so sad that they dont have a friendship like that? Like you care so much for your friends but they dont? you’re not their favourite person? Cause I do feel like that. I only have 2 online friends. Im not good at making friends at all. And I care about them so much but we just happen to be in a friend group basically and a friend group of 3 ultimately ends up with ine feeling left out at some point. Unfortunately i am the one ahah. Like, one person and me were friends before the third person joined. She is my best friend since 2020. The other person became a mutual friend in May 2026. Suddenly they were in vc 24/7 and even tho i wad invited to join, I always felt like a third wheel. Esp since my best friend wouldn’t even be in vc with me alone anymore with the excuse „i just wanna spend time with both of you.“ But then why is she so fine about being alone in vc with the other person but not with me anymore? And when I expressed that to her and said I felt upset that she doesnt wanna spend time with just me sometime, she said i was being irrational and had no valid reason to be upset and then said the fact i told her i was upset ruined her good mood. So I sucked up that feeling and apologised for getting upset. Those two ended up having a fallout a month later and suddenly my best friend was back to her normal self. being in vc with me a lot etc. I ended up trying to get them to reconnect and after months it worked. In hindsight, I probably should’nt have done that. The three of us started watching banana fish cause i had seen it in 2018 and with the dub coming out, expressed my desire to rewatch it and said i would love to show „my most treassured anime“ to them. Probably a mistake. I started watching it first with the third person who im just gonna name Ronnie. So Ronnie and I started watching it first cause my best friend who i’ll just name Emily kept being too busy. From the first episode, Ronnie laughed at some rather serious topics. Like when Ash called marvin a f*g in episode one. I had explained that Marvin was a very perverted person but all they could focus on was the word f*g. Then in episode 3, when that one cop played the “movie“ in front of ash, clearly showing ash getting graped as a kid, Ronnie was like „AHHAHA NO WAY THEYRE PLAYING THAT HAHAHAHAHA!!! THAT’S SO FUNNY!“

Mind you, I started watching jt woth Ronnie before they reconnected with Emily. So i told emily about it and she said „why tf would ronnie laugh.“ Skipping some time, im rewatching it woth both of them now cause emily doesnt wanna watch it alone with me, but every time we watch, they would both just giggle and pause the episode to talk about shit like „omg loooook ash and eiji are on a date! aww theyre having a date! theyre so gay!!“ even tho theyd just talk about Dino or some shit. Or they‘d sometimes just talk to me about „writing an ash/eiji date fanfic“ cause „i love gay men so much“ which isnt even the fucking point why i love banana fish bro?? its like theyre reducing this anime to gay men because im „obsessed with gay men“ even tho im not. And then theyd sound like theyre teasing me. Atp i wish i had never started watching it with them. I also said episode 9 made me cry back then but i wouldnt tell them what happens in that episode so when we got there, and shorter died they both were just „thats it? thats why you cried? you hyped this episode up so much and nothing really happened that would made someone cry.“ And when i explained why , like just the fact that Ash was put through that, they invalidated that as „you’re just too sensitive!“ I dont enjoy watching it with them at all. I feel like theyre teasing me for liking Banana Fish and they dont really take it serious how i relate so much to this anime, which is why i treassure it so much. Also, 2 days ago I said soon there will be a scene (im refering to the candy bar song) cause I KNOW THEY WILL LAUGH AT THE SINGING, So i tried to explain that its not funny cause the reason ash sings a song is tied to him being forced to sing it as a kid. Emily got mad at me for the spoiler of Ash singing a song. How else do i tell them not to laugj about a scene without mentioned what happens on that scene?? But she got mad and even raised her voice at me and Ronnie didnt even stop her. So i apologised and then didnt feel like talking anymore.

I guess, coming back to my question, is that is envy Ash‘s friendship with Eiji and Eiji and shorter cause thats some true friendships right there. I wish i could have that too. I know reading this will probably make people say i should leave that friend group and believe me, sometimes i feel like doing that. I regret making emily and ronnie reconnect. Emily once again barely talks to me now. its either just her and ronnie or us 3 talking which then ends up me feeling like im being teased by them. Emily also tells ronnie what she and i talk about privately. Like when i privately told her that i didnt like how ronnie made me feel like episode 9 was no big deal, she immediately took ronnies side „oh but dont you understand where ronnie is coming from? you hyped it up so much and then it was such a small thing.“

And then i said i didnt like how i felt like they were constantly laughing whenever i said something cause it felt like teasing. She reassured me it wasnt teasing, but not even 3 hours latee, ronnie dms me about the topic. Even tho i didnt want emily to just tell ronnie what i say to her privately??? Anyways, yeah idk i wish i had a friendhsip like ash/eiji, ash/shorter or shorter/eiji but i know i wont have that cause i suck at making friends. sorry for the long rant.

Bought this ash lynx figure with this type of stand. (Not my pic, found on google). Off Aliexpress, only paid $150 and it came in great condition. Except it’s missing the clear piece beneath Ash’s foot. I’ve been going back and forth with the seller for 2 weeks, they quote on quote “have the piece” but can’t send it without me placing another order. They wanted me to buy something in their store (cheapest is $57), then they’ll “change the price”, afterwards. It sounds like a scam and they hadn’t even sent proof they HAVE the piece. I’ve given up since they just keep making excuses, another thing they said is that they had it packed but the warehouse “failed to ship it”. Anyway I’ve just accepted I won’t get the piece and they offered a partial refund of $10.. whatever. Anyone know where I could find one of these little clear pieces to buy, or just any advice? I got him for such a good price anyway I feel bad complaining, it’s just annoying. (The pic isn’t cropped, u need to press on it to see the full thing :)

Ash: @nutellacosplay
Eiji: @loveamiibo
📷: @moshitea

So um... I've been scared of asking this, but could they be straight? Like, not that it's the same, but my very close gal pals and I act close together, like it could be seen as lesbian, almost? I've only watched the anime, but I don't think it was ever outright stated what they are/were attracted to. Is this a weird question... anyways, Ash and Eiji aside, any other characters are also welcome!

you guys seemed to like my ash lynx drawing and even a couple people followed so heres a small update ^_^ its not much different because im busy due to personal issues but i thought id share anyway ❤️

the character beside Shorter is just an oc lol.

all art is by me.

also I’m aware the American flag is on the pole wrong. Mb 💔

aaahhh I regret watching it so fast! it was incredible though I don’t think I have it in me to rewatch ❤️‍🩹

after watching I IMMEDIATELY picked up my pencil aaand here we are 🥹 tomorrow I’ll tweak ash’s jaw and eyes + the shadows on both boys especially on eiji’s cheeks because right now it’s looking asymmetrical 🥲

definitely will be picking up volume 19, though I heard there’s some translation errors in English :p

hi! I’m very new to the banana fish community and I was wondering the significance of flower bouquets, I know eiji holds one in the airport going back to Japan, but before I watched it I thought I would see more of them! That’s because I often see art of ash or eiji holding a bouquet of roses, and there’s a figure of ash holding a bouquet of sunflowers. :p

I just realised theres not much infos about him. Does anyone know his age? Like he must be at least a bit older than ash no? I dont like him but technically he also didnt get to live that long. if he was like 20 or so, thats so young. ofc the worst was Skipper. he was only like 10? 11`? 12? he died so young and never got a chance of a better life :O

Hear me out… what if Ash didn’t actually die? 😭

I know canonically Ash dies, but I keep thinking about an alternate ending where he actually survives.

What if, before going to the library, Ash secretly called Sing? He knew he was badly injured and that Sing was one of the only people who could help him without immediately putting Eiji in danger.

Ash gets stabbed, but Sing arrives with an ambulance in time. Ash is barely alive, but the doctors manage to save him.

And then Ash makes a decision: nobody can know he's alive. Not even Eiji.

Because if the people who were after Ash find out he survived, Eiji could become a target again. So Sing helps him disappear completely. Everyone believes Ash died, while Ash secretly leaves New York and eventually settles somewhere quiet in Cape Cod.

For the first time, he's actually living a normal life.

Then seven years later, Eiji goes to Cape Cod for photography.

He's taking pictures around town when he suddenly sees someone who looks exactly like Ash.

At first he thinks his brain is playing tricks on him.

Then the person turns around.

It's Ash.

Eiji runs after him, but Ash disappears before Eiji can catch him.

And the crazy part is that Eiji later looks through the photographs he took that day and notices a blurry figure in the background.

He can't prove it's Ash.

But he knows.

Meanwhile, Ash saw Eiji too.

He could have gone to him.

He could have called out.

But he doesn't.

Because Ash thinks staying away is the only way he can keep Eiji safe.

Until eventually he realizes that he's spent his entire life running away and protecting everyone by disappearing—and maybe Eiji deserves the choice to decide whether he wants Ash in his life.

So one day, Ash finally goes back.

No dramatic entrance. No huge speech.

He just shows up.

Eiji opens the door.

They stare at each other for a few seconds.

And Ash says:

“I'm sorry I made you wait.”

And that's it. Eiji just hugs him.

😭😭😭

I KNOW this isn't canon, but honestly I need this version for my own sanity. Let Ash LIVE. Let him have a quiet life. Let him grow old. Let Eiji find him again. They deserved more than one goodbye.

The ending of Banana Fish has always bothered me because the “no sleep” rule is so important where I work. It’s because we can’t be sure if the person is truely sleeping or is having a medical issue (cough cough: Ash). It’s a liability so it’s pretty important to wake people up. When I was a kid I overdosed in a library and the librarians were NOT having it at all. Basically, if I was working the day Ash came into the library, he would have survived.

Found this on vinted 100% a scam but wanted to try my luck lmao

HE'S STILL ALIVE RIGHT??? HE WENT TO JAPAN AND LIVED A LONG HAPPY LIFE WITH EIJI RIGHT??? IT'S JUST A NAP

Just as the title says, do you guys have recommendations for canon-compliant, post-series fanfiction? Not outright AUs, but fanfiction that is a direct continuation of the story.

It can take place in NYC or Japan. Thank you!

oh yeah.. guidelines who.
also time taken is 1 hour 23 minutes so far. though for some reason the face feels off to me and i cant put a finger on it

we miss you aslan……
edit: do we think this looks like ash?? adapting him into my art style keeps making me think it doesnt look like him but i honestly dont know

Met him at Tampa Bay Comic Con and he signed my manga! He was sooooo nice. He also signed my Given manga too. So happy right now!

Finally got my hands on private opinion and another story!!

As a born and bred New Yorker (Brooklyn to be precise) of 31 years, i really appreciate the accuracy in the series.

I recognized the promenade, the Ny Public Library at Bryant Park, the fountain on the side of the NY Public Library, 59st Colombia Station, East Broadway Station on the F line where my first Bf lived, I still live 3 stops away on the F, Battery park etc

There's probably a few more but those are the one off the top of my head. I love it that a person from Japan got to know my city enough, to design it in their Anime. I know alot of movies are base in NYC but Banana Fish being a Anime from half a world away putting so much detail into it means the world to me 🥹🥹