Banana Fish

This show ruined me. it's been months and I'm still thinking about it. 10/10 would watch and ruin life again.

The Banana Fish anime is an updated story taken from the previous Banana Fish manga (comic). Not only is this a fresh take on the manga, but provides a story and setting that isn't very common in anime.

The anime is set in New York and follows a gang leader (Ash) who befriends several unlikely people to solve a mystery and obtain revenge. This anime is in no way family friendly and has quite a bit of violence, drugs, sexual situations and a disturbing sexual backstory.

The show was amazing. It is a classical masterpiece. I would recommend a certain age to watch it and it is heartbreaking. Not for the fainthearted .

The story is very realistic. The plot is very connected and always bring you surprise. Every episode is very heavy, but mixed with some comedy and it make me love even more.

Not like other anime, where everything happens slowly (a fight take for 1 or 2 episodes) or the pacing is very slow or the character reading their thought (it always drives me nuts), everything in Banana Fish is incredibly well-organized. The pacing is very accurate, give you enough time to feel and understand the situation (with beautiful music in the background) and not taking anything for a nonsense long time. Every dialogue is really connected to the story and also contain a profound meaning.

The animation is magnificent. The first anime that every scene has a good human proportion with both face and body. People interaction looks very realistic, and people in the background are not just standing like a mannequin, they always doing something like a real person. It makes the anime looks more realistic. The background: New York city with many gorgeous graffiti on wall and a splendid liberty statue; china town which always crowded with people, restaurants and lanterns; the Cape Cod's nostalgic view in a windy field with beautiful dawn (it's a very sad scene); and especially the gorgeous Los Angeles city filled with night lights from the mountain's view. Many camera angle choices are very unique and clever, the animation crew did an awesome jobs on this anime.

Soundtrack: its awesome, just listen and enjoy. My favorite is the ending song Prayer X by King Gnu, it gives me a nostalgic feeling mix of happiness and sadness (T.T). The opening clip is very beautiful with a fit music too.

Truly a beautiful series, the characters are lovable with great character developments, the storyline is amazing as well.