''Banana Fish'' is a 2018

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series adapted from the 1985 manga of the same name by

Akimi Yoshida is a Japanese manga artist. Career She is a graduate of Musashino Art University. She made her professional debut in 1977 with the short story , published in '' Bessatsu Shōjo Comic'' magazine. Her following series were critical successes. H ...

. The series was produced and animated by

MAPPA is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Nakano, Tokyo (formerly in Suginami, Tokyo). Founded in 2011 by Madhouse co-founder and producer Masao Maruyama, it has produced anime works including '' Terror in Resonance'', '' Yuri!!! on I ...

, while development, promotion, and distribution were overseen by

Aniplex Aniplex, Inc. (株式会社アニプレックス, ''Kabushiki-gaisha Anipurekkusu'') is a Japanese entertainment company and a subsidiary of Sony, Sony Group Corporation, founded in September 1995 by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The company fo ...

. The primary production staff includes

Hiroko Utsumi is a Japanese anime director, animator, storyboard artist, and manga artist. She is best known for her work with Kyoto Animation, particularly as the original director of '' Free!''. After leaving Kyoto Animation's affiliate company Animation D ...

as director,

Hiroshi Seko is a Japanese anime screenwriter. After serving as an episode screenwriter, he was given the role of head screenwriter for ''Seraph of the End''. Since then, he has done screenwriting for many other series, such as critically acclaimed titles ''A ...

as scriptwriter, as character designer,

Shinichi Osawa , also known by his stage name Mondo Grosso, is a Japanese musician, DJ, record producer and composer. Over the course of his career, he has worked in genres ranging from acid jazz to house, with strong influences of underground club music, th ...

as sound director. ''Banana Fish'' follows the relationship between Ash Lynx, a teenage gang leader in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and Eiji Okumura, a Japanese photographer's assistant. The adaption revises the setting of the

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

from the 1980s to the late 2010s, adding modern references such as

smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...

s and substituting the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

with the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

. The ''Banana Fish'' anime adaption was greenlit by

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

, which published the original manga, based on a story proposal from Aniplex animation producer Kyōko Uryū. Uryū pitched the series for a 2018 release to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Yoshida's debut as a

manga artist A manga artist, also known as a mangaka (), is a Cartoonist, comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist before entering the indus ...

; the series would ultimately become part of a broader commemoration project to mark Yoshida's career. Utsumi was appointed as series director at Uryū's recommendation, and her decision to set ''Banana Fish'' in the present day led MAPPA CEO Manabu Ootsuka to agree to animate the series.

Location scouting Location scouting is a vital process in the pre-production stage of filmmaking and commercial photography. Once scriptwriters, producers or directors have decided what general kind of scenery they require for the various parts of their work ...

for the series was overseen by Utsumi and Seko, who traveled to New York City to conduct interviews and observe locations depicted in the original manga. The series'

voice actors Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animation, animated, ...

were determined by Utsumi, Osawa, and Yoshida, who cast

Kenji Nojima is a Japanese voice actor and singer affiliated with the voice talent agency Aoni Production. His first major role in voice-over was Spark in the '' Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight'' series. He voiced Hikaru Ichijyo in a n ...

as Eiji, and subsequently cast

Yuma Uchida is a Japanese voice actor and singer who works for Intention. He is best known for his roles as Kaoru Sakuraba in '' The Idolmaster SideM'', Jun Sazanami in '' Ensemble Stars!!'', Yuuma Kousaka in '' Gundam Build Fighters Try'', Nagisa Kiryū ...

as Ash based on his compatibility with Nojima's performance. In 2019, Uchida won the

Seiyu Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role The Seiyu Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role is one of the awards at the Seiyu Awards The are award ceremonies for the recognition of voice acting talent for outstanding performance in anime and other media in Japan. The first Seiyu Awards ...

at the

13th Seiyu Awards The 13th Seiyu Awards was held on March 9, 2019 at the JOQR Media Plus Hall in Minato, Tokyo. The winners of the Merit Awards, the Kei Tomiyama Award, the Kazue Takahashi Award, and the Synergy Award were announced on February 19, 2019. The rest ...

for his performance. ''Banana Fish'' was publicly announced at midnight on October 22, 2017, through Yoshida's website, social media, and screens at

Ikebukuro Station Ikebukuro Station () is a major railway station located in the Ikebukuro district of Toshima, Tokyo, Japan, shared by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), Tokyo subway operator Tokyo Metro, and the two private railway operators Seibu Railw ...

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. The trailer for the series was released on February 22, 2018, alongside an announcement of the series' primary voice cast. In Japan, ''Banana Fish'' aired on

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...

's late-night

Noitamina is a Japanese programming block on Fuji Television devoted to anime, originally broadcast every Thursday late night/Friday morning from 0:45 to 1:15 JST. It was launched with the intention of expanding the target audience beyond the typical you ...

programming block from July 5 to December 20, 2018. It is syndicated by

Amazon Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

, which

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

the series internationally during its original broadcast run. The series consists of two cours for a total of 24 episodes, with each episode title referencing a literary work by a writer of the

Lost Generation The Lost Generation was the Demography, demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort that reached early adulthood during World War I, and preceded the Greatest Generation. The social generation is generally defined as people born from 1883 to 1900, ...

. Aniplex encapsulated the series into four volumes, in DVD and Blu-ray formats. The series uses four pieces of

theme music Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

: two opening and two closing themes. Episodes 1–13 use "found & lost" by

Survive Said The Prophet Survive Said the Prophet, also known as Sabapuro and abbreviated SSTP, is a Japanese rock band formed in Tokyo in 2011. They are incorporated under the Sony Music Records label and are most well-known for the hit 2019 single " Mukanjyo", the first ...

as the opening theme, and "Prayer X" by

King Gnu King Gnu is a Japanese band formed in 2013. It consists of Daiki Tsuneta (vocalist and guitarist), Satoru Iguchi (vocalist and keyboardist), Kazuki Arai (bassist) and Yu Seki (drummer). The band's main songwriter is Daiki Tsuneta, who also perfo ...

as the closing theme. From episode 14 onwards, the series uses "Freedom" by as the opening theme, and "Red" by Survive Said The Prophet as the closing theme.

Episode list

Television series

Audio drama

The

audio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

episodes are character voices, music, and sound effects used to tell a story. In Japan, audio dramas were included with certain volumes of the DVD and Blu-ray releases, and adapt scenes from the original manga not included in the anime adaptation. The first collected volume included "Angel Eyes", while the fourth volume included the five-part audio drama "Five Stories".

Media release

Japanese release

released ''Banana Fish'' across four volumes, in DVD and Blu-ray media formats.

References

External links

* * * {{Banana Fish

Banana Fish ''Banana Fish'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akimi Yoshida. It was originally serialized from May 1985 to April 1994 in '' Bessatsu Shōjo Comic'', a manga magazine publishing manga (girls ...

Akimi Yoshida