At least once in our lives, we find something we become emotionally attached to, no matter if we personally relate to it or not. In this case, for many anime fans, something that has become a thing that they hold really close to their hearts is the anime Banana Fish.

Banana Fish is an anime that was released by Studio Mappa back in 2018. The anime follows the story of Ash Lynx, a seventeen-year-old and a New York gang leader. After hearing someone mutter his brother’s last words, “banana fish,” he proceeds to investigate the meaning of those words to find out what happened to his brother, who was left mentally paralyzed and those were his final words. At the beginning of his journey, he crosses paths with an apprentice photographer Eiji Okumura, who is someone that becomes really important in Ash’s life. In the anime, we see Ash go through even more struggles, but the difference is this time he has someone by his side, and this leads him to treasure and protect Eiji with his life. 

[SLIGHT TRIGGER WARNING]

This anime is extremely important to many people because it deals with sensitive topics such as rape and depression. Especially in our time and age, both of these topics are something that many can, unfortunately, relate to, and thus why many felt attached both to the anime and Ash’s character. Even those that have not gone through these things are able to feel the emotions the character feels due to the way the story unfolds.

[SPOILER WARNING!!!]

On August 12th of this year, 2020, many Banana Fish fans celebrated the birthday of the main character, Ash Lynx. Since the anime is based in New York, every scene that occurs within the show is an actual place in New York. In order to celebrate the character’s birthday, fans have gone to the New York Public Library. The significance of this library is that it is the place where the main character, Ash Lynx, passes away after a series of events take place. At the seat where his story ended, fans have left roses and letters for him for the past two years. Even though Covid-19 restrictions have affected the library this year, fans still left him gifts outside of the library to honor his death.

Personally, Banana Fish is extremely meaningful to me, and I feel a connection that I’ve never felt before. Although I might not have gone through the struggles that Ash did, I feel extremely emotionally connected to him and all the other main characters. I finished this anime months ago, but I still cry from time to time just thinking about it or from seeing content online.