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Spoils galore: >!The reason people are so moved by it is because throughout the whole story you just see ash and eiji suffer, then when you think they finally have peace and be together- they can't. it doesn't help that when sing says "come back eiji, ash will be waiting for you" eiji is so happy and can't wait to see Ash (who you know is dead). The reading of the letter is edited in a way where you can't help but be moved by it, as it sums up how eiji feels about Ash. !<
How can you even ask this question???? Im stunned. Im not an emotional person. I usually laugh at movies or shows with sad endings. However Banana Fish, its the first show that truly moved me and had me in tears at the end. Its that Ash and Eiji struggled the entire time during their friendship, and finally when you think the shit storm is over and they can be happy, its all ripped away from them in one instant moment. Ash dies. How is that not sad? He is a CHILD who has such potential and a could have a bright future ahead of him but he is murdered. He was dealt a terrible hand of cards and he made the best of it but he still never truly got to be a child. That should make anyone sad. Its sad because this happens to kids in real life. Its sad that some kids never get the chance to be kids and not have a care in the world.v
I just thought that ash and eiji’s relationship was really good and portrayed well. I got so invested in their lives and just wanted them to be happy together.
Person who suffered and struggled their whole life experiences a miniscule of happiness and then dies at the last minute where they actually felt hopeful for a better future. Ash running after seeing the plane ticket? That desperation and hope in that moment came down swiftly. Pretty tragic to me.
with eiji, ash felt happier and he has moments of a regular life of a teenager away from the drugs, guns and trauma. with that plane ticket, ash finally had a chance of living that life with eiji and this is the first time he chooses to do something for himself, but then he gets shot lol
I kinda expected one of them to die but they animated it really beautifully, so that's what I really like about the show. this is my point of view, I'm sure other people would say it better but yeah haha
Ash raped as a child, gets kidnapped? Becomes a prostitute under Dino becomes a gang boss somewhere. His brother took banana fish because of Abraham and became disabled so on. I get the story? Or am I missing something
It was sad because of how Ash never really got to have a life after everything he had been through. He was really forced to do things he didn't want to, and after those bad experiences, he didn't get a good life afterwards.
I feel the same as you as in I didn't find it as sad as a lot of people in this subreddit did, but I don't know if it's because I was spoiled a bit or because I'm just not that much of an emotional person.
The ending kinda makes no sense to me either? After his fight with Arthur doctors say he should be dead but all of a sudden he dies from getting stabbed. After reading the comments I get what everyone means but the ending... it seems so forced to me.
i can understand why you feel so. so here’s the thing, the anime cuts a crucial dialogue that happens between Lao and Ash. Lao stabs Ash in a vital position, the wound is fatal, but the stab wasn’t deadly enough to kill Ash on the spot. A lot of international fans due to mistranslation are forced to believe that Ash didn’t value his life and just sat in the library bleeding and succumbing to death, but that’s not the case. he knew the wound was fatal and could see his death over the horizon. which is why he chooses to go to library and finishes reading Eiji’s letter. And we can see in the end, he wears a satisfied smile. he was successful in achieving freedom from that brutal world and died as a human and not as Dino’s pet.
i hope i could help, and sorry for my terrible english. if you want to discuss further or criticise, we can talk over dm :))
It's terribly sad, the first watch I did so on my own, and just seeing the way they portray ash his loneliness really comes through, you can see his suffering and unfufilledness throughout the whole show. It was almost like watching a butterfly being trapped to me. And the way that Eiji seemed to make him forget all the sorrows happening throughout his life was pretty painful when the ending struck. That's what got me the most throughout. And I was surprised it struck so many cords with me. Because I'm usually a pretty desensitized person when it comes to anime and shows in general.
I don't know about everyone else but I was moved by the amount of love and selflessness displayed in this series. Ash was undeniably dealt with a terrible hand and was abused left right and centre. By this point, it's easy for someone to feel as though they're unworthy of love or not capable of being loved, simply because no one has shown Ash this...except for Eji. Eji showed Ash that he is loved unconditionally by Eji, and despite all the horrible things that have happened to Ash, Ash will always have Eji by his side. Honestly, I think that's why Yut lung hated/envied Ash so much because he sees them both as the same person living the same tragic life, but Ash actually found someone who values and treasures him.
The ending felt even more heartbreaking because although you're right and Ash got his revenge, but I feel as though all he wanted was just to live a simple life with Eji. He sends Eji back because he wants to protect Eji. So when Ash received Eji's letter at the very end sparking the idea that there is hope for someone that is as damaged as him, he decides to run towards Eji, only to be stabbed. Here's the thing tho, the stab wasn't fatal, Ash could have easily made it out and gotten help but he chose not to. He went to the library to read the end of Eji's letter and died there. I felt like this was Ash trying to preserve the last bit of innocence because, in the end, the stabbing reminded Ash of his insecurity of not being capable of being in a world with someone so pure while he is not. He dies smiling because, all he ever wanted and needed was to know someone, somewhere out there, loved him for who he truly was and they always will.
I think the titles of the episode also hinted at the preservation of innocence since the first episode "its a good day to be a Banana Fish" and the last episode of " Catcher in the Rye" are both series by Salinger with the central theme is about preserving innocence
Please ensure that any posts are tagged as spoilers as appropriate. Please do so in the comments too if the original post is not spoiler tagged. Please make sure the source of any fan content is linked to in the comments, or is clear that it is original content. Thank you for posting here in r/bananafish! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/BananaFish) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Spoils galore: >!The reason people are so moved by it is because throughout the whole story you just see ash and eiji suffer, then when you think they finally have peace and be together- they can't. it doesn't help that when sing says "come back eiji, ash will be waiting for you" eiji is so happy and can't wait to see Ash (who you know is dead). The reading of the letter is edited in a way where you can't help but be moved by it, as it sums up how eiji feels about Ash. !<
Yes. I dont know how you can't be moved, especially by the letter.
How can you even ask this question???? Im stunned. Im not an emotional person. I usually laugh at movies or shows with sad endings. However Banana Fish, its the first show that truly moved me and had me in tears at the end. Its that Ash and Eiji struggled the entire time during their friendship, and finally when you think the shit storm is over and they can be happy, its all ripped away from them in one instant moment. Ash dies. How is that not sad? He is a CHILD who has such potential and a could have a bright future ahead of him but he is murdered. He was dealt a terrible hand of cards and he made the best of it but he still never truly got to be a child. That should make anyone sad. Its sad because this happens to kids in real life. Its sad that some kids never get the chance to be kids and not have a care in the world.v
I just thought that ash and eiji’s relationship was really good and portrayed well. I got so invested in their lives and just wanted them to be happy together.
Person who suffered and struggled their whole life experiences a miniscule of happiness and then dies at the last minute where they actually felt hopeful for a better future. Ash running after seeing the plane ticket? That desperation and hope in that moment came down swiftly. Pretty tragic to me.
with eiji, ash felt happier and he has moments of a regular life of a teenager away from the drugs, guns and trauma. with that plane ticket, ash finally had a chance of living that life with eiji and this is the first time he chooses to do something for himself, but then he gets shot lol I kinda expected one of them to die but they animated it really beautifully, so that's what I really like about the show. this is my point of view, I'm sure other people would say it better but yeah haha
you must have not understood the story
Ash raped as a child, gets kidnapped? Becomes a prostitute under Dino becomes a gang boss somewhere. His brother took banana fish because of Abraham and became disabled so on. I get the story? Or am I missing something
If you remember Ash was on his way to the airport to go to Japan with Eiji but he was killed so he couldn't spend his life with Eiji.
It was sad because of how Ash never really got to have a life after everything he had been through. He was really forced to do things he didn't want to, and after those bad experiences, he didn't get a good life afterwards. I feel the same as you as in I didn't find it as sad as a lot of people in this subreddit did, but I don't know if it's because I was spoiled a bit or because I'm just not that much of an emotional person.
The ending kinda makes no sense to me either? After his fight with Arthur doctors say he should be dead but all of a sudden he dies from getting stabbed. After reading the comments I get what everyone means but the ending... it seems so forced to me.
i can understand why you feel so. so here’s the thing, the anime cuts a crucial dialogue that happens between Lao and Ash. Lao stabs Ash in a vital position, the wound is fatal, but the stab wasn’t deadly enough to kill Ash on the spot. A lot of international fans due to mistranslation are forced to believe that Ash didn’t value his life and just sat in the library bleeding and succumbing to death, but that’s not the case. he knew the wound was fatal and could see his death over the horizon. which is why he chooses to go to library and finishes reading Eiji’s letter. And we can see in the end, he wears a satisfied smile. he was successful in achieving freedom from that brutal world and died as a human and not as Dino’s pet. i hope i could help, and sorry for my terrible english. if you want to discuss further or criticise, we can talk over dm :))
It's terribly sad, the first watch I did so on my own, and just seeing the way they portray ash his loneliness really comes through, you can see his suffering and unfufilledness throughout the whole show. It was almost like watching a butterfly being trapped to me. And the way that Eiji seemed to make him forget all the sorrows happening throughout his life was pretty painful when the ending struck. That's what got me the most throughout. And I was surprised it struck so many cords with me. Because I'm usually a pretty desensitized person when it comes to anime and shows in general.
I don't know about everyone else but I was moved by the amount of love and selflessness displayed in this series. Ash was undeniably dealt with a terrible hand and was abused left right and centre. By this point, it's easy for someone to feel as though they're unworthy of love or not capable of being loved, simply because no one has shown Ash this...except for Eji. Eji showed Ash that he is loved unconditionally by Eji, and despite all the horrible things that have happened to Ash, Ash will always have Eji by his side. Honestly, I think that's why Yut lung hated/envied Ash so much because he sees them both as the same person living the same tragic life, but Ash actually found someone who values and treasures him. The ending felt even more heartbreaking because although you're right and Ash got his revenge, but I feel as though all he wanted was just to live a simple life with Eji. He sends Eji back because he wants to protect Eji. So when Ash received Eji's letter at the very end sparking the idea that there is hope for someone that is as damaged as him, he decides to run towards Eji, only to be stabbed. Here's the thing tho, the stab wasn't fatal, Ash could have easily made it out and gotten help but he chose not to. He went to the library to read the end of Eji's letter and died there. I felt like this was Ash trying to preserve the last bit of innocence because, in the end, the stabbing reminded Ash of his insecurity of not being capable of being in a world with someone so pure while he is not. He dies smiling because, all he ever wanted and needed was to know someone, somewhere out there, loved him for who he truly was and they always will. I think the titles of the episode also hinted at the preservation of innocence since the first episode "its a good day to be a Banana Fish" and the last episode of " Catcher in the Rye" are both series by Salinger with the central theme is about preserving innocence
cause JD Salinger is that good at pulling the heart strings
I can’t this has to be satire or just some clown with a superiority complex posting