Breaking Down Banana Fish 9-10

The fifth installment of Breaking Down Banana Fish, covering volumes nine and ten, is now up at Manga Bookshelf!

These volumes feature the dramatic conclusion to the fight between Ash Lynx and his rival, Arthur, and the resulting fallout, somehow culminating in Ash having to escape from a mental hospital. As ever, it’s pretty awesome.

The story is very well balanced, too, giving each group of characters something to contribute. Ash and Eiji barely glimpse each other, but are never far from the other’s thoughts. Reporter Max Lobo gets more aggressive about outing Dino Golzine’s misdeeds. The detectives from the NYPD must watch helplessly as their investigation into the gang war is taken over by (corrupt) federal agents. Yut-Lung and Sing from the Chinese mafia interact with each other—and with Eiji—in interesting ways. Even Papa Dino—ousted from his position with the Corsican mafia thanks to Ash—shows unexpected depth when he urges his nemesis to escape from the hospital and later smugly enjoys watching his successor attempt to handle the chaos that ensues when Ash seizes his chance.

You can find our discussion here!