Banana Fish
2018
Original language: Japanese
- animation
- drama
- action & adventure
- mystery
- crime
The story
A teenaged gang leader in New York City faces his abuser and rival gangs alongside a photojournalist from Japan as they investigate a deadly new drug.
What it’s like
Sharp, saturated 2D animation with bold flat colour, glossy highlights and heavy, cinematic shadow, and a New York that feels hot, grimy and neon-lit after dark. Its palette swings between sun-bleached daylight and smeared night-city glow, and it cuts between lush, painterly flashbacks and tense, kinetic action. The score leans on synth pulse and brooding strings, with sudden silences before violence. Vibe: dark, romantic tragedy with a sun-bleached unease. It suits a late night alone rather than background viewing. Pacing is brisk and episodic, with long emotional stretches broken by bursts of gunfire and chase. The emotional register is heavy and sincere: a traumatised, hardened young leader slowly learning to trust, and a bond between two men that grows through grief and loyalty. Intensity is high: frequent shootings, stabbings and gore, plus sexual assault and its aftermath handled as central trauma, with suicide and drug-related deaths. Not gentle. Made for viewers who want crime drama with emotional weight, moral grey and a melancholy, romantic core.
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