Banana Fish Episode 15 Review: The Garden of Eden

Ash is declared dead, Eiji has been captured by Yut Lung, and Dino is on his way back to New York. When it rains, it pours! BANANA FISH piles on even more drama in this week’s thrilling episode.

Plot

The news has been reporting that Ash is dead, but his closest allies don’t believe the reports, thinking Golzine has a hand in faking them. Meanwhile, Ash is in Dr. Mannerheim’s clutches at the Nation Mental Health Institute.

Episode Highlights

He’s Dead Jim: The episode starts off with a news report stating that Ash has died. Despite the news, many of the main and extended cast don’t believe that Ash has actually kicked the bucket.

Fall From Grace: After years of being on top, Dino has been disposed by the Corsican Foundation. Stripped of his power, he has to sit by and watch others take over his criminal empire.

Ash Fanservice: In an attempt to free himself from the NMHI, Ash puts on the old charm for the guards watching his cell. He puts on a sexy display, using all his ‘training’ from Dino to trick the guards into coming to his cell with the promise of a ‘Happy Ending’…

Themes & Trivia

Meaningful Title: All the episode titles have been references to novels and short stories by famous American authors. This week’s episode is no different, borrowing its title from the novel of American author, Ernest Hemingway.

Garden of Eden: While the episode title is a reference to Hemingway’s novel The Garden of Eden, it could also be an allusion to the biblical paradise of the same name. The Garden of Eden is first described in the book of Genesis as part of the creation narrative. It is the home of the first man Adam and the first woman Eve, said to have been a land free from hunger or suffering. In the story Adam and Eve are expelled from Eden after disobeying God and eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Yin and Yang: Yut Lung tells Eiji that he and Ash are like Yin and Yang, which is a concept from Chinese philosophy. Yin and Yang are seen as two opposite forces that are at their core complements of one another. An example of this is light and dark, two contrary forces that exist both separately and yet are inderdepent, as light cannot exist without darkness and vice versa.

National Mental Health Institute: The mental institution that Ash is taken to might be an allusion to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), one of the twenty-seven institutes that makes up the National Institute of Health. The NIMH is the largest research institute in the world that focuses solely on mental health, from advocacy to scientific studies.

Comments

I will admit that seeing Dino being put in his place was more than a little satisfying. However, the scene directly following was downright terrifying! There’s Dino standing over an unconscious Ash after the latter has been pronounced dead, rather publically, I might add. Dino can do whatever he wants to him and no one will come looking for him. It’s a moment that shows just how much power Dino still holds over Ash, even despite his fall from grace.

So, when he starts choking Ash, there is a moment, albeit a brief moment, where you see just how vulnerable Ash really is. If Dino wanted to, he could have easily snapped his neck. But, he doesn’t, and that is probably Dino’s biggest flaw as a character; he still cares for Ash, albeit it’s a twisted sense of attachment, but, it is a weakness nonetheless and one it seems he passed on to his young protégé. Dino’s affection for Ash is what keeps him from outright killing him despite everything Ash has done to him, and it is this weakness that will ultimately be his undoing. The same of course can be said for Ash, whose bond with Eiji is also seen as a handicap that his enemies exploit every single chance they get.

Prison Break 2.0

This week’s episode gave us the reunion of Dino and Ash and it was just as intense as you’d imagine. This is one of many lucky breaks for Ash as the series continues to speed towards the finale, but, one wonders if Ash’s luck is about to run out…

I’ll be back next week with another BANANA FISH review, but in the meantime, be sure to check out MANGA.TOKYO’s other amazing Fall 2018 reviews!!