Banana Fish Episode 19 Review: Ice Palace

Oh, how the mighty have fallen, after last week’s heroic sacrifice. Ash is at his lowest and I’m not gonna lie, seeing him like this is hard. The poor kid just can’t catch a break, but, you know what they say; the light is always brightest in darkness.

Japanese Title: 氷の宮殿

Plot

With Ash now in Golzine’s clutches, it’s up to Eiji and Sing to plan his escape. Meanwhile, Yut Lung enlists the help of Blanca in hopes of finally getting some sweet, sweet revenge!

Episode Highlights

Selling Your Soul: Ash is now the puppet of Golzine once again, except he isn’t selling his body this time around… Dino has Ash doing his bidding in promoting his Banana Fish project and brokering some of his back alley deals. The strain of doing so is literally killing Ash, and we see the once proud young man brought to his knees.

Comic Relief, Yut Lung?!: I said this in last episode’s review, but this week, Yut Lung actually plays the role of a spurned lover! Of course it’s all a ruse to interrupt Blanca’s attempts at seducing a woman, but it’s there and it is hilarious.

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 F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1920 modernist short story, The Ice Palace.

The Marriage of Figaro: Is a 1786 opera composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and based on the comedic play, La Folle Journée, ou Le Mariage de Figaro by Pierre Beaumarchais. The Marriage of Figaro is the sequel The Barber of Seville (also written by Beaumarchais). The opera follows the exploits of Figero, a servant as he attempts to wed the maid Susanna.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a renowned classical era Austrian musical composer. He was considered a prodigy, performing and composing from a young age. Though his works achieved great fame during his lifetime and continue to have a lasting influence on classical music, Mozart’s life was plagued by misfortune and he died destitute at the age of 35.

Comments

Ash is in a rough place and for once I’m kind of on Yut Lung’s side; Eiji is Ash’s Achilles Heel. If it weren’t for the fluff ball, Ash would be roaming free breaking hearts and taking down Golzine’s empire. Instead, he is trapped with the same man who terrorized him for years… I think one of the most powerful moments in this week’s episode isn’t Eiji’s declaration that he’s going to save Ash, but the scene where Ash has his mental breakdown after days (or weeks) with Golzine.

We’ve seen Ash on the verge of a mental break several times in the series, but, this is the first time he actually cracks, and it is terrifying. He isn’t the tough, cold-blooded killer we met in Episode 1. Instead he is broken, both body and mind. He doesn’t care whether he lives or dies because he honestly doesn’t see a way out of his current situation and he just breaks. Up until this point Golzine hasn’t actually lost control with Ash, not really, but when Ash starts raving and calling him ‘dad’ that’s when Golzine loses it too. These are two characters that have finally reached their breaking points and we see them reduced to the point of no return.

A Fate Worse than Death

Eiji is on the move, we finally see some backbone from everyone’s favorite cream puff, but, are his efforts too little too late? This episode was a bit on the bleak side, but, still worth watching!

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!!

NEXT TIME: The Unvanquished