Banana Fish Episode 20 Review: The Unvanquished

This episode kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The Banana Splits are in yet another no-win situation, with Golzine’s and Yut Lung’s men closing in on all sides. With their backs against the wall, it’ll take everything they have to make it out alive in this week’s exciting episode of BANANA FISH!

Japanese Title: 征服されざる人々

Plot

Eiji, Sing, and Cain all team up to get Ash away from Golzine, but their little jailbreak is not without its consequences. Golzine, Yut Lung, and Blanca all attempt to track him down, but, in his weakened state, they might just manage to trap him once and for all.

Episode Highlights

Give that man a gun: Tired of always being a damsel in distress, Eiji finally asks for a gun. Of course he’s a crap shot, but the fact that he is finally taking some initiative is commendable.

Night at the Museum: The showdown between Yut Lung, Blanca, and Ash takes place in the American Natural History Museum. He uses the museum to his advantage confusing Yut Lung’s men and turning what should have been a no-win situation in his favor. I also loved that we got to see a lot of the museum’s iconic exhibits, like the Blue Whale model in the Milstein Family Hall of Ocean Life and the Tyrannosaurus fossil display.

Hostage Negotiations: The whole hostage negotiation scene between Ash and Blanca was amazing! Ash has the upper hand on his former tutor and you can really see just how proud of Ash Blanca is at every step of the way. He isn’t going easy on Ash either; he is giving it everything he has and even then it becomes apparent that Ash has grown considerably since their time together. Also, any chance to see Yut Lung being thrown down a flight of stairs is A-OK in my book!

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 1938 novel by American author, William Faulkner (I know right, shocker)!

American Museum of Natural History: While running from Lut Yung and Golzine’s men, Ash makes his way to the American Museum of Natural History, located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The AMNH is one of the largest museums in the world and was established in 1869.

Comments

So I tend to favor the moments of awesome in each episode, and this week’s episode was full of them, like Ash going full on beast mode in the museum and absolutely wrecking Lut Yung’s men! That was perfection! We’ve seen Ash in combat mode before, but, this whole scene was just awesome! Not only was he fighting blind in a dark museum where the only exits and entrances were blocked, but, he managed to get the upper hand on everyone, even Blanca!

I still stand by my opinion on Yut Lung, he has not gotten better over time; in fact, he becomes less threatening as the series progresses and that is a damn shame since he started off so strong! On the flipside, Eiji has gotten better. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still useless, but he is at least taking some more initiative. It was also a nice bit of role reversal to have Ash be the damsel in distress, at least for a little while.

Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken

Time and time again, Ash proves he is smarter than the average bear, outsmarting not one, not two, but three baddies out for him (granted Blanca is more of a chaotic neutral)… This week’s episode highlighted the best of both worlds, with some brief lighthearted moments sandwiched between the high energy action.

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 Undefeated (敗れざる者)