Banana Fish (Noitamina)

[Mr. DJ]

well then, quite a lot to digest from three episodes...child porn, rape, killing a child, dirty cops

[Wandering Soul]

There are no breaks on the Ash suffering train. I expected his brother to serve a bigger role down the line, so his death was pretty anti climatic.

[Kanon]

I thought Griffin was going to be more important than that too. I suppose we'll see him again in flashbacks.

Glad Ash made peace with Max by the way. I'm sure he'll be a previous ally.

[Ernietheracefan]

Originally Posted by Mr. DJ

well then, quite a lot to digest from three episodes...child porn, rape, killing a child, dirty cops

And cock stabbing..

I feel sorry with Griffin, he's finally able to walk & speaks only to be shots..

[Yu Ominae]

Man, poor Eiji. He gets kissed and butt slapped by a guy. XD

[Kanon]

That was a good episode. It felt incredibly dumb that Max forgot he had told Ash about Griffin's death, but other than that, it was pretty solid. Papa Dino's really angry now.

[drawr]

I'm still recovering from seeing that fork stab. Episode 5 was filled with amusing expressions.

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Kanon

That was a good episode. It felt incredibly dumb that Max forgot he had told Ash about Griffin's death, but other than that, it was pretty solid. Papa Dino's really angry now.

Yeah, that was pretty contrived. No way Max would do that if the plot hadn't required it.

[tokinokanatae]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Yeah, that was pretty contrived. No way Max would do that if the plot hadn't required it.

I think you’re giving Max more credit than he deserves. This is a guy who can’t think five minutes ahead between “wanting custody of my kid...” to “...so maybe punching this cop and landing in jail is a bad idea.” (Though part of the issue is with the compressed timeline, I will admit.)

[Wandering Soul]

Yeah, Max hasn't shown himself to be the sharpest tool in the shed. He transferred traded cell partners with Ash, only to be far too late in realizing that leaves Ash with a cellmate who might attack him. He also promises to hide the truth of what happened to Griffith only to let it slip not 5 minutes later.

[Guardian Enzo]

Nah, Max is hot-headed but he's no fool. He's an investigative reporter for crying out loud, and clearly a good one. His problems come from impulsiveness, not lack of intelligence - I just don't see any way he'd make such an obvious mistake.

[G0rd0]

This anime is great feel bad for the people who are not watching this because the yaoi vibe

[Yu Ominae]

I laughed when Ash asked Eiji is Japanese are masochists. XD

[Stark700]

Episode 6 is out.

Now I think this was an important episode. We got to see some glimpse of Ash's life and how he became the person as he is today. Not to mention, it's Cape God, the same hometown that Ash grew up in.

Definitely felt like it bought more meaning to his character as a whole.

Also, I kinda feel like Ash and Eiji got closer as friends and they had some neat moments together as characters. I'm not surprised how well Ash is getting used to his civilian life again after being in prison. Didn't feel like he's changed much at all. Jim (Ash's father) also makes an appearance that I think is important as the way he treats Ash is quite cold. The story told by him is rather hard to accept.

[Kanon]

What the hell, seriously? Ash got raped when he was 7 by a beloved member of the town's community. I can somehow understand the community not wanting to believe it, but actually saying it was Ash's fault for seducing him? I know it sadly happens often to women or even teenagers who got raped, but to a 7 year old kid? That's just bullshit. It implies these people were ok with an adult fucking a kid.

Then you have the dad telling his son to get paid next time. If he were total scum, I would understand, but he was portrayed as a relatively caring dad who had troubles expressing his emotions.

[drawr]

Ash's dad is total scum despite the story trying to "redeem" him. If that happens to your kid and you encourage it, well, calling it bad parenting would be putting it lightly. And it seems he only found some respect for his son when he realizes he's fighting the mafia. I guess it's not entirely unrealistic for someone to look at a person who falls victim to rape as weak(especially if it's a male victim) but it's hard to feel any sympathy or understanding for the dad's handling of the whole thing.

[Wandering Soul]

Yeah, I don't really buy the story's attempt to treat Ash's dad as a redeemed figure. Scum is too light an insult that encourages their son to get paid after they were just sexually assaulted.

Ash's town was also one messed up place. How could anyone believe that a 7 year old boy seduced an adult? No matter how popular someone is, no one should have actually believed that rather than the other explanation.

[AntonKutovoi]

Sheesh, seems like everyone in this world wants to rape Ash. And what the hell is wrong with his dad? "Get paid next time"? Really? What a scumbag. Poor Jennifer, though.

[Anh_Minh]

That father is more of a scumbag than those parents who send their kids to camps to torture the gay out of them. Or just kick them out when they find out. So yeah, what's with this redemption bullshit?

And Jennifer. She seemed alright, but how could she look at Jim with anything but disgust? How can anyone do that?

And yeah, it's not just the urban gangsters. Apparently even rural Americana is out to rape children. Banana Fish's world is really messed up.

[Dop]

Originally Posted by Wandering Soul

How could anyone believe that a 7 year old boy seduced an adult? No matter how popular someone is, no one should have actually believed that rather than the other explanation.

Google "Jimmy Savile"* - DJ, television personality, friend to princes and prime ministers, also probably Britain's most prolific paedophile. Kids who went to the police were accused themselves of trying it on to get money out of it and warned off saying anythng or they'd end up in prison, despite being the victims.
Watching this episode reminded me of that and crimes by church leaders, and how easy it is for popular people in their community to get away with this sort of thing.

*or maybe not, it's not pleasant reading.