#264 – Banana Fish | Created by Hiroko Utsumi and Akimi Yoshida (with Clayton Jones II of Men Who Like Men Who Like Movies Podcast)

Tune in as Pride Month keeps rolling down its path on the program! For this third episode of June, Clayton Jones II (Men Who Like Men Who Like Movies Podcast) is regaining his guest chair to unpack Banana Fish, the 2018 crime thriller anime series about a 17-year-old street gang leader and a 19-year-old photographer’s assistant who get drawn into a criminal conspiracy involving a dangerous drug. The deeply homoerotic bond between Ash and Eiji, the traumatic and tragic backstories that numerous characters have suffered from, and the surprising amount of tact that this anime uses to depict rape and pedophilia make up some of the topics for this episode.Directed by Hiroko Utsumi and adapted from the manga that’s written and illustrated by Akimi Yoshida, Banana Fish stars Yuma Uchida, Kenji Nojima, Hiroaki Hirata, Makoto Furukawa, Jun Fukuyama, Shoya Chiba, Shinji Kawada, Yoshimasa Hosoya, Unshō Ishizuka, Toshiyuki Morikawa, Kenyu Horiuchi, Yu Hayashi, Hidenari Ugaki, Kenta Miyake, Masato Niwa, Takehiro Sumi, Rica Fukami, Kazuhiro Fusegawa, Soma Saito, Ayumu Murase, Mitsuru Ogata, and Yōji Ueda.Spoilers start at 22:40Create your podcast today! #madeonzencastrHere’s how you can learn more about Palestine and IsraelHere’s how you can keep up-to-date on this genocideHere’s how you can send eSIM cards to Palestinians in order to help them stay connected onlineGood Word:• Clayton: Widow’s Bay and Apple TV+ in general• Arthur: What Keeps You AliveReach out at [email protected] if you want to recommend things to watch and read, share anecdotes, or just say hello!Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or any of your preferred podcasting platforms!Follow Arthur on Twitter, Goodpods, StoryGraph, Letterboxd, and TikTok: @arthur_ant18Follow Arthur on Bluesky: @arthur-ant18Follow the podcast on Twitter: @two_centscriticFollow the podcast on Instagram: @twocentscriticpodFollow Arthur on GoodreadsCheck out 2 Cents Critic Linktree