Yoshida, the creator of Banana Fish, explained why Ash was always destined to die at the end of the series in an interview. She claimed that, despite the fact that her protagonists are forced into a way of life and kill because they would otherwise be killed, they are still killers in the end.
In the manga, after being stabbed, Ash goes to the library to continue reading Eiji’s letter and dies by bleeding out there. In the anime, his status is known, and the ending is left open, as proven by MAPPA. However, according to the source material, it is assumed that he has indeed died.
The last episode of Banana Fish ties all the loose ends. The hostages are rescued, Foxx and Golzine are killed, and all evidence of the Banana Fish project is destroyed. Ash Lynx | Source: Fandom Furthermore, Sing decides not to fight Ash and convinces Yut-Lung to end his pursuit of them.
Yoshida went on to say that the original idea for Banana Fish was that people who die early have a tragic quality to them, similar to how Ash lived his entire life in 17 years rather than the 70. In his lifetime, he endured, loved, and experienced far more than the average human.
Ash is alive and he's living with Eiji now. In USA, in Japan, elsewhere, I don't care! Maybe you're thinking I'm mad or it's just a childish speech, no of course. In the last episode of the anime Ash realizes he cannot stay with Eiji, his best friend is always in danger with him.
Lao stabs Ash and in the manga he dies by bleeding out in the library.
At the end of the timeline specific to what is occurring with Ash titled “Ash's Movements” it states that he was “stabbed to death” by Lao in the year of 1987. But in the top left corner it is mentioned that it is the first half of the year of 1987.
Banana Fish season 2 is one of the most talked about anime as fans couldn't get enough of seeing Ash's adventure on screen.
Akira Ibe. He first meets Shunichi Ibe's niece, Akira, in Garden of Light. They become friends, despite an age difference of ten years, and Sing remarks to Eiji that he thinks she's "a sweet kid". Five years later in New York Sense, their wedding pictures are shown, signifying they have married.
Eiji finally takes a step forward by showcasing Ash's single photo at the end of his exhibition. I think that fact alone is symbolic of him letting go of his pain, of him trying to organise his life around things other than the grief that was his sole anchor point for eight long years.
It was left open ended in the anime but in the manga it's confirmed that he died after being stabbed by Lao.
Ash was willing to let himself be destroyed for the sake of his and Eiji's happiness. Letting Eiji go was the hardest thing Ash ever had to do, it took all of his restraint not to run after him to the airport and look how easily that changed after reading his letter.
Some even held up small cut-outs of the characters to take photos of inside the room. Fans of the series have also been leaving red roses at chair 378, where Ash perishes.
In a final battle, the hostages are rescued, Foxx and Golzine are killed, and all evidence of the Banana Fish project is destroyed. In the aftermath, Max's investigation prompts a scandal in Washington, while Sing convinces Yut-Lung to end his pursuit of Eiji and Ash.
A teenaged gang leader in New York City faces his abuser and rival gangs alongside a photojournalist from Japan as they investigate a deadly new drug. Watch all you want. Director Hiroko Utsumi ("Free") helms this updated production of Akimi Yoshida's beautifully tragic manga.
1 Because Ash Doesn't Get The Chance To Enjoy His Freedom Ash is excited and happy as he runs to the airport to meet up with Eiji. However, in a sad and cruel twist of fate, Ash is stabbed in the street by a rival gang member. Clutching the letter Eiji wrote him, Ash dies before he can ever experience true freedom.
Banana Fish has Ash Lynx, a 17-year-old teenager who meets the body of a man that has been murdered.
The final season of Banana Fish ties all the loose ends. Hosts are freed, Foxx and Golzine are killed, and the entire documentation of that Banana Fish project is destroyed.
Ash, as well as Sing, were meant to fight it out to the finish but in the end, they decided to not fight.
Interview with Yoshida who is one of the founders of Banana Fish, she explained her reasoning for the reasons Ash was always supposed to be killed in the final.
"With great anime, comes the great responsibility of telling every single person you know about it!" A lot of things in this world will change but my love for manga, anime, and Japanese culture wouldn't.
The final episode of Banana Fish brings everything together. The captives are freed, Foxx and Golzine are killed, and the Banana Fish project’s evidence is destroyed.
Despite the fact that Ash and Sing were supposed to battle to the death, they ultimately opted not to. However, it turned out that Lao was completely unaware of their truce. He stabbed Ash, who was distracted by Eiji’s letter, in order to defend Sing.
Yoshida, the creator of Banana Fish, explained why Ash was always destined to die at the end of the series in an interview.
Ash is a tall and slender young man standing at 5’11. He has blonde hair, green eyes, pale skin and is extremely beautiful in appearance, as remarked on by numerous characters in the series. His normal attire consists of a white, loose T-shirt, blue jeans, brown belt, and red sneakers. He is shown wearing glasses when reading, suggesting that he's far-sighted. He is sometimes associated with a green earring that was given to him by Dino Golzine to match the color of his eyes and serve as a reminder of his ownership over Ash. Later, Ash dismisses the earring as an unimportant "gift" when Eiji Okumura asks about it and then trades it for guns and ammo.
As Ash mentioned later on in episode 7 while encouraging Eiji to return to Japan, that usually people do not help Ash without asking for anything in return. As Eiji insists on aiding Ash in the case of Banana Fish, they grow close as they travel the country together and Ash saves Eiji's life countless times.
Shorter begged Ash to free him from the pain he was feeling because of Banana Fish. Ash did so, with great pain in his heart, begging to be killed along with Shorter moments later. Upon escaping the execution room, Ash discovered Shorter's body and took revenge on Dawson for his part in the death.
He comes to New York as Ibe's assistant to finish a report on street gangs. From their first encounter at the bar where Ash's gang usually hangs out, Ash was unusually lenient with Eiji, going as far as letting Eiji hold his gun when Eiji asked mannerly for Ash's permission to do so.
He failed, however, and Ash punished Arthur by ruining his fingers, rendering him unable to pull a gun's trigger.
Ash describes Shorter as having "always regarded me as a human being with a real heart, not some sort of tool.". In the main story, though associated with the Chinese mafia, Shorter and Ash have unified territories in Volume 1 and often operate as a team, with both gangs sharing a single bar.
Not only is he excellent in combat and an incredible marksman, but he is also highly intelligent, with an IQ of 200.