Banana Fish is a manga series that was first published in May 1985, and it aired until April 1994. After two decades, MAPPA, a Japanese anime studio, adapted the manga to the anime, which is released on July 6, 2018. It consists of 24 episodes after its first season is over. And after two years of publishing the anime’s last episode, fans are still curious about season 2. Will there be a second season of the anime, and when will it release?
After the highly acclaimed 1st season finale on December 19, 2018, many positive reviews were done for the series. According to IMDb data, the anime published on Amazon Prime and gained a fan base worldwide has an above-average score of 7.9. If you want, let’s remember this series that has passed two years and take a look at the story before moving on to the release date.
Table of Contents
What was Banana Fish about?
Banana Fish is a crime thriller, and the events in the show take place in America. Ash Lynx is the main character of the series, which has a remarkably charming appearance and outstanding fighting power. Ash is the leader of a street gang of children in New York City at the age of 17.
When Ash was a child, Ash’s older brother, Griffin Callenreese, who was serving the US Army during the Vietnam War in 1973, turned mad one night and opened fire on his squad. The boy collapsed by speaking the words “Banana Fish”. He became mentally handicapped and started to live with his brother Ash, under his care in New York City.
Ash’s life took a turn when a dying man shot by his subordinate gave him a flask of a substance and an address in California and told him “Banana Fish” while dying. Ash starts to investigate “Banana Fish” with its source’s curiosity, which starts a chain of events in the story.
What we can see in season 2 of Banana Fish?
If a possible second season happens, it doesn’t seem possible without our main character Ash. So, is Ash really dead? Some fans cannot accept this death. There was no blood on the ground after being stabbed, and after all the hardships, such a death is very unfair even for the writers. Maybe we can see Ash and Eiji reunited in a second season. Unfortunately, still these predictions are near impossible.
Will there be a Banana Fish season 2?
The last update on 6.12.2020: At the time of writing, the studio MAPPA or the producers has not renewed the series for a second season. As we mentioned before, the series is a manga adaptation, and the manga is finished and not ongoing today. The script of the series takes the manga from the 1980s to the 2000s, adding details such as smartphones and the Iraq war. Although this is the case, the anime is generally manga-based. This brings to mind the question of whether there are enough scripts for Season 2. Unfortunately, the answer to this question is negative. The manga has 19 volumes released so far, and you can find an anime & manga matching chart below.
| Anime Episode | Title | Manga Equivalent |
| 1 | A Perfect Day for Bananafish | Vol.1 Ch.1 to half of Ch.3 (137 pages) |
| 2 | In Another Country | Last half of Vol.1 Ch.3 to ~1/3 of Vol.2 (108 pages) |
| 3 | Across the River and Into the Trees | The next half of Vol.2 (88 pages) |
| 4 | This Side of Paradise | The rest of Vol.2 to ~1/4 of Vol.3 Ch.2 (105 pages) |
| 5 | From Death to Morning | The rest of Vol.3 Ch.2 to half of Vol.3 Ch.3 (80 pages) |
| 6 | My Lost City | Last half of Vol.3 Ch.3 to Vol.4 Ch.1 (91 pages) |
| 7 | The Rich Boy | The rest of Vol.4 (125 pages) |
| 8 | Banal Story | Vol.5 Ch.1 to ~75% of Vol.5 Ch.2 (110 pages) |
| 9 | Save Me the Waltz | Last ~25% of Vol.5 Ch.2 to (almost all of) Vol.6 Ch.1 **( |
| 10 | Babylon Revisited | Vol.6 Ch.2 to half of Vol.6 Ch.5 |
| 11 | The Beautiful and Damned | Last half of Vol.6 Ch.5 to half of Vol.7 Ch.3 |
| 12 | To Have and Have Not | Last half of Vol.7 Ch.3 to Vol.8 Ch.2 |
| 13 | The Snows of Kilimanjaro | Vol.8 Ch.2 to ~75% of Vol.9 Ch.1 |
| 14 | Tender is the Night | The rest of Vol.9 |
| 15 | The Garden of Eden | Half of Vol.10 |
| 16 | Lo, The Poor Peacock | Last half of Vol.10 to half of Vol.11 |
| 17 | The Killers | Half of Vol.11 to ~25% of Vol.12 |
| 18 | Islands in the Stream | ~75% of Vol.12 to ~75% of Vol.13 Ch.1 |
| 19 | Ice Palace | Last ~25% of Vol.13 Ch.1 to half of Vol.14 Ch.1 |
| 20 | The Unvanquished | Last half of Vol.14 Ch.1 to half of Vol.15 |
| 21 | The Undefeated | Last half of Vol.15 to all of Vol.16 |
| 22 | As I Lay Dying | Vol.17 Ch.1 to ~1/3 of Ch.2 |
| 23 | For Whom the Bell Tolls | The rest of Vol.17 Ch.2 to ~3/4 of Vol.18 Ch.1 |
| 24 | The Catcher in the Rye | The rest of Vol. 18 to all of Vol.19? |
Besides, it was hinted at the end of Season 1, implying that there will not be a Season 2 of the anime. There are five side stories which might be turned into a new series related to anime. However, the side stories may not be enough for a second season. It is more expected that those side stories may be released as special episodes instead of a whole new season. Nothing is certain, and we should wait and see if MAPPA will release new episodes or a new season. It is expected to be sometime in 2021 if MAPPA decides to renew the anime.
I don’t remember crying that much in any anime. Next on my list is Dororo, again Mappa and Amazon collaboration. I’m not very hopeful. We’ll see.
I was so hoped for a happy ending. I hope it gets a new season confirmation. If only Ash could see the Japanese lands and travel with Eiji. One day he could not see the daylight, young boy :(. One of the most impressive talks for me:
Jessica: I could not recover for six months. How do you…
Ash: If I had that much time, I would be dead by now.
Jessica freezes just like us when we watch the scene.
Anime that is easily watched can be finished quickly but is only slightly above the average in quality. The producer studio Mappa is a kind of madhouse spinout company founded by Masao Maruyama, one of the Madhouse’s former partners. Mappa has done very well in the past; After kids on the slope took over with a complete masterpiece, terror in resonance as well as that (though the director of both is ustad Shinichiro Watanabe), Ushio and Tora and Hajime no Ippo. But unfortunately, they cannot perform the subject knitting successfully in jobs where streaming services like banana fish or Kakegurui get their hands on (more precisely, their noses).
Banana fish is 10/10 for me, even though it made me cry and travel unhappy for days while reading and watching. Banana Fish goes beyond just a love story as it processes so many different emotions.
Is there any other anime that is such deep, expressive, and guaranteed to cry? It’s also a very frustrating ending. I can’t stop crying. I hope we will see season 2 of Banana Fish.
I’m sharing my depression guaranteed anime list:
1. Your Lie in April
2. Devilman Crybaby
3. Banana Fish
It’s not anime shounen-ai, the thing between the main characters is simple friendship. Perhaps we can call the relationship between them headcanon. An anime that you will cry a lot. I think there will be a second season. If you haven’t read the manga, I highly recommend it.
This comment contains spoilers
I watched this with my youngest, I’m 58 by the way. They cried, a lot. Ash Lynx is dead!!! I have repeatedly consoled them, he isn’t, just lost a lot of blood, hypovolaemic, not dead. The library lady needs to ring 911. Looking forward to season 2.
I knew how it would end, but it hurt. We never had a good day; we always cried; we were sad, angry, and lived with them. Seiyuu series deserve the greatest praise. Also, congratulations to MAPPA for the drawings. It probably won’t be a second season, but I’m looking forward with hope.