'Banana Fish' Latest News: 1980s Manga Series to Get Modern-Day Anime Adaptation in July
The main cast has been announced for the Japanese action-adventure anime series "Banana Fish." The series, which is based on the 1985–1994 manga written and illustrated by Akimi Yoshida will be set in modern-day New York.
The announcement was made during a special live stream presentation posted on Aniplex's official YouTube channel on Feb. 22. The first promotional video has also been released but is currently region-locked to Japan.
The series will run for two cours, or 24 episodes, and will feature the voices of Yuuma Uchida as Ash Lynx, Kenji Nojima as Eiji Okumura, Unsho Ishizuka as Dino Golzine, and Hiroaki Hirata as Max Lobo.
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It has also been confirmed that the anime adaptation will be set in modern-day New York instead of in the 1980s. Aside from this change in setting, the anime will be adapting the original manga's story to the end.
The series tells the story of a guy named Ash, who has been made beautiful by nature, but was turned into a cold and ruthless killer by being nurtured in vice city, New York. What was once a child runaway brought up as the adopted heir of the East Coast's Corsican crime Lord, Papa Dino, is now a rebellious 17-year-old, who has forsaken the evil ways of the man who raised him in exchange to a small, but loyal gang of street thugs with whom he can follow his own codes.
However, But Papa Dino is not going to let him go that easily.
On the other hand, a pure-hearted young photographer from Japan named Eiji arrives in New York and befriends Ash, only to fall with him into a bloody whirlpool of pride, greed, lust and wrath unleashed by the enigmatic Banana Fish.
The series is being animated by the Japanese animation studio MAPPA under the direction of Hiroko Utsumi. Hiroshi Seko will be in charge of the series scripts, while Akemi Hayashi handles the character designs. Akitsugu Hisagi will be serving as the upcoming adaptation's "hard-boiled supervisor."
"Banana Fish" premieres sometime in July on Fuji TV's noitaminA block. Information on the official broadcast schedules will be available on the series' official site at a later date. Episodes will also be distributed exclusively by Amazon Prime Video both inside and outside Japan.
