Wait, wasn't Yue 16 during Shorter's death arc? Ash had just turned 17 at that time? .....All those years I thought Yue Lung was 2 years younger than Ash, but it seems they are just few months apart in age. That makes Yue around 18 in the later half of the story as well. It may be obvious to others but the possibility of Yue aging beyond 16 (in BF itself, not Yasha) feels like a revelation to me lol.
I have always been confused regarding Ash's training period under Blanca. Ash told Eiji that Blanca was his 'tutor' for 2 two years when he was stuck at Golzine's residence. Ash is 14 at the start of it, and if Blanca stayed for 2 years, doesn't it mean that he was with Blanca from 14 to 16 (or to be 16) years of age? Now, if he left when Ash was 16 (or soon to be 16) years old and he had been away for 4 years, it means Ash should be reaching 20 by the time Blanca comes back from retirement, right? It contradicts the canon where Ash is only 18 at that time. I don't get it.....
Actually in this case, Blanca should be gone from NY for just 2 years, and not 4 years like he says in canon that " It's been 4 years to be exact".
It's highly likely that he was talking about the last time he saw Golzine, not counting from the year their contract become active, as he says ".....haven't been called THAT (by his alias 'Blanca') in 4 years, either". It's just incorrect.
If we still choose to stick to this particular point and say Blanca was actually away for 4 years, that means he started training Ash at 14 and left him in that same year. That would mean Blanca trained him for....just a few months? It doesn't make sense given their dynamic. It's not like it's just Blanca who can read Ash like an open book, it is somewhat mutual between them. Ash understands him as well, that too when Blanca is not the most vocal person out there. Ash knows how he thinks, his habits, his abilities etc. And most importantly, he knows a side of Blanca that doesn't let his resentment turn into hate despite everything. I doubt that kind of complex yet intense bond they share can form between two people in just one or two months. They call each other names, be furious at each other, kick and shoot at each other with full intention to hurt, then sit amicably side by side and shake hands. It takes some time to build that kind of rapport, thus it seems plausible to me that they have spent almost 2 years in each other's company.
To avoid messing up the timeline it should have gone like this:
•Ash is 14 when he starts training under Blanca, year is 1982.
•Ash goes to reform school for double homicide ( maybe contract kills for Golzine to finally put his training to use. Blanca is still under Golzine). Everything happens same as canon, except Ash reading Hemingway novels in the juvie. Ash meets Shorter for the first time. It's obvious he has trained under Blanca for some time now, probably close to a year, since he does that thing with the stick while fighting Rocco(?). It's 1983, which makes him around 15.
•Ash resumes his training once he's back from the reform school. It goes on for another year, he's now 16 (or soon to be). Now Blanca leaves, in 1984.
•Ash starts claiming turfs and becomes a boss. He teams up with Shorter. ***He keeps Hemingway books by his side, doesn't reveal much when Shorter asks about it.
•Ash, 16, (soon to be 17) is handed over Banana Fish by Stephen Johnson. He meets Eiji.
•Ash goes to prison under false charges of Marvin's murder. He's introduced to Max. Ash says he's 17.
•Ash kills Arthur. According to Inspector Jenkins, he's has turned 18.
•Blanca is back in NY after 2 years, Ash is still 18. It's 1986.
***slightly later than it happens in canon. We see Ash taking Blanca's favorite books to the reform school as his only belongings. The way he's sad over the books tells that Blanca has already left and Ash misses him. Ash is still around 15 in reform school. So, now that means he was with Blanca for just one, not two, years? Somebody please help me understand.
Something's not adding up here.
....I guess Ms. Yoshida wasn't so meticulous about these details while writing.
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