Banana Fish is not (just) the doomed yaoi people claim it is
It's literally the condemnation of the western society (but I'd say the right-wing capitalist society more specifically AND even the Japanese society, especially in terms of pedophilia) as a corrupt system that benefits the rich and uses the poor
Ash and his brother are the prime victim of this system. A child sold to rich men for their entertainment and a young man who also sold himself just for the entertainment of rich men.
Now tell me if this isn't a current topic with the Epstein's files, the wars never stopping, the prices of everything spiking to the stars, the rising crime rate...
And the victims are always the poor ones or the innocent civilians or the weakest. Kids, women, teenagers, white people, black people, asians. Ash, Griffin, Skipper, Shorter, Jennifer, Yut-Lung, Michael, Eiji, Jessica, even Arthur is a victim of the system. It's so clear, so blatant.
I love this story so much, it was written in 1980, reproposed in 2018 and now in 2026 it's as important as ever. I'll never get tired of it even if it hurts every single time I rewatch it.
Akimi Yoshida did something before all the shit that is going on right now even was a thing. But probably because the world has always been like that and it will never cease to be like that. As shown with the last violent act of Ash being killed right when he started to hope for a glimpse of happiness and freedom. But maybe, death is the only possible freedom for the very first victims of this system.