Banana Fish, Akimi Yoshida, volume 18

[cyphomandra]

Ash briefs the gangs on their planned attack. Blanca asks Yut-Lung to release him from his contract, saying that doing what Yut-Lung wants – killing Eiji – will just produce another version of him and Blanca, someone who exists only to hate. Yut-Lung lets him go, although he rejects Blanca's suggestion that he may not be totally unlikeable. Blanca offers his services to Ash as a driver, who accepts, but Blanca drives him not to the Mental Health Centre but to the hospital where Eiji is currently being treated, and sends him in (with a white coat as disguise) to see him, in case he never gets another chance. When Ash sees Eiji sleeping he breaks down over what he sees as the result of Eiji getting involved with him; planning to leave, Ash is out of the room before Eiji wakes up, staggering to the door after him. Unfortunately Ibe and Charlie hear Eiji calling out to Ash, and as they come chasing after Ash Eiji yells at him to run. Ash is trying to get back to Eiji first, especially as Eiji's collapsed in the hallway, but he can't make it before he has to escape.

Dino is watching an operation (on one of Ash’s “comrades” - another one of Mannerheim's experiments) while Foxx is digging for information about Banana Fish in an subtle manner. Max is trapped in a cell. And Ash is back in a park with Blanca, having his wound dressed, and showing Blanca the message he’s received – to come to the Mental Health Centre, alone, with the information he has on Golzine, with photos of various gang members (and Max) beaten up enclosed to encourage him. However, Ash's other plans are falling into place - Steve and Jessica have just finished their story for Newsweek, and Dino is forced into damage control mode – but tells Foxx to kill all the hostages. And, just before the time appointed for Ash’s meeting, Sing, Cain and various gang members are moving into place outside Golzine’s house.

With their help, Ash takes Golzine hostage at gun-point and takes him to the mental health centre, demanding Mannerheim. Foxx refuses and says he’ll negotiate instead, and Ash is silent for a moment before demanding the release of the hostages – at which point Foxx shoots Dino. Everyone (understandably!) looks startled, before Foxx’s guys start shooting and grab Ash, while the others try to shoot their way out.

Foxx reveals his plan to a wounded Dino, saying he’s taking control of Ash and, through him, the Union Corse and Banana Fish. Both Ash and Dino are unhappy about this, but neither are in a position to fight back - Dino's gut-shot, and Ash is now tied up and has his previous injuries.

Sing and Blanca team up to rescue Ash while the others track down the hostages. I would cheerfully read a large number of volumes of manga involving Sing and Blanca fighting crime, but will settle for what I get here. Foxx is planning to burn the place and leave by helicopter (concealed in the half-finished building), with Ash strapped into a seat – however, Ash head-butts a guard and breaks free, slitting another guard’s throat on the way out. Sing and Blanca work out that there’s a helicopter, and head upstairs – Foxx and his men try to track down Ash.

Eiji, in the hospital, calls his mother and tells her he’s okay, and he’s coming home. He’s confused, unsure what to do and unhappy, but the police who are there tell him now that although they’re still looking for Ash it’s now in relation to the Newsweek story, in which Ash is a victim (and a witness) rather than a perpetrator. Meanwhile, Ash is stuck on a locked floor, trying to shoot his way out. Blanca and Sing are trying to break in. Despite his wounds, Dino has made his way to the computer and is punching controls – and now Foxx can’t open the ceiling hatch to launch the helicopter.

Cain’s guys break through to the hostages, helped by Jessica, who’s shown up fairly comprehensively armed. Touching reunions between gang members, and also between Jessica and Max, who decide to get married again. Sing and Blanca break through to the next level. Ash catches up with Dr Mannerheim, who offers to testify on Ash’s behalf in exchange for his life. Foxx and his guys head after them, and Mannerheim gets shot in the head by Foxx, who’s now backed by a replacement helicopter – and Ash is now trapped.

From the other part of the building, Blanca borrows Sing’s shoulder to make a sniper shot from – killing the helicopter pilot and causing a lot of very exciting explosions. Ash tries to get away but Foxx catches up with him, and they’re hitting each other with metal poles, but Ash is tiring and his painkillers are wearing off. Meanwhile, Blanca is picking off Foxx’s men while Sing distracts them. Foxx gloats over Ash and then gets him down on the ground again, telling him he’s just a whore – and then one of Foxx’s guys, injured, blows the charges in the building. Sing, who grabbed Mannerheim’s briefcase, falls off the ledge (they're all in the unfinished bits - I think the poles Ash and Foxx were fighting with are those things you put through concrete) but grabs on with his free hand. Ash seizes the chance to get Foxx off guard, and gets him in the stomach with the pole but takes a knife to the shoulder. Despite this, he goes after Sing, telling him to drop the suitcase in order to use both hands and get back up into the building again – and so Ash has him by both hands when Foxx puts a gun to Ash’s head and tells him to let go.

Ash refuses, despite Sing yelling at him to do it, and Foxx is saying farewell to Ash when he is shot through the head himself – by Dino. Which I was not expecting at all, I thought it would be Blanca if anyone - but I suppose Dino has always wanted Ash, even if it's now cost him his life. Ash helps Sing up as Dino staggers towards them, still holding the gun, and there’s a moment when Ash and Dino are just looking at each other, not saying anything – and then Dino keeps walking, falling over the edge into the smoke. It's a very well done moment.

Sing apologises to Ash (for pretty much everything) and Ash says he’s not going to kill Sing after going to all this trouble to keep him alive. Blanca shows up to help them get down, and Ash asks why he didn’t intervene. Blanca (who is sometimes just a little bit untrustworthy) says he didn’t think it was necessary, and it was probably what Dino wanted; there’s a small reaction panel of Ash’s face here, and there’s emotion there, but it’s hard to say just what.

Presidential announcements about the scandal, with White House staff leaving to spend more time with their family, and a denial of conspiracy – and pull back, to Max, Jessica and so forth watching this on TV, and Max wondering where Ash is. And then Yut-Lung, getting stinking drunk and maudlin in a really rather endearing fashion. Sing comes in and Yut-Lung orders his guards away. Sing pulls a gun on Yut-Lung, who tells him to go ahead, that he’s justified. And then Sing says that Blanca told him about Yut-Lung’s past (Yut-Lung, unhappy about this, starts breaking furnishings) and that he thought that Yut-Lung taking on the Lees was a good thing, but not when he teamed up with Golzine and went after Ash out of jealousy. Yut-Lung hits Sing, who hits back quite a bit harder – and then calms down, telling Yut-Lung that he has to take responsibility, sort out Chinatown, and that Sing doesn’t hate him even in spite of all of this. Yut-Lung is obviously touched by this in his own way (ie resentful and whiny. And yet, somehow still endearing. I can see what Sing means).

Blanca in the park, meeting Ash. Blanca asks first about Yut-Lung, and then mentions that Eiji’s going back to Japan tomorrow. Ash says he’s just bad news for Eiji, and talks about meeting him, and their friendship – and how he himself is just a killer, and how he’s never seeing Eiji again, although he’s still his friend and he will think about him. Blanca asks what Ash will do instead, and suggests he join Blanca in the Carribean. Ash declines; they shake hands, and Ash walks away.

Comments

[orannia.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

I'm just about to try my first manga! Kris is sending me two yaoi manga novels...not sure what they're called though :)

[cyphomandra.livejournal.com]

Heh - I presume you'll end up reviewing them, and then discussing titles? I'm unlikely to have read them anyway, as I don't like most yaoi/BL, despite enjoying a fair amount of slash fan fiction. This is largely because a) fixed sex/gender roles (very common in BL) bring me out in hives b) I don't usually like the art style (too many angular pretty boys) and c) nowhere near enough plot. Two of the manga titles I read, Silver Diamond and Loveless, have BL elements (e.g. gratuitous hugging sequences :) ), but it's not the main point of the story.

(oh, and if you get confused about how to read manga, I have some links somewhere which analyse panel order and so forth. I spent my first few volumes confused over right-to-left, top-to-bottom, and ended up going round in spirals!)