-Abi geçen bi arkadaş Banana Fish diye bişey anlattı. Acayip bişey. Böyle çok fena kendini kaptırıp gidiyosun.

-Hadi ya, neymiş o?

-Ya böyle New York’ta geçiyo şimdi bu hikaye. Ash diye genç bi çocuk var. Böyle bi sokak çetesinin lideri bu. Karizmatik bi bebe. Belinde silahla geziyo sürekli. Vurdu mu asla şaşırmıyo hedefini. Bi de bu çocuğun peşine düşen bi mafya var. Ama mafya böyle bildiğin ağzına kadar boka batmış. Her türlü pislik var. Ash bunlara karşı tek başına mücadele ediyo. Çok sürükleyici.

-Adı ne dedin?

-Banana Fish.

-O ne lan öyle isim mi olur?

-Abi işte Banana Fish diye bişey var. Kimse bilmiyo ne olduğunu. İnsan mı, yeraltı örgütü mü, başka bişey mi bilmiyosun. Gizem de var yani hikayede.

-Diyosun?

-Yani sana demem o ki, böyle komplo teorileri, derin devlet ilişkileri, kimyasal silahlar falan ilgilini çekiyorsa, bir de böyle bol aksiyonlu şeyleri seviyosan bi bak derim.

-Aşk yok mu bunun içinde?

-Ha?

-Aşk diyorum. Yok mu?

-Var abi... O da var...

Eiji’s war

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

Originally posted on 22 December 2019 in Turkish here.

No, I’m not done yet.

I previously wrote about how Eiji found a new purpose in life after meeting Ash and getting to know his world, which helped him come out of the depression he suffered back in Japan. But what exactly is Eiji’s new purpose in life? It’s saving Ash from his very “different” world.

In the beginning of the story, we saw how devastated Eiji was when he found out that Ash was ready to use his one and only trump card (the capsule containing the Banana Fish drug) against Golzine, knowing full well that he wouldn’t win.

Ash had risked his own life to save Eiji’s when he didn’t know him at all and now Eiji doesn’t have the heart to let him walk to his death. It’s like he’s thinking to himself, “How can a boy my age find himself in such an impasse?” This is the first time we see Eiji rebel against the world Ash’s living in.

But Eiji does more than silently shed tears, especially once things get more complicated. For example, here he’s basically telling Ash to quit doing things that would put him in harm’s way.

Later, when it becomes clear that there’s no “quitting” in this world (because they simply won’t let you), Eiji comes up with a different suggestion.

Different worlds: Eiji (3)

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

Originally posted on 19 December 2019 in Turkish here.

This is the part where things get complicated. Eiji will discover the true extent of Ash’s solitude and try to save him from a fatalistic mindset.

Like I mentioned in the other meta, Ash doesn’t want to kill. On the other hand, he shows no mercy to those who sold their friends out to Arthur. Or let me rephase that: Ash can’t take the risk of showing mercy to these spineless cowards who indirectly caused members of his gang to be killed. In the meantime, Eiji more or less knows what Ash is up to until late at night. He pieces together the bits he overheard Ash tell his gang members and the news about gang violence. Still, Eiji doesn’t judge him without hearing his side of the story. Instead he calmly asks him about what is going on.

Eiji gives Ash an opportunity to explain himself first. When Ash brushes him off, he points out the blood stain on his t-shirt, making it clear that he wants an explanation. He shows Ash the article on New York Times and asks him “Did you do this?” Then he softly adds “I don’t want to believe it…” This last sentence serves to make Ash understand that Eiji’s disappointed in him. Yeah, that’s just how good Eiji is at expressing his emotions.

Ash, on the other hand, is already feeling guilty about the lives he took, so being confronted about it makes him angry and defensive. He brazenly tells Eiji “And so what?” I think Ash is trying to act all nonchalant about it because he’s trying to convince himself that he did the right thing. But Eiji doesn’t know what to make of this sudden shift in attitude because just a few days ago he witnessed the extent of Ash’s trauma with killing when Ash cried his heart out on his lap. So Eiji gets angry because he’s scared. He wanted to protect Ash’s soul but now he’s scared that he has already lost him for good. Fueled by disappointment, his next remark hits home: “You now are not you! You’re not the Ash that I and Skip and Shorter knew so well!”

Remember the part where Eiji was thinking to himself that he feared Ash was slowly drifting away from him even when they were so close? This is the first time Eiji voices that fear, which leads Ash to conclude that Eiji started seeing him differently than before. And that thought is enough to make him panic because Ash always took consolation from the fact that, in Eiji’s eyes, he was just a teenager, not a cold-blooded murderer (although he just called himself a murderer in front of Eiji).

Seeing Ash storm out of the apartment, Eiji regrets his words immediately. He also feels guilty about defending others and telling Ash that he wouldn’t understand the feelings of the “have-nots” while he failed to understand Ash’s feelings in the first place. The last thing Ash said before he left the apartment keeps echoing in his mind: “I never ever wanted to be exceptional in my whole life!”

I assume Eiji then spent a sleepless night thinking things over and followed the logic I explained here, which lead him to look at things differently: Ash’s actions aren’t always dictated by his will or desires. He does certain things not because he wants to but because he has to, because “his world” compels him to. So Eiji decides to go and apologize to Ash as he thinks he hurt him while all he intended to do was to warn him. On the other hand, Ash probably thinks he lost Eiji for good after that fight like I explained in this meta. But it’s not like this was something he didn’t expect.

The look on Ash’s face here is just so raw… And this scene is proof enough that he didn’t believe Eiji when he said he would stay with him forever just the night before. For Ash, that was just an empty promise made on the spur of the moment by an innocent boy who didn’t belong in his world. But like everything else with Eiji, it was meant well.

Ash was ashamed of what he did and wanted to protect Eiji, so he didn’t tell him what he was up to, but of course he didn’t expect Eiji to remain clueless. That’s why I think it didn’t come as a surprise to Ash when Eiji wanted to confront him about the killings. But when Eiji outright tells him that his talents and gifts (which are nothing but a curse to Ash) make him exceptional, Ash is deeply hurt. Before, Ash always knew that Eiji was on his side even if he didn’t understand Ash’s feelings. Not this time. Ash realizes that Eiji’s not with him on this one and that realization makes him feel very lonely. That’s why he goes to the library. Ash turns to books when he has no one else. It’s as if the library is a reflection of his inner self.

The morning after the fight, Eiji asks Bones and Kong where Ash might be. They tell him, “The boss likes to come to the library when he wants to be alone.” Actually, it’s the other way around. Ash comes to the library because he feels alone. We know what went through Eiji’s mind when he found Ash reading on his own in the library because he tells Ibe-san at the end of the story. In that moment it’s like everything falls into place and Eiji makes up his mind.

Different worlds: Eiji (2)

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

Originally posted on 7 August 2019 in Turkish here.

In Part 1 of this meta, I wrote about Eiji’s life before he met Ash and how helping Ash became a new purpose in life for him at a time when he felt lost. In this part, Eiji will get to know Ash better and discover his inner turmoil.

When Ash finds out in Los Angeles that the whole business with Banana Fish is basically a bottomless shithole, the first thing he does is to talk to Eiji to send him back to Japan where he will be safe. He doesn’t mince his words at all and flat-out tells Eiji “You’re a handicap to us.” But by then, having learned about the kind of childhood Ash had and seen the place he grew up in, Eiji has grown more attached to Ash. Also, Eiji saw more action in the last couple of months than he ever had in his 19 years—all when he was with Ash. So, naturally Eiji’s deeply hurt to hear Ash dismiss him so callously, but at the same time he knows that Ash is doing this for his own good. Eiji also can’t help but admit Ash is right, saying, “I can’t even protect myself. I will just mess things up… I know I’m useless.” But to Eiji’s surprise, Ash disagrees.

This is also the first time when Eiji gets a glimpse of what Ash thinks of him. Ash doesn’t go easy on him but makes sure that Eiji understands how unusual it is for Ash to see someone do something for him without expecting anything in return. As for Eiji, he did what he did because he wanted to and he thought it was something to be taken for granted. I had the impression that he was going to say “Anybody would have done the same thing” in the scene above before Ash interrupts him.

The sad thing is that the next time Ash and Eiji get together after this scene, they will have been cheated by Yut-lung, lost Shorter and barely escaped from Golzine’s clutches.

After Shorter’s death, Ash and Eiji grow more attached to one another. While the guilt of having killed his best friend gives Ash nightmares, Eiji becomes an anchor in his life, allowing Ash to mourn Shorter. As for Eiji, he holds himself responsible for what happened, believing that Ash killed Shorter to save him, and decides to stay with Ash no matter what.

Different worlds: Eiji (1)

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

Originally posted on 24 July 2019 in Turkish here.

Previously, I wrote about Ash’s perspective on how he and Eiji live in different worlds. Now it’s Eiji’s turn... The story of Banana Fish gives us a couple of hints about Eiji’s life before he came to New York. But our main source for the ‘different world’ that Eiji’s living in is the side story Fly boy, in the sky which was written before Banana Fish began serialization.

Fly boy, in the sky tells the story of how Ibe-san and Eiji met. Eiji is introduced as a high school student living with his parents and little sister in his hometown Izumo. He’s no different from the Eiji we know, except for the hair. An obedient, good-natured, baby-faced boy. He opens his already huge eyes to see better because he’s near-sighted and refuses to wear glasses for fear that the other kids will make fun of him in school. Yes, he’s a perfectly normal teenager.

Eiji is a member of the school’s athletics club and competes in pole-vaulting. He’s got a rival from another school and although the two boys have been competing against each other since middle school, his rival has grown a lot taller recently which puts Eiji at a considerable disadvantage. Now he keeps coming second in competitions (The second character in Eiji’s name “二” means “two”).

At home, things are not so easy for Eiji either. His father was hospitalized a year ago due to liver disorders, so Eiji has been living with his mother, sister and grandmother ever since. The family is not doing great financially. But above all, the 17-year-old Eiji is away from his father when he needs a male role model around the most. And he can’t bear to see his mother flirting with other men.

But Eiji really loves pole-vaulting even if he doesn’t realize it. When his body is suspended midair for two seconds, his mind becomes free of all thought and an expression of pure bliss appears on his face. So much so that Eiji can’t recognize himself when Ibe-san shows him the photos he took of Eiji when he was ‘flying’.

Then we find out in Banana Fish that Eiji badly injured his foot and, although the injury eventually healed, he could no longer pole-vault. And later when he lost his sports scholarship, he became more and more withdrawn. Ibe-san tries very hard to lift him out of this depressive episode and finally decides to take Eiji to the US with him, thinking that some change of scenery might be good for him.

So the now 19-year-old Eiji finds himself in New York as Ibe-san’s assistant and meets Ash.

O kız hakkında hikaye bize başka bir bilgi vermiyor. Benim bu konuda bir teorim var yalnız. O kızın ölmesinde Arthur’un parmağı olabilir. Angel Eyes adlı yan hikayede 15 yaşındaki Ash dört kişiyi öldürmekten ıslahevine giriyor ve orada Shorter’la tanışıyor. Hikayenin sonunda Shorter, Ash’e “Sen de mi Arthur yüzünden buradasın?” gibi bir soru soruyor. Buradan anlıyoruz ki Ash’in yakalanıp ıslahevinde girmesinin Arthur’la bir alakası var. Eğer o kızı Arthur’un çetesindekiler öldürdüyse Ash de onların peşine düşüp bir iki (dört) tanesini indirmiştir diye düşünüyorum.

Nihayet yaptım! Buradan okuyabilirsin ^^

Max Lobo’nun Anıları

“Max Lobo’nun Anıları”yla ilgili diğer hayranların yazdıklarından öğrendiğim kadarını daha önce derlemiştim. Banana Fish’in mangası bittikten birkaç yıl sonra çıkan bu 4 kitaplık seri Akira Endou imzasını taşıyor. Yani bu kitapların yazarı Banana Fish’in yazarı değil. Bunu tekrar belirtmiş olayım. Dolayısıyla bu kitapların içeriğini canon (esas hikayenin bir parçası) kabul edip etmemek size kalmış.

Bu kitaplardan birinde Max’ın yıllar önce ölmüş olan Ash’e yazdığı bir mektup var anladığım kadarıyla. Twitter’dan @enta_jinnai ve @nakimooshi, sağ olsunlar bu mektubu İngilizce’ye çevirmişler. Ben de istek üzerine Türkçe’ye çevirdim.

Açıkçası bu yaptığım çeviriden pek memnun değilim. Çevirinin çevirisi olduğu için zaten biraz güvensizce çevirdim. Japonca metnin görüp çevirimi kontrol etmeyi çok isterdim. İlerde elime geçerse bunu yapıp gerekirse bu çeviriyi güncelleyeceğim. Ama gördüğüm kadarıyla daha önceden postaladığım özetteki ana fikirlerle çelişen bir şey yok.

Buyrun…

Notlar:

¹ “Sakat” demek istemedim. “Engelli” de kulağıma hoş geldi. Max, Griffin’in Banana Fish’in etkisiyle ne hale geldiğini gören ilk kişi neticede.

² Burada ne kastediliyor, asla anlamış değilim. Annen de madde kullanımının etkisiyle en az Griffin kadar kötü durumdaydı mı demek istiyor acaba?

³ Kendi çocukları olduğu için velayeti zaten onlardadır diye varsaydım. Burada “custody” daha mecazi anlamda kullanılmış sanki. Kol kanat germek gibi.

⁴ Banana Fish’in mangası 1985-87 yılları arasında geçiyor. 1985 yılında 17 yaşında olan Ash, 12 Ağustos 1968 doğumlu. Yani burada bahsedilen “o zamanlar” hippi hareketinin yaygın olduğu yıllar.

⁵ “Old man” için Japonca’da “ossan” dendiğini düşünüyorum. Türkçe’de günlük hayatta ‘moruk’ kelimesini kullanan var mı? Sadece tercümelerde kullanıldığını düşündüğüm bir kelime bu.

⁶ Max burada henüz kendinden bahsetmeye başlamadı. Japonca’da özneler birbirine karışabiliyor, onun burada Max’ın hala Ash’in çetesindekileri kastettiğini düşünüyorum ama emin değilim tabii. Bu şekilde çevirmek bana daha mantıklı geldi sadece.

Ahaha! İsyanlardayız 😄

Dino hakkında açıkçası derinlemesine düşünmeye pek yanaşmıyorum. Orası tehlikeli bir alan. İnsan onun kötülüğünün vardığı boyutları düşüne düşüne kahrından delirir. Daha önce Dino’nun çocuklara yaptığı şeylere biraz kafa yormuşluğum var. O günü çok üzgün ve sinirli geçirmiştim.

Banana Fish’te olan olaylar kimi zaman fazla abartılı ve gerçek dışı gelebilir. Ne bileyim, yok işte insanları zombiye çeviren bir madde varmış, 17 yaşındaki Ash aşırı zeki, karizmatik ve becerikliymiş, Orta Doğu’yu/Latin Amerika’yı kaosa sürükleyecek politikaların mimarıymış, bir avuç çocuk onun taktiksel zekası sayesinde komandolara karşı gerilla savaşı veriyormuş, 16 yaşındaki Yut-Lung mafyayla işbirliği yapıp ailesindeki herkesi tek tek temizliyormuş falan. Bunlar insana “Yok artık!” dedirtiyor tabii. Ama bu kurgu hikayenin belki de en gerçekçi boyutu ne yazık ki çocuk istismarı.

Dino’nun sevginin ne olduğunu bildiğini ya da başka bir canlıyı sevebildiğini düşünmüyorum. Bir insanın onun yaptıklarını yapabilmesi için tüm insani duygulardan arınması lazım. Onun için Ash’le ilgili takıntısını sevgi olarak görmüyorum. Ash, Dino’nun gözünde sahip olunacak nadide bir parça, işlenecek değerli bir maden ve varisi olarak arkada bırakacağı en büyük miras.

‘Hayatını çalmak’ çok doğru bir tabir. Dino gerçekten de Ash’in hayatını çaldı ama onun içindeki insanlığı öldüremedi. O kadar iğrenç bir yaratık ki Ash’in ona karşı gelmesi adeta hoşuna gitti, bunu bir challenge olarak görüp Ash’i zapt etmek için daha da şevklendi. Ama sonuç olarak Dino, Ash’in karakterini istediği gibi şekillendiremedi, onu kendisi gibi yapamadı. Bu da Dino için hayattaki en büyük yenilgi.

Şimdi bahsettiğin o son sahneye gelirsek… Bir kere Dino ölümcül bir yara almış. Yani gidici olduğunu biliyor. Foxx ona ihanet edip Ash’le işbirliği yapmaya çalışmış. Dino o sırada bunu öngöremenin ve Foxx’un elinde can verecek olmanın hazımsızlığını çekiyor olsa gerek. Ve o sırada Ash’in Foxx’la ölümüne dövüştüğünü görüyor. Bu durumda Dino tabii ki Ash’in Foxx’u yenmesini isteyecek. Ash’i kendi malı gibi gördüğü için Ash eğer ölecekse onu öldüren kendisi olmalı, başkası değil. Onun için Foxx, Ash’in başına silah dayadığında Dino son kalan gücüyle onu vuruyor. Ama daha sonra Ash’i öldürmemeyi seçiyor ve kendini binadan aşağı alevlere atıyor.

19. bölümde Ash yeme bozukluğundan eriyip giderken Dino, Blanca’ya “Ölmesine izin vermeyeceğim. Şu an en iyi şekilde tedavi görüyor. Yine de yola gelmezse onu kendi ellerimle mezara yollayacağım,” demişti. Yukarıdaki sahneye geri dönelim… Ash yola gelmedi ve Dino her şeyini kaybetti. Bu durumda Ash’i kendi elleriyle mezara yollamak için fırsatı varken neden onu öldürmüyor, bunun sebebini gerçekten bilmiyorum. Çok da ilgilenmiyorum. Diğer metalarda yaptığımın aksine Dino’nun aklına girip o an ne düşündüğü hakkında kafa yormayı pek istemiyorum, çünkü bunun bana iyi geleceğini düşünmüyorum.

Merhaba! Banana Fish’in mangasını sağ olsun Fratello Fansubs’daki arkadaşlar Türkçe’ye çevirdi. Mangadex’e de yüklediler ama oraya şu an ulaşılamıyor gibi. Onun için kendi sayfalarından indirerek okuyabilirsin.