The Shōjo Manga That Changed The Genre - BANANA FISH
Let's face it - most of you manga fans reading this right now have probably put a title down simply due to it being a "shōjo manga".
"Shōjo manga", which translates simply to "girl manga", is seen by most people as just that. Manga aimed for girls. While there are many topics and genres that can fall under the shōjo category, there are always common themes that they revolve around like love, relationships, girlhood, and more.
Just like shōnen, shōjo manga had weekly and monthly magazines too. Bessatsu Shōjo Comic was one of these, a monthly magazine that featured several chapters of different manga in each volume similar to Jump or Sunday. One title that was serialized from 1985 to 1994 completely changed how people perceive shōjo manga, being praised by both shōjo and shōnen fans: BANANA FISH.
BANANA FISH, written and illustrated by Akimi Yoshida, is a manga that follows two teenagers Ash Lynx and Eiji Okumura. Ash is a teenage street gang leader in New York well respected by his followers, and Eiji is a Japanese photographer assistant who traveled to capture the reality of street gangs. The two end up becoming friends, and along with their allies, go on an attempt to figure out the mystery of "Banana Fish".
At this point, it might sound like the start of another BL [boys love] manga, but don't jump to conclusions yet. BANANA FISH gets dark, depressing, sad, and makes you feel almost every emotion the average shōjo manga wouldn't. With topics like death, violence, war, rape, politics, BANANA FISH makes you wonder if what you are reading right now was actually serialized in a manga magazine aimed towards young girls.
While there is no direct sexual engagement between Ash and Eiji, BANANA FISH does have some homosexuality, homoeroticism [and not always in a pleasant manner]. This has been credited by some to have influenced the BL genre in later years to come.
BANANA FISH has a number of side-stories, and has been made into an animation by MAPPA, who also produced Dorohedoro and Jujutsu Kaisen.
