Ok So Another Thing All My Ships Seem To Have In Common-

AshEiji Tarot 🌹

Ash & Eiji’s Body Stats

Source: Shogakukan Bunko edition. Please note that the volume and page numbering are different from the more ubiquitous Flower Comics edition.

Ash

Vol. 4 pg. 254, police’s report:

Height: 5′9′‘ (175 cm).

Weight: 135 lbs (61 kg).

Note that the police’s data likely originated from Ash’s stint in jail. Hence, these were probably Ash’s height and weight when he first met Eiji. (Thank you, @maluron , for bringing this to my attention.)

Vol. 5, pg. 65, Ash himself:

Height: 5 ft. 11 in. (180 cm).

Weight: 135 lbs (61 kg).

By the time the Christopher Winston arc rolled around, Ash had grown by 2 inches.

Vol. 10 pg. 34, Foxx’s report:

Height: 5 ft. 11 in. (180 cm).

Weight: 150.5 lbs (68 kg).

Note that Ash lost a lot of weight during his time in Golzine’s hands, and this data was probably taken before he fell sick.

Eiji

Banana Fish: Another Story, Fly Boy in the Sky, pg. 275-276, Ibe was comparing Eiji’s height to that of another pole-vaulter, Kazuhiko Mizuno (187 cm):

Height when he was 17: 172 cm (15 cm shorter than 187 cm).

Note that Eiji’s weight is never mentioned in the series. That said, we know Eiji could manhandle Ash (from bedroom to bathroom to dining room and back to bathroom; see Vol. 7 pg. 226):

…while Ash has never been shown to carry Eiji around.

In other words, Eiji is definitely shorter than Ash, but it doesn’t mean he’s a lot weaker in terms of raw muscle power than Ash. Ash is a canonical speedster who prefers stealth, ambush, and one-on-one combat, and whose main weakness is his relative lack of stamina and power. In fact, Blanca criticised him for not having enough bulk on his frame (Vol. 8 pg. 59). Meanwhile, Eiji can literally catapult his entire body weight metres into the air using a fibreglass pole.

Please use this as reference when you want to write/draw some R18 stuff for your fan creations, and remember that when the going gets physical in more ways than one, Eiji is more likely to manhandle Ash than Ash is to manhandle Eiji.

the face eiji made here was so painful, it reminded me of another time he made it

so i was rewatching banana fish because i was getting a close online friend to watch it for her first time (this is ur sign to make ur besties suffer too if u havent already :>) and while watching episode 13, i got a better look at this pained expression eiji made..

in this scene, he was having an inner dialogue addressed to ash, where he speaks of the nightmares ash suffers through and how he pretends not to notice them and in this shot we see an example of it. eiji's back is turned to ash so that he can't see eiji's face or tell that he's awake. he then wonders to himself what ash dreamt of that had him so distressed at night. this is pretty cut-and-dry and there's nothing really to discuss here that hasn't been talked about already but i have such great appreciation for this show because the look on eiji's face here reminded me of a different face he made in episode 22:

something atrocious just happened to ash and eiji can tell immediately upon seeing the way he was acting when finally away from the commotion of gunfire. and while eiji hasn't gone through the things ash has gone through, hasn't witnessed them directly or even had knowledge of just how disgusting people could be up until recently, he looks at ash's current state, looks at how shaken up and afraid he is, and he looks so angry.

i know a lot of people (not the majority but definitely some) have a kind of reaction to this scene of frustration towards eiji for not being angry or "showing" his anger. they get mad at him for not saying anything or turning to violence or thinking of vengeance. and i think that reaction, while understandable, is not necessary here and would have ruined the weight of a scene like this, especially in the context of such a graphic crime like rape. even if he did have the reaction those people watching wanted, its not like he can deliver on it at all.

what he felt then was an intense anger, seething quietly but still present, towards the world. towards foxx. towards every adult in ash's life that didn't help or intervene or protect him through the hell ash was going through. and yet it already happened. bloodshed or blind fury wouldn't undo it, all it would do is add to ash's baggage and nobody wants that. realistically, he only had one thing that he could give to ash and it was the one thing ash needed most. he needed all his swaying pieces to be held together and no amount of outrage will ever have the same impact as that moment of silence where eiji held him in his arms.

those same things eiji wonders whether ash dreams of them are the things he witnessed ash walk away from during that moment of vulnerability. his exploitation. if it weren't for the greed of men, ash would not have had those nightmares, and that's why eiji had that same look on his face when hearing ash wake up from one. he knew that no matter what the nightmare was, it had something to do with the way he's either neglected or used and abused by adults all the time

god this show hurts. he probably wanted to do so much more in that moment yet all he could do was hold ash in his arms

Eiji the professional photographer. Let's talk about it!

Though this might be obvious, Eiji's "journaling" is basically through photos. He seems to be the type to take in the moments, than write them down. Along the way, I think he's finding a bit of his place and new found interest in photography. I wonder about what kept Eiji going in that path even after Ash? We see him locking out Ash's photos away for a long time in Garden of Light. If he ever wrote down things still, that would be an interesting idea to take, considering they were always on the go. Probably written stuff during nights, as he looks at the photos he recently have taken.

There's probably him realizing that being an athlete may not be what he wanted in the long run, there's the injury I don't think he has gotten over with because he did took that hard and there wasn't much time to even heal from it from all the events that went down with Ash. Okay maybe he's gotten to terms with it somehow behind the scenes, since being in the USA gave his world a huge unexpected shift.

Going back, it feels like Eiji continued photography as a way to cope, to heal, but definitely with the passion along with it because even he can't even look at Ash's image for a long time. Yet the very image of him transpired a lot of things in him. But of course, I do think Eiji found his footing and desire through this art himself, his eyes always had a thing for things unseen, his eyes are dark of color yet the depth does exist in them. They always have.

“a burning hill” by mitski

Preorders are over, so I can post my entire Banana Fish draw for:

💝 Beat of my Heart! 💝

A Shojo Poster Collection!

PDFs and some spare copies still available here http://sibzine.storenvy.com

On my monthly Banana Fish Reread. Ash’s death was predicted from the very first volume (his life with Eiji was short and happy). I’m gonna be SICK

fanart for a show i cannot stop thinking about

INPRNT

happy halloween to my beloved blorbos!!!