WARNING: FULL SPOILERS FOR BANANA FISH

Ash, Eiji, Yut-Lung. They're my holy trinity, 3 of the most well-written characters I've ever seen, who carry the manga's themes and ideas. To simplify my interpretation of the main theme: People can change through their close bonds and interactions with one another. But before we understand the trio, we must understand the other characters. I'm going to look at each character I deem to be significant, so sorry for this being way too long.

Cain is less important to the main theme, but he is the best representation of a secondary one - racial ties. Japanese, Chinese, American and African American, the manga is full of a diverse range of races and ethnicities. Cain literally controls a Black gang - Black Sabbath - and while initially they seem reluctant and even downright hostile to Ash (The Whites), Cain convinces them to accept Ash through his fame and accomplishment, but signs of distrust still show among them. Similarly, Sing (The Chinese) is also accepted by them for his impressive leadership and skillfulness but is still not fully trusted. At first, the other races are only accepted by Black Sabbath for their "credentials", but through Cain's interactions with Ash and Sing, it becomes clear that a sincere bond has been fostered between them. They genuinely respect and care for one another, fully prepared to help one another, representing a wider racial acceptance. Cain reveals how relationships between races need to be fostered through mutual respect and understanding, not by using each other for personal benefit.

Max contributes to the main theme in an obvious way (he plays a sort of father role to Ash, giving him another kind figure in his life which changes him), but like Cain, he represents another minor theme. The manga opens with the killing of Ash's brother, an event that deeply scars Max and sets him on a path to discover what the mysterious Banana Fish is. Max then represents the ironically everlasting effect that the past has on the present. Every single decision made by him is motivated by the sole reason of finding out what Banana Fish is and avenging Griff. This single event has shaped the rest of his life.

Golzine is the purest symbol of evil. He is pedophilic, manipulative, violent, the list goes on. He is the main antagonist and villain, a malevolent force that has tortured Ash his whole life. Golzine himself doesn't have much complexity. He is your Blue from Pokémon Red, Hans Gruber from Die Hard, a hateable and despicable villain who mainly serves as the straightforward source of conflict. Yet, he still is part of the greater themes. While Max's connection with the past is Griff's death, Ash's is mainly the many years of abuse he faced from Golzine. He has shaped who Ash is, and as such serves as the catalyst for the everlasting effect that Ash's past has on the present. Of course, Golzine also represents violence and abuse, something that he shares with Foxx. Both show how violence is nothing more than a childish act which gives people a sense of power and superiority, yet this childish act's pervasive effects cause a cyclical cycle of violence, violence, and more violence.

If Dino and Foxx are pure evil, then Blanca is more nuanced. He agrees to assassinate Ash. His reason? Wanting to see how much Ash has grown. Blanca is not so much immoral as he is amoral. He cares for Ash, but not for who he is, only seeing him as a proud product of his own training. He only wants Ash to survive so that his accomplishment as a trainer can be immortalised. Everything he does is done for personal benefit, on a whim, or simple apathy. Why? Unlike Ash and Eiji, he can only view love as negative. His wife was brutally killed, so what was the point of loving her so much. Because of this, he distances himself from all emotion, only showing any semblance of it when his wife is brought, to the extent of distancing himself from morality too. Blanca represents not really the negative aspects of love, but the outcomes of a negative viewpoint of love. This manga clearly wholeheartedly advocates for love.

Shorter and Skip may not stay alive for long, but they play a nonetheless tremendous role to the theme. Both of them don't merely maintain a stable relationship with Ash because they fear him or want to use him, they have genuine friendships with Ash, shown through their casual banter and Ash's extreme reactions to their deaths. Because of how well Ash knows them, because of the time he spends with them, they are the main two sources of love that Ash experiences before meeting Eiji.

If Shorter and Skip come to love Ash by knowing him so well, Arthur is their direct antithesis. Arthur despises Ash, feelings borne from his temper and ego, feelings further exacerbated by his deep understanding of Ash and vice-versa. He feels superior to Ash, and as such deems it unfair that Golzine places so much favour on Ash. Arthur serves as a direct contrast to Shorter and Skip. Knowing someone well won't always lead to a good relationship.

Sing is the representation of legacy. Shorter's premature death forced him to take the mantle of leader, a position he plays almost too well. But with his newfound position comes the burden of legacy. He hates Ash at first for "killing" Shorter, and feels it his duty to avenge Shorter and carry on the legacy. But eventually, he manages to break away from this useless and negative burden by knowing the truth behind Shorter's death, as well as coming to know and accept Ash as a person. Sing is also another example of how people can change through relationships. Yet, he is never truly free from legacy. He will always be associated with and compared to Shorter. Banana Fish comments on the unbearable weight of a legacy and the futlity and hopelessness of preserving it.

Finally, before we begin with the holy trinity, I need to point out some flaws. Banana Fish is not a flawless work of art, though it is a masterpiece. First of all, by the time Foxx is introduced, the manga feels overstuffed with antagonists. He may have been a threatening final boss, but he doesn't add much to the themes. Secondly, the manga loses a lot of focus on the actual Banana Fish, and though I know that that was not the main point, I still think more could've been done to make it more tense and mysterious. Lastly, the two police are useless, so much so that I can't remember their names. They don't add a single thing to the manga's themes, and they don't add much to the structure or plot either. You could completely remove them and only minor changes would be needed to make the plot coherent.

Now, we're actually here. But, I cannot talk about Ash, Eiji, and Yut-Lung separately. By themselves I cannot say much. It is the relationships between them which define their impact. So, my paragraphing and sequencing will probably be extremely convoluted and I'd like to apologise for that beforehand. OK, now I'm ACTUALLY going to begin.

Eiji was born adventurous, his spirit of freedom compelling him to become a pole vaulter, before an injury sets him back down to Earth, crushing his spirit. He becomes a photographer, passively observing others instead of jumping over the obstacles of his own life. Yet, deep down he wants to go back and become someone extraordinary. Ash was born beautiful, an innocent child whose special blessing of beauty became a curse, raped and abused from young. He comes to despise the exceptional, wanting nothing more than a normal life. Yet, he is constantly pushed to become a leader, a man of power, only exacerbated by the violence and trauma he experienced. Yut-Lung was born hateful. His very existence was caused by pedophilia, and he had to watch his very mother beaten to death by his kin. He becomes fueled by vengeance, only living to satisfy his yearning for revenge. Eiji and Ash change. Yut-Lung does not.

Eiji and Ash, through their love for and interactions with each other, change oppositely. As Eiji gets sucked into the criminal world, he becomes more daring and less naive. By the end of the manga, he can confidently hold a gun. Ash, on the other hand, becomes more vulnerable and less cold as he gets sucked into normal life. He was trained to be a ruthless and clinical killing machine, yet his true heart is "soft", a petty adjective which replaces 'caring'. They change almost only because of each other, each pushing the other in the opposite direction, each helping them to regain what was taken away from them after birth. Yut-Lung, meanwhile, does not change like this. He didn't have the fortune of meeting any Ash or Eiji in his life. He continued to be fueled by hatred till the very end.

Banana Fish suggests that people CAN change through relationships and interactions, Ash and Eiji being obvious examples of this. Yet, the 'can' is important. Yut-Lung can never change. His soul has been irreparably corrupted, and he is forever left an incorrigible harbinger of vengeance and hatred. His only interactions with others were overwhelmingly negative. What Banana Fish truly says is that people can ONLY change through the people around them. Without anyone to change you, you will forever remain static.

Banana Fish's final trick up its sleeve is its other main theme: What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, but lose his soul? (Yes I know, The Godfather yada yada) Banana Fish posits the inverse statement of the question above: A man gains everything through gaining his soul. Ash's regaining and discovery of his own soul may have led to his death, but he does not regret it, he even dies with a smile on his face. The happiness gained from the process and his love for Eiji far outweigh the grief of his premature death. He doesn't even try to survive even though he easily could have. He understands that he has already gained everything he possibly could in his life, and for that he is fully content with his life. His life, in his eyes, is truly complete.