Welcome again, and for the very last time, to our roundtable, Breaking Down Banana Fish! We greet you this month with our final installment, covering volumes seventeen through nineteen of this epic series, as well as two side stories (“Angel Eyes” and “Garden of Light”) which are included in the final volume of the English-language [...]
Breaking Down Banana Fish, Vols. 14-16
Hello and welcome once again to our roundtable, Breaking Down Banana Fish! We continue this month with our new three-volume format, and with just six volumes left to discuss, that means we’ll have the entire series covered by the end of our May installment. Volumes fourteen through sixteen are action-packed, as Eiji and the others [...]
Breaking Down Banana Fish, Vols. 11-13
Hello and welcome to the sixth installment of our roundtable, Breaking Down Banana Fish! This month, we move to our new three-volume format with volumes eleven through thirteen, beginning with Ash’s escape from a government mental hospital. Having been officially declared dead, Ash is able to reunite with Eiji and his gang without the cops [...]
Breaking Down Banana Fish, Vols. 9-10
Hello readers, and welcome to the fifth installment of our roundtable, Breaking Down Banana Fish! This month we take on volumes nine and ten, in which Ash faces Arthur in their final showdown, Eiji is nabbed by the fuzz, Yut-Lung reveals his vulnerable side, and government conspiracy runs amok. I’m joined this month by Michelle [...]
3 Things Thursday: Love in Disguise
Yesterday, Deb Aoki posted a transcript of a panel from this year’s New York Anime Festival, Gay for You? Yaoi and Yuri Manga for GBLTQ Readers, featuring Erica Friedman (Okazu/ALC Publishing), Leyla Aker (Viz Media), Alex Wooflson (Yaoi911), librarian Scott Robins, and Christopher Butcher (Comics212), moderated by author/super-librarian Robin Brenner. It was the most compelling [...]
3 Things Thursday: Shojo Manga
Welcome to a brand new weekly blog feature at Manga Bookshelf, 3 Things Thursday! For the inaugural edition, I’m going to begin by breaking the rules straight off. In a recent Manga Out Loud podcast, one of my favorite manga critics, Ed Sizemore, mentioned casually that he hadn’t read much good shojo. While the definition [...]
Let’s Get Visual: Action Edition
Every day I’m reminded as I browse the manga blogosphere just how much I have to learn about reading and criticizing manga. So, last month, Michelle Smith and I launched a new feature, Let’s Get Visual, where we let our weaknesses show with a view towards growing as critics. In comments to last month’s column, [...]
Breaking Down Banana Fish, Vols. 7-8
Hello faithful shojo fans, and welcome again to our roundtable, Breaking Down Banana Fish! This month we take on volumes seven and eight, in which Ash brings his war straight to Arthur’s doorstep and Papa Dino’s bank account, playing both cutthroat businessman and cold-blooded killer, while Eiji does his best just to keep Ash human. [...]
Breaking Down Banana Fish, Vols. 5-6
Welcome to the third installment of the Banana Fish roundtable! This month, we tackle volumes five and six. With Yut-Lung conniving behind the scenes and Shorter’s loyalties stretched to the limit, everyone ends up in Papa Dino’s hands over the course of these volumes, and not all can survive. Ash orchestrates an elaborate escape, but his allegiance with the Chinatown gang may be lost forever. I’m joined this round by Michelle Smith (Soliloquy in Blue), Khursten Santos (Otaku Champloo), Connie C. (Slightly Biased Manga), Eva Volin (Good Comics For Kids), and Robin Brenner (No Flying, No Tights).



