Banana Fish follows Aslan Jade Callenreese, better known as Ash Lynx, a runaway who was taken off the streets of New York City and raised by the infamous mafia godfather Dino Golzine. At 17, Ash is already the boss of his own gang, but his life is thrown back into danger when he begins investigating the mysterious “Banana Fish,” the same two words his older brother Griffin has repeated since returning from the Iraq War. The search quickly pulls him into a web of street violence, organized crime, and secrets he cannot escape.
One night, while hiding out in an underground bar, Ash finds himself cornered when Dino sends his men after him. There he is joined by Skip, his friend, and is introduced to Shunichi Ibe and his assistant Eiji Okumura, Japanese photographers covering American street gangs. Their conversation is cut short when Shorter Wong, one of Ash’s allies, warns him that Dino is closing in. Before Ash can move, Dino’s men storm the bar, kidnap Skip and Eiji, and force him to keep running.
From that point on, Banana Fish builds a tense crime drama around Ash’s attempt to rescue his friends and uncover the truth behind Banana Fish while surviving the long shadow of the mafia that shaped his life. Caught between loyalty, trauma, and the people trying to control him, Ash keeps pushing deeper into a mystery that may be tied to Griffin, the war, and the power struggle surrounding New York’s underworld.
