#ash eiji

Post contains spoilers.

I constantly see posts about how everyone is sad and panicked about the ending of Banana Fish, they refuse to believe that Ash is really dead. You may consider me cruel and heartless, but this ending seems to me ideal for such a strong drama. 

On the one hand, no matter what anyone says, but to some extent there is an open ending here. I mean, there is no exact confirmation of the fact that Ash was actually killed, especially considering what he had to go through earlier. Yeah, it’s hard to even believe it: the man was bleeding, fought with bullets in his body, not to mention a terrible childhood, and then he simply died from a simple knife. No seriously? This perplexity remains in thoughts, and when I closed the tab with the series, I stared at the wall for a while, and there was only “fuck” in my head.

On the other hand. I think … no, I’m sure it can’t be otherwise: Ash was indeed killed. And that makes the last scene just incredibly beautiful. Now I’ll explain why I think so.

1. Eiji. Eiji became the most important person in Ash’s life. So important that he chose to read his letter to the end than to possibly find some help and stay alive. The very text of the letter breaks the heart when you realize that well, this is it.

2. Difficulties. Ash went through real shit. All this time he remained strong: as the leader of his gang, as Eiji’s defender. He was supported by friends, yes, but in essence he was alone against all the crap in this world. And suddenly… it was all over. No longer need to stay strong. He simply relaxed, holding a letter from the most important person in his hands, making sure that he was finally all right. And he passed away, with a smile on his face. Perfectly.

Sorry, but I can’t, I wouldn’t forgive the creators if they had left Ash alive. It is so strong and deep that I want to cry not from sadness, but from the incredible beauty of this moment.

Beautiful story. I do not know, this is my personal impression, perhaps I am mistaken somewhere, but I’ll be glad to any discussion.