As an audience, you may find a rich inventory of different anime genres, but they were not always like this. It has taken a long time to diversify and get sophisticated. In this process of improvement and enhancement of quality and quantity, some anime come as game changers. You may call it a paradigm shift in the anime universe. However, in today’s article, you will enjoy the best 20 Anime Like Banana Fish Genre.
History of Anime Like Banana Fish Genre
Banana fish is one of the milestones in the anime world that has changed the story pattern and audience pool. In the 1980s, dominant anime genres were based on romantic fantasy stories and were mainly preferred by adolescent girls and young adult women.
Banana Fish changed everything with its realistic artwork and action-oriented storytelling, including homosexuality and homoeroticism. That is still influential in the boys’ love genre of Anime.
Banana Fish was first released as a manga in 1985, later adopted as Anime, and aired as a television show in 2018. This anime story revolves around 17 years NewYorker Ash Lynx and his elder brother Griffin, a Vietnam War veteran and victim of a Brain Washing Drug called “Banana Fish”.
Ash Lynx’s investigation of the drug and involvement in the Corsican Mafia gang create the plot for the crime-action-thriller Anime.
As a bold and radical move in the story genre, Banana Fish gained quick popularity among men and adult women. Moreover, it gives birth to an excellent genre for the audience.
Unfortunately, the great manga adapted as Anime has only 25 episodes, and the audience craves even more. You may read the original manga. If that does not eliminate your hunger for more, you can go for the animes that have followed the ‘Banana Fish’ footstep.
Best 20 Anime Like Banana Fish Genre
To ease your quest for thrilling animes close to Banana Fish, we enquire profoundly and find out the best 20 anime that can give you the thrill and boldness of Banana Fish.
1. 91 Days
It is a story about the late days of American Lequre Prohibition in 1932. Where the main protagonist Angelo Lagusa lost his family due to a Mafia Dispute. Later he seeks revenge on Vanetti’s Family, which causes the death of his family.
After hiding for 7 years, he received a letter from his father’s friend that motivate him to return to the lawless district and get revenge.
Gradually, he infiltrated the Vanetti clan through Don’s son Nero and the story got complicated with revenge and counter revenge.
If you like American Mafia Crime Drama, where the core character seeks revenge familiar to “Banana Fish,” you may go for this Anime. Apart from a revenge story, this Anime has much more story in it.
2. Gangsta
Two handymen (mercenaries) named Nicholas Brown and Worick Arcangelo live in a crime-ridden town called Ergastulum. They take the difficult jobs from the Mobs and Cop alike that no other dare to do.
After a job of crushing a rival, they decided to spare and help the (amnesiac) sole survivor, Alex Benedetto, a prostitute. Later the city is in turmoil due to gang violence. Once considered drug-infused superhumans called, Twilight is on the run as an underground organization hunting them down.
Someone, who likes action, Gang rivalry, violence, crime, and an underworld story like Banana Fish may watch this Anime.
3. Yuri!!! On Ice
Once Japan’s most prominent figure skater Yuuri Katsuki lost at Grad Pix Finale and returned home for some changes. His food habit and lifestyle were ruining his fitness along with his career.
When one of his previous routines was performed by five-time world champion Victor Nikiforov, he came back to the limelight. Victor even visited his house and proposed to help him in back into skating.
Yuuri prepared for Gran Pix Finale, and some deep bond formed between them, just like Ash and Eiji in Banana Fish. Their same-sex relationship is handled quite well in this Anime. Then Yuuri faced a stiff competitor Yuri Plisetsky, and the story continued.
4. No. 6
Long ago, the Bloody war ended, and humanity refuged under 6 so-called perfect and utopian city-states. In city 6, Shion lived as an elite. One day he met a mysterious boy called Nezumi.
However, he finds out that there is a vast wasteland outside the city where Nezumi and many like him are still living. He gives shelter to Nezumi and loses his elite status and residence.
With Shion resettled, the dirty side of the city reveals itself. After a long time, the former elite and refugee boy meet again and go on an adventure to discover the dirty secret of the peaceful and perfect city No. 6.
5. Given
Ritsuka Uenoyama finds Mafuyu Satou with his rusty stringed Gibson guitar on a gymnasium staircase of their school. The encounter let Uenoyama help Satou with his guitar skill and introduce him to his other band members, bassist Haruki Nakayama and drummer Akihiko Kaj.
Uenoyama invites Satou to one of their Jamming session and discovers his fascinating voice. They make Satou their lead vocalist and a band formed by the four of them.
Later parts were focused on the relationship between Akihiko and Haruki and their organization of a musical festival. Eventually, Hiiragi and Shizusumi get involved in a same-sex relationship.
This Anime is about music, same-sex romance, and other emotional issues related to Banana Fish. You can watch the Anime anytime for more compassionate findings on Crunchyroll or Netflix.
6. Black Lagoon
Roanapur is a crime-infested city in Thailand where no authority or even Church can not defy the corruption and violence associated with the crime world.
Rokurou Okajima and an average employee goes to southeast Asia for delivery and are kidnapped by a mercenary gang Called Black Lagoon. The group planned to use him as a bargaining chip.
However, his employer betrayed and abandoned him to die. Having no option he joined the gang and turn into a mercenary and corruption and violence followed him immediately.
In his journey in the crime world, his morality and philosophy are tested at every moment, turning him into something dangerous like ash from Banana Fish.
7. Switch
Japanese Drug Control Department hires two recruits, Haru and Kai. They work in a dangerous world that belongs to gangsters, criminals, murderers, drug lords, and a mysterious organization associated with some heinous crime.
In their work, Kai encounters some psychological episodes that turn him into a cold-blooded killer from a decent gentleman. Alongside their job, they try to find out the reason behind the switch of Kai’s Psyche.
To know the result of their endeavor, you may watch the Anime. This Anime is geographically different from Banana Fish, but in the storyline, there are much more similarities than you anticipate.
8. Gungrave
Two friends Brandon Heat and Harry MacDowell lived by the rule of the streets, involved in something beyond their control. Having no choice but join the city’s most powerful crime syndicate Millenion they started a life of crime and violence beyond their imagination.
Harry MacDowell betrayed and killed his best friend, Brandon Heat. After 13 years, he revived through hydrolyzation and sought revenge against the crime syndicate.
In the process, Brandon rises to the top of the ladder and has flashbacks of his previous crime life with his friend. In the end, all his achievements bring him to his downfall. This Anime is so close to the Banana Fish that you must watch it.
9. Tokyo Revengers
A freelancer Takemichi Hanagaki falls into absolute despair in his life when he finds out about the tragic murder of his only high school girlfriend, Hinata Tachibana.
The dangerous Tokyo Manji Gang killed her. After hearing the news, broken-hearted Hanagaki stood on the station platform and pushed over by the herd of people onto tracks and closed his eyes.
He thought he would die, but after opening his eyes, he discovered target back in time by 12 years. He relived the best days of his life and sought revenge for his unfortunate loss.
10. Bungo Stray Dogs
Atsushi Nakajima was kicked out of an orphanage and somehow prevented Osamu Dazai’s suicide attempt. Later he discovers that Osamu is a detective with an extraordinary power who can turn himself into a berserker white tiger in the moonlight.
Osamu recruits Atsushi into his detective agency, where every agent has extraordinary power like Osamu. They use their power to solve diverse cases and prevent crime in Yokohama.
Atsushi got involved with detective activities and faced difficulties associated with the local mafia. At some point, his life was a stake. Here Atsushi is not different from Lynx. Both have troubled childhood, and life takes them into the dangerous crime world.
11. Monster
An excellent brain surgeon in west Germany, Dr. Kenzo Tenma faces a difficult choice between saving one patient over another. He saved an orphan boy instead of Mayor Düsseldorf. In a city where local politics highly influence the hospital, his choice is despised instantly.
Later he sees the horrific consequences of his decision, and the city starts to fall apart along with his career. Eventually, he starts a journey across Germany to confront a worthy adversary who challenges his morality, thinking, and sanity.
12. Durarara!!
Mikado Ryūgamin comes to the big city Ikebukuro with his childhood friend Masaomi Kidae to study at Raira Academy. His new school friend and circumstances were challenging.
He also experienced other dangerous delights in the underworld of the city. Here, he met the headless Irish man called Black rider. The stories revolve around 11 main characters and are described from each one of their perspectives separately.
This rare description adds something special to this crime-action thriller similar to Banana Fish. Each character may not impress you with their part of the story, but as a whole, all eleven characters give you a great plot that is hard to overlook. You should watch this realistic-based Anime if you want to experience something as good as Banan fish.
13. SK8:
“SK8” is a highly dangerous and confidential skateboard racing held in abandoned mines. Sometimes, fierce competition breaks out, and conflict between skateboarders happens called “Beef”
Reiki, a second-year high school student, get addicted to this dangerous game and regularly participate in secret “S” competition. One day he brought a new transferred student Langa to “S” and pulled him down to the world of skateboarding.
This thrill, action, drama, and relations can give you the feeling of Banana Fish.
14. Cowboy Bebop
In the year 2071, the earth is barren and abandoned due to an accident in the hyperspace gateway 50 years ago. Humans established inter steller settlements and colonies.
With the increasing crime rate, humans established an Inter Solar System Police (ISSP) and generated a legalized contract system in which registered bounty hunters have been established.
One of the Bounty-Hunter groups called by their spaceship bebop formed with multiple characters. Most prominent of them were former criminal Spike Spiegel and ex-ISSP officer Jet Black,
They formed a team under Bebop and went out for an extraordinary journey you must witness through the serial.
15. Devilman: Crybaby
Akira Fudo, the main character, learns from his best friend, Ryo Asuka, that an ancient race of demons has returned to destroy humans and recapture the world.
Akira finds out the only way to defeat a demon is to incorporate their power by getting united with a demon. The Crybaby did that and turned himself into a Devilman and acquired the power of a demon, but his human soul remained unchanged.
Later Arita Fudo the Devilman started his sole battle against all the demons in the world.
16. Baccano!
The story happens in 3 different timelines in 1711, 1932, and the early 2000s in an anachronistic manner. All plot happens in the Americal wild west along with the transcontinental railway and scientific discoveries.
In one timeline, alchemists are paying their price to attempt to create the elixir of immortality. In another timeline, two scientists Szilard and Ennise, try to find the elixir and get in the middle of gang violence.
The event in 1711 created a shock wave in 2003 Newyork. Two kind-hearted thieves finally link these separate stories in the end. With this sophisticated story pattern, this Anime can give you as good an experience as Banana Fish.
17. Terror in Resonance
Two boys named Nine and Twelve called themselves Sphinx steal a prototype Atomic Bomb in an apparent terrorist attack. After the Japanese Nuclear Facility attack, the authority could not act.
Then in a video, they threatened to destroy the capital and asked the police to capture them before the destruction. Later Anime’s act pushes the citizen to pay attention to Sphinx’s horrific experience.
They were a part of the horrific experiment of an organization named Rising Peace Academy. Later, they become friends with Lisa who gets associated with them and help them to expose the heinous activities of the organization.
These two boys grow up in a complex environment and turn into something they never wanted, just like Banana Fish Lynx. You can find other familiar attributes by watching the Anime yourself.
18. Death Note
A high school student from Tokyo, Light Yagami, finds a black notebook that can kill anyone as long as the owner knows the name and face of the target.
With this unimaginable power, the light gets devastated initially. Later the Anime started to kill the high-profile Japanese criminal. Following that, he targeted the international criminal.
Eventually, he faced a “shinigami” named Ryuk, who originally owned the Death Note. Ryuk through it away out of boredom and was fascinated to see the use of it by a human named Light. Ryuk can only be seen by someone like Light, who has touched the Note.
Later, Light gets involved with Interpol and their agent, L. You must watch all episodes to know more about this excellent Anime close to Banana Fish.
19. Canaan
It has been two years since 428: Shibuya Scramble. Maria Ōsawa and Minoru Minorikawa, both victims of Shibuya bio-terrorism, are dispatched as reporters to Shanghai to cover the upcoming Shanghai International Anti-Terrorist Conference.
Afterward, maria was targeted by Alphard Al Sheya, the head of the terrorist organization Snake. Then Middle eastern mercenary and assassin Canaan saved her.
The subsequent armed conflict between Canaan and Alphard finally their deep and tragic past. This terrorism-based crime world is not different from Banana Fish, and to know their past secrets, you must see the Anime yourself.
20. Michiko to Hatchin (Michiko & Hatchin)
In the imaginary South American country Diamanda, Michiko Malandro escaped the most heavily guarded prison in the country for the fourth time.
After the escape, she retrieves her friend’s daughter Hannah “Hatchin” Morenos from the abusive foster parent. Despite their difference in characteristics and age Hannah agreed to go with Michiko. He promised to find her father.
Michiko is a professional criminal, and Hannah is more reserved, sensible, and unaware of the challenging universe she is about to experience.
With all their odd personalities, they go on a thrilling journey just like Lynx of Banana Fish. You can be a part of this journey by watching this.
Final Thought
Banana Fish is the advent of a realistic art genre in the anime world, and the audience can better relate the stories to themselves. With this new kind of storytelling, Anime break its previous boundary and become more ecumenic.
You may not become a fan of romantic fantasy that dominate the 1970s, but you can not avoid the mid-1980s Banana fish. It introduces something powerful and unavoidable in the contemporary context.
However, this flow of extraordinary animes did not stop with Banana Fish. More anime creators inspired by Banana Fish make many animes, some of which are pretty good. We tried to find those notable works out of many mediocracies.
Now you can save time on researching yourself and utilize those times by watching the excellent Anime we have mentioned above.