has been praised by critics, with Jason Thompson calling it "one of the great manga epics" and praising its "consciously literary" writing. Its artwork has received a mixed reception among critics: Frederik L. Schodt favorably compares Yoshida's artwork to the "clean-line realism" of artist Katsuhiro Otomo; Thompson, conversely, calls Yoshida's "dull artwork" the "one weakness" of the series, but nevertheless concludes that the "worldview of Banana Fish is so fully realised that the art is almost redundant, and even when the panels are nothing but talking heads, we hang on every word". Banana Fish is the favorite manga of Japanese musician Gackt – the artist claims to have read the series over one hundred times – and inspired the song "Asrun Dream" on his debut album Mars. The New York Public Library Main Branch, a prominently featured location in the series, has become a tourist attraction for fans of Banana Fish; the New York Public Library reported a significant increase in gift shop revenue in the 2019 fiscal year, which they attributed to popularity generated by Banana Fish. Japanese tourism company Kinki Nippon Tourist Kanto offered a New York City tour featuring stops at locations featured in the series and a guided audio tour narrated by Yuma Uchida and Kenji Nojima, who respectively voice Ash and Eiji in the anime adaptation of Banana Fish, performing in-character. In 2019, the tour was selected by the Japan Travel Industry Association to receive the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism Award at the annual Tour Grand Prix, which honors tourism plans that benefit Japan's travel industry. Notes References Bibliography Further reading External links Official anime adaptation website Official anime adaptation Twitter account 1985 manga 2018 anime television series debuts Action anime and manga Akimi Yoshida Animated television series by Amazon Studios Anime series based on manga Aniplex Comics set in the 1980s Comics set in New York City Corsican mafia Crime in anime and manga Fiction about mind control Gangs in fiction Japanese LGBT-related animated television series MAPPA Noitamina Rape in fiction Shogakukan franchises Shogakukan manga Shōjo manga Television series set in the 2010s Television shows set in New York City Thriller anime and manga Triad (organized crime) Viz Media manga Drugs in popular culture