now that ive been thinking abt bf again....banana fish covers some of my favorite themes unconditional love and what it means to be lonely/connected to others... ash and eijis relationship features elements of romantic love BUT ALSO i think what makes them special is

the act of choosing love for each other, which transcends time and distance. i think eijis VA put it best when he called their relationship one about longing for each other and wanting safety and happiness for one another

the whole series is kind of. these wonderful, tender scenes that are sort of mundane within a lot of suffering, and so those mundane things become so monumental ugh... just have a lot of respect for this manga