Credit: Netflix

So Banana Fish has been sitting on your watchlist for years, has it? Join the club. It was always that anime everyone kept banging on about… Only there was one little snag: you actually had to find somewhere to watch the thing. Such a pain in the neck. Well, happy days, because that’s finally been sorted.

After spending years as a Prime Video exclusive, Banana Fish is finally making the jump to Netflix. That means a whole new group of people can finally see what all the fuss has been about. Mark August 12th on your calendar, because that’s when it’s releasing on Netflix.

And here is something that has got long-time fans absolutely made up. Since 2018, they’ve been crying out for an official English dub, and it’s finally happening. Not just that either; a brand-new French dub is on the way too. Seven years they’ve had people waiting! Better late than never, eh?

Banana Fish is based on Akimi Yoshida’s legendary manga and animated by Studio MAPPA. The story follows Ash Lynx, a teenage gang leader who has spent his life surviving New York’s criminal underworld.

Then he meets Eiji Okumura, a gentle photographer’s assistant from Japan, and together they get dragged into the mystery of “Banana Fish”, a name tied to a dangerous drug and a conspiracy that’s far bigger than either of them expected.

Timing couldn’t be much better either. MAPPA is one of the biggest names in animation these days thanks to Jujutsu Kaisen and Attack on Titan: The Final Season, but plenty of fans still reckon Banana Fish is one of the studio’s very best adaptations.

Netflix has sorted the new dub cast and all. Brandon McInnis voices Ash Lynx in English, while Jonathan Tanigaki takes on Eiji. French viewers’ll hear Sébastien Baulain and Grégory Laisné.

Best of all, Banana Fish has finally escaped what anime fans jokingly call “streaming jail”. No more being locked to one platform, and no more missing an English dub. Netflix has knocked both barriers down in one go. Cheers!