Seriously, did anyone else notice how protective Shorter was of Eiji? Even while jumping into the river, he moved to hold Eiji to soften the impact of their entry into the water and to potentially not let Eiji get lost in the water.
Shorter telling Eiji not to look.
He would kill Eiji with his own hands if it meant sparing Eiji a fate worse than death.
Source: Shogakukan Bunko edition. Please note that the volume and page numbering are different from the more ubiquitous Flower Comics edition.
Ash
Vol. 4 pg. 254, police’s report:
Height: 5′9′‘ (175 cm).
Weight: 135 lbs (61 kg).
Note that the police’s data likely originated from Ash’s stint in jail. Hence, these were probably Ash’s height and weight when he first met Eiji. (Thank you, @maluron , for bringing this to my attention.)
Vol. 5, pg. 65, Ash himself:
Height: 5 ft. 11 in. (180 cm).
Weight: 135 lbs (61 kg).
By the time the Christopher Winston arc rolled around, Ash had grown by 2 inches.
Vol. 10 pg. 34, Foxx’s report:
Height: 5 ft. 11 in. (180 cm).
Weight: 150.5 lbs (68 kg).
Note that Ash lost a lot of weight during his time in Golzine’s hands, and this data was probably taken before he fell sick.
Eiji
Banana Fish: Another Story, Fly Boy in the Sky, pg. 275-276, Ibe was comparing Eiji’s height to that of another pole-vaulter, Kazuhiko Mizuno (187 cm):
Height when he was 17: 172 cm (15 cm shorter than 187 cm).
Note that Eiji’s weight is never mentioned in the series. That said, we know Eiji could manhandle Ash (from bedroom to bathroom to dining room and back to bathroom; see Vol. 7 pg. 226):
…while Ash has never been shown to carry Eiji around.
In other words, Eiji is definitely shorter than Ash, but it doesn’t mean he’s a lot weaker in terms of raw muscle power than Ash. Ash is a canonical speedster who prefers stealth, ambush, and one-on-one combat, and whose main weakness is his relative lack of stamina and power. In fact, Blanca criticised him for not having enough bulk on his frame (Vol. 8 pg. 59). Meanwhile, Eiji can literally catapult his entire body weight metres into the air using a fibreglass pole.
Please use this as reference when you want to write/draw some R18 stuff for your fan creations, and remember that when the going gets physical in more ways than one, Eiji is more likely to manhandle Ash than Ash is to manhandle Eiji.
The Banana Fish manga box will each have a picture on its back ( starting with Blanca ) and since there will be 4 manga box sets in total….
I am calling it now that the others are Sing , Eiji and Ash ( in that order ) , think backwards basically. Update : I was right but its Sing , Ash , Eiji
Moonlit Spires 