Shunichi Ibe (伊部 俊一, Ibe Shun'ichi) is a character in Banana Fish. He is a Japanese photojournalist who comes to New York City to report on street gangs with Eiji Okumura.
Appearance[]
Ibe has short shaggy hair and a moustache. He has same-colored eyebrows above his brown eyes and he is fairly tall.
In the anime, he also has a small and somewhat messy beard. His hair and facial hair are brown in color.
He wears a heavy green coat fully buttoned with the hood kept down during the colder weather and different shirts during the warmer seasons. In addition, Ibe wears blue jeans and brown lace-less boots.
Personality[]
Ibe shared Eiji Okumura's apprehension of the gang they were set to document. He also shows concern for Eiji when he goes missing otherwise has an amicable disposition towards people. While helpful to those around him he trusts, he is also somewhat easily rattled.
History[]
It is confirmed in the special chapter Garden of Light that Ibe chose to be a photographer against the wishes of his father and older brother. Ibe worked as a photographer and got his first break photographing Eiji Okumura during his pole-vaulting events. It was shortly after this that he would approach Eiji with an offer to be his assistant to help Eiji overcome a recent injury.
Story[]
Main Article: Shunichi Ibe/Synopsis
Relationships[]
- Eiji Okumura: Ibe hired Eiji as his assistant and brought him along to report on street gangs in New York. He was attentive to him, making sure he was ready for the flight. He is very perceptive of Eiji's feelings, both being a shoulder to cry on when Eiji is upset and insightful of Eiji's views concerning Ash Lynx. At times he does act in a fatherly manner toward Eiji as he tends to try to keep him away from/out of Ash's violent gang ways but finds this difficult to do as Eiji usually chooses to stay by Ash's side rather than be worried about his safety.
- Max Lobo: They share common ground as adults in terms of age and are on familiar terms when Ibe visits Max in prison. Ibe sticks close to Max as they escape Dino Golzine's manor and can depend on one another. They work together further to gather intelligence on the mob bosses' criminal activities.
- Ash Lynx: Ibe arranges to interview and photograph Ash as part of his reporting on street gangs. He notices how at ease Ash is around Eiji Okumura and how Ash can enjoy being a teenager and himself around Eiji. Ibe had been working on helping Ash learn Japanese. Like many before him, he had been caught off guard by Ash's attractive yet intimidating appearance as well as his reputation for taking command of gangs with impressive combat skills and high intelligence. At first, Ibe somewhat disliked Ash as he felt the teen was a dangerous influence on Eiji. Over time he came to accept that he could not keep the two apart and that Ash would do anything he could to keep Eiji safe.
- Shorter Wong: Ibe travels with the leader of the Chinese gang from New York City across America when searching for what Banana Fish was.
Episode Appearances[]
Quotes[]
"1" ― 2[source]
Etymology[]
- The name Shunichi means "talented, handsome" (俊) (shun) and "one" (一) (ichi).
- Shunichi's surname Ibe means "that one" (伊) (i) and "part, department, category" (部) (be).
Trivia[]
- Astrological sign: Scorpio
- In the chapter Garden of Light, he is revealed to have an older brother and father, both of whom were against him becoming a photographer.
- According to Volume 2 in the manga, he reads shonen magazines.
References[]
- ↑ Fly Boy in the Sky
- ↑ Banana Fish Production Book. Photos found here.