Shorter Wong

**Shorter Wong** is Ash Lynx's best friend and partner. He is the leader of Chinatown's mafia but has shown to be united with Ash's gang. He frequently looks out for Ash, spying for him and rescuing him when necessary. He later helps him and uncover details on Banana Fish as threats close in around them.

## Appearance

In the manga, Shorter is slightly taller than Ash and has a tall, dark mohawk. He is usually seen wearing sunglasses and clothing appropriate to the time. Upon his debut, he is also seen with a small heart marking on his right cheek and wearing hoop earrings. However, around the time Ash was sent to prison and met Max, Shorter removed his jewelry and shaved his hair, being completely bald.

In the anime, Shorter's mohawk is purple/lavender in color and he has an eyebrow piercing on his left eyebrow. He does not have the heart marking nor does he wear earrings. His signature look mainly consists of sneakers, ripped jeans, a white shirt and orange vest.

## Personality

Shorter is quite lively and extremely loyal. Despite being in separate gangs, Shorter takes the initiative to interrogate gang members to discern Ash's location when he went missing and was the first to attempt a rescue before police. He is shown to care deeply about his family, even hiding his predicament with the Lee family from Ash in order to protect his sister when Yut-Lung Lee threatens her.

He is also protective, as shown when he puts himself at risk to help Ash and the people he cares about when directed. Shorter is prepared to go to drastic measures to save Eiji from a horrible fate as Golzine's toy and keep his promises to Ash.

## History

Shorter met Ash in juvenile detention where he had been tasked to protect Ash from harassment and frequently mused about Ash's beauty. The two became trusted confidants to one another as Shorter came to understand how Ash is one not to be underestimated. They eventually came together to strengthen their gangs against Arthur.

## Relationships

* **Ash Lynx**: Shorter Wong is seen to have a very close friendship with Ash. Shorter has shown to be deeply concerned about Ash's relationships with Marvin and Golzine. He helped him fight Golzine's men and warned him of Arthur's betrayal as soon as he learned of it, and proceeded to go to great lengths to rescue Ash when he was kidnapped. In addition to being a great partner, Shorter proves to be an excellent right-hand man.
 Both have a deep sense of trust for the other, demonstrated when Ash left Shorter to protect the house while he and Max left Yut-Lung's mansion. It took Ash some time to realize Shorter had (only with his sister's well-being at peril) defected to Yut-Lung's side. Though Shorter never fully cooperated, Ash immediately forgave Shorter, blaming himself for not sensing Shorter's distress. Ash deduced Shorter did it to protect his family in New York, showing Ash and Shorter's deep sense of camaraderie and love for each other. At the end of his life, Ash's voice was able to temporarily free Shorter of the hallucinations of Banana Fish. Upon hearing Ash call his name, and seeing an angel statue in the execution room, Shorter begged Ash to set him free and trusted him to end his life painlessly. After Shorter's death, Ash begins to wear a pair of sunglasses in Shorter's honor.

* **Eiji Okumura**: Shorter is very protective of Eiji, covering him on multiple occasions such as intervening on his behalf when Arthur captured him. Shorter also embraced Eiji to dispatch a gun man near them, to seizing Eiji to make sure he could escape with them. Though he was forced to transport Eiji for the safety of his sister, he held him close at all times. Under dire circumstances, Shorter stated that if the worst was set to happen to Eiji, Shorter would "set him free" and then kill himself to escape an undoubtedly grim fate, a testament of their extreme situation.

* **Nadia Wong**: Shorter's older sister. They work together at their restaurant with Shorter wearing his disguise. Shorter is shown to be loyal to and protective of her to the point he would co-operate with Yut-Lung and defects to his side in order to protect her.

## Episode Appearances

* Episode 01 A Perfect Day for Bananafish

* Episode 02 In Another Story

* Episode 03 Across the River and into the Trees

* Episode 04 This Side of Paradise

* Episode 05 From Death to Morning

* Episode 06 My Lost City

* Episode 07 The Rich Boy

* Episode 08 Banal Story

* Episode 09 Save Me The Waltz

* Episode 10 Babylon Revisited

* Episode 14 Tender is the Night (Brief hallucination of Ash)

* Episode 15 The Garden of Eden (Shorter's remains were stored in the facility for study)

## Quotes

(About Ash) "His face when he laughed was cute, and childlike, and totally angelic."

(To Ash) *"It's my problem too! If you go alone, you'll just be killed. You'll die for nothing!"*

(To Eiji) *"I won't let you go alone, Eiji."*

(To Ibe) *"I'm sorry, Ibe, but believe me when I say this: I'll die before I let them lay a finger on Eiji."*

(To Ash) *"Ash, I can't anymore. Set me free. I'm in so much pain."*

## Trivia

* In the episode 4 preview, it is revealed that Shorter used to have green hair and got called "pineapple" for it. He was deeply upset by the incident.

* According to Lee Wang Lung (episode 5), Shorter frequently talks about Ash.

* In the official artwork for the first anniversary of Banana Fish's anime adaptation, Shorter is shown to be holding a bouquet of purple lilacs, which according to the Japanese language of flowers represent first love.

* Shorter's shoes resemble a rare pair of Air Jordan 8 shoes from the "History of Flight" collection.

## References

1. ↑ Banana Fish Production Book. Photos found here.
2. ↑ Episode 4 preview
3. ↑ Banana Fish anime first anniversary official artwork: Shorter Wong
4. ↑ ライラックの花言葉 [Flower language of Lilacs]