Ash

Ash is a tall and slender young man who stands 5'11" tall. He has blond hair, green eyes, pale skin, and an extremely handsome appearance, as noted by numerous characters in the series.

His normal attire consists of a loose-fitting white T-shirt, blue jeans, a brown belt, and red sneakers. He is shown wearing round glasses when reading.

He is sometimes associated with a green earring given to him by Dino Golzine to match his eye color and serve as a reminder of his ownership of Ash. Ash later dismisses the earring as an unimportant "gift" when Eiji Okumura questions it and trades it for weapons and ammunition.

In Angel Eyes (1995), Shorter Wong notes that she looks almost like a "boyish girl", saying that her beauty is almost frightening and that he can't stop looking at it.

Although Ash is well aware of his attractiveness and has learned to use it as a weapon, his beauty often works against him, making him the target of unwanted sexual advances and harassment from older men and women alike. He is also teased about his appearance and is often underestimated due to his beauty, which he uses to his advantage.

Ash has the personality, charisma, and ability to rally large groups of people under his influence. Not only is he excellent in combat and an incredible marksman, but he's also very intelligent, with an IQ of 180-200. His intelligence lends itself well to solving the mystery of "Banana Fish," and he's also said to be quite well-read, familiar with daily newspaper columns and political novels, something unusual for someone who didn't finish high school.

Along with his remarkable intelligence, Ash's good looks and charisma allow him to influence people's will to his advantage in difficult situations, and he is well aware of this. However, despite his influence over others, Ash is distrustful and holds most people at arm's length, except for a select few friends in his inner circle, including his longtime best friend Shorter, and later Eiji Okumura. He does not fear death not out of courage, as he calls himself a coward, but because of his disillusionment with his own life.

Ash's character is primarily defined by his constant struggle for freedom against his oppressors, his struggle to overcome his trauma from sexual abuse, and, most importantly, his struggle to find his true place in the world.