Black Lagoon Review (Re-Upload)

DISCLAIMER: This review was written at an earlier date, and as such isn't as in depth and explanitory as my other reviews. However, it isn't bad enough that I don't want you all to see it, and as such I'm re-uploading it for that specific purpose.

The Black Lagoon crew (from left): Dutch, Revy, Rock, and Benny.

"When your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home." -Tecumseh

Black Lagoon was a show that I, at first, wasn’t too keen on trying out. Sure, my friend had recommended it to me for months, but the face value of it never sounded interesting in the slightest. Much to my surprise, I finally tried it out after some gentle persuasion and was rapidly enthralled in its crime based action and compassionate themes, ironic for the type of show it is.

For those that don’t know that Black Lagoon is in my top three anime of all time, just a heads up that this review is likely to be biased. However, that doesn’t change the fact that at its core the show is a solid and amazing piece of work. Now, as for my thoughts:

Rock serves as an antithesis to the
criminal underworld he never imagined.

Description: Black Lagoon is a primarily action oriented show full of dark and mature themes regarding righteousness and the “good” and “justice” that we so often take for granted. Following the story of a young Japanese man looking to make it far in business, “Rock” (the alias he adopts later on) is disheartened to be so readily trampled upon by the corporate machine. As such, upon being kidnapped and held for ransom by the Lagoon Company he is only faintly surprised to be neglected as a trade and sentenced to death by his selfish bosses. After being attacked by mercenaries and managing to save his and his abductees’ lives, he opts to stick with his kidnappers-turned-allies for a fresh start on the open sea. This series from then on follows the inglourious “adventures” of the Lagoon Company and the events that threaten them daily in the island town of exiles and vagabonds, Roanapur.

Revy, the fellow protagonist of Rock.

Characters: This (besides the action itself) is where the show really shines- all of the characters (yes, ALL of them) are by all means meaningful and have lasting effects on the show as a whole, as well as presenting a deeper sense of good and evil, justice and injustice, and all themes in between. The Lagoon Company, as described above, consists of four members: Dutch, the trusted leader of the crew, contract manager, and captain of their ship; Benny, the computer genius; Revy, the woman who wields two guns at all times, who, along with Rock, serves as the main character of the series
and acts as a complete contrast to Rock and his “sheltered” life; and finally Rock himself, who helps out in business negotiations as well as plans. The antagonists, who are plenty, come in all shapes and sizes, from a brother and sister who are products of a sick illegal “pr0n” production agency, the insane terrorist-changed-maid Roberta (who gets her own OVA season), and many characters that teeter on the scale between ally and enemy constantly (i.e. Balalaika and Chang).

Full of subtle but prevalent themes,
Black Lagoon is surprisingly
deep and profound, specifically
in regards to Revy and her past.

Story: To be frank, there isn’t much of a “plot” to this one. It’s more of a guilty-pleasure show like DxD (and it feels sick to compare the two, but bear with), except instead of having a sick need for big anime tiddies it’s instead a greed for action, blood, and copious amounts of both. The second season (appropriately coined “The Second Barrage”) features a more intense and linear story, however, following the events of a Japanese excursion Rock and Revy make to help Balalaika (leader of the Russian Mafia) in her East Asian endeavors. Overall though, the story features small, 2-3 episode stories following the current missions the Lagoon Company is party to.

The Rundown: I could go on for hours (or at least another four paragraphs) about the themes, graphics, sound, etc. that Black Lagoon features, except I feel that those things need to be experienced rather than have them explained by some random guy on the internet, but in general everything about Lagoon is done exceptionally well, down to its core (i.e. making you feel for the characters). As most of you already know, I’m a glutton for shows with good action and underlying plot, so it’s not surprising in the slightest that I was blown away (and still am) by this show.

Pros:

-quality themes, worthy of reflection

-great gun action that’s well animated

-brilliantly thought out characters

Cons:

-no lengthy plot (Although the OVA season sought to fix this, and did remarkably well)

Overall Rating: 9.25/10 GREAT FOR ACTION JUNKIES