Nice review :P
Black Lagoon tv Review
Businessman Rokuro Okajima is kidnapped by a group of bounty hunters, and reluctantly joins their group when his boss tells him his life is meaningless. Rokuro abandons his old name and adopts the nickname "Rock." The rest of the group consists of the boss-man, Dutch, Benny the mechanic, and the trigger-happy Revy, a.k.a. Two Hands. Rock makes himself useful by serving as the group's negotiator and translator. The crew of the torpedo boat, The Black Lagoon, do various jobs for many mafias around the port of Roanapo in Thailand.
By: xdiamondxdecayx
Story & Characters
This is a Review of Black Lagoon and Black Lagoon : Second Barrage :
Story Introduction :
Rokuro Okajima , an employee of a company in Tokyo was taken hostage by the group Black Lagoon. After a sequence of
events , he decided to join the crew after his life was tossed aside by his superiors under a new name ,
"Rock". Together , the self-proclaimed "delivery crew" takes on missions from just about anyone ,
illegal or not.
Terms Sypnosis :
Black Lagoon :
Black Lagoon is the title for the company that Rock and the others are in. It takes on just about any missions from
almost anyone , even if they have to brush against the law itself once in a while.
Roanapur :
This is the name for the city which the story is centered around in. The city is literally a breeding ground for crimes
and conspiracies , mafias infest in this city like rats and violence is almost an every day thing in this city
itself.
Hotel Mascow :
This is the title of a particular and powerful Mafia group in Roanapur. The Mafia itself consists of ex-military units
from the Afgahnistan War ( Their Ex-Soviets to be precise ) under the lead of their ruthless female leader.
Triad :
A Hong Kong Mafia which also shows up once in a while in the storyline , though it's role is perhaps not as
prominent as Hotel Mascow.
Character Sypnosis ( Black Lagoon Crew Only ) :
Rokuro Okajima :
He is a Japanese businessman who was one day , out of a sudden , kidnapped by the crew Black Lagoon when he was on a
business trip for his company. However , his boss had tossed his life aside and from the on , Okajima decides to join
the Black Lagoon company under the name "Rock". Since his incapable in gunfights and due to his previous job ,
he usually helps the crew in diplomatic , translations and other trivial matters.
Personality :
In the entire crew...no , in the entire Anime itself , his literally the most innocent and least corrupted character in
the Anime. Since his morality isn't tainted , he always attempts to seek a better way to help those who had led a
life they ought not to have led. Rock can also prove to be intellectual and even showing bravado when his forced into a
tight corner that endangers his life. However , as the series continues one , Rock becomes gradually more accustomed to
corruption and the darkness of the world he now lives in.
Rebecca / Revy :
Revy is the female protoganist of the story. She is an American borned Chinese who had lived a very rough childhood and
had literally grown in the midst of bloodshed and violence. In the Black Lagoon , she can be considered the combat ace
of the crew , being dubbed as "Two-Hands" due to her ability to dual wield her custom made pistols
"Cutlass".
Personality :
Revy is shockingly sadistic and violent , thoroughly enjoying killing others , something that probably is caused by her
childhood. She's also incredibly rash and violent , constantly using violence instead of resorting to peaceful
resolves and swearing at every slight provacation. However , despite her dark nature , there are occasional glimpses of
her which allows you to view her in a better light. As time passes by , Revy also starts to show concern towards Rock as
well. ( Though in an aggressive manner )
Benny / Benny-boy :
Benny is the computer whiz of the Black Lagoon. Apparently , he is also of Jewish descent. Like Rock , he is unable to
take part in any form of shoot outs so he is usually the technical support for the crew.
Personality :
Compared to Rock , his less concerned about the well-being of others yet not cruel enough to take a human life. He
quickly got along with Rock due to their similarity in nature. Also , his relatively possessive of his technical
equipments , refusing to let anyone else other than himself to touch them.
Dutch :
A relatively intimidating looking African American man but despite his looks , his more rational compared to Revy. Dutch
is also the acting Captain of the crew Black Lagoon , often taking jobs from his contacts and he may take part in
battles as well if neccessary , but otherwise , his usually the one piloting the torpedo boat their using.
Personality :
Dutch is relatively more calm , rational and friendly compared to Revy but he does not hestitate to kill when he needs
to. He does seem to be fairly observant of the crew's behaviour and allows them to have a break once in a while to
relieve them from the stress of their jobs.
Overall :
To be honest , Black Lagoon is a bit disturbing and sick to a certain extent. We have characters who are mentally
distorted due to the lives that they had led but I suppose that is a bit more realistic?
The story moves in the manner of "Mini-Arcs" as well , with every few episodes depicting temporary characters
and a new mission and story for it. However , surprisingly enough , each Arcs are extremely well-crafted. The developers
had efficiently produced characters that are either bad as* or to feel apathetic towards to.
For character development , there isn't any serious form of change in any of the character's personality ,
other than the slow and gradual change in Rock as he slowly adapts to the life he now leads. The backgrounds of the
recurring characters aren't fully explained either as their usually thrown in as the forms of minor flashbacks but
the character's personalities were realistically crafted as they each have their flaws but the problem is , that
had made them not entirely likeable due to their violent nature.
Generally speaking , Black Lagoon's forte isn't in it's storyline but it's characters who are to be
sympathied for their dark and bloody backgrounds and their incapability to change as they grew up in a violent
environment. Unlike most Animes that features a typical "Happily Ever After" sort of situation after every
event , Black Lagoon features a much more realistic and down-to-earth forms of epilogue per mission yet it may prove to
be excessively dark at times.
Side Note : I've just noticed something but...are nearly all the scary and nasty characters in this Anime are female?
Rating:
Art
Artwork Review :
What can I say? The artwork is simply superb. Every minor bolt action of the pistol and weaponary is taken into account
and the limbs of the characters doesn't move in an awkward manner either.
It's also impressive to see how the artist had managed to bring out the dark and twisted look on the faces of the
characters who had led a terrible past. Their eyes can seriously get frightening at times and this is perhaps the first
time my heart skipped a beat when some of the characters start to act maliciously in Anime. ( You know...the typical
shadowy face with an eye glaring downwards at you? )
The environment is also generally well-drawn though it is fairly static most of the times one way or the other. Though
at times , they may bring in more trivial stuff into certain scenes such as a truck passing by before a fight.
As for the Opening and Ending sequence...well , their a mite bit disappointing compared to the Anime itself. It's
like having a shabby cover for an awesome book though the Opening sequence is certainly unique depending on how you
think of it.
Generally speaking , the most impressive parts of the artwork is the changes of the facial appearances of the
characters. ( Seriously , Revy can turn from moe into savage in a matter of seconds :O )
Rating:
Sound
Music Review :
I can't really say too much about the music. The Opening certainly depicts a fraction of how disturbing Black
Lagoon can get though. Or rather , it's a brief summary on how Black Lagoon is like , provided that you understood
the lyrics so it's recommended to find a translation and read it through.
As for the special Ending sequence , The World of Midnight ( Hansel and Gretel Arc Ending ) , let's just say it
just enchanced the depressing aura that already surrounds this Arc.
Though the Ending Sequence is really disappointing , it isn't even a vocal music :X Kinda throws away the reason to
even bother to look at the first few seconds of the Ending animation.
List of Opening , Ending and BGM :
Red Fraction ( Opening )
Don't Look Behind ( Ending )
The World of Midnight ( Ending II )
Peach Headz Addiction ( Ending III , and yes , I did spell it right )
Seiyu Review :
Okay...I really want to applaud the Seiyus' who took part in this. Despite the fact that some of the characters are
for a temporary appearance , their voice acting are really good. Particularly some characters where you can actually
sense a fraction of the malicious tone in them , such as Hansel , Revy and Balalaika.
Another impressive part of the Anime is that...there is actually an accent to their speeches! Some of the characters
have a seriously realistic twinge of accent to their speeches...Something that is absolutely absent in other Anime.
Anyways , though there aren't exactly any prominent voices I'd like to list out , the voice acting of the
Anime itself is superb and definitely won't disappoint.
Rating:
Presentation
This is a Review of Black Lagoon and Black Lagoon : The Second Barrage :
Hmm...This is certainly an extremely well-done Anime and well , let's just say this is a bit of pyschological twist
as well.
The upside of this Anime is that the bad as* sequences depicted in the Anime wasn't over-done. The characters
don't do anything melodramatic yet still retaining the bad as* flavour to them. As for the psychological twist
part...well , let's just say that the backgrounds of the characters are extremely dark and all. The Anime is also
depressing in it's own way with a cast of realistic characters who are emotiaonlly deranged by their past.
The downside is...the characters can get really sadistic and scary at times :X Enjoying bloodshed and killing others out
of amusement , seriously , though the gore scenes aren't quite as prominent compared to bloodier Anime such as
Elfen Lied , the amusement to kill is enough to churn your stomach and the morality levels of this Anime is constantly
being shifted in from the light to the dark. Well , ironically , this is also the strong point of the Anime but not many
might enjoy this.
Oh yeah , as a side note , historical events , weaponary descriptions and PC data stuff is occasionally thrown in once
in a while. Though their not exactly critical to understanding the entireity of the plot , it's still good enough
to do a bit of a read-up on them.
Overall ( Others ) :
Age Recommendations : 18 +
Genre : Action , Mature , Seinen , Psychological
Romance :
Well , the romance side is a bit weak in this Anime. Though it's uncertain on what Rock feels , it is clear the
Revy have a bit of a crush on Rock ( Really clear , it's crystal clear! ) ...I wouldn't call her a typical moe
Tsundere though , she's too violent to be one :P
Anyways , there are several episodes depicting cases of romance but in a vague and weak manner.
Humor :
Hmm...Usually , the humor content is thrown in at the most unexpected of times. Either in the form of dark humor or
well...For example , some guy bursts in from no where , starts to act all bad as* and while his in the middle of his
almighty speech , he got his arse kicked by Revy. Not exactly extremely funny and all but is enough to break the
tensions and the darkness of this Anime.
Gore :
Well , there are suggestive sequences such as dismemberment but it isn't actually shown directly on the screen.
Well , it's more or less the impression of it , with the mixture of ample blood spraying and the sound
effect.
Psychological :
Honestly , this Anime does attack your mind :X A bunch of blood thirsty and trigger-happy characters , sadistic gun
slinging chicks and characters who are so morally wrong in every way. Some of the characters had also faced a past that
had moulded the personality they have now....Unlike most Anime that relies on gore and visual effects to make it sick ,
this Anime is psychologically sick so I suppose it makes it unique to a certain extent.
Well , if you don't trust your brain to be able to handle this , don't watch it.
Trivia :
-Black Lagoon originates from a Manga of the same title. I haven't read it yet but it's likely to hold more
content.
-A Third Season , Black Lagoon : Rebeca's Blood Trail , an OVA series , is to be released in Blu-Ray in July
2010.
-There are a lot of real life references in this Anime
Rating:
Final Verdict
8.3333 (good)
Reviewed by z827, Jun 18, 2010
Comments
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rukasu04 Mute Member Aug 12, 2010
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SchRita Aug 27, 2010
I liked this series.
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patriz0 Oct 05, 2010
is this a must watch?
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Hoeruokamix Mar 29, 2011
This review is spot on, except for a couple of things.
1. While most of the humor is violent humor, several of the insults are hilariously creative.
"Amen, Hallelujah, Peanut Butter!" as an example.2. While most of the character's *are* in fact, blood thirsty, some of them are in a more rational way. In the Hansel and Gretel ark, Balalaika ends it with a fairly insightful comment of "I feel tired. By God... What a world we live in."\
Anyway, awesome review.
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