It features a stylish mix of vibrant colour mixed with dark tones at times, design and artwork, character development and creation, a killer plot full of sex, guns, and all sorts of other crazy shit. All these things and more make Black Lagoon one of the best anime of the 2000's. Which by early I mean like up to 2010.
When you take a close look at the show you see just how complex it is; it may seem like an off the wall action anime and that is its main purpose but there are lots of subtle things that exist in the world of Black Lagoon. One of these is so intriguing that I plan on writing an article specifically about just that one thing, next, so stay tuned for that one. Let's look at the things I like so much and why I think it's so good and we'll start with the most important part.
ROCK Our main protagonist Okajima Rokuro, or just Rock as everyone calls him, was a former Japanese businessman who was left for dead by his company. He was taken hostage by the Lagoon Company pirates because he had a disc that was . Rock respects Dutch and is very much like Benny in that neither use guns or violence to deal with Lagoon's issues, which is why they both get along well. His Achilles heel is Revy. I think that it's their dynamic that makes these two so interesting and that makes the show so interesting. That is something for a totally different time however. The thing about Rock is he doesn't know really where he is in his life; he's no longer a businessman but can't fully adopt the pirate lifestyle (hence his suit and manners). Though as we learn later on, maybe it's for the best that Rock doesn't take to fully becoming a pirate. He brilliantly played yakuza off against each other and played Roberta, Garcia, and the CIA against each other. Mr. Chang and Balalaika (and to a lesser extent Dutch) see Rock for what he is and could be and that is a master manipulator who could easily rise up in the criminal world. That is should he choose to live in that world. But like he once tells Revy, "I'm only where I'm standing, nothing else." |
REVY Rebecca Lee, known to everyone as Revy, or to her enemies as "Two Hands" because she dual-wields custom Beretta 92F Cutlass pistols with such ease it's as if she is firing two guns like most people fire one. Revy is, in my eye, one of the most badass women in anime. She is a tattooed beauty who is brash, in your face, and gives absolutely no fucks. She's broken in every way but she knows that and will be the first to admit that. At several points when in conversation with Rock she mentions that. People do make comments on her lack of tact and that she only knows how to use violence to solve her problems; they also prey upon the fact that Revy isn't the brightest person. She holds Dutch in extremely high regard and thinks Benny is a softy, she refers to Balalika as "sis" because they are both women skilled in violence as a means to accomplish their goals. Similarly to what I said before, Rock is Revy's Achilles heel as well. I plan to talk in depth about it in the future but Revy's relationship with Rock is one of highs and lows and the dynamic between the two makes Black Lagoon so good. It's hard I want to talk about that but I have a whole article planned out. "I have no idea what happened to her to make her this broken." |
DUTCH The stern, calm, cool, yet lovable captain of the Lagoon Company. Dutch is surprisingly an enigma despite being such an open guy to talk to and deal with. He almost always has some kind of plan to deal with whatever the Lagoon Company has to deal with. He knows how to handle all of his crew and understands them better than they understand themselves, he even understands who Rock is quicker than Rock does. He makes sure that Revy and Rock fix out their problems when they fight, he makes sure that Revy doesn't always go in guns blazing, he always checks on Benny's well being. But most importantly he will always think of what's best for Lagoon, if it's a job, gauging if it is well paying and worth the risk to his crew. Dutch is the ultimate boss and like he says, "you gotta be cool, play it cool" |
BENNY Benny is the hacker/navigator/engineer of the Lagoon, their resident nerd. Like Rock, he was one of the members of Lagoon that didn't use violence to solve his problems; instead he used his brain. It's a brain that makes the most out of the few resources that the Lagoon Co. has available to them to make amazing nautical equipment like radio, sonar, etc. Basically a tech genious; who one day met his match in terms of intellect in a girl named Jane. Whose tech expertise was used to make counterfeit money however instead of gadgets; she fell for Benny as they helped her escape Roanapur because they bonded over technology love. It's not like anyone can say that brains doesn't get you anywhere. He's also one of the few people that Rock is able to relate to because unlike Revy or Dutch, he gives off a "normal" vibe. |
Every great story has complimenting side pieces that make it all worthwhile. In Black Lagoon, the side characters compliment the main characters perfectly. Each with their own distinct flair or one that perfectly balances out with one of the main characters.
BALALAIKA & HER RUSSIA MAFIA (ALL EX-SOLDIERS)
Former Afghanistan war veteran, Balalaika runs "Hotel Moscow" which you at first think is just a Russian mob but when Roberta shows up you find out just how prepared she is. Prepared to go to war. Her mob members include her entire battalion of Soviet soldiers that came back from Afghanistan with her and they're all ready to die for whatever cause she puts them up to. She has the unquestioned loyalty of all those around her. She also has a great working relationship with the Lagoon Company and people gave them crap for it at first but it proved to beneficial to have someone as powerful as Balalaika behind them. When she's serious there is absolutely nothing that can stop her, she is a brutal person that takes her military training into account for everything she does. Watching the ruthless efficiency she used to take down the Vampire Twins was intense; her men died in the field because of them and she planned to brutally take them by any means. It meant nearly killing Revy and Eda for getting involved and when one finally got to her, two sniper shots to the knee and chest before she watched a young child bleed out. Ruthless, cold, but knows how to treat people with respect at the same time. Like Chang, also sees Rock's true criminal nature manifest itself in Japan against the yakuza and also that he was willing to backtalk her; it was unexpected but refreshing to know that secretly her and Chang had an equal who was just not ready yet. |
Mr. Chang is the 2nd most powerful mob boss in Roanapur behind Balalaika. His Chinese triad is always in position to strike at the most beneficial moment, to land them in a great situation. it's why Chang is respected by all. They were also instrumental in helping Lagoon put down several big issues: kidnapping, an incident with Roberta, and more. Though not without a price and he has plans to hold them accountable for that. Chang also is one of two people, besides Balalaika, who understands just how manipulative and just how villainous Rock could become if he put his mind to it; they see the way he treats certain situations and handles them with a slight of hand that he makes the rest of Lagoon look weak in comparison. During Roberta's Blood Trail especially when he sees how Rock plays Garcia, Roberta, and the CIA all against each other. He is also the only other person who dual-wields pistols and is the only person better at this than Revy (as she admitted herself). His bravado and charm as a character are second to none and it really makes him stand out. |
The "maid" of the Lovelace Family; I say maid but in no way is she that. As Garcia said, she can't cook, can't clean, can barely do anything that a maid does. What he didn't know is that Roberta is an ex-revolutionary soldier that was taken in by his father. Roberta had been given the nickname "Bloodhound" because once she found you, she would relentlessly pursue you until you died. Her murder spree across Roanapur ended in a fist fight tie with Revy. Getting Garcia back and doing what was necessary via violence for the people that took her in and saved her wouldn't be the last time. In fact, she has an entire 5 episode OVA dedicated to her revenge against the American government who killed Garcia's father. In that we see an even darker side of Roberta, one where guns and violence increases, one where she doesn't care what even Garcia thinks, the one where she does revert to the "Bloodhound". The trail of dead bodies she leaves across Roanapur is immense; the fact she was such a loose cannon that Rock was easily able to play her off against the CIA and even Garcia himself was a sight to behold. She truly is a complex character; seeing her nurturing side toward Garcia and her devil-side when it comes to violence. |
Garcia Lovelace, the current head of the Lovelace Family (a South American organized crime family). When we first meet the kid he is being sold off to the Colombian mafia by a Venezuelan mob. He has faith his maid Roberta will come to his rescue, which Revy has a good laugh at. But he was still so sure that she would and she did but Garcia had no idea that the sweet Roberta he knew was a simple killer who would do anything to accomplish her goal. Garcia was stunned at the revelation but after Roberta and Revy settled things with a fistfight, Balalaika told Garcia just who Roberta really was. It didn't change his mind at all, she was still just his family and that's all. In Roberta's Blood Trail, he goes to Roanapur to find Roberta who is trying to take on the CIA alone for killing his father. It's 100% a death sentence and he doesn't want that to happen, so Chang, Rock, and Revy along with his other maid/friend Fabiola help out. Garcia doesn't know that in order to try and take over the entire Roanapur underworld in one shot that Rock is playing the CIA, Garcia, and Roberta against one another and he almost succeeds. I think that he's a naive little kid, but does see the good in people despite what they think of themselves, slightly like Rock but not as twisted yet. |
A sister at the "church", Eda is a slick gunslinger not on par with Revy but close, which is why the two get in constant arguments with one another. Even though I'm sure there's a bit of mutual respect. What most people are unaware of, with the exception of Rock and possibly Sister Yolanda, is that Eda is actually a CIA operative and has been undercover for years. What exactly her and the CIA have planned for Roanapur is unknown. She does conduct herself so well "undercover" that you could easily mistake her as just another rotten apple in the filthy city that is Roanapur. She does try one thing over and over and that is flirting with Rock, why she does it, simple. She does it to get to Revy, she knows that Revy has feelings for Rock even though she won't ever admit it. Eda plays that right hard just to agitate Revy, her friend and rival, just for fun. I think the fact she reminds me of Revy but with the mystery of the CIA agent thing that makes her so unique and such a cool character. |
In total between the two seasons of Black Lagoon and "Roberta's Blood Trail" (the OVA) there are a total of 29 episodes.
We kickstart things with an episode about how Rock joins the Lagoon Company, next episode in we see that a rival ganglord of Balalaika's is trying to kill the crew for working for Hotel Moscow, then an episode where someone else tries to kill the Lagoon crew, then three episodes where they have to get a Nazi painting from a sunken U-boat and end up in a firefight with the Aryan Brotherhood. An episode of plot development between Revy and Rock's dynamic relationship. Three episodes of them dealing with the beast of a maid that is Roberta who is trying to get her master Garcia Lovelace back (initially from the mafia but he's still in the hands of Lagoon). And two more episodes to finish the first season where Mr. Chang asks Lagoon to get documents to the CIA, Rock and Revy take the job but Rock ends up getting captured. Which we then kick into the Second Barrage (or Season 2) and we see 2 Romanian children known as the Vampire Children who tear apart Roanapur to try and kill Balalaika. Then a couple episodes where they save a female counterfeiter named Jane. Finally the season finishes with Rock and Revy heading to Japan with Balalaika and the rest of Hotel Moscow; for what they believe is a simple negotiation between a yakuza group but it ends up being a war against the yakuza to set up a base in Japan. Then we finally see the true bloodthirsty Roberta in the OVA to end things off, trying to avenge the death of Mr. Lovelace (Garcia's father) and we see the true nature of Rock as well.
It's the fact that everything is done in short bursts that makes it so interesting and unique; they try to hammer all of the action and grit into short bursts for different events. The fact that the longest "arc" is actually the OVA says something but anything with Roberta can take time and still be interesting and fully action packed so even that was still short to me. It is a bang, bang, bang, bang show legitimately both action and length of arcs, it's fun, it's quick, it's like getting the most and best of something so quickly but you can actually enjoy it. It's like, imagine if you got all the action scenes in a shonen anime but done just as those scenes with nothing else.ALL of this is done in a quick fashion that never lets it feel like there's a dull moment, never leaves you with a moment you go I wish this would hurry up. The best way to describe what happens and what drives the fast paced action in the show is no matter how calm they try to make things for themselves, life is such a shit show that they aren't allowed to be calm. That's what I love about it.
I mean this clip is a for instance, just Revy and Eda trying to relax because it's so hot turns into a mess.
I can say with certainty that with the crazy & over the top characters with the amazing development that each characters gets in such a short time. The plot of each section being a perfect size for the story and action. The pure non-stop action full of guns, sex, blood, violence, and everything else. The opening theme song. The fact that all of it is boiled together into nice "mini-arcs" full of unique characters and interesting moments. Like a description someone said of the manga, "If Quentin Tarentino made an anime, it would be Black Lagoon." Everything crazy and unique about it is what makes Black Lagoon one of the best anime of the early 2000's.
Black Lagoon's only downside is that like all things, it eventually ends. There are a few volumes of the manga that take place post-Second Barrage & Roberta's Blood Trail but there are not enough to gather together for a 3rd season. Also, the show finished airing in 2006 and Roberta's Blood Trail in 2008; so it was a LONG time ago at least in anime time. By that I mean the way seasonal anime works you are lucky if a show that is still relatively popular can get away with a couple seasons of hiatus; like Attack on Titan had a couple years and no one expected a 2nd season. SOOOOO to expect a popular but old, at this point, anime like Black Lagoon to come back and make a continuation in a 3rd season is highly unlikely but I can hope for it (same way I'm hoping for Bleach).
Black Lagoon has so much that makes it amazing so I highly recommend this show and there are several reasons I consider it to be in the top anime of that time period, even with shows like FLCL and such making the "all-time best" lists being around at the same time. It's just that damn good.