Washi

One word that keeps propelling itself to the forefront of my head when I go to describe this show is: 'refreshing'. Generally, I tend to avoid those anime which are blatantly action-oriented, because an action anime series so often means that it will be generically shounen, or be some kind of absurd mecha-combat series; very rarely can I find an action series which does not fall to those and other traps, and Black Lagoon is one of them. From its premise to its execution, the show provides thrilling action sequences, from boat and car chases, to messy fisticuffs and bullet-spamming gunfights, the show covers alltypical action bases you could expect from hollywood, but which, for one reason or another, anime rarely delivers. Although its depiction of battle features the usual problems of character shielding and the Stormtrooper effect, overall the show is very much grounded in reality, with no magic or science-fiction elements whatsoever. I found this refreshing because, typically, the only anime you are likely to find set in present-time reality are slice-of-life, revolving around dramatic or romantic themes. So Black Lagoon was a great change of pace; a hollywood style action/adventure shoot 'em up but with a darker and more thoughtful approach to themes and characters (as is often found in mature anime) - it's a splendid mix. The production values for the show are certainly excellent, some of the best to have come out of 2006. It shines during the action scenes, which are very fluid and detailed, but overall has no real flaws other than the occasional lapse in consistency. The character designs are all attractive and original. The music is not something that impressed me; there isn't a lot of score music in the show (which is slightly refreshing given anime's habbit of blasting violin and choir over every scene), and what it has is fitting, but not really memorable. The characters are well defined, although I felt the focus given to the characters was rather strangely distributed; Revy and Rock (the two main characters) aside, the rest of the Black Lagoon barely garnered any attention, and their involvement was so greatly reduced by the end of the series that you had to wonder why the show was even named after the group. I am not kidding that the majority of the villains the group encountered received considerably more character exploration than either Benny or Dutch (the other two Black Lagoon members). I understand the importance of giving depth to the antagonist perspective, but I got the feeling that the original creator just kept falling in love with the antagonists he introduced, and neglected the protagonists in order to delve indulgently into the villain's pasts and characters. The best example would be Hanzel and Gretel, the goth-loli twins and their arc. They were given so much background, and such a poignant send-off yet had so little effect on any continuing plot, or on the characters. Revy was certainly an interesting character. I've seen the hardened, indifferent criminal stereotype before, but Black Lagoon takes Revy to the next level and actually glorifies her as colourfully maniacal. It makes the show fun to watch because you never know how to feel about Revy; sometimes you'll side with her and cheer her on, or feel sorry for her, but then the next moment she's slaughtering innocent people for enjoyment. Essentially she's a juxtaposition of 'cool' and 'reprehensible'. Rock is a character who is much easier to make a connection with, in fact I like to see him as being the representative for the audiences perspective on the show as it traverses the challenging lands of immorality. He is described in the show as being 'in the twilight', neither living under explicitly righteous terms, nor wholly endorsing the injustice of the underworld. This allows him to be constantly critical of the actions of those around him, but from an intelligent objective position (ie he does not decry their actions through blind morality). His criticisms of the actions Revy and others around him take make for the most profound and thematically crucial dialogue in the show, and despite his outwardly plain personality, also make him a fascinating and important presence in the show. This brings me to the real crux of the matter: the show is really about the criminal mind, and the life of crime in all its forms. It paints an alluring portrait of the attraction to such a life, but never forgets to challenge that attraction by showing the kind of sacrifices one has to make of their humanity. It shows crime as a dangerously beautiful thing, and also shows it at its most sickening. All the exciting action is secondary to this. In conclusion, Black Lagoon should be watched by all action fans, but is a step above most shounen series due to its challenging and, at times, risqué foray into the heart of the criminal world. It is for mature audiences, because, despite having such character and being so colourful about murder, it is also very dark at times. There are flaws in the way it is paced, and the way some of the characters are neglected, but it has some very sharp dialogue, and is regardlessly entertaining thrill

artist-retired

"This is way more entertaining than Hollywood is ever going going to be!" truer words like that have barely been spoken in anime in my opinion, and with the shit that's out now, I'm inclined to believe them. STORY: Enter Rokuro Okajima, a typical meek japanese office worker of a large corperation who's the epitome of ordinary with a life so boring, bland, and not so envious with complains such as his boss kicking his ass, but his bleak life style comes to an end when a business trip cruise to South East Asia turns into hell as a group of modern day pirates take himhostage and gives him much more to complain about than just a kick to the bum. After a wild couple of bullet-filled days with said pirates, he decides to join up out of the feeling of excitement he experienced and the way his company has treated him like a worthless throw away and takes up the name, "Rock". Rock's fellow crewmates include Benny the mechanic, computer specialist, and researcher, Dutch the calm, easygoing leader, and Revy the merciless, sadistic, foul mouthed gunner who's skill is almost unparalleled, she also goes by the name of "Two hands" cause of how she normally uses two guns in gun fights, heck any kind of fight. The story of Black Lagoon is mostly episodic with a few arcs that normally last about three to four episodes, but the lack of on ongoing plot continues on towards the second season, yet it's no problem at all, though it would've been nice if there were some that involved more development of the main characters (Besides just Revy and Rock). The anime follows the gang as they try to complete jobs so they can earn a living, just like the main cast in Cowboy Bebop except these outlaws usually get their jobs done. And during their jobs they face against a wide array of foes including gangs, nazis, and several eccentric foes such as a nearly unstoppable maid, and allies like a taiwanese assassin, with the main cast in nearly endless gun fights. With most of their requests coming from Balalaika, a leader of a russian crime syndicate "Hotel Moscow." The anime has a some what crude and black sense of humor, with mostly excessive cursing and yells and screams such as "I'll rip you a new asshole!" But probably the funniest stuff is the insults, especially when Revy meets a certain assassin near the end of the anime, the insults bounce back at each other like a well written conversation. Truthfully the anime might have ended up becoming a mindless bullet hungry action anime, and ultimately making it another waste of potential along with many others that have stacked up in the pile, if not for the characters, specificly the interaction between them. Especially between Rock and Revy, through the daily dangers and learning about Revy's past that was full of unbearable hardships that bulids up to her character, Rock learns that his partners are almost the complete opposite of him, especially during one episode where the tension between he and Revy becomes so deadly guns are involved. These interactions are tense, nerve wrecking, and may just be much more entertaining to watch than the fights, which is unique for a heavy action such as this. But slowly and surely, Rock starts to become used to this new way of life he chose, and begins to fit in, yet still is faced with his decision, and is constantly asked, Is this world right for him? or is he simply just an outsider and nothing more? ANIMATION: Great animation, displaying exciting gun fights, and little still frames with an overall dark feel to the series. Good character designs being very diversed. The anime sometimes uses CG animation. but only during chase scenes in the vehicles, which thankfully doesn't look out of place that only the whiniest of nit pickers would complain about. SOUND: Noticeable background music that fits in with most of what's going on at the moment, especially with the ending theme which starts playing during the anime and it helps to indicate whenever an episode comes to an end, and really feels a perfect song that will make you think back to the episode you've watched, and it has like a mysterious yet calm feeling to it, then ending with a rock conclusion that reminds you what the anime is (mostly) about. The opening theme, Red faction, is an awesome theme, despite it being in engrish. The english dub is by Ocean (Known for the dub of Death Note and Inuyasha), and is a one of a kind dub where it would feel weird to listen to in japanese, all due to the overall setting of the series. But the stand out performance (Among a cast of great voice actors) is the voice actor of Revy, giving that crude attitude of Revy a great convincing performance and just makes every scene with her just entertaining to even just listen to. OVERALL: The Good: + Excellent characters and character interaction. + An incredible english dub that even makes the japanese audio seem out of place. + Good opening and ending theme music, good back ground music. Mixed: +/- Very violent and action oriented. / May be too violent for some. The Bad: - Lack of a continuing plot. - Not too much of character development. This anime just barely shy's away from getting a nine overall. Each form of media entertainment has their crap, with more so than others, but it's anime like this is the reason way I choose to stick with this media. And I guarantee you'll feel like a pansy if you watch something moe or fluffy after leaving the lagoon. *Quick word on season two* Season two is pretty much what I feared what Black Lagoon would mostly be about, absurdness with a penchant for wasting so many bullets that I'd feel sorry for the janitor who would try to clean it all up, but ends up getting killed by a stray bullet fired for no reason. Not that I'm trying to say that it isn't entertaining, but just not more of the same gun and smoke. 7/10 for season two.