Anime: Black Lagoon

With a genre that deals with a lot of action set-pieces, a show of this specific genre is usually bogged down into mindless entertainment territory with absolutely no substance to it at all. There have been in the past many action films and TV shows that have shown to become competent in the history of film-making, examples in mind are the works of John Woo, Michael Mann, and Quentin Tarantino. But what if I told you that there is an anime show that encompasses everything that is great about those three directors and succeeds on every possible level? The show in question is Black Lagoon, a show that showcases a blend of mindless Hollywood action and juvenile humor in the best possible sense of the word juvenile.

Black Lagoon’s story is mainly focused on our four main characters and their adventures together through plot arcs that tie in together through the chemistry that help make them grow with each other. There isn’t much of a deep complex plot to behold in the show, it’s about as cliché as any kind of Seinen action show in the past decade. That may seem like a negative when you put it that way, but sometimes clichés are used to good effect when you have competent writing to flesh out your characters and set-pieces. Black Lagoon is a definite exception to this rule, it manages to pull off even the most ridiculous plot arcs that could easily be looked at with eye rolls and as a laughable premise. One glorious example is just how dark and witty the dialogue writing is that hits the mark perfectly on every scene it creates within the framework of the show. It gives Black Lagoon a spark of creativity in its witty black humor that creates its own unique personality to deviate itself from other shows like it, in terms of writing. The humor never gets old because it’s not repetitive in how it’s delivered by the characters sparingly and not done on almost every scene in each episode, it makes the jokes work more effectively with clarity and sensibility.

Now when you talk about the characters in Black Lagoon, the one character you must acknowledge the most is the one and only Revy. She’s the prototypical “girl with guns” character that spouts off adolescent language and a dark past that shadows over the overall tone of the show to not only to become a dark comedy but a dark one altogether. So how is Revy different from any other female character in a “girls with guns” show? She does have similar characteristics that could be pointed out as being standard or generic from other characters like her. But it’s because Revy is Black Lagoon. Her presence in the world of the show is very charismatic and alluring that demands your attention by not only her design, which is by far one of the sexiest I’ve seen in a long time, but by her character background and her hilarious dialogue. As I said before about the writing, the writers give Revy a ton of material for her to shine on-screen when she is either going into these well put together action scenes and her funny snarky remarks at any of the characters. There is even a Tarantino kind of quality to her where she is obviously this sick woman who only cares for money and violence but she’s also portrayed in a sympathetic light when she explains why her mentality is the way it is from her troubled past. They don’t necessarily go in too much further in this season, but regardless it is a great starting point to a fantastic character.

With Revy out-of-the-way, the other characters may not have as much depth or even characterization as our larger than life heroine but that certainly does not mean that they are bad in any way shape or form. Our main hero, nicknamed Rock, does have some of the same level of charisma as Revy and how he doesn’t come across as a weak-willed character as most characters of his archetype typically are. It isn’t as if Revy’s presence overshadows his own because he doesn’t have much of a personality, Rock actually carries the show by himself quite well and even together with Revy. The chemistry between the two is pretty unique in how they constantly are at odds with each other because of how different they follow life but in the end they still view each as part of a team whether they want to or not. There is no scene that involves them immediately becoming friends overnight, the show takes it’s time to build them up as a team that has to trust each other or they might end up in a bad situation and it’s actually written intelligently by this very fact. The two other people in the group named Dutch and Benny aren’t given much to go around as complex characters but this does not automatically make them bad characters, what little background they bring on the table for them is still much appreciated in how they still offer some great scenes with each other.

The antagonists are really hit and miss in how little depth some of them have when they seem. One in particular involves an army of Aryan neo-nazis that seem more like just fodder characters that don’t get a lot of profound characterization that, while I can forgive it, given how it’s portrayed in an action show, it would’ve been more than what it already was. For the one that does hit the mark is oddly enough a Roberta maid who is given some context for her intentions on being who she is and the show handles it very well despite her strange terminator-like persona that wasn’t given much explanation, but then again the show is nutty enough to let it pass as just another Black Lagoon style of logic put in for good measure.

For the style of animation that Madhouse put together back their swell days, it still definitely holds up as a great visual treat. The action scenes are done with absolutely great visual flair and technicality that are definitely inspired by the works of John Woo, as I’ve mentioned in the beginning. Although not perfectly seamless in how slick the characters move, it is nonetheless spectacular to see how the animators put their heart and souls to not cut any corners whatsoever in detailing every aspect of Revy and the rest of the environment on the sights of her gun. The violence and carnage in Black Lagoon is not necessarily as gory or blood-splattering as many would argue; there is no question that it celebrates its own carnage but it’s not done in a way that is so blatant or in-your-face where it gets tedious or loses its momentum in how effective each shot counts. There are some that do fit in that class but for the most part it handles it’s violence with great precision and intelligence that make every scene brimming with fascinating acts of carnage that is more exciting to watch than just rolling your eyes in boredom. There are even some elements of neo-noir in the case of how it handles the violence how it cuts immediately away from Revy shooting a man in the head at close range; not to mention the show has some really great camera angles that make the scenes have some deep impact to them.

The music is about what you would expect out of an action show like Black Lagoon. Standard rock and metal music that isn’t very memorable to even try to buy an album for since it’s just there to fill up the show’s audio production and nothing more, not to mention the shooting and the characters shouting over the music doesn’t help either. For what it’s worth, it does it’s job well to create a fun dark humorous vibe to the action scenes. The voice acting, however, is what makes the dialogue really spice up to new heights. I’ve only listened to the Japanese voice actors in Black Lagoon and they all own their roles. Of course the one to mention out the rest is Megumi Toyoguchi who does a helluva performance as Revy by giving her a great sarcastic essence to her voice that makes her so alluring and almost sexual. It fits the design of Revy so perfectly, that Megumi almost becomes Revy just through her own voice alone. Daisuke Namikawa, as usual, does a nice job voicing Rock and doesn’t seem like a novice compared to Megumi’s performance, as do the rest of the cast members with some that aren’t really noteworthy to discuss.

For what its worth, Black Lagoon is about as silly and stupid as one could get out of an action show that would even make Steven Seagal blush, not that Black Lagoon quality-wise is comparable to his films, just from a contextual point-of-view. Stupid is normally used to describe something without context or substance when describing a story or character in any medium, but if the show is self-aware of the fact that it is and takes advantage of this aspect. It is clear that there are some genuinely serious moments found in Black Lagoon, even though they are actually effective in achieving the dark tone that it is known for. Even with that said, it doesn’t seem out-of-place or distracting from the humor of the show because of how greatly paced the narrative of all the arcs. All of these are what make Black Lagoon easily one of the most entertaining and hard-hitting action shows that treats its audience as grown adults and creates some of the most well choreographed action courtesy of Madhouse, one terrible aiming bad guy at a time.

Grade: A

Black Lagoon was really the first of the fringe-y mercenary genre of anime. Or at least, the first to get it right. Combining a likable cast of pirates with an intriguing backdrop and some of the best bang-up fighting you can get, Black Lagoon is a highly watchable, highly entertaining anime.



Pros

1) Great Cast-Anime like Black Lagoon tend to treat female characters as either useless or tits with guns. In comparable titles like Jormungand and Phantom, many of the female characters are treated as nothing more than bewbs. While Revy is wearing revealing clothing, she maintains a very unfemale-like character throughout the series and fits right in with the boys. She has a lot of things going on in her head and very little of her background is known, lending a certain air of mystery. Her relationship with Rock is also very hard to pinpoint. While there might be a tiny bud of something akin to romance, we’re not led to believe either way because the characters hide it so well. The closest we get is sharing the light on the butt of a cigarette, and the emphasis on this is actually very memorable and thought provoking, bringing the audience to question the characters fighting as maybe something more.

Revy is such a great character to get to know and while she can be an overbearing bitch and a complete psychopath, the question of how a person can become like her is in the air and the series seems to want to explore that concept, though Revy’s character won’t let any progress go forward. The fact that Rock is the only character who seems to be able to break into her shell reveals a lot about Rock as a person, as well as his relationship with Revy. He cares about her more than anyone ever has, and neither of them seems able to realize it.

Rock himself is a really good character. Usually the outcast is the protagonist who gets shit on and that’s no different in Black Lagoon. But Rock is actually useful and while he’s not the greatest asset to the team, he manages to get them out of some binds. He’s the more human character of the group, disturbed by the killings and especially disturbed by the team taking charge of a kidnapped kid. He’s there to add tension and be a polar opposite, but he doesn’t become so forcefully different that it’s painful to watch. He’s part of this new world, but he’s also civil. A gentleman pirate if you may.

Dutch is the apparent leader, though he’s not given a lot of thought. He’s intelligent at times, bloodthirsty at others, but he also seems to hold some compassion. He’s a more violent version of Rock. Benny meanwhile is just there. He’s never given much screen time and serves as the tech guy.

The series’ emphasis is on Revy and Rock. Halfway through it gives Revy time to especially shine when facing the maid killer Roberta, another tragic anti-hero. Once again, the series treats her as a total badass. The maid outfit gives the outward appearance of prissiness but inside, she’s a murderer, a tragic murderer assimilating into the real world. The series does the same thing with Hotel Moscow’s Balalaika, who is totally badass. It’s nice to see a series where no female character is totally useless and all are…flat out scary.

The entire cast is well thought out, the bad guys are cool. It’s just a really well thought out series of characters.



2) Stupidity With Limits-Black Lagoon has its dumb moments. The Roberta section is long-winded and completely ridiculous, but at the same time, it’s so freaking cool you don’t care. There are some side characters introduced later on in the series who serve as comic relief, but they all have a purpose and some of the ridiculous things that happen (a European getaway driver smoking pot and driving through the DMZ) are outright hilarious. But the series limits it’s stupidity. There are tons of really great, humorous moments, but not enough to be overbearing. It balances a dark, nihilistic viewpoint and depressing characters with a sense of hilarity. And being able to balance those is really tricky. Look at Jormungand. No balance whatsoever. It has tons of serious moments then a random comedy moment that throws off the audience. Black Lagoon balances it; and damn well.



3) Playing with the Real World-Black Lagoon manages to be a thriller in the real world without using tons of fake places and creating fake tensions. The island of Roanuper is a great idea, a place where all the lowest of the low come together. The Russian mob, the Triads, and random mercenaries all converge here. The series takes place in the Pacific Ocean and uses places in the Philippines and some random islands as the setting. This setting is both beautiful and enjoyable. Scenes of island jungle and beautiful waters keep the show watchable and makes you feel like you’re on a vacation. By playing with real life organizations and throwing in tons of references and historical things, it gives it a sense of realism; almost akin to a Hollywood movie. By doing all these things, the series comes across as so much more enjoyable. Many comics, movies, and anime would rather create tensions and create countries to have these tensions. Black Lagoon knows how to manage the real world with the cartoon world.



4) Killing for Killing’s Sake-The series’ isn’t a ho-hum shoot ‘em up akin to The Expendables or Commando. It has substance. As I said before, Revy is plagued with all kinds of problems, so is Roberta. The killing and fighting in the series can sometimes be a little over the top and violent but there’s a theme running underneath about why these people kill and what it all means. The series is not completely existential and doesn’t ramble on, but it does acknowledge that there is a certain shame to killing and there are so many circumstances that turn a person into a Revy. Revy is a complete badass on the outside, but on the inside we know she’s an emotional wreck, hiding all kinds of secrets with the blood of her enemies. It’s that kind of writing that creates compelling characters and reason to keep watching. Killers are boring to watch when written as murder machines. The first action scene is cool, the second meh, the third is when an audience wants to walk away. A killer needs a reason to kill. In Commando it was the taking of his daughter. In the Expendables it was about money. But that’s not good enough. They need a reason to kill, they need a reason they can kill, and they need regret. Human characteristics like this help the audience not only sympathize with the character, but also grow to realize why he or she kills. The series delves into these ideas subtly while overtly showing the tragedy that comes about killing, especially in the Roberta story arc. While you may not have thought much about it, there was still a sense of loss of innocence in Roberta. She became a soldier, she gave it all up, she tried to create a new life for herself and be a normal girl, but wound up being thrown right back into killing all over again. There is more to the series than a bunch of badass’s shooting at each other. And that is what makes Black Lagoon different from all its contemporaries.



Cons

1) Nazi Arc-While the Nazi arc was a pretty good throwback to old style exploration movies and Clive Cussler novels, it broke up the story with lots of flashbacks to the submarine’s crew. This was the original reason I quit the series; it just broke things up too much. I can appreciate the attempt to tell a story but the series never relies on flashbacks to tell story again and the story of what happened in the sub is told by Revy very briefly. The entire flashback seems pointless and pads the story out rather than provide any sort of useful content. Some may have enjoyed this arc but I felt it was the weakest in the first season.



2) Opening-The opening sequence is bad. The music isn’t bad but the damn lyrics are so awful I had to skip the opening every time just to keep from laughing. The opening is supposed to be kind of serious and lead you into this hopeless world of killing and finding morality but it instead is broken Engrish with pointless cursing and questionable lyrics.



Overall

Black Lagoon is definitely one of the best adult anime out there. It combines all sorts of good stuff to create a compellingly watchable and entertaining feast. While the Nazi arc failed to deliver much, the rest of the series is a great piece of character development on the part of Revy and Rock while it’s also a beautiful and well written story about a ragtag group of pirates and all their crazy adventures. It’s sometimes off-the-wall, but balances that with ideas on morality and a certain sense of realism many anime lack. It’s fantastic stuff and a must watch.

"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 him hostage 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 that season had. 7/10 for season two.

Black Lagoon - trigger-happy busty babe takes it to the bakas. Maritime western with a real dumb story.

Animation

Nice gunfights and warfare, high attention to detail. That girl's got all the good stuff too, what's wrong with her face in some scenes though?

Sound

Hey, I know that OP song! Heard it on the radio a lot and even have the mp3 somewhere, had no idea it's anime connected, thought it's just generic jpop. It's called Mell - Red Fraction, and it's quite nice.
Unfortunately can't say the same about the ED or BGM. The ending piece didn't fit at all, I hated it right from the start, but felt compelled to listen to it right through to the end at least once because of some most promising developments unfolding simultaneously on screen.
To put it simply, I thought maybe she was gonna strip all the way, but no dice.:grin:

Now the background music. I think they could've used a lot more of it during the action scenes. When they did use it, it sometimes worked good and sometimes... not so well. Like there was this kickass action sequence going on aboard the nazi ship for example, a great chance to get the viewer going all, That's right Reby, you go teach them fat nazi pigs a less... wait a minute, what's that noise there damn it? Is that kid down the street having another party? No. Then it must be that annoying fat dork rocking it out again in his pickup, windows rolled down? NO! It's the BGM! Just somebody forgot to turn up the volume...

On the whole the voice acting was okay, mostly nothing special. The ones who stand out are Reby and Dutch. Reby is voiced by some girl named Toyoguchi Megumi. She's got a voice powerful enough to do the part, and lots of expression. Dutch turns out to be a fellow named Isobe Tsutomu. Animenfo.com says this guy was Vincent Volaju. It also says he's into drama and was Hamlet and all that, but who cares for that stuff? He was Vincent freaking Volaju. Need I say more?

Story

Would you watch a show animated by grade school kids armed with crayons, drawing people hangman-style? No.
Would you watch a show with a seventy year old toothless granny voicing that sexy chick you drooled all over in the manga? No.
Would you watch a show with a story written hastily during lunch break by a grade schooler as his home assignment and then read backwards and misinterpreted by the moron director on crack? Black Lagoon's ratings on anidb shed some new light on the answer to that last question.

I managed to fight my way through about eight and a half episodes of this show. It was tough from the beginning, the first two or three episodes were poor, the plot sucked, and I was thinking of dropping it right there, but thought oh well, what the hell, she's got some nice titsit's just 12 episodes after all, let's try and go with it a little longer, maybe it's a slow starter.
And the story did pick up a little bit with the sumbarine and Nazi episodes, one of the rare highlights of it being Reby's talk with Rock aboard the submarine. When she lit that cigarette there of all places I thought okay, that's it, there's gonna be some unbelievably cheesy conversation right here, I could feel it coming, and so I had my finger poised on the stop button, but just then she delivered a nice, concise and coherent little speech, and I relaxed and kept watching. This whole arc was acceptable, even had some good lines here and there, like the above mentioned convo, or "I don't remember hiring Charles Whitman" etc.

It's too bad, but it just goes downhill from there pretty fast with the introduction of the maid. I suspect it might all be satire, just like the earlier stuff with the helicopter pilot, or Reby jumping around boats, or with Fritz and his speech, but even if it is: it's all very poorly done. To the point of the viewer never being sure if the joke's on him or not.
There's also a lot of completely incoherent and illogical behavior which culminates in this shooting scene in the bar where stupidity, randomness and some very uninspiring dialogue simply overflow. But instead of just getting it over with quickly the creators decide to cherish this great moment. It builds up, and builds up, the air torn apart by bullets and some real dumb comments alike, and then it builds up some more, and then I started thinking, There must be some Deus Ex Machina coming right up surely? Man, this is so painful to watch! I wish a nuke would simply fall on that whole town right now, that'd about do it! And maybe for the remaining couple episodes we could instead enjoy some of that stuff this Russian lady was watching earlier? Whoa, that might actually take this show to a whole new level!

But it didn't look like any nukes were coming, though it wouldn't surprise me that much if the maid had fired one. So anyway, I just stopped right there and dropped the shift+delete nuke on this show myself. Aaaaah... The relief!

Characters

It might sound strange after what I've just written, but I've enjoyed some of the characters, I mean during these rare moments when the many flaws of this anime weren't there and enjoyment was even possible. The Black Lagoon's original crew is quite cool, Reby especially. She's one crazy woman, good looking, and gun savvy. Also shows a strong character throughout the series. So overall she's very sexy, what a daft show to be a part of though. Some tough luck there, baby.
On the other hand, Rock, the guy they take along for the ride on the Lagoon, is a loser. No matter what the creators made him do or say, he was still a big loser compared to the rest of the crew. No amount of screen time, which they weren't sparing this guy for some reason, changed that.
And I feel I must also include the unfortunate maid on this one too. Seriously, what were these guys even thinking...

Value

Buy it? I wouldn't put it on my shelf if they paid me for it!

Enjoyment

I liked the girl. I liked the details on weaponry and guns. Some of the dialogue seemed impressive, especially with many other really dumb parts of it to compare to.
But on the whole I couldn't really enjoy this show because of all the cheesy moments and the silly plot.

IMPORTANT EDIT

It has been brought to my attention that there's supposed to be a huge number of other shows of the "girls with guns" variety that suck even more than this one. Well, I don't think I'm gonna bother watching them if that's the case.
So anyway, Black Lagoon might be your thing if you really have a big fetish for the girl with the big gun. Let me warn you however: I've always thought I had quite some of that myself, and this show just doesn't do it for me.

Summary

Animation - 8 - all that effort on the TOWs and the Hind and all that... just wasted.

Sound - 5 - below average job on the music, some decent voice acting.

Story - 1 - I thought about it for a while, and I'm unlikely to watch, and therefore rate, anything much worse than that. It made me stop watching, so what do you expect?

Characters - 5 - Reby rocks, maid sucks.

Value - 2 - I don't wanna have anything to do with this. Okay, unless Playboy hires this girl.

Enjoyment - 4 - I tried to enjoy it but the morons just wouldn't let me.

Black Lagoon is a stunningly well-executed show, and marks only the second time I've put my life to one side to finish a series. It manages a perfect blend of action and character drama, which combines with good presentation to create something practically flawless. Indeed, my only complaint would be the lack of a satisfying conclusion, something addressed (I hope) by the immediate follow-on series. The plot can occasionally seem rather arbitrary (each "job" for the boat crew takes up an episode or mini-arc, and there is essentially no continuity between them), but this perfectly evokes our protagonist Rock's initial feelings - cast adrift, with no sense of where his life is going, and very little trust in anyone else. As he spends more time with the rest of the crew, their relationships develop and the arcs get longer.

This brings us to the main reason for watching this series - the beautiful interactions between the former white-collar Rock and the pirate crew, Revy in particular. There is a real grasp of human feelings here, and some exquisitely genuine subtleties gradually reveal themselves. Somehow, the characters remain intensely believable despite the ridiculous action-hero abilities displayed, which says a lot.

The action is the other half of Black Lagoon, and it's superbly done, well choreographed and managing to keep the tension high despite the aforementioned noticeable shortage of realism. The animation plays a crucial part in this; while nothing original is being done here, the drawings are clear and well detailed, and never once slip below top quality. Laudably, the series eschews any kind of effects (aside from one slow-motion scene), either in the characters or more generally; everything could've been shot in live action with no post-production required. Sound is also consistently good, with voice actors portraying the characters' emotions superbly, and contributing greatly to their believability. There's very little background music, but a well-chosen opening and ending aid the viewer in emotionally ramping up and fading out as necessary.

I can't claim everyone will like it; this is an unapologetic action series, with gunfights taking up a lot of screentime. The longest arc focuses on a character whose raison d'entre seems to be making the fights even sillier, and winds up relatively weak. And while I've made much of the characterisation, it's very much devoted to showing a single relationship, rather than defining characters by their relation with the outside world. But for a viewer who's happy to see some shooting, or for anyone who wants to watch a couple gradually coming to know each other, Black Lagoon has a lot to recommend it.

For every two things I liked about this series, there was one thing I didn't like. That's a compliment; for the most part, I found "Black Lagoon" very refreshing.[br][br]"Black Lagoon" is a story about an ordinary, boring Japanese businessman named Rokuro who is kidnapped by pirates, and, realizing his previous life existed at the mercy of cold, impersonal business executives, decides to change his life path. He joins the pirates. [br][br]While most series would take at least five episodes to explain this, without even diving into the main part of the story, "Black Lagoon" takes just two. From the very instant one begins watching the series, there is no waste of time, and the episodes have a maniac, crazy energy and pace to them. [br][br]Rarely is there a second wasted, as every moment of the series is devoted to either character or plot development. Combined with the ridiculously cool, sexy intro, and some amazing gunplay and action scenes, the anime built up a lot of goodwill with me already. [br][br]However, it gets better; there is a subtle undertone of comedy, with all the dangerous, powerful characters being women in ridiculous costumes, whether it be traditional Chinese dress, a nun's habit, a chambermaid's clothes, or the attire of a secretary/businesswoman. [br][br]The main character, "Rock", is both relatable and interesting. The temptation to turn him into a gun-wielding badass as soon as he joins the crew would be too easy, and is a trap the director avoids. Instead, he gradually becomes a tougher and more impressive individual throughout the twelve episodes, but never competently handles any weaponry. [br][br]The captain of the ship, "Dutch", is another character type I'd like to see more of in action animes; calm, funny, great at his job, and tough, who, just when you think you have him figured out, does something unexpected. [br][br]There are only three reasons why I give this legitimately excellent anime an 8 instead of a 10;[br][br]1. The character of Revy. This is the biggest one to me. There are two problems with her; the first being that she is entirely unsympathetic. There is just nothing likable about her. She is a crazy, hysterical maniac who kills innocent people, including women and children with no mercy, and likes it. [br][br]And that's fine. Mugen from "Samurai Champloo", one of my favorite anime characters ever, was similar. [br][br]Here's the reason why I like Mugen and hate Revy; there is nothing funny, interesting, or even REAL about Revy. [br][br]Throughout the series, she is humorless, boring, and predictable. She gets angry at criticism. She goes on psychotic killing sprees for no apparent reason. She kills innocent people. She talks a lot of shit. She enjoys it.[br][br]A cold-blooded, ruthless killer needs something to make them engaging, whether it be humor, or a viewer's ability to relate to their emotions. Otherwise, what's the point? [br][br]At least make them unpredictable, as Mugen was. At least don't make them talk stupid shit all the time. As Mugen would say after his opponent gave a long speech, "I didn't understand a word of that. You talk too fucking much. Let's fight!" Revy, meanwhile, loves spewing dumb quotes which, instead of making her look tough, make her look weak and foolish. [br][br]The worst part is her lack of reality. I can relate to Benny. I can relate to Rock. I can relate to Dutch. I can even relate to Balalaika, the Russian crime boss who aids the pirates. [br][br]I cannot relate to Revy, nor have I ever known anyone remotely similar to her. If she were interesting or funny, that would be excused. Since she's nothing but a loud-mouthed bitch, it isn't. [br][br]It almost feels like the director wasn't quite sure what to do with the character of Revy. At times she's strong. At others she's weak. Sometimes, she talks like an idiot. Other times, she finally shuts the hell up. Too bad she's an annoying character ALL the time. [br][br]2. Repetition and an underwhelming ending. I only really felt this during the last two episodes of the series, but it seemed like the writers wasted too many of the cool ideas early on. Without giving anything away, the story with the Fake Nazis, the killer maid Roberta, and even their initial predicament are all a lot more exciting and inventive than their race against the terrorists. [br][br]3. The contradictions. While all anime series blend fantasy and reality, the universe they create should try to remain as internally consistent as possible. Unfortunately, that's not always the case in "Black Lagoon". [br][br]A particularly head-scratching moment was Revy's showdown with Roberta. Roberta is seen as practically invincible, easily handling Dutch, all the pirates, and even an entire Colombian drug cartel. [br][br]Revy, meanwhile, was shown as being physically weaker than Dutch, not much stronger than Rock, fails to kill Rock at a key moment, and not vastly overwhelming against Dutch even with guns. [br][br]Yet, her fight with Roberta is mostly equal, with perhaps a small edge to the latter. There are several other instances of this in the series, and in each case, they draw the viewer out of the exciting world of "Black Lagoon" to a large extent. [br][br]My nit-picking and criticism aside (the only reason this series isn't a 10 for me), the 12 episodes were still incredibly enjoyable, and I recommend the show to anyone, even for those who aren't action fans.[br]