Anime Review: Black Lagoon

Overview

Black Lagoon follows the story of the pirate crew of the titular PT boat The Black Lagoon and their interactions with the criminal underworld in the city of Roanapur. There is Dutch, a Vietnam veteran and leader of the group, Benny, the technician and occasional getaway driver, Revy, the group’s sharpshooter known by her moniker “Two Hands” for her ability to duel wield pistols, and finally there’s Rock, the newest recruit and the audience’s surrogate into the world.

Story

Black Lagoon is a refreshing take on the action genre of anime that I have seen little of throughout the years. It doesn’t involve magic, psychic powers or mechanized robots and instead goes for something more reminiscent of Hollywood action films or Uncharted if you’re more of video game fan. Despite how much it tends to strain your suspension of disbelief with feats such as a man cutting a bullet in half with a katana it manages to provide you with enough fluid and entertaining action scenes that it keeps you going until the end. At the same time it manages to bring up several darker themes, such as child pornography and human trafficking, to remind you that this isn’t a typical “anti-heroes vs the bad guys” story. Everyone is a criminal and indeed we see our protagonists partake in acts that many would not consider to be very heroic. The show makes sure to remind you that there are no happy endings, the good guys don’t always win and the criminal life can be as dangerous as it is alluring.

The pacing can be a bit jarring and in the later arcs the story can get somewhat confusing if you weren’t paying attention but for the most part it’s well paced and the animation is very smooth and well done. There are continuous nods to other films and directors such as The Terminator, specifically with the nigh-invulnerable maid Roberta, and Quentin Tarantino. Dutch was even modeled after Marcellus Wallace, a character from Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. It adds a nice touch to the setting and helps ground it into reality.
 

Characters

Black Lagoon has a plethora of interesting characters, so much so that not enough of them get the screen time they deserve. As stated above we have the main crew of the Black Lagoon but out of all of them, only Revy and Rock seem to get most of the attention. Dutch and Benny get pushed to the side more and more as the series progresses. It’s a shame because I actually think they’re pretty interesting characters and I would have liked to have learned more of their backstories. In fact a lot of the show’s antagonists have more focus put on them then Dutch and Benny. Balalaika, Roberta, and even the murder twins Hansel and Gretel have a majority of episodes completely dedicated to their backstories and characterizations. Yet, with the exception of Balalaika, they’re rarely if at all mentioned in the next episodes. Don’t get me wrong, I like learning more about these characters and their stories are definitely interesting but it seems weird that there is more attention on them then the other half of the titular group.

Since the main focus of the show is on Revy and Rock and there interactions with each other, I suppose I should talk about them. Revy is one of those characters that you end up both loving and hating. One moment she’s doing something that makes you want to cheer for her or sympathize, then the next she does something that leaves you horrified. She’s probably the most interesting character in the show because of how unpredictable she is. Rock starts out as a stereotypical white collar Japanese businessman who finds himself in a unique position to change his life when he gets involved with the Black Lagoon crew. At the start of the series he is the sole morally good character that tries to take the high road but ends up getting beaten back down to the bottom. We come to see his character slowly being grinded down as he is continuously exposed to some of the worst humanity has to offer and how no matter how hard he tries things don’t always work out for the best. He describes himself as standing in the “middle of the twilight” where he doesn’t endorse criminal activity but neither does he stand on a righteous pedestal. It puts him in a position where he can be critical of the actions taken by those around him without being blind by morality. It makes his interactions with Revy, and even Balalaika, all the more interesting.

The interaction between Revy and Rock create a parallel between them. As Rock argues against Revy’s actions and her views on the work Revy tries to educate Rock on “the way things work”. As they both start to change throughout the series we start to see Rock slowly becoming more and more corrupt by everything around him while Revy starts to rediscover the humanity she had lost. They start to reflect this through their banter. It’s why some of the most entertaining scenes are just Rock and Revy talking without anything else happening.

Music

The one thing you might notice is that, aside from the opening and ending songs, there is a lack of significant background music. In some scenes there really isn’t any music at all. It’s actually somewhat refreshing to not here any kind of blaring music over the action at points and it helps make the scene seem more significant, it makes you want to pay attention to what’s happening. The opening song, Red Fraction by Mell, give the tone that’s to be expected from the show: intense and adrenaline rushing. The end song though, Don’t Look Behind by EDISION, has a very somber tone to it and gives you a chance to catch your breath. The ending video of Revy walking slowly along a beach while dropping several items that are important to her including her Cutlass pistols gives you that kind of melancholy feeling that despite everything the characters still live in a pretty crappy world. It’s an excellent tone to end on.

Overall

If you’re a fan of the action genre that wants something a bit different from the usual batch I would definitely recommend this. There are 24 episodes in the series as well as 4 OVA episodes for Roberta’s Blood Trail so you’ll definitely get your money’s worth. Be forewarned that this is a mature show, the f-word alone is said over 259 times, and there are several dark scenes that may be triggering. If you’ve already seen the anime then I would recommend checking out the manga as it continues the story or if you’re looking for something similar check out the anime Gunslinger Girl. Hellsing Ultimate is also a good choice if you don’t mind fantasy with you gunplay.