Black Lagoon Review - 78/100
Black Lagoon is a perfect example of a series which starts out magnificent, but gets rather ruined later on by such small elements. It’s a real shame. It’s an action series, featuring a salaryman who ends up delivering a package for his company, somewhere in the Asian side of the Pacific Ocean, gets attacked by modern-day pirates, abandoned by the company he works for and in the end, joining the same pirates that attacked and kidnapped him.
The pirates appear to have a sortof delivering company. The first thirteen episodes showcase some random jobs who have to be accomplished, with some of these jobs attracting quite some dangerous people. I really have to say that these episodes were amazing to see. I loved how they sketched a realistic picture of the hell Rock (the new name of our main character) ended up in. This first season also managed to create some of the scariest antagonists ever. Especially keep an eye out for the maid with glasses. I also really liked the cast of main characters. Rock, Revy, Dutch and Benny formed an excellent combination when they were with the four of them, with each one of them having their own unique personality.
Then the second season came. It started out quite nicely, with a great tragedy about two siblings who give the term “killer loli” a whole new meaning. But that’s also where this series starts getting off-track. While the first season featured random jobs, the second season places our main characters into situations, just because Revy is looking for a fight. What the second season also does is place Dutch and Benny into the role of mere “side-characters”, even though they were a large reason why the first season turned out so good.
To make matters even worse, the second arc of the second season also contained way too much useless action and way too little substance. Sure, the fights were nice, the aftermaths for the side-characters were interesting, but during the fights, I kept wondering what their meaning was. The third and final arc could have saved this, and indeed, it had an interesting story, but I was too much bothered by the horrible use of Engrish in the beginning. The creators tried to find a way to show a good conversation between characters who only speak English and the characters who only speak Japanese, but that didn’t work at all, seeing that we’ve seen the English characters speak Japanese for ages.
It’s such a pity. This could have become one of the major series of 2006, but because of these small elements, it just didn’t make it. Still, I definitely recommend Black Lagoon, if it only was because of its first season.
I really liked the tragic story on the Hasel & Gretel psycho killers in Second Barrage …
Comment by alafista — December 31, 2006 @ 16:00
I was excited after watching the first two episodes of the show, but I feel like the series is going downhill from there.
If I remember correctly, the first two set of the episode focus on Rock’s interaction with the “team” more than the mindless gunfight between Revy and the antagonists. I was hoping to see the whole team work together to handle situation instead of watching Revy solving all the problems with her two little friends.
Maybe I should check out the manga…
Comment by pauloo — January 4, 2007 @ 2:13
Yeah, that’s also one of my problems with this show. It focused a bit too much on Revy and her gunfighting, while Rock’s interaction with the team was much more interesting to see.
Comment by psgels — January 4, 2007 @ 8:50
I disagree. This series would be perfect if Rock would disappear. Balalaika and Revy are awesome dark characters.
Comment by toro — February 28, 2007 @ 1:50
This review is backwards. The first season is bearable, but not great. The characters are just being introduced, and the viewers and animators are just beginning to become acclimated to the pace and action of each episode. The story arc with the Neo-Nazis is nothing impressive. The best first season episodes feature the give and take of Revy and Rock, and the introduction of original ideas like The Church of Violence.
The second season is where this anime shines. When animators allow more story arcs to take place over the span of more than one episode. The originality and graphic adult content of “Hansel and Gretel” is amazing, the likes of which you would never seen attempted in the American mainstream of any medium. The story arc at the end of season two which ranges over five episodes is action-packed and culminates in a great one-on-one battle that leaves you yearning for more.
This anime excels when it leans more towards graphic realism in it’s battles and character development, as it does in the second season. My only complaint is that so many interesting just-introduced characters die so quickly, that you have have very few characters to set up more complex plots and stories.
Black Lagoon is the best anime of 2006, and hopefully a third season will be forth coming.
Comment by phoenix — April 5, 2007 @ 11:44
dug this baby up again to give it another shot.
i can’t really say that i agree. the second season has a lot of character development, mostly how rock begins to see himself let go–first with his inability to save the twins, then with his ultimate desire to have yukio’s group destroyed, only to watch her die.
the freakshow story arc, on the other hand, is ridiculous and ’snatch’-esque diversion that shows off that this anime can be many things at once.
i like it.
it has many different angles, from dramatic, to stupid, to parodying american movies, to just having a dialogue that’s entertaining.
i liked to hear revy say ‘damn, damn, fuck’ in engrish–but then i love tarantino movies.
benny and dutch did get left out, but that’s because there were just as many fun characters to develop (the church of violence, balalaika, revy, rock, etc.)
i still like it.
a lot.
Comment by ana — April 15, 2007 @ 19:32
the first season focused on the group in general (their missions their background etc) while the 2nd focused on the more main characters (Rock ,Revy, Balalakisha, heck a little of Eda). I loved the series hoping for a 3rd season. It was nice to hear Revy cuss in english with an accent lol
Comment by GeassTekken — June 19, 2007 @ 22:27
“The creators tried to find a way to show a good conversation between characters who only speak English and the characters who only speak Japanese, but that didn’t work at all, seeing that we’ve seen the English characters speak Japanese for ages.”
=> Um… You know, this anime was broadcasted in Japan. Have you seen Monster ? We hear people speak in Japanese in Monster. Though the story in set in Germany. And the characters are mostly German.
You hear them speak Japanese because they are Japanese shows. In Black Lagoon, the characters are ACTUALLY speaking in English, but you hear them speak in Japanese so that the audience understands what they are saying.
Don’t know if I explained myself well enough, but I hope you understood me. >_>
About Black Lagoon… Probably the best anime in 2006 in my humble opinion. Sad thing that everybody sees this only as an action show, since it provides much much more, notably a perfect philosophy about real life. In Black Lagoon, there’s no “good” or “bad” : people choose to believe in this or this for their own reasons, and no one has the right to say anything about it. Remember in the Neo-Nazis arc when Revy told Rock about her atheism and her vision of the world ?
In most animes, there is the “Good” and the “Bad”. I wouldn’t be wrong if I said that in 90% of animes, there’s a “Good Guy” oppressed by a “Bad Guy”, and the “Good Guy” wins. In Black Lagoon, this “Manichaeism” is totally inexistant and this is what makes it so much enjoyable. The universe is so dark, but still so real, cuz guys, this is real life.
So Black Lagoon until then shines for its realism. What makes it even more realistic, excluding the very fluid action scenes (where the main heroine occasionely misses and doesn’t get 10 opponents with a single friggin bullet), is the multiple story arcs. These story arcs are so well thought, so well-developed despite being kinda short.
Still, if there’s a word to describe Black Lagoon, it’s “adrenaline”. The action scenes, the universe, the perfect animation, the music, [b]everything[/b] is well-directed that the watcher is simply hooked to the screen, feeling hyped and boosted by the scenes.
Until today, I didn’t really find any flaw in Black Lagoon. Can’t wait for the third season, and even if there isn’t, I think this is will be one of the only animes with which I’ll continue with the original manga. :)
Comment by Windspirit — August 23, 2007 @ 23:24
Hmm, I seem to have worded that one about the language a bit wrong. Of course, I agree that it’s perfectly fine to make English people start talking Japanese for better understanding. The problem is when these people start talking in real Japanese. Suddenly, people rapidly switched from English to Japanese and back, which made it really difficult to grasp in which language they were actually speaking.
Also, I agree with the phylosophical elements of the series. My major problem with this series is the second season, though. It didn’t really add anything worthwhile.
Also, I wouldn’t really classify the action-scenes as realistic. Revy gets never hit by stray bullets, and most fights are overblown to create as much of this adrenaline as possible.
Comment by psgels — August 23, 2007 @ 23:59
M’well, yeah, “realistic” may not be the most suited word. I’d say “sufficient”. I mean, the purpose of action is to entertain, but there are times when it does way too much.
Now that I think about it, I remember that I’ve watched Black Lagoon after… Phantom the Animation. O_o
Have you seen Phantom the Animation ? The main heroine is a killing machine, you’d feel more secure cornered by twenty tanks, thirty helicopters and a hundred of soldiers with automatic shot-guns rather than in front of the heroine. This heroine moves smoothly, she dodges all the friggin balls are more importantly, she NEVER EVER misses her shots EXACTLY between her opponents eyes, and from this tiny hole come out 20 liters of blood.
Compare this to Black Lagoon.
The thing is, I don’t know if you understand me, but Black Lagoon just gives enough to the viewer so that he feels thrilled. And being a huge fan of action-shows, I didn’t find this feeling so often : in series like Naruto (which I loathe), there was just soo much that it became dull (getting tired of over-10-episodes-fights), in Phantom the Animation, too stupid, and in shows like Wolf’s Rain, not enough (though I loved Wolf’s Rain).
Don’t know if you understood me. >_>
Comment by Windspirit — August 24, 2007 @ 15:07
This review is obsolete, because there’s a third season in production.
Comment by Silenus — July 29, 2008 @ 18:19
this is all crap dont listen to theise bitches and slap heads
Comment by imogen — April 16, 2009 @ 13:25