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. >_>

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.

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. :)

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.

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.

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…