The distant and quiet life of Rokuro Okajima is shattered
when he is sent to the South China seas by his company’s higher ups for a
mission of the utmost importance. He
finds himself taken hostage by a crew of pirates under the moniker, The Lagoon
Company. At first terrified for his
life, Rokuro, nicknamed Rock by his captors, comes to find a place he never
expected to call home with people he never expected to call friends. A no nonsense boss, a ponytailed hacker and a
beautiful but psychotic gun woman ride the wild seas with Rock at their side. It may not always be pretty but it sure as
hell is far from boring.
One of the reasons I enjoy anime so much is because I
feel it is a medium where anything is possible.
The mind can run wild with possibilities and they can all be shown on
screen as insane or over the top as you want.
And there is no better example of this mind set than Black Lagoon. The action is a roller coaster, the dialogue
has no filter and the possibilities of storytelling and fight scenes appears to
be endless.
At first glance this show can look a bit like Cowboy
Bebop just in a more modern day period.
The Lagoon Company is a crew for hire, taking any job no matter how
small or how dangerous so long as they get paid at the end. A bald captain (Dutch), a hacker (Benny) and
a bad ass with a gun (Revy) make up the initial crew with Rock joining on at
the end of the second episode. For a
crew we are supposed to get comfy with for the duration of this series, there’s
a definite sense of both safety and danger amongst this band of mercs. Dutch seems pretty chill and balanced but
harbors a darkness that you’d rather not get a peek at. Benny is the happier go lucky of everyone but
he must’ve seen somethings in life to make him almost desensitized to the
violence around him. And then there’s
Revy. Revy. Revy. Revy. Her looks could kill you as quickly as her gun. Totting dual pistols and chain smoking cigars
while rocking a cropped top and short shorts, there’s no mistaking this girl
has seen some things and is the result of the worst horrors of humanity. In battle, she is a demon who will put you
down without so much as a second thought just because you coughed when she
wanted peace and quiet. And yet you
can’t help but be impressed by how good she is at kicking ass. They definitely build Revy up as next to
invincible in these first few episodes, laying waste to mercs and rival pirates
as if everyday involved this…and it kind of does actually. And while it looks like Rock would be dead in
a day sticking around, his moment of inner darkness/enjoyment of watching an
attack chopper sent to kill him go down in flames because he convinced Dutch to
jump the boat into the air and sink the chopper with torpedoes…all the while giving
the downed chopper the finger, shows that Rock may fit in alright.
Which leads us into the daily routine of our series
setting, the island of Roanapur. We only
get to see a little bit of it in the first few episodes. However, I’m sure we’re bound to see more of
the booze, bullet, blood and death filled mayhem that is a standard 24 hours in
this place that most people call hell but the main cast calls home. There’s a gun on every table as Rock notes
and probably at least one death a day.
What’s interesting is the structure of power present. It’s obvious there are more than just mercs
and degenerates in Roanapur. We get a
glimpse of the higher powers in the form of the scene stealing deadly beauty of
Ms. Balialaika, the head of the Russian mob unit known as Hotel Moscow. Defined by her deadly sense of loyalty to her
troops and strangely enough Dutch and also the mysterious burns on her face,
Balialaika rivals Revy for the real female power house of this series. Rocking a maroon business dress and dark
stockings and hardly ever without a cigar in her mouth (more so than the rest
of this chain smoking cast), Balialaika may sound calm and even seductive, but
that’s all the more the trap she sets as her men are on standby at a moments
notice to carry out kills without thought or question. Are there any others in this city who can
stand toe to toe with her? I’m sure
we’ll find out soon enough.
Black Lagoon’s got a rich cast of characters and a
suitable environment for the series for sure.
But what about the action? HOLY
S*** is it unbelievably cool. This is
where Revy stands out the most. When she
uses a gun of any kind, be it her pistols or even a grenade launcher, she
dances the dance of the devil and no one is expected to survive. Likewise, the attack chopper vs. the Black
Lagoon sequence mentioned above is a perfect example of how crazy this show can
get and that’s what makes it so much fun.
It’s the kind of scene Hollywood only wishes it could get right with
it’s perfect mix of nail biting anticipation and it’s F*** YEAH worthy shouting
payoff. It’s an action junkie dream come
true this show and it’s sure to get better down the line.
There were a couple of minor downsides. I know that the stuffiness and not caring
about anyone other than their own wealth mentality of Rock’s bosses was meant
to offset the more violent yet carefree attitude of Rock’s new companions but I
think it did it’s job too well. I mean
this in that their scenes were boring and not worth the time given to
them. But again, I understand why they
were paced that way, I just didn’t care for them. Also I wasn’t a fan of the back and forth
story telling of Episode 4, which sets up the Nazi Arc Retrieval storyline. I think that the flashback to the sinking of
the Nazi sub and it’s precious cargo could have been one solid half of the
episode while the prep for the retrieval could have been the second half. I will say though, these happy as can be Neo
Nazi’s set to take on the Lagoon Company are a bit…too happy, like they’ve won
the war that hasn’t been fought yet already.
I’m getting the feeling I’m gonna enjoy these guys going down in flames
more than I should…
And that’s the beginning of Black Lagoon. Solid cast,
perfect action fan atmosphere, fan service with lovely ladies and some sharp
dialogue…oh yeah fun in the sun as autumn approaches us. Ride baby ride lol. See ya next time.
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