Monday, September 28, 2015

Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage Part 3 Episodes 21-24


With the groups boss slain, Yukio is now head of the Washimine Group.  And that means by law she cant surrender her forces without a fight.  But Rock’s determined to keep Yukio out of the darkness which he himself has descended into.  That means turning his back on the most dangerous person in Roanapur and endangering his own life.  Even Revy knows it’s a fight they might not win.  Tokyo has become a battleground and when the bullets stop flying, Rock’s life will never be the same and he may never be able to go home again.

This is kind of a rarity for me.  Whenever I’ve thought to look for any flaws in these last twelve episodes, I don’t think ive been able to.  Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage, from the beginning, stepped things up from the first season and made it better.  They expanded the world, gave the Lagoon Company tougher opponents and deepened the bonds of teammates trapped in a living hell on Earth.  Why bring this up now and not save it for the end of this review?  I guess I just wanted to say that a series (or rather season) of excellence ended on an equally high note.

Im surprised they dedicated half a season to this Tokyo arc rather than try to get one or two more mini episodes out of it.  At the same time though, it would have been impossible to tell this story in the usual 3 episode structure.  We wouldn’t’ve gotten nearly as much if we crunched it so much: not Rock’s long look at where he came from, not Balialika’s backstory and not nearly as much good build up.  In between those deeper moments (back to those in a moment), we got some of the best action the show has delivered to date.  The bowling alley was the stand out.  Chakka had every bit of violent retribution heading his way.  And after how his men treated Yukio, some violence needed to happen and Revy and Ginji were happy to send them all to hell.  It’s pretty funny that Revy didn’t get the kill shot on Chakka, instead denying him his wild west dual and leaving him to a complete slice down by Ginji.

As for those deeper moments, the character development was off the charts.  Balialika’s need to fight a war she never could being her driving force was on display.  And Rock almost ended up a casualty of that war when he tried to save Yukio from Hotel Moscow’s one sided beat down of the Washimine and Kouza groups.  Rock staring down the barrel of Balialika’s gun was intense and it makes you wonder why this woman would ever have need of allies outside of her own men.  That moment was immediately followed up by Revy chewing out Rock for apparently being suicidal.  Revy’s bond with Rock has deepened a lot this season but seeing them in Tokyo showed us a more…tender side between them.  Revy’s lightened up and it’s clear she thinks of Rock as more than just a charge to protect.  She even begged him to look at her instead of Yukio offing herself to spare him some pain.  Eda may joke about it with her but I don’t think she’s that far off about Revy having actual feelings for Rock.

Sadly, Rock was unable to save Yukio from her inevitable tragic fate.  We didn’t see much fallout in terms of Rock’s reaction and I guess theyre saving that for the next season.  While he’s accepted he is now part of Roanapur’s darkness, he didn’t want the same fate for Yukio and he failed in his attempt to save her.  That cant be good for morale, even in a world where soulless killers are the population.  It’s a good note of uncertainty to leave the season on.

So final thoughts on The Second Barrage?  IT WAS AWESOME!!!! The action was more amazing, the world and Roanapur’s killer line up was expanded, the stories both excited and challenged our moral centers, and we got a taste of what happens when Roanapur comes to the real world…and the real world’s not ready for it.  Revy and Rock were as strong as ever.  If I did have to say something negative, id say that Dutch and Benny did get sidelined for more than half the season, they barely popped up in the Tokyo arc if only to share some sage advice.  But really, the developing partnership between Revy and Rock made up for it.  We saw them understand each other more, open up and even hint of something deeper.  Hard to believe that could happen considering where this series started.

Overall, Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage was an example of a sequel done right and it’s a fun binge ride.  The end of every episode had me wanting more and much like last season, the end came too quick.  Good thing this isn’t the end.  Cause with a show this good, why would you ever want it too?  Yeah, im giving The Second Barrage a

10/10

Black Lagoon: Roberta’s Blood Trail, featuring the return of everyone’s unstoppable maid, will be covered sometime next year. 

October is next week and we’ll be getting into some various new titles: One short OVA and two movies starting with the Toonami classic, Blue Submarine No.6.

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