Ronanapur’s darkest day has
come. The glasses sporting maid with a
lot of guns, Roberta, has returned and she’s raising all hell in her quest to
avenge the death of her master. However,
when the identity of her targets are revealed to be U.S. Military Operatives, the
powers that be in Ronanapur brace for a crisis unlike any the dirty city has
ever seen before. The Lagoon Company is
contracted by Roberta’s new young master, Garcia, to find Roberta and bring her
home. But blinded by vengeance and
hopped up on pills and bloodlust, Roberta is on a one way ticket to destruction
and nothing, not even Revy and the combined might of Ronanapur’s best killers,
may be able to stop her.
Much like the series that came before it, Roberta’s Blood
Trail, the third season of Black Lagoon, has the challenging task of following
up its creatively ambitious and amazing predecessor with something creative to
expand the world and yet keep viewers entertained. In a lot of ways it does this well, in fact
it does it better than ever, but some aspects could have been maybe a little
bit better.
While this is a continuation of the Black Lagoon series
(it even continues the episode count where The Second Barrage left off, these
are Episodes 25-29 btw) this is a shorter OVA and thus allows the franchise to
break away from some of the chains that might have been holding it down…if
there were any at all to begin with. And
while it may be hard to believe that the out of control violence of The Second
Barrage couldn’t be topped…Roberta’s Blood Trail does this in spades. Blood gushes and runs rivers, bullets fly and
people are torn to pieces in ways that you probably would not have seen in the
series. Again, this comes from the zero
limitations that OVA’s have in their productions. The first two seasons tip toed then stepped
over the line of “over the top”, Roberta’s Blood Trial blazes forward and
leaves that line in the dust once the shooting starts and Roberta gets serious.
Speaking of Roberta, her character is clearly at the
forefront of the story and the action but it is her decent into total madness
that is the real catch of the series.
You feel for the poor assassin turned maid at first when she wants to
seek revenge for the man who saved her from a life of blood and pain but that
train of thought can change when you see how far that obsession takes her and
just how far her crazed mind is taking her away from the young master she still
cares so much about. Roberta’s fang
filled smile is one of the most haunting images in all of anime. And speaking of haunting characters, Rock is
the other big focal point of this OVA.
His chess game with the powers that be in Roanapur for the future of the
island and its way of living is chilling and shows us a version of Rock never
seen before. He’s become almost a
product of the environment and it soon becomes a question of how far will he be
driven down this twisted path before he loses himself like Roberta has? Adding more to it is Revy’s growing concern
and fatigue with Rock’s troubles. She’s
good at kicking teeth in but how long will she stay by Rock’s side to protect
him through what she sees as fruitless and futile ventures? It’s fascinating and unique storytelling that
keeps the viewer guessing what the final outcome of events will be right up to
the final episode. And since Roberta’s
revenge is bringing dire consequences with it, it’s all hands on deck for
Ronanapur’s best and most lethal. Main
cast members Dutch and Benny get more to do than they did in The Second Barrage
and fan favorites from the last two seasons also get involved in their own way
as all of Roanapur becomes a battleground.
The rest of the OVA production save for the extra brutal
action and some very sensual scenes is very reminiscent of what has come
before. The animation looks touched up a
tad but otherwise it still looks like the series. Which works to recreate a very familiar feel
but may put off others expecting higher visual quality from an OVA
production. Still the story pacing and
flow makes this feel like a full blown movie rather than an OVA so it more than
makes up for any lack of leaps and bounds in the animation department. If there is one downside to this series it’s
that it can get a bit wordier than past seasons have been. And while it is important that we hear all of
the motivations behind this cast and learn what drives them, their
conversations and when they take place can leave viewers begging for chaos to
finally rain down. But one of the
biggest lows in an otherwise amazing season is the lack of a rematch between
Revy and Roberta, who had a great mini rivalry back in the first season.
Roberta’s Blood Trail is a great continuation of the
Black Lagoon saga and it is grand and epic in its execution of story, animation
and most of all action. Each season of
Black Lagoon keeps getting better and better, this being the best story
yet. And much like with the end of The
Second Barrage, one can only hope this is not the last we see of this action
packed fun fest.
9/10
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