Ranked #107

Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage

I feel kind of weird to be writing a review for Black Lagoon: the Second Barrage after I just wrote the review for the first season. Why? Because I don't really consider them to be two different seasons. It's just a continuation of a series I really didn't expect to be as good as it was the first time around. All 24 episodes are just Black Lagoon to me, and for good reason: Second Barrage keeps up the high octane action that made the first season such a blast. The art is the same, the sound is the same (which is unfortunate we didn't get any new songs added in), and the VA's are the same, thank God. Except something fail happens -- some of them start speaking in English in the last arc, and the pronunciation and grammar are horrible. Actually, the lines were cringeworthy too for Revy, who is supposedly a Chinese American so I would expect better English from her. It was revealed near the end the cast actually speaks English all the time and it's only in Japanese for the audience's sake. Having learned that I'm rather curious how the English dub sounds in some of these later episodes where English, Japanese, and Russian were all used in one conversation. I would have rather they just kept Revy talking in Japanese for the remainder of the show as I saw it, although that makes another character shouting "Hey! Speak in Japanese!" to her seem weird. ;-)

One difference is the story length this time. Last season was a series of 2-3 episode arcs wth a couple one-shot stories added. This season the entire last six episodes are absorbed into a single war between the old guard Japanese mafia and the up and coming Russians of Hotel Moscow, that takes Rock back to his home and to face the past he turned his back on. The "Greenback Jane" arc is easily the weakest of the season (probably both seasons) but is made up for with the first story arc featuring murderous children (yes, deadly lolis) and the epic ending arc.

Like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, this is one show I was disappointed to see end, and it looks like I wont have to yet, as a Third Season has been announced now. read more

I personally absolutely loved the second season of Black Lagoon!

While the storyline is a little short in that it seems like just a bunch of random stories thrown together, the themes remain the same throughout the anime and have a good conclusion to them.

It is not only action-wise intense but it poses questions of morality and who is right or wrong in the world, and more importantly which side should you be on.

Throughout the anime there is this central conflict, of making choices and determining if they are the right/just ones, with the main character and the ending is satisfying in learning what his final decision is!

The most powerful episodes to me were 13-15,(the twin-arc), which really touchs base with how messed up this world can be!
read more