One word that keeps propelling itself to the forefront of my head when I go to describe this show is: 'refreshing'. Generally, I tend to avoid those anime which are blatantly action-oriented, because an action anime series so often means that it will be generically shounen, or be some kind of absurd mecha-combat series; very rarely can I find an action series which does not fall to those and other traps, and Black Lagoon is one of them. From its premise to its execution, the show provides thrilling action sequences, from boat and car chases, to messy fisticuffs and bullet-spamming gunfights, the show covers all
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typical action bases you could expect from hollywood, but which, for one reason or another, anime rarely delivers. Although its depiction of battle features the usual problems of character shielding and the Stormtrooper effect, overall the show is very much grounded in reality, with no magic or science-fiction elements whatsoever. I found this refreshing because, typically, the only anime you are likely to find set in present-time reality are slice-of-life, revolving around dramatic or romantic themes. So Black Lagoon was a great change of pace; a hollywood style action/adventure shoot 'em up but with a darker and more thoughtful approach to themes and characters (as is often found in mature anime) - it's a splendid mix.
The production values for the show are certainly excellent, some of the best to have come out of 2006. It shines during the action scenes, which are very fluid and detailed, but overall has no real flaws other than the occasional lapse in consistency. The character designs are all attractive and original. The music is not something that impressed me; there isn't a lot of score music in the show (which is slightly refreshing given anime's habbit of blasting violin and choir over every scene), and what it has is fitting, but not really memorable.
The characters are well defined, although I felt the focus given to the characters was rather strangely distributed; Revy and Rock (the two main characters) aside, the rest of the Black Lagoon barely garnered any attention, and their involvement was so greatly reduced by the end of the series that you had to wonder why the show was even named after the group. I am not kidding that the majority of the villains the group encountered received considerably more character exploration than either Benny or Dutch (the other two Black Lagoon members). I understand the importance of giving depth to the antagonist perspective, but I got the feeling that the original creator just kept falling in love with the antagonists he introduced, and neglected the protagonists in order to delve indulgently into the villain's pasts and characters. The best example would be Hanzel and Gretel, the goth-loli twins and their arc. They were given so much background, and such a poignant send-off yet had so little effect on any continuing plot, or on the characters.
Revy was certainly an interesting character. I've seen the hardened, indifferent criminal stereotype before, but Black Lagoon takes Revy to the next level and actually glorifies her as colourfully maniacal. It makes the show fun to watch because you never know how to feel about Revy; sometimes you'll side with her and cheer her on, or feel sorry for her, but then the next moment she's slaughtering innocent people for enjoyment. Essentially she's a juxtaposition of 'cool' and 'reprehensible'. Rock is a character who is much easier to make a connection with, in fact I like to see him as being the representative for the audiences perspective on the show as it traverses the challenging lands of immorality. He is described in the show as being 'in the twilight', neither living under explicitly righteous terms, nor wholly endorsing the injustice of the underworld. This allows him to be constantly critical of the actions of those around him, but from an intelligent objective position (ie he does not decry their actions through blind morality). His criticisms of the actions Revy and others around him take make for the most profound and thematically crucial dialogue in the show, and despite his outwardly plain personality, also make him a fascinating and important presence in the show.
This brings me to the real crux of the matter: the show is really about the criminal mind, and the life of crime in all its forms. It paints an alluring portrait of the attraction to such a life, but never forgets to challenge that attraction by showing the kind of sacrifices one has to make of their humanity. It shows crime as a dangerously beautiful thing, and also shows it at its most sickening. All the exciting action is secondary to this. In conclusion, Black Lagoon should be watched by all action fans, but is a step above most shounen series due to its challenging and, at times, risqué foray into the heart of the criminal world. It is for mature audiences, because, despite having such character and being so colourful about murder, it is also very dark at times. There are flaws in the way it is paced, and the way some of the characters are neglected, but it has some very sharp dialogue, and is regardlessly entertaining thrill
Alternative Titles
Japanese: BLACK LAGOON
More titlesInformation
Type:
TV
Episodes:
12
Status:
Finished Airing
Aired:
Apr 9, 2006 to Jun 25, 2006
Premiered:
Spring 2006
Broadcast:
Sundays at 02:35 (JST)
Studios:
Madhouse
Source:
Manga
Genre:
Action
Demographic:
Seinen
Duration:
23 min. per ep.
Rating:
R - 17+ (violence & profanity)
Statistics
Ranked:
#6212
2
based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity:
#158
Members:
1,050,484
Favorites:
19,609
Available AtResourcesStreaming Platforms | Reviews
Filtered Results: 236 / 240
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Your Feelings Categories Sep 16, 2007
One word that keeps propelling itself to the forefront of my head when I go to describe this show is: 'refreshing'. Generally, I tend to avoid those anime which are blatantly action-oriented, because an action anime series so often means that it will be generically shounen, or be some kind of absurd mecha-combat series; very rarely can I find an action series which does not fall to those and other traps, and Black Lagoon is one of them. From its premise to its execution, the show provides thrilling action sequences, from boat and car chases, to messy fisticuffs and bullet-spamming gunfights, the show covers all
...
Apr 18, 2011
"This is way more entertaining than Hollywood is ever going going to be!" truer words like that have barely been spoken in anime in my opinion, and with the shit that's out now, I'm inclined to believe them.
STORY: Enter Rokuro Okajima, a typical meek japanese office worker of a large corperation who's the epitome of ordinary with a life so boring, bland, and not so envious with complains such as his boss kicking his ass, but his bleak life style comes to an end when a business trip cruise to South East Asia turns into hell as a group of modern day pirates take him ... Feb 14, 2007
- - - - - [ Black Lagoon Season 1 :: Ep-12 ] - - - - -
- [ Intro ] - Black Lagoon. That's a name that easily caught my eye. After reading the brief review, I said "why not?". And so I found a great anime that would get me hooked for quite a long time! And it definitely deserves rewatch! On with the review! - [ Animation: Good quality and well-detailed -> 9 ] - Let's set things clear now. Black Lagoon (BL) has one of the best animations i've ever seen! If you pay attention to details, you will like BL. The animators have ... Aug 7, 2013
With a genre that deals with many action set-pieces, a show of this specific genre is usually bogged down into mindless entertainment territory with absolutely no substance to it at all. There have been in the past many action films and TV shows that have shown to become competent in the history of film-making, examples in mind are the works of John Woo, Michael Mann, and Quentin Tarantino. But what if I told you that there is an anime show that encompasses everything that is great about those three directors and succeeds on every possible level? The show in question is Black Lagoon, a show
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Mar 24, 2009
If there was an anime that would make you look like a pink pair of panties with a little bow on it, it's Black Lagoon.
This is seriously one of the toughest, bloodliest, sexiest, kick tushiest anime ever created and it is better than you can ever be. It's not better than me, because it does have some flaws, but then again, nothing is really better than I am. The story follows some pirates (not the "Argh, mateys!" kind) who do all sorts of crazy shady jobs for MONEY. Yeah, it's original that these people are motivated by cash and not by personal beefs. Makes it ... Aug 21, 2013
Black Lagoon is an action fan's dream come true, but those looking for characters and plot might be a bit turned off.
As always, my reviews are spoiler free. I avoided this anime for the longest time, since I am generally not a fan of this kind of action series. After a year or so of procrastination, I finally got around to watching it. Here are my thoughts on the series as a whole (including Second Barrage and Roberta's Blood Trail OVAs, but not the odd Omake Spin off). Story - 5/10 Make no mistake about it: Black Lagoon is an action series through and through. It's gunfights galore, ... Jan 15, 2015
Overview:
We have seen countless struggles in anime between good and evil, but what about a struggle between grey vs. grey or evil vs. evil? There are actually a few anime that fit that description, but few quite as celebrated as Black Lagoon. Lets go into the depths of the criminal underworld and look at one of the darker anime ever to reach mainstream popularity. What you want to know is, "Is it any good?" Well...sort of. Story: 5/10 The story can be broken down into arcs, but there is no real overall progressive plot. Just more dirty jobs that need to get done. "Its like wagon train, ... Jan 20, 2008
One of the darkest animes I've seen in my life, Black Lagoon portrays quite brilliantly the gritty and obscene lives of mercenaries for hire and the underworld of crime. Casting an academic and otherwise completely innocent person as the protagonist just makes this anime even more explicit and realistic than any other.
The story follows a team of mercenaries known as Lagoon Company, who smuggle goods in and around the seas of Southeast Asia. Their base of operations is located in the fictional city of Roanapur in Thailand, and they transport goods in the PT boat Black Lagoon. Lagoon Company does business with various clients, ... Dec 26, 2010
In many respects, Black Lagoon is difficult series to review. At its core it is a show which takes what is an essentially interesting and engaging story and then promptly covers it with a rather thick layer of absurdity and an aesthetic love of violence for its own sake. That is to say, for a series which outwardly claims to be "mature" and "realistic," in one sense it succeeds, and in another it fails. [It should also be mentioned beforehand that this will be a review of the first 12-episode installment of the series only, and not the Second Barrage]
Beginning with the positive side, Black ... Jun 10, 2013
wow.. this anime is shit!
Because of its non existing storyline and its uninteresting and stupid character the only thing this anime got left, being worthy to watch, would be its action scenes... and they sucked. They were complete unrealistic and stupid. (I am not agains unrealism in anime at all, but this action scenes were like a fist of "unrealism" punshing into my face. I will come to the action scenes later on) Well lets start off with the character (cuz i cant tell you much about the story): You got rather 2 dominant main protagonists: Revy and Rock. I call them the dominant one because the ... Dec 5, 2007
Black Lagoon is an Anime that centers around a group of modern pirates who call themselves the 'Lagoon Delivery Company'. They operate in Southeast Asia, and they basically deliver anything at all as long as the price is right.
Story wise, the episodes are a collection of completely unrelated short stories, showing the different jobs that the Lagoon Delivery Company takes on. The storylines are fairly unique, ranging from a run in with a bunch of wannabe Nazis to delivering papers for a Chinese Triad. Each short story is packed with action and superb gunfights, and the plot speeds along, leaving no time to be bored. ... Jul 29, 2015
"Look, everyone in here is carrying a gun! It's like we're in a parallel universe where everyone is Clint Eastwood." - Rock
[Viewer Discretion is advised, review contains profanity, just like the show it's written for.] If the everyday, ubiquitous, slice of life anime is a Toyota Prius... environmentally conscious, economical, quiet, and serene, then Black Lagoon is like a 1970 El Camino with a 572, two 4 barrel carbs, straight headers and a supercharger with a bugcatcher on top so big you can't see anything but dotted lines turning solid. But that's okay, because the only thing you're gonna see is the other suckers in your mirrors. ... Feb 27, 2008
This review is for the entire bad series.
Had potential but was a let down. When I first read about Black Lagoon, and read that it was a story about a group of mercenaries based in the modern world. A grounded tail with no space travel, superpowers or the like. I thought it would be a nice change, and the animation looked good. It did start of good in the first three to four episodes, but then things began to go down hill. Most episodes went no where, other anime did episodes like that. Cowboy Bebop had many, but they were fun and still had meaning behind ... Dec 12, 2015
It's was really hard for me at first to actually give my honest opinion on Black Lagoon because the show itself is really good and I don't want to be biased. However I' have finally made up my mind to give my thoughts and review. Black Lagoon, in terms of a more "realistic" action adventure anime is highly acceptable. What I mean by that is the events that took place during Black Lagoon are like real events that we see or hear about happen in our world everyday. Black Lagoon gives you a sort of up close and personal experience on what the characters
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May 30, 2014
Black Lagoon
Story 7/10 Black Lagoon have a live and well-produced plot, the writer place many combinations of elements in 12 episodes. Although, Black Lagoon did a poor and a little confusing opening on their story. But, in generally, the story is fine and balanced to watched. Art 7/10 For the period of 2005 anime, Black Lagoon’s art is well comparable with other anime. For me in personal, I pretty find for the art of Black Lagoon, I totally appreciate what the creator produced. ... Jan 5, 2010
Firstly, let me state this review may come off as sexist but I am indeed not a sexist. Now,
I'm ok with a typical tough anime girl. I'm ok with a tough anime girl with a gun. I am not ok with a tough anime girl with a gun killing dozens of enemies at a time. Black Lagoon attempts to come of as a realistic anime about mercenaries, but many things in the anime detract from this attempt. But before I rant, I'll talk a little about the 4 man crew. We have Rock (protagonist): Japanese business man who is tired of being pushed around and so ... Jan 12, 2010
Anime seems to be very tame these days. If it isn't about whiny high school kids living their boring ass lives, it's about overachieving, insane kids with magical notebooks (cough Deathnote). I like these kinds of animes as much as the next guy, but sometimes I feel like doing nothing more than bathe in my own testosterone and achieve a massive erection looking at either tits, guns, or cars. Enter, Black Lagoon. An anime with tits, guns, AND cars. Expect testosterone, and lot's of it.
Story- The story is as generic as it can get. Some pussy ass bitch decides to change his life and he starts ... May 24, 2014
“This is more entertaining than Hollywood is ever going to be!” - Revy
Black Lagoon is one of Madhouse’s greatest works. In terms of action and seinen, we no longer have to frustratingly listen to long speeches before gunshots fire. Black Lagoon is well-known for its nonstop action and features one of the most memorable and merciless women in the anime industry: Revy (famously known as “Two Hands”), who is noted for her “kill first, ask questions later” style. Its depiction of Hollywood action films with the explosions, car chases, and gun-fighting at sea makes this entertaining to watch, especially with its mature dialogue and dark ... Oct 11, 2015
Black Lagoon
Black Lungs, oh sorry, Black Lagoon (they smoke a lot, and they probably have lung cancer) is a solid action anime, lacking in story and focused more on episodic stories... Story There's no story, or that's what i got watching the anime, and is focused more on doing jobs because their company Black Lagoon is a mercenary group that does this kind of jobs, every job, even the despicable jobs (is a seinen so...) they are not moralists, that really applicable to Revy and in the last ep. maybe there was something that i didn't understood, what was that at the end those guys said, judging ... Jan 25, 2015
Black Lagoon as a whole was pure entertainment and is one show that most viewers could keep on going back to for more. This is one show that after concluding its first and second season i could only think when will there be more.
STORY:8/10 Black Lagoon lacked any long term story arc and was basically a very long but strong intro to the series. By the end of the first season you get to know the entire lagoon squad, and all the other characters within the supporting cast along with some short but strong story arcs as the lagoon crew went threw their ... |