A city created for men and women of evil. Roanapur is a place where fights are common and the law is nowhere to be found. The place that is home for those with no other home to accept them. Black Lagoon is indeed one of the more interesting and unique anime to have come out in the last few years. The writing and stories show a great depth of knowledge when it comes to military, historical and crime affairs. Even the puns and references are ones that will only be familiar to a few. The knowledge regarding different places in continents like Asia and Europe is astounding as well.
What makes Black Lagoon truly unique is its characters; they share a depth that makes them appealing. While it is typical to find outlandish or extreme stories in anime, Black Lagoon does so well in developing characters within the madness. This makes you end up believing their virtue or principles in life. Some of course, you'll truly find are from the abyss of evil only common to people who've experienced the same hell. Let's go through some of these interesting and deadly characters.
The Twins
Hansel and Gretel might be one of the most twisted pairs to have come up in the series. They're stone cold killers and they actually enjoy and revel in their actions. The reason for this is that they were brought up in a world where killing is the only way to survive. They were once orphans that were sold off to pornographers who made them do illegal types of porn typically related to murder and child pornography. Such acts twisted their minds into enjoying the blood and entrails.
Balalaika and Hotel Moscow
The woman with a burnt scar is one of fearsome strength. Not only does she command a large group of Russian ex-soldiers but she is very good at combat as well. She believes that the path to her goals can be achieved through total annihilation and does so by delivering perfect tactical destruction. You definitely don't want to be at her bad side. It's good news that the Black Lagoon crew has already established a good relationship with her.
The Bloodhound of Florencia
Behind the glasses and the maid outfit is a person with unforgiving eyes and an intense killing intent. Roberta, now the maid of the Lovelace family was once one of the most feared guerrillas from F.A.R.C. She was an assassin and is being hunted by many international agencies. Her abilities in combat are superhuman and Rock even called her a "robot from the future". She's fought on par with Revy but she holds back from revealing her true monstrous side due to the family she serves. The true nature of that side is revealed when she goes on a fit of vengeance.
The Black Lagoon Pair
Despite showing their humanity, many consider Rokuro and Revy to be the true monsters of the series. While Revy tends to be hotheaded and explosive, she shows no sign of remorse or hesitation when it comes to killing. She even does so for enjoyment at some point. She's the type to shoot first and would not hesitate to kill someone that just simply pisses her off. Rock's monstrous side is one that you really have to think about at first. While many refer to him as the only good person in this series his actions reveal that he does have a darker side to him. The fact that he's survived in Roanapura and the Black Lagoon proves that he's no ordinary salaryman. The fact that he can also figure situations out by gambling lives and being almost uncaring for the consequences makes you wonder if he's truly good. Rock refers to himself as the bullet while Revy is the gun, meaning that he himself knows of his potential to be deadly with the right weapon.
It's been a long time but the manga has finally continued its course with the anime soon to follow. Hopefully we get to uncover more stuff about the past of the Black Lagoon crew, especially Dutch and Benny. There may even be more monsters to appear and you never know who else will get involved in future story arcs.
