It's kinda funny how an anime that an anime that mainly relies on action can actually be a very entertaining and enjoyable anime.
The story begins with Rokurou Okajima AKA Rock who gets captured by a group of pirates called black Lagoon, but when he discovers he was just a bargaining chip he decides to join the pirate crew and carry out their mischievous deeds.
I was actually surprised that there wasn't a straight story mostly because it was really just about the crew of Black Lagoon doing some odd end jobs while also encountering weird complications like Neo-Nazi's or a Maid that could be mistaken for a Terminator she's that strong, but it was really fun to watch the continuous action along with the banter between the members of Black Lagoon actually made this into a really well done show, there is actually some development between the characters as there are moments between the action and shooting where some of the members get into a personal situation like Rock and Revy who had a talk on a Nazi submarine that ended up with Rock hitting a nerve in Revy and seeing them close this problem was absolutely badass.
You also find out how dirty life is in the pirate business because there are some situations that were big even for the Lagoon crew who had to handle complex situations like when they were transporting Garcia Lovelace who had a badass maid to protect him which obviously got out of hand for the group or the multiple times they get betrayed by other pirates.
The characters were actually really enjoyable and were good fun despite being people who didn't really have the best of lives.
Revy the main female character is a psychotic, merciless and sadistic killer who really doesn't give much of damn about anyone apart from her next paycheck and her two M92S Pistol's, she can be a fun person though once you get to know her and don't piss her off, but there are moments where she truly goes out of control and kills anyone in her way.
Rock is the Main male character of the show and despite being a noob at the pirate business and lacking backbone at the beginning he really does become a much stronger and badass character by the end of the show because there are moments where he outsmarts the enemy either using superior tactics or by using his diplomatic skills of talking which is what surprisingly saves his ass when he confronted Revy about their working relationship.
Dutch is the leader of the Lagoon and unlike Revy he helps Rock get accustomed to the group and has a very calm nature, but that doesn't mean he's a softy, he will go out of his way to make sure his crew survives by any means necessary which includes in the action himself with either his trusty Revolver or Shotgun.
Benny is the technical guy of the group and he actually doesn't really do a lot in the show other than background support so hopefully he gets better treatment in the next couple of seasons.
The other supporting characters were well done too like Roberta an ex-guerrilla soldier who became a maid to Garcia Lovelace who is a goddamn badass with her almost Terminator like ferocity which even gave Revy a run for her money and there was also Miss Balalaika who is in charge of the Russian mafia, although she isn't around much she looks like someone who shouldn't be messed and if Revy and Roberta don't mess with her then she most definitely should be feared.
The artstyle was familiar reminding me a little of Death Note which isn't a surprise since this was made by Madhouse, but the explosions, the shootouts and even the chase scenes were done very well, it was pretty gorey with the amount of gun shoots enemies would take before dying and there were a few moments where some people got knocked the hell up like the fist fight Revy and Roberta had to prove who was better.
The action is the main part of this show and it was done incredibly well, even though this was what the show relied on to keep going along with the interactions between the characters it never got tiresome and it was always great seeing Revy kick ass against opponents that didn't stand a chance against her, there are other characters though who add to awesomeness of the action too like Roberta who just rinsed her enemies to shreds with her cool weapons like the Umbrella shotgun and the Briefcase MG, but she also had amazing strength to go with that which made her the perfect killing machine.
Overall this was a very fun anime and shows you don't even need a story to make your show entertaining, hopefully the next seasons are just as good and if someone out there loves action and women kicking major ass then this is certainly the place to be.
