The first thing that came to mind when watching Black Lagoon what how it was quite different than your typical action anime. Instead it reminded me more of the over-the-top action flicks by John Woo or Hollywood summer blockbusters. It has crazy gun fights and insane car chases, things you find in many action flicks. Watching this in this form is quite refreshing than your typical shounen or mecha anime. As I mentioned Black Lagoon has a modular structure or arcs. Each arc can be seen as a movie in itself however, at the same time develop the characters and keep continuity. By this I mean that the events of the previous arc are not forgotten but still affect the main characters. There are many examples but I won’t bother going into that as it could get spoilerish.
While I did compare Black Lagoon to Hollywood blockbusters, the stories are far more compelling. Black Lagoon uses many mature and serious themes only found in more adult anime. In addition, the level of ambiguity in Black Lagoon is extremely high, there are no “good guys” or “bad guys” only people on opposing sides. For example, the twin’s arcs, the antagonist (the twins) as well as Balalika, the one pursuing them are made extremely sympathetic. I am reminded of the time I went to Anime Central and the director and producer of Black Lagoon were there. One person asked “who were your favorite villains?” and the directors responded “huh, they’re all villains.” In addition, Black Lagoon never idealizes the criminal/pirate life, as there is an over arcing sense of sadness and tragedy in Black Lagoon. This is made obvious by the ED sequence.
Another thing that surprised me about Black Lagoon is the almost slice-of-life feel. In between major actions scenes and arcs we get to know a bit about the characters, in particular Rock and Revy. There is a depth to both those characters are comparable to more character driven anime titles. This brings up one of my main complaints, the lack of development for Dutch and Benny. I really wish they added more to them, instead they feel like side characters instead of main characters.
Animation wise, the designs are consistent and well animated, Madhouse is in their element. The OP and ED are also well done and really show the 2 sides of Black Lagoon, the fast paced action and the more serious/dramatic side. I can’t really say much about the music as only 3 pieces stuck out for me, “Red Faction”, “Don’t Look behind”, and “the world of midnight.” Oh, one cannot review Black Lagoon without mentioning the awesome Engirsh, they are some of the most unintentionally hilarious things I have ever heard.
Black Lagoon is a refreshing action anime when compared to your typical shounen and mecha anime. For most this is the main draw, I’ll admit, sometimes you just need some over-the-top action, and Black Lagoon has plenty. However, there is more to Black Lagoon than that as they use more mature themes. This combined with over-the-top action creates quite a unique series. Black Lagoon is rated mature, not only for the extreme violence but for the challenging themes they employ.
