Review of Black Lagoon

Roanapur City, the home of the Lagoon Company, holds mercenaries, organised crime and some of the worst that humanity has to offer.The story begins in the 1990's, as the Lagoon Company cheats, fights, and steals it's way to complete each new and unique jobs. The Lagoon Company is a mercenary crew, that occasionally does odd jobs for some of the mobs within the city. Though their outfit isn't very large, it still boasts some of the most formidable odds for anyone to go up against. The crew is made up of a computer specialist (Benny), a Japanese businessman turned negotiator (Rock), their fearless leader(Dutch), and the blood thirsty gun hand (Revy).
Humanity's dark side becomes vivid, in this action packed thrill ride that will keep any fan of shootouts, explosions and almost any other type of violence imaginable on the edge of their seat.
The diverse nationality of those who dwell in Roanapur add a great deal of intrigue to an otherwise depressing way of life for the series' anti-heroes. The sunny beaches, the beautiful oceans, and the rest of the tropical scenery is masterfully contrasted by the people who thrive in one of the darkest corners of our earth.
The voice acting for the characters themselves are very all too believable. They add more realism to an almost unbelievable world, that is all too real for many people in our world today. You really get a good feel for what they are feeling, or thinking at any given moment.
The artwork, and design very much reminded me of Death Note. With it's similar dark times and human moments. The art in my opinion captures the personalities of the characters almost as well as the voice acting in what they are feeling. Even without words, the art could tell you all about the hard life that the characters experience, and what makes them who they are.
The thing that I enjoyed about this anime the most was the different view point of the characters as opposed to many other main characters of other anime. The fact that there is no real protagonist, just a collection of anti-heroes intrigued me.
Many anime I have seen don't have characters that are even remotely that sour toward the world or life itself. Some characters have become desensitized to the corruption or have even become a part of it. Where as most main characters don't go to that place, ever.
This anime's sheer contrast to the rest of the anime world drew me in, but what kept me involved was the character development and the plot that never stops.