Review of Black Lagoon

"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.It's big, it's loud, it's fast, it's rough, it's tough, and it's got a mean bite. Black Lagoon is this machine from hell of an anime that's just way, way too much, but you can't help but want to floor it every time you get in... because it's just too much fun. You gotta respect it though, because you don't take it for a ride, it takes YOU for a ride.

This is the essence of Black Lagoon. It's like 24 episodes of nonstop Mad Max Fury Road. Unrelenting, punishing, deadly action. Don't f*ck with it.

Artwork and Animation: 9

"So I guess you'd probably have a hard time believing I watch Oprah instead: "the result of the extreme makeover, right after the GUNSHOT!" - Revy

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Even though Black Lagoon is almost 10 years old now, it still holds up excellently. It's yet another awesome title from the Madhouse dominant era of the mid 2000s to sit with Death Note, Hellsing, Paprika, and others. The attention to detail, particularly with the guns and vehicles, is striking.

Instead of just having generic pistols and rifles, they went the extra mile fleshing out the detailing that make individual and branded weapons unique. Real life brand names are mentioned, and the weaponry are identical replicas. Famous pistols like the Beretta 92F (Revy's signature), Tokarev TT-33s, Colt 1911s, Lugers, and the fan favorite gold plated Desert Eagle make appearances, along with tons of other revolvers, autos, and even cap and lock pistols. A dizzying array of rifles, launchers, and mounted weapons are used throughout the series, all direct copies of real life weapons. No made up stuff here. The weapons themselves are nearly characters, and I had a lot of fun picking out which ones were which. All told, there are 81 different weapons either seen or used throughout the series.

The characters themselves are drawn excellently and consistently too. From Revy's signature tank top, jorts and dual Berettas, Rock's stuffy businessman look, cross dressing twins, gangster suits, Nuns With Guns™, military fatigues, and Nazi uniforms to Roberta's crazy French Maid getup, there is a wildly varied cast of characters and looks.

Sound and Voice Acting: 10

"Man, that's f*cking pathetic. Only some tit sucking mama's boy would come up with that bullsh*t conversation you're enjoying." - Revy

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Revy: "You whiny bitch, you're lucky I was around to save you from having your f*cking balls shot off by those guys from Hotel Moscow!"
Eda: "Last time I checked, I didn't have a set, but maybe you do you nasty she-male!"
Revy: "ALL RIGHT YOU ASKED FOR IT BITCH!"
Eda:"WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO PICK WHICH ASSHOLE YOU WANT TO SH*T THROUGH!"

Revy: "HEY YOU OLD BITCH! It's Rebecca! from Lagoon Company, open the f*cking door you old skank!"

Revy: "You don't want to charge in with this piece of sh*t, especially not with a crackhead at the wheel"
Leigharch: "F*ck you! I'll have you know this is the world's greatest offroad vehicle you heartless bitch!"
Revy: "This piss tank is getting on my last nerve. Listen up you f*cking leprechaun, you're gonna wait here until you get our signal. If you run away, I'll hunt you down and castrate you!"
Shenhua: "My, she say good thing, I agree very much!"

I'm with Shenhua. Everything that comes out of Revy's mouth is gold. This is a must watch in English. While the Japanese has some profanity, this one takes it BEYOND filthy, and with that comes so many laughs at the horrible things the characters threaten and say to each other. Panty and Stocking is really the only comparable dub, and the banter between Eda and Revy is like Panty and Stocking awesome, but better. Think Tarantino movie language- it flows really well, and sounds realistic. It's not overly pretentious or stuffy, it's just rough and raw.

Characters: 10

Let's hear it for cultural diversity! MADhouse in tha house!

Seriously, if there's ever been an anime out there that's covered as many different enthic groups, religions, creeds, cults, groups, countries, races, and who even knows what other kind of label, it's Black Lagoon. All right, a show about pirates with cultural diversity, sounds freaking great right??

Well get this:
You've got the military, crooked cops, Yakuza, and the Triads, and the Russian Mafiya... yeah those are pretty run of the mill type stuff. Then you've got a little bit more out there stuff like Nuns With Guns™, cowboy bounty hunters, a mute chainsaw wielding girl, and a Hank Hill inspired flamethrower wielding middle aged fat man. Then you get on up in to the upper echelon of crazy sh*t with crossdressing murder twin child soldiers, a Terminator French Maid, Neo Nazis (with full dress uniform), and one Shenhua, the sexy Taiwanese chinglish spewing, Enep knife wielding assassin. There's even a schoolgirl Yakuza boss, and Mr Chang, the Chinese Triad John Woo movie clone!

As far as main characters go, though, Revy is one of most outstanding and instantly recognizable characters out there, with her untied boots, jorts, tattoos, tank top, and signature double shoulder holsters. She's almost always smoking a cigarette, and trailing a stream of profanity and insults so rough it'd make Gordon Ramsay piss his pink panties.
Sexy, tough and with a temper like Christian Bale and Mel Gibson combined times two, Revy exists to smoke, f*ck sh*t up, get paid, and drink straight liquor- in that order. She's corrupt and violent to the core, no whiny, needy clingy woman tropes here. Nothing gets her off more than getting lit and shooting shit up.

She's the quintessential badass, and she don't take shit from nobody.

Rock, on the other hand, is a guy stuck in the middle. When his dead end corporate grind job lands him in the middle of the South China Sea amongst a hive of scum and villainy, his outlook on life really changes- from bad to worse. As a guy who has been on both sides of the fence, he has a pretty unique perspective to the seedy gangster's paradise of Roanapur. His skills as a businessman do end up coming in handy when the all guns blazing route fails, but more often than not, he finds himself a spectator to the violent brutality of the city and its denizens.

Story: 9

In this criminal underworld, anything goes. Cops on the make, thugs on the take, and shootouts over dinner are the norm. Get f*cked up every night, drive it like you stole it, and crash only to repeat it the next day. If you're lucky, you might get some kind of job from the mafia. If not, you just had your last shot of rum- forever.

Black Lagoon's story takes us on arc based tales straight out of an action movie. Every 2 or 3 episodes, the real life pirate crew of Dutch, Revy, Benny, and Rock take on some new job from the Russian mob and whatever crazy adventure it entails. They aren't some 16th century sailboat crew with tricorns and peglegs though- they're straight off the mean streets of Compton, I mean Roanapur. Armed with a stolen military torpedo boat and a million dollars' worth of military grade weaponry, a cunning captain and Revy's famous temper, they take on a variety of different missions. The episodes featuring Roberta, a Colombian terrorist turned maid, the twisted, murderous twin children Hansel and Gretel, and the Greenback Jane saga are highlights of the series in the insane, over the top, brutal, and hilarious elements respectively.

Enjoyment: 10

I really liked the realism in this show. So often, action shows have to do with the supernatural or occult, and it was incredibly refreshing to see something that was grounded in realism, used real life guns, vehicles, and kept the story within the realm of gritty action movie. The hilarious dialogue was delivered perfectly, and the voice actors sounded great. While it was very over the top at times, this show watches like a John Woo movie mixed with Tarantino. It's just a heck of a lot of fun.

It's a real shame Marÿke Hendrikse didn't do many other voice roles. Revy will live the f*ck on forever though, because like she gives a sh*t.

Overall: 10

tl;dr

+ Awesome characters that kick a lot of ass
+ Dialogue that will make you sh*t your pants, then kick you in the face for laughing
+ Excellent arc based story
+ Great animation and attention to detail

Recommend?

Of course. If you don't watch this, Revy is going to come shove her boot up your ass and make you lick your own crap off of it before busting a cap in your sniveling dome!
Seriously, if you like rough and tough with dark comedy- this is not to be missed.

"Roanapur is the kind of place where violent jokes come true." - Benny