Review of Black Lagoon

This might be the LONGEST review I will ever do on this website, like I believe it's bigger than your average college course essay but hear me out. THIS IS MY FAVORITE ANIME/MANGA OF ALL TIME. Now I'll admit, I’ve seen other anime that are objectively better than this show. But I don’t think any of them have really impacted my life the same way this series has. Like every time I come back to Black Lagoon I get so fucking hype once the song Red Fraction by MELL starts playing in the intro. And my love for this show just comes right back tome like it’s a family member I haven’t seen in years. And I mean it when I say that it’s the one anime/manga that I obsess over the most. I have a huge poster in my bedroom. I’ve had a BL wallpaper on my phone for months now. I also have a bunch of shirts, and a sweatshirt, of course I have the Blu-Ray as well, and I even have physical copies of every volume of the manga.

So yeah, I’m gonna be doing a lot of unapologetic meat riding and if you can’t handle that then stop reading, I don’t care. Sorry if this sounds ignorant but this is MY review. I can do what I want so without further ado, I’m gonna start raving like a homeless person who just won the lottery. But first, a little backstory. I have the exact date of when I first watched this show, which I usually don’t keep dates like that, but this is a special one right here. It was July 26th, 2022, the day I discovered Black Lagoon. That day honestly felt like yesterday to me.

And on that date, I was 18 years old, and if you guys are wondering I’m 18 on the date I have published this review. I was a month away from starting my freshman year of college and I was doing this pre-college course at the school campus. And I was in this shitty dorm room with another person who was also doing the course and I was feeling pretty lazy and unmotivated to do the homework that I was assigned that day. So I decided to scroll through TikTok just like any Gen Z person would do to get my daily dose of entertainment when I stumbled across a fan edit of Revy. And this was weird because I usually never got any TikToks that had to do with anime. Because there was a time that I can reflect on where I could give less of a shit about anime.

I mean I liked Studio Ghibli movies, and I also watched a little bit of shows like Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh and Beyblade as a kid, but that was about it, that was like the only anime I could tolerate or had really seen in my lifetime. I also watched some of Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen when I was like 17 but I didn't like those shows at all when I first watched them. Because not only did I grow up not watching much anime, I always thought all of the popular shows that I had heard of were too dramatic and corny for me to take seriously without even watching the show. Basically I thought all anime except for Studio Ghibli was like Naruto lol.

I also thought that weird people watched anime and I felt like I would become too much of a weeb if I got into it. Which I know is a stupid excuse, but I was like a teenager at the time and I didn’t really understand that not everybody who watches anime is weird, they’re actually pretty normal people. So I don’t know what I was thinking at the time. Maybe I was feeling horny, maybe I thought this was like some hentai shit because I was a little curious about what that was back in the day, so who knows.

So I looked in the comments section to see what the show was called, then I went to a pirating website to watch the show because, fuck subscriptions am I right? I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I had never heard of this show before, I had no clue what it was about. I was going in 98% blind, the only two things I knew about it was the name, and there was a girl holding two guns on the cover, and when I looked at it I was like: “Is this actually gonna be some hentai or what?” I was really only expecting to watch one episode and then turn it off out of sheer judgment because I was still a stubborn asshole that could care less about anime at the time. So I watched the first episode, and then I watched the rest of the show in one sitting. Oopsey!

Yeah, something changed in me that day, I felt like I had gone through a complete metamorphosis, like my dick got bigger, my chest hairs started growing, my third eye had finally opened. Even though I was already a legal adult at the time, I feel like I officially became a man that day and this show was what completely shaped my adulthood to come. And I felt like I was transported to the world that this show exists in. Like I wasn’t in that dorm room anymore. I was in the city of Roanapur god dammit.

And as I was watching it I remember constantly asking myself: “Why do I love this so much? I don’t like anime. I'm not supposed to like this. But I’m not just liking this, I’m loving this. What’s happening to me? Why am I thinking that anime is cool now?” I couldn't even believe a show like this actually existed, in fact I couldn’t even believe that anime was even capable of this sort of shit. I was just constantly blown away and in awe thinking: "Oh my god. I get it!" (Danny DeVito reference).

So from that day forward, I was an anime fan. I just started binge watching a ton of movies and shows that I had completely missed out on. Black Lagoon was also the first manga that I ever truly read. And I don’t really read much manga unfortunately, but this is one of the few that I do read and catch updates on to this day. Also at the time that I had first watched Black Lagoon, I didn’t really know how the anime industry worked as I thought manga shared the same function as comic books and the anime was just loosely adapting that source material.

But once I read the BL manga I quickly realized that that wasn’t the case for the most part. But anyway, I remember after I finished all 29 episodes of Black Lagoon, I was very upset, because I just desperately wanted to see more. I wanted to dive back into this world again, I wanted to continue the story and see the characters that I grew to love so badly.

Now I’m not gonna do a play by play of what happens in this show because that would be kinda boring, so instead, I’m just gonna pick out some of my favorite moments and aspects that stand out to me. So to start, you're probably asking why I loved this show on first viewing and still love it today. I think the reason I loved Black Lagoon so much was because it seemed like it was scientifically made for me to love it. I love over the top action, I love cool and badass characters and I love when the vibe of something is miserable or depressing, and this show definitely scratched all those itches. It was as if someone who worked in the anime industry thought: “There is some guy out there who does not like anime, so let us make an anime that he would like.” And while I was watching this show I had never known or had seen an anime that was so mature and vulgar and treated the audience like adults.

I've heard some people say that this show is a little too edgy and vulgar, but if this show didn't go as hard as it did, I don't think it would have the same kind of impact on me. Because I always thought that language in anime was really mild and kind of lame. So for this show to come in completely unfiltered and uncensored, I’d say that I was really caught off guard in a positive way. I did not think that an anime would have the guts to drop the f-slur twice. And they're not just being vulgar for the sake of shock value, I think making it as offensive as it is is what makes the dialogue more believable.

This show is like: "You know what, fuck your feelings. We don't care about what people might think" and I totally respect that. It also helps that unlike some of my other favorite anime, this show is legitimately funny. You guys don't know this but I have a huge soft spot for dark and edgy humor so I definitely got a kick out of this when I first watched it. There are so many lines in this show that go so hard and that I quote to this very day, and there are also lines that still make me laugh even though I now know this series like the back of my hand.

It’s like this show emanates this angsty and rebellious attitude. And that's really important, because it is very easy to make edginess cringe, especially in anime. But I think this series is the perfect kind of edginess to me. It’s very thematically appropriate but it’s also not afraid to be a little tongue in cheek sometimes. And as a very rebellious person myself who still has a little bit of that angst inside of him and doesn't really feel like conforming to society standards either, this show really spoke to me in a way no other television show or movie had before. So that aspect really resonated with me and always has. And I truly can’t think of another anime that’s this extreme. I guess a show like The Boondocks comes to mind but that’s more of a comedic show and not really an action crime drama. But this show taught me that anime could be more than just people screaming at the top of their lungs and saying “It’s over 9000.” (Hey, I like Dragon Ball too, ok, don’t kill me).

So yeah, Black Lagoon is the definition of badass. It makes every other anime ever made look like pussy shit. Like this is a real man’s anime right here. This is like if Rockstar Games, Quentin Tarantino, Michael Bay and John Woo teamed up to create an anime. This is basically the Grand Theft Auto anime. And if that doesn’t grab your attention I don’t know what does. First of all, the animation is pretty good. I mean we’ve obviously come a long way from this, just watch any episode of Demon Slayer. But for 2006 it looks pretty good, and even today I think it’s aged pretty well.

And while the soundtrack to this show is fine, the voice acting is probably some of the best voice acting I’ve ever heard in anything ever. I was lucky enough to first watch it with the English dub. And yeah that’s really the best way to watch it. Not that any of the other dubs are bad or anything but damn the English dub is just so mean! It’s so good to the point where I hear the English voice cast in my head whenever I read the manga. And I think this show just happens to have the coolest fucking characters I have ever seen in any fictional story ever, and I am not saying that lightly.

And the thing is there isn't a single character I don’t like. Ok, that’s not actually true. I guess the only character I don’t really care for is Jane. Who’s basically this computer nerd who gets into some hot water and then becomes Benny’s girlfriend, who I will get into later. And she’s kind of annoying, kind of a bitch, but I guess it makes sense since she’s not really used to being in danger or whatever. So besides her I think every character fits into this gritty world so easily. Even the smallest characters like the random mercenary leader who only shows up in the first two episodes of season one, even he's awesome. He’s so cheesy and over the top I swear it’s like a 90’s action movie.

Like this show is a love letter to classic action movies while still having a socially aware edge. It has all the tropes of a cheesy dumb action movie but in the best possible way. And this show surprisingly has a lot to say on an emotional and philosophical level albeit not as subtle as something like Cowboy Bebop but still subtle all the same. Sorry for going all over the place, let’s just start with the main characters.

Probably the most popular character in the entire show is of course Revy. Who’s fucking insane. I mean yeah she’s extremely badass and looks pretty good. But she kinda represents what this whole series stands for: not giving a fuck. Because she says or does whatever she wants no matter how offensive it can be. And when I first started watching this show I had no idea that she was gonna act that way because the TikTok that I saw portrayed her as being very calm lol. So when she did start acting like a total psychopath in the first freaking episode, it again, totally caught me off guard but in a positive way.

And she only seems to get enjoyment out of killing people, which once you start unraveling her backstory, her behavior makes a lot more sense. And I’m not even gonna try to get into her backstory because it’s pretty intense and I would just start giving away important spoilers which I don't feel like doing for at least this part of the review.

But on the other side of the spectrum, we got Rock aka the best character aka the "literally me" character. This man just resonates with me so much, in fact I don't think I've seen another character in an anime or just any other media that I saw myself in or had a strong, emotional connection to. Like I remember seeing him in the first few episodes and being like: "Hey, this guy knows exactly how I'm feeling right now." He’s not this buff killing machine or The Chosen One, he's literally this normal fucking guy who's pretty average looking. He was just living his boring and mundane life until he happens to show up at the wrong place at the wrong time and gets captured by some pirates called The Lagoon Company. Which is a group that delivers and carries out random packages for other people and they get paid to do it. And this Lagoon Company I kind of see as like, the anime version of The A-Team. Anybody remember that?

He then seems to develop Stockholm syndrome and becomes a crew member himself as we experience Roanapur through his eyes. He’s kinda like Walter White in a way, how he's this ordinary guy who gets pressured into a world of crime but ends up enjoying it. And he even goes into a villain arc at one point. But the difference here is that Rock is a lot more kind hearted and true to himself, he doesn’t try to be someone he isn’t. He’s also a badass in his own way, by just being really smart and very good at negotiating. He’s really the only “normal” character in the entire show since everyone else has kind of lost their sanity or accepted the world around them, which is the city of Roanapur. And the world itself feels so real despite it taking place in a fictional city.

And the best moments in this show aren't necessarily the action scenes, which by the way, are always badass and awesome. My favorite moments are really when characters are talking to each other or just hanging out. I’ll never forget the scene where Rock and Revy were discussing morality and religion in an abandoned Natzi submarine. Or the moment where Rock and Revy were arguing about their differences which almost gets Rock killed. I think any scene with Rock and Revy in it is just golden.

Even though I said this show isn’t as subtle as something like Cowboy Bebop, I still think there's still subtlety to be found. Like some of the finer details really stand out to me. For example, during the episode where Revy and Dutch are massacring a bunch of Neo Natzis to get this painting back, Revy is basically going sicko mode and showing no mercy to anyone. And she happens to be in a bad mood since Rock accidentally triggered her PTSD an episode earlier. So then when Revy gets to the main deck and everyone there is unarmed, there’s this little moment where you can see tears in her eyes as she’s about to kill them, almost as if she doesn’t want to do it or like she’s being possessed by something. I didn’t even notice this until I rewatched this arc for like the third time, but I think it’s an interesting detail that adds a little more to her character.

Man, just talking about this show gets me so excited. Seriously, I could go on about it forever. In fact I'll probably add more to this review when some new ideas pop into my head. Like the storyline with the vampire twins. Yo, the ending to that storyline had my jaw dropping the first time! Or the Tokyo storyline, where there’s just too many incredible moments to count. And the great side characters like Dutch, Benny, Balalaika, Roberta, Eda (who I 100% have a crush on). Chang, Yukio, Ginji, like the list just goes on. You could tell that the person who made the manga was just having so much fun and getting very creative with the story. Taking all these characters that I always get so emotionally and personally attached to and putting them in these ridiculous situations that still seem grounded in reality.

I could keep on raving, but I think you guys get the point, this show is fucking perfect! No it’s not. As much as I hate to admit it, I do have a few complaints with this show. But this is the part where I get into spoilers so if you wanna avoid that or if you haven’t seen the show, skip 6 or 7 paragraphs and you'll be fine.

So I understand that anime fan bases are toxic as fuck, like if you criticize someone’s favorite show or movie you’ll be burned at the stake. But if somebody criticizes or doesn’t like an anime that I personally like, then I don’t really mind all that much as long as you give some logical reasons then I can try to rationalize and understand your perspective. Unless you say Black Lagoon’s mid or trash, then I get a little fucking pissed and I make sure not to talk to you ever again. Because someone criticizing Black Lagoon is like someone offending my religion, and if I criticize it, that would be like going against my religion. But I’m gonna do it anyway because I don’t want to be one of those ignorant assholes that can’t be critical of their favorite things. I don’t want to look at art and always say that it’s perfect because nothing is perfect.

So anyway if I had to give some actual complaints about this show, I kinda wish some characters were developed a little bit more. Even though I love every character, it’s not like they’re all given huge backstories and motivations and traits. I mean some of them do but they don’t go too in depth with it. Which on one hand is cool because it makes them mysterious and you wanna learn more about them, but on the other hand, it can feel like those characters are a little hollow. Examples being Dutch and Benny who I love, but we don't really know much about them. We’re only given a few details about who they are, and that’s all the show gives us. I kinda wanted to see them and other characters fleshed out just a little bit more. Maybe in the future their characters will be further explored. Who knows.

And this makes me wish that the Lagoon Company was together more often. In season 1 they’re with each other a lot of times but then after that, they’re not really around one another as much. Especially in the final arc of season two we barely even see Dutch and Benny, it’s really the Rock and Revy show, and they’re the characters that get the most development in the whole series. I’m not sure how you would fit Dutch and Benny into the Japan story arc and have it make sense, but it’s just that I love this group so much that I kinda wish they interacted with each other a little more throughout the show. In fact, I could just watch a whole show of the Lagoon Company just hanging out and doing nothing important. I’m serious that’s how much I love them.

Now I did say that the English dub is the essential way to watch this show, but this is kind of a personal nitpick, what language is anyone meant to be speaking? I never even thought of this until I saw a comment about it on the Black Lagoon Discord, and I was like: “Yeah, you're right, what is anyone meant to be saying?” Because Rock is Japanese, and Revy is Chinese-American, Dutch and Benny are American, and then you have Russian characters, and Italian characters and Chinese characters and then Hispanic characters are thrown into the mix. I’m assuming everyone just speaks English, until you realize that all these characters are in a fictional city in Thailand, a country where they don’t speak English, so it’s just a complete cluster fuck of varying cultures. But it is pretty funny to think about if I say so myself.

And one more thing to complain about, and this is another personal pet peeve, but I think this show would really benefit by having licensed music. You see the thing is, most anime don't really use licensed music unless it's classical music but literally anybody can use classical music. In the Black Lagoon manga they're always playing licensed music or referencing it, they even mention what they're listening to in the panels. Like there's this one part where Rock mentions that Dutch is listening to Marvin Gaye, and I think that's really cool. And yeah, licensed music is expensive to use, but I think this show has a great opportunity to use some.

It's a show that takes place in the real world during the early to mid 1990's (Side note: When I first watched this show I thought the series took place in 2006, the same year the anime dropped, so when I found out that it actually takes place in the decade before, everything started to make way more sense to me. Like no wonder the characters didn’t have flip phones or used Facebook or used some other shit that was popular in 2006).

They even make some pop culture references of the time, so I think adding some songs from that time period would really amplify the scenes. But anyway these aren’t really huge criticisms for me and they don’t ruin my overall enjoyment, they're pretty easy to overlook because everything else is very solid. And really I still love this show, flaws and all.

I know this sounds crazy to some people, but Black Lagoon has really had the biggest impact out of any anime I’ve ever seen. I mean you can’t really top a show that changed your opinion on anime and got you addicted to it. Without Black Lagoon, I probably still wouldn’t have given anime a chance. And I’m glad that I watched this show at the age I was at. Because this show is obviously not family friendly, and there’s a lot of fucked up things that happen in it. For me, this is the gold standard of anime. It’s not only my favorite anime/manga of all time, but it’s tied for my favorite TV show of all time. If you're wondering what my favorite TV show is, it stars a bald guy who wears glasses and has a goatee and that’s all you need to know.

And yeah, I’ll admit, I like to believe I’m the biggest Black Lagoon fanboy and enthusiast. I mean if anybody wants to challenge me go right ahead, but I’ve already explained that I’m a true meat rider. Like at this point, I feel that the Lagoon Company are family members to me which I know sounds really stupid but that’s kind of the power of animation. You can have a strong connection with characters that aren’t even real, but as a viewer you can believe that they’re real. So if you haven’t seen Black Lagoon, go watch it, like, right now. If you're one of those people that's sensitive to certain topics or gets offended easily, then maybe I could see why you wouldn't like it, but I still can't recommend an anime more than this one and I do implore you to at least give it a chance. And one more thing, where the fuck is season four?

I’m not the only one who thinks this. Literally everyone else who is a fan of this show or has seen it is asking for a season four. I like to call the OVA the third season since it technically is but that's just me. Like the end of the OVA ends on like a semi cliffhanger of sorts as it seems to leave the possibilities for another season. Hell, they're still publishing the manga today, which is good. And look, I know that the creator of the manga, Rei Hiroe, took a few hiatuses from it due to mental health issues. The first was in 2010, the second was in 2018 and then he resumed the series back in 2019. But as far as new episodes for the anime go, we’ve haven’t gotten anything since 2011.

I guess Madhouse doesn't have enough material to make another season, but still, I’d probably shit my pants if they announced another season of this show, I’m not kidding. And I’ve heard some people say: “Black Lagoon would look so good in live action!” Yeah a live action adaptation of an anime, those always work! (I actually like the Rurouni Kenshin movies but don’t tell anybody I said that). Can people please stop saying that we need a live action adaptation of this show? Because personally that’s the last thing that I want. You wanna know why Black Lagoon is good? Because it’s animated!

If this was just any other live action show, I feel like it would lack that impact. It would feel more like a generic cheesy action movie that’s stretched out to TV show length. Making the show animated subverted my expectations on what anime was. It taught me that anime could be bold and take risks and not just be dumb shit. So if you guys are really desperate to turn another beloved anime into live action, at least let the creators finish the original show first before you start making that statement a reality.

So Madhouse, if you're reading this, please make a fourth season. My life won’t feel complete unless this show comes back in its full glory, and I don’t wanna keep reading the volumes of the manga that haven’t been adapted yet for the rest of my life because honestly, I don’t like to fucking read. And I know some people will hear that and be like: “Well, this show couldn’t be released today, this world has become more PC, cancel culture is bigger than ever, people are gonna be quick to judge things.”

Yeah that’s true, but I feel like a show like this doesn’t care about that. And I do feel optimistic when it comes to their being a fourth season, so to quote Dutch: “We gotta pray while we shit.” Ok, I think I’m going a little overboard but c’mon just make it happen and don’t you dare half ass it. I don’t wanna see another great anime go down the shitter because the follow up was the worst thing I’ve ever seen. (Promised Neverland anyone)? Take as much time as needed and when you think you’re ready go ahead and pull the trigger because I’ll be waiting and prepared.

ORIGINALLY REVIEWED ON 10/06/2022