Review of Black Lagoon

Warning: SOME MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD Black Lagoon is one of my favorite anime, and I am someone who watches mostly romance anime, but this one has pretty much 0 romance in it. Overall it is just a Michael Bay/Tarantino 12 episode long action sequence. Story 8/10: This story of this show is not necessarily the story. This is the weakest area of the show, and the premise is more to just grab your attention, and not really what keeps you there. The premise is that Rock, a cog in the corporate machine of Japan is taken hostage by a group of pirates and they try toransom him. But his corporate overlords toss him out like the useless trash that he is, so logically, he joins the pirates in their escapades in Thailand. This is honestly a very cool concept, but after this, there isn't too much of a story and it is mostly just gang feuds and nuns with guns. The arc with the neo-nazis is definitely the weakest arc of the show for the simple fact that their motive is relatively generic and it has little to no depth, but regardless is a great hodgepodge of guns, guns, and more guns. This introduces us to Revy and Dutch, and Benny too but honestly he is barely a main character. Then we have some entertaining filler, followed by the better arc, the Roberta arc. This arc is very strong because Roberta is just a straight-up badass that would murder everything in her path to reach her goals, but surprisingly, she is one of the few characters in the show outside of Rock with actual emotions it seems. The other story aspect I love is the relationship between Rock and Revy. It isn't Romantic (save for one scene which is honestly my favorite of the show), and it isn't all butterflies either. They start very distanced, as Revy doesn't see him as a part of the group, and really never does, but rather she comes to accept that he is different from her and the rest of Black Lagoon, and once she does this, their friendship and on stream chemistry seem to reach new highs, and they also seem to have an implied romance or at least a mutual interest in each other on the side.

Art 10/10:
This part will be short. This show is kind of old, and the art is good enough to keep up with today's standards, and in many ways even exceed them. The gunplay is entertaining, the character designs are great, and I still get the feel of an older anime. Outside of a few lapses in quality which are just a few shots where the camera is zoomed all the way out and people's legs can be too long, the animation never falters. Another note is that the animation in the opening is simply stellar, and I am someone who usually skips openings, but I watched this one every time.

Sound 9/10:
This show has an amazing OP, with one of the best songs in anime, and one that I find myself listening to quite often. The ED is also amazing as every episode seems to transition to it seamlessly without fail. Sometimes I would sit there watching an episode, and the ominous music begins to play, and it just blends in with the mood so well that when the ending animation starts I sit there and think to myself that the transition was so perfect that I never see it coming every episode, but it transitions so smoothly and speaks to the gravity of each ending. Outside of these, the score is relatively mild, but each song fits its purpose and the genre quite well, with lots of rock and up-tempo music.

Character 10/10:
Rock is a great main character, and unlike the usual spineless and dense MC, Rock is a step above as a self-insert character because he acts in most situations in a way that I could see myself or a normal person acting.

As a side note, one thing this show does that also serves to elevate it for me is that it gets something correct that no western productions seem to know how to do. The top strongest characters in the show are all women, in a way that doesn't seem forced at all. There is Revy, Balalaika, Roberta, Eda, and Shenhua. They are all insane and would put a bullet in my head in a mere second with no second thoughts. This show understands that gender is not a character trait, and you see a character and think to yourself "wow they are a real badass who just happens to be a woman, not a woman that they tried to make into a badass" and I love that about the show. That is why characters like Revy will always be better than those like Rey in Star Wars, or Captain Marvel in my book.

Revy is the show, the show is Revy. Simply put, Recy is crazy. She is bombastic, sometimes sentimental, very troubled, and is the best character in the show. She has a great friendship with Rock and their chemistry on-screen is nearly flawless. She is probably the best female character I have seen to date (except Holo who is my favorite), because the show gets the strong female character archetype correct, much in the same way Cowboy Bebop does with Faye. She isn't afraid of anything, would put a bullet in her own dog's head without a second thought, but then has genuine moments where you can sympathize for her and her troubled past. She is simply perfect and a 10/10 character.

Benny and Dutch: These two may as well be minor characters, especially Benny, who seems to have fewer lines than almost every other character. Nonetheless, they serve their purpose as cogs in the BlackLagoon killing machine.

Minor Characters: This show has a spread of many memorable and amazing minor characters and antagonists. In this season the best one is Roberta, the terminatoresque maid. She is insane, has believable motives, and you even end up feeling sympathetic for her reasonings and her life. There are also the neo-nazis who are a bit generic but serve to establish Revy as a badass character from the getgo, and they are also hilarious in their eccentricity.

Enjoyment 10:
Easily a 10. This show is pure fun, with over-the-top action sequences, whacky and inconsistent gunplay that serves to escalate the enjoyment of the show. I can't help but want more of Rock and Revy, as well as the villains that we see. Everyone in the show is crazy in their own way and I love it.

Overall 10:
This show is easily a 10 in my book. It has it all. Great music, dynamic and crazy characters, and everything you could want from a show like this. Everyone in the show is crazy, but it brings me happiness to see their little world of craziness come together. 10/10.