Jan 13, 2013 3:28 PM
Black Lagoon Review
Anime Relations:
Black Lagoon, Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage
My guess is that you never heard of Black Lagoon. It's an action anime show based on a manga that it's still going in Japan, it was made by MADHOUSE and the show was compared to Cowboy Bebop, calling it a "younger sister" version of Bebop. I bought the series on DVD+Blu-Ray combo pack, watched it and it's not really like Bebop, but I can say that this show is action-packed and visually stylish all the way through the end.
The story in Black Lagoon goes like this: A guy named Rock (Don't confuse it with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson please), lives as a business man in Japan. He is sick of being treated like shit and he then gets an opportunity to go to the beautiful and shiny South East Asia to deliver some disk there. He then gets kidnapped by Revi, Benny and Dutch, who are known as "The Black Lagoon Company". He decides that he likes being with the crew and joins the lagoon on all the crazy missions they take on. Later on, shit goes crazy, women go insanely crazy, buildings and people get blown up, and that's Black Lagoon in a nutshell.
The whole series is like a blockbuster action film with women making crazy physical feats and explosions happening in every episode. So there isn't a lot of story, but there's some interesting story-arcs like the one with Balalaika and the one with "Crazy Killer Incestial Vampire Twins". Yes, you heard me, "Crazy Killer Incestial Vampire Twins" and their names are Hansel and Gretel. The main 4 characters are fun, but the huge cast of characters in this show are incredibly strong and crazy. There are no weak characters and each have their unique personalities and moments like the crazy maid, the crazy chick with 2 guns, a crazy swordsman, a crazy mother-fucking Russian chick, a crazy Chinese chick and an old nun with a golden Desert Eagle. It's a huge cast of characters, but Balalaika is simply the best female character in anime history. She's a smart commander that uses well-planned tactics and doesn't need to sacrifice any men to complete her mission. BTW, when you see Balalaika snap then you better get the fuck out of there and run as fast as you can. You do not want to see this chick go crazy.
The animation by MADHOUSE is brutal, stylish and insanely detailed. The backgrounds of South East Asia are beautiful to look and the detail in the character models are sharp with excellent fluid movements during the action scenes. Even the CG is good and while not perfect, it looks better rendered than most animes that used CG in their shows. The soundtrack is killer, offering some heart-pounding techno tracks that fits the show's hardcore tone and the opening theme by MELL is addictive, it gets your heart-pounding for more. The dub by Geneon is excellent with very sharp performances and a surprisingly good script with more F-bombs than the guy from Hell's Kitchen could ever muster. Brad Swaile, who voiced Light Yagami from Death Note, does a great job in the role as Rock while Maryke Hendrikse was a perfect fit for Revy and she delivers a crazy over the top performance that feels natural for the character. Patricia Drake as Balalaika was pure epicness and her performance nails the fear and aggression of Balalaika.
If I have a problem with the show is that the story is mediocre at best and I wish they would have some backstories to Benny and Dutch cause they're very interesting in the show, but sadly they don't. I also don't like Rock. Sure, he can be useful at times, but he is such a dumbass and always gets Revi killed all the damn time, even Revy has enough of Rock's stupidity in one episode. Black Lagoon is not like Cowboy Bebop and it won't perfect the action genre, it's still a fun anime series with over the top stylish action, fun cast of characters, stunning animation and a kick-ass soundtrack. It could have been better on the story and the character Rock, but the stuff that's good works and it definitely worth the look.
The story in Black Lagoon goes like this: A guy named Rock (Don't confuse it with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson please), lives as a business man in Japan. He is sick of being treated like shit and he then gets an opportunity to go to the beautiful and shiny South East Asia to deliver some disk there. He then gets kidnapped by Revi, Benny and Dutch, who are known as "The Black Lagoon Company". He decides that he likes being with the crew and joins the lagoon on all the crazy missions they take on. Later on, shit goes crazy, women go insanely crazy, buildings and people get blown up, and that's Black Lagoon in a nutshell.
The whole series is like a blockbuster action film with women making crazy physical feats and explosions happening in every episode. So there isn't a lot of story, but there's some interesting story-arcs like the one with Balalaika and the one with "Crazy Killer Incestial Vampire Twins". Yes, you heard me, "Crazy Killer Incestial Vampire Twins" and their names are Hansel and Gretel. The main 4 characters are fun, but the huge cast of characters in this show are incredibly strong and crazy. There are no weak characters and each have their unique personalities and moments like the crazy maid, the crazy chick with 2 guns, a crazy swordsman, a crazy mother-fucking Russian chick, a crazy Chinese chick and an old nun with a golden Desert Eagle. It's a huge cast of characters, but Balalaika is simply the best female character in anime history. She's a smart commander that uses well-planned tactics and doesn't need to sacrifice any men to complete her mission. BTW, when you see Balalaika snap then you better get the fuck out of there and run as fast as you can. You do not want to see this chick go crazy.
The animation by MADHOUSE is brutal, stylish and insanely detailed. The backgrounds of South East Asia are beautiful to look and the detail in the character models are sharp with excellent fluid movements during the action scenes. Even the CG is good and while not perfect, it looks better rendered than most animes that used CG in their shows. The soundtrack is killer, offering some heart-pounding techno tracks that fits the show's hardcore tone and the opening theme by MELL is addictive, it gets your heart-pounding for more. The dub by Geneon is excellent with very sharp performances and a surprisingly good script with more F-bombs than the guy from Hell's Kitchen could ever muster. Brad Swaile, who voiced Light Yagami from Death Note, does a great job in the role as Rock while Maryke Hendrikse was a perfect fit for Revy and she delivers a crazy over the top performance that feels natural for the character. Patricia Drake as Balalaika was pure epicness and her performance nails the fear and aggression of Balalaika.
If I have a problem with the show is that the story is mediocre at best and I wish they would have some backstories to Benny and Dutch cause they're very interesting in the show, but sadly they don't. I also don't like Rock. Sure, he can be useful at times, but he is such a dumbass and always gets Revi killed all the damn time, even Revy has enough of Rock's stupidity in one episode. Black Lagoon is not like Cowboy Bebop and it won't perfect the action genre, it's still a fun anime series with over the top stylish action, fun cast of characters, stunning animation and a kick-ass soundtrack. It could have been better on the story and the character Rock, but the stuff that's good works and it definitely worth the look.
Posted by
NeonKazma
| Jan 13, 2013 3:28 PM |
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