Black Lagoon

By Matthew Ilseman

I debated whether I should write a review of the manga/anime Black Lagoon. It is not because I dislike it, but rather wondered if it would be of interest. (By large, I don’t write reviews of things that I believe are worthless.) I may be the only real fan of anime here. However, I decided that Black Lagoon would be interesting enough to the community here. It is one that will appeal to fans of Breaking Bad and Garth Ennis’s run on The Punisher.

Manga and anime have some spectacular stories in them, but like anything else. they also have their far share of crap. Despite its massive worldwide popularity, Dragon Ball Z is particularly stupid. Black Lagoon, on the other hand, is not.

 

Black Lagoon is the story of Rokuro Okijima, a Japanese salaryman, who is abducted by and later joins the crew of the pirate/smuggler vessel Black Lagoon. The setting is South Asia during the 1990s, particularly the fictional Thai city of Roanapur. It is dark story. Roanapur is a haven for criminal gangs. It is so corrupt it makes Gotham look like Mayberry. A modern-day Tortugas.

Rokuro is abducted by the crew of the Black Lagoon particularly its resident gunslinger Revy (which is apparently short for Rebecca). She is violent, foul mouthed, and nihilistic. Rock is meek and afraid. At first. Rounding out the crew are Dutch the professional and intelligent leader and the hacker Benny. Dutch bestows the nickname Rock on Rockuro which he is known as for the rest of the series.

It soon conspires that the pirates are after a disk that Rock has in his position. His company is illegally helping a country developed nuclear weapons. The crew of the Lagoon have been hired to steal it by the literally battle scarred Russian mafia boss Balalaika. (Balalaika is a Russian musical instrument but also slang for the AK-47).  Rock’s company hires a group of psychotic mercenaries to capture the disk and silence Rock who is forced to ally with his captors to survive.

Black Lagoon is known for its over-the-top action sequences. Revy, the gunslinger, is capable of out-gunning whole armies. She uses the acrobatic style of gunplay used in John Woo movies. This is, of course, unrealistic but frankly looks awesome. There is also a Yakuza swordsman who slices bullets in the air. Then there is the final battle of the second episode between the Black Lagoon, a torpedo boat, and an attack helicopter. I am pretty sure it violates the laws of physics.

So, the series is not realistic in its combat scenes, but if you just go with it is a lot of fun. This also is not for anyone who wants pure heroes and happy endings.

The characters are not good people. They are not even lovable rogues. Revy, for example, clearing enjoys killing. Rock, who starts out sympathetic becomes a darker character. The thing is the characters are very well rounded and you begin to understand them. To some degree you even do sympathize with them.

 

Revy is a vicious killer but she is a product of a horrible childhood. Balalaika is scarred both physically and mentally by her time in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Rock found no meaning in his life as a corporate drone, but feels alive while with the Lagoon crew.

What is interesting is the relationship arc between Rock and Revy. Rock starts as a hostage becomes a crew member of the Lagoon and eventually develops a solid relationship with Revy. Though she does try to shoot him a couple of times. There is even sexual tension between them. (Some fans think they are implied to be sleeping together.)

Rock goes through his own development. At the beginning of the series he is a put upon salaryman. He says at one point that his job is “bowing to people.” As the series goes he becomes more defiant and capable, but also more callus and ruthless. Revy for her part shows a surprising degree of loyalty to Rock.

Rei Hiroe’s ability to make us sympathize with people who do monstrous things is best shown in the infamous Vampire Twins arc. The aforementioned twins are not literal vampires (for all its over the top action scenes there is nothing supernatural in the series) but child killers. By which I mean they are both children who kill and killers of children. This is the darkest arc in a dark story. There are fans that skip over it because the characters and plot are so disturbing. I have seen this anime multiple times and this arc is always hard to take.

What makes them sympathetic is their hellish back-story. Belonging to a Romanian orphanage they were sold on the black market and forced to participate in child porn and snuff films. They could not have become anything except the killers they were. The real monsters are those that abused them.

Then there is Roberta the former FARC guerilla turned housemaid. Probably the most powerful character in the series (which is saying something) she comes to Roanapur in search of the kidnapped child of her employer, Garcia. All hell breaks loose in her search. This one seems to end happily with Garcia being reunited with her.

So, of course, it doesn’t last. Her next arc involves the assassination of her employers by an American black ops team. She goes on the vengeance trail becoming increasingly unhinged. Garcia hires Rock to bring her back.

This sets up a conflict between the black ops team and Roberta. What is interesting is that both sides are sympathetic to a degree but neither is innocent. Roberta’s desire for vengeance is understandable, but the Americans are shown to be far more concern with civilians casualties. There is even a scene where Roberta, suffering from delusions, tries to kill Garcia who is promptly rescued by the Americans.

This is refreshing because this display of basic humanity is rare in the series. Also it is refreshing because America and its military are usually portrayed as trigger happy imperialists in anime. The soldiers are involved in a political assassination so they aren’t innocent, but they come across as actual human beings. The series also makes clear that Roberta, though also sympathetic, has done far worse in her past as a Communist rebel.

 

Frontier conflicts of the real world influence the series. The drug war in Columbia, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Israeli-Palestine conflict, and the Islamist insurrection in the Philippines all play a part in various stories. So does the Vietnam conflict. Dutch claims to be a ’Nam veteran. Caxton the leader of the black ops team has a flashback to his time there. (In the manga, Caxton becomes suspicious of Dutch’s claim to service. For some reason this is kept out the anime.)

There are also references to Westerns. (Some of which seem to be added by the translators and some by Hiroe himself.) Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch is referenced a few times. (It’s apparently Revy’s favorite film). There is also a reference in the manga to the Punisher that the anime seems to have botched.

There are some differences between the manga and anime. The biggest is that the manga is still coming out, though slowly. (Hiroe has other projects. Also unfortunately he has admitted to battling depression.) Some scenes are cut including one that explains Balalaika’s motivation for becoming a gangster. On the other hand, the actions scenes are smoother in the anime and there are some elements added for mood. Either version is worth your time, though.

There is more I could tell you about such as Rock’s return to Japan and the various colorful characters of Roanapur, but that would be giving away too much.

The manga can be gotten on Amazon and other retailers. The first season of the anime is on Hulu and the complete series is available on Blu-ray.