Anime Black Lagoon

[Dagger]

[url=http://www.blacklagooncompany.com/][u]Official site[/u][/url] [size=1][includes a ton of trailers][/size]
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Lagoon][u]Black Lagoon[/u][/url] @ Wikipedia
[url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6159][u]Black Lagoon[/u][/url] @ ANN

[center][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/DaggerIX1/revy.jpg[/IMG][/center]

I can't believe there's no thread for this series--it's only the best action anime to come along in years. The main characters are a group of amoral mercenaries struggling to make money and not get killed in a fictional South Asian city. Here's a list of just a few of the things that make Black Lagoon awesome.

- It has one of the best English dubs ever
- And the Japanese track is just as fantastic
- It's got killer maids, killer babes, killer children
- Yet the stories it throws them into feel gritty and human...
- Despite the well-animated, over-the-top action.
- There's no clear-cut good or evil
- It's thought-provoking, often uncomfortably so
- But you can still turn off your brain & enjoy it.
- Amusing use of profanity
- Catchy (if incomprehensible) opening song

I'm currently on the second DVD, which came out in stores recently. This is the second or third time I've rewatched these episodes, and they're still fun. The show also gets better and better as it goes along.

~Dagger~

[Panache]

Ive heard good things about this one. Some people have told me it's the next Cowboy Bebop. I don't know about that but it looks pretty good. When it comes out wit ha box set I will check it out.

[Andy]

[FONT="Garamond"][SIZE="2"]Holy crap, I can't believe there wasn't already a thread for this either, lol. Anyway's, this is definitely a great anime. I have seen the subbed version already several time's, and I gotta agree with you Dagger, it only gets better and better the more episode's you watch.^^[/SIZE][/FONT]

[Dagger]

[quote name='Avenged666fold']Some people have told me it's the next Cowboy Bebop.[/QUOTE]
One thing's for sure--it's a lot more brutal than Bebop.

I polished off volume 2 earlier today.

Revy: [spoiler]"Hey... is she taking it up the ***?"[/spoiler]
Balalaika: [spoiler]"Sure is."[/spoiler]
[i][later][/i]
Balalaika: "Somebody shoot me."

Tagged to protect the innocent. So you kind of have to watch it for yourself, but that scene (from episode 7, "Calm Down, Two Men") just gets funnier each time I see it.

Favorite characters, anyone? Balalaika is mine, but it's so hard to choose. Black Lagoon has an almost unfairly high proportion of awesome characters, especially women (Revy, Shenhua), but also men (Dutch, Mr. Chan). It's way more ethnically diverse than most other anime, even those that involve exotic locales.

~Dagger~

[Laborpilot86]

Black Lagoon will never be as good as Cowboy Bebop, but it defiently is the best action show to come out in a long long time.

Revy is brilliant.

[Raiyuu]

I'm hoping for a third season so they can give us more [b]Rotton the Wizard![/b] The preview for that episode made it seem like [spoiler]he'd have a big, sinister part to play, and all he did was fall off the roof[/spoiler]. I love when shows play with my expectations like that.

On the same note, I'm a Rock fan. Because he's the stereotypical nice-guy-in-bad-situation main character most of the time and then sometimes he surprises everyone and stands up for himself. Like when he [spoiler]nearly drinks Revy under the table, or when the two of them duke it out at the outdoor cafe, or when he shows he can still keep his cool and formulate an effective plan even when confronted by a chainsaw-wielding maniac on the roof of a burning warehouse[/spoiler].

[.:[ Revy ]:.]

Just finished the Japanese DUB as well as the Second Barrage a few days ago. Awesome series till the very last second.

Revy is by far the best gun slingin' bad girl next to Jo of Burst Angel in my opinion.

Personally, I love Jo's Twin Desert Eagels. But Revy's twins are quite nice too. The entire series is fun to watch, Revy's profanity is sweet and the action is non-stop...

Great series.

[Raiyuu]

No no no, Black Lagoon kicks the pants off Burst Angel any day of the week. Black Lagoon has a plot. And characters I care about. Whereas Burst Angel has that one that only exists to get captured every week and rescued by Jo.

Just remembered the one minus point to Black Lagoon (if you can call it that): [spoiler]the atrocious strings of English in the final few episodes of Second Barrage[/spoiler]. They're laughable!

I haven't heard the English dub yet, but I'm always interested to hear dubs people recommend. There are so few good ones...

[Dagger]

Yeah, it plays out really well in English (although nothing can quite match the Japanese version of Dutch's "Amen, hallelujah, peanut butter"). Balalaika's actress uses a slight Russian accent--[i]very[/i] sexy & sharp. I think Shenhua will be the biggest challenge, though, so it'll be interesting to see how she turns out.

~Dagger~

[AgentMasterson]

Black Lagoon is a awesome show. Revy is my favorite character from this show. The action is great. I have the first 2 volumes and planning to volume 3 and The Second Barrage when they are released.

[Magus]

[COLOR="Red"][SIZE="1"]Oi, I caught the first two episodes last week. Missed three and four yesterday, but I'm glad it repeats on Thursday and 1-2:00.

Anyway, it seems a lot like Cowboy Bebop, but at the same time it's diffeent. I've been getting my fill from the manga though. And from the way episodes 1 and 2 were, it looks like the anime is following very closely to the manga. Or is it suppose to be the other way around? (Anime 1st and then the manga?)

Although, I like how the manga started off. [spoiler]The very first panel starts off with Rock getting punched in the face. [/spoiler] (Atleast I think that's how it started. It's been a while since I've read the first chapter.) That just cracks me up for some reason.

I thought I wouldn't care for the music, because it seemed like it would have heavy metal all around it, but that's not the case here. It just seems wacky and hyper. Not saying I care much for it though, but it fits.

Voices... The one that stands out for me at the moment is Rock = Light Yagami. He's the only one I'm familiar with at the moment. I do like how everything sounds though. No issues with the voicework.

And last but not least, the animation. Which is great. Both the anime and manga's artwork is really good. Though, Revy/Levy looks a tad different when comparing both, she's still drawn well.

[quote=Dagger]Revy: [spoiler]"Hey... is she taking it up the ***?"[/spoiler]
Balalaika: [spoiler]"Sure is."[/spoiler]
[later]
Balalaika: "Somebody shoot me."[/quote]

Ah.. Haven't seen that yet, but I did read it. I can't remember the words, because it was a tad bit different, but it was still funny.

[quote name='Dagger']Favorite characters, anyone? Balalaika is mine, but it's so hard to choose. Black Lagoon has an almost unfairly high proportion of awesome characters, especially women (Revy, Shenhua), but also men (Dutch, Mr. Chan). It's way more ethnically diverse than most other anime, even those that involve exotic locales.[/quote]
It's hard to choose at the moment. I'm not familiar with the side characters name yet, but everybody in BL is really likable. I thought Rock would be annoying, but [spoiler]in that chapter where Rock is telling Revy off[/spoiler] had me sold. Balalaika's a cold fish... [spoiler]reading the chapter with the twins[/spoiler]. And I like her. Revy's use of words is comical... Really, it's hard to choose because each character brings something great to the table.

Black Lagoon has the potential to sky rocket up the favorites. Especially because I've been looking for something similar to Cowboy Bebop. People have told me to go for Outlaw Star, and I will eventually, but Black Lagoon is a great substitute for now.
[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Vigilance]

Hey, doesn't Black Lagoon have pirates in it? I mean not like the sword-swinging-sea-monster-summoning-treasure-
hunting-cannon-shooting-people-killing-on-boats-
with-swords-while-jumping-from-one-side-to-the-
other-while-holding-to-a-rope-and-holding-your-
sword-and-coming-at-them-swinging-from-a-rope-
and-attacking-them-when-you-reach-
to-the-other-side:animestun is it?:animestun

[Raiyuu]

No, not that kind of pirates. The real kind of pirates. The kind that zoom about in speedboats, board commercial tankers / freighters/ what-have-you and point guns at people until you give them the oil / livestock / iPods or whatever it is the ship's carrying. And who then sell it on the the mafia or some crazy general planning a coup in some tiny tropical country.

[Magus]

It's old news but I'm just now getting wind of it recently, and figured I'll post it since it hasn't been posted yet.

[url]http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-07-16/third-black-lagoon-anime-project-confirmed[/url]

[quote name='ANN']The wraparound jacket band on Gen Urobuchi's novel adaptation of Rei Hiroe's Black Lagoon adventure manga has confirmed that a third anime project has been green-lit for production. The story revolves around a typical Japanese businessman who gets caught up in the escapades of modern-day pirate mercenaries off the Asian shores.[/quote]

Um. Yay.

[Dagger]

Is *that* where they made the announcement? Haha! I own and have read the damn book, and I didn't even notice! :animesmil Granted, I did have the cover wrapped the whole time (so I never saw the advertisement obi once after I took it up to the register...), and I bought it well after the release date, so I'd already heard about the new series. Maybe it was unconscious on my part.

I really hope they include the novel storyline in the third season. It's amazing.

~Dagger~

[Meggido]

I loved he first two season. I didn't even know there was going to be a third season but that is awesome news. Can't wait to see what it's about.

[Shinmaru]

As a recent convert to the awesomeness of [b]Black Lagoon[/b], I approve very highly of this. There are still [i]tons[/i] of things that could potentially be explored (Eda's [spoiler]connections to the CIA[/spoiler], Rock [spoiler]completing his transformation into a hardened pirate[/spoiler], more of Dutch in general!!, whatever else in the manga that has not been touched by the anime, etc.), so there'll be tons of fun to be had in the new season.

[Sage_of_fire]

I could never find much of the manga, and I've only seen some of the first season, but I'm looking foward to getting some more episodes in my collection.

[TimeChaser]

[B]Black Lagoon[/B] is without a doubt in my Top 10 anime. It's just perfect on so many levels: the characters, the action, the animation. And the dub is truly among the best out there.

It's just an engrossing show that pulls you in as long as you have no qualms about over-the-top language and extreme graphic violence. Oddly enough, I would never watch anything live-action like this, but in animation form it seems just right.

I was beyond happy when I finally got the Second Season late last year and recently watched it. As good as Season 1 was, Season 2 topped it, especially the 6-episode closing story arc. I'm eager to see where they take things in Season 3.

[necrojesta]

I am really hoping this is good, i'm going to watch it after clannad and clannad after story. I've heard good things about it from otaku no podcast as well as here.

I'm really looking forward to it.:animesmil

[Mister V]

Am I the only person on this planet who loves the show but hates Revy?
Or, should I say, I hate the author who made the female lead a sadistic psycho killer *****. She doesn't have any redeeming qualities at all and therefore is not likeable. She's not an antihero, she's a villain by all standards. Sure, she does get a little more human in the second season (through very slight development of her relationship with Rock), but it's not enough to make her likeable. I certainly hope the thrid season will change that, because otherwise I love the series. [COLOR="Red"][SIZE="1"][INDENT]Don't bypass the swear filter by using spaces. Thanks. ~Aaryanna[/INDENT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Magus]

LOL, I wouldn't consider anybody in this series is a hero nor anti-heroes for that matter.

To say Revy's not likeable, well, I can see what you mean, but I like her. I find it refreshing (in some kind of weird demented way lol) to see a female that can stand up for herself and not play the role of some lovey-dovey damsel.

[Mister V]

Yeah, well, there's the tough, mature woman (Motoko Kusanagi), and then there's Revy... Seriously, I don't think she's very likeable. Not that I'm trying to convince anyone, but honestly I was a bit shocked. Also, I've heard things are even more rough in the manga. Is that true? Is there any relatively positive progress in the characters?..




Sorry about the swear filter. Didn't use a space btw, I usually self-censor using one *.

[goldenboy]

i think its really original, and more realistic, in that the guy who is dropped into the action packed life isn't automatically a bad***. at first i thought the show was just crazy fights and fanservice (not that i have a problem with these; i love 'em), but it has some really deep themes. can't wait till season 3!