For my first post on this shiny new blog of mine, I am going to write about an anime show I discovered quite recently and am so very glad I did: Black Lagoon. Adapted from Rei Hiroe’s manga of the same name by Madhouse, Black Lagoon has two twelve episode seasons (aired in 2006) and a five episode OVA (original video animation) titled Black Lagoon: Roberta’s Blood Trail that was released sporadically during 2010 and 2011.
Black Lagoon details the (mis)adventures of the Lagoon Company, a small seafaring group of mercenaries (or pirates, if you prefer) based in the fictional city of Roanapur, the criminal capitol of the world, after they pick up Rokuro Okajima, aka Rock, when the company for whom he pushes pencils decides that they would cut him loose in the South China Sea rather than to have to deal with a scandal. The three other members of the Lagoon Company are as follows: the captain Dutch, the tech-guy Benny, and Revy, the muscle.
Is a show that has taken all of its beats from the all-too-frequent excessive action films of the eighties and nineties and decided to raise the insanity another couple of notches, plant tongue firmly in cheek, and let the bullets fly. And the result is bloody and brutal and hilarious and about as fun as it is possible for a television show, or any other work in a narrative medium really, to be.
Black Lagoon Character Alignment. It Doesn't Seem Quite Right To Me, I Would Like Feedback.
That I find refreshing for a work so unabashedly over-the-top (at least in terms of its action), is that Rock is not suddenly some bad-ass gunslinger after hanging out with mercenaries, pirates, and Revy (especially Revy, the girl will end you without batting an eye), but he also isn’t portrayed as anything close to useless. Rock, fresh off of a job for a Japanese mega-corporation, doesn’t have an obvious skill set for the mercenary lifestyle, but he does prove useful very quickly when it comes to things like negotiation, translation, and analysis. Later in the series, Rock seems to be able to talk his way in, and out, of just about every situation. In addition, Benny never picks up a gun as well, he just mans his computers and is useful without killing dozens of redshirts.
Yes, those are nuns. Also, Rock is able to talk his way out that situation and get the eye-patched .nun to give him what he wants.
I have a confession to make: in real life, I am nothing close to a romantic, but when it comes to television (and movies, and comics, and books, and…) I tend to be on the other end of the spectrum than my real life self. This bit of minutiae is relevant for one(two?) reasons: Rock and Revy. Rock and Revy, as characters, have some of the best chemistry between leads that I have ever seen, and they aren’t even flesh and blood. Their relationship is surprisingly subtle, develops naturally and possesses some rather frustrating (and therefore realistic, sigh) unresolved sexual tension. Rock and Revy are the central characters of the series, and they probably each have at least triple the screen-time of Dutch and Benny combined, and the fact that the characters bounce off of each other so well makes that imbalance almost unnoticeable.
Revy Aus »black Lagoon« Erhält Eine Nendoroid Figur
Is, admittedly, a bit thin, but the slack is always picked up by the unique and visually striking characters occupying the city that is Roanapur. The most important of these is Balalaika, the head of Hotel Moscow (the Russian mafia), who possesses a beautiful face scarred by burns, and ice water running through her veins; she has the makings a great villain, if she wasn’t the Lagoon Company’s greatest ally. There is even an arc where she takes Rock to Japan to work as her interpreter, Revy tags along as well to make sure he stays alive (spoiler alert: it was a good decision). The other heavy-hitter in Roanapur is Mr. Chang, head of the Triad’s Roanapur branch, who possesses a fragile peace with Balalaika and a killer pair of shades. He also is just as cold-blooded as Balalaika and he is also a friend of the Lagoon Company (they are pirates after all).
Rock and the gang tend to frequently cross paths with such colorful characters as Roberta, a South American maid who is even tougher than Revy (and Revy is one tough cookie). Shen Hua is a pretty and somewhat ditzy Taiwanese mercenary with a penchant for using knives instead of guns. Not to be left out are Eda and Yolanda, the sisters of the Ripoff church, where they traffic enough firepower to take over a moderate sized nation. Eda is also the closest thing Revy has to a female friend (despite the fact that she is pointing a gun at her in an above picture). Sawyer the Cleaner, who uses a chainsaw, and Lotten the wizard, who just wants to look cool while he kills, also populate the background of the city where-you-should-be-afraid-to-sleep among many others.
The best show I have ever seen? Not even close. Is it just about the most enjoyable show I have ever seen? Hell. Yes. The show may not be for the feint of heart, but just about any fan of action movies should give it a try or they are missing out on a treat. To quote Revy from the first episode of the show, “This is way more entertaining than Hollywood is ever going going to be.”The beginning decade of the 2000's was full of some of the best anime ever. Shows like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Hyouka, Gurren Lagan, FLCL, Clannad, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Ergo Proxy, Spice & Wolf, and so many more. All of these were all cornerstone shows and ones we remember today as either full on classics or niche classics, but classics nonetheless. Shows that most veteran anime watchers will suggest to new and old members of the community. Of these shows listed I think that while it does get mentioned, Black Lagoon does often get overlooked in that list as far as great classics go.
Black Lagoon Pop Up
It features a stylish mix of vibrant colour mixed with dark tones at times, design and artwork, character development and creation, a killer plot full of sex, guns, and all sorts of other crazy shit. All these things and more make Black Lagoon one of the best anime of the 2000's. Which by early I mean like up to 2010.
When you take a close look at the show you see just how complex it is; it may seem like an off the wall action anime and that is its main purpose but there are lots of subtle things that exist in the world of Black Lagoon. One of these is so intriguing that I plan on writing an article specifically about just that one thing, next, so stay tuned for that one. Let's look at the things I like so much and why I think it's so good and we'll start with the most important part.
In an action packed show like Black Lagoon, you'd think that there wouldn't be much character development, that it'd all be glitz and guns but there's plenty of character development and each and every character introduced in some way is interesting. I'm just going to highlight a few of them here and give both a rundown/why I think they are interesting.
The Thanksgiving Day From The Black Lagoon (black Lagoon Adventures,
The Lagoon Company, obviously the main focus of the series, is the driving force behind what makes the show so great. Each member of the company is from a different social circle and different standing in life. There's a surprisingly cool relationship between all the members despite coming from different walks of life.
ROCK Our main protagonist Okajima Rokuro, or just Rock as everyone calls him, was a former Japanese businessman who was left for dead by his company. He was taken hostage by the Lagoon Company pirates because he had a disc that was . Rock respects Dutch and is very much like Benny in that neither use guns or violence to deal with Lagoon's issues, which is why they both get along well. His Achilles heel is Revy. I think that it's their dynamic that makes these two so interesting and that makes the show so interesting. That is something for a totally different time however. The thing about Rock is he doesn't know really where he is in his life; he's no longer a businessman but can't fully adopt the pirate lifestyle (hence his suit and manners). Though as we learn later on, maybe it's for the best that Rock doesn't take to fully becoming a pirate. He brilliantly played yakuza off against each other and played Roberta, Garcia, and the CIA against each other. Mr. Chang and Balalaika (and to a lesser extent Dutch) see Rock for what he is and could be and that is a master manipulator who could easily rise up in the criminal world. That is should he choose to live in that world. But like he once tells Revy, I'm only where I'm standing, nothing else.
Rebecca Lee,
Black Lagoon (burakku Ragūn)
It features a stylish mix of vibrant colour mixed with dark tones at times, design and artwork, character development and creation, a killer plot full of sex, guns, and all sorts of other crazy shit. All these things and more make Black Lagoon one of the best anime of the 2000's. Which by early I mean like up to 2010.
When you take a close look at the show you see just how complex it is; it may seem like an off the wall action anime and that is its main purpose but there are lots of subtle things that exist in the world of Black Lagoon. One of these is so intriguing that I plan on writing an article specifically about just that one thing, next, so stay tuned for that one. Let's look at the things I like so much and why I think it's so good and we'll start with the most important part.
In an action packed show like Black Lagoon, you'd think that there wouldn't be much character development, that it'd all be glitz and guns but there's plenty of character development and each and every character introduced in some way is interesting. I'm just going to highlight a few of them here and give both a rundown/why I think they are interesting.
The Thanksgiving Day From The Black Lagoon (black Lagoon Adventures,
The Lagoon Company, obviously the main focus of the series, is the driving force behind what makes the show so great. Each member of the company is from a different social circle and different standing in life. There's a surprisingly cool relationship between all the members despite coming from different walks of life.
ROCK Our main protagonist Okajima Rokuro, or just Rock as everyone calls him, was a former Japanese businessman who was left for dead by his company. He was taken hostage by the Lagoon Company pirates because he had a disc that was . Rock respects Dutch and is very much like Benny in that neither use guns or violence to deal with Lagoon's issues, which is why they both get along well. His Achilles heel is Revy. I think that it's their dynamic that makes these two so interesting and that makes the show so interesting. That is something for a totally different time however. The thing about Rock is he doesn't know really where he is in his life; he's no longer a businessman but can't fully adopt the pirate lifestyle (hence his suit and manners). Though as we learn later on, maybe it's for the best that Rock doesn't take to fully becoming a pirate. He brilliantly played yakuza off against each other and played Roberta, Garcia, and the CIA against each other. Mr. Chang and Balalaika (and to a lesser extent Dutch) see Rock for what he is and could be and that is a master manipulator who could easily rise up in the criminal world. That is should he choose to live in that world. But like he once tells Revy, I'm only where I'm standing, nothing else.
Rebecca Lee,
0 Response to "Black Lagoon Good"
Posting Komentar