Customer Reviews

Black Lagoon: The Complete Series Box Set, Season One

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"Black Lagoon" is a pretty typical anime action series in a lot of ways, not especially outstanding in comparison to some of the shows that have come before it, but it's a series that does almost everything right. Cowboy Bebop on water pretty much sums it up. .The show follows the adventures of a rag-tag crew (is there any other kind?) of modern pirates as they pull off jobs and capers for various crime bosses. The protagonist is a jaded businessman who becomes known as "Rock" after he is kidnapped by said pirates and eventually winds up joining them after he turns out to be more resourceful than one might expect.

Rock may be the protagonist but make no mistake, the star of the show is sociopathic she-pirate Levi (Revi if you prefer the Japanese pronunciation), a one-woman wrecking crew with bad attitude to spare. This girl in the best thing this series has going for it as she is a true-blue anti-heroine; mean-spirited, apathetic, and often beyond psychotic. This is rather surprising since the female leads in these shows are typically rather sensitive and heroic types inside of their harsh exteriors, but Levi is bad to the bone and she never lets you forget it for long. Her clashes with the level-headed newcomer Rock make up much of the first half of the show and believe me, it gets ugly. Rounding out the crew are Dutch, the captain of their torpedo boat, and Benny who appears to be the tech guy but frankly, he doesn't do much which is disappointing.

Most of the missions are split between two or three episode arcs and consist of such glamorous fare as salvaging a sunken Nazi U-boat or kidnapping a rich brat. Of course there's always a catch such as a battleship full of neo-nazis coming to reclaim their artifacts, or a nanny/housemaid (complete with fetishistic outfit) that gives Levi more than a run for her money in some gunbattles that would make John Woo envious. These kind of fringe characters are another reason that "Black Lagoon" is such a success. My favorite is a rather vain blademistress in a Chinese dress who teams up with Levi during the last arc of the series. The scene where the two of them are being pursued in a car and fighting with each other over who gets to stand up through the sunroof and engage the pursuers is a riot. Also of note is the crew's primary employer, a Russian mafiosa with badly scarred skin named Balalaika (say THAT three times fast!) who shows up often as the consummate crooked businesswoman.

The series is a too-short 12 episodes with no larger story to tell. Levi's past is hinted at or glimpsed several times, but never truly explored, though the second season gives us more along those lines and a third is forthcoming. "Black Lagoon" is a fun show with fantastic action sequences, great animation, and plenty of colorful characters. Well worth a viewing. If you worship at the altar of "Cowboy Bebop", consider this series a must, though newcomers to anime and casual fans should also find a lot to like here. Also, if you've ever wondered the best way to go about torpedoing an in-flight helicopter, check this show out for sure.

First off, I was really impressed with the production values. The animation and sound was top notch. There was none of that cost saving corner cutting, which really adds to the overall feel of the show.

Secondly it's a really smart script with complex characters and tightly written plots.

Third lots of nifty violence, but with a black comedy twist.

Don't go in expecting Cowboy Bebop, although there are similarities Black Lagoon is a lot darker. You might like both. Cowboy Bebop is one of my all time favs too. However I find the two shows to have distinctly different flavors.

One thing that appealed to my inner philosophy major was that underlying theme of the whole anime is nihilism(Revy) v existentialism(Rock), which philosophy is more realistic--but without a single descent into academic angst or mention of a philosophical term. It was all fast paced action with a few comic turns on the surface, and can be appreciated on just that level, but there was heavy epistomological debate going on underneath. Personally, I thought that was pretty cool.

This show is just awesome. A truly classic anime like cowboy bebop. It has amazing over the top action with a mix of great storytelling. A must even if you are not a anime fan.

I was really lucky to come across this series and after watching it I am perplexed as to why it is not much more popular than what it is. I know I am probably going to get creamed for this, but with it is hard for me to understand that Cowboy Bebop Remix, Volume 1 is super popular and Black Lagoon is as obscure as it is. Don't get me wrong, I really like Cowboy Bebop, but this is at least as good, and in my humble opinion, even better.

The series is based on a straight-forward concept. An office worker is kidnapped by a band of modern pirates and ends up joining them and becoming an outlaw himself. But then, this simple idea is complemented by an rich set of characters, interesting relationships, fine humor and a lot, and I really mean a lot, of action.

I really wish more people would get exposed to this series, since this shows how much can be done with anime, and also because it deserves to be successful. For my part, I'll add my grain of sand by recommending it without reservations.

I'll admit that I never saw Black Lagoon until I bought the Second Barrage (second season) set. The previews looked good so... I guess Revy is a little more psychotic in the first season and the Lagoon Co's relationship with the Russian Mafia (Hotel Moscow) is a little more cozy.

In spite of the murder and mayhem the writers do take the time to let the characters act and react to matter-of-fact situations. You find out about the characters more realistically, not by seeing their life story but in seeing how they handle any given predicament, large or small. This might seem like a minor point but if you're creating an anime series it takes a certain amount of guts to throw in character building dialogue and scenes that have nothing to do with sex or blowing somebody's head off, especially if you know that's the stuff many fans are looking for.

Black Lagoon is based on a manga comic series and it sounds like season 3 (at least as written) is re-introducing the super-killer maid Roberta seen in the first season. The first Roberta arc tied up nicely so I'm not sure seeing her again is a good thing. She borrowed quite a bit from "Terminator" and the "El Mariachi" movie series.

This review is for the entire series. I have been watching anime since I first picked up a copy of "Battle Angel Alita" and then Ghost in the Shell from my local Blockbuster back in the early 1980s. Some anime is exceptional, some is not very good. This anime transcends its media and approaches cinema art. I was glad to hear a third series is in the works and is scheduled for release next year.
There is no need to describe the series any further than has been done in previous reviews and there is a very good detailed synopsis on Wikipedia.

I claim this is great anime for the following reasons:

1. The art work is outstanding. The viewer is routinely treated to incredibly detailed scenes like a view of the city from the harbor, the symbolic damaged idol, a blue butterfly from a boy's flashback. If you are a fan of weapons and equipment, they are drawn in incredible detail and accuracy in a Joseph Wight tradition. You will not be disappointed in the quality of this anime. Disney should take notes. While the series is compared to Cowboy Beebop due to its action nature and episodic style, visually it is far superior

2. The story lines are a collection of short stories that follow chronologically but can stand on their own. Unlike an anime like Ergo Proxy, you can spend an hour watching a few episodes and get a complete an entertaining story. Like in real life the stories are simple and full of action, but the characters are complex. There is quite a bit of philosophy snuck in, like Sartre, but it does not come across as pretentious or bog down the stories which are incredibly fun and mainly light hearted. The scenes are unashamedly cinematic.

3. The characters are complex. The viewer will not be spoon feed. With the exception of Rock, you never get the whole story about these characters. They all have their secrets. I especially like how the character "Revy" is allowed to be psychopathic, without an attempt to explain it away. The viewer's questions are left unanswered as to why the characters do all the things they do, just as we are in our relationships in real life. I appreciate as a viewer being treated as an adult without a 5 minute monologue of amateurish psychology attempting to reconcile aberrant behavior that all too common a tedious scene in anime. They are criminals like the Sopranos; I do not need their actions justified. In addition, the guest characters are incredibly rich. Fan favorites includes the assassin "Chinglish" who takes offense to Revy pointed out her broken English, and "Sister Edda", the nun equivalent to Revy. Every moment they are on the screen is a pure delight.

4. The sound track especially the intro is bold and fresh, as Revy quotes in one episode "It's not Jpop". Really sets the tone and gets your blood pumping.
As a warning to the creators of this anime, I will mention my only perceived negative I found in the series is by the end of the second series, Rock was being given way too much time and dialogue. The series ended with the character Rock wallowing in the way too typical young man of anime angst. If this continues in the third series it will kill it. The series is at its best when Dutch and Revy have most of the dialogue. As the creators appear to become more interested in the characters they have created, Rock is beginning to behave more like Shinji Ikari from Neon Evangelion and Revy's personality disorders are getting dangerously close to be explained. If that should happen the mystery of the series will be gone, and so will end the series. The first episodes worked so well because when Rock began to wallow in his typical Japanese anime guy angst winning, Revy or sometimes Dutch would cut him off either verbally or sometimes with a good punch. Some of my favorite scenes are when Revy is able to appropriately point out how ridiculous Rock's morbidity is. Too many anime's like Evangelion are heavily damaged by their young male characters winning about their indecisiveness. It's like some sort of adolescent male menopause.

With that said, if you are an anime fan, you should consider ordering this series if you like great characters, great animation, and great fun; this could be the very best anime series to date.

It's a pity, acquired at a last year Christmas sale in the US, this made-in-Denmark box concludes just one disk "Extras", no feature advertised on a jacket, as realized after ripping the plastic wrap on this Christmas in Australia.

As understood, it is a very vibrant anime and a lack of what was paid for inside upset me really.
Well, so far everything is going wrong this fall.

the is one of the best animus out. the language is not for young kids.
Revy makes Lora Croft look bad with guns.

My husband and I bought the Black Lagoon box set on a whim - the price was right, the back cover showed an interesting story, and anything that shows a woman with a gun on the cover seems to be interesting on its own merit (yes, we can be that shallow at times).

Animation

I am pretty sure I have done reviews for other Anime shows. If I have not, let me lay this out: my husband and I are big Otaku. Adding this to our extensive collection was only done after a review of the back cover and consideration for the quality of the animation. Most Japanese Anime seems to fall into two categories (to our opinions) really good, detailed animation, or lack of detailed, lazy animation. When we review an anime that we have not heard of (this being one of them), we tend to look at the quality of the drawings. If they are detailed, at least to our minds, the story tends to be better.

Black Lagoon has wonderful animation. The details are impeccable, from the environments (which range from a deprived city to the high seas), the mechanical aspects (the gunboat the pirates use is wonderfully drawn and very believable), and the characters themselves. Each has a distinct costume, and the facial expressions are varied. While there is a slight tendency for the wide-eyed cliche anime females, by-and-large the drawings are realistic and accurate.

That is to say, of course, that most of the females are, erm... well endowed, and in some situations, it would be physically impossible for the movement and/or way they are held up (I am sorry, things that large are never that perky). The series does tend to categorize the women into either a highly sexualized depiction (Revy, the main female protagonist in the series, saunters around in a tight tank top and short shorts), or as prude-like as possible (a nun, a businesswoman, or a maid in a very conservative uniform). Even with these somewhat sexist depictions, the characters themselves more than make up for the drawings.

Plot

The story for Black Lagoon starts out with action and ends with a shootout. The crew of the Black Lagoon have been tasked with boarding a vessel to obtain certain files from an employee of a Japanese organization. They end up kidnapping the employee, and amid the loud vulgarities uttered by the pirates, the soft-spoken demeanor of the businessman seems comical.

From here, the story takes off. Business intrigue, high-speed shootouts, Neo-Nazi subplots, and lots and lots of cursing. The characters themselves are modern-day pirates, and they acquire jobs from a variety of sources in their homebase, a city filled with the scum of the Earth. The police are corrupt, and various gangs are in control. It is the leaders of these gangs that give the jobs to the crew of Black Lagoon.

Now what about that employee? Well, he ends up joining the crew, and becomes the straight-laced booknerd member. I could tell you how he joins, but it would give away the plot of the first couple episodes.

Some other reviews say there is no discernable plot to the series, and in terms of an overall plot, this statement is true. The series breaks down individual stories into several plots throughout the course of the season. If there is any overall plot, it would be the background stories of the crew, or the slight sexual tension between the new guy and Revy (the lone female member, who carries two handguns and is the best shot in town).

The story, overall, is edgy, funny, and full of action. Fights, explosions, chases on the high seas, dark crime stories, and interesting dialogue litter the series. There are several veiled political comments made (the Neo Nazi plot, for instance, is one), and some vague historical allusions, which may or may not be accurate (I didn't research them, I'll be honest). Some of the plots may offend some people (if you do not like bloodshed and the Neo Nazi depictions, don't get this DVD), and the series has tons of cursing. I would not recommend watching this in front of children.

Music and Voice Acting

The music in the series is top notch, with maybe the exception of the theme song (a weird rock/techno/J-pop song that makes no sense, lyrics-wise). Most of the action sequences have a rock song playing, and combined with the excellent animation, you will stay glued to your screen. The music suits the atmosphere, and unlike some anime series, fits the content perfectly. I intend to look up the soundtrack!

The voiceacting is wonderful, also. The tones and emotions conveyed by the voiceactors is well done, and the lip-syncing is top-notch. Each character has a very distinct voice, from the rough voice of Revy, the softspoken businessman, or the baritone captain. Characters with cultural accents also have excellent portrayals without being cliche.

Overall

If you want an action-packed series that is a bit unconventional (there is no grand plot, rather, a series of smaller, defined plots), this is for you. Lots of cursing may turn off some, and some of the touchy subject matter will offend others. The great animation, voiceacting, music, and colorful characters, make this worth owning.

I bought Black Lagoon on an impulse at a store that was closing. That is the only reason I am not giving this (first) season a lower grade. Its an anime, it has action, but no real story or characters. We have seen them all before. Rock is the everyman that is put in a situation that he is not ready to deal with, while the other two characters have maybe thirty lines in twelve episodes. The main focus is on Revy, who is supposedly this super-human killing machine with a bad attitude and (very) short cut-offs. How she became this one-woman-murder-machine is not well explained. They touch a bit on the fact that she had a troubled childhood (abuse, poverty, what-have-you) but that is about it. I agree with the Amazon.com review that this season is pretty much like your typical holly-wood fair. Guns, blood, boobs; but lacking in any real message or story. Some of the plots are totally nonsensical (the remnants of the third reich need a painting from a sunken U-boat to revive the third reich?). The rest is just bad-a$$ meets new bad-a$$ and they fight. Big deal. I guess what I am trying to say is that if you are looking for mind-less animated holly-wood schlock, then Black Lagoon (first season) is for you. If you like your anime to have a message or convey some sort of ethical question to think over then look elsewhere.