Black Lagoon just hits different.

There are multiple animes whose storyline deals with mafias, gangsters, militaries, and stuff.

But to me, Black Lagoon stands out the most with its unique story-telling and out-of-this-world world building (get it?). Black Lagoon is definitely worth watching. And the animation... it just hits. That 2000s-style animation just freaking hits.

Like, not every seinen series needs to be philosophical, dark, or existential. Sometimes it can be just about smoking, shooting, and driving boats off of "ramps" to shoot at a helicopter. 

And don't even get me started on the opening and the ending. The show itself is insane, and on top of that, it includes a banger of an opening and ending.

I mean, the opening has such an old school style of music, and it sets the mood for the anime perfectly. Revy popping off with her cutlass and making it to the headlines of newspapers—it is just beyond insane.

And the ending, guys. The ending. Tell me. How many endings have you guys seen that give off such an unsettling vibe yet set a serene mood? How many?

Black Lagoon ending. 

 It has such a depressing atmosphere. This music fits Revy's character perfectly with the video of her dropping her guns and ammunition, symbolising leaving her past behind and slowly seeming to walk into oblivion, when suddenly the mood changes and we see our good old Revy turn around with a freaking shotgun in her mouth! Damn. Good stuff. And also, I love the way the ending music cues just before the episode ends. 

Alright alright I'll stop talking about the openings and endings. Now...

About few characters...

REVY. Black Lagoon Revy. 

Black Lagoon Revy. 

There is no Black Lagoon without Rebecca Lee. Also known as... Revy. She's the perfect example of a human bomb. Nothing gets close. You never know when she's going to pop off. And whes she does, she only knows how to shoot and kill. She'll accept any challenge. And she'll defeat anyone. Probably except one person. Miss Balalaika.

MISS BALALAIKA. Black Lagoon Balalaika. 

Black Lagoon Balalaika. 

There is a military mafia gang in Roanapur called Hotel Moscow. The unit is comprised solely of soviet military. And Balalaika is their captain. That isn't without any reason. Balalaika led her whole unit for a long time in a war. And here, Balalaika is one of the most feared individual in Roanapur. 

ROKURO OKAJIMA. Black Lagoon Rock. 

Black Lagoon Rock. 

This guy... Came out of nowhere in the Lagoon Company... And changed the gang. Especially Revy. I don't know how the heck he did that, but all I know, he definitely did that. It can clearly be seen how Rock changed Revy in the later parts of the show. 

Okay, enough about the cast. Now onto to the anime. 

About the anime... Here we are in the city of Roanapur, which runs on crime, and crime is the norm. 

Black Lagoon - Roanapur

There we have the Lagoon Company, which runs as a freelancing company and accepts any client who can pay for the service. The most significant of the clients was Hotel Moscow, led by a former military captain, Capt. Balalaika. I'll say it right here. I have never seen any woman more bold than Balalika, ever. She just lives for war. She strives for war. Her life is nothing without a fight.

Hotel Moscow is the most feared company in the whole of Roanapur. No one there likes to mess with them. This company is completely comprised of veteran military individuals. And Hotel Moscow is one of the most frequent clients of the Lagoon Company.

The Lagoon Company

Lagoon Company.

If I had to hire someone to get sh*t done at any cost, I would choose the Lagoon Company. This company was initially comprised of three members: Dutch, the leader; Revy, the ruthless gunman; and Benny, the technical guy. But then, while fulfilling an order for Hotel Moscow, the Lagoon Company ended up taking in Rock, an ex-salaryman who, due to unfortunate circumstances, ended up in this group.

And that's where the story began.

The insane fights, causing adrenaline rushes; Revy's dark past colliding with her new partner; Rock's ethics; and the feeling that stays after finishing each episode. It's downright beautiful to me.

At the end of the first season, though, I think I saw our hard-hearted Revy getting softer towards Rock, the only guy in Roanapur to not have held a gun. I mean, I could be wrong. Who knows. Or maybe not.

Revy getting soft.

My favourite scene in the whole series, though, was Rock helping Revy light her cigarette with his own when they were being taken into custody because they had a fight where Revy almost killed Rock. How ironic.

Rock and Revy cigarette kiss. 

After that lot of things happened. But with the case regarding daughter of a mafia really changed Rock. He even went against his orders to save the girl but in the end due to unfortunate circumstances she killed herself IN FRONT OF Rock. That scarred him, as Revy said. And later Rock having to receive a picture of that girl from Balalaika, where it was crossed out referring to her death was really sad. 

Oh and remember the scene where Revy was about to shoot someone and that guy was like "I give... Give... Give..." and Revy was like "Give? Give me what?". That scene was hilarious.

This is where the first season ended. I was happy that I had watched this insane anime but was also sad since I knew I was nearing the end of this anime as well. 

Anyways... The OVA... Roberta's Blood Trail

In these 5 episodes, Roberta was nothing but pure malice. In this OVA the US Force vs Roberta was nothing short of insane. And what us she even made of? She just refused to die.

Black Lagoon Roberta.

And Rock. I don't know what the heck happened. Rock just turned on dark mode. Like... That dude went straight to dark mode to achieve his goals and manipulated everyone to his advantage. 

Black Lagoon Rock.

Even Garcia, the little kid who came to him for help. Eventually Garcia as well as the viewers understood that Rock isn't the guy who everyone takes him for. Also Rock going against Mr. Chang, that was some good stuff. 

At the end of this OVA though, Revy and Rock again went back and forth a little but it was solved rather quickly. Later Revy tells what happened to Rock was nothing surprising as he is the only living person in Roanapur which is the land of walking corpses. 

I really want(ed) to see how the story progresses but unfortunately the production of this anime has been stopped due to the lack of source material. 

Is Black Lagoon worth watching? My reviews...

All in all, I absolutely loved this anime. 9/10. I'm taking off 1 point because of the fact that the series is incomplete, which made me really sad.

I really hope that the anime will continue in the future.

Thanks for reading the blog! Comment down below what you guys loved about this anime.