Black Lagoon...
Recently, I picked up Black Lagoon...
I had a chance to watch the first volume of Black Lagoon. Black Lagoon tells the story of a gang of modern-day pirates and their ship - "Black Lagoon". The story is fast-paced and engaging. The overall tone of the series is dark and moody. There is only a modest amount of fan service and no naughty bits to speak of.
The action scenes are intense. There is quite a bit of bloodshed, but, not much in the way of gore. There's a great deal of gun play and some very "over the top" action sequences. Revy a.k.a. "Two Hands" is definitely the break-out star of the series, so far. Revy has two major action scenes in the first volume. The action is reminiscent of titles like Mezzo or Kite.
Balalaika, is a very memorable character and definitely someone you don't want to meet in a dark alley. She can be truly terrifying when she wants to be. Balalaika appears a few times during the first volume and has one memorable moment in a hotel room with a can of gasoline and some high explosives.
The animation quality is fairly good and I really enjoyed the opening theme a lot. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that, I tracked down MELL's Rad Fraction Single CD containing 3 versions of the opening theme including an instrumental version. I didn't really care for the instrumental version. The Red Fraction Single CD contains 3 tracks and I liked two which works out to 66.6%, for a rating of 3 out of 4. Overall, I was very pleased with Black Lagoon and I can hardly wait for more.
Series One
Volume 1
Rokuro Okajima is a meek, mundane and metropolitan man on a business trip to South East Asia. But things quickly go from pleasure cruise to festival of pain when modern day pirates board the ship and take him hostage! Revy, Dutch and Benny are merciless, maniacal and mean and together, they make up the crew of the Black Lagoon. A mercenary group has hired them to steal a data disc Rokuro was carrying and with it, classified information that threatens the peace and security of the entire world!
Volume 2
The Black Lagoon Company gets into a brutal head-to-head battle with a bunch of neo-nazi freaks after the same sunken booty. Revy and Dutch blaze a trail full of blood and bullets in an attempt to get back their bounty and make an exit in style. The tension between Rock and Revy builds up to such extreme levels that an easy day of running errands has almost fatal consequences! Will they kiss and make up or will Rock get a bullet in the head?
Volume 3
Dirty jobs are a part of life for the Black Lagoon, but things seem to be getting worse by the minute. Their latest problem is a maid from Columbia. She's a killing machine out to rescue Garcia from the clutches of the Black Lagoon and will kill anyone who gets in her way. As if that wasn't enough, international terrorists make their move and set the scene for a showdown with the Hong Kong Triad, the C.I.A. and the Black Lagoon smack dab in the middle! Can Rock count on his new family to pull him out of a pinch or will he be left to rot?
The Second Barrage
Volume 1
A recent string of murders is the talk of the town. Not that murder is anything unusual, but the twin killers are targeting Hotel Moscow! The delicate balance of power held by the mafia leaders crumbles as the sickening slaughter escalates into a full-blown war of attrition. No quarter is given and none asked for as Balalaika and her soldiers are forced to recall a time when their deadliest enemies were children.
Volume 2
What's better than earning money? Making it! Revy teams up with Sister Eda to save a brilliant counterfeiter from getting wasted. Of course, they care less about her and more about the money they stand to gain for getting her to safety! Later, Rock makes a return trip to Japan with Revy as his escort and bodyguard. Japan hasn't changed but Rock is fundamentally different after a year aboard the Black Lagoon.
Volume 3
Rock makes his decision to help a young Yakuza boss named Yukio and Revy uncharacteristically decides to help him. They team up with Yukio's right-hand man for a bloodbath to end all bloodbaths, but that's just the beginning of the battle. In the heat of the moment, they almost forgot that Balalaika and Hotel Moscow wants in on the game and the results are deadly.
Black Lagoon
Roberta's Blood Trail
Deadly assassin-turned-maid Roberta returns to the criminal's paradise of Roanapur, dead set on revenge - no matter the cost. In a backdrop of violent chaos, the smugglers of the Lagoon Company team up with Roberta's employer to save her... or at least to stop her bloody rampage.
I had a chance to watch the first volume of Black Lagoon. Black Lagoon tells the story of a gang of modern-day pirates and their ship - "Black Lagoon". The story is fast-paced and engaging. The overall tone of the series is dark and moody. There is only a modest amount of fan service and no naughty bits to speak of.The action scenes are intense. There is quite a bit of bloodshed, but, not much in the way of gore. There's a great deal of gun play and some very "over the top" action sequences. Revy a.k.a. "Two Hands" is definitely the break-out star of the series, so far. Revy has two major action scenes in the first volume. The action is reminiscent of titles like Mezzo or Kite.
Balalaika, is a very memorable character and definitely someone you don't want to meet in a dark alley. She can be truly terrifying when she wants to be. Balalaika appears a few times during the first volume and has one memorable moment in a hotel room with a can of gasoline and some high explosives.
Black Lagoon has a slightly darker, more ominous tone than series like Mezzo. Although there's no indication in the first volume that anything bad will happen to the core characters of the series, with characters like Balalaika around, it's difficult to guess what will happen next. Part of what appeals to me about this title is its unpredictability. Another aspect of the series that I like is the relationship between the characters. Taken individually, the characters themselves are fairly cliche, but, the way they interact with one another is refreshing - in a dysfunctional family kinda way.
The animation quality is fairly good and I really enjoyed the opening theme a lot. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that, I tracked down MELL's Rad Fraction Single CD containing 3 versions of the opening theme including an instrumental version. I didn't really care for the instrumental version. The Red Fraction Single CD contains 3 tracks and I liked two which works out to 66.6%, for a rating of 3 out of 4. Overall, I was very pleased with Black Lagoon and I can hardly wait for more.
September 19, 2007
Update
I have, since the original post, picked up the second and third installments of Black Lagoon. In the second volume, we see the darker side of Revy. And, Rock seems to have carved out a niche for himself in the group. In the third installment we see a bit more of Balalaika. She's definitely one very scary lady.Update
According to The Right Stuf:Geneon to Cease DVD Sales OperationsEventually, I did manage to pick up all of the volumes in the series.
According to a letter that we received today, Geneon plans to cease DVD sales and distribution by the end of this week, accepting only non-returnable orders for releases with scheduled street dates through 11/6/2007.
We are verifying now whether the remainder of the releases will be canceled completely, but it is our guess that the 11/13 releases and beyond are canceled. Rest assured that we have adequate incoming inventory on all of the titles through 11/6 on order and will be able to fill all customer orders -- if you haven't ordered these titles, order them now!
Things are still a bit unclear as to how things going forward for Geneon will be handled, in terms of licensed properties that are in mid-release or have not yet been released. As more information is available, we will certainly update you.
