[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Black Lagoon 1-4: pirates and salarymen
Amidst all the furore surrounding Geneon’s uncertain future there were several new titles that I feared would never make it to UK shelves; one of those was Black Lagoon. It’s fair to say BL’s reputation preceded it: I’d heard a lot about this action-packed tale of kidnappings, gun-fights and double crosses on the high seas so it was a pleasant surprise to see the show in my review pile. Fortunately I wasn’t disappointed by what I saw either.
I’ll admit that there are plenty of bounty hunter-style shows around with similar setups involving a Joe Average thrown in amongst an assorted bunch of hard-up criminals who do cool things to eke out a living, but Black Lagoon somehow manages to make one hell of an impression. For one thing it has Studio Madhouse in charge of the production (a reason for me to love it right there); secondly it has Attitude. The capitalisation was wholly intentional, by the way. Black Lagoon has a whole boatload of Attitude and then some.
The fish-out-of-water Joe Average in this case is a hapless fellow named Rokuro Okajima. His life in the humdrum white-collar rat race ends when he is kidnapped by a bunch of mercenaries who are given the task of seizing a data disc that Rokuro had the misfortune to be carrying while on an overseas business trip. The mercenaries may have a well-armed boat and a taste for rum but that’s where the resemblance to old-fashioned pirates ends: left high and dry by his unscrupulous employers while captured at gunpoint and held for ransom, Rokuro’s captors become new-found ‘friends’ as they find themselves up to their necks in industrial espionage, Russian mafia types and all manner of other low-lifes.
When the action scenes are exhilarating to the point of the outrageous (the finale to a boat chase in particular wouldn’t look out of place in a John Woo or Die Hard movie), it takes a colourful cast to make it more than just a forgettable adrenaline rush. They’re an interesting bunch actually, having the token shady pasts and devil-may-care attitudes but offering plenty of entertainment value with the way their personalities bounce off one another. Dutch is your laconic muscle-bound team leader who negotiates jobs and keeps the others in check; Benny is a technical whiz with a penchant for loud shirts; and Revy is an especially bad-ass take on the feisty gun-toting female (imagine Cowboy Bebop’s Faye Valentine crossed with Full Metal Panic!’s Melissa Mao after spending a few months hanging out with the A team).
Throwing poor old Rokuro (who soon gets nicknamed Rock by Revy and co) into this mismatched group of hardened bounty-hunters is a predictably amusing culture shock, as he gradually grows used to their seat-of-your-pants lifestyle: I’m looking forward to seeing him gradually toughen up as he comes to terms with the fact that his yuppie days are over. Perhaps understandably he finds the danger of his position terrifying and unfair, but he soon makes at least some effort to adjust and make the best of things, which is a bonus.
Not your ordinary business trip
What I think what makes the crew so interesting inside their tough-as-nails archetypes is that they have a camaraderie going on but conversely don’t thing twice about taking enemies’ lives while shooting first and asking questions afterwards. The bottom line is that Revy, Dutch and Benny are essentially cold-blooded killers; a point hammered home repeatedly by frequent and quite brutal bloodshed that is quite ‘grown up’ and not very cartoonish by anime standards. Nevertheless, moments of friendship and humanity shine through every now and then to keep the viewer on their side and looking forward to another gun-toting confrontation.
As you’d expect from Madhouse, Black Lagoon certainly delivers as an actioner: the firearms and other equipment for instance are drawn with impressive authenticity so look solid and convincing. The frequent bursts of gunfire and explosions are accompanied by a hard-edged rock soundtrack that keeps the pace and accentuates the show’s aforementioned Attitude - the metal-tinged op theme should prepare the unwary for the grittiness that follows. This attention to detail is impressive, which ought to make this show appealing to viewers who appreciate more than just fan service and comedy - not something we see very often, which makes this all the more recommendable. With a shipload of neo-nazis as their adversaries next up on the horizon, I can’t wait!
Insert NICE BOAT pun here
Summary
You only have to look to the likes of Cowboy Bebop and the series it inspired to see how effective and well-used the likeable outlaws idea is but Black Lagoon brings a slick delivery and a vicious edge to keep things interesting and exciting. It isn’t original, deep or meaningful, nor does it intend to be; this is no-nonsense, in-your-face action with a memorable cast and impressive presentation. At this stage in the game there emphasis is on introducing the characters and grabbing your attention rather than telling a complex story; in that sense Black Lagoon succeeds admirably, and in great style too.
Posted on February 29th, 2008 @ 1:22 am
Nice review. I am currently reviewing this series on my own blog. I have the opposite opinion, and think it is a terrible series. Still, it’s always fun to read the opinions of other bloggers. The funniest part is that when I give negative reviews, the fanboys come out of the woodwork to scream, “Why do you review this if you hate it?” I guess bloggers are only allowed to post about shows they like? Anyway, I look forward to your future reviews of this series.
Posted on February 29th, 2008 @ 5:26 am
I think a lot of people dislike certain series because they come to the show with too many expectations. If you drop the expectations and enjoy the show for what it excels at (and this show excels in a few major areas) then there’s not much to dislike. Exploration of badass female stereotypes, as well as worldwide crime groups (throughout this and future arcs) make this a very fun show. Expect more than that and you’re not really being fair. (Although I love when things get serious.) The relationships between the characters are developed extremely well (Particularly Rock & Revy). I hope you give it a chance, but yes, you are allowed to dislike it if you absolutely have to.
Posted on February 29th, 2008 @ 7:32 pm
@Brikhaus: an advantage of not liking something is that you can give an alternate viewpoint and spot details the fans might miss. As much as I enjoy blogging Ghost Hound, Kaiji and True Tears for instance, I can’t even begin to be objective about them because I’m enjoying them so much.
@Sarah: absolutely. I was expecting this to be nothing more than mindless fun, which it is. In that sense I was impressed - it’s a refreshing change of pace from the angsty drama and headache-inducing sci-fi that I often watch…a guilty pleasure I guess.
Posted on March 2nd, 2008 @ 4:53 pm
I remember reading six or seven chapters of the manga, and being amused at the contrast between the sort-of-honourable pirates and the decidedly dishonourable corporation, but I never really found time to watch the anime or continue with the manga. I think your connection of Black Lagoon to Bebop is pretty apt; Lagoon is the drug-dealing, gangland older cousin of Bebop’s tough-but-loveable rogue.
Also, I usually just refer to Attitude as ‘tude, but each to his own, I suppose.
Posted on March 2nd, 2008 @ 7:49 pm
@IKnight: ah yes, the manga. I really want to check that out and do a compare/contrast thing after watching this. As for the ’sort-of-honorable pirates’ thing, I can’t wait to see them take on the neo-nazis. I mean, they’re neo-nazis! the badness of the villains is so overdone there, I’m expecting an Indiana Jones setup or something. Which reminds me, there’s another one of those coming out soon…
Posted on March 3rd, 2008 @ 9:22 pm
Mmm, I remember reading a videogame reviewer remark that ‘There are only two groups it is entirely morally acceptable to slaughter in a computer game: aliens, and Nazis. And if aliens ever do visit us, they’ll sue.’