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After watching volume 2 of Black Lagoon I couldn't wait for volume 3, and thankfully it didn't let me down! Like the first volume, volume 2 ended
halfway through a short story arc so I was desperate to see what would happen
next. At the end of the last volume the Lagoon Company had gone to the
local pub to decide what to do with their current cargo, a young boy being held
hostage by South American drug barons. Unfortunately though they found
that the pub had become a warzone, and standing in the middle of it is the boy's
maid Roberta! She's not the meek housekeeper he knew her as, in fact she's
an ex-mercenary and she's none too happy to find her young charge being
transported by a group of pirates. Dutch and co weigh up their options and
make a run for it, but Roberta's not going to be shaken off easily and before
long she's facing down Revy in the docks. Revy may be tough, but can even
she stop the seemingly invincible maid? Meanwhile the Lagoon Company gets
another mission, this time from the Triads. The local branch has come into
some sensitive information from an Middle Eastern terrorist group and has bartered a
deal with the US Government for it. However, the terrorists are desperate
to get the info back, and will stop at nothing in their mission. The
charismatic Triad boss Mr Chang manages to escape the bombing of his headquarters in
order to pass the information to Dutch and co to take to a rendezvous with US
operatives, but before they know it they're under attack too. Barely
managing to escape, the Lagoon Company set out for the island where they will
meet two Triad agents and head to the rendezvous, but things don't go to plan.
Rock is taken captive by the terrorists and it's up to Revy to get him out, will
she risk her life to rescue the man she was ready to kill a few episodes ago? |
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Black Lagoon has always been action packed, but this volume is near solid action from start to finish! Starting with the Lagoon Company trying to escape from the deadly Roberta, a maid who'd give the Terminator a run for his money, Black Lagoon vol 3 manages to keep the pace and excitement going throughout the entire volume. The Terminator references are incredibly obvious, but make for a surreal but entertaining homage as Roberta survives pretty much everything that can possibly be thrown at her. Roberta is a great counterpoint |
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to Revy, she's a cold and extremely efficient killer just like the Lagoon Company's own femme fatale and when the two clash it makes for some of the best anime action sequences you are likely to see. It gets even better when the ruthless Russian mafia boss Balalaika gets involved as well, and it's great to see some background to her character and a demonstration of just how dangerous she is.
The pace doesn't relent for the next story arc either, as the Lagoon
Company try to dodge the the terrorists and get to a rendezvous with two
of Mr Chang's subordinates. Unfortunately Rock's kidnapping throws
a spanner in the works and Revy has to persuade the Triad operatives Shenhua, a knife-wielding Chinese assassin, and Leigharch, a stoner Irish getaway driver
to help her. Once again the action flies thick and fast,
cumulating in an insane car chase through the jungle which sees Revy and
Shenhua trade insults and try to outdo each other as Leigharch careens
through the trees hallucinating about Star Trek. It's great fun,
extremely violent, hugely entertaining and, in many places, refreshingly
un-pc. It's great to see Revy getting to lock horns with people of
a similar mindset rather than lose moral debates with Rock, and it
allows her to really let lose in a series of completely over-the-top
fights. |
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However, despite all the action I must admit to being more impressed by the characters. They're all memorable and distinct, many are enigmatic - such as Dutch - and others are expanded upon in this volume. Their moral compass may be heavily skewed, but they're cool in a gangster film way - strong, complex, exciting and dangerous to know. The new characters in this volume get very little screentime but they just rock so much they don't really need it. Mr Chang is probably my favourite so far - he's mysterious, clever, even |
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better with guns than Revy and blatantly inspired by Chow Yun Fat, which makes for an insanely cool combination! The best character that has turned up though, and I really hope he comes back in 2nd Barrage, is Takenaka, a Japanese man who threw his lot in with the terrorists. He's completely different to the others, he's a world-weary revolutionary who's resigned to a life as a terrorist. His interaction with other characters, particularly his fellow countryman Rock and fellow terrorist Ibraha, is superb and brings a new dimension of middle-aged hopelessness and discontent to proceedings. Unlike the fanatical Ibraha, Takenaka is a pragmatic character who has the experience and nous to know when a battle is lost, and he makes for a new kind of opponent for the Lagoon Company to deal with. This all combines to make one of the most enjoyable anime series I've seen for ages. Yes it has its flaws - it's a bit too over-the-top in places, and occasionally loses its sense of realism - but it's rip-roaring excitement with more tough-talking banter than a library of Guy Ritchie movies. It's extremely cool, refreshingly adult in its language and themes, brilliantly action-packed and hugely entertaining. The characters are great, the action sequences are superb and scratch beneath the surface and there's a bit of intelligence there too. It's great to see a series like this pay attention to the characters, and the introduction of Takenaka is a masterstroke. At the end of the day Black Lagoon is the most enjoyable action series I've seen all year, and it's one of the few anime series that speaks to a twentysomething age group. If you fall into that bracket and like action, then you really have to pick this up. Bring on 2nd Barrage! Extras: Not much, trailers, clean ending sequence and a couple of promos. Ratings Feature:
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