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Title:
  Black Lagoon: 2nd Barrage vol 3

UK Distributor:  MVM (DVD Only)

BBFC Certificate:  15

Suggested Retail Price (SRP):  £15.99

Episodes:  21-24 (of 24)

Audio Options:  English 5.1 & Japanese 2.0

Subtitles:  English

Reviewer:  Rich (Webmaster)

 

As always with Black Lagoon the last volume ended right in the middle of a story, leaving you up in the air for two months!  But volume 3 is on its way, and there's certainly no let up in quality.

The story continues where it left off, with Revy and Rock in Japan where he is acting as an interpreter for Russian mafia boss Balalaika.  At the end of the last volume the schoolgirl Yukio decided to follow her birthright and become head of the Washimine Clan.  Rock is desperate to stop her from going up against Balalaika, who he knows will slaughter her without mercy.  Unbeknownst to him Balalaika has already targeted Yukio in her methodical plan to wipe out the Washimine and soon her troops are on the move once again.  With such a deadly force against them you'd be forgiven for thinking that things couldn't be worse for Yukio and Washimine, but you'd be wrong.  An arrogant officer within the clan rebels, killing his seniors and kidnapping her.  The traitor holes up in a bowling alley with his hostage and his gang, but Washimine's chief enforcer Ginji is not about to let him get away with it.  Rock also wants to rescue her and so he and Revy accompany the taciturn swordsman to the ally whilst Balalaika ruthlessly picks apart the carcass of the Washimine Clan.  The struggles are highlighting some disturbing truths for Rock, he straddles two worlds - one is the violent, morally bereft world of Balalaika & co, the other is normal society encapsulated by his old life in Japan.  Now in Japan once again Rock is wrapped in uncertainty, does he give up his humanity or abandon his life in Roanapur?  One thing's for certain, the bloody swathe Balalaika is carving through Japan's underworld is going to force him to choose one way or another, and what affect will his choice have on Yukio?
 

For the first time in the series the entire volume focuses on a single story arc, and a damn good one it is too.  As well as the action and excitement of Balalaika's campaign this volume focuses strongly on Rock and his motivations.  Through the four episodes on the disc his character is dissected and laid bare through conversations with the fiercely intelligent Yukio, ruthless Balalaika and strangely melancholy Revy.  His very soul is picked apart as the true weight of his indecision and inaction during his time in Japan

strikes him like a series of hammer blows.  It's a brilliantly done, and you really feel for him as he tries to straddle both darkness and light without giving himself over to either.  However, I was also really surprised by Revy.  Her tough demeanour falls away in places as she tries to push Rock back to a life that she never had, a life where he could be safe and not have to be involved in the horror and danger of Roanapur.

There's some quite heavy dialogue this time round, particularly from the Sartre-quoting Yukio, but it's perfectly balanced with the action.  And what action it is!  There are some of the best anime action scenes I have ever seen in this volume, and both focus on Ginji and Revy.  Their assault on the bowling alley is awesome, with Revy's jaw-dropping gunplay matched by breathtaking sword skills from Ginji.  The action flows brilliantly and both characters work really well together, their final meeting late on in the volume is even better too.  The series pulls no punches in the violence and gore stakes, and it's great to see it really delving into a character's feelings and motivations.  Many of the characters so far have been enigmatic, and any background to them you've had to fill in yourself.  This time round it reveals slightly more about Balalaika in particular, showing how Hotel Moscow formed in the ashes of the USSR, but cleverly it never reveals too much.  Part of what makes this series interesting is that there's some real depth to a lot of the characters that has yet to be explored, and it's very careful to reveal enough to satisfy but never so much that there's nothing left to learn.
 

To be honest the quartet of episodes on this disc are the best the series has had to offer so far.  Hotel Moscow's operations are shown more fully which explains a lot of the issues I had before over how they got to Japan with a heavily armed force and how they move around unnoticed.  The action scenes are by far the best in the series so far and a particularly odious character meets a very satisfying end.  The character dissection is pitched perfectly and really lends a perspective and gravity to everything that's going on, and

it is also interesting to see both Revy and Balalaika acting slightly out of character.  Yukio is a surprisingly good character, really coming into her own as she delves further into the darkness and despite fighting a losing war she shows that she's no pushover with some clever countermeasures.  Ginji, however, steals the show with his combination of honour and skills which recalls the cream of samurai action films.

When it's at its best, Black Lagoon runs like the very best of gangster films, and to be honest it's very rarely dropped below its best.  It's full of excessive violence, colourful and dangerous characters, superbly over-the-top action and some really interesting storylines.  In this volume it backs that up with a sense of resignation from the characters.  Yukio knows where her actions are leading her but has made her choice and will see it through.  Revy knows she has lived a life of lawlessness and horror, and her bruised and battered heart despairs to see Rock moving towards the same life when he has a chance of something better.  This emotion and intelligence underpins the superb action and drama and this combination has really set Black Lagoon apart from the crowd.  This volume is a great ending to the story so far, and with a third series apparently in the works in Japan, it looks like there is yet more to come.  Personally I can't wait, Black Lagoon has been one of my top three series of the year so far and as anime action goes you really can't get better.  Superb.

Extras:

Just trailers, not good enough!

Ratings

Feature:   Extras:
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