Black Lagoon Anime Review – Guest Post

This is a guest post from my friend and fellow Jamaican who goes by the name Shadieville. He is an avid PC gamer and a big fan of anime. He recently finished watching an anime called Black Lagoon and was kind enough to write a review for my blog. Check it out below.

The story of a Japanese Business Man called Okajima Rokuro who was sent by his company to Eastern China to deliver a disc. However his boat got hijacked by a group of mercenaries that were hired to steal it. Okajima Rokuro was taken hostage by Revy, the female, double Berretta 92FS wheedling, bad ass member of the mercenary group known as The Black Lagoon Company. She got the idea that Okajima, which she nick named “Rock” hold some value to his company and decided to demand a ransom for his return. This proved to be way more trouble than it’s worth. After being set free Rock decided to become the fourth member of the group, alongside their captain Dutch, the only African American member. Benny is an American born male who serves as their mechanic and computer specialist. And of course Revy, our favorite Chinese American gunslinger. The Black Lagoon company accepts a variety jobs from various clients with their main client being a Russian crime syndicate know as “Hotel Moscow”. They are a group former soldiers who served under Ms. Balalaika, a former officer of the Soviet Army.

The city of Roanapur in Thailand is where the story unfolds. It’s a town that’s overrun with mercenaries for hire and other form criminal elements, all of which are kept in check by the officially unofficial security force, the Hotel Moscow. The government appointed police force seems to take the side lines when it comes to enforcing rules and regulations upon high level criminal like the Black Lagoon’s and others. Gun fights are no stranger to this town and the cops knew it. Regular bar fights will break out western style, where everyone with their choice of weapons participating in the ruckus.

There are several memorable characters in this series not excluding the main protagonist group, the Lagoon Company. As I stated above, Ms. Balalaika, the head of the Hotel Moscow group which rule Roanapur with an iron fist. Her second in command, Mr. Boris looks like a guy who did some serious time in the line of duty. He has a scar from his forehead to his cheek and is never seen wearing a smile.
Mr. Chang is also a double berretta wielding character in the Black Lagoon universe. He is the leader of the Chinese Triad base in Roanapur. He’s way more calm and calculated than Balalaika.
Another female in the series is Eda, a CIA agent who is working undercover as a nun in the “Church of Violence or the Rip-Off Church”. The church is a front for illegal activities like smuggling and has ties with the underground.
Federica Sawyer, AKA Sawyer the Cleaner is one wicked, cold hearted girl. She’s the one who takes care of the bodies after someone got themselves eradicated. Her weapon of choice is a chainsaw which she puts to good use dismembering persons in a butcher shop.

All in all I would say that even though the series ran for 24 episodes, it seems way too short for such an interesting and highly entertaining anime series. The Gun fights are fast pasted, the animation is top notched and the voice acting is excellent. For me it’s a most see!

Jamaipanese note: Hope you enjoyed reading the review, look out for more posts from Shadieville on my video game blog. If you want me to make a guest post on your blog or think you have a post that would fit in with the stuff I blog about feel free to contact me.

[smile]