If ever there was an anime that depicted atmosphere of the criminal underworld, warts and all, it's this one. 12 episodes for the first season and another 12 for the second season, this anime is full of violence, guns, swearing, explosions and... great story. This isn't the mindless action anime it seems, it has a lot behind it, especially since the story revolves around a rather ordinary character in the dangerous criminal world. I got major western (non-anime vibes) here. I'd expect this anime to be popular among many, with varying tastes. Not many anime show crime as well as this one. If you don't like the average anime, if you like good anime, if you like action or even if you're a fan of unique story, then this anime is for you. I expected well of this anime, a bad thing since high expectations never bode well. Was this as great as I predicted? Read on to find out.
Animation
The animation quality of Black Lagoon is rather good for 2006. I watched it in crystal clear HD and while there are a few bits where it shows its age, it's nothing major. The animation style seems to be the average, but when the action reels in you get a taste of the somewhat unique flavour of a few of the character designs. Some seems generic but others are designs I haven't noticed much. Heck, while the main character seems generic, I can't think of a single anime off the top of my head with that style of character (maybe because most of them are teenagers in generic high school settings). There is a lot of blood shed and the gore is slightly underwhelming, but then a certain scene makes up for it. Good or bad depending on personal tastes. Nothing too offensive here, what little nudity here is in context, rather like Hollywood movies. Heck, I feel this anime gives me major vibes of Hollywood movies. Of course this anime depicts the criminal underworld, so horrible things will be depicted or implied, it's up to the viewer whether or not to get offended by it. I was horrified, but this anime reminded me that this stuff can and actually does happen in the real world, whether it is brought to our attention or not. I can conclude that while the animation is great, it isn't groundbreaking.
Sound
They went all out on the sound here. The first scene of Black Lagoon I saw in a clip had awesome rock music and I instantly went and got the soundtrack. Don't be fooled, while guns and rock go well together, there's much more to hear here. The outro is a great example and juxtaposes the thrilling intro. Occasionally the music sounds cheesy and out of place but it's mostly appropriate and is pleasant to the ears. While this anime is available in both English and Japanese, the effort they've gone to with voice acting is astounding. At least in the dub version. How? Technically speaking, the English dub has more than just English, with some characters speaking in their mother tongues, rather appropriately. As for voice actors, you may notice that Rock sounds exactly like Light Yagami from Death Note, voiced by Brad Swaille. Funnily enough, Benny is also voiced by Brian Drummond the voice of Ryuk from Death Note and also Vegeta from DBZ. Balalaika is voiced by Patricia Drake, voice of Kid Trunks from DBZ too.
Characters
The main character appears to be the average Japanese salaryman, a drone working a thankless job. That is until he gets involved in the shady side of the law when he becomes a hostage taken by pirates. He has no real name, except for the one given to him by his companions: Rock. This guy has a conscience, so the criminal underworld isn't an easy place for him to be. Surprisingly, he enjoyed his life-threatening escapade so much that he discards his own life to become a member of the Black Lagoon smuggling company. He won't kill anybody and he won't bring harm to anyone, but he comes in useful at times. His personality clashes with the likes of Revi, almost getting him killed in the process. A character that is very easy to relate to and is surprisingly very far from being cliche or a trope. He also smokes, just like almost every other character in this anime.
Revi is a hot-headed psychopathic woman who likes to shoot first and ask questions later. Orphaned from a very young age, this woman was shaped by hate, pain and the luck to survive. Nationality is described to be Chinese-American. She's very skilled with guns and she dual wields her custom M92 pistols, the Sword Cutlasses. I didn't like this character. This wasn't because this character was made or depicted bad, in fact the were a very convincing persona. I more hated this character for how hateful and evil they appeared to be. She doesn't take orders from anyone, but is willing to cool her jets to work with the rest of the Black Lagoon company. I like how well they did the backstory of this character. She tends to drink a lot of beer and smoke a lot. Surprisingly for a woman, she lives like a slob.
Dutch is the big black badass, who usuallly pilots the boat and is the leading member of the Black Lagoon. Surprisingly, he isn't a horrible person and is a very reasonable, just making good use of his smarts and skills. He prides good service above all else and this has resulted in the good record and reliability of the Black Lagoon company. He can deal with the other members well and is just good at negotiating in general, after all, he does set the price for the services of the Black Lagoon. Like the rest, he smokes and his favourite drink is whiskey. I think this guy is from America, makes the most sense or he'd be talking in a different accent and be called something different. We don't get much background of this character, unfortunately.
The last, but not least, member of the Black Lagoon is Benny, the technical guy. He wears glasses and has a ponytail. This character reminds me of Hal Emmerich (Otacon) from Metal Gear Solid. He is also American and a graduate at that. His computer (hacking) and technology skills are second to none. He is the most ordinary of the regular crew, coming from a decent background and he even mentions this to Rock. That said, he gets along with everyone very well and unlike Otacon from MGS, things go well for him. Perhaps we could have seen more of Dutch and Benny, I feel like the other two got more of the limelight.
Among the other characters is Balalaika, the leader of Hotel Moscow, the Russian mafia based in Roanapur and a strong woman. A character shaped by war, as is evident by the many scars from burns on her body and is addressed as 'Capitan' by her soldiers (henchmen). Due to the military origin of the members of Hotel Moscow, they are well organised and more skillful than the gangs and small-time criminals in Roanapur combined. Balalaika initially seems like a benevolent being, but we eventually get to see that she is just like Revi, a horrible individual that has lost all shred of humanity. And the good thing is, we get to see some backstory to support this character. Done well I'd say, since we get to see how imperfect and unreasonable this character can be towards the end.
Not too many other noticeable characters, but many have decent backstories and some of them are pretty interesting. Like 'the cleaner' a young woman who chops up victims with her chainsaw, in order to get rid of them for others. She survived having her throat slit and as such she speaks with a robotic machine requiring contact with her neck. Then there's also the character only known as 'Chinglish,' a Chinese woman in traditional Yeongsam that specialises in using throwing knives. The nickname comes from the terrible Chinese accent that borders on offensive. Unrelated to this character is the leader of the Chinese Triad in Roanapur, a badass who wears a suit and cool glasses.
Story
An ordinary guy in an less than ordinary position. At the start of the first season, Rock is a hostage on a boat, where he is taken for his knowledge and access to vital information given to him by his boss at the office. Falling in with the crowd at the Black Lagoon trading company (AKA BLTC), which mainly specialises in smuggling and devilveries on the wrong side of the law, he comes into contact with the grim reality of how horrible the world is beneath the surface. Mainly he is trying to come to terms with such things and his human opinions make him do silly things and get into trouble. There is no overarcing plot in Black Lagoon, other than Rock's personal issues with where he's at. Rather, Black Lagoon is mainly a collection of events that occur to Rock and his friends at the BLTC. The larger events seem to last for 3 or 4 episodes. Not too disappointing since Rock is a very interesting character, easy to relate to and the many stories are very entertaining, I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. They are well written, but there are a few flaws, including certain characters appeared less later on in the second season. The BLTC's various jobs feature less in the second season and as such, some people didn't enjoy it as much. Towards the end, the story gets a bit psychological as Rock's position comes into question, some people may not like this iffy crazy mindbending stuff.
Conclusion
Black Lagoon is a great anime and I'd recommend it to regular fans of anime and those who don't watch many anime/ have a more refined, niche taste in anime. It's filled with action, but there are some things which may be upsetting to watch, this is a very good depiction of the criminal underworld after all. Minus the crazy cool anime badassery. Give it a go and try not to get too freaked out.
Family-friendliness Rating: 5/5 Violence, inappropriate language and all associated with the criminal underworld make it unsuitable for minors (lower is better)
Overall Rating: 8.5/10 (higher is better)