Timeless Dreams Anime Blog

Black Lagoon is an anime about a company guy who gets kidnapped by a bunch of modern pirates. Hoping to be rescued by the company, his company ditches him and leaves him to die. After the kidnapping is over, this guy claims that he is so angry with his company and he has no other place to go, so he joins the pirates instead. He as a company guy has a lot of trouble to change himself into a villian, but to be frankly, he uses his own abilities to help his new company "Black Lagoon" out of some trouble. They live in a violent city, Roanapur, and this anime follows his story and the kinds of jobs and situations. The pirates run a delivery company in that city. It might be a bit weird for us to see, for example "The Churce of Violence" with nuns carrying guns, everyone getting excited for a manhunt for a lot of money, and all kinds of maffia all over the world who gather there. There is no justice in that city, and that’s where Black Lagoon the anime starts.

There are a couple of things that can hold this anime together, because Rock can be a bit annoying once in a while. The first thing is the gunwoman of the company, Levy. She is just pure evil at the first sight and she can kill anything on her way. It’s really nice to see her in those gunfights because the fights are really well made, and it can be an enjoyable time for us to see. The other things are a couple of side characters. Dutch is the leader of the company and his comments and actions are always fun to see. And the other is the nun of the Church of Violence, Eda. And god how I had to laugh because of her. But those are side characters and their backgrounds isn’t lightened out at all, and it’s a real waste.

The cases are really something too. You won’t be suprised to see an evil maid who acts like a robot scaring the hell out of Dutch, Benny and Rock, and Levy trying to fight her. You wouldn’t be suprised to see a gunfight at the "Church of Violence", saying that you should come back when it’s the day of judging and blackmailing everyone. Also you wouldn’t be suprised to see Rock again being kidnapped. He is really good at that. Here lies the good point of Black Lagoon. Several cases with Rock, Levy, Benny and Dutch and a couple of side characters, and they are just trying to furfill their job.

However. The second season is more pointed to some side characters like Balalaika, the head of the Russian Maffia. The action is too much, the blood is too much, the evil things are just too much. We have no Benny and no Dutch and no Eda. The creators tried to force Levy and Rock into a situation and then by some kind of a miracle letting them to be saved. The action was too much and too less blackmailing. It was a real shame because the power of Black Lagoon lies in its imposing characters, and the weird cases. And don’t mention the Engrish. I have tried to understand them, but after a few attempts I just convinced myself that it was a language that isn’t be for humans to understand. It’s such a waste. Black Lagoon started nice, but it became worse in the second season.
Ratings: 73/100

This episode: Rock gets abducted by a high school girl, Balalaika shoots the Kousa with their own guns, the war ended and they don’t even have to kill off the entire yazuka to save Yukio, Yukio meanwhile proofs that she can hold a gun and both Levy and Rock are lucky that they are still alive because I would be more frightened when Yukio pointed a gun at me when I would be when Levy would point a gun at me, Yukio kidnaps a villian, the long awaited fight between Gin and Levy and Yukio commits suicide.

Black Lagoon comes to an end. Even so, I know that I’m really late with this one and I know that the last episode was realised a couple of months ago, still I’m a bit sad to see this one going. It’s one of the anime that I was really looking forward to last year, and now it has ended and the last arc was really bad. It’s a real shame. The creators could have done more then this.

I will be short with my comments, I believe I should spoil those who haven’t seen it that bad, although I believe I will be one of the last persons to see this, because I’m really late with it. I had to laugh once when Rock was kidnapped by Yukio because she is still a high school kid. And always, Rock has to get kidnapped. And I’m always laughing because of it. Rock meanwhile convinced Yukio that she was too smart for her own good that she couldn’t convince herself that she had choosen her responsibility, and there lies his answer. He will be where he stands. And he believes that Roanapur isn’t such a bad place. Of course, a lot of gunfights. But the freedom is absolute.

Okay. No more Black Lagoon. Say goodbye to it, because I doubt that there will be a third season. The last season was in the end really messed up (take a look at the "Engrish". That was painful to watch).

This episode: Rock doing stupid things, Yukio using her brain to lure Hotel Moscow out and she realised that the base is in a ship, Levy being annoyed (as always) and Balalaika being evil and Rock making her laugh.

Rock is still not really happy with what Yukio said to him the last time and he still thinks he can save this girl from being a villian. He talks with Levy while they are eating and Levy claimed that they are already dead because they don’t have the graps of holding onto life, that’s why they are already dead. Rock as well. And I can see, because he doesn’t really value his life. Hasn’t he learned enough of Dutch and Benny? Remember, with the Roberta arc. Benny and Dutch can at least think to not upset a scary woman, and especially not when it’s Balalaika. But what does he? He upsets her because he claims that the yakuza already is destroyed and they don’t have to finish the last blast to Yukio. Don’t ever order someone of the Russian Maffia around, the idiot. He was almost killed, and he almost killed Levy with him. At least he could make Balalaika laugh and that was his cue to be rescued. I don’t really understand his reasoning, and with this being the last episodes of the anime, I guess I won’t spoil too much.

Yukio meanwhile was being shouted at by the Kousa, and after that she and Gin made a new plan to discover the hideouts of Hotel Moscow. They reasoned that with an armoury that large, they wouldn’t go with the plane. A ship. So the harbor it is. They mimmic a car as the same of Hotel Moscow and rob a bank. After that they eastdrop the police of where the white vans are going. It’s a real smart plan. And do I see it good, but I think our little girl Yukio is deeply in love with Gin, that’s why they are always together and they don’t want to part. They say it’s fun and well. This Yukio is annoying too. The next episode should kill both of them.
I’m interested in what is going to happen the next episode.

Hm. This was a suprisingly good episode. Not only because the most annoying Japanese dude finally died on his level, but also because Yukio finally said something good and because of Rock, and he finally realised that he can’t do a thing for her, he is just meddling with her affairs. But still, the goodyness of Black Lagoon lies with Levy, Rock, Benny and Dutch doing some jobs and the problems that lies between them and that Levy has to save Rock all the time. It lies in the crazy gunfights for no reason and the weird cases. I haven’t seen that here.

We start this episode with the gunfight between Levy and Jumbo, and the gang, and of course the gang looses. It was really nice to see Levy in a gunfight once again, because it has been a while since that happened for the last time. If you ignore her attempts to speak English and just convince yourself that that language is something complete else, you can just enjoy this nice fight. Gin was also really interesting to see, but his art was messed up, a real shame. After the gunfight, they split up to find the annoying Japanese dude who currently sank even lower by shooting his own people. Levy kicked him in the face, and walked away, and he was so angry that he followed her, not even realising that she was leading him towards Jumbo to kill him. I have never seen such an annoying character. Gin did kill him and suprised me with his slicing a bullet in half powers. Levy was also suprised to see it, and we can be sure that the two of them will fight in the next episode or in episode 24. Where Levy is most likely to kill him. Of course. We already said that Gin and Yukio won’t come out of this anime alive.

Speaking of Yukio, she was with Rock, and she asked him why on earth he saved her. After all, he was her enemy. Rock said that he doesn’t want her get involved in this, but he is already too late. She is already the center of it. And more: She choose it herself. Rock was just blabbling of how she could and that she had no choice. But what more can she do? If she can help her whole group, and she is the only one who can, what else can she do but to fight for them? Rock compared her with Levy, because they both don’t know better how to fight and that Yukio is becoming a criminal more by the second. And Levy.. well. If someone is a criminal, she is. It’s also the same with Balalaika, she doesn’t know different of to fight. Rock says that he wants to help her, but he can’t. He can’t save that group, he just won’t lose more memories of Japan. He is in the twilight. Neither choosing for Japan, neither choosing for Roanupar *or something like that*. He hasn’t changed at all because he doesn’t want to change. Levy might be the same one who kills him some day. It was suprising that this überpoetic girl could hit some sense in Rock. Really, suprising. The next two episodes will feature the deaths of Gin and Yukio, of course, and the end of the war in Japan. Black Lagoon becomes a bit stronger, but still it can’t beat the goodyness of Roberta and the Churche of Violence.

Another "brewing before the storm" episode. This time, we finally saw Gin fighting, Rock taking some action, Levy let Rock do what he wants, and the girl with the glasses being kidnapped. O yeah, we also saw something of the past of Balalaika. It showed that she was always fighting and she didn’t know how to live without it, but I think that flashback wasn’t really at the good timing. It was more like: Oh well, we need to show the background of Balalaika, we have a minute now, on to the flashback! Yay! Kampai. But it was just a bit stupid. Just a bit.

Speaking about other stupid characters, I have to say that Yukio annoyed the hell out of me the first half of the episode. She was just trying to be a yazuka, but seeing her in her school.. well it doesn’t really work. She has a normal live too and to throw it willingly away, it’s a bit weird. The second half I just pitied her. That’s because she was kidnapped by that evil Japanese dude, and really was made being fun of. Poor girl, I supposed she is traumatized by that event. And still she wants to continue. How weird can you be.

The only thing I’m suprised of this episode, is Gin. I must say, for a first annoying looking character, he was pretty cool this time! I really liked how he dodged those gunshots with ease. And I’m really glad because the best character of the whole anime, and the best character of this arc, are joining forces to send that annoying japanese dude off to some really nice place, named Hell. Finally.

Rock annoyed me too because he is meddling with things that he shouldn’t be meddling with. That girl isn’t himself and he can’t protect her from jumping into the villian world, like he jumped himself in that world, and can’t and doesn’t want to turn back from it. He wants to save her, but from what. And more important, how? If he just wants to save her from getting raped, he might do it, but the other things that he wants to save her from, he can’t. The idiot.