Balalaika is still a badass even if she is self-loathing and broken. I think she’s a badass not just because of her past of being a skilled war hero and an ambitious aspiring Olympic athlete, but also because she managed to re-invent herself after all the BS she was put through, and carried her comrades through all of it too. Instead of retreating from life entirely and/or killing herself. She’s a badass WITH emotional depth. “Badasses” don’t have to just be indifferent unconventional rebels who do crazy stuff.
I mean I see what your saying and I agree with you she is a badass but I don’t think you get the kinda point he was getting at these characters first and foremost are husks who really aren’t that happy with their current lives I mean Balalaika literally says how she envy’s the living and wishes she wasn’t the walking dead.
Not really getting why you can't be badass *and* broken. Like, the implication that all badasses only ever feel positive emotions or anger/bloodlust is ludicrous
I think the point being made was that there is an over emphasis on being a badass rather than looking at the persons humanity and seeing WHY they are a badass as well as emphasizing plot points.
@@okay2037 And thats a fair point. These characters shouldnt be placed on a pedestal by any measure. But that wasnt the point that was made throughout this video, even when you take into account the title being sarcastic.
You seem tohave a very strange definition of badass. She is powerful, intelligent, independent and feaarless. That's what people call badass Being through personal developement doesn't take away from someone, and the delusions of rightousness and purpose are something everyone has to shatter sooner or later. The only thing keeping Balalaika from being perfectly self actualized is her regret and envy
Literally everyone has to endure hardship and wake up to the harsh reality of the world, badassery isn't being a rightous flawless being, that only exists in comicbooks (and makes for boring af characters)
@@BeccaFishys Haha me too, I already can know that this wasn't an actually in-depth review of characters when I see a lot of comments disagreeing while the uploader couldn't make a good point
@@lunix3259 im glas I watched it, I’m open minded ans understand what he was trying to say. More than I can say for the collective sheep, his definition of badass is different than the traditional one, and he does a good breakdown of the character
With all due respect, while I understand your points, I would argue Balalaika is still a badass: there are plenty of sad, broken people in all forms of media that have never held anyone at gunpoint without breaking a sweat or lead a small army. Similarly, there are plenty of “tsundere” types like Revy out there, but unlike Revy, most of them don’t do gunkata and leave a trail of bodies in their wake on a daily basis. Yes, their environment made them who they are, but they had to be badass in order to survive that environment: if no women in BL are truly “badass,” then how have they survived this long? I think it’s far more appropriate to say they’re flawed or multi-dimensional rather then denying their toughness.
All of this would of been different if Bala didn’t rescue that orphan refugee. Beside that Bala is a self guilt broken woman who lives with regrets. Simultaneously, her actions are done for self satisfaction and survival. I wouldn’t call that badass at all.
I agree I love the detail that he goes into with her character but I can't say she or any of the women in that show isn't a baddass. Instead I'd say that their strength or maybe the illusion of strength came at a great price which if they had a chance to redo they would. Their flawed characters but that's why their amazing, its why their interesting!
So we judge badasses by their personality flaws and not what they're capable of now lol. No matter how you slice it she's pretty badass even with her problems that have nothing to do with what makes her badass or not
That's not the point, her being a badass has nothing to do with the video, the title is supposed to be ironic because that's all you ever hear people generally say about the character and is an attack on that subset of the community surrounding Black Lagoon. It's striking to me how many people don't understand this and just disagree with the sarcastic title, and never get any further...
@@KyleEntertainment Don't take this as an attack, but that's the natural consequence if you're using titles and concepts like that. "She's self loathing and therefore not badass" won't go well with people, because, how they point out, that's not what badass means in the conventianal sense. You could have framed it differently instead of using a pointlessly provocative title. Ofc I'm not telling anyone how to frame their arguments, but the blowback you receive is warranted
I add something, Balalaika hates what she has become, so much so that she refuses to be called by her old name, we see this mainly in the light romance where one of the ex-subordinates finds her. People who normally go through very traumatic situations tend to create a new personality to digest everything and do not have to deal with these traumas initially, and I think that is the case with Balalaika. She was once a heorine in Afghanistan, but now she has become a brutal and bitter villain who calls herself just like Balalaika.
Please bear with me; I'm not very good at verbalizing my thoughts. I think Revy did the same thing. If I remember right (memory's a little fuzzy on the details), at some point in the manga, Rock found out her real name was Rebecca, but when he tried to address her as such, she told him she preferred to go by Revy. That suggests to me that the events in the jail cell when she was younger pushed her to over the edge, which in turn is what caused her to create her 'Revy' persona and start her new life in Roanapur to get away from her past traumas (a new person for a new life, you know?)
@@radicalthestral8210 I agree, Revy's rape and abusive and traumatic life made her try to forget the past, just as Balalaika tries to do that, maybe that's why Revy's admiration for Balalaika occurs because, in a way, they are both very similar in their disorders. Finally, everyone in Roanapur seems to be running from his past, including Rock, who seems to look with fear and shame at his past life, in the arc of Japan. Roanapur is, in a way, like a part of hell, where the cursed souls that roam the earth end, the rope symbol on the entrance bridge to roanapur is a parable in my opinion for Danti alighieri's famous phrase "Give up all hope of entering here" That's why all of Rock's efforts are always frustrated in one way or another, Rock is not a hero and he cannot change people much less the city itself.
Shane is also a great parallel to Balalaika. He also risked his neck to protect a Vietnamese child from a fellow soldier in Nam. He also participated in a war that caused massive hatred and division in his country, and the veterans of which were mistreated. However, he did not allow it to break him. He still has his values and his honor. He has true strength, even in the face of adversity. Balalaika only has weakness: lashing out to make herself feel better that the world has robbed her
His country is safe, his parents are most likely alive and well. And she does not have a country for which she shed blood, her father seems to have been killed during the coup, so do not compare them.
This guy didn't get that tho. If you got skills but bad upbringing and hate youself, your skills to cope with it don't count. You just suck I guess according to this guy
Balalaika is a bad ass....a women who shoots well, is a leader of men, got her beauty destroyed and her dreams crushed and leads her comrades to better themselves without losing their loyalty to each other. Bad. Ass. She is human, she has emotions. She is still true to her brothers in arms....and they to her. Absolutely bad ass
so you're basically saying that darth vader, batman, superman, gordon (from "Gotham"), akame (akame ga kill) and the rest of the assassins in akames squad cant be badass because of past traumas? In my opininon traumas sometimes toughens an individual. In your eyes a person has to be perfect to be a badass? Is it not more badass to toughen up in tough surroundings and become less dependent on emotion to function more badass? By emotions I am talking about sadness and crippling depression. You saying someone can't be badass based on past traumas is just simply incorrect. I think your opinion is just biased, but it is still your opinion and this is mine.
@@AfroDragon Honestly, if anyone ever tells me that Guts isn't a badass... I don't know what is. And don't tell me it's the opposite of Guts. That's like saying everybody else including the characters from Boku no pico is a badass as long as they love themselves and got skills. But just poorly written. Ffs this review probably shoots itself
While I get the point that it is in fact lazy to reduce Black Lagoon and its cast to just "that anime with the badass women", I feel like the title of this is mostly clickbait or rather semantics. The notion that "they are not badass but scared and broken" kind of glosses over the fact that a lot of fictional "badass characters" are in fact broken and technically do not need to be fearless either. Since badass is more of a coloquial term there is no one definition for it but far too many, though to list where all of these definitions intersect, by defintion "badass" means: tough, uncompromising, intimidating, capable of accomplishing impressive feats, inspires fear and awe and respect etc. Only one mentions in wikitionary mentions (among some of the other things I brought up before) "courageous". So for the most part badass characters seem to be characters that accomplish feats others can not and invoke strong reactions like fear and respect in those they interact with. To most people that know her Revy is death incarnate. She definitely is not AS respected as the other 2 but that is usually because people either know Balalaika/Roberta, or because they are about to realize that this lack of respect was a mistake. She does accomplish feats very few others can, is ruthless and uncompromising when it comes to her job, continuously faces threats that would others shaken or suffers severe physical trauma and keeps going and to a lot of people knowing that whatever they want is currently being transported by the Lagoon Company would be absolutely terrifying almost exclusively because of Revys reputation. The options you have whenever the maincast has something you want are essentially 1) try and strike a deal with Dutch (or eventually Rock) 2) prepare for war. She most definitely lived through grueling events considering her dad and the cop and it is saddening that it sent her down a path where she felt becoming this ruthless murderer is the only way for her to keep going as the empty shell she is, but her being a broken and deeply troubled person and her having done things people would consider her a badass for are not mutually exclusive. I won't even go too in-depth regarding the next one considering anyone going through qualities like "tough", "intimidating", "accomplishes impressive feats", "invokes fear and awe" etc. and claiming Roberta doesn't possess them, would have to be insane. Hell, even when you exclusively focus on the first time we see her when her psychological issues have not come fully into play yet her feats already paint her as something bordering on superhuman, prior to the 2nd appearance taking that to the extreme while also showing that mentally she is someone that would deserve to be pitied, rather than looked up to. And to make Balalaikas one even shorter: Despite not showing personal feats of strength Balalaika is likely the one person that people who have previously dealt with Revy and Roberta fear the most. Yes they are broken and honestly so are most other characters in Black Lagoon to a degree with the few that are not either slowly getting there (e.g. Rock), almost being treated like unicorns for still being "normal" (e.g. Greenback Jane) or...being Dutch. Reducing those characters and the show down to glorification of badassery is silly and ignorant, that I agree with you on, but at the same time claiming they are not badass whatsoever requires weird twists and turns in any kind of reasoning and an extremely specific definition of what "badass" means, which most people would likely not agree with. Regardless, have a like because I am happy to have come across Black Lagoon content that doesn't boil down to "woah, look at that fight scene/shootout", even if I don't fully agree with the premise.
Aside from what everyone else in the comments mentioned about her being a badass despite her traumatic history (which I think is axiomatic), I want to say that Balalaika is the most tragic character I have ever encountered in media (I’m Russian myself, so I may be biased in this). She really gives off the impression that she is not where she was supposed to wind up in life. From a psychological point of view, it’s obvious that she is the type of person to find the most efficient solution to any task she is faced with. Balalaika is a commander by nature and an incredible problem-solver. The absolute tragedy of her character is in the fact that she had specific goals for herself early on in life, and, given her personality, would and should have reached them effortlessly, however that was made impossible by factors entirely out of her control (like her father being declared a traitor or the dissolution of the Soviet Union, to name a few). She became a skilled mob boss because she is simply the type of person who excels at anything they set their mind to. Her persistent goal of “constant war” is probably a PTSD symptom which was present in many Afghan vets during the 1990s. Obviously, war is traumatic as it is, being tortured at war like she was quadruples that. She dedicated a good portion of her life to the Soviet army, sacrificed her body, potential career, basically her life, for a country which not only tossed her and her comrades aside once it had no use for them anymore, but also simply ceased to exist (dissolution). Balalaika and her subordinates found themselves in an impoverished, disarrayed country (that they didn’t even consider theirs) with their main skill being combat. Seeing her circumstances, she didn’t really have much of a choice except to turn to a life of crime. It’s obvious that she doesn’t enjoy it, and you can see her exhaustion clearly in the scene where she orders Hansel to be killed. Her main objective as a mafia boss is to be efficient in her work, but even so she’s still empathetic, and it’s evident that she doesn’t enjoy watching a child, as messed up as he was, bleed to death in front of her. My most favorite scene, though, which makes me super emotional and basically confirms everything I’ve said up to this point, is her conversation with Caxton during Roberta’s blood trail. Everything about this scene is cathartic in a way, I loved the Soviet uniforms and weapons. She and her soldiers are still mentally stuck at that war, and they want to move on, but are unable to because they have nothing else aside from it. Balalaika knows that she could’ve had a better life, and the “why did our country treat us like outcasts?” basically explains the entire essence and tragedy of her character.
I think you needed to define what you consider "badass". This video is a little to vague to make such a bold thesis without first defining how you measure of judge a term in the popular conscious. When writing an argumentative paper you must first define what concept you are arguing against and stating how your stance is justified while criticizing the thing you seek to critique. This seems more like a rant rather than a critique, I kinda understand where you was trying to go with this video but without a clear definition of what you're talking about it de-legitimizes your point. Loved your video on Rock and Revy being the driving force for Black Lagoon tho, I hope you keep improving!
@@KyleEntertainment No but it IS about stating someone isn't "badass". You're making me nervous because I'm sure I wrote that in the message. Imagine if my thesis statement is "All the males if Black Lagoon sre pussys" it's a thesis that for a show like this would be seen as argumentive in nature and needs to be supported with defining what it is to be a "pussy" what examples support the thesis, and then proceeding to argue against the common consensus of otherwise. This video doesn't define what your primary argument is arguing aganist and it appears more of a personal rant or interpretation rather than a counter argument to a consensus you believe exist. Which isn't a bad thing, there's plenty of rant videos on TH-cam but I was expecting more from you I suppose, friend.
@@n543576 I agree you can't make a claim like this without first defining the term "badass" without doing so you cant claim that because these women are flawed they cant be badass. I for one like many others think that the women in black lagoon being so flawed makes them even more badass.
I noticed that about balailka that she hates the place her and her men are in they are warriors not thugs and there trapped in a pit of snakes they don’t belong in. As for yukio she had a chance to stay innocent she threw that away when she became a mafia head. After she did that there was no saving her
Before you discredit Balaika as "not bad ass," join the military and get the airborne tab and join the airborne unit. Then you have the right to say she isn't badass. I don't care how broken somebody is but a leader of an airborne unit is badass. Not only that, but she was in active warzone.
I think it is wrong to assume that Balalaika abandoned her dream of becoming an olympian in favour of a military career. She had to serve in order to proof her loyalty to the Soviet Union and maybe receive the honour to represent her country at this highly pestigous competition. She did everything to fulfill her dream and got nowhere because the world wouldn't let her. And instead of resigning in depression she made the descision to take matters into her own hands by giving herself and her men a new reason to live for. It doesn't get more badass than that.
All badasses have deep, irredeemable character flaws that add an element of tragedy to them. A badass without depth or flaws isn't a badass, they're a Mary Sue.
You have some valid points, but also as russian i must say that you completely don’t understand the period of nineties in russia. Balalaika wasn’t regretful in the scene where she was watching olimpic tv, it was look of complete and utterful hopellesness. Peoople didn’t have any salary for months, and sometimes it was given in vodka. The crimal activity then began to grow so much that it was not uncommon to see some tough shit, and then this criminal structures began to be involved in politics, until eventually all oligarchs were from bandits. Therefore, for example for me scene on the cemetry was very touching and absolutely not a cringe one
Dude you named the title wrong! You just explained why she IS badass! Characters with no weakness or context are straight up boring. In that case no main characters are badass not even the male ones by your definition.
You... You know that a character can be damaged or broken and still be badass, right? Spike Spiegel for example is an ex-criminal turned bounty hunter who betrayed his best friend, lost the love of his life and almost died and turned into a very cold person who outwardly doesn't seem to give a shit about anyone. He has a ton of issues that he works through as we watch Cowboy Bebop but despite that never once are we under the impression that he isn't a badass. He is still a badass, even with the issues he has. Damaged characters can still be badasses despite their issues, I don't get why that concept is hard to grasp. And you say that the title is meant to be ironic but really either A. you're trying to make a serious statement or B. you're clickbaiting which is honestly kinda pathetic. If you want to do a true character review then you should be honest from the get go and not use baiting tactics like that. How about you actually go about defining what you mean when you declare them all to not be badasses.
I feel like despite the action scenes in Black Lagoon being incredibly cool, the violence is not supposed to be seen as a good thing, even if you’re really good at it. I’m almost done with a rewatch of the series and I feel like one of the big themes of it is how the darkness and corruption in the world gets ahold of people and turns them into monsters. One of the clearest examples of this is the vampire twins. They just children who became what they were because of the horrible things that were done to them. They were also incredibly skilled at killing, but you don’t hear people calling them badass. I feel like the only real difference between them and Balalaika and Revy is that they didn’t make it to adulthood, making them much more pitiable and less impressive.
i would also add the children had no self awareness. They actually believe they were actual vampires and were stupid enough to make enemies out of every gang. Revy had a similar background where she was treat horribly as a child but she was street smart. Balalaika and revy were not stupid enough to pull that shit.
She's Not Inherently Evil. She's a Product of her Culture. Someone who grew up in the Cold War believing that the Soviet Union was Righteous and stood for Solidarity. She became a Solider at the time when Female Soliders especially in the USSR were almost unheard of, and then found herself in a Humanitarian Mission that became almost too much for her to handle, and just as things seemed to be taking the right direction, she has her innocence and purity taken away from her, and watches as the KGB don't just become the Enemy of the Soviets, but Pure DEMONS as they literally rob her of her innocence and literally put PHYSICAL and MENTAL Scars all over her body. She's Permanently scarred by what the KGB did to her and grows to utterly DESPISE them. To Hotel Moscow, she becomes Co Dependent on them. Emotionally attached to them because they swear their Loyalty to her and vow to Protect her with their Lives.
Classic great Kyle video! Introduction was great in phrasing the misunderstanding of the characters fundamentally. Their lives at some points may seems cool and badass but if you step back and examine it as a whole, none these people live lives that any of us would want. They all act tough and may seem tough but when they break down you see the real person underneath, without all these masks and layers that have accumulated over time. "Bad people don't just drop out of the sky." Don't know if that is from somewhere else but its a great quote! Looking forward to the next one. I like you quick and dense style of writing, you go quite quickly through these things, which in turn makes these very re watchable. You're not wasting words like so many other youtubers.
This video series has me thinking of Itachi from Naruto and how a lot of people in the fandom tend to view him as a "overpowered beast of combat and endurance" despite that not being the case and most people tend to overlook the ideas and themes behind his entire character. Much like Balalaika and some of these other characters from black lagoon, sure he's good at killing people and is highly intelligent but the entire point of his character is to show the audience that no matter how good you are at what you do, you are NOT perfect at all and the world will always shit on you and break you down while forcing you to make unethical or moral choices in the process even if you have good intentions.
My guy, you’re full of shit. Nobody over looks the themes of itachi’s character. To discuss such is worthless every character and story telling medium has a theme of
Love the actual analysis of the character. I think the Rock and Revy fight scene speaks volumes. "There is no robin hood" "then why don't you become robin hood"
I agree with your point, and that the badassness should not be the ONLY focus, but I think the badassness and introspection can exist simultaneously. I love both the introspection and the badassness of these characters. Especially Sofiya. She’s my favorite.
Balalaika's fall from military grace reminds me of the "impossible" question often ask of SAS candidates. "Suppose, in order to be sure of maintaining the security of your mission, you had to kill an innocent child, which would you choose ?"
Honestly, while I agree with a lot of your points (Balalaika's self hatred and regret) I feel that Hiroe (the mangaka) made the wrong step in portraying her as a lustful warmonger. In the I Said Kneel scene, something that really got me is that, even after all she did to kill the Twins, in the final moments where Hansel is dying, _she doesn't look happy_ Everything, from her body language (hiding her face as Hansel agonizes) to her lines (one could even call her final worlds to Hansel comforting (this is especially noticeable in the Spanish dub, whete she tells Hansel "Stop crying and be brave", but I digress)). All in all, it's very clear that she's _not_ enjoying it. Which, at least for me, totally clashes with her bloodlust and "eh" care for Yukio in the Japan arc. And honestly, I prefered the Balalaika shown in the Vampire Twins arc, which to me flows much better with the one shown in Roberta's Blood Trail. Balalaika, at least to me, works much better as someone that, while easy to rile and anger, deep down doesn't like violence. Or rather, the fact that violence is the only thing she's good at. Her life as an Olympian, her dreams, everything she gave up in order to go to Afghanistan to fight in name of the country, to become a soldier. And what was her reward? Being casted aside, spat on and forgotten. And now, having dedicated her entire life to war and battle, she doesn't know anything else but to wage war, or fight. Because she doesn't know how to do anything else, and otherwise all the sacrifices she would have made would've been for naught. This not only makes her a much better paralel to Revy (because she, Roberta and Eda are as much as parallel to Revy as Chang, Takanaka and Kageyama are parallels to Rock) but also one to Takanaka. They're the both the characters that gambled away their lives in the name of communism, and after their gamble failed, keep going anyway because otherwise their sacrifices would've been for nothing. Anyways, great video
@Jack Frost And I agree with all you said, hook line and sink. The problem is that said characterization is not found in Balalaika in the Japan arc. There, she just acts as a petty bullish thug that relishes on carnage and destruction. Hell, her whole speech to the Yakuza boss previous to Yukio, the whole "I want to destroy until I end up in Hell" is against every other part of Balalaika's characterization. And I hate it for that. It reduces Balalaika to a petty thug.
@Jack Frost The problem with that angle it's that it's never stated, shown, or even hinted at. Black Lagoon is not a show that has characters proudly state all their backstory, motivations and lives out in the open, but it does show and hint at things. And there's no hint or showing of Balalaika ever referencing or thinking about the Twins. They may as well have never entered her life. Balalaika was justified in attacking the Washimine after their late boss tried to assasinate her (because as far as she knew the rest of the family was with him, and even if they weren't, after she killed him they would surely go after her in revenge), but even before that, she had been shown basically screaming to the Heavens that she wanted blood and carnage. And there's no justification or explanation for that beyond "That's just how she is". Which totally clashes with what had been shown of her in her previous arc
@Jack Frost Same. Honestly, like the video says, a lot of people when talking about Black Lagoon just want to talk about the action scenes. Which aren't bad, not at all, but I think Black Lagoon is much more than just that. As for Balalaika, it isn't just scene in particular, but again, the overall arc. She constantly mentions about shooting everyone and getting it done with, her speech to the Yakuza boss, and the gunpoint conversation with Rock, she admits that crushing the Washimine isn't enough, that she wants to exterminate them completely. It's just the general feeling that the arc gives off her, of someone whom is just waiting for the right opportunity to go and create violence. And like I said, I don't think that works with the Balalaika shown in the Twins Arc. Hell, even her revenge against the Washimine clan didn't feel the same as it did with the Twins. She felts some very small manner of compassion for Hansel as he died, but she didn't even spare a glance at Yukio, even before knowing she was a smart girl that could put up a fight. Maybe it's just my old impression that I may need to rewatch the series to get it more accurately, but I still feel Hiroe dipped down too hard on making her a villain. As for the parallels, I honestly see it more as Roberta being the Revy that was "saved". A Revy that found a place to live in tranquility, where she could drop her killer life and just live happily (granted, that didn't work out so well for Roberta, but still) and Balalaika being the version of Revy that has been in the Underworld for too long, the "too old for this shit" version if you like. She's tired of the gang wars, of the violence, of the squabbles. But she can't escape such a life, it's where she dug her grave, and so she'll stand by it.
@Jack Frost That's my theory as well. I also think that they made Balalaika more war hungry to better contrast with Revy, whom in that arc where she's most human. However, I feel that just like the characters from the day were tempted by the night, and the characters from the night were tempted by the day, Balalaika too should have been shown reminiscing about what she could have been, a life in the day. Just like Revy dreamt of a happy life, with no guns and no violences, with Rock, Balalaika should've thought of a life where she would've been welcomed back from Afghanistan with honor, where she could have restore her family's name. A world where instead of waging war against Yukio, would be just like Rock and would rush in to save her. And then she gets her reality check throught the Yakuza boss. All of that is just wishful thinking. This hell is her life now, and there's no escaping it. That I feel would help to explain much more (at least for me) her eagerness to exterminate the Washimene, and even her bitterness and reaction during her standoff with Rock. Born not only from her anger of Rock's manipulation and hypocrisy, not only from her anger of Rock talking about justice even after everything that has happened to her, but also born out of the bitterness and resentment that, in another life, she would've been just like Rock. That I feel would've been a much more rounded and interestinf answer for her actions in that arc beyond "she crazy for war" As for Roberta, I wouldn't call her a lie per se. After all, she seemed to have lived all of Garcia's life before his kidnapping without reverting back to Rosarita. I do agree that she is perhaps the biggest example of the killing the past thing. Roberta doesn't want Rosarita to exist, because Rosarita was a foolish girl that didn't know any better and fought for causes that didn't really happen. But unlike Takanaka that doubled down and continued with the path because he gambled away his life in the name of a cause, Roberta built herself a new one. And so it is that when the person that allowed her to build her new life, Garcia's father, was killed, Roberta was killed and Rosarita was reborn, because the reality that allowed Roberta to exist was no longer there. But once Garcia snapped her back to sanity, she reverted back to Roberta. That, at least to me, shows that in the end Roberta was the real her, not Rosarita
I think that she might feel some sort of familiarity with Hansel, they both got fucked by the same thing, through Hansel of course too much, much bigger extent...
I came here to pick a fight over the title. But it seems like this is more about existentialism. I’m sure there are plenty of mouth breathers here already beating the war drums of fanboy pride.
so because a character isn't some brainless wood plank paragon, said character isn't a badass? just because a character doesn't fall into some nebulous definition of a "good person" doesn't mean that all that they can and did do suddenly becomes invalid
she didn't choose the soviet union over the olympics she was forced into service since military service was mandatory in the later years of the ussr, the scene where she's she watching them is from the 1992 olympics, you can hear the announcer name Launi Meil as the gold medalist in shooting. at that point she had been kicked out of the military, the soviet union fell in 1991 and her being severely burned from an unknown incident she gave up on her dream of being in the olympics since everything she everything fought for had crumbled to shit. she'd been booted from the military so the original stain on her family honor was increased, the ideals and government she fought, burned and lost friends for was no more and she was clearly marked as an communist dog by her wounds, which some people after the fall of the ussr saw as less than human so she completely lost it, became depressed and pretty much gave up on life until that one former comrade lost his life like a dog so she said fuck it and created hotel moscow on her own to give the soldiers that were under her command a home since none of them could give up a life of adrenaline and violence so they became battle freaks under her and only her command, still destined to die on a battlefield but of her choosing, not some temporary and uncaring government or politicians whim.
Lets be honest, everyone anime character is broken. They just handle it differently to the point they change, that’s why the character development and how they act so interesting
Nah, you missed the point bro, nice try though but in essence you've just called The Punisher, Sarah Connor, Alejandro Gillick (Sicario), Marv (Sin City), Wolverine, Rorschach, Billy Butcher (The Boys), Deadpool and so many others "non-badass" 🤣. You have an odd definition, for most of us it isn't so much the why they do as it is the what they do, Revy, Balalaika, Roberta, Eda etc are flawed characters with tragic histories and traumas and it fuels their actions, especially Revy who was beaten, abused and raped because she was powerless. Among other things she does the things she does as a coping mechanism for her pain but also as a means to ensure that no one will ever truly have power over her again. A good example of this irl? Voivode Vlad Dracula Tepes. The trauma of his childhood gave him the resolve to do the things he did to earn the name Impaler. No one impales hundreds, if not thousands of pounds without trauma or psychopathy
thanks for bringing back my lost memories of this amazing anime masterpiece btw I’m not sure if you’ve watched it already but highschool of the dead is also a very good anime.
Awesome video I also really like the this anime and its one of my favorites. Can't wait for part two, but I think the one am most interested in is eda. She's the biggest mystery to me
I really disagree. Yes, she has flaws, but that makes her good character. I think I just disagree with your perception of being badass. The power of overcoming your flaws, fears and mistakes makes you badass. If we didn't know her story I bet you would agree that she is badass. Just because she much more complex doesn't mean she's not badass.
Balalaika sat and watched a child die in a puddle of his own tears and blood to get revenge for her fallen comrades. Id say thats pretty badass and a just a check on her long list of badass characteristics.
So what’s your definition of badass I do not understand the premise here what makes her not badass? Everything you have ascribed to her character is literally what a badass is. To lead a large group of hardened spec ops level soldiers in a time of war is badass, to then throw away your career and dreams for doing what you think at that point in time is right is badass, taking said badass ex spec op soldiers disillusioned with life and giving them purpose and creating an unbreakable bond so strong to the point they’ll lay down their lives and kill kids just in her name is definitely bad ass. The crime lifestyle degrades anyone’s morals and ideals to the point they become the walking dead, this is normal for people when they metaphorically make the deal with the devil and turn to the life. We see this in every crime movie,show, and video game. Watch goodfellas and Scarface or play any games in the mafia series or and you’ll understand and see this concept of decent people who just had a fucked up background lose their humanity because of joining the life, sure they have a hell of a lot of fun doing what they want in the beginning but then after a while, after loosing some people close to them, after missing out on what they could’ve been like in life they finally feel the effects of the life. Everyone who makes that deal with the devil ends up dead, ends up so unhappy and desperately looking for an out they become the walking dead for the rest of their lives, tortured with their bad decisions, racked by guilt and regret. This is exactly what makes a badass that people can sympathize with if she didn’t start off as a good person or after living the life she didn’t feel guilt, didn’t regret anything and didn’t have some self loathing and is just some crazy sociopath, that feels nothing and is happy with her life she would be a boring, predictable and/or non sympathetic bad guy character. The self hate and the unhappiness is what makes her such a badass and memorable character.
Nobody in these videos about Balalaika is going to point out that she chose her nom du guerre from the dog the Soviets sent on a one-way trip into orbit? Seriously? She chose that name because, just like the dog loaded on top of a rocket, her nation had treated her as disposable.
Be honest you're looking at that way you're practically saying there's no bed badass characters at all because in order for a badass character there needs to be a tragic backstory because you don't go gun hole on enemies with a bunch of weapons or even learn how to assassinate people for no real reason because every badass character has a tragic backstory in the history think of Doom Slayer yeah you don't really know too much about him but his bunny Daisy got murdered by demons which set him into a rage to kill all demons and another example would be the Punisher he isn't really a hero are you kill bad guys he's what we call a anti-hero because of his dark past where it sent him to kill the people that killed his family and there's a bunch of other characters that I can think of so if you were to say there is no bad ass women or men or people in general because of their back story being tragic then you'll be literally taking away every character that is badass and had a tragic backstory
don’t forget, after the soviet loss to the us backed mujahideen, they literally covered it up back home, pretending it didn’t happen which was the ultimate betrayal... there were no honors or military funerals.
You seem to have a rather weird and dare I say it flawed perception of what it means to be "badass". You arent actually wrong in your analysis of the fact that Balalaika (like the other black lagoon characters) is a morally degenerated, bitter, husk of humanity, but the idea that this takes away from or negates the qualities that lead to her (or others) being labeled "badass" or the sentiment behind said label is kinda just blatantly wrong on the face of it.
There are many great black lagoon analysis and studies on TH-cam. This is unfortunately not one of them. Pretty sure you got confused over some major plot points. She never abandoned her mission to save a child for example. Also not sure what you think a "badass" is... but a badass does not need to be stone cold and emotionally dead inside. To top it off... 90% of this was just you retelling the story. That is not really how analysis works. We have all watched the anime, we know what happens. You should be trying to draw connections that are not so obvious from viewing alone. Of which Black Lagoon has many.
think what he's saying is that what they do is badass, when it comes to fighting and all of that. But when it comes down to the character themselves they're in a way just women who has lost touch to the world
You're content is a godsend. Please keep it up. I would love to see your interpretation of Dessert Punk. I've always felt it was criminally underrated.
Is that not badass?? Lol I’d like to see you do all that. To be taken to the darkest corners of the world and then literally take the full brunt of cruelty the world has to offer. Being badass to me anyway means to carry on even with all the bullshit life has givin you. Although you may not be the same person at the end of it all, the idea is that you still persisted even after such traumatic events.
The worst person you could choose for such a topic, Balalaika may hate herself but that isn't a exclusion criterion for being a badass. She fought and lead a elite branch of the Spetznas in Afghanistan. Instead of using her family's connections she went on her own way to try accomplish her dream. She chose to take everything she deserved instead of living in poverty with the shame and pain of her experience in Afghanistan as well as the loss of her homeland, the Soviet Union. Also what is remarkable about her is that she took in her former comrades and with them created a Mafia that is unlike most other Mafia organizations in more it resembles a military and Afghanistan teached them well in dealing with guerrilla tactics. In short she is the wrong person to pick for this topic.
You make valid points, however she is a badass in other ways. She leads her men, who see her as Captain, not as a woman, she has a deep understanding of war, both declared war and Mafia war, and the human mind. Just because she seeks vengeance, feels anger, and hides from her problems in providing work for her men doesn't remove that. I read in a different comment thread that you made the title ironically. If you had, you wouldn't have been so vehement in stating she isn't a badass. Saying in the video she's not just a badass, perhaps, would've allowed that defense. I won't watch the others, simply for the point that i wasn't entertained or informed, just felt that your wanted to persuade me that your view is the only right one.
This is every anime pretty much No matter how ambitous and great they are they will work some unintended reputation and won't make a difference Just like Rock didn't managed to Also why you think that speach was campy?
It would seem to me that she's a badass failure. Someone who's fallen as far from grace as humanly possible, hates herself for it, but nonetheless pulls herself together enough to make the best of the shit situation she is in for both her and her men's sake. Idk about you, but that sounds pretty badass to me. We can't always control the circumstances we end up in, but someone strong will attempt to do the best they can within those circumstances instead of rolling over and dying.
If you need clarification on the points made in this video; th-cam.com/video/8xp8k-ktD7Y/w-d-xo.html
Balalaika is still a badass even if she is self-loathing and broken. I think she’s a badass not just because of her past of being a skilled war hero and an ambitious aspiring Olympic athlete, but also because she managed to re-invent herself after all the BS she was put through, and carried her comrades through all of it too. Instead of retreating from life entirely and/or killing herself. She’s a badass WITH emotional depth. “Badasses” don’t have to just be indifferent unconventional rebels who do crazy stuff.
Facts
...and then you have people who can pull it off, Like mr. Silverhand
She's not broken as no people are, but yes.
I mean I see what your saying and I agree with you she is a badass but I don’t think you get the kinda point he was getting at these characters first and foremost are husks who really aren’t that happy with their current lives I mean Balalaika literally says how she envy’s the living and wishes she wasn’t the walking dead.
@@jacobclark9615 I can understand that.
Not really getting why you can't be badass *and* broken. Like, the implication that all badasses only ever feel positive emotions or anger/bloodlust is ludicrous
Chris Redfield, Leon Kennedy, both broken but awesome characters.
I think the point being made was that there is an over emphasis on being a badass rather than looking at the persons humanity and seeing WHY they are a badass as well as emphasizing plot points.
@@okay2037 And thats a fair point. These characters shouldnt be placed on a pedestal by any measure. But that wasnt the point that was made throughout this video, even when you take into account the title being sarcastic.
Not "all badasses", just everything and anything that this vacuum-sucking shitbird counts as "human"...
You seem tohave a very strange definition of badass. She is powerful, intelligent, independent and feaarless. That's what people call badass Being through personal developement doesn't take away from someone, and the delusions of rightousness and purpose are something everyone has to shatter sooner or later.
The only thing keeping Balalaika from being perfectly self actualized is her regret and envy
Literally everyone has to endure hardship and wake up to the harsh reality of the world, badassery isn't being a rightous flawless being, that only exists in comicbooks (and makes for boring af characters)
between reading the uploaders comment and yours I think I just saved 9 minutes
@@BeccaFishys Haha me too, I already can know that this wasn't an actually in-depth review of characters when I see a lot of comments disagreeing while the uploader couldn't make a good point
@@lunix3259 im glas I watched it, I’m open minded ans understand what he was trying to say. More than I can say for the collective sheep, his definition of badass is different than the traditional one, and he does a good breakdown of the character
I agree with you edward
With all due respect, while I understand your points, I would argue Balalaika is still a badass: there are plenty of sad, broken people in all forms of media that have never held anyone at gunpoint without breaking a sweat or lead a small army. Similarly, there are plenty of “tsundere” types like Revy out there, but unlike Revy, most of them don’t do gunkata and leave a trail of bodies in their wake on a daily basis. Yes, their environment made them who they are, but they had to be badass in order to survive that environment: if no women in BL are truly “badass,” then how have they survived this long? I think it’s far more appropriate to say they’re flawed or multi-dimensional rather then denying their toughness.
All of this would of been different if Bala didn’t rescue that orphan refugee. Beside that Bala is a self guilt broken woman who lives with regrets. Simultaneously, her actions are done for self satisfaction and survival. I wouldn’t call that badass at all.
Yep she's badass Lmao everyone judging personality problems like that takes away from how badass a character is.
I agree I love the detail that he goes into with her character but I can't say she or any of the women in that show isn't a baddass. Instead I'd say that their strength or maybe the illusion of strength came at a great price which if they had a chance to redo they would. Their flawed characters but that's why their amazing, its why their interesting!
Amos Burton from the Expanse is an example of extremely broken yet badass.
So we judge badasses by their personality flaws and not what they're capable of now lol. No matter how you slice it she's pretty badass even with her problems that have nothing to do with what makes her badass or not
I was just thinking that. If anything, her flaws make her more badass as she succeds despite them.
@@livecatgrenades I don't think she succeeds at all, and she hates herself.
That's not the point, her being a badass has nothing to do with the video, the title is supposed to be ironic because that's all you ever hear people generally say about the character and is an attack on that subset of the community surrounding Black Lagoon. It's striking to me how many people don't understand this and just disagree with the sarcastic title, and never get any further...
@@KyleEntertainment Don't take this as an attack, but that's the natural consequence if you're using titles and concepts like that. "She's self loathing and therefore not badass" won't go well with people, because, how they point out, that's not what badass means in the conventianal sense.
You could have framed it differently instead of using a pointlessly provocative title. Ofc I'm not telling anyone how to frame their arguments, but the blowback you receive is warranted
How is the Blonde Russian Vixen so badass when Cheng owned her?
Everything you just explained is the reason why she’s badass😂😂
I add something, Balalaika hates what she has become, so much so that she refuses to be called by her old name, we see this mainly in the light romance where one of the ex-subordinates finds her.
People who normally go through very traumatic situations tend to create a new personality to digest everything and do not have to deal with these traumas initially, and I think that is the case with Balalaika.
She was once a heorine in Afghanistan, but now she has become a brutal and bitter villain who calls herself just like Balalaika.
It's also in the light novel where it's revealed that she got her scars protecting refugees, IIRC
Please bear with me; I'm not very good at verbalizing my thoughts. I think Revy did the same thing. If I remember right (memory's a little fuzzy on the details), at some point in the manga, Rock found out her real name was Rebecca, but when he tried to address her as such, she told him she preferred to go by Revy. That suggests to me that the events in the jail cell when she was younger pushed her to over the edge, which in turn is what caused her to create her 'Revy' persona and start her new life in Roanapur to get away from her past traumas (a new person for a new life, you know?)
@@radicalthestral8210
I agree, Revy's rape and abusive and traumatic life made her try to forget the past, just as Balalaika tries to do that, maybe that's why Revy's admiration for Balalaika occurs because, in a way, they are both very similar in their disorders.
Finally, everyone in Roanapur seems to be running from his past, including Rock, who seems to look with fear and shame at his past life, in the arc of Japan.
Roanapur is, in a way, like a part of hell, where the cursed souls that roam the earth end, the rope symbol on the entrance bridge to roanapur is a parable in my opinion for Danti alighieri's famous phrase
"Give up all hope of entering here"
That's why all of Rock's efforts are always frustrated in one way or another, Rock is not a hero and he cannot change people much less the city itself.
@@manujm86 She was Abducted, Gang Raped, and Set on Fire by KGB Rebels in 1984.
Shane is also a great parallel to Balalaika. He also risked his neck to protect a Vietnamese child from a fellow soldier in Nam. He also participated in a war that caused massive hatred and division in his country, and the veterans of which were mistreated. However, he did not allow it to break him. He still has his values and his honor. He has true strength, even in the face of adversity. Balalaika only has weakness: lashing out to make herself feel better that the world has robbed her
His country is safe, his parents are most likely alive and well. And she does not have a country for which she shed blood, her father seems to have been killed during the coup, so do not compare them.
Батор Цырендоржиев I mean, you can still compare characters that aren’t direct 1-to-1 comparisons
Couldn't have said it better myself. This is beautiful.
Its the skills that makes someone badass not upbringing or personality
This guy didn't get that tho. If you got skills but bad upbringing and hate youself, your skills to cope with it don't count. You just suck I guess according to this guy
Balalaika is a bad ass....a women who shoots well, is a leader of men, got her beauty destroyed and her dreams crushed and leads her comrades to better themselves without losing their loyalty to each other. Bad. Ass. She is human, she has emotions. She is still true to her brothers in arms....and they to her. Absolutely bad ass
so you're basically saying that darth vader, batman, superman, gordon (from "Gotham"), akame (akame ga kill) and the rest of the assassins in akames squad cant be badass because of past traumas? In my opininon traumas sometimes toughens an individual. In your eyes a person has to be perfect to be a badass? Is it not more badass to toughen up in tough surroundings and become less dependent on emotion to function more badass? By emotions I am talking about sadness and crippling depression. You saying someone can't be badass based on past traumas is just simply incorrect. I think your opinion is just biased, but it is still your opinion and this is mine.
But just labeling characters as badass when they have more depth is annoying I get it, but that doesnt mean that they aren't badass lmao.
with that then guts is not bad ass too.
@@AfroDragon Honestly, if anyone ever tells me that Guts isn't a badass... I don't know what is. And don't tell me it's the opposite of Guts. That's like saying everybody else including the characters from Boku no pico is a badass as long as they love themselves and got skills. But just poorly written. Ffs this review probably shoots itself
While I get the point that it is in fact lazy to reduce Black Lagoon and its cast to just "that anime with the badass women", I feel like the title of this is mostly clickbait or rather semantics. The notion that "they are not badass but scared and broken" kind of glosses over the fact that a lot of fictional "badass characters" are in fact broken and technically do not need to be fearless either.
Since badass is more of a coloquial term there is no one definition for it but far too many, though to list where all of these definitions intersect, by defintion "badass" means: tough, uncompromising, intimidating, capable of accomplishing impressive feats, inspires fear and awe and respect etc. Only one mentions in wikitionary mentions (among some of the other things I brought up before) "courageous". So for the most part badass characters seem to be characters that accomplish feats others can not and invoke strong reactions like fear and respect in those they interact with.
To most people that know her Revy is death incarnate. She definitely is not AS respected as the other 2 but that is usually because people either know Balalaika/Roberta, or because they are about to realize that this lack of respect was a mistake. She does accomplish feats very few others can, is ruthless and uncompromising when it comes to her job, continuously faces threats that would others shaken or suffers severe physical trauma and keeps going and to a lot of people knowing that whatever they want is currently being transported by the Lagoon Company would be absolutely terrifying almost exclusively because of Revys reputation. The options you have whenever the maincast has something you want are essentially 1) try and strike a deal with Dutch (or eventually Rock) 2) prepare for war.
She most definitely lived through grueling events considering her dad and the cop and it is saddening that it sent her down a path where she felt becoming this ruthless murderer is the only way for her to keep going as the empty shell she is, but her being a broken and deeply troubled person and her having done things people would consider her a badass for are not mutually exclusive.
I won't even go too in-depth regarding the next one considering anyone going through qualities like "tough", "intimidating", "accomplishes impressive feats", "invokes fear and awe" etc. and claiming Roberta doesn't possess them, would have to be insane. Hell, even when you exclusively focus on the first time we see her when her psychological issues have not come fully into play yet her feats already paint her as something bordering on superhuman, prior to the 2nd appearance taking that to the extreme while also showing that mentally she is someone that would deserve to be pitied, rather than looked up to.
And to make Balalaikas one even shorter: Despite not showing personal feats of strength Balalaika is likely the one person that people who have previously dealt with Revy and Roberta fear the most.
Yes they are broken and honestly so are most other characters in Black Lagoon to a degree with the few that are not either slowly getting there (e.g. Rock), almost being treated like unicorns for still being "normal" (e.g. Greenback Jane) or...being Dutch. Reducing those characters and the show down to glorification of badassery is silly and ignorant, that I agree with you on, but at the same time claiming they are not badass whatsoever requires weird twists and turns in any kind of reasoning and an extremely specific definition of what "badass" means, which most people would likely not agree with.
Regardless, have a like because I am happy to have come across Black Lagoon content that doesn't boil down to "woah, look at that fight scene/shootout", even if I don't fully agree with the premise.
So the Punisher isn't a badass? Cause that man is the definition of Broken.
Me miss the black lagoon content glad its back
Ghost is the best!!!
This dude thinks he's law and order when it comes to black lagoon i call bullshit
Me too
Aside from what everyone else in the comments mentioned about her being a badass despite her traumatic history (which I think is axiomatic), I want to say that Balalaika is the most tragic character I have ever encountered in media (I’m Russian myself, so I may be biased in this). She really gives off the impression that she is not where she was supposed to wind up in life. From a psychological point of view, it’s obvious that she is the type of person to find the most efficient solution to any task she is faced with. Balalaika is a commander by nature and an incredible problem-solver. The absolute tragedy of her character is in the fact that she had specific goals for herself early on in life, and, given her personality, would and should have reached them effortlessly, however that was made impossible by factors entirely out of her control (like her father being declared a traitor or the dissolution of the Soviet Union, to name a few). She became a skilled mob boss because she is simply the type of person who excels at anything they set their mind to. Her persistent goal of “constant war” is probably a PTSD symptom which was present in many Afghan vets during the 1990s. Obviously, war is traumatic as it is, being tortured at war like she was quadruples that. She dedicated a good portion of her life to the Soviet army, sacrificed her body, potential career, basically her life, for a country which not only tossed her and her comrades aside once it had no use for them anymore, but also simply ceased to exist (dissolution). Balalaika and her subordinates found themselves in an impoverished, disarrayed country (that they didn’t even consider theirs) with their main skill being combat. Seeing her circumstances, she didn’t really have much of a choice except to turn to a life of crime.
It’s obvious that she doesn’t enjoy it, and you can see her exhaustion clearly in the scene where she orders Hansel to be killed. Her main objective as a mafia boss is to be efficient in her work, but even so she’s still empathetic, and it’s evident that she doesn’t enjoy watching a child, as messed up as he was, bleed to death in front of her. My most favorite scene, though, which makes me super emotional and basically confirms everything I’ve said up to this point, is her conversation with Caxton during Roberta’s blood trail. Everything about this scene is cathartic in a way, I loved the Soviet uniforms and weapons. She and her soldiers are still mentally stuck at that war, and they want to move on, but are unable to because they have nothing else aside from it. Balalaika knows that she could’ve had a better life, and the “why did our country treat us like outcasts?” basically explains the entire essence and tragedy of her character.
So in other words she's a REAL badass. One who's story is rooted in reality and thus relatable and admirable, rather than a surface level Mary Sue.
Balaika is all that and badass too-- she and her men are, by their uniforms, Soviet Airborne infantry. Tough assault soldiers. That means badass.
I think you needed to define what you consider "badass".
This video is a little to vague to make such a bold thesis without first defining how you measure of judge a term in the popular conscious.
When writing an argumentative paper you must first define what concept you are arguing against and stating how your stance is justified while criticizing the thing you seek to critique.
This seems more like a rant rather than a critique, I kinda understand where you was trying to go with this video but without a clear definition of what you're talking about it de-legitimizes your point.
Loved your video on Rock and Revy being the driving force for Black Lagoon tho, I hope you keep improving!
The video isn't about being badass my friend.
@@KyleEntertainment No but it IS about stating someone isn't "badass".
You're making me nervous because I'm sure I wrote that in the message.
Imagine if my thesis statement is "All the males if Black Lagoon sre pussys" it's a thesis that for a show like this would be seen as argumentive in nature and needs to be supported with defining what it is to be a "pussy" what examples support the thesis, and then proceeding to argue against the common consensus of otherwise.
This video doesn't define what your primary argument is arguing aganist and it appears more of a personal rant or interpretation rather than a counter argument to a consensus you believe exist.
Which isn't a bad thing, there's plenty of rant videos on TH-cam but I was expecting more from you I suppose, friend.
@@n543576 I agree you can't make a claim like this without first defining the term "badass"
without doing so you cant claim that because these women are flawed they cant be badass.
I for one like many others think that the women in black lagoon being so flawed makes them even more badass.
I noticed that about balailka that she hates the place her and her men are in they are warriors not thugs and there trapped in a pit of snakes they don’t belong in.
As for yukio she had a chance to stay innocent she threw that away when she became a mafia head. After she did that there was no saving her
Before you discredit Balaika as "not bad ass," join the military and get the airborne tab and join the airborne unit. Then you have the right to say she isn't badass. I don't care how broken somebody is but a leader of an airborne unit is badass. Not only that, but she was in active warzone.
I think it is wrong to assume that Balalaika abandoned her dream of becoming an olympian in favour of a military career. She had to serve in order to proof her loyalty to the Soviet Union and maybe receive the honour to represent her country at this highly pestigous competition. She did everything to fulfill her dream and got nowhere because the world wouldn't let her. And instead of resigning in depression she made the descision to take matters into her own hands by giving herself and her men a new reason to live for. It doesn't get more badass than that.
All badasses have deep, irredeemable character flaws that add an element of tragedy to them. A badass without depth or flaws isn't a badass, they're a Mary Sue.
Exactly my thought.
You have some valid points, but also as russian i must say that you completely don’t understand the period of nineties in russia. Balalaika wasn’t regretful in the scene where she was watching olimpic tv, it was look of complete and utterful hopellesness. Peoople didn’t have any salary for months, and sometimes it was given in vodka. The crimal activity then began to grow so much that it was not uncommon to see some tough shit, and then this criminal structures began to be involved in politics, until eventually all oligarchs were from bandits. Therefore, for example for me scene on the cemetry was very touching and absolutely not a cringe one
Dude you named the title wrong! You just explained why she IS badass! Characters with no weakness or context are straight up boring. In that case no main characters are badass not even the male ones by your definition.
He would call her a Mary sue
@@MayaMaya-tj7kw Isn't she too flawed to be considered a Mary Sue
You... You know that a character can be damaged or broken and still be badass, right?
Spike Spiegel for example is an ex-criminal turned bounty hunter who betrayed his best friend, lost the love of his life and almost died and turned into a very cold person who outwardly doesn't seem to give a shit about anyone. He has a ton of issues that he works through as we watch Cowboy Bebop but despite that never once are we under the impression that he isn't a badass. He is still a badass, even with the issues he has.
Damaged characters can still be badasses despite their issues, I don't get why that concept is hard to grasp. And you say that the title is meant to be ironic but really either A. you're trying to make a serious statement or B. you're clickbaiting which is honestly kinda pathetic.
If you want to do a true character review then you should be honest from the get go and not use baiting tactics like that. How about you actually go about defining what you mean when you declare them all to not be badasses.
I feel like despite the action scenes in Black Lagoon being incredibly cool, the violence is not supposed to be seen as a good thing, even if you’re really good at it. I’m almost done with a rewatch of the series and I feel like one of the big themes of it is how the darkness and corruption in the world gets ahold of people and turns them into monsters. One of the clearest examples of this is the vampire twins. They just children who became what they were because of the horrible things that were done to them. They were also incredibly skilled at killing, but you don’t hear people calling them badass. I feel like the only real difference between them and Balalaika and Revy is that they didn’t make it to adulthood, making them much more pitiable and less impressive.
i would also add the children had no self awareness. They actually believe they were actual vampires and were stupid enough to make enemies out of every gang. Revy had a similar background where she was treat horribly as a child but she was street smart. Balalaika and revy were not stupid enough to pull that shit.
She's Not Inherently Evil. She's a Product of her Culture. Someone who grew up in the Cold War believing that the Soviet Union was Righteous and stood for Solidarity. She became a Solider at the time when Female Soliders especially in the USSR were almost unheard of, and then found herself in a Humanitarian Mission that became almost too much for her to handle, and just as things seemed to be taking the right direction, she has her innocence and purity taken away from her, and watches as the KGB don't just become the Enemy of the Soviets, but Pure DEMONS as they literally rob her of her innocence and literally put PHYSICAL and MENTAL Scars all over her body. She's Permanently scarred by what the KGB did to her and grows to utterly DESPISE them. To Hotel Moscow, she becomes Co Dependent on them. Emotionally attached to them because they swear their Loyalty to her and vow to Protect her with their Lives.
Classic great Kyle video!
Introduction was great in phrasing the misunderstanding of the characters fundamentally. Their lives at some points may seems cool and badass but if you step back and examine it as a whole, none these people live lives that any of us would want. They all act tough and may seem tough but when they break down you see the real person underneath, without all these masks and layers that have accumulated over time.
"Bad people don't just drop out of the sky." Don't know if that is from somewhere else but its a great quote!
Looking forward to the next one. I like you quick and dense style of writing, you go quite quickly through these things, which in turn makes these very re watchable. You're not wasting words like so many other youtubers.
He’s saying they are not just bad asses, there’s more to them. Great video
You're entitled to your own opinion. Saying in the nicest way possible
This video series has me thinking of Itachi from Naruto and how a lot of people in the fandom tend to view him as a "overpowered beast of combat and endurance" despite that not being the case and most people tend to overlook the ideas and themes behind his entire character. Much like Balalaika and some of these other characters from black lagoon, sure he's good at killing people and is highly intelligent but the entire point of his character is to show the audience that no matter how good you are at what you do, you are NOT perfect at all and the world will always shit on you and break you down while forcing you to make unethical or moral choices in the process even if you have good intentions.
My guy, you’re full of shit. Nobody over looks the themes of itachi’s character. To discuss such is worthless every character and story telling medium has a theme of
What a clickbait title. Guts from Berserk also has flaws and regrets, but I bet you would never make a video titled "Guts is NOT a badass."
It's possible to be both be badass and a developed, tragic character at the same time. They aren't mutually exclusive.
Love the actual analysis of the character.
I think the Rock and Revy fight scene speaks volumes. "There is no robin hood" "then why don't you become robin hood"
I agree with your point, and that the badassness should not be the ONLY focus, but I think the badassness and introspection can exist simultaneously. I love both the introspection and the badassness of these characters. Especially Sofiya. She’s my favorite.
Balalaika's fall from military grace reminds me of the "impossible" question often ask of SAS candidates. "Suppose, in order to be sure of maintaining the security of your mission, you had to kill an innocent child, which would you choose ?"
Honestly, while I agree with a lot of your points (Balalaika's self hatred and regret) I feel that Hiroe (the mangaka) made the wrong step in portraying her as a lustful warmonger.
In the I Said Kneel scene, something that really got me is that, even after all she did to kill the Twins, in the final moments where Hansel is dying, _she doesn't look happy_ Everything, from her body language (hiding her face as Hansel agonizes) to her lines (one could even call her final worlds to Hansel comforting (this is especially noticeable in the Spanish dub, whete she tells Hansel "Stop crying and be brave", but I digress)). All in all, it's very clear that she's _not_ enjoying it.
Which, at least for me, totally clashes with her bloodlust and "eh" care for Yukio in the Japan arc. And honestly, I prefered the Balalaika shown in the Vampire Twins arc, which to me flows much better with the one shown in Roberta's Blood Trail.
Balalaika, at least to me, works much better as someone that, while easy to rile and anger, deep down doesn't like violence. Or rather, the fact that violence is the only thing she's good at.
Her life as an Olympian, her dreams, everything she gave up in order to go to Afghanistan to fight in name of the country, to become a soldier.
And what was her reward? Being casted aside, spat on and forgotten.
And now, having dedicated her entire life to war and battle, she doesn't know anything else but to wage war, or fight. Because she doesn't know how to do anything else, and otherwise all the sacrifices she would have made would've been for naught.
This not only makes her a much better paralel to Revy (because she, Roberta and Eda are as much as parallel to Revy as Chang, Takanaka and Kageyama are parallels to Rock) but also one to Takanaka. They're the both the characters that gambled away their lives in the name of communism, and after their gamble failed, keep going anyway because otherwise their sacrifices would've been for nothing.
Anyways, great video
@Jack Frost And I agree with all you said, hook line and sink. The problem is that said characterization is not found in Balalaika in the Japan arc. There, she just acts as a petty bullish thug that relishes on carnage and destruction. Hell, her whole speech to the Yakuza boss previous to Yukio, the whole "I want to destroy until I end up in Hell" is against every other part of Balalaika's characterization. And I hate it for that. It reduces Balalaika to a petty thug.
@Jack Frost The problem with that angle it's that it's never stated, shown, or even hinted at. Black Lagoon is not a show that has characters proudly state all their backstory, motivations and lives out in the open, but it does show and hint at things. And there's no hint or showing of Balalaika ever referencing or thinking about the Twins. They may as well have never entered her life.
Balalaika was justified in attacking the Washimine after their late boss tried to assasinate her (because as far as she knew the rest of the family was with him, and even if they weren't, after she killed him they would surely go after her in revenge), but even before that, she had been shown basically screaming to the Heavens that she wanted blood and carnage.
And there's no justification or explanation for that beyond "That's just how she is". Which totally clashes with what had been shown of her in her previous arc
@Jack Frost Same. Honestly, like the video says, a lot of people when talking about Black Lagoon just want to talk about the action scenes. Which aren't bad, not at all, but I think Black Lagoon is much more than just that.
As for Balalaika, it isn't just scene in particular, but again, the overall arc. She constantly mentions about shooting everyone and getting it done with, her speech to the Yakuza boss, and the gunpoint conversation with Rock, she admits that crushing the Washimine isn't enough, that she wants to exterminate them completely. It's just the general feeling that the arc gives off her, of someone whom is just waiting for the right opportunity to go and create violence. And like I said, I don't think that works with the Balalaika shown in the Twins Arc. Hell, even her revenge against the Washimine clan didn't feel the same as it did with the Twins. She felts some very small manner of compassion for Hansel as he died, but she didn't even spare a glance at Yukio, even before knowing she was a smart girl that could put up a fight.
Maybe it's just my old impression that I may need to rewatch the series to get it more accurately, but I still feel Hiroe dipped down too hard on making her a villain.
As for the parallels, I honestly see it more as Roberta being the Revy that was "saved". A Revy that found a place to live in tranquility, where she could drop her killer life and just live happily (granted, that didn't work out so well for Roberta, but still) and Balalaika being the version of Revy that has been in the Underworld for too long, the "too old for this shit" version if you like. She's tired of the gang wars, of the violence, of the squabbles. But she can't escape such a life, it's where she dug her grave, and so she'll stand by it.
@Jack Frost That's my theory as well. I also think that they made Balalaika more war hungry to better contrast with Revy, whom in that arc where she's most human.
However, I feel that just like the characters from the day were tempted by the night, and the characters from the night were tempted by the day, Balalaika too should have been shown reminiscing about what she could have been, a life in the day. Just like Revy dreamt of a happy life, with no guns and no violences, with Rock, Balalaika should've thought of a life where she would've been welcomed back from Afghanistan with honor, where she could have restore her family's name. A world where instead of waging war against Yukio, would be just like Rock and would rush in to save her. And then she gets her reality check throught the Yakuza boss. All of that is just wishful thinking. This hell is her life now, and there's no escaping it. That I feel would help to explain much more (at least for me) her eagerness to exterminate the Washimene, and even her bitterness and reaction during her standoff with Rock. Born not only from her anger of Rock's manipulation and hypocrisy, not only from her anger of Rock talking about justice even after everything that has happened to her, but also born out of the bitterness and resentment that, in another life, she would've been just like Rock.
That I feel would've been a much more rounded and interestinf answer for her actions in that arc beyond "she crazy for war"
As for Roberta, I wouldn't call her a lie per se. After all, she seemed to have lived all of Garcia's life before his kidnapping without reverting back to Rosarita. I do agree that she is perhaps the biggest example of the killing the past thing. Roberta doesn't want Rosarita to exist, because Rosarita was a foolish girl that didn't know any better and fought for causes that didn't really happen. But unlike Takanaka that doubled down and continued with the path because he gambled away his life in the name of a cause, Roberta built herself a new one. And so it is that when the person that allowed her to build her new life, Garcia's father, was killed, Roberta was killed and Rosarita was reborn, because the reality that allowed Roberta to exist was no longer there. But once Garcia snapped her back to sanity, she reverted back to Roberta.
That, at least to me, shows that in the end Roberta was the real her, not Rosarita
I think that she might feel some sort of familiarity with Hansel, they both got fucked by the same thing, through Hansel of course too much, much bigger extent...
Thank you for this, I found this amazing and informative, I seriously look forward to the rest of the series, and the Eda episode
I came here to pick a fight over the title. But it seems like this is more about existentialism. I’m sure there are plenty of mouth breathers here already beating the war drums of fanboy pride.
so because a character isn't some brainless wood plank paragon, said character isn't a badass? just because a character doesn't fall into some nebulous definition of a "good person" doesn't mean that all that they can and did do suddenly becomes invalid
Just finished black lagoon. It’s pretty great.
You don't say ?
she didn't choose the soviet union over the olympics she was forced into service since military service was mandatory in the later years of the ussr, the scene where she's she watching them is from the 1992 olympics, you can hear the announcer name Launi Meil as the gold medalist in shooting. at that point she had been kicked out of the military, the soviet union fell in 1991 and her being severely burned from an unknown incident she gave up on her dream of being in the olympics since everything she everything fought for had crumbled to shit. she'd been booted from the military so the original stain on her family honor was increased, the ideals and government she fought, burned and lost friends for was no more and she was clearly marked as an communist dog by her wounds, which some people after the fall of the ussr saw as less than human so she completely lost it, became depressed and pretty much gave up on life until that one former comrade lost his life like a dog so she said fuck it and created hotel moscow on her own to give the soldiers that were under her command a home since none of them could give up a life of adrenaline and violence so they became battle freaks under her and only her command, still destined to die on a battlefield but of her choosing, not some temporary and uncaring government or politicians whim.
WOOO!!! WE BACK BOIS!!! Beautiful video as always!
Lets be honest, everyone anime character is broken. They just handle it differently to the point they change, that’s why the character development and how they act so interesting
I'm surprised that this never got a live-action movie aimentation
Nah, you missed the point bro, nice try though but in essence you've just called The Punisher, Sarah Connor, Alejandro Gillick (Sicario), Marv (Sin City), Wolverine, Rorschach, Billy Butcher (The Boys), Deadpool and so many others "non-badass" 🤣.
You have an odd definition, for most of us it isn't so much the why they do as it is the what they do, Revy, Balalaika, Roberta, Eda etc are flawed characters with tragic histories and traumas and it fuels their actions, especially Revy who was beaten, abused and raped because she was powerless. Among other things she does the things she does as a coping mechanism for her pain but also as a means to ensure that no one will ever truly have power over her again.
A good example of this irl? Voivode Vlad Dracula Tepes. The trauma of his childhood gave him the resolve to do the things he did to earn the name Impaler. No one impales hundreds, if not thousands of pounds without trauma or psychopathy
I love it so much, it’s so underrated 🥺
This is a great analysis
The best thing about Balalaika is she does not need to consider herself a badass, even though she is
thanks for bringing back my lost memories of this amazing anime masterpiece btw I’m not sure if you’ve watched it already but highschool of the dead is also a very good anime.
I watched it a long time ago.
anybody else silently hear black betty playing in your head or is it just me
If she weren't depressed, you would call her a Mary sue
He isnt saying its a bad thing its a trait of good character construct
Awesome video I also really like the this anime and its one of my favorites. Can't wait for part two, but I think the one am most interested in is eda. She's the biggest mystery to me
But I can help you understand her Better:)
I really liked this video! subscribed!
Awesome video!!! keep it up!!!!!
I really disagree. Yes, she has flaws, but that makes her good character.
I think I just disagree with your perception of being badass. The power of overcoming your flaws, fears and mistakes makes you badass. If we didn't know her story I bet you would agree that she is badass. Just because she much more complex doesn't mean she's not badass.
Balalaika sat and watched a child die in a puddle of his own tears and blood to get revenge for her fallen comrades. Id say thats pretty badass and a just a check on her long list of badass characteristics.
You sound like Ggmanlives dude. That aside. Love the breakdowns.!! Keep it up
So what’s your definition of badass I do not understand the premise here what makes her not badass? Everything you have ascribed to her character is literally what a badass is. To lead a large group of hardened spec ops level soldiers in a time of war is badass, to then throw away your career and dreams for doing what you think at that point in time is right is badass, taking said badass ex spec op soldiers disillusioned with life and giving them purpose and creating an unbreakable bond so strong to the point they’ll lay down their lives and kill kids just in her name is definitely bad ass. The crime lifestyle degrades anyone’s morals and ideals to the point they become the walking dead, this is normal for people when they metaphorically make the deal with the devil and turn to the life. We see this in every crime movie,show, and video game. Watch goodfellas and Scarface or play any games in the mafia series or and you’ll understand and see this concept of decent people who just had a fucked up background lose their humanity because of joining the life, sure they have a hell of a lot of fun doing what they want in the beginning but then after a while, after loosing some people close to them, after missing out on what they could’ve been like in life they finally feel the effects of the life. Everyone who makes that deal with the devil ends up dead, ends up so unhappy and desperately looking for an out they become the walking dead for the rest of their lives, tortured with their bad decisions, racked by guilt and regret. This is exactly what makes a badass that people can sympathize with if she didn’t start off as a good person or after living the life she didn’t feel guilt, didn’t regret anything and didn’t have some self loathing and is just some crazy sociopath, that feels nothing and is happy with her life she would be a boring, predictable and/or non sympathetic bad guy character. The self hate and the unhappiness is what makes her such a badass and memorable character.
she's pathetic and sad and scared and hates herself therefore she is not badass. (but is a great chararcter)
I subscribed because of your realistic analysis, thanks for this video man
Gurren Laggan is one of my favourite anime, it's got so much to it and the journeys of the characters is amazing.
I don’t think you really know what a badass is if I’m being honest
Man I can’t wait for the new chapter
At 7:27 the scene of Balalaika and Chen, where is this scene from? I don't remember any fight like that!
Being a badass and being a broken individual are not mutually exclusive my friend.
Nobody in these videos about Balalaika is going to point out that she chose her nom du guerre from the dog the Soviets sent on a one-way trip into orbit? Seriously?
She chose that name because, just like the dog loaded on top of a rocket, her nation had treated her as disposable.
Ding dong you're wrong.
the insecurity argument works much better from revy balalaika is a combat hardened russian general turned mafia leader
As a soldier for over 24 years Balalaika is my favorite . She is bueatiful inside and out and is more women in my eyes than all rest.
I just really can’t get behind this at all not all cool badass characters have to be stupid happy go lucky juggernauts like goku or something.
Is it fine if i love them because I think they're cool and also because they have quite a bit of depth?
Actually they are technically still badass but have emotional depth.
Be honest you're looking at that way you're practically saying there's no bed badass characters at all because in order for a badass character there needs to be a tragic backstory because you don't go gun hole on enemies with a bunch of weapons or even learn how to assassinate people for no real reason because every badass character has a tragic backstory in the history think of Doom Slayer yeah you don't really know too much about him but his bunny Daisy got murdered by demons which set him into a rage to kill all demons and another example would be the Punisher he isn't really a hero are you kill bad guys he's what we call a anti-hero because of his dark past where it sent him to kill the people that killed his family and there's a bunch of other characters that I can think of so if you were to say there is no bad ass women or men or people in general because of their back story being tragic then you'll be literally taking away every character that is badass and had a tragic backstory
For Christ sakes they're not The Walking Dead they're just numb
I'd say balalaika is a badass, former special operations in the Soviet Afghan war sounds badass.
بالالايكا هي التعريف الحرفي ل"بدس" لانها ببساطه قائد مذهل
Would it be possible for you to define what a Badass is to you?
you have so much right but still balalaika is baddass anyway :)
don’t forget, after the soviet loss to the us backed mujahideen, they literally covered it up back home, pretending it didn’t happen which was the ultimate betrayal... there were no honors or military funerals.
Eh, I think you can be badass and broken. This video kinda falls flat tbh
Her weapon is a vss so everyone knows
aren't all these things what makes her badass? thought that was what people meant when they said black lagoon has badass women
Are badass' miserable and hate themselves and failures in their own eyes?
@@KyleEntertainment why not? just a well written badass
@@stormmmmmmmmmm no, just well-written.
@@KyleEntertainment you make it sound like they're mutually exclusive
@@stormmmmmmmmmm they aren't but Balalaika certainly isn't badass.
So what does badass mean to you then? Orihinme?
the opposite of Balalaika
You seem to have a rather weird and dare I say it flawed perception of what it means to be "badass". You arent actually wrong in your analysis of the fact that Balalaika (like the other black lagoon characters) is a morally degenerated, bitter, husk of humanity, but the idea that this takes away from or negates the qualities that lead to her (or others) being labeled "badass" or the sentiment behind said label is kinda just blatantly wrong on the face of it.
There are many great black lagoon analysis and studies on TH-cam. This is unfortunately not one of them. Pretty sure you got confused over some major plot points. She never abandoned her mission to save a child for example. Also not sure what you think a "badass" is... but a badass does not need to be stone cold and emotionally dead inside. To top it off... 90% of this was just you retelling the story. That is not really how analysis works. We have all watched the anime, we know what happens. You should be trying to draw connections that are not so obvious from viewing alone. Of which Black Lagoon has many.
think what he's saying is that what they do is badass, when it comes to fighting and all of that. But when it comes down to the character themselves they're in a way just women who has lost touch to the world
Well, this was a bizarre hot take. Works as clickbait, I guess.
What's the background music? Is it a balalaika? Anyone got a link for that?
You're content is a godsend. Please keep it up. I would love to see your interpretation of Dessert Punk. I've always felt it was criminally underrated.
There are no badass women in Black Lagoon. Just ladies with personal flaws who happen to be very resourceful, good at fighting and excellent shots.
Is that not badass?? Lol I’d like to see you do all that. To be taken to the darkest corners of the world and then literally take the full brunt of cruelty the world has to offer. Being badass to me anyway means to carry on even with all the bullshit life has givin you. Although you may not be the same person at the end of it all, the idea is that you still persisted even after such traumatic events.
Aaaaaand you are wrong
The worst person you could choose for such a topic, Balalaika may hate herself but that isn't a exclusion criterion for being a badass. She fought and lead a elite branch of the Spetznas in Afghanistan. Instead of using her family's connections she went on her own way to try accomplish her dream. She chose to take everything she deserved instead of living in poverty with the shame and pain of her experience in Afghanistan as well as the loss of her homeland, the Soviet Union. Also what is remarkable about her is that she took in her former comrades and with them created a Mafia that is unlike most other Mafia organizations in more it resembles a military and Afghanistan teached them well in dealing with guerrilla tactics. In short she is the wrong person to pick for this topic.
I'm still waiting for the eda one:)
You should check out Jormungand if you haven’t yet, is only 2 seasons, if you Love Black Lagoon you’ll definitely like Jormungand
They ARE badasses and they're badasses because of their f*cked up past, good video tho but the entire series are kinda misleading
You make valid points, however she is a badass in other ways. She leads her men, who see her as Captain, not as a woman, she has a deep understanding of war, both declared war and Mafia war, and the human mind.
Just because she seeks vengeance, feels anger, and hides from her problems in providing work for her men doesn't remove that. I read in a different comment thread that you made the title ironically. If you had, you wouldn't have been so vehement in stating she isn't a badass. Saying in the video she's not just a badass, perhaps, would've allowed that defense. I won't watch the others, simply for the point that i wasn't entertained or informed, just felt that your wanted to persuade me that your view is the only right one.
This is every anime pretty much
No matter how ambitous and great they are they will work some unintended reputation and won't make a difference
Just like Rock didn't managed to
Also why you think that speach was campy?
It would seem to me that she's a badass failure. Someone who's fallen as far from grace as humanly possible, hates herself for it, but nonetheless pulls herself together enough to make the best of the shit situation she is in for both her and her men's sake. Idk about you, but that sounds pretty badass to me. We can't always control the circumstances we end up in, but someone strong will attempt to do the best they can within those circumstances instead of rolling over and dying.
I love u bro!!! This is so deep is not even funny!
Who the hell said that they are NO badass women in Black Lagoon??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????