I worked on the original show in Japan. I'm glad you liked the show. It'd be nice if you could mention that Rei Hiroe is the author and the man that gave life to this world. I've helped him at the start of the manga and it's great that he's still working on new episodes running in Sunday GX magazine in Japan. I still help him out with stuff from time to time for the manga. He and I are both over 50, so please excuse him for not being to pump out material as fast as he used to before.
@@dankanemitsu3336 i am sorry for my joke, just internet is the place where you can't believe everything especially somebody claiming that they are the creator, sorry again wish you good luck
Fun fact, Revy's English actress does work in My Little Pony, and despite this Revy is her all time favourite character to voice. I read a story on reddit about a guy who walked up to her at a mlp convention with a Black Lagoon dvd in his hand, and she was boiling to the brim with excitement.
@@mako8091 Let me keep blowing it up: remember that fashionista horse from the cartoon, with an ambition of becoming a famous designer? Yep - same voice actress as Roberta “The Terminator Maid”
As a Latin American, Latino is not a race anyone that is born in Latin American is Latino, a Japanese born in a Latin American country is a Latino, Lionel Messi is Latino.
well that's the thing, the story is about him not being a villain;/ the story is about him being the guy in the middle, which both the good guys, for him hanging out on the bad side while playing the good guy (most of the story, but it's talked about in the ending of Roberta's blood trail arc, but only in the manga;/) and bad guys, for his unwillingness to pass the boundaries to do the job "Balalaika parking lot scene"
Rock isn't a villain tho. In the next arc he starts getting depressed because of what he had to do. And, thr arc after that is just him and Revy vibing at a circus
@@Nandrall18-25I personally loved it's grittiness and how realistic it portrayed the dark themes, because that horrible vile actions are made. I think black lagoon did it tastefully, didn't show any more than it needed to for it to get the subjects matter across and did it sparingly. But yeah it's definitely not for everybody.
Yeah, love how he says you could get people to watch this without thinking you’re a pdf file yet this show includes children who participate in snuff films as well as a child kissing a grown woman on the lips
@@georgeprchal3924 nope, Dutch isn't from US. He was something like field general at Africa. Unfortunately, author trolled readers, and didn't tell full story.
You are actually 100% correct. Most animes focus on Highschool or University because generic office jobs suck horribly and they're nostalgic for school days when they actually had a much better life. As in "I remember the days I could BE an anime protagonist. The badass, the genius, the honorable Samurai, or amoral Ninja. Those were the days. I miss em."
Most anime is medieval era so far as i'm concerned and i'm finally happy to find one that's not medieval era nonsense or fictional world. I just want some focus being on that too.
@@revy1370 Got a source for that? At any rate, it's a non-issue since Shenhua hasn't appeared in the manga again. Also, the bigger issue is that the arc immediately following Roberta's Blood Trail is a very unflattering look at the Chinese military's cyberhacking activities and depicts their army as having nutjob generals more than willing to assassinate their own troops. You'd need a production committee with balls of steel who aren't afraid to offend the PLA to get a third season...
@@AICW Wouldn't be so much of an issue if the production company wasn't also aiming for a Chinese market, really. Beyond that, well, there's the dubbing department to worry about. Quite the shame we now live in a time where being slightly off kilter of the PC narrative can land ya in the house of the rising sun. Shit, feels like society needs the problems of the 90's now more than ever if this kind of crap keeps up.
Black Lagoon was absolutely amazing because besides ALL of the things you mentioned, it was an anime that talked about how life isn’t so black and white. There’s lots of moral grey in the middle. It touched on themes not too many at the time did.
Actually no, if you actually read it, it has.the autor "good" and "bad" views, specially when they talk about militia on the south, or their opinion of the ussr and russia, which i probally know where they got that
And that there's also a lot of black and white. It was more the theme of "Sometimes there's some grey, but usually right and wrong are pretty simple and blatant." If any thing, a lot of the characters tended to try to paint the black as grey and argue that the white was also grey so they wouldn't be the bad guy of their own story. Which is pretty normal. Very few people see themselves as the bad guy or want to be.
What I really liked about it was that it really touched the life after modernism, after the cold war. After the clear good guys bad guys, so to speak, that normal people had been conditioned to think about in both of the worldpowers and this goes for people in usa And Soviet. The end of cold war with the spread of capitalism and disintegration of old structures robbed people of stability.
Because of Cyberpunk Edgerunners it actually helped me to get motivated to watch Black Lagoon along with its OVA episodes, I freaking love Black Lagoon so much (to the point it became my personal favorite Anime Series, I liked it even more than Case Closed/Detective Conan) especially since I do love dark, gritty and crime genre due to the fact that I played alot of crime games especially open world ones and also crime tv shows plus movies
'A psychopath with daddy issues, a mysterious and enigmatic merc, and a Florida man'. Good to see Florida men have been going so strong they appear in 2010's animes.
Literally what I used to introduce it to my friend, the fact is that they're not just badass, they're 'women' they're not trying to be men. They're as feminine as they are badass. You never look at Revy, or Balalaika, or the Cleaner and forget they're women.
@@JoeTACor when you start a new anime and one of the MC's lookin like anais from gumball and the attitude of a 5 year old. When I saw Black Lagoon I was literally "HELL YEAH!!!!" Through most of it. Most of anime women remind me of how stupid they made men look in cartoons.
Watch any 40% RT score movie from the '80s. Chances are the dialogue will blow out the water anything you can expect in any top release from today's Hollywood. That particularly applies to women.
I remember watching this, samurai champloo and cowboy bebop when quarantine started. They just completely stood out from everything I've ever watched. And guess what? They all had adults as main cast. They felt so fucking relatable and/or intriguing. These three still remain on top of my all time favorites
There are a ton of classics you'd actually like then. There was some truly great stuff made in the 80's & 90's, before the industry went to shit & began churning out generic Trope garbage.
@@skins4thewinI mean seeing anime now it’s seems to be going really great plus all the shows the guy created are seinen which are for a more adult audience unlike shounen which had become more popular.
the really funny part of this is thats because you're thinking of this from an adult perspective, anime tends to be marketed to teens a lot because teens have free time and lots of overworked adults in japan want to mentally go back to when they were teens or experience a better teenage life than they got it makes sense that teens would be relatable to teens while also being an idealized version for both the adults and the teens to look at and either relate or fantasize about being able to relate fully to
Exactly, this show is so great. It's a shame the manga is so slow and there isn't a season 4 in the works. I've heard it's in madhouse jail. Like they haven't worked on it and they're the only ones with production rights to it.
Completely agree with what you said about the characters being adults. It's amazing what anime can do sometimes when they're not too busy making their main characters high schoolers who have nervous breakdowns because they made eye contact with a girl or something and thinking that's comedy.
Yeah, took a brake for about 2 years and realised - Holy shit, all those characters are like 10 years younger than me now. These shows just ain't for me anymore. Unfortunately, adult anime is clearly not as profitable, because all we get now is teen shit with no real character development.
Japan would rather show kids because being an adult over there is outright depressing as hell,and they can sell sus scenes to the audience if the main characters are children afterall
@@ShiftyMoravian Late reply but yeah, that's kinda what made me stop watching anime. A few of the long running series I was watching finally concluded. And I'm looking at this new stuff and thinking, 'Man...high school was a *LONG* time ago. As much as I love anime, it's time to move on.'
While simple, the dynamic between Rock and Revy is frankly perfect, she's the psychotic gunman wading through blood and tar trying desperately to protect that one spark of light that might drag her out of the darkness, while he's the innocent salaryman slowly falling deeper into the darkness and becoming the gambler addicted to winning that all in pot. There won't ever be a happy ending for them, Rock's falling, and Revy is blindly clinging to him as he sinks because he's the only light that's ever come into her life.
she's not "psychotic" and as psychologist I hate overusing this tterm with passion. "psychotic" means having sth to do with psychosis. She has neither hallucinations nor delusions
You are literally the funniest, most creative, and refreshingly articulate anime critic, I've been fortunate enough to stumple upon on social media. Needlessly to say I suscribed in less than five minutes (I normally don't suscribe to anime critics anymore). Thank you for the nostalgia.
It's mature. Compared to most anime these days, it's a mature anime that doesn't rely on fan service. Well... it's there but not bouncing in your face all the time.
Yes. Especially with the part where Rock wakes Revy. It is more sensual. Not "OMGGGG PANTIES IN THE BED WOAH NOSEBLEED GRAB OPPAI". It's left to us, and that's what makes it fun.
@@estacion7386 like he/she said: it's there but not always bouncing in your face all the time for no reason at all, and also if you think biker shorts are fan service then you've probably never stepped outside your house in the summers.
Ah Mr.Popo, little people know, he is the most badass being in all dragon ball. I remember seing Black Lagoon on MTV or something, but never watched it. But sounds like an anime i would like now
Black Lagoon is everything I want in anime and manga. Dark, gritty, fun, exciting, well written story, great character development and punches you really hard in the emotions.
@@nightmarishcompositions4536 Yes Berserk too, I didn't mention it because it had a completely different setting. If you know anymore animes like this please recommend them to me
@@Chukky_E.A I can think of a few that are similar to all three of these series! Keep in mind the manga version of most of these stories are way better than their anime counterparts while others don’t have manga adaptations or anime adaptations at all. They’re all great though. Anything by Shuzo Oshimi and Inio Asano Psycho Pass Erased Kurosaki Corpse Delivery Service No Longer Human Gangsta Paranoia Agent 20th Century Boys Goodnight Punpun Ikigami Battle Royale Homunculus Freesia Manhole MPD Psycho Vagabond Vinland Saga Bastard Sweet Home Speed Grapher Claymore Gantz
I really hope that 90s/2000s anime mentality makes a comeback some time, it really was the golden age of animation. Nowadays it's mostly regurgitated trash, with some good inbetween (Edit: edited away the edit)
Yeah it's really sad tbh. The shonen is all super regurgitated and formulaic, like seven deadly sins kind of stuff - and it's all being made by Netflix now and they're practically all the same. There are a few good ones but they're few and far between. Anime like black lagoon, cowboy bebop, or monster just don't come around anymore. I also like the 2003 Fullmetal alchemist quite a bit (liked brotherhood too just not nearly as much because it's just way too heavy on bad attempted humor that just isn't funny whatsoever at so many points - like so many other shonen - it gets much better but I don't think it ever reached as highly as the original. The humor in 2003 was not so frequent that it ruined the show and it actually was funny when it came around. In anime now the tropes are just getting worse and worse, theyre more rampant and forced than they ever used to be and it's completely unnecessary - are there people who even *want* all that crap in anime?? So much of it is so regressive and sexist and overall just disgusting. But, getting back to the point - Why brotherhood fans are so antagonistic about the 2003 anime I'll never understand, my only frustrations with brotherhood is the fanbase acting like a show/movie can only be good if it follows the source material 100% and whether that show is made well is just irrelevant to them - which is EXTREMELY lazy, especially when the 03 anime was made long before the manga was ever finished. No one claims Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is illegitimate or worse than Steven king's book despite him completely rewriting the ending and discarding a bunch of what Steven King wrote - and the reason is because the original book had a pitiful ending. Stanley Kubrick GREATLY improved the story, and Steven King hated his adaptation because of it, but that movie is FAR superior despite taking quite a drastic turn. Steven King made a faithful TV series adaptation and it was completely by the book and no one liked it because it was made horribly. Something bring completely faithful to the original source material is not an argument regarding the quality of the adaptation, if it's made well it's made well regardless. Sorry for the tangent but I get extremely frustrated.)
@graffititurtle9035 it's so stupid man. And on top of that the politics have gotten so bad in some of the shows now. Attack on Titan is basically fascist propaganda it's insane.
@@dudeman5303 nah saying that stuff like monster and bebop dont come out anymore is just not true. there are incredible shows coming out, but they are just different since anime evolved, u have stuff like made in abyss, land of the lustrous, violet evergarden, girls last tour thats all i can remember actually, but there is a lot of decent shows coming out. kaina in the snow world or whatever its called seems pretty interesting, and there are many slice of life or drama or just relaxing shows coming out, just most of them have a lot of fan service like call of the night, but they are still amazing.
Those two kids deserved better. I'd have liked for Gretel to become a recurring (and slowly healing) character, but it never would've made sense for Balalaika to let her get away, and it wouldn't have fit the dark tone of the story very well.
@@SomeGuy-gc8zs this is why I loved the omakes. the episode where the twins were balalaika's children was my favorite. edit: revy becoming a magical girl...with guns was also fun.
Thank you TH-cam Gods, for blessing me with the discovery of this gem through your holy algorithm. Found this video 2 nights ago while lying here in a hospital bed. Been binging Black Lagoon since then. What a ridiculously bad arsed series.
And dont forget black lagoon write its female character as their own individuals with goals and personality and make them badasses. Not just to be back supporter and simping for the main character
All anime does that. (Write females with goals and aspirations) Only the Harem genre really doesnt. And even then, the females in that have goals and aspirations. (Granted said goal is to get with the main character)
Not all too often, though. Mostly the female characters have no aspirations of their own and it's just the same goal as the MC or theirs is paper thin. At least thats how I feel about the Last couple of Shows I have watched.
@@RaifSeverence a lot of shonen don't have female characters with agency or goals independent of the male main character. There are a few that are the exception to the rule and usually they have a female writer
@@RaifSeverence saying all anime does that is a gross overstatement. Some do but the majority don’t. Im very hard pressed to think of a single shonen where the female characters have their own goals that aren’t related to the mcs goal, write them off as a generic love interest/fan service, or just don’t matter to the story.
love that Shenhua fires back and calls Revy Twinkie, "yellow on the outside, white on the inside" typically a derogatory term for many of Asian decent who don't particularly adhere to their ancestral culture. girl a grew up with used to call my friend Twinkie because she was Korean and her family was like super strict tradionalist and he grew up with a ton of western influence, i nearly lost my shit when he did the squinty eye thing to her when they would pass each other in the hall way, pulling the corners of his eyes back and making loud metal clinking sounds at her while she called him twinkie, like bruh i did not understand this culture war
This is one of my favorite anime of all time. Balalaika is my favorite character and the loyalty her platoon has for her is fantastic. The episode where the US SF guys basically have it out with the city is my favorite episode. One of the few animes that could make an excellent live action series. Revy is a psycho but looks damn good in daisy dukes.
balalaika is what a lot of characters just cant be and thats a serious woman doing serious stuff in a nasty world. i mean girl is doing dirty work every day, copying a*** p*** tapes is the least of it. other animes would show the characters having lighthearted colourful playtime, meanwhile lagoon shows us sawyer cutting up a body. yep. thats the black lagoon kind of downtime.
@@MsCheeseyFries exactly and that’s why it’s one of my favorites and honestly think if they did a live action it could be done well. It’s dark and gritty w/o any special effects.
@@mattstakeontheancients7594 itd get torn apart and never released bcs of how gritty it is. and a lot of ppl wouldnt understand it, the complexity of the characters, rocks arc as a whole, the trauma and the eventual emotional peace of roberta, and all the other sub plots. also people would get hung up on the vampire twins and the dialogue between dutch and that aging nazi fuck so like, good luck marketing it
@@MsCheeseyFries could see Tarintino if he ever did a series could handle it. Django was pretty rough, so was Ingoorious Bastard, and hateful eight. Actually there is a group out of standford that did the bar scene between Revy and Roc where they get into it. It was good
@@mattstakeontheancients7594 inglorious basterds and django were hard for what they had to say for sure, tarantino didnt hold back on the graphic depictions of racism and mutilation. i think it could be done well but remember, tarantino makes films in a very specific style to him. black lagoon needs someone who can direct an amazing series yes but also someone who can match the style. tarantino makes movies for theatre screening and he makes one off films. itd be outside of his regular work and idk if hed match the style.
F*cked part is I relate to revy as an assault happened to me it drove me insane. I hated everyone everything only luckily I was given a chance and shown love. I am so glad I grew up and got my shit together.
Lolis are a problem cause anime wants us to be into them. Black Lagoon’s twins are NEVER framed like that. The twins’ section in the story was a metric fuckton of emotional damage. If someone can get a boner to either of them after watching their episodes they should lose their dick privileges.
Counter Point - Black Lagoon could be received more positively today for the following reasons: 1. Great diversity with characters coming from different ethnicities and cultures. 2. The protagonist, the Black Lagoon crew, represents different racial and cultural backgrounds: Dutch is an African-American army vet; Benny is a Jewish Hacker; Revy is Chinese-American raised in NYC; and Rock is a Japanese salaryman. 3. Representation of people with disabilities like the one-eyed Sister Yolanda, and the mute Sawyer 4, Revy, despite her fan-service-y appearance, is a well-written and nuanced character: A hot-headed gunslinger who is more introspective than she looks, who relies on violence and hedonism to get over her past traumas. 5. Lots of strong and distinctly written female characters, like the imposing Balalaika, the terrifying and indestructible yet loyal and soft hearted Roberta, the smart and straight-laced Li Xinlin; the happy-go-lucky but dependable Eda, and the brash hot-headed gunslinger Revy.
People really wanna virtue signal their pc hating boner that they resort to shit like this. South park is still runing today and comedians can basically buy youtube using all the money that they earned complaining about pc culture because one pussy on Twitter got offended,. It got to the point that some people claim that panty and stocking couldnt be released today.... in the same era as Interspecies reviewers. I dont doubt that it would get some people offended today but judging by some of the backlash on the mario movie, everyones capable of getting offended. Hell, this anime is still on netflix so that arguement is even more weak.
Depends on what market does it, really. If it manages to get enough attention as a seasonal anime it could really Skyrocket the manga, but... Eh, we all know how it went. Also some cunts on Twitter would definitely cry about it all day. But what anime doesn't get those people? They couldn't take CSM
While Black Lagoon is actually diverse, it's the wrong kind that the entertainment types want for the "modern audience". It's not full of tokens, obnoxious or preachy enough about the usual diversity talking points, while also being "toxically cisgendered".
@@MoreEvilThanYahweh My dude, touch some grass. Just as I'm sure literal Nazis aren't running media, I assure you that nobody important is complaining about whatever you're foaming on about. Don't let other's deprived from grass deprive you from it too.
I really miss the more adult era of anime. Theres a few but its definitely more for younger audiences and i hope that changes soon. Theres plenty of us who grew up on anime and still enjoy it.
So many great anime existed back then Now everything is more colourful and not as visually gripping if you know what i mean Theres still good anime released in the modern style like love is war which i enjoyed but i think the golden age of anime is behind is in certain ways
Never gonna happen. One voice actor already said she'd never come back due to feeling uncomfortable voicing shenhua as a non-asian person. The series in general would make it very hard for anybody to work on it because of China. Some of the more recent stories have focused on Chinese hackers and such, and everybody in the industry knows you can't piss off China because they're a pretty large chunk of profit once your product is complete. Fuckin hate China and their bullshit censorship laws.
They'd use a different animation style if they did, and probably use CGI. Not even going to get into what the localizers would do to it. Probably best off if it stayed dead.
@@stantrien8106 I think CGI is great if the creators play to its strenght. For full CGI, see Beastars and for CGI with hand drawing on top see Arcane. Random ugly CGI in the middle of 2D animation is an eyesore tho.
Those sword cutlass pistols are badass. I modded one into Fallout 4, now I don't stop using it. I'm gonna figure out how to dual-wield them eventually.
One thing that is brilliant about Revy's character is that her situation is reflected so often. People in poor neighborhoods are turned to side gigs, gangs, and crimes, all because there are no more oppurtunity where she lives. Born in shit - Die in shit is such an unfortunate reality for a lot of people. A lot of people end up dying just for the oppurtunity to "get out of the hood."
The contrast between the intro and outro music you mentioned reminds me of Hotline Miami. The blood pumping music through the level, and the hazy come down at the end. Rinse, repeat
Another thing I find interesting is how the villains have backstories tied to historical events which makes for some interesting political and social commentary and I like it how in the OVA, the roles of Rock and Revy begin to shift as Rock becomes more and more unhinged and psychotic while Revy starts to see Rock as her only escape from her life of crime and violence.
Was singing this shows praises a decade ago when I was barely entering high school. When I’d tell the people who I knew were super into anime about it, they had no idea what I was talking about. I’m so glad that now it’s getting the respect and recognition it deserves. This one and Birdy The Might: Decode are my two all time favorite anime’s
My favorite part of Black Lagoon is that each story arc had some sort of real historical aspect tied to it, whether it be a person, group, event, or series of actions. Examples the EO company (called Extra Order in the anime) is based on Executive Outcomes, a real life mercenary group. Takenaka is based on a real person from the Japanese Red Army. The "Hansel and Gretel", well that explanation is in the anime and they're a product of one of the darker pockets of history.
Im so glad this video exists! Also the recent arc in the manga was so good i really wanted Madhouse to pick up this series again and animated it. Gosh i want to see Dutch secret identity arc in motion so bad!
I love how you mix your insight with some wicked sense of humor edited in. Happy to have found your channel! Great recommendations as usual, taking me down memory lane. The shows you talk about left a mark on me for years and years for being true to their art.
WTF. A russian-speaking, latina-loving, anime youtuber who also listens to Plastic Love and has watched Code Geass (you don't fool me, I recognise the first piece of bgm in the video)?!
I love how the narrative accurately depicts the complexity of what's considered to be good and evil. I consider it to be one of the most difficult story structures to write because it's not really something that most people are comfortable with. And some subjects can be simply overlooked depending on characters, setting, and story. So Black Lagoon having a creative cast of characters taking on jobs as mercenaries. Was a really amazing idea, that allowed for a lot of stuff in the narrative. Recent shows like 86 and I'm Quitting Heroing have similar themes. But so far Bloodborne is the only close contender that matches a variety of good and evil subjects in it's narrative. Similar to Black Lagoons variety in it's narrative, but honestly Black Lagoon is one of a kind, and it's excellent!
FINALLY SOMEONE IS TALKING ABOUT IT!! It’s the only anime that made me grow up and have goosebumps. There’s not enough masterpiece like that. (Sorry for my english I’m french).
Revi is one of my favorite characters in fiction. I have always thought of her as beautifully broken. The way she wears her trauma cuts you to your core. Any character can have a tragic backstory and be great in a fight, those are a dime a dozen. What sets Revi apart is how Rock's innocence and naiveté cuts through her scars forcing her to address feelings she had long since buried. And how all of that leads her to protect him as if his innocence reminds her of what she lost.
I watched Black Lagoon so many years ago and still, one of my favorite anime series of all time. Plot, characters (progression), savage action, soundtrack, etc. Revy and company are classic masterpiece
My friend recommended me this show waaaay back in school, said it had an interesting spin on romance. And I watched it as a young adult later on, which revealed to me the level of badass that this guy operated on when we weren't old enough to drink or most movies even.
I think you can make a lot of your points without devaluing other anime. For example, I like Dragon Ball Z because of the fights, the characters, even the world building is pretty awesome. Yet its nothing like Black Lagoon. Thats a GOOD thing. We need diverse story telling and writing styles. If you have to praise Black Lagoon at the expense of other anime, why not compare it to anime that tried to do a similar thing, but fell short? I think that would probably have been a more meaningful comparison.
I just related to revy a lot, my own blood brother assaulted me when I was 9. I basically thought he was just being a little more caring then usual. After that I grew up to get sent to juvie 4 times. I didn’t really care for anyone or anything. I had friends but to me the were “disposable”. I’m only now starting to change. This show was one my only coping mechanisms..it’s kinda funny actually😂
i relate to Revy alot as well, from a young age people hated me just because of who i was and i was the antichrist at 6 yo, after i accidentally broke a kids arm in kindergarden and him telling his parents i did it on purpose, after that sunday mass i was deemed the antichrist by the whole town and that monday many parents came to kindergarden to demand that when at recess im confined to a square meter place in the yard that was walled off on 3 sides with a teacher on the open side to guard me. That is just the first incident of many, for example somebody saw me smoke a ciggy when i was 12, i was immediately deemed a junkie and again a whole fuss was made by the parents that found smokes on their kids, ofc i had to give them said smokes because of my incredible satanic wealth (we were kind of poor actually, not really but we were building a house at the time so all the money went there, i didnt even buy my own smokes i was getting my smokes from a school mate that was lazy at homework so i did that for him he gave me a pack of smokes every few days) and so on. Ended up homeless which eventually broke something in me, and then i rewatched the anime and it hit me how i was so similar with Revy and Rock in a way, i finally understood them and it hit much harder than the first time i watched. When the world is set on breaking you there is not a damn thing you can do about it, eventually it will break you and when that happens you will be ridiculed and pitied, everybody will look down on you and you will feel like dirt. Thats when your inner Revy comes out to play. Thats when a man (or woman) is the scariest. I hope mine stays put and i pity the motherfucker that will wake her next....
@@weedhigh2564well , that suck for sure , you are so strong for enduring all this , hope everything getting better for you , stay safe and happy , there will be right people who will understand you , and love you no matter what 'cause you deserve it . Sorry for my bad English not my first language.
@@yuukivirlin7615 thank you, i try to make the best of it, if my experiences can help somebody im happy to share them even if they are quite dark. Life isnt for everyone and some like me for example, simply suck at it. It did get better but i still have some ptsd and stuff i need to work through from those times, just so i can move on because even if right now life is not as hard on me it does not mean it will stay like this forever and if i dont move on from my past im affraid i'll be doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over. yeah english is not my 1st language either, dont worry i understood you well
@@weedhigh2564 you have no idea how your story influence me , i had so many bad experiences in the past and because i was coward enough i did end up repeat it again and again hopping for things to change , all i needed to open up and seek for help , and never be ashamed of my mistakes and i am the victim here , i am not the one to blame , at least that's what my therapist said , of course in comparison you had to endure so much more and i was just child , so thank you so much for being so brave and so strong , you made me want to do more and move on , I don't know you but i really love you , hope you wonderful future.
I never knew how to describe what made Black Lagoon so good, amongst series like Cowboy Bebop, and other 'Golden Age' anime/manga until you did; THEY'RE ADULTS, an actual show that is free of the immature humor. And treats it's audience with some semblence of respect.
this and jormungand are my favorite and my husband being ex-military i was exposed to firearms. I love Revy’s 9mm berettas so on my 29th birthday my husband got me 2 nickel plated berettas and we go shooting on our off days. Black lagoon is a wonderful series need more like it!
you couldnt have said it better , as a kid i had no idea why i loved this anime but after this video it truly was the depth. my biggest complaint about this show ends up being that there wasnt enough of it
One of the aspects of this show that i like how you can tell characters apart from one another in regards to both how they're animated and their personalities. Its one of the few shows where i actually bothered to learn the characters names because they all felt like real people with their own sets of strengths and weaknesses. Rock isn't a great fighter but he becomes indispensable to the team because of his ability to analyze and plan. Revy is a death machine but the more you learn about the more you realize how much of a mess she is. Its very well done.
exactly, the characters have natural looking hair colours and clothing, yet you can still differentiate between them easily. Also love that the female characters are designed like normal human beings instead of big tiddy moe waifus
"Character's are Adults, it's not High School." Hilariously, the director also did High School of The Dead...which is also great, though it quickly abandons the High School.
7:28 dude, I remember getting into an intense discussion about this in a forum. Random dude: "omg that means they banged, they totally banged! How else can you just walk in on a half naked woman and be fine?!!?" Me: "because they're adults and after surviving multiple battles together and getting close, they stopped caring?" Random dude: "nu uh that's not possible!" So fucking stupid, and it's stupid that I still remember this stupid discussion from years ago with somebody I never met.
Some people are just so unnecessarily horny that they forget that most people aren't like that... The number of people I have seen talking about who boned who about a shonen manga character that doesn't even have a romance tag is... Phew
While the melancholy ending music plays; from the beginning we are witnessing Revy slowly moving forward and shooting at something, emptying rounds that we see dropping to the ground around her feet whilst she continues her steady progress. Beautifully bleak until the final moments when she turns around angrily to face somebody who is behind her (Rock?)
Holy shit! Great video man. Black lagoon is so good watching on Netflix currently, i dont usually watch amines so this is an amazing show. The only problem I have tho is that some arcs can be a bit too stretched, however everything else is mint. Not much of a manga lover, but apparently that's still ongoing there, and the show isn't fully canceled but the fandom seems 50/50 on weather or not to give up or keep hope for more episodes. Either way good to see the community alive and well from a show that started in 2004 lel.
Man Black Lagoon is sooo good. I regularly rewatch it. Also its got one of the best intro and outros, one of the few I don't skip when watching through.
"watching black lagoon kinda made me dislike every other anime I've seen at that point" I had the same thoughts. Ever since I discovered this show, it's what I usually compare an anime series to to know whether I would like it or not (for the most part). I cool to see this show pop up again after a long time
Fantastic review and video, you just earned a sub. I think you’re funny as hell and I agree with your points. I want more shows like this, less censorship and catering to social media outrage culture.
I worked on the original show in Japan. I'm glad you liked the show. It'd be nice if you could mention that Rei Hiroe is the author and the man that gave life to this world. I've helped him at the start of the manga and it's great that he's still working on new episodes running in Sunday GX magazine in Japan. I still help him out with stuff from time to time for the manga.
He and I are both over 50, so please excuse him for not being to pump out material as fast as he used to before.
Description updated, thank you for your work 🙏🏻
I loved the anime! Thank you for working on it! I wish the manga would be published in my country. Greetings for Mexico!
I'll definitely read the manga as I just finished the anime today
@@writerlairchannel2636 Google my name and it won't take time to see the list of things I've done. Peace.
@@dankanemitsu3336 i am sorry for my joke, just internet is the place where you can't believe everything especially somebody claiming that they are the creator, sorry again wish you good luck
Fun fact, Revy's English actress does work in My Little Pony, and despite this Revy is her all time favourite character to voice. I read a story on reddit about a guy who walked up to her at a mlp convention with a Black Lagoon dvd in his hand, and she was boiling to the brim with excitement.
That is just endearing. Thank you for sharing that.
Okay that's both based as hell and oddly wholesome!
My mind is uttered blown. MLP and Revy!
Imagine having her as your partner and her doing Revvy impressions during sex. I need to find this woman and steal her from her man.
@@mako8091 Let me keep blowing it up: remember that fashionista horse from the cartoon, with an ambition of becoming a famous designer? Yep - same voice actress as Roberta “The Terminator Maid”
Benny being described simply as “a dude from Florida” is 100% the best way the character could ever be described
Every group of psycho pirates needs a Florida Man
I straight up burst out laughing when I heard that XD
I thought he was Californian, being Jewish and all.
Jew from florida :D
I wanna know who does his dentals, I expect no teeth left from 24/7 diet of meth fried gators.
Ok bro, you did it. You got me to subbed. That "And they're called latinas" part was pure gold.
spot on haha
As a Latin American, Latino is not a race anyone that is born in Latin American is Latino, a Japanese born in a Latin American country is a Latino, Lionel Messi is Latino.
"A dude from florida" and "they're called latinas" were so out of pocket and made me laugh so hard
bro i am subbing just cuz the "they're called latinas" part
For real. It was at that point I subbed 🤣
he's right tho.
that chick in the anime is literally my ex
@@khaozzero6355as a mexican I concur
Aye yoooo!!!!
You foul for that one dude!
Hahaha
“Their called latinas”
Definitely going to report to the authorities for that one.
Rocks progression through the story is incredible. From going from the everyday salary man to the manipulative Villain, it’s amazing to watch
well that's the thing, the story is about him not being a villain;/ the story is about him being the guy in the middle, which both the good guys, for him hanging out on the bad side while playing the good guy (most of the story, but it's talked about in the ending of Roberta's blood trail arc, but only in the manga;/) and bad guys, for his unwillingness to pass the boundaries to do the job "Balalaika parking lot scene"
Rock isn't a villain tho. In the next arc he starts getting depressed because of what he had to do. And, thr arc after that is just him and Revy vibing at a circus
@@alchemistofsteel8099 is it getting animated cuz i can only find till season 3 ep 4 on Netflix
@@quixote6857 probably not sadly
English dub is voiced by the same guy that did Light in Death Note, so that makes it even cooler lol
7:45
"the show is safe to recommend and watch with others"
... And then the Twins ark starts.
But then balalaika happens at the end of the ark🥵
That's about the only ark I'm not fond of. Way to dark being about those messed up subjects that happen to kids. Very uncomfortable.
@@Nandrall18-25I personally loved it's grittiness and how realistic it portrayed the dark themes, because that horrible vile actions are made. I think black lagoon did it tastefully, didn't show any more than it needed to for it to get the subjects matter across and did it sparingly. But yeah it's definitely not for everybody.
Yeah, love how he says you could get people to watch this without thinking you’re a pdf file yet this show includes children who participate in snuff films as well as a child kissing a grown woman on the lips
@@Nandrall18-25very uncomfortable but powerful imo
"A dude from Florida", haven't even seen this anime and yet I already feel like Ik so much about this guy already
I like how nonchalant it is: everyone just being introduced with badassery and mystery, and there’s a dude from Florida. Enough said.
Yeah, I guess "blonde jew with a fetish for indian IT girls" might be a little too on the nose.
@@ritameow9227 Florida man. All you need to know.
Well aside from Rock they're all Americans.
@@georgeprchal3924 nope, Dutch isn't from US. He was something like field general at Africa. Unfortunately, author trolled readers, and didn't tell full story.
You are actually 100% correct. Most animes focus on Highschool or University because generic office jobs suck horribly and they're nostalgic for school days when they actually had a much better life. As in "I remember the days I could BE an anime protagonist. The badass, the genius, the honorable Samurai, or amoral Ninja. Those were the days. I miss em."
Most anime is medieval era so far as i'm concerned and i'm finally happy to find one that's not medieval era nonsense or fictional world. I just want some focus being on that too.
@@lawrencemorris2261 Most animes are not medieval era. At all.
@@Michael_Hunt Then why all 90% fantasy setting is in fictional europe?
I'm happy to watch Ghost Sweeper Mikami because it is about of a lady of her 30s, who own her founding company, doing some hunting against any ghost.
@@lawrencemorris2261 thats modern isekai
if you actually look at the landscape of anime every season 80% take place in the 21 century
I’m glad my favourite anime is getting the attention it deserves
Indeed
Totally agree with you on that
Same
Same bro. I love black lagoon so much
The attention it deserves is a Season 4 for crying out loud. The manga is still going and yet the anime stopped at 3 seasons.....
Glad people are really bringing Black Lagoon back into the spotlight
Not too much tho please... we don't want a remake by Disney
@@tendertackle669 anyone but Disney
@@tendertackle669 Nerflix Remake on the way.
@@tendertackle669even worse would be a live action spinoff on TH-cam 🥲🔫
80's were the golden age of anime. It'll never come back.
bro, "is rock gonna pipe" killed me lmfao
we need to know😂😂😂
well? we need to know!
He does pipe but it’s not said directly basically
Kinda sad that the manga is always on hiatus and we probably wont get a continuation of this
It's been off hiatus since September 2019 and regularly releasing new chapters. The problem is that chapters take 2-3 months to release...
@@AICW no wonder the show got two seasons
The show will not get another anime season due to political correctness. One of the english VAs already said she would never play Shenua.
@@revy1370 Got a source for that?
At any rate, it's a non-issue since Shenhua hasn't appeared in the manga again. Also, the bigger issue is that the arc immediately following Roberta's Blood Trail is a very unflattering look at the Chinese military's cyberhacking activities and depicts their army as having nutjob generals more than willing to assassinate their own troops. You'd need a production committee with balls of steel who aren't afraid to offend the PLA to get a third season...
@@AICW Wouldn't be so much of an issue if the production company wasn't also aiming for a Chinese market, really. Beyond that, well, there's the dubbing department to worry about. Quite the shame we now live in a time where being slightly off kilter of the PC narrative can land ya in the house of the rising sun. Shit, feels like society needs the problems of the 90's now more than ever if this kind of crap keeps up.
Black Lagoon was absolutely amazing because besides ALL of the things you mentioned, it was an anime that talked about how life isn’t so black and white. There’s lots of moral grey in the middle. It touched on themes not too many at the time did.
It's kind of a stretch but it's the closest thing I've ever watched to an anime The Wire
Actually no, if you actually read it, it has.the autor "good" and "bad" views, specially when they talk about militia on the south, or their opinion of the ussr and russia, which i probally know where they got that
@@estacion7386 shut ur hole
And that there's also a lot of black and white. It was more the theme of "Sometimes there's some grey, but usually right and wrong are pretty simple and blatant." If any thing, a lot of the characters tended to try to paint the black as grey and argue that the white was also grey so they wouldn't be the bad guy of their own story. Which is pretty normal. Very few people see themselves as the bad guy or want to be.
What I really liked about it was that it really touched the life after modernism, after the cold war. After the clear good guys bad guys, so to speak, that normal people had been conditioned to think about in both of the worldpowers and this goes for people in usa And Soviet. The end of cold war with the spread of capitalism and disintegration of old structures robbed people of stability.
Because of Cyberpunk Edgerunners it actually helped me to get motivated to watch Black Lagoon along with its OVA episodes, I freaking love Black Lagoon so much (to the point it became my personal favorite Anime Series, I liked it even more than Case Closed/Detective Conan) especially since I do love dark, gritty and crime genre due to the fact that I played alot of crime games especially open world ones and also crime tv shows plus movies
i really need to read the manga and then also watch it for the fourth time
in that case I think you're going to like "gangsta."
@@thepeanut880 animated by the same studio who animated Ergo Proxy
'A psychopath with daddy issues, a mysterious and enigmatic merc, and a Florida man'. Good to see Florida men have been going so strong they appear in 2010's animes.
Except this Florida man was super chill. Which is the opposite of the Florida man we know today.
@@mako8091 No, revy was never chill
@@estacion7386 I'm talking about Benny. "Florida MAN."
@@mako8091 he got so chill he crossed mafia _and_ FBI back in Florida, so I guess he still checks out
@@mako8091 Hey I'm pretty chill. Most of my redneck friends are not though which makes them so much fun to be around.
That latina joke had me dead bro. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Joke?! Nah that shit fr 🤣
I married one, so there were some tears when I laughed...
Nah it ain't a joke family
I love the latina part
where's the joke? that shits reality
The badass women in Black Lagoon are what Hollywood especially wishes they could write these days.
Literally what I used to introduce it to my friend, the fact is that they're not just badass, they're 'women' they're not trying to be men. They're as feminine as they are badass. You never look at Revy, or Balalaika, or the Cleaner and forget they're women.
@@JoeTACor when you start a new anime and one of the MC's lookin like anais from gumball and the attitude of a 5 year old. When I saw Black Lagoon I was literally "HELL YEAH!!!!" Through most of it. Most of anime women remind me of how stupid they made men look in cartoons.
Watch any 40% RT score movie from the '80s. Chances are the dialogue will blow out the water anything you can expect in any top release from today's Hollywood. That particularly applies to women.
@@yarpen26 I was born in 80, so I've seen many of those films.
Black Lagoon is one of those shows that can only hapen once
Fr
We got cyberpunk edge runners and Breaking Bad
@@alchemistofsteel8099 black lagoons vampire twins Arc negs
cyberpunk edgerunners
Black Lagoon is one of the anime series that has it's own niche, next to Ergo Proxy
I remember watching this, samurai champloo and cowboy bebop when quarantine started. They just completely stood out from everything I've ever watched. And guess what? They all had adults as main cast. They felt so fucking relatable and/or intriguing. These three still remain on top of my all time favorites
There are a ton of classics you'd actually like then. There was some truly great stuff made in the 80's & 90's, before the industry went to shit & began churning out generic Trope garbage.
@@skins4thewinI mean seeing anime now it’s seems to be going really great plus all the shows the guy created are seinen which are for a more adult audience unlike shounen which had become more popular.
the really funny part of this is thats because you're thinking of this from an adult perspective, anime tends to be marketed to teens a lot because teens have free time and lots of overworked adults in japan want to mentally go back to when they were teens or experience a better teenage life than they got
it makes sense that teens would be relatable to teens while also being an idealized version for both the adults and the teens to look at and either relate or fantasize about being able to relate fully to
You would probably like Golden Kamuy.
@@MialikesthingsBelieve me, there's no talking with that guy.
The ending theme isn't just slow, basically it's a requiem.
Exactly, this show is so great. It's a shame the manga is so slow and there isn't a season 4 in the works. I've heard it's in madhouse jail. Like they haven't worked on it and they're the only ones with production rights to it.
@@robynb7083 if anyone but madhouse did it, they most would fuck it up
Completely agree with what you said about the characters being adults. It's amazing what anime can do sometimes when they're not too busy making their main characters high schoolers who have nervous breakdowns because they made eye contact with a girl or something and thinking that's comedy.
Yeah, took a brake for about 2 years and realised - Holy shit, all those characters are like 10 years younger than me now. These shows just ain't for me anymore. Unfortunately, adult anime is clearly not as profitable, because all we get now is teen shit with no real character development.
Japan would rather show kids because being an adult over there is outright depressing as hell,and they can sell sus scenes to the audience if the main characters are children afterall
wich is faked up to the 10th dimention if u think aobut it@@SmokeyOwOs
@@ShiftyMoravian Late reply but yeah, that's kinda what made me stop watching anime. A few of the long running series I was watching finally concluded. And I'm looking at this new stuff and thinking, 'Man...high school was a *LONG* time ago. As much as I love anime, it's time to move on.'
@@cavalieroutdoors6036 the fuck bro that's been 1 year now?! Damn... Talk about irony, it's been so long :D
While simple, the dynamic between Rock and Revy is frankly perfect, she's the psychotic gunman wading through blood and tar trying desperately to protect that one spark of light that might drag her out of the darkness, while he's the innocent salaryman slowly falling deeper into the darkness and becoming the gambler addicted to winning that all in pot.
There won't ever be a happy ending for them, Rock's falling, and Revy is blindly clinging to him as he sinks because he's the only light that's ever come into her life.
"Don't look at her Rock, look at me!"
@Foxlawl This exact moment broke me on multiple occantions
What if they do get a happy ending?
she's not "psychotic" and as psychologist I hate overusing this tterm with passion. "psychotic" means having sth to do with psychosis. She has neither hallucinations nor delusions
@@wildbard4112 happy endings depend on what we understand by happy ending.
You are literally the funniest, most creative, and refreshingly articulate anime critic, I've been fortunate enough to stumple upon on social media. Needlessly to say I suscribed in less than five minutes (I normally don't suscribe to anime critics anymore). Thank you for the nostalgia.
The arc with the twins broke me that shit is real and it's damaging Black Lagoon didn't hide anything and that's why it's great
So true
that whole arc just left me feeling depressed ☹︎
That arc made me physically ill it was so real
Bruh 😢
Comment I was looking for.
It's mature. Compared to most anime these days, it's a mature anime that doesn't rely on fan service. Well... it's there but not bouncing in your face all the time.
Yes. Especially with the part where Rock wakes Revy. It is more sensual. Not "OMGGGG PANTIES IN THE BED WOAH NOSEBLEED GRAB OPPAI". It's left to us, and that's what makes it fun.
Not mature at all, and BL has a lot of fanservice their main is a bike short lunatic
@@estacion7386 like he/she said: it's there but not always bouncing in your face all the time for no reason at all, and also if you think biker shorts are fan service then you've probably never stepped outside your house in the summers.
@@Antiprincipl3 Or maybe he comes form a society that expects wahmen to dress appropriately. Not as if there in an open air brothel. Ya know?
@@JKTProductionzIncNCoSo he’s a religious nut, is what you’re saying?
Ah Mr.Popo, little people know, he is the most badass being in all dragon ball. I remember seing Black Lagoon on MTV or something, but never watched it. But sounds like an anime i would like now
Black Lagoon is everything I want in anime and manga. Dark, gritty, fun, exciting, well written story, great character development and punches you really hard in the emotions.
It reminds me a bit of Monster, despite the stories being very different
@@Chukky_E.A Monster and Berserk are legendary.
@@nightmarishcompositions4536 Yes Berserk too, I didn't mention it because it had a completely different setting.
If you know anymore animes like this please recommend them to me
@@Chukky_E.A I can think of a few that are similar to all three of these series! Keep in mind the manga version of most of these stories are way better than their anime counterparts while others don’t have manga adaptations or anime adaptations at all. They’re all great though.
Anything by Shuzo Oshimi and Inio Asano
Psycho Pass
Erased
Kurosaki Corpse Delivery Service
No Longer Human
Gangsta
Paranoia Agent
20th Century Boys
Goodnight Punpun
Ikigami
Battle Royale
Homunculus
Freesia
Manhole
MPD Psycho
Vagabond
Vinland Saga
Bastard
Sweet Home
Speed Grapher
Claymore
Gantz
@@nightmarishcompositions4536 Thanks man
I appreciate this
I really hope that 90s/2000s anime mentality makes a comeback some time, it really was the golden age of animation. Nowadays it's mostly regurgitated trash, with some good inbetween
(Edit: edited away the edit)
Facts
2012/13 was when everything went to shit
Yeah it's really sad tbh. The shonen is all super regurgitated and formulaic, like seven deadly sins kind of stuff - and it's all being made by Netflix now and they're practically all the same. There are a few good ones but they're few and far between. Anime like black lagoon, cowboy bebop, or monster just don't come around anymore. I also like the 2003 Fullmetal alchemist quite a bit (liked brotherhood too just not nearly as much because it's just way too heavy on bad attempted humor that just isn't funny whatsoever at so many points - like so many other shonen - it gets much better but I don't think it ever reached as highly as the original. The humor in 2003 was not so frequent that it ruined the show and it actually was funny when it came around. In anime now the tropes are just getting worse and worse, theyre more rampant and forced than they ever used to be and it's completely unnecessary - are there people who even *want* all that crap in anime?? So much of it is so regressive and sexist and overall just disgusting. But, getting back to the point - Why brotherhood fans are so antagonistic about the 2003 anime I'll never understand, my only frustrations with brotherhood is the fanbase acting like a show/movie can only be good if it follows the source material 100% and whether that show is made well is just irrelevant to them - which is EXTREMELY lazy, especially when the 03 anime was made long before the manga was ever finished. No one claims Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is illegitimate or worse than Steven king's book despite him completely rewriting the ending and discarding a bunch of what Steven King wrote - and the reason is because the original book had a pitiful ending. Stanley Kubrick GREATLY improved the story, and Steven King hated his adaptation because of it, but that movie is FAR superior despite taking quite a drastic turn. Steven King made a faithful TV series adaptation and it was completely by the book and no one liked it because it was made horribly. Something bring completely faithful to the original source material is not an argument regarding the quality of the adaptation, if it's made well it's made well regardless. Sorry for the tangent but I get extremely frustrated.)
@graffititurtle9035 it's so stupid man. And on top of that the politics have gotten so bad in some of the shows now. Attack on Titan is basically fascist propaganda it's insane.
@@dudeman5303 nah saying that stuff like monster and bebop dont come out anymore is just not true. there are incredible shows coming out, but they are just different since anime evolved, u have stuff like made in abyss, land of the lustrous, violet evergarden, girls last tour thats all i can remember actually, but there is a lot of decent shows coming out. kaina in the snow world or whatever its called seems pretty interesting, and there are many slice of life or drama or just relaxing shows coming out, just most of them have a lot of fan service like call of the night, but they are still amazing.
Based on some of the anime out there I don't think they're focused on school due to nostalgia...
I've watched just about every Black Lagoon review/analysis on YT and this is one of the best. Good job man.
Means a lot
Black Lagoon 100% shot straight up to being my favourite piece of anime media. Such a solid show.
So now I need to watch this. And I need more recommendations like this. Great job man
Jormungand is another anime about a mercenary gang in a similar setting. I liked it quite a bit.
"a guy from Florida" is enough description to make him fit with the rest of the crazy characters. lol
The vampire twins Arc ending music stole my soul and made me cry 😢
Those two kids deserved better. I'd have liked for Gretel to become a recurring (and slowly healing) character, but it never would've made sense for Balalaika to let her get away, and it wouldn't have fit the dark tone of the story very well.
One of the darkest story arcs in fiction. And excellently done.
"we can have a picnic!"
guys i don't think they will have a picnic
@@SomeGuy-gc8zs this is why I loved the omakes. the episode where the twins were balalaika's children was my favorite.
edit: revy becoming a magical girl...with guns was also fun.
Oddly that was the part I hated most about the show. It was idiotic.
Thank you TH-cam Gods, for blessing me with the discovery of this gem through your holy algorithm.
Found this video 2 nights ago while lying here in a hospital bed. Been binging Black Lagoon since then. What a ridiculously bad arsed series.
And dont forget black lagoon write its female character as their own individuals with goals and personality and make them badasses. Not just to be back supporter and simping for the main character
All anime does that. (Write females with goals and aspirations)
Only the Harem genre really doesnt. And even then, the females in that have goals and aspirations. (Granted said goal is to get with the main character)
Not all too often, though. Mostly the female characters have no aspirations of their own and it's just the same goal as the MC or theirs is paper thin. At least thats how I feel about the Last couple of Shows I have watched.
Female characters carry Black Lagoon )))
@@RaifSeverence a lot of shonen don't have female characters with agency or goals independent of the male main character. There are a few that are the exception to the rule and usually they have a female writer
@@RaifSeverence saying all anime does that is a gross overstatement. Some do but the majority don’t. Im very hard pressed to think of a single shonen where the female characters have their own goals that aren’t related to the mcs goal, write them off as a generic love interest/fan service, or just don’t matter to the story.
love that Shenhua fires back and calls Revy Twinkie, "yellow on the outside, white on the inside" typically a derogatory term for many of Asian decent who don't particularly adhere to their ancestral culture. girl a grew up with used to call my friend Twinkie because she was Korean and her family was like super strict tradionalist and he grew up with a ton of western influence, i nearly lost my shit when he did the squinty eye thing to her when they would pass each other in the hall way, pulling the corners of his eyes back and making loud metal clinking sounds at her while she called him twinkie, like bruh i did not understand this culture war
I've watched the show twice and never caught on to that. First Oreo, now Twinkie. What's next?
@@mako8091 Think of something brown that's white on the inside.
@@redblue4127 a churro!
@@redblue4127 Oatmeal Creampie or a Swiss Roll.
@@redblue4127 Ding Dong. It's catchy too.
black lagoon is what gave me the need for dark violet anime, with uncensored obscenity.
Made in Abyssssssssss
This is one of my favorite anime of all time. Balalaika is my favorite character and the loyalty her platoon has for her is fantastic. The episode where the US SF guys basically have it out with the city is my favorite episode. One of the few animes that could make an excellent live action series. Revy is a psycho but looks damn good in daisy dukes.
balalaika is what a lot of characters just cant be and thats a serious woman doing serious stuff in a nasty world. i mean girl is doing dirty work every day, copying a*** p*** tapes is the least of it. other animes would show the characters having lighthearted colourful playtime, meanwhile lagoon shows us sawyer cutting up a body. yep. thats the black lagoon kind of downtime.
@@MsCheeseyFries exactly and that’s why it’s one of my favorites and honestly think if they did a live action it could be done well. It’s dark and gritty w/o any special effects.
@@mattstakeontheancients7594 itd get torn apart and never released bcs of how gritty it is. and a lot of ppl wouldnt understand it, the complexity of the characters, rocks arc as a whole, the trauma and the eventual emotional peace of roberta, and all the other sub plots.
also people would get hung up on the vampire twins and the dialogue between dutch and that aging nazi fuck so like, good luck marketing it
@@MsCheeseyFries could see Tarintino if he ever did a series could handle it. Django was pretty rough, so was Ingoorious Bastard, and hateful eight. Actually there is a group out of standford that did the bar scene between Revy and Roc where they get into it. It was good
@@mattstakeontheancients7594 inglorious basterds and django were hard for what they had to say for sure, tarantino didnt hold back on the graphic depictions of racism and mutilation. i think it could be done well but remember, tarantino makes films in a very specific style to him. black lagoon needs someone who can direct an amazing series yes but also someone who can match the style. tarantino makes movies for theatre screening and he makes one off films. itd be outside of his regular work and idk if hed match the style.
F*cked part is I relate to revy as an assault happened to me it drove me insane. I hated everyone everything only luckily I was given a chance and shown love. I am so glad I grew up and got my shit together.
Glad you were able to do so. I still have trouble trusting women.
@@robertphillips213 damn bro...
@Robert Phillips Never trust anyone. I guess that would make my advice hard to take.
@@pbabiesinspace6112 Horrid advice
"there aren't any lolis"
Uhh ... The twins?
Lolis are a problem cause anime wants us to be into them.
Black Lagoon’s twins are NEVER framed like that. The twins’ section in the story was a metric fuckton of emotional damage. If someone can get a boner to either of them after watching their episodes they should lose their dick privileges.
2:45 "and a dude from Florida“ that’s just comedic gold
I'm glad I ain't the only one laughing at that. 😂
Counter Point - Black Lagoon could be received more positively today for the following reasons:
1. Great diversity with characters coming from different ethnicities and cultures.
2. The protagonist, the Black Lagoon crew, represents different racial and cultural backgrounds: Dutch is an African-American army vet; Benny is a Jewish Hacker; Revy is Chinese-American raised in NYC; and Rock is a Japanese salaryman.
3. Representation of people with disabilities like the one-eyed Sister Yolanda, and the mute Sawyer
4, Revy, despite her fan-service-y appearance, is a well-written and nuanced character: A hot-headed gunslinger who is more introspective than she looks, who relies on violence and hedonism to get over her past traumas.
5. Lots of strong and distinctly written female characters, like the imposing Balalaika, the terrifying and indestructible yet loyal and soft hearted Roberta, the smart and straight-laced Li Xinlin; the happy-go-lucky but dependable Eda, and the brash hot-headed gunslinger Revy.
Facts
People really wanna virtue signal their pc hating boner that they resort to shit like this. South park is still runing today and comedians can basically buy youtube using all the money that they earned complaining about pc culture because one pussy on Twitter got offended,. It got to the point that some people claim that panty and stocking couldnt be released today.... in the same era as Interspecies reviewers.
I dont doubt that it would get some people offended today but judging by some of the backlash on the mario movie, everyones capable of getting offended. Hell, this anime is still on netflix so that arguement is even more weak.
Depends on what market does it, really.
If it manages to get enough attention as a seasonal anime it could really Skyrocket the manga, but... Eh, we all know how it went.
Also some cunts on Twitter would definitely cry about it all day.
But what anime doesn't get those people? They couldn't take CSM
While Black Lagoon is actually diverse, it's the wrong kind that the entertainment types want for the "modern audience". It's not full of tokens, obnoxious or preachy enough about the usual diversity talking points, while also being "toxically cisgendered".
@@MoreEvilThanYahweh My dude, touch some grass. Just as I'm sure literal Nazis aren't running media, I assure you that nobody important is complaining about whatever you're foaming on about. Don't let other's deprived from grass deprive you from it too.
For some reason I decided to start this anime this year and man I'm upset and happy that I haven't watched it earlier, truly a masterpiece
I really miss the more adult era of anime. Theres a few but its definitely more for younger audiences and i hope that changes soon. Theres plenty of us who grew up on anime and still enjoy it.
anime was so much better before Isekai garbage became mainstream
@@escapetherace1943 cry
@@mathinho1237 poser find a different hobby
Yeah that's sad
So many great anime existed back then
Now everything is more colourful and not as visually gripping if you know what i mean
Theres still good anime released in the modern style like love is war which i enjoyed but i think the golden age of anime is behind is in certain ways
No like we really need the new season of this show felt incomplete after watching. MORE BLACK LAGOON
Yeah, it's a rare breed
Never gonna happen. One voice actor already said she'd never come back due to feeling uncomfortable voicing shenhua as a non-asian person. The series in general would make it very hard for anybody to work on it because of China. Some of the more recent stories have focused on Chinese hackers and such, and everybody in the industry knows you can't piss off China because they're a pretty large chunk of profit once your product is complete. Fuckin hate China and their bullshit censorship laws.
@@jamariobrown-tolliver8163 an extinct breed by now i guess
They'd use a different animation style if they did, and probably use CGI. Not even going to get into what the localizers would do to it.
Probably best off if it stayed dead.
@@stantrien8106 I think CGI is great if the creators play to its strenght. For full CGI, see Beastars and for CGI with hand drawing on top see Arcane. Random ugly CGI in the middle of 2D animation is an eyesore tho.
Those sword cutlass pistols are badass. I modded one into Fallout 4, now I don't stop using it. I'm gonna figure out how to dual-wield them eventually.
This is arguably one of the best anime ever made. As an adult it just connects even harder.
10 years later, people still were thinking the world was going to end, 2 years after the video, people still think the world is going to end.
One thing that is brilliant about Revy's character is that her situation is reflected so often. People in poor neighborhoods are turned to side gigs, gangs, and crimes, all because there are no more oppurtunity where she lives. Born in shit - Die in shit is such an unfortunate reality for a lot of people. A lot of people end up dying just for the oppurtunity to "get out of the hood."
This anime pulled no punches.
We need more of that now more than ever.
Black Lagoon could totally air today. If stuff like Redo the Healer got aired black lagoon too
FK you, have a whyfu in some stupid French maid uniform with some dumbass powers that are OP who is hundreds of years old but looks like a preteen
@@justiny2215 Its the same story, a good guy got duped by the system and society so he tries the his best to do the same
The contrast between the intro and outro music you mentioned reminds me of Hotline Miami. The blood pumping music through the level, and the hazy come down at the end. Rinse, repeat
Another thing I find interesting is how the villains have backstories tied to historical events which makes for some interesting political and social commentary and I like it how in the OVA, the roles of Rock and Revy begin to shift as Rock becomes more and more unhinged and psychotic while Revy starts to see Rock as her only escape from her life of crime and violence.
If they ever make this into a movie ,Samuel L JAckson should play Dutch . He’s actually a fan of the anime to so that’s extra dope
lol nice
He’s like 112 years old though
@@KaptainKerl they should make a sequel to the anime then
@@KaptainKerlthis cracked me the hell up
Oh H e l l® *NO😖!* A big fat *N O!* I'm sure that there is a lot of other actors that look like Dutch and are fan of the anime as well!
Thank you! I've had this anime on my list for awhile now and can't wait to start.
Was singing this shows praises a decade ago when I was barely entering high school. When I’d tell the people who I knew were super into anime about it, they had no idea what I was talking about. I’m so glad that now it’s getting the respect and recognition it deserves.
This one and Birdy The Might: Decode are my two all time favorite anime’s
This and Jormungand were the first animes i finished completely, has a special place in my memory, especially Roberta's Blood trail
Jomungand was better than black lagoon
@@ionkneva you are a dumbass of planetery proportions
her name is koko, she is loco...
@@adrian4276 I said oh no
@@ionkneva idk they're both great
In case you're wondering what is the song/music/tune used in the outro of this video around 09:12, it's El Sol se Recuesta from the Black Lagoon OST
My favorite part of Black Lagoon is that each story arc had some sort of real historical aspect tied to it, whether it be a person, group, event, or series of actions. Examples the EO company (called Extra Order in the anime) is based on Executive Outcomes, a real life mercenary group. Takenaka is based on a real person from the Japanese Red Army. The "Hansel and Gretel", well that explanation is in the anime and they're a product of one of the darker pockets of history.
Im so glad this video exists! Also the recent arc in the manga was so good i really wanted Madhouse to pick up this series again and animated it. Gosh i want to see Dutch secret identity arc in motion so bad!
the manga isn't done yet? damn
'Black lagoon could not be released today'
Netflix: "Challenge accepted."
4:03 "they're called latinas" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA FUCKING DEAD!!!
I love how you mix your insight with some wicked sense of humor edited in. Happy to have found your channel! Great recommendations as usual, taking me down memory lane. The shows you talk about left a mark on me for years and years for being true to their art.
You say that, then there’s me saying ‘we need a season 3 today’
WTF. A russian-speaking, latina-loving, anime youtuber who also listens to Plastic Love and has watched Code Geass (you don't fool me, I recognise the first piece of bgm in the video)?!
I love how the narrative accurately depicts the complexity of what's considered to be good and evil. I consider it to be one of the most difficult story structures to write because it's not really something that most people are comfortable with. And some subjects can be simply overlooked depending on characters, setting, and story. So Black Lagoon having a creative cast of characters taking on jobs as mercenaries. Was a really amazing idea, that allowed for a lot of stuff in the narrative. Recent shows like 86 and I'm Quitting Heroing have similar themes.
But so far Bloodborne is the only close contender that matches a variety of good and evil subjects in it's narrative. Similar to Black Lagoons variety in it's narrative, but honestly Black Lagoon is one of a kind, and it's excellent!
Bloodborne and Black Lagoon in a single post. U sir, u are a man of culture.
Fr, the twins and roberta were my favorite arcs in the story. No other anime has ever made me feel like that, it's a masterclass.
Jormundgurd?
Dude thanks for this video I picked up the show a year ago because of you and wow what a ride…
FINALLY SOMEONE IS TALKING ABOUT IT!! It’s the only anime that made me grow up and have goosebumps. There’s not enough masterpiece like that. (Sorry for my english I’m french).
You speak English better than a lot of native English speakers. Respect.
Pardon pour mon français je parle anglais
The master of edgy anime, pretty horrible and fun.
Revi is one of my favorite characters in fiction. I have always thought of her as beautifully broken. The way she wears her trauma cuts you to your core. Any character can have a tragic backstory and be great in a fight, those are a dime a dozen. What sets Revi apart is how Rock's innocence and naiveté cuts through her scars forcing her to address feelings she had long since buried. And how all of that leads her to protect him as if his innocence reminds her of what she lost.
i'd love to tame that nasty body in bed
Great show, I recently watched it all. Awesome stuff. Great video, thank you.
I watched Black Lagoon so many years ago and still, one of my favorite anime series of all time. Plot, characters (progression), savage action, soundtrack, etc. Revy and company are classic masterpiece
yeah the rewatch value is way too high, I appreciate the characters even more the older I get
My friend recommended me this show waaaay back in school, said it had an interesting spin on romance. And I watched it as a young adult later on, which revealed to me the level of badass that this guy operated on when we weren't old enough to drink or most movies even.
I was crushed when I finished the whole anime, wish I could watch so much more of it...
Rewatching this video months later, man I really hope this type of anime makes a comeback. I really miss this era.
Ah, black lagoon. One of my all time faves. Really hard to find great shows like this nowadays.
I think you can make a lot of your points without devaluing other anime. For example, I like Dragon Ball Z because of the fights, the characters, even the world building is pretty awesome. Yet its nothing like Black Lagoon. Thats a GOOD thing. We need diverse story telling and writing styles. If you have to praise Black Lagoon at the expense of other anime, why not compare it to anime that tried to do a similar thing, but fell short? I think that would probably have been a more meaningful comparison.
I just related to revy a lot, my own blood brother assaulted me when I was 9. I basically thought he was just being a little more caring then usual. After that I grew up to get sent to juvie 4 times. I didn’t really care for anyone or anything. I had friends but to me the were “disposable”. I’m only now starting to change. This show was one my only coping mechanisms..it’s kinda funny actually😂
Similar story here, I'm slowly becoming more normal 😂
I'm really proud of how far I came, hope you are too 👍🏻
i relate to Revy alot as well, from a young age people hated me just because of who i was and i was the antichrist at 6 yo, after i accidentally broke a kids arm in kindergarden and him telling his parents i did it on purpose, after that sunday mass i was deemed the antichrist by the whole town and that monday many parents came to kindergarden to demand that when at recess im confined to a square meter place in the yard that was walled off on 3 sides with a teacher on the open side to guard me. That is just the first incident of many, for example somebody saw me smoke a ciggy when i was 12, i was immediately deemed a junkie and again a whole fuss was made by the parents that found smokes on their kids, ofc i had to give them said smokes because of my incredible satanic wealth (we were kind of poor actually, not really but we were building a house at the time so all the money went there, i didnt even buy my own smokes i was getting my smokes from a school mate that was lazy at homework so i did that for him he gave me a pack of smokes every few days) and so on. Ended up homeless which eventually broke something in me, and then i rewatched the anime and it hit me how i was so similar with Revy and Rock in a way, i finally understood them and it hit much harder than the first time i watched. When the world is set on breaking you there is not a damn thing you can do about it, eventually it will break you and when that happens you will be ridiculed and pitied, everybody will look down on you and you will feel like dirt. Thats when your inner Revy comes out to play. Thats when a man (or woman) is the scariest. I hope mine stays put and i pity the motherfucker that will wake her next....
@@weedhigh2564well , that suck for sure , you are so strong for enduring all this , hope everything getting better for you , stay safe and happy , there will be right people who will understand you , and love you no matter what 'cause you deserve it . Sorry for my bad English not my first language.
@@yuukivirlin7615 thank you, i try to make the best of it, if my experiences can help somebody im happy to share them even if they are quite dark. Life isnt for everyone and some like me for example, simply suck at it. It did get better but i still have some ptsd and stuff i need to work through from those times, just so i can move on because even if right now life is not as hard on me it does not mean it will stay like this forever and if i dont move on from my past im affraid i'll be doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over. yeah english is not my 1st language either, dont worry i understood you well
@@weedhigh2564 you have no idea how your story influence me , i had so many bad experiences in the past and because i was coward enough i did end up repeat it again and again hopping for things to change , all i needed to open up and seek for help , and never be ashamed of my mistakes and i am the victim here , i am not the one to blame , at least that's what my therapist said , of course in comparison you had to endure so much more and i was just child , so thank you so much for being so brave and so strong , you made me want to do more and move on , I don't know you but i really love you , hope you wonderful future.
"life has no meaning and there's no god to judge her, so why not have a little fun."
Holy shit.. that line goes hard
Watched back during quarantine instantly shot up to my top 5
8:22 Damn I was not expecting such a sudden lack of chill...
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I never knew how to describe what made Black Lagoon so good, amongst series like Cowboy Bebop, and other 'Golden Age' anime/manga until you did;
THEY'RE ADULTS, an actual show that is free of the immature humor. And treats it's audience with some semblence of respect.
this and jormungand are my favorite and my husband being ex-military i was exposed to firearms. I love Revy’s 9mm berettas so on my 29th birthday my husband got me 2 nickel plated berettas and we go shooting on our off days. Black lagoon is a wonderful series need more like it!
Your commentary is brutally honest and real. I love it.
The reason I subbed
gotta say your background music choices are 10/10, Made in Abyss soundtrack specifically goes hard
you couldnt have said it better , as a kid i had no idea why i loved this anime but after this video it truly was the depth. my biggest complaint about this show ends up being that there wasnt enough of it
One of the aspects of this show that i like how you can tell characters apart from one another in regards to both how they're animated and their personalities. Its one of the few shows where i actually bothered to learn the characters names because they all felt like real people with their own sets of strengths and weaknesses. Rock isn't a great fighter but he becomes indispensable to the team because of his ability to analyze and plan. Revy is a death machine but the more you learn about the more you realize how much of a mess she is. Its very well done.
exactly, the characters have natural looking hair colours and clothing, yet you can still differentiate between them easily. Also love that the female characters are designed like normal human beings instead of big tiddy moe waifus
@herack5928 I mean it's still fiction but I do get the over- saturation u may feel 😂
"Acted like adults" There have been hundreds of OVA's with protagonists like this.
"Character's are Adults, it's not High School."
Hilariously, the director also did High School of The Dead...which is also great, though it quickly abandons the High School.
7:28 dude, I remember getting into an intense discussion about this in a forum.
Random dude: "omg that means they banged, they totally banged! How else can you just walk in on a half naked woman and be fine?!!?"
Me: "because they're adults and after surviving multiple battles together and getting close, they stopped caring?"
Random dude: "nu uh that's not possible!"
So fucking stupid, and it's stupid that I still remember this stupid discussion from years ago with somebody I never met.
Some people are just so unnecessarily horny that they forget that most people aren't like that...
The number of people I have seen talking about who boned who about a shonen manga character that doesn't even have a romance tag is...
Phew
Is Rock gonna pipe is the most important question of the whole show.
"they're called latinas."
Sent my sides to orbit.
😂😂😂
While the melancholy ending music plays; from the beginning we are witnessing Revy slowly moving forward and shooting at something, emptying rounds that we see dropping to the ground around her feet whilst she continues her steady progress. Beautifully bleak until the final moments when she turns around angrily to face somebody who is behind her (Rock?)
Thank you for introducing me to this anime, it's one of my favorite show of all time !
Holy shit! Great video man.
Black lagoon is so good watching on Netflix currently, i dont usually watch amines so this is an amazing show. The only problem I have tho is that some arcs can be a bit too stretched, however everything else is mint.
Not much of a manga lover, but apparently that's still ongoing there, and the show isn't fully canceled but the fandom seems 50/50 on weather or not to give up or keep hope for more episodes.
Either way good to see the community alive and well from a show that started in 2004 lel.
wait. it's on Netflix? I can't find it!
Probably do to censorship
@@buttunbasher3604 it is on Hulu
The show just recently did a collab with PUBG so it seems that the new eyes are still getting put onto it 18 years later lmao
@@nobones bro do they still have stuff available on pub g for black lagoon?
Man Black Lagoon is sooo good. I regularly rewatch it.
Also its got one of the best intro and outros, one of the few I don't skip when watching through.
Always watching it past midnight on a weekend before i get some sleep is a chill experience
It’s one of the few shows I’ll actually rewatch
Thanks for introducing me to this masterpiece
"watching black lagoon kinda made me dislike every other anime I've seen at that point"
I had the same thoughts. Ever since I discovered this show, it's what I usually compare an anime series to to know whether I would like it or not (for the most part). I cool to see this show pop up again after a long time
I mean A.Ot still up
Fantastic review and video, you just earned a sub. I think you’re funny as hell and I agree with your points. I want more shows like this, less censorship and catering to social media outrage culture.