Black Lagoon: Volume 3 (UK)(DVD)

Introduction

All signs point to the anime industry heading for a downturn, belts are being tightened, jobs are being cut, and companies being downsized. The warm glow of the early part of the decade is quickly chilling, and the prevalence of fansubs and digital downloads continues to bite. If that is the case, then 2008 is turning out to be quite the Indian summer for anime fans when it comes to DVD. We've never had it so good, and the number of must own titles in the market right now is breathtaking. Most years you get one or two of the quality and mass appeal of Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex, just a couple of titles to point to and marvel at, as the exemplars of the anime medium. This year we are truly spoilt for choice. There's no more lengthy waits for the next volume of excellence to arrive when there are shows like Beck, Mushi-shi, Death Note, Berserk, Witchblade, School Rumble, and FLCL being released. And that's just out of the shows that I have seen. To stand out against a background of merit like that takes a hell of a show, but Black Lagoon manages just that. Good anime may no longer as rare as a rainstorm in a desert, but it is appreciated nonetheless. The happy dance I am compelled to do with this third and final volume of Black Lagoon is thankfully indescribable. Mustn't forget my customary gloat. It still looks as if we in the UK will get the Second Barrage before the US.

The life of a salaryman, or white-collar worker isn't an easy one. Years of hard competitive education just to get your foot on the first rung of the corporate ladder in a big firm. As the lowest of the low, you get the toughest work, and all the abuse from the higher ups. You spend years of your life, make sacrifices of your family and free time, pledging eternal loyalty to the company, all in the hope that one day, you'll be the one doing the abusing instead of being abused. Then, while acting as a courier, you're kidnapped by mercenaries for the sensitive data disc that you're carrying, disowned by your superiors as an unfortunate loss, get caught up in battles and gunfights with the mercs your company send to retrieve the disc, and start a new job as a pirate. Okay, so that doesn't happen to your average Reginald Perrin, but it does happen to Rokuro Okajima, in the acclaimed anime Black Lagoon. The final four episodes of twelve are presented here on this MVM disc, chronicling the further adventures of Dutch, Revy, Benny and Rock.



9. Maid to Kill
Previously on Black Lagoon, the crew wound up with custody of a young boy named Garcia, who was currently being traded for ransom by a South American drugs cartel. But there was more to the kidnapping than met the eye, and of course Rock grew attached to the little tyke. Garcia was also adamant that his family's maid would come to rescue him, which raised a couple of chuckles. They shouldn't have laughed, for when they made landfall and went to the bar, they found Roberta the maid waiting, with a loaded shotgun, a Kevlar suitcase and a bad attitude, surrounded by armed goons. The crew realise that there is no deal to made, and decide to lay low with Garcia until the blood stops flowing. Garcia is shocked and even frightened, he's never seen that side of Roberta before, and decides that it will be safer to stay close to Rock. But then Revy opens her big mouth, and Roberta 'notices' the Black Lagoon crew. The chase is on…

10. The Unstoppable Chambermaid
She may be petite, refined, female, but she's walked right out of a James Cameron action movie, and she's proving difficult to kill. To add insult to injury, she knocked Revy out for the count, and when she wakes up, she's spitting tacks and demanding vengeance. It'll be settled with a gunfight at the docks, but Balalaika and the Russian mafia find all these explosions in Roanapur are bad for business.



11. Lock 'n Load Revolution
When extremists target a US embassy, it means an emergency job for the crew of the Black Lagoon. The Chinese Triad have gotten their hands on some sensitive intelligence documents, and had their headquarters blown up for the privilege. It's information that the CIA would love to get their hands on, especially as the terrorists have a particular grudge against the US. Dutch is to deliver the case to the CIA on Basilan Island within two days, but the terrorists have them in their sights. Even with a host of decoys, they are still tailed to the island, so while Benny and Dutch play follow my leader, Rock and Revy sneak onto the island, only for Rock and the briefcase to be captured as soon as they land.

12. Guerillas in the Jungle
Rock is being interrogated, but it's an odd question and answer session. His interrogator is just as out of place as he is, an old Japanese revolutionary named Takenaka whose rousing words fell on deaf ears back home, and who left to find another cause. While he tries to find common ground with Rock, his cohort Ibraha gets impatient and pulls out a gun. Rock could use some rescuing about now. Revy has trouble of her own though. She's finally met the contacts she was supposed to meet originally, and they turn out to be a Taiwanese Triad assassin and her doped to the gills driver. While she and Shen Hua are arguing over who has the higher body count, the junkie at the steering wheel is seeing pink elephants.

Picture

Black Lagoon gets a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer, which is as good as it gets without it being a native PAL source. The image is clear and sharp, detail is excellent, colours are consistent, and I didn't notice a single compression artefact. It's a good thing too, as Black Lagoon has some of the best animation I have seen in a television anime. It's fluidly and dynamically animated, the attention to detail is astounding, especially with the military equipment. This may be the anime of choice when it comes to gun porn, with Revy's Cutlasses getting special attention. It's an action packed show, with plenty of gunfights, explosions and chases to be getting on with. The character designs have had a lot of thought put into them, and are particularly effective with a cast of grizzled and battle worn mercenaries. CGI texture mapping comes into its own here, as I doubt the plethora of scars and tattoos adorning some skins could have been possible were they animated traditionally.

Sound

An action packed show needs a suitably expressive soundtrack, and my preference of the DD 2.0 Japanese doesn't disappoint, with plenty of directionality to the sound design, especially when pro-logicked up, while keeping the dialogue clear and audible. Translated subtitles are provided of course, along with a signs only track. For the full surround experience there is the DD 5.1 English track, and it's an excellent experience that gives punchy punctuation to the action sequences, has the show's soundtrack reverberating and is a significant step up from the stereo. I'll never be a fan of English dubs, but Black Lagoon's is near passable, with some impressive performances. I think the English language actor chosen for Dutch is perfectly cast, and if some other performances are a little too typical of dubs, they don't detract from the show.

It's a shame there isn't a Japanese surround track though.

Extras

Jacket picture, animated menu and trailers for Shana and Witchblade, along with the Japanese closing sequence, as well as 3½ minutes of promotional video for the series.

Conclusion

In my never ending search for the next thing, the new form of mental stimulation, the next revolution in entertainment, I often forget what a joy it is just to sit down in front of the TV for 90 minutes with a silly grin plastered on my face. Black Lagoon's third volume delivers another concentrated dose of 80's body count action entertainment with a 21st Century spin, and I find myself revelling in the carnage once more. We have 90 minutes of pure anime adrenaline, and surprisingly Revy isn't centre stage for all of it. Even more surprisingly the show doesn't suffer for the lack. The first series concludes in explosive style, and leaves you drooling like a mindless automaton, eager for the 2nd Barrage. Fortunately there is no hiatus, and the next volume of Revyliciousness arrives in September.



I've gushed like a schoolboy twice already for this show, so I'll restrain myself this time, although my incoherent whimper of appreciation for the show hasn't altered. We begin by resolving the cliffhanger, and if it can be applied to this fresh and exciting show, this is where Black Lagoon gets a little self-indulgent. The nanny Roberta has arrived to rescue little Garcia, and she is a seriously formidable opponent, despite her Mary Poppins appearance. Her magical suitcase contains automatic weapons, and she's as lethal as Revy when it comes to using them, although not nearly as foul-mouthed. This is where the makers of the show display their love for the Terminator movies, essentially making Roberta the T1000, both in her looks (mirrored sunglasses), and demeanour. The story constantly references the movies, and the car chase sequence is practically taken from T2. It also looks as if they rotoscoped Robert Patrick's running from the Terminator sequel for Roberta. There's a point where a reference stops being cute, and heads into heavy-handedness, and these first two episodes cross that line. Fortunately it was something that I really only thought about after the end credits, as during the show I was nursing that silly grin I mentioned, and trying not to pull a muscle by enjoying myself too much. There is a serious side to the story too, with Garcia coming face to face with the brutality of what he had thought of as a mother figure, while Roberta has to choose between her past and her affection for Garcia. This is also the story which sees Revy unconscious for much of the duration, which provides the other characters a little more to do, although Benny is still a little short changed in these episodes.



We're getting all topical for the final story of the season, with terrorists looking to take down the great Satan America, and all that stand in their way are the brave souls of the Black Lagoon (as long as there are enough zeroes on the cheque). The bad guys are the typical terrorist flavour of the week, but what makes it interesting is the presence of Takenaka, would be Japanese revolutionary who joins their cause. Religious fervour meets social idealism, and it isn't a perfect fit. The story itself is pretty simple, a mission to complete, bad guys to defeat, and chase sequences and stunts galore, with plenty of opportunity to up the body count and have some serious gunplay. What I found interesting about the episodes on this disc, is that prior to this Revy was the unstoppable force of nature, but here we see her meet her match on more than one occasion, with people that aren't as crude or feral as she is. First we have the refined and proper Roberta who fights her to a standstill, and then we meet Shen Hua, the assassin with a penchant for blades who deals just as much death as Revy does. We also meet the head of the Roanapur branch of the Triad, Chang. When we see Chang's two handed shooting style, and the way that he interacts with Revy, it's obvious that the two have a history. He's almost like a mentor to her, although it could be even deeper than that. Rock and Revy's relationship isn't neglected either, with Revy electing to rescue Rock, ostensibly for the documents he's carrying, even though she has just been saying that if the situation were to occur, she would leave his sorry ass to the dogs. The story has quite the punchline, literally so, but it does show that the Rock Revy dynamic is growing. With the final story, we also meet some new characters that look as if they will have a greater part to play in the Second Barrage, and it certainly whets the appetite for what is yet to come.



I hate reviewing Black Lagoon, simply because I have to keep a fraction of my attention on what I am going to write about, when I would love to devote 100% to the show. Great characterisations, and brutal action sequences, all astoundingly animated makes this the sort of show that leaves you exhausted in appreciation. The Terminator episodes were great fun, awesome entertainment, but the overcooked references were just the wrong side of cute. Still, the final two episodes were up to the show's brilliant standards. You want to know how good Black Lagoon is? It's a show that will have you questioning who would win in a showdown between Revy and Chuck Norris, and what's more, you'll be hard pressed to answer.

Second Barrage, now dammit!