 Time for another trip into the world of Rock, Revy and associatesm who spend a lot of this set on some territory that's far more familiar to Rock - Tokyo. Before that, though, we've got vampires and counterfeiters to deal with...
Three discs, three neat story arcs, so we'll just run through them from the beginning, shall we? The Rip Off Church features quite heavily in the first two arcs, with Eda and her gun-toting brethren coming in very useful in both of them. In the first, there's a new pair of killers in town, and with them targetting Hotel Moscow - six killings so far - it's fairly clear that they're both skilled and brave. Balalaika's concerned - the killings are undermining the authority of her syndicate, while the other groups in town are wondering if they're going to be next. To try and turn the tide, a bounty is offered for anyone who'll deal with the killers, and that's enough to catch Lagoon Company's attention. Unusually, though, the killers are a pair of children - and that's not the only unusual thing about them.
Killer kids Hansel and Gretel are creepy on a variety of levels, through their gender ambiguity (they regularly take turns at being "big sister" and "big brother", with it never being entirely clear whether their male or female look is the "true" one) to their completely skewed view of the world, and how that manifests itself in how they treat their victims. When I say "creepy", though, I don't mean creepy in a way that puts you off - rather, it's in a way that makes them absolutely fascinating to watch, and part of me wishes that they would be around for longer than their 3-episode arc. No such luck, however. The running thread of Rock's compassion also gets another outing - after being the human influence in the Garcia arc last season, he's again the one who tries to bring a touch of humanity to the twins in this story, although as ever his efforts meet with mixed results. Black Lagoon isn't just about the violence - that's a large part of it, of course, but there is a human element hidden in there as well.
The other unusual thing about the Hansel and Gretel arc is just how little screen time the Lagoon Company gang get - it's only in the final episode of the arc that any of them get any significant appearances. Up until then the focus is firmly on the twins, and on Balalaika - it's her syndicate that's most under threat from their actions, and as a result she's the one who takes action to put things right. On one level, not seeing Revy & co to the same extent is a shame - but Balalaika and her mob can be just as entertaining in their own way.
Moving onwards, we have the ballad of Greenback Jane, counterfieter extraordinaire. Roanapur isn't the sort of city you should come to unless you're the best of the best in your little corner of the underworld, and you're not afraid to fight your corner. Jane may meet the first of those criteria, but she's sadly lacking in the second - which is why she's found herself in the tender care of Revy, Eda and Rock. While Rock's certainly trustworthy, the other two aren't exactly the sorts you'd trust with your life - but sadly for Jane she doesn't really have any choice. Keeping safe isn't exactly easy, either, when there's a price on your head and half the city seems to be trying to cash in on it.
The continuing effort to save Jane from all the people who'd like a piece of her - and there are a lot of them, including a few familiar faces from earlier in the series - is pretty much the mindless filler in this Black Lagoon sandwich. Jane's tale is a non-stop, adrenaline-pumping action ride - there's barely any time allowed between set-piece battles, there are ups and downs that do sometimes leave you in doubt as to who the winners will be (while you never expect Eda, Rock or Revy to take the fall, Jane's a bit-player and eminently expendable), and there's even some uncharacteristic pantsu-flashing fanservice thrown in for the discerning viewer. The combined run-time for the story is around 70 minutes, but it feels more like five, and it really is Black Lagoon at its outrageous best.
The final arc sees Rock heading back to Japan after more than a year in Roanapur - although it's not for pleasure. It's business, and he's got Revy with him to help out. Hotel Moscow is looking to expand a little, and with Rock knowing the country he's been called in to help grease the wheels a little bit. With their visit coinciding with Christmas and New Year, though, Revy takes mind to have a little harmless fun along the way - and Rock gets to see a whole new side of her personality. Not that trouble is ever far away - in this case, in the form of a chance meeting with a young girl, Yukio, and her bodyguard Gin - a pair who are similar to Rock and Revy in some ways, and about to be drawn into the firestorm that Hotel Moscow's new Japanese operation is about to cause...
This is the storyline in which Rock seems to learn the most about the unforgiving nature of the world around him. Thanks to the circumstances of their first meeting, Rock still sees Yukio as the helpless schoolgirl - left purely to her own devices, that would be the case, but she's been landed with the role of Yakuza clan leader - a clan that Balalaika and Hotel Moscow have decided to bring down. With the "might" of her clan behind her she's actually quite intimidating, as Rock finds out after having rescued her. She's spectacularly unthankful for that, considering the situation she'd been in before Rock, Revy and Gin turned up, and that's the point where you have to think that Rock should have walked away.
But Rock seems to have something to prove, to show to the world that living in Roanapur and working for the Lagoon Company hasn't robbed him of humanity or compassion, and he insists on fighting his corner and trying to help the girl who really doesn't want his help - to the point where he challenges Balalaika, in what has to have been the most unwise move of his life. It's great stuff, the sort of story where you just don't want it to stop.
I have to admit, Black Lagoon's early PR didn't exactly set me alight - the way the show was described didn't give me any visions of a show that I'd enjoy or rush out to buy. Six volumes later, though, and I've been properly converted - despite what the PR tries to portray, it's not all about the violence, there's actually some good character work in there as Rock and those around him - revy in particular - develop through the series into characters that you can connect to and care about, despite their morally iffy backgrounds. The action scenes are just icing on the cake, and work extremely well in that role. Overall, Black Lagoon is well worth getting, with 2nd Barrage being even better than the first season. Highly recommended.
For full episode summaries and screenshots, check out our reviews of the individual releases:
» Volume 1
» Volume 2
» Volume 3
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