The Gist:

An unlikely group of pirating mercenaries take missions that ultimately lead them into weird, freaky and dangerous situations.

The History:

Black Lagoon is based upon the manga created by Rei Hiroe, first published in Japan in 2002 and ongoing to date. The anime series aired in Japan on April 8, 2006, and ran for 12 episodes, ending in June of 2006. A second season, The Second Barrage, began airing in October of 2006, and included another 12 episodes.

VIZ Media acquired the rights to the Black Lagoon manga and published the first English volume on August 12, 2008. The anime series was then acquired by Geneon and released on DVD on May 22, 2007. Through a distribution agreement with FUNimation, Geneon released The Second Barrage on August 19, 2008.

Manga vs. Anime:

The Black Lagoon anime series follows the manga fairly well, which creates a noticeable change in atmosphere between seasons 1 and 2. In the first season, both the manga and anime focus quite a bit on character development, but still manage to work in quite a bit of blow-you-away action.

Done with the character development, the second series (The Second Barrage) turns the focus to the bizarre array of jobs the Lagoon Company takes. It's considerably darker than the first season, but still contains plenty of suspenseful and shocking action scenes.

How to Watch:

Black Lagoon was originally released on DVD on May 22, 2007, and the second season, Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage, hit DVD shelves on August 19, 2008.

A third season is reportedly in production.

See all Black Lagoon DVDs

Genres:

Action, drama, psychological, horror

Themes: Pirates, mercenaries

Learn more about anime genres and themes

Studio:

Production: Geneon Entertainment
Marketing and Distribution: FUNimation Entertainment
Animation: Madhouse

Rating:

Mature - Learn more about anime age ratings

The Review:

Okay, let me be the first to say that Black Lagoon is a freaky, freaky show. The mature rating is well-earned, as there is plenty of language, violence and other content that will make you want to be darn sure the kiddos are in bed before you put this one in the DVD player.

That said, I didn't move from the couch. The story revolves around a group of mercenaries known as the Lagoon Company and features a really unlikely group of people. There's Revy, who's a gun-slinging hot-head in Daisy Duke shorts; Dutch who's the quiet, muscle type and captain of the group's ship the Black Lagoon; Benny, a surfer-looking dude who provides technical support when needed; and Rock, a negotiator and language expert and also the most unlikely member of all.

The group takes on various jobs for money, of course, and manages to find plenty of gun battles along the way. They're somewhat friendly with a Russian mob known as Hotel Moscow, although it's extremely clear from the get-go that no one trusts no one.

The anime is fast-moving and in-your-face from the start so be prepared when you sit down to watch. It's hard, crass and blatantly brutal, but again, I didn't move from the couch.