Black Lagoon

Salaryman Rokurou Okajima spends his days trying to climb his company's corporate ladder, until one day when a business negotiation in Thailand goes awry. During the botched deal, he falls hostage to the Lagoon Company—a band of ruthless pirate mercenaries. Left to the whims of his captors after his managers refuse to pay his ransom, Rokurou does the unthinkable: instead of begging for his life, he s the very crew who kidnapped him.

Now a member of the group, Rokurou must adjust to his new residence in the dissolute hellscape known as Roanapur, a city where corruption and crime run rampant, and even the smallest slipup could cost him his life. If not for one of the many crime syndicates on the island, Rokurou also constantly finds himself at odds with his brash, gunslinging colleague, Revy.

As Rokurou struggles to abandon his past—and with more than just the profits from the Lagoon Company's illegal trading on the line—he must quickly find the resolve to make tough decisions in high-stress situations while keeping his humanity intact.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Revy Main

Toyoguchi, Megumi Japanese

Okajima, Rokurou Main

Namikawa, Daisuke Japanese

Dutch Main

Isobe, Tsutomu Japanese

Benny Main

Hirata, Hiroaki Japanese

Balalaika ing

Koyama, Mami Japanese

Roberta ing

Tomizawa, Michie Japanese

Eda ing

Karasawa, Jun Japanese

Chang, Bai Ji-Shin ing

Morikawa, Toshiyuki Japanese

Shenhua ing

Sasaki, Yuuko Japanese

Leigharch ing

Oomori, Akimasa Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Ogura, Mitsutoshi Producer

Matsuo, Ryouichirou Producer

Okamoto, Junya Producer

Reviews

Jun 10, 2025

joemaamah

Recommended

Did you miss anime back in the 1980s? Well here's your chance to experience the vibe. So get out your parachute pants and Doc Martins. Lace 'em up tight,and mousse up your mohawk, because you're in for a wild ride!

The artwork really nails the late 80s/early 90s style. The characters are drawn kind of stark and edgy. The background work is OK but seems a bit of an afterthought. They do nail the animation, and add some modern improvements to the OG style. Revy's gunslinging is kick-ass. There's some 3D tossed in here or there, especially in chase scenes. But It's blended in nicely and ... doesn't detract at all from the experience.

I thought the character designs were well thought out, but maybe a little underdeveloped. Revy is a Human Cyclone of Hot Lead. There's a touch revealed about her, but she remains mostly mysterious. And you got to love she's fanservice personified. Rock starts out as a spineless salaryman, but after being sold out by the company, starts to show a little backbone. He's got half a brain in his head. There's some great ing characters that might have been fleshed out a little better, but aren't entirely 2D either. Dutch in particular reminded me a lot of a guy named Jet.

Speaking of which, there is the narrative. I don't think it's a coincidence this has a serious Cowboy Bebop feel to it. Just about a bunch of outlaws and ne'er-do-wells taking on sketchy odd jobs as long as they pay well. On a torpedo boat instead of a spaceship. While Rock is no Spike, Revy is Psycho-Faye strung out on way too much meth. Dutch is the steadying influence that keeps things from flying off into the weeds. Like Bebop, this is mainly episodic with some short arcs. There's no real overarching plot, except create as much mayhem as possible. It might bore some, but I loved the old style action packed thriller take on the material.

The VA work for the mains is pretty darn good. Some of the antagonists were a bit cliche but not horribly distracting. Overall I thought the direction was adequate enough.

Those of gentler nature need to be forewarned though. Besides the fanservice, this is chockful of violence, gore, substance abuse, cussing and other unsavory escapades, Some folks are going to want to give this a hard . But if you don't fit that criteria, this is one hell of a series.

So not entirely perfect, but it sure took me back to the Good Old Days. I'd break out the gradebook. and put it down as a B+ 88/100 for it's shear audacity and my enjoyment of what it's doing. Take a dip in this lagoon when you get a chance, as long as you're not the sensitive type. .

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jun 6, 2025

06Devil

Mixed Feelings

I've seen another Review before I, Myself wrote mine, but I much agree with what they say. Black Lagoon is an Action Genre Fan Wet Dream Come True!

Animation wise, compared to many modern animated shows that it sole purpose is just to pump out as many IP to be gacha-ed if it would be successful enough, Black Lagoon shine pretty bright in this aspect- The gun fight, hand to hand combat, car chasing it's all been made beautifully, that at least would be engaging.

The story is pretty much "Lacklusting" but once you accept that this show should've also put "Slice of Life" in it ... genre category, there's pretty much nothing to be complain about, I came onto the first episode, expecting on some grand story telling about line life work of Pirates, Mafia and Corrupt Business Practices all over South East Asia Region, that would lead into something bigger, but to follow little to none traces of these character that's involved day to day of their life. Only small part of those act that I mention that's actually discussing the big part of itself, but to be accompanied with a bunch of flashy fights and chase scene.

To sum it up, it best for those only looking for something to be relax with after a long day, I recommend that you don't put too much commitment on these characters, but to just sit down and enjoy the show as it is.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Aug 27, 2024

ObsceneCatGravy

Not Recommended

One of the most overrated anime out there.

If you're a fan of watching people out run and dodge bullets then you'll enjoy it. Plot armor everywhere. Boring, forced characters, with generic personalities and cliches every other line. A very forgettable and uninteresting story, though this is supposed to be an action anime, but it even fails at that. The fights are terrible, akin to Star Wars troopers missing 100% of their shots, only to land that one plot-serving shot where the characters start having a long conversation.

In one of the episodes Revy jumps on a moving boat, sits down and stays still while shooting at ... about half a dozen people, who were also shooting back, and somehow they miss all their shots...while she's staying still.

Also, Revy is an annoying character that swears every other line for no reason. She's not a badass, she has thicc plot armor, that's it. And I don't appreciate the fan service, she looks like she smells bad and most definitely has stinky boot feet.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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