Dear GS Homeslices,

Here I go on another Anime rant. I know some of you do not like Anime -even seinen Anime, despite its awesomeness. If you don't, then simply leave now.

I just finished watching a Youtube clip of the fifth and final episode of Black Lagoon season 3: Roberta's Blood Trail (English subbed). And I gotta say, it flat out rocked. The story, the characters, the presentation... Despite being a very short 5 episode ova, they didn't slack off on anything. Definately getting the English dub when it hits the states.

All of this said, I gotta admit, the character Rokuro"Rok" Okajima has been living in that sess pool Roanapur for too damn long. Dude's becoming as twisted as Mr Chang and Balalaika. Worse, he does his 'negotiating' from a rather self-righteous stance. In his efforts to 'purge Roanapur', he makes some very ruthless decisions that really make me question what kinda s.o.b. he's turning into.

Rok's relationship with Revy has become both more intimate and yet more strained. She's getting tired of being dragged into his 'save the world' s___. At the same time, you can tell by how some scenes play out that they're basically sleeping together. This mixture of love and resentment gives them one of the most complex and human relationships I've seen in an Anime yet. On one hand, they obviously love eachother. But on the other hand, Revy acknowledges Rok's slimey side and has no qualms busting his chops about it.

All in all, Black Lagoon is turning out to not just be thoroughly entertaining but increasingly thought provoking. The series allows its characters to live in the morally grey area which most real world people very much live in. And the characters' moral ambiguity and obvious feelings toward eachother give it a depth that most western works sorely lack. From the friendship and tension between the members of Lagoon Company and Roanapur's criminal gangs, to Rok and Revy's romance, to Rok's dangerous self righteousness, to Mr Chang's manipulative tactics... Black Lagoon keeps on keepin' on.

Take Care & Learn to Love Great Stories

-nate1222