Black Lagoon

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Japanese: ブラックラグーン

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: Unknown

Chapters: Unknown

Status: Publishing

Published: Apr 19, 2002 to ?

Genres: Action, Drama

Themes: Adult Cast, Military, Organized Crime

Demographic: Seinen

Serialization: Sunday Gene-X

Authors: Hiroe, Rei (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.29¹ (scored by 17,331 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #338²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #303

Members: 60,922

Favorites: 2,313

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8.29

Ranked #338Popularity #303Members 60,922

MangaSunday Gene-XHiroe, Rei (Story & Art)

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Black Lagoon

Vol. 1
$10.99

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Synopsis

Rokuro Okajima is just an average Japanese salaryman, living an average life. But when he's taken hostage by the crew of the Black Lagoon, Rokuro finds himself thrown headfirst into a deadly world of outlawed heroes, brutal villains, and blazing gunfights. Where he ends up is anyone's guess, but one thing is for certain—he's in for a wild ride!

(Source: VIZ Media)

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Background

Black Lagoon has been published in English by VIZ Media under the VIZ Signature imprint since August 12, 2008. The series has also been simulpub through VIZ Manga. It has been published in Italian by Panini Comics under the Planet Manga imprint since December 27, 2007, and in Polish by Waneko since April 2009.

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Related Entries

More characters
Characters

Revy

Main

Okajima, Rokurou

Main

Dutch

Main

Benny

Main

Balalaika

Supporting

Roberta

Supporting

Eda

Supporting

Chang, Bai Ji-Shin

Supporting

Shenhua

Supporting

Sawyer, Frederica

Supporting

Reviews

Sep 11, 2010

Hattori_Hanzo

Recommended

Preliminary (81/? eps)

One of the easiest ways to set up an interesting premise is to thrust an out of place character into a bizarre situation. Here we have a normal white-collar Japanese salaryman, Okajima Rokuro, unknowingly embroiled in a corporate scandal and ends up being held hostage by a band of seasoned mercenaries. Abandoned by his company and forced into a dead end along with his kidnappers, he faces a seemingly hopeless predicament.

What does he do? He joins forces with his kidnappers of course!

Rokuro is no more. In comes the new Rock (new nickname anyway) who saves the day using his quick wit and newfound bravado (though ... he is still useless in combat). The story might be simple but it works surprisingly well. It is refreshing to see how a normal guy like you and me can fit into a team of battle-hardened veterans.

Set in a cul-de-sac city of vice called Roanapur, mobs rule the day and gunfights are everyday business. It is a place where outlaws of all nationalities come to party. Black Lagoon is one big package of thrilling action, fun, and a hell lot of fireworks that even John Woo would be proud of. It has the flair of Cowboy Bebop and the badassery of Hellsing. Quite a combination I daresay.

The greatest appeal of Black Lagoon lies in the characters. From the Russian ex-militants, Hong Kong triads, South-American drug-dealers, fanatical housemaids to trigger-happy nuns, there is a constant clash of cultures, ideals, and personalities. Watching them interact through witty dialogue is quite entertaining, though it can get a bit philosophical (or call it sophistry, depending on how you see it) at times.

Then we have the Lagoon Company, the main players in the story. Revy is arguably the star of the crew. Much like Haruhi (from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya), Revy has attained sort of a cult status among fans. Nicknamed “Two Hands”, she wields dual guns and is extremely skilled, with a bad attitude to boot. This American-Chinese girl simply oozes charisma and you can’t help but love this little devil.

Rock, the new member, is caught in the grey zone between light and dark. As much as he wants to throw away his old lifestyle, he still clings to his civil values. His refusal to drop his businessman attire demonstrates this. Rock probably shows the most character development here as he struggles to find his place in the cesspool of crime and violence.

The rest of the crew receives less attention compared to Revy and Rock. Dutch is the boss of the team. He calls the shots and manages the business side of things. When called into action, he is a good fighter (also because of his muscular build) and teams up well with Revy. Benny is the technical expert who deals with the IT stuff and maintenance of hardware.

To sum it up, there is a great deal of chemistry among the characters and that is what I love most about this manga.

Story-wise, there isn’t really much of a plot as it goes by an episodic formula. This isn’t much of a problem for an action genre. The scenarios are believable and most of them are engaging, with the purpose of either introducing new characters or building up the existing ones, even if by a little.

The manga boasts pretty artwork and the character designs are great. Well, it’s good enough to let you drool at the smexiness of Revy, and possibly the nun, Eda. (Okay, I admit I’m one of them.) I have no problems with the paneling and the action is easy to follow.

Black Lagoon is a blend of highly entertaining action sequences, fun characters and a badass attitude. This is a must-read for action fans. Get yourself ready for a wild ride!

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Nov 9, 2020

catninja_gaming

Recommended

Preliminary (77/? eps)

The black lagoon manga is great but a bit of a waste of time for me. The anime adaptation is one of my favourite shows of all time because it's absolutely amazing. This manga is pretty great too but in all honesty I was just reading it to see any stuff that wasn't in the anime. So I started from the beginning and the artwork is really nice and packed with swearing which I like.

The action is really nice to look at although it seems a bit packed if you ask me. Having all the gunfire and explosions packed into multiple tiny panels was ...

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May 15, 2021

KumagawaSimp

Recommended

Preliminary (101/? eps)

Some of the best character interaction in anime and manga with some of the most badass and cool characters and a world that feels real as hell. The way the characters interact sometimes is so raw and real and I really appreciate that aspect of Black Lagoon. Take for example there is a part in the manga where two characters have an argument and the way they talked felt so real and felt like a real building of a relationship especially in the aftermath. The Art is really good and works perfectly in Black Lagoon but it isn't the best I've ever seen. Now the ...

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Recent Forum Discussion

Has Black Lagoon Fallen Off? Ollie_Hearton - Nov 21	5 replies	by silversurfeer »» Nov 22, 6:33 AM
Poll: Black Lagoon Chapter 121 Discussion MegamiRem - Nov 19	5 replies	by TheMangaManiac »» Nov 20, 3:01 PM
Poll: Black Lagoon Chapter 2 Discussion Bheaze - Jul 1, 2014	4 replies	by cyandaqil »» Oct 30, 4:04 PM
Poll: Black Lagoon Chapter 82 Discussion checkdafool - Jan 20, 2013	15 replies	by otakuweek »» Oct 20, 7:04 PM
Poll: Black Lagoon Chapter 81 Discussion Billzor - May 31, 2010	13 replies	by otakuweek »» Oct 20, 6:55 PM

Black Lagoon
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