It took all of about three seconds into the opening of the first episode of Black Lagoon for me to realize that I would like this show. If you think that Black Lagoon is simply a “bang bang shoot’em up” show then you are sadly mistaken my dear friend.

Let us take a walk and I will show you the darkness that is the world of Black Lagoon.

The cast:

Black Lagoon is filled with some of the most vile and despicable anti-heroes that I’ve seen in any anime. I don’t use the term “anti-heroes” here to mean heroes who go about their hero duties in a bad way; no, the cast of Black Lagoon are villains. By all definitions they are very bad people. Dutch and Revy are cold hearted killers. We do not learn too much about Benny but the fact that he is around those two doesn’t bode well for him. One of the reasons Black Lagoon stands out among other action anime is that lack of unmarked goodness anywhere in the show.

Rock is commonly referred to as a “salary man,” which is appropriate but not necessarily the best description. Rock is “everyman” he is you and he is me. Rock is an outsider even in his own world, his very small world. Dutch gave him the name Rock in the first season of Black Lagoon and it only becomes apparent why the name is appropriate later on during confrontations he has with Revy. Seemingly the weakest member of the Lagoon Company, he is probably the most strong willed.

At first she would seem to be a simple character. A devil hearted girl with an itchy trigger finger and animal instincts that compelled her to kill at any whim. The fact that she has a killer body as well seemed to enhance the fact that she was fanboy bait, but as one watches the show it becomes apparent that it is her character along with Rock that receives the most development. One can ask what was her childhood like? There is an answer to that question. We can explain why Revy is Revy because it was slowly and methodically explained to us throughout the series.

In contrast to the character development that Revy receives, none of the other Lagoon cast receives as much depth as she does. Even Rock does not receive as thorough a background. This lack of developmental background work makes sense with Rock. The fact that we know him as “Rock” is the key. Rock was created when he joined the Lagoon company and we see his development from that point on. Because rock is “everyman” it doesn’t matter what his past is because it is the viewers past that makes up that void.

The Darkness:

The story of Black Lagoon can be seen as the dance between Revy and Rock. Revy pulls Rock into her world because he was cast out of his. In Rock, Revy sees something that she doesn’t see in her world. Rock represents a purity that does not exist anywhere that she exists. The most intricate part of the series is the relationship between that pair and Rocks “growth.” By growth, I am referring to the way Rock begins to understand the nature of his old world and the truth about his new world, Revy’s world

Who poses the most danger to you? Do you fear the dark places? Would you be caught walking down a dark alley at night? That stranger that hunts you down and ends your life is it that the person that frightens you? In Black Lagoon the bad people are bad, but the good people we are never really sure about. This is where Black Lagoon shines and is original. Black Lagoon’s prospective is from the dark side. We walk with the Lagoon company and realize that the most honest among humanity are the dishonest because we can trust them to be evil, but the “good” people, the people that are not in Revy’s words “the walking dead,” we can never be sure about.

We learn during the course of the first and second season through Rock’s eyes. By the end of Black Lagoon the Second Barrage Rock has become the villain he was not at the beginning of the first season. It was a metamorphosis that was going to happen and one that Revy initially attempted to keep from commencing in the first season.

Rock’s change shows the viewer that hypocrisies of absolute good and evil. We can see why Rock wants to do what he does. Trying to save a child that has done very bad things because she/he was abused. Attempting to save a highschool girl who has gotten in over her head with very bad people. These actions are understandable for us because it is the natural action of the good guy, but that is not the world we are in. Redemption isn’t found in the arms of a hero in Black Lagoon it is found at the tip of a bullet.

Revy & Rock:

Black Lagoon likes to hint at the inner depths of Revy and Rock, and it uses extended dialog scenes to get its message across. It is probably one of the most notable aspects of the type of story telling it uses. Revy and Rock are laid out, but to understand them takes more than just listening. One has to attempt to be Revy and to be Rock.

Why is Revy attracted to Rock? Why is Rock willing to move into her world? Those are the overriding questions that the viewer is asked while watching the series. It is up to the viewer to finally make that determination and come up with an answer that fits.

It is clear that Revy has been attempting to protect Rock from the very beginning of the show. The story of the Second Barrage is the story of Rock’s walk into the darkness that is the world that the Lagoon company occupies. Revy would seem to be a protector for his journey, but that is probably not the case. That journey is one that Rock has taken alone from the very beginning.