Black Lagoon 2 ~ the unbearable being of darkness
Back in my JC days (high school equivalent), I was in the outdoor activities club where we spent copious amount of night-time stumbling and fighting nocturnal bloodsuckers in nature reserves. Although there was no need to be tactical, except during surgical strikes on the girl's tents/dorms, a no-flashlight rule was enforced for the purpose of cultivating night vision on these treks. Somehow, I took a little longer than most to accustom to the darkness, much to the peril of my forehead/nose's structural integrity. However, once those pupils completely dilate, the menacing darkness that had sought payback for trepassing its domain instantly betrays the land and turns to become your best ally as it masks the full treachery of the terrain while granting insider knowledge of transversing it, baiting all to press on.
Black Lagoon 2 taught me that it is not darkness itself but the transition/motivations into it that is fearsome. In all 3 arcs of BL2, we encounter characters having very different impetus for entering darkness and how they embraced it; some with death, others far worse, with undeath.
Here's a tribute to these BL characters.
Bloodsport Fairy Tale (ep 13-15): Just as Lucifer was the angel of light so are Hansel/Gretel the angelic crucible of impregnable darkness. Yet they were not spurred by self-centred jealousy but tempered from the evils of the human heart. Creatures of light, born into darkness and bred by demons, little did the Hansel/Gretel's tormentors know that their evil would be amplified many times more by the twins' childlike innocence.
Greenback Jane (ep 16-18): Eda has such beautiful blue eyes. I believe the sunglasses she sports is to mask a soul intact despite the evil she's immersed herself in. Born of the light, she's come to darkness to keep that light shining. Of course I'm assuming she's still working for the CIA hence her interest in Greenback Jane (thanks Bro for highlighting 
). The day she loses her shades would be the day she retires from Roanarpur.
Fujiyama gangsta paradise: (ep 19-24): Born into darkness, bred in light but cast back into darkness for the love of those who have been keeping her in the light, Yukio died not from the engulfing darkness but because the residual light she had brought from the previous world prevented her from embracing the darkness. She would have made a new wonderful Mistress of Darkness if Balalaika had given more time for her soul to dilate.
These characters' descent/darkness play off well against Rock's deepening twilight. How long can he stave off the darkness? Is he a Revy or Eda in the making? Or would he die like Yukio because he refuses to shed the final shreds of his previous life? Would he have children like Gretel? Can I be her godfather then? Many uncertainties, but one thing I'm sure; there better be a BL3 when there's enough manga material else I'll go Gretel/Two-Hands on Madhouse.
Now to order my goth-loli outfit....
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January 16th, 2007 - 01:00
The BL Manga is published monthly. To put it locally… wait long long.
If they do animate a third season, it would feature the return of Roberta along with a psycho-loli-meido-assassin.
Ergo. Meido vs Meido carnage. Jason Miao would probably haemorrhage from the sheer overabundance of Meido goodness.
Cheers.
January 16th, 2007 - 01:25
So many manga chapters, so many possibilities. More Meido+machinegun+shotgun-in-an-umbrella = pure unadulterated fun!
January 16th, 2007 - 01:47
Beautifully written. Nothing really kept my attention as much as BL2 and I’m glad that I’m not the only one who enjoyed it. It really was a beautiful second season, and I’m expecting much, much more in the future (i hope).
January 16th, 2007 - 04:04
Skane/TripleA: Woot! did I hear psycho-loli-meido? Looks like I need express delivery for that goth-loli outfit XD
retsgip: Thanks!
I am hoping they unravel Balalaika and the lagoon folks’ backstory proper in BL3.
January 16th, 2007 - 05:15
Huzzah! Looks like I can up-pu my score-ru for 2006. Mweh.
January 16th, 2007 - 07:02
I would be kinda sad if Rock tourned out into a killing maching or something like Revy, I admit it would be funny as hell, but I like the way things are.
But like everyone else in the world, I hope there’s more psycho-killer-maido in BL3. And more of the other female assassins girls as well, especially the chainsaw one.
January 16th, 2007 - 10:09
One of my fav action shows. ever.
January 16th, 2007 - 10:35
Zyl: Arghh! You sure you don’t want to start on Siscon no strain? XD
Deathy: I was quite glad Ms Chainsaw didn’t bite the dust too. But even happier that Shen Hua survived.
tjhan: Frantic action + provoking story + psycho cast = WIN!
January 16th, 2007 - 16:34
Shen Hua is damn funny. Not to mention the magician dude that help her, he didn’t do anything in the episode! Ok, he got shot and that’s it.
I was thinking about buying the manga but I dunno if the manga is worth.
January 17th, 2007 - 11:02
I find it hard to love Black Lagoon as a series but I must say, I love BL’s character designs ^^ I personally liked the last arc the best.
January 20th, 2007 - 20:23
I just bought 2 more figurines and my wallet is screaming KILL STRIPEY :p
January 21st, 2007 - 12:01
Stripey, you forgot to mention how well this season’s insert song (The World Midnight) fits so well with the theme.
January 22nd, 2007 - 15:57
Yes, Stripey, and her name is “Fabiola”. She has twin MP-7’s, and she carries lolipops. Roberta also shows a great figure in the shower in that arc to, from whta I remember.
I suspect Rock won’t go the assassin route… but he MAY go the Dutch route and move onto ‘command’ rather than going on the point end of whatever the Lagoon Company ends up doing in the future. Must say, however, this series did a heck of a job with the manga… although I’d have argued against some of the changes myself (the ending of Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise), although overall it felt quite satisfying, especially with Rock being anything BUT the stereotypical loser who just happens to have cute women hanging on him. Anyone who can face down Revy without a gun, chew her out while she’s in psycho mode, then verbally bitchslap her has my respect, unlike SOME people (Emiya Shirou, I’m looking at YOU) in recent series.
January 22nd, 2007 - 22:48
muhootsaver: I LUUUURVE Gretel’s designs
I personally preferred Bloodsport Fairytale but as Zyl mentioned, the final arc is the richest in terms of charater development.
Xellos^_- : Trust me, you’ll be thanking me in a while when you attain figure nirvana
Which two blessed figures did you get? 
Beowulf Lee: Oh thank you for reminding me about the insert song! Huntd it down and am replaying it now…. so beautiful, so depressing
Haesslich: I just saw Fabiola’s designs on wiki. I must say she’s a LOT more moelicious compared to Roberta.
Anyone who can derederise Revy is da GAR.
January 23rd, 2007 - 20:49
Fabiola carries candy, and is cute… although at the same time, she looks like Maki from Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise (Yukio’s underclassman) with those pigtails… which means she looks a lot like a female version of Rock, which is a minus. Roberta is the type of girl NOBODY would mistake for looking Rock-like, especially in the shower.
And yes, Rock could be considered ‘GAR’ for how he handles most of the women in the series; he negotiates Sister Yolanda into surrendering grenade launchers while talking about tea, he makes Revy go ‘deredere’, faces down Balalaika several times and not only survives but gets what he wants… and he gets Eda making eyes at him even if she’s only doing so to annoy Revy. He also wears a short-sleeved dress shirt, grabs guns as they fire, and only REALLY failed with Greenback Jane (although she seems to have a megane fetish, to judge by how she reacted to Benny at first meeting). Heck, even GRETEL liked him… although the less said about that, the better.
January 23rd, 2007 - 22:30
Stripey: funny you mention the word bless, one of the girls is:
http://akibahobby.net/2006/10/post_7.html
and the other is:
http://akibahobby.net/2006/10/_ig.html
should be here in a day or 2.
Hasselich: about Gretel, you are going to make Stripey jealous.
February 24th, 2007 - 17:29
Do you think thre`s gonna be a third season? I hope so, because its a very good story and will be a shame to end so soon. There`s too much complex characters and we dont know nothing about most of them. Besides the story has an open ending …. i hate open endings .
))