Black Lagoon: Second Barrage - 3
Posted on October 24th, 2006 by Darkshaunz - 4,807 Views
Darkshaunz heralds the Angel of Mercy.
Score: 9.5/10
This week’s installment of Black Lagoon was world-moving to say the least. If I ever had to choose a “Favourite Episode” out of any anime thus far, thien this latest episode would definitely be in my Top 5 list somewhere. Black Lagoon is usually synonymous with it’s gunfare, gunslinging babes and a shitload of blood, but that was all blown away this episode. As I sat in my chair, captivated by the tragedy and the moral-loaded storytelling, I begin to wonder whether or not this is a new age for Black Lagoon.
Captain Balalaika eats Fully Grown Men for Breakfast
The episode starts off with the Goth Loli twins doing what they do best, running away from Foam-mouthed Elite Russian Soldiers and grinning in the moe-est of fashions. Revy and Eda try and wrestle the twins into submission (failing of course), even Two-Hands Revy could not lay a scratch on Goth Loli’s superior agility. These kids must be on a really special formula of cereal and breakfast bars, most probably laced with ecstasy. During this period, Balalaika’s men come in hailing an immense amount of firepower, like completely unnecessary amount of shelling on an alleyway. I can guarantee that the alley wall was severely owned. This scene was meant to be intense, but the Goth loli/shota twins shrugged the shells off and even manage to sneak a kiss between themselves. Incest is all the rage with young kids these days.
Believe it or not, this is Revy and Eda on a GOOD day.
The twins decide to split off to confuse the Ninja-Awesome Russian Special Forces, because lets face it, those guys were probably going to clamp down on them and go MOTHER RUSSIA on their cute little asses. Revy and Eda, having lost their prize, also decide to head off after deciding not to tango with Hotel Moscow…seeing as the guys that were shooting with them had a mounted .50 cal Heavy Machine Gun, I would say that was a wise choice. Between the twins, it was decided that the Axe-Murderer half would go after Scarface Balalaika whilst the young moe twin goes off to do some Russki-Slaying. On Balalaika’s front, she decides to play her cards right and set the trap at the fountain place, she gets her right-hand man to set up some Russian firepower to cover her flanks.
“A Reason!? ROFLMAO!!11one!!”
We are then transitioned back to the Eda now, who is strolling sluggishly back to the Church of Violence (they have mass on Saturday nights). Alas! she is intercepted by crazy goth loli! Now, this scene was pretty funny, especially when Eda questions why she wants to kill Balalaika even though she had already disposed of Verrochio. Gretel (the Goth Loli) starts laughing maniacally, giggling uncontrollably. Now, being a weapons buff, I immediately assumed that this was the Russian Special Forces doing, “Laughing gas to disarm the enemy!” I thought to myself, proclaiming it to be, “A tactically sound decision”. I was proud of myself for a while, looking back at my combat assessment and applying it to an anime. But I was wrong, she’s just one crazy bitch. But she’s so innocently adorable, that its almost forgivable she turned out like this, which painted the darker side of this episode. The reason for this surprise loli attack was to hitch a ride with Eda out of Ground Zero.
Hansel finds out what “Surprise Buttsecks” is
Back at the Fountain, we can see that many hours have passed. I know this thanks to my super-observant skills, the secret is, it went from night-time to day-time in the transition….yeah maybe I should open a Detective firm or some shit. However, Balalaika also has super-observant skills (more so than me, in fact). She motions for Hansel to get out of the bush. Now as an observer, we can finally confirm that she has X-Ray Vision, Heat-Seeking Vision or Russian Mafia ESP. This is because Hansel was nigh invisible in the thick shrubbery, but somehow Balalaika could spot him out. Maybe she got her powers from excessive Radiation (hence the scars?). As the boy taunts Balalaika on how he killed her beloved comrade slowly, he gets AWPED. Counter-Strike AWPERS unite! The first hit was to the guy’s leg and then finally his arm. He lies there dying, crying in a soft remorse of perhaps the bad things he did thus far. Now, I know he has killed many, but it was still hard watching him die softly and sobbing a child’s guilty remorse. But I felt relief, for he no longer has to live under the veil of violence, he can finally rest.
Must…Resist…Urge…to make Buttsecks Joke
After the death of Hansel, Balalaika turns her attention to another issue, where did his gloriously adorable Assassin sister go? (Hint: She sure as hell didn’t go shopping for new shoes). Ironically, this was all part of Gretel’s plan, seems that she didn’t mind her brother getting sniped left and right just to get the job done. Also, the Lagoon company is transporting her to an undisclosed location in South East Asia. Dutch is seemingly happy as they were no doubt getting paid a handsome sum from her.
Eat your Heart out Lovely Idol!
So Moe, Im gonna Die!
Ring! Ring! Ring! Bananaphone! Guess who called Dutch on his Bananaphone? Its Captain Balalaika! Unfortunately for the Lagoon company, Hotel Moscow has decided to take action against them for transporting their object of revenge away from the Russian Hand of Destruction. Although no death threats were issued on the behalf of Hotel Moscow, the message was clear, Hotel Moscow was going to go Commando on the Lagoon Company for taking a job with conflicting interests to their Russian Counterpart. Just to show that they mean business, the Lagoon company’s South Asia route was blockaded by two Vietnamese Destroyers. They decide to head to Penang’s Port (cool! first time Malaysia gets a plug in an anime).
You are a Torpedo Boat, and He is a Missile Destroyer. Lol Good Luck.
Meanwhile, in the cabin room of the Lagoon company’s boat, Gretel decides that she wants to share a bit more of her past with Rock and how she became the psychotic bitch loli of death that we all know and love today. In Romania, some douchebag dictator decided to increase his country’s GDP by making abortion illegal, so a huge influx of children came in….wait a second the families of these children could not afford to feed them, so they were bartered off as sex slaves after the fall of un-named douchebag dictator. As added entertainment for the sick Puppies who toyed with them, they were forced to bat other children (their fellow countrymen) to much applause and cheering from their slave masters. Hansel summed it up by saying, “We came to the conclusion that this is how the world is”. I sympathized with them a lot here, lets face it, these kids were screwed by some really twisted people and then after that ordeal…were forced to kill other children in cold blooded batting. Then its No wonder one of them turned out to be an Axe Murderer and the other a MG42 wielding temptress.
Awwww /sniff
Rock was horrified at this story, as any average human being would be. He proceeded to weep and hug Gretel in order to comfort her in a kind warmth. Then came the confusing part, Gretel thanks Rock for being such a kind soul, and when came the question whether she was sad about her brother’s death, she pulls out her hair and starts imitating Hansel. Now, is that Hansel in disguise as Gretel or is that Gretel cleverly guising as her brother….Or are the Twins somehow interchangeable in their personalities, that somehow they are both Schitzo to adapt to each other’s psyche. Yeah I typed that out with a massive headache, I just felt like I tried to divide pi by zero and then multiply it with infinity. After that, Rock caresses her (we will assume its Gretel) again. But this time, she pulls away and then flips up her skirt. Rock is HORRIFIED at the sight.What Exactly did he see? I guess we will never find out, like a Spooky X-Files jig. The Truth is out there, or rather, on Gretel’s crotch. Whatever he saw, it made him so distressed he decided that it was time to Storm the shit out of there and start beating on Benny (Anger Management For the Win guys).
Headbutting is the latest form of Displaying Male Dominance
Rock doesn’t take the whole “WTF is that on her crotch” issue very well, and also the whole Goth Loli Twins get mentally scarred and sexually abused affair for that matter, very well at all. He’s angry, like I was somewhat. I wondered, for God’s sake, why did nobody do anything to intervene, I had a very real “Think of the Children” moment. But Benny, as if he was speaking to me as a viewer directly told him that due to the very real lack of intervention, the twins turned out twisted like that. But, their past does not excuse them from the mass slaughtering they did, its morally wrong to do what they have done…I just can’t help but feel frustrated. Am I meant to feel sorry for them like Rock? or just Punch them like Revy did, for she knows that she is scum like her, tainted by the smell of blood? I was playing on a Moral See-Saw, in Black Lagoon. Usually I take it for granted, and just switch off for some Firearms Goodness. This time however, I was thrown off-balance by a very realistic Moral/Ethical Grey area. Besides all this, they reach the Port of Penang, where Gretel gets off. Dutch meets his counterpart, but he’s been compromised by Hotel Moscow, he then proceeds to shoot Gretel in the head…This was also not easy for me to watch.
Free at Last, Rest in Peace, Gretel.
Now, as you gaze at that picture with your eyes, just take a moment to look at her expression. Try to cast your eyes from the blood, but look at those eyes, Eyes of a life unfulfilled, Eyes clouded by a mix of Purple and Blue (Signifies Coldness) and more importantly, Those are Eyes which have signaled a “Release” of burdens. This was the overture of what was already a moral and heavy-hearted episode. Finally, the so-called “Villain Child” is served justice and laid to rest. But do we rejoice at the sight of a Girl Assassin finally killed? Do we mourn the loss of an innocently abused young girl and her brother? Do we act indifferently and brush it off as a “Fictitious Character-Scenario?”. All the while I questioned myself more, with Gretel’s death. Maybe because her death was more sudden than her brother’s, maybe because I had grown to adore Gretel, her cute innocent and angelic smile embracing me in a cold sense of security, either way….I grieved a brief moment for the death of Gretel. Breathing a sigh of relief for the Tormented Angel, whispering how she could finally lay to rest gazing to the heavens.
Sleep, sweet child. Wake to your mother’s embrace in the Big Blue.
This episode of Black Lagoon, signals the final installment of the Goth Loli Twins arc. I can safely admit that for once in my life, I was never more morally tested in an anime when deciding which side to choose in a Field of Grey than I have with this episode. This was a very real reminder to us, that although it can be fun and games in the Black Lagoon universe, that the world our beloved Pirates operate in is wrapped in uncertainties, blurred boundaries and also the illegitimate pricing of young souls. In reflecting, the end that the two received was probably the most suitable, though Gretel’s death was more appropriate (She did not have to bleed to death, hers was quick and painless). We mourn not the killers within these two children, but rather the missed opportunity for them to lead a normal childhood. I think I was not only one moved by the story of the twins, even the art section paid a homage to them in the Ending sequence. Instead of Revy walking on the beach, we see the Twins reunited on the Beach side (Representing a Dream-Sequencesque Afterlife).
Note the Blood-Stained Clouds.
Sweet Dreams.
Join me next week, as I inspect the hijinx of Revy and Gang in their latest adventure. For a moment there, I almost forgot about the Lagoon crew. The twins did such a stellar job with their background and epic/dramatic deaths that I forgot the anime was actually about Revy, Rock, Dutch and Benny! I leave you with a question then… Were the Twins in the Wrong?, If so, should they be Granted Forgiveness (pine) given their Past?
Cheers,
Darkshaunz
PS: Most. Powerful. Episode. Ever.
Retsgip Notes:
Sorry if people had problems with the RSS for this entry, the formatting completely hit the shitter and so it was deleted for formatting. Other than that, I agree with everything that’s said up there ^. This episode was fucking crazy good. By the end I was staring at the screen in shock like, “Wow, wtf just happened…that was a fucking tight episode…”
I already told you this but, very powerful indeed. Easily the most powerful arc of Black Lagoon so far. Man…As for the twins, you never know what they’re capable of. They are vampires already so maybe they’re actually able to give each other their personality somehow. If this is possible, then the brother gave the sister his personality before he died, thus having 2 trapped in one body. Schizo works too…
oh yeah, I had a good laugh reading this entry as i was re-formating, good shit.
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I think you meant to say that Gretel’s death was quick and painless, not painful. ^^; On another note, I was under the impression that Hansel was crying in pain, not out of guilt. It is in my opinion that his crying served to highlight the residue humanity in Balalaika, because she was asking him to stop crying even as we, the audience, see Balalaika covering her face with one hand. It showed a more ‘human’ side to her, in that even she could be affected by this f***ed up mess.
On a side note, I can’t remember where I read it, but I recall somebody saying the following line, “Hotel Moscow:We Bring The Barrage”.
Cheers.
hey, you can swear here, we’re all grownups. I’ll still love you.
I agree Skane, that he was probably crying in pain. Pain at not being able to see his sister. Pain that his arm got shot off. Pain from all the fucked up shit that happened in his life. There whole life was just one big shit-hole times infinity. If you remember the previous episode, Balalaika and Smith were talking and they were kind of in a dreary mood because they had to kill these kids even though they’re not the bad guys. The real bad guys are the ones who fucked the kids up in the past.
I seem to remember that saying as well but can’t remember where.
Maah, I liked the write-up. I never really tried to take side in it all, but I figured misfortune to those already misfortuned (the twins). Balalaika had a bit of struggle, but was there any way to repair the Hansel? Is it better to let rabbid dogs live? idk :/
@Skane: Good Point about Balalaika having a hard time watching Hansel die on the floor. She even asked him to stop crying. I think Balalaika does have a “humane” side to her cold-blooded temperament, but I have yet to see it. A Badass Balalaika is fine too.
@Rets: I’d have to agree with you here, it was most likely a mixture of both physical and mental trauma which led to his tears. They say the revelations of your life are only revealed to you when you near death. Also, the bad guys are definitely the ones that screwed them over. Brings us back to the question on whether or not we sympathize with their backstory. I know I did, a small turn of events like; people showing compassion to them would have made things much different from the psychopaths that they were.
@Ryan A: Thanks champ
, well lets put it this way, it was a big moral/ethical journey of an episode. You try to take sides, but being who we are, we can understand that taking a side means ignoring another viewpoint. Even as we try to look at the series of events as mature, thinking adults…lets face it, the twins are Children. This factor alone magnifies the sympathy meant to be drawn out from the audience.
I agree, this is probably the most powerful and emotional episode i’ve seen. Black Lagoon has outdone itself this time. The ending theme song is truely trancing and fits the mood. Well, now im interested in what the ending theme song for this particular episode is.
From what I can tell, Hansel seemed to be more f’ed up then Gretel (and they’re both very messed up, thanks to people that deserves to be shot and then some). This is because of differences of personality and the things they say, as well as the outcome (maybe this is why Gretel “changed” into Hansel to explain their philosophy).
Hansel seemed to have died in not simply pain, but some sort of regret, and he believed so strongly that he was immortal for killing so many. Gretel died more, well satisfied is not the word, rather released from her pains, and was able to see the beautiful sky. This is perhaps a reference that Gretel was blind by the stench of blood, but she was still able to see beauty left as she was released, unlike her brother. I think this difference is important, as they’re identical twins, even more so because we know they’re able to “switch” to each other without us being able to tell the difference. There are more hints of course, like Gretel being able to tell who’s nice, or how Hansel acts the same when he is alone, or even worse, while Gretel seems almost angelic alone.
Not sure what the creators were trying to do here, but found it was interesting that there were differences.
Interesting perspective. I didn’t think more in depth about their personalities and how they were different. Now that I look back the deaths are definitely fitting for their personalities, very nice.
I think Rock was more horrified and repulsed by the fact that Gretel was all too happy to offer him sex as a reward for his kindness. So fucked up was their upbringing that Gretel didn’t know of any other way to simply say, “Thank you” for having been shown compassion because she and her brother were never shown compassion before in their all too brief lives.
To think that the children were used in this way to the point where it’s expected of them by adults, that’s what distressed and disgusted Rock so much that he practically ran out of the room. Though I also think Gretel did it partly on purpose to royally screw with his head and show him his compassion is sorely misplaced and wasted on someone as twisted as herself. Revy, who saw herself in Gretel (and hating it), seemed to think so when she punched the kid and told her straight up to stop.
Their past was so traumatic that the twins took on the other’s personality to become a single, sociopathic entity that knew neither love nor mercy. That is, until Rock reached out to Gretel (and her “other personality” of Hansel). Gretel/Hansel pretty much explained their outlook on life to Rock; to survive, they killed (even other children - ie. in the snuff films Balalaika mentioned) simply because it amused their captors and kept them alive this long. Kill or be killed. It was just the way the world worked, to their thinking.
I also suspected Hansel of dying with what looked like regret in his expression, though I believe the pain was from a young life left broken and unfulfilled, and love for his sister, who shared in his suffering, rather than physical pain (though since the twins look alike - ie. hair-style and wig, swap clothes, weapons, and even personalities, it’s not entirely clear which of the twins died by Balalaika, and the other by the dock - hell, it could have been Gretel who died of regret and Hansel who made Rock that obscene offer). Gretel looked peaceful at the end, at least, and seemed resigned to her death (even welcomed it).
A very powerful episode, and one of Black Lagoon’s strongest arcs, emotionally. Here’s to hoping Hansel and Gretel being reunited in a world better than the one they left behind, and finally knowing peace.
On a final note, the historical details behind the Romanian dictator and his disastrous policies on contraception and abortion are all too real, sadly; it mirrors the crackpot practices of other communist states, such as China. I love that about Black Lagoon; taking real world issues and history and injecting them straight into the story and characters. It kind of reminds me of how Metal Gear Solid 1 mixed tragedy and real conflicts in our history (Sniper Wolf being a prime example).
I just watched this episode two nights in a row - the second time almost makes you feel worse - because you know what’s coming and watch the twin’s moments leading up to before their deaths. More so the heart-breaking involvement between ‘Gretel’ and Rock.
The twins shared a ‘duality’ relationship where they’d trade off ’sister’ and ‘brother’ roles with each other as noted when they passed the longhaired wig around. Why? - just to emphasis how messed up they had become. A friend of mine also suggested that when Gretel said she didn’t miss her brother because he was there - that ’she’ lifted the skirt to show Rock that indeed which one He was… Though personally I think it didn’t matter with their background - I honestly think their privates were mutilated to the point where it would be hard to tell, and by Rock’s reaction I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. I don’t think a mere ’she’ revealing a dick would’ve freaked him out that bad…yes even as fragil as he is.
Now as brilliant as that last half was, and the ending! Just wow. However if it wasn’t for Hotel Moscow wanting her dead also - I could see an AU where ‘Grendel’ became part of the Black Lagoon crew, and Rock’s adopted sister/daughter (ignoring gender uncertainy). No one else there weilds a big machine gun that well! I found her devilish smile and shining eyes very adorable (Ne!Ne!Ne!Ne!) and anticipated her quirks in future fights - too bad though…
The gun she uses is actually a BAR, not an MG42.