Rei HiroeCritiques

This was a wild ride. First we have a counterfeit operation going bad - barely surviving attack by the mafia Jane, leader of counterfeit outfit hired by the mafia finds herself seeking refuge in rip-off-church (nuns with guns) affiliated with the Revy. This was a wild ride, lots of action and lots of chase.

And when this story ends we are introduced to the bomb assault in Venezuela that will trigger return of Roberta, our beloved commando maiden. Executed by professionals bomb attack killed off her employer and she is now bent on revenge. And by revenge she means starting inter gang war in Roanapur in order to flush out the assassins.

Art is great and story is perfect action trip.

Highly recommended to fans of the series and newcomers (although I recommend you start from the beginning).

Book starts with the craziest showdown ever. Roberta's colleague (also commando maiden :)) enters our famous pub in Roanapur and soon Colombians come in searching for Roberta. In a firefight that would make John Wick jealous, including mounted weapons on vehicles and lots of machine huns, our maiden manages to defeat them and very soon links her employer, young master Lovelace from Venezuela, with Lagoon team. Their request is simple - they want to save Roberta and bring her back home to Venezuela without shedding unnecessary blood in Roanapur. And for this they need Lagoon's assistance.

What follows are very careful investigations and negotiations between Roanapur's crime organizations on how to proceed. Knowledgeable on havoc wreaked by Roberta in the past and young Lovelace's goal to bring Roberta home they want to solve the situation with minimal losses. Nobody knows who to trust but everybody knows that fragile piece in Roanapur may not last if revenge warfare takes place especially since Roberta's targets seem to be commandos from USA, those she considers responsible for bombing attack that killed her master (young Lovelace's father). If organized crime knows one thing then it is that targeting and engaging any official government operatives is safe way to doom and utter loss.

Art is beautiful and actions scenes are wow.

Highly recommended to all fans of action comics.

Conclusion of the Tokyo crime story arc. Similar to the "The Godfather" movie two things take place here.

Rock becomes aware that is now swimming with the sharks and that rules of the under-world are very very different from the normal [lets call it for a lack of better world] "civilian" world. He understands he stands on the very thin line (or as author says in "twilight zone") because he always tries to save innocent lives if at all possible.

And this brings us to Yukio - although Rock tries to save her the very nature of her life and responsibilities force her to make some rather difficult choices. Similar to Pacino's character Yukio is unwillingly brought into criminal world and finally ends up in tragedy because once in there is never way out.

Excellent story, Revy shows that she has feelings for Rock and on multiple occasions tells him to leave their crime business - because she does not want him to lose his innocence and righteous attitude. She acts as his protector and is more than willing to defend him against anyone foolish enough to try to hurt him.

Highly recommended to all fans of manga crime/action.

New story arc brings Revy and Rock to Tokyo as part of Russian crime organization emissary Balailaika's entourage.

Reason - one of the Tokyo Yakuza organizations asks for help in dealing with the their opposition that works hardly on bringing them down.

But as they say nothing is simple in criminal underground and soon it becomes clear that Russians have their own plans - plans that include very aggressive, high powered and bloody methods against all parties involved.

Highly recommended to all fans of manga and action/crime fiction.

This was a truly wild-action run :) I wont go into details because you need to check it for yourself. I never watched the anime but manga is outstanding. There are goofy details in (as I have seen in majority of manga) but entire story, characters they feel like combination of stuff from various old-style action movies ("Wild Bunch", "Assault on Precinct 13", "Escape from New York", "Reservoir Dogs" and likes).

Highly recommended.

A very good and entertaining action read. This is the story of the crew of the PT boat the Black Lagoon. They will transport anything anywhere for the right price. Working in Southeast Asia, they face the mob, hitmen, and other assorted folk trying to kill them. The first volume introduces Rock as the new crew member, and one very lethal maid. You'll have to read it to learn more. This had a good pace; it was entertaining, and overall I enjoyed it. I am looking forward to the next volume in the series. Definitely one I am happy to recommend if you like action-adventure in your mangas. I also liked how at the end, the author makes a note about Revy's two-hand shooting style (where you shoot two guns at the same time, often in different directions) explaining that, while it looks cool in mangas or movies (think John Woo films), it is not practical in real life. I thought it was a nice touch.

The series keeps getting better and better for me. The story of the Romanian siblings comes to a close. Sure, they were psycho assassins, yet they do come across as sympathetic figures at the end. A new storyline begins where the crew is hired to deliver some secret documents, all while trying to ellude an Islamic terrorist organization. The action is still hot and fast. The art continues to be very good. And we are finding some more depth in the characters. Overall, this is become a favorite series, and given that each volume leaves you hanging for the next part of the story, well, you know you will want the next one. This was definitely a good read.

The adventures of the Black Lagoon crew continue as they have to deal with Neonazis and then some very twisted twin killers in two separate tales in this volume. Revy's temper is proving that it can be a liability at times, but there is no denying her skill as a gunslinger. Rock is starting to settle in as the new member of the Black Lagoon crew. But I think the highlight of this volume is the coming of the twins. There is a blend of bloody and violent with a bit of disturbing. In a way, they reminded me a bit of Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint, the two assassins from the Bond movie Diamonds are Forever given their good manners towards each other. But underneath the charm, they are quite deadly. This is definitely a volume to read, and you will want to continue on to the next one. I know I will.

So much fun. This manga would make an awesome live-action movie or tv series. Even if it was done by an American studio. It's a freaking melting pot of crime and comradery.

Honestly, I wasn't as thrilled with Roberta's backstory and story, which was new to my second read of the series. I wish they'd left her in the background.

Ho iniziato a comprare il manga dopo aver visto l'anime (tutte e 2 le serie).
L'anime mi era piaciuto un sacco. Con il manga sono fermo al 3 e mi piace uguale!

The plot is kind of shallow and the non-stop action does get wearying after a while, but I do like what Rei Hiroe does with his story. It's very gritty and unapologetic. Also, there are three things that stand out to me:

1) It's set in Southeast Asia, which you don't see very often in manga.

2) It has a multicultural and international cast.

3) The fierce women warriors.

Despite its somewhat typical action movie premise, the series manages to do interesting things with the genre. Definitely worth keeping an eye on.½

An der Schwelle zur Hölle.
Die wilde Schiesserei beginnt, jeder gegen jeden und alle gegen alle. Werden am Ende die Amis in die Falle der Russen tappen oder sie überraschen?
In diesem Band leitet sich die Spannung von der Aktion ab, das Buch ist eine wilde Schiesserei.

In Band 4 wirds so richtig interessant.
Nachdem unsere Helden die Terroristen abserviert haben gehts nach Tokyo. Dort ist Rock als Dolmetscher für Balalaika tätig die das Gebiet eines Yakuza-Clans übernehmen will.
Bleihaltige Luft garantiert!½

Die Gangsteraction geht in die nächste Runde.
Das Oberhaupt der Lavres wurde bei einem Anschlag ermordet und Roberta will Rache. Das das denn Organisationen in Roanapur nicht behagt ist verständlich und so machen sich alle auf die Suche nach Ihr.
Wie wird es enden und vor allem wer wird Roberta als Erster finden? Die Triaden, die Mafia, die Russen, der CIA, Ihre Freunde oder doch der Feind die NSA.
Hin und wieder blitzt die Realität auf wenn die Geschichte mit Ereignissen der Nachrichten verbunden wird.
Gut und Spannend! Wo ist der nächste Teil?

Das Kapitel mit der indischen Hackerin wird in diesem Band zum Abschluß gebracht. Aber die Besatzung der Lagoon kann nicht verschnaufen da schon der nächste Ärger im Anmarsch ist, in Form eines "Dienstmädchens aus der Hölle". Es giebt ein Wiedersehen mit Roberta, dem Dienstmädchen des Lavres-Clans aus Venezuela.

In diesem Band wird der Krieg von "Hotel Moskau" gegen einige der Tokyoter Yakuza-Clans zum Ende gebracht und der als Dolmetscher tätige Rock bekommt sehr deutlich vor Augen geführt was es heisst als Gangster zu leben.
Ein guter Abschluss zu dem in Band 4 begonnenem Kapitel, nicht unbedingt so Actionreich wie erwartet aber dafür weitaus tiefer gehend.½

Action von Cover bis Cover, leider noch die Reste der in Band 2 begonnenen Storyline der verückten Zwillinge die doch etwas unglaubwürdiger ist wie der Rest des Manga aber doch zumindest sehenswürdige Kämpf liefert.
Die zweite Hälfte des Bandes legt dann wieder richtig los und führt die Protagonisten in die Fänge von Terroristen.
Alles in Allem nicht ganz so gut wie der Band 1 aber er führt doch klar aus dem "Tal" in das Band 2 führte.

Revy is a psychopath. Why is she so hard to hate?