This used to be one of my 10/10 rated manga and with good reason. Great story, gritty art and characters along with some decent dark humour. But with the 1.5 year long hiatus (that one chap in 2014 does NOT count) and no news from Hiroe Rei as to what the hell is going on with the series production, I'm starting to think he's just taken his money earned so far and just buggered off to early retirement, leaving his fans dangling in the wind with no clue as to what to expect.

That he's done nothing but sporadically promote the upcoming tankubon of vol 10 just adds to the feeling that he's just milking his fans for what money they have not given him yet. "Hey I know you want more story, plot progression and such but why don't you buy (again) a collection of old chapters I did nearly two years ago instead?!"

Some very interesting characters set in a lawless, crime haven in South East Asia makes this an intriguing prospect. Throw in our main character, a stranded japanese salaryman, and we have our story. And a hell of a good one it was. Art is appealing with emphasis on fast paced and fanciful firefights usually led by Revy, the 'anti-heroine' of this story. The plot is top-notch imo with frequent references to Western pop-culture, politics and history. This manga is also quite heavily laced with a sense of irony and gallow's humour. All in all a very good read and certainly very recommendable.

As with many readers, i watched the anime but was left hanging. I picked up the manga to continue on where it left off. One can only hope that Anonymous spore will continue with the scanlation.

I watched the anime first and since then turned to the manga. The anime follows the manga faithfully just with the story arcs from the first 6 volumes shuffled around a bit. What drew me in to this story was the "farcry" feel it had to it, guerilla warfare in a tropical island environment. The action can be a little over the top as people have stated but I like badass bitches, so that's ok with me.

i personally feel the anime is way way better then the manga... but of course the manga is the base for the anime!! i hope they'll make a third season (anime)

... Last updated on July 12th, 2008, 2:14am

Normally, in most action manga, even if the characters are super-powerful, they get injured and spend some time formulating and learning new strategies.

In this manga, it's a little too insane: Revy(that's her name, right?) manages to bring down an entire platoon of elite fighters without even getting hurt.

Gods, this sounds more like some Hollywood movie: where the bad guys will just misfire so the main characters get to kill them and live for another day. Plus, just by randomly firing a gun around, you can bring down a room of veteran fighters? That's ... just kinda silly.

Pros:Black lagoon is one of these stories with very interesting characters, each with their own quirks. Rock is sitting in the middle of his past life and new one. Many times blaming himself with guilt if things don't turn out 100% his way. He may not openly show it but later chapters have long dialogues about his decisions, his new way of life and what resulted. Revy has her times sometimes putting Rock on the right path and sometimes being supported by him. She gradually starts letting go of her past and anger and partially change, making decisions she would normally wouldn't. They are a very interesting duo because they look like polar opposites. There are very interesting philosophical quotes from the characters and the train of thought seems very convinving and well thought.
The cons:Sometimes I really cannot follow what is going on. First chapters were straightforward and very easy to follow. But since the Tokyo arc it gets more and more confusing. Many opposing parties on each arc, confusing and not clear intentions regarding plot, abbreviation after abbreviation without proper explanation or a glossary. Maybe the translation I read was bad or maybe the author doesn't put that much effort anymore. For example in one panel words such as Kanun, Besa and LMBA are used and no freaking clue what any of these mean. It could be so simple if trying not to act smart all the time but it has gotten frustrating trying to follow the plot. There is too much information and the presentation is not in the slightest easy to follow. It is a solid read but not very enjoyable due to these faults. It could be much better if it fixed these aspects. Also I like the anime more because it has very nice atmosphere, blend of music and the action is better presented on an anime format than in manga.

... Last updated on May 29th, 2021, 9:37pm

A manga with a really high pace and indigestible art-work. Cruel and somtimes grotesque.
This is really dark stuff! A story that shows much of the true evil nature of human kind.
I would understand that many would not be able to read it because of it's extream violence and sadistic humour.
However, the characters is good and makes the story go on. It has really good actionscenes.
For us readers who like this kind of genre, it's like christmas eve full of adrenline and gunfire.

Black humor, John Woo type action, gangsters, drug dealers, mercenaries, pirates and the most dangerous women on the planet all in one city. Its pretty awesome. The first time I started reading it I didn't take too it as it seemed a bit over the top, then I realized where it was coming from with obvious influences from Robert Rodriguez and John Woo.

Its only weakness is that the battles can sometimes run several chapters and seem to drag on a bit. There has been some character and relationship development but not tons. There's been about 81 chapters put out and it still feels like we are early into the series as there are still many unanswered questions and character history left to fill out. The author really dialed up the level of action with the Roberta arc, it felt like more action than story but hopefully he can bring it back down and concentrate on the characters once again.

The anime is great and I recommend it too. I own it, so go out and buy it and support the Mangaka.

Manga is great, but I kinda like anime more. How should I pt it, hmm.. I feel that the ones who made the anime reeeealy loved the manga and put their herts into their work.
Levy seems more cute in manga.... heh.

This is one of my favorite mangas ^^
The art is fantastic and everything, or at least most of the information in this manga is extremely accurate (including, thank god, the English).
Fight scenes are great and really gives the reader a feeling of movement and impact, and the plot always retains a sense of direction and steady pace.
I love the characters. The protagonist, Rock, who is really just resigned to his fate (hah), and the badass female gunner with a mysterious past make for very entertaining dialogue and chemistry.

Read at least 3 chapters or so and you will be hooked.