Director: Sunao Katabuchi,
Starring: Daisuke Namikawa, Brad Swaile, Megumi Toyoguchi, Maryke Hendrikse, Hiroaki Hirata, Brian Drummond, Jun Karasawa, Lisa Ann Beley, Kazu Ikura, Cathy Weseluck, Michie Tomizawa, Tabitha St. Germain
Running Time: 125 minutes
Certificate: 18
All 5 episodes of this OVA (Original Video Animation) go for quality over quantity. Allowing for an extended time of 30+ minutes, the show is able to feel more adult, and have a pacing more familiar to TV audiences. BLACK LAGOON: ROBERTA’S BLOOD TRAIL, sees a protective maid go mad with vengeance, as she hunts down the military men that responsible for her pain. Meanwhile, The Lagoon Company, a gang of mercenaries, become involved after Roberta’s employer, the young Garcia, and his current maid try and stop Roberta. Although it can be surmised as a tale of revenge, it is also a painful look at the true madness vengeance can drive us to.
Roberta is very much a force of nature. Like the shark in JAWS, she appears just to cause destruction. Her original motives may be sound, but her violence has caused her to become almost vampiric in her looks, with nothing but absolute chaos on her mind. It causes a ripple effect throughout the locales we travel to, and her presence is mythical and unwelcome. The writers make a brave choice of making her almost completely inhuman. The real battle for humanity comes in the form of her young employer, a boy who has similar want for revenge, but is more concerned about his own soul and sanity. Garcia is given chances for revenge, but he is a contemplative soul and one who wishes the best for all.
The Lagoon Company don’t take a backseat by any means though, each one getting plenty of action and development over the course of the 5 episodes. It’s amazing to think that in just 125 minutes, the running length of many theatrical films, that BLACK LAGOON: ROBERTA’S BLOOD TRAIL gets so much done in terms of plot. As plot and carnage are balanced equally throughout, it is also represented with beautifully realistic (in anime terms) animation. Very close detail is paid to settings and the way characters interact with their surroundings, and even though there has been no upgrade from series to OVA, it’s still a very solid show artistically.
The fictional city of Roanapur comes alive as a gritty and harsh place, and within these 5 episodes we see the political structure unwrapped to a satisfying degree. BLACK LAGOON: ROBERTA’S BLOOD TRAIL is impressive action fare, for those that like adult violence perpetrated by interesting characters. Sometimes it can overboard with the chainsaws and blood, but for the most part each act of violence is an important moment of distinguishing the garish life these characters lead.
BLACK LAGOON ROBERTA’S BLOOD TRAIL Complete OVA is released on DVD and Blu-ray on 2nd December via Manga Entertainment.
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