Rousseau's  Reviews



Black Lagoon (DUB)



Episode 2




Mangrove Heaven opens similarly to episode one, with shots of Tokyo, and the familiar travails of the denizens; their routines, their habits, their lifestyle. Short, tight little shots of commuters shuffling about this mortal coil, waiting for the train, taking a phone call, a cup of morning coffee. A ritual so neutered of spirit and life it is simply rote, routine, and regimen. This contrasts to Rock's present situation and the choice he ultimately makes in the episode. He can, after a fashion, go back to the life he had, back into the city, and succumb to the waking-life of its rhythms, or he can embark on a journey of the unknown and join this motley crew.

That Rock eventually, ultimately does just that, is no surprise. But it might be the most unrealistic thing the episode (and series) offers (yes even compared to the boat/helicopter scene, which was great). Not his choosing so (frankly I don't blame him at all... also Revy), but Dutch and Crew just kind of roll with it, without hesitation which to me seems a little too 80's action movie. Then again, that might be the point. However, to fight my own criticism, he did totally save all their sorry asses... so maybe it isn't so unrealistic.

The show though wraps up quickly what was the plot of episode one. But before it does it gives us a glimpse of Rock's Tokyo based boss and his arranging for a trip to wherever the Dutch and Crew are in the South China Sea. There's a bit more to Mr. Kageyama but I'm not sure what it is. Or at least, I'd prefer that there is more to him than not. The episode sets us up with some more scenes with him, that, besides offering thematic contrasts, seems to hint at something else with him down the road.

For Dutch and Crew though the Sea of Heaven is actually a living hell. They're strategically outmaneuvered--forced into a dead end, where the Extra Order goons can just wait around for them to come back through the mouth of the passage and blam them all to hell. There is an ominous sunken ship that they pass, and around that time, they seem to resign themselves to the possibility of immediately dying. The mood passes in a moment, but it's still a moment the show hits on subtly. Realizing that you're staring at your immediate death--knowing it's definite, but still saying probable--that's dread. "And just like that the moment passed." Now, Rock says that of the adrenaline rush of outsmarting the EO guys, but it's also true of that dreadful nugget of time, where to be fair, Rock kind of panics and gets punched by icey-veined Dutch. Funny enough that jolted Rock enough to establish his plan. From one moment of agony, to one moment of ecstasy.

When I first noticed the half sunken/banked barge, I looked at it and thought exactly what Rock did, but I said, "No, they won't do that. That's completely bonkers fucking crazy." So of course they do it. They bank the ship off the half sunken barge and fire their torpedos at the helicopter in mid air. However, that's the difference, I looked at it and no, Rock looked at it and said yes. I imagine the difference comes down to contexts, but I think I'm touching upon something here: there's us normals out there who say no, get their coffee, sit on the bus or train, and go to work. And then there are those who say yes, and blow up a fucking helicopter in mid air with a boat. And it's from the former type of person to the latter that Rock is becoming here. After all, when Rock's boss asks him to come along with him and his other lackey (the deal with Dutch and Crew and the Russians, and in turn the deal/extortion between the Russians and Asahi both complete), Rock snubs his boss and decides against returning to Asahi. Rock adheres to his new name, and new identity, forgoing his old life and its ways and consequences.

After the EO goons are defeated and Rock waked up from the crash landing, he asks himself what he's doing here, with Dutch and Crew and why. But that's the question he's really asking about his life in general. He's an anonymous city dwelling man, with no ties, no anchors, nothing. We know nothing about his life, if he even has a family, some girlfriend, a pet. Nothing. And presumably that's because there is nothing there anyway. No woman, no cat named Pickles, no sister on the mainland. Zilch. He's a leaf in the breeze. He's essentially a pure nomad, or he would be if he wasn't trapped in the same cycles of repetition throughout the day, ensnared by work. But, by joining the Black Lagoon, he throws off that chain of repetition and can start to realize the nomadacy (literally in the seas) of his nature.

Let's compare this to Mr Kageyama's life (or at least one side of it), that we see at the episode's close. It is that of the boring mundane, a series of endless repetitions. Interestingly, that's the life Rock desired at the beginning of the first episode, and it's the one he shirked here. It's the type of life that doesn't appear spiritually (I mean this loosely, like one's spirit, not religion) fulfilling as we see of Mr Kageyama's home life. Then again, he doesn't seem that enamored with it either--ignoring the travails of his domestic existence as a father and partner for well, his stocks, which lends to a different point: he's not interested in spiritual fulfillment, but monetary. It's almost an outdated, cliched portrayal, but I think it's only the surface of a character we might see more of later. I mean, he does have this life that is somewhat criminal in nature even if normalized as business: is there a real difference between a firm and a cartel? And that, brings me to a question: Rock, in the next episode compares being a businessman and now a pirate, so are they really that different? Kageyama seeks monetary fulfillment, and arguably, that's exactly the thing Rock is after as a pirate, booty--maybe not exactly money but things either bartered for cash, or traded back to clients for payment. Maybe the real difference, is that Rock will be embracing it with an authenticity that his old boss simply lacks.

Up Next, Ep 3: Ring-Ding Ship Chase!


Oddbits:

After he saw the first episode, Mr. J, asked me, "So why does he throw his gun? That doesn't like, hit the helicopter?" I told him, no, that he just throws it, and it lands in the ocean, and Revy yells at him for it. His response, "Good." Of course this kind of belies the crazy resolution to our heroes predicament, that borders on "Crank 2: High Voltage" levels of outrageousness. Still, it seems to fall just on this side of plausible to maintain my respect.

At the beginning of the episode the shots of the city dwellers were brief: if you've seen it once, you've seen it all. That's all that's necessary, and there is no need to dwell on it, because well, it's kind of boring, which is the truth about Kageyama's household and the type of life Rock wants no more of by the end of this episode.

Revy getting agitated at Rock for not wearing the Hawaiian shirt she bought him was cute.

Rock trying be all Mr. Manager towards the ship they rip off = hilarious.

Does the *cool* opening sequence makes anyone else want to take up smoking?

Heireken Beer, an almost Japanese sounding replacement for Heineken. There's also an obvious Playboy magazine in a shot.

A name drop for the Wild Bunch.

"Are you retarded?"

Mr. Kageyama, did he buy back the info for his company? Or is he angling for something?

Benny feels somewhat underused here, except to complain about his tech setup. I have a feeling this statement will appear here in the future.

[A small note: Realistically, I should have posted a review of episodes one and two, because the setup of this story is truly in two pieces. In the future episodes with a clear two-parter nature will be covered in one review.]