Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage

 Time for the next chapter in the alphabet challenge, and after the rather disappointing Akiba Maid War, it's time for some real violent action.

Because Revy is back in this second season of Black Lagoon.

 

And new enemies arrive, as the Vampire Twins come to town.   They are responsible for a heap of murders, making Hotel Moscow summon other top criminals to look into the case.  It turns out they are Romanian, abused children sold into the black market to be trained as ruthless killers.

The crime syndicates try to ambush them, destroying the car they where seen in during their last attack.  but it was a ruse.  A chase ensues through the streets, Revy and Eda run into them but are interrupted by the soldiers hunting them.  The kid's 'boy manage to get their way to Balalayka, intend on killing her.  But he is shot as he tries to attack her, as the girl gets away aboard Revy and her crews ship as they are hired by her for her escape.  But once they arrive at their destination, she is executed on the pier by orders from Hotel Moscow.  Also, keep watching the credits of the third episode, as it is altered to the girl who claimed she is the same as Revy.

 

Revy and her friend Eda are being chased for crossing the crime syndicate, but at the church that Eda is a member off (the church of blowing things up spectacularly basically) they fight off the ones chasing them as a young girl ran from a crimeboss with information and wants to hide in the church.   It turns out she is involved in a technology to make nearly perfect counterfeit money.  They sell out her destination, then doublecross them to get her back and help her escape.

In Roanapur though they are confronted by some other top assassins, that takes Revy and Eda all their skills to overcome while Rock tries to get away with the girl.  But as they saved her, it turns out that the plates to print the money are only digitally available and scattered on the internet, but with the data manager dead she can`t get them.

Rock and Revy go to Japan, for a meeting with the local maffia as Hotel Moscow wants to set up a base of operations in Tokyo.  Rock and Revy try to relax a bit, but her rudeness causes issues at times.  But a storm is coming, as miss Balalayka is actually out to dominate the whole underworld of Tokyo.  A flashback reveals how she fell from command in the army with the fall of the Soviet Union, and founded the mercenary unit Hotel Moscow.

But in Tokyo, a rival maffia clan takes the offensive.  And when a gung-ho member of the clan allied to Hotel Moscow tries to kidnap the daughter, Yukio, of the oppossing clan, Rock and Revy go after him, together with Mr. Ginji, a samurai style assassin of the clan.  But while the rescue is in full swing, she confides in Rock that she has accepted her fate as the head of the clan and the harsh life it will bring her.

 

 

The clan war intensifies, as Yukio realises that Hotel Moscow doesn't fight as a maffia force, but as an army.  Yukio and Ginji consider moving to Roanapur, but Ginji vows he will get Balalayka first and take her down.  This results in a faceoff between the swordsman and Revy, but even though he seems to get the upperhand, Revy kills him in the last moment.  Yukio takes her own life, to end the cycle of violence...

So that was another hardcore season of Black Lagoon, a true classic series.  Check it out, you won`t regret it (okay, unless you want your female leads to be all Sailer Moon-y, then you'll be in for a rough ride with Revy).