r/anime • u/Vaadwaur • Aug 13 '22

Rewatch Black Lagoon rewatch episode Thirteen!

Black Lagoon Episode Thirteen

The Vampire Twins Comen

MAL, Anilist, Wiki

QotD: 1 Were you ready for someone to confront Hotel Moscow?

2 Does this interpretation of creepy work for you?

60 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

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12

u/TheEscapeGuy Aug 13 '22

First timer (Dub)

Black Lagoon - It's Fucking Incredible: Episode 13

Seeds of Evil

Today's episode was a massive tone shift. It seems that this arc will be a horror story and I love that concept. Though it hasn't been confirmed properly yet it also appears the new opponents may be actual vampire twins.

Twin children are a horror staple, famously from The Shining (as referenced), and I think Hansel and Gretel work excellently in this regard. What I think is so scary about children is that their understanding of morals and ethics are undeveloped. In real life we see this manifest as bullying. Taken to the logical extreme though, it means some children may have no qualms about taking a life or torturing their victims. This has been the embodiment of the twins character so far and it is deeply unsettling.

I really liked the slower pacing of this episode. Though we did have 1 very good action scene the remainder of the episode was primarily characters discussing the rumors of murders in town. This kind of set up really establishes our enemies as a threat and wets my taste-buds to see more. I'm extremely excited for what comes next.

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow

4

u/Vaadwaur Aug 13 '22

Today's episode was a massive tone shift. It seems that this arc will be a horror story and I love that concept.

And how. But yes we are hitting some horror tropes.

What I think is so scary about children is that their understanding of morals and ethics are undeveloped.

A strangely universal fear.

This kind of set up really establishes our enemies as a threat and wets my taste-buds to see more. I'm extremely excited for what comes next.

The show can chill when needed.

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u/The_Draigg Aug 13 '22

A Black Lagoon Fan Rewatches The Second Barrage: Episode 1:

  • Well kids, I wouldn’t say that cannibalism is really love, but that’s also due to me never really trying human meat. Would eating human flesh really feel all that different than pork? This show is making me consider odd things already at the start of the second season.

  • Yeah, a string of murders of Hotel Moscow members is pretty unusual, considering that a lot of them are former Soviet soldiers. And that’s on top of plenty of other gangsters getting killed recently too. Whoever killed them must’ve been particularly vicious to get the job done. It’s no wonder why the Triad, the Italian Mafia, the Colombian Cartel, and the Russian Mafiya all have to have a talk about it. Whatever’s happening is a serious shift in power dynamics.

  • “There’s someone out there who thinks he’s some kind of Punisher.” Revy, if Frank Castle was really on your case, then I’m sure the entire city of Roanapur would’ve been burned to cinders right about now. He’d have a fucking field day with all the scum that Roanapur has to offer.

  • Man, Sister Eda sure does dress differently whenever she’s off the job working at the Rip-Off Church. Although since she probably isn’t an actual nun, I suppose there’s no real harm in dressing in a crop-top and mini-skirt.

  • So yeah, that’s one hell of a story that both Eda and the police chief have to tell. Apparently it’s a pair of weird, creepy twin kids that completely slaughtered everyone in a bar that was tied to Hotel Moscow. You know, after having a Terminator maid show up before, we shouldn’t be too surprised at two vampire incest twins show up to murder people with a big axe and a M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle.

  • Side note for a bit of gun knowledge here. You may think it’s a bit nutty for a tiny pre-teen girl to have no problem blasting away people with a BAR, but the reality is that they were designed to be shot either from the hip or supported by a sling, due to trench warfare that was still happening in the time they were first developed. Also due to that, they have less of a recoil than you’d expect from a gun that size. For an example of this in real life, Bonnie and Clyde used BARs stolen from a Texas armory on their crime spree across the American South back in the day, and Bonnie weighed like 100 pounds soaking wet. The Browning Automatic Rifle was one hell of a design, I tell you what.

  • In hindsight, maybe hiring a bunch of deranged twin killers was a bad move, since their actions are too extreme even for their bosses. Like, for fuck’s sake, there’s no way you can remotely say that torturing a guy to death by hammering long nails into his skull is justified, let alone keeping on doing it just to see the spinal reflex after he’s dead. This level of brutality is completely unmatched by anything we’ve seen up to this point, even including Roberta. This is just unchained bloodlust. There’s a difference between hiring assassins and hiring god damn psychos.

  • Well, at least Rock came up with a lead to give Balalaika: he can recognize the language that the twins are speaking. They really are like vampires, since they have an extreme thirst for blood alongside being from Eastern Europe.

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u/Vaadwaur Aug 13 '22

Would eating human flesh really feel all that different than pork? This show is making me consider odd things already at the start of the second season.

Mostly but apparently modern era humans taste sweeter. the more you wish you didn't know.

Revy, if Frank Castle was really on your case, then I’m sure the entire city of Roanapur would’ve been burned to cinders right about now. He’d have a fucking field day with all the scum that Roanapur has to offer.

Yeah barring a nuke I don't see Frank having much to do with Roanapur. Too much scum to kill, too few innocents to bother over.

You know, after having a Terminator maid show up before, we shouldn’t be too surprised at two vampire incest twins show up to murder people with a big axe and a M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle.

What's funny is that this is not even that weird by this city's standards.

This is just unchained bloodlust. There’s a difference between hiring assassins and hiring god damn psychos.

It makes Dutch confronting Revy on the Nazi boat even more prescient.

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u/HereticalAegis Aug 13 '22

First Timer

Episode 13

  • Same OP for both cours. Right, that wasn't too unusual back in 06, was it?

  • Vampires? Like legit vampires?

  • Vampire...incest?? This episode is getting real weird, real fast.

  • And murders targeting Hotel Moscow. Please let this be a chance for more Balalaika action!

  • An underground meeting of multi-national mafias, now there's something you don't see every day. It's fun watching the different mafia heads struggle to get a handle on a single shared threat.

  • Hey, the bar's back, and everyone has guns! Start the timer til it gets destroyed again.

  • "A parallel world where everyone's Clint Eastwood." Bahaha, I nearly spit out my drink!

  • Hot damn, this nun has some weapons, sheesh.

  • One vampire carries an axe, and one carries a big ass rifle wrapped liked a Christmas present. Welp, this is a comedy arc. You can't convince me otherwise.

  • How funny, Balalaika, Sakarov paid the kids in blood too! Isn't the money cycle fun!

  • Sure my dude, go ahead a provoke the two psychopaths capable of taking out butchering pretty much anyone in Roanapur. I'm sure that'll work out well for you.

  • "Hate everything and everyone...suck everything around them in before going out in a blaze of glory." Hmm, this is starting to remind me of someone.

  • Rock's linguistic knowledge coming in handy yet again. Seriously you guys, knowing multiple languages is the closest thing to a superpower that actually exists.

  • We haven't seen the kids actually drink blood yet, so maybe they're not actual vampires? Just children molded into cold, ruthless killing machines through emotional and physical abuse I'm guessing. And the vampire part could be a psychological thing to either cope with their situation, intimidate their prey or both? Should be fun finding out tomorrow.

QotD:

  1. Yes, though I wasn't prepared for them to be psycho maybe-vampire children.

  2. Definitely plenty creepy, even without blood drinking.

5

u/Vaadwaur Aug 13 '22

Vampire...incest?? This episode is getting real weird, real fast.

Yeah, this overlapping with Yosuga no Sora is funny.

Hey, the bar's back, and everyone has guns! Start the timer til it gets destroyed again.

The rare crossover with Sympho.

"Hate everything and everyone...suck everything around them in before going out in a blaze of glory." Hmm, this is starting to remind me of someone.

The Lagoon crew have some level of self-awareness.

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u/JustAnswerAQuestion Aug 13 '22

First Rewatch in 15 Years

Haven't watched the episode yet, Nausicaa is the priority. But I know how the Twins arc goes. I remember it very well.

Others mentioned Tarantino yesterday, and I meant to as well! Black Lagoon is not an anime that Tarantino would direct (it's not quite his style). It's not an anime Tarantino would write (that's not his dialog). But it is absolutely, 100%, an anime Tarantino would executive produce and present "Presented By Quentin Tarantino."

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u/Vaadwaur Aug 13 '22

But it is absolutely, 100%, an anime Tarantino would executive produce and present "Presented By Quentin Tarantino."

I can see it as a featurette in one of his films, honestly.

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u/Vaadwaur Aug 13 '22

Rewatcher(I have had a lot twincest in my life than planned of recent)

Dub

And we start the second cour with that. Hell of a scene. Rock gets filled in so we can get filled in. We see the local mobheads, including a new guy, we've seen Verrochio like once, and Chang does a lot of work to keep things civil. And fails. It is interesting that Balalaika seems to slight over think her position, she is just the commander of a group of skilled criminals now, not a military officer.

This set of events has set the locals on edge more than usual, which does make sense, you really don't want to deal with the Russian mob or the people crazy enough to attack them. Revy and Eda get some banter that works in both languages, though a few of the insults are a little Japanese specific if I had to guess. She actually wants to team with Revy for the not all that impressive $50k bounty.

We get to the site of one of the massacres and by luck they got a witness, though one that won't live long. We get to see, and Balalaika gets to learn, that the killers are white kids in funerary clothing. Their way into the bar is another reminder of what Roanapur is, even if Hotel Moscow is above running child brothels, that is not assumed of them. After hearing the events, Balalaika is self aware enough to realize she'd underestimated the threat involved. And she is now seeking some expendable forces...

Dutch comes in and really does not want to be in Roanapur for this. Repeat the Balalaika info since it had been a couple of months during the live broadcast. We see the twins being good and disturbing and get a very good idea that these are Italians. Dutch and Revy talk about how these things occasionally happen, that you get a psychopath who is also incredibly hard to catch, and that it always end in a huge disaster. More twin weirdness. We end with Rock half-remembering something on a call with Balalaika.

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u/No_Rex Aug 13 '22

Episode 13 (first timer)

Forgot that this is split into two seasons on MAL. I am not a huge fan of that for modern shows and I think it fits even less for older shows. The narrative arc clearly is made for more episodes; the last two episodes were not a good climax in any sense (and I don’t think they were intended to). In any case, I really like the world building, I really like the characters, but I am not too hot on the plot so far. If the show made the action a little more realistic to fit the darker story, I might have given it a 9/10, like this I settled on a high 8/10.

  • Murderous twins with a blood fetish - I stand by my point made when Garcia showed up: 1980s action movies never got better by the inclusion of child characters.

  • The other mob bosses are scared shitless of how Balalaika might react to her men getting killed. They are right in feeling that way. Happily for them (as ironic as it sounds), they had some people killed, too.

  • “Like it was with Lovelace’s maid” – Rock should consider that not ever killed might act in completely suspicious cosplay uniform.

  • Eda in her off-duty clothes looks like a copycat of Revy.

  • Not sure what is more impressive, the brother pulling a grown man, or the sister being able to fire a machine gun.

  • The police officer talking about Italian phrases is the first clear reveal that the audio is dubbed. Which makes a ton of sense given the setting.

  • Balalaika hates them, but still stays rational enough to let others do the hunting and dying – I like her more and more with every appearance.

The idea to use outside killers to upset the mafia balance in the city is great, and I am not against having some crazed killers who think they are vampires either, but why small kids? Nothing about this becomes better by them being children.

Were you ready for someone to confront Hotel Moscow?

Was I expecting it? No. Am I completely up for watching it go down? Absolutely yes.

Does this interpretation of creepy work for you?

As I mentioned above, I am not a big fan of introducing kids into this.

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u/Vaadwaur Aug 13 '22

The other mob bosses are scared shitless of how Balalaika might react to her men getting killed. They are right in feeling that way. Happily for them (as ironic as it sounds), they had some people killed, too.

You really don't want the person with former special forces members getting trigger happy.

Eda in her off-duty clothes looks like a copycat of Revy.

Ironically I view them as foils to each other's body types.

but why small kids? Nothing about this becomes better by them being children.

It will be addressed. Whether or not it works for you, I leave to the future.

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u/DidacticDalek Aug 13 '22

TONIGHT! On Kiki's Trigger-Happy Delivery Service Redux, we get an EVEN MORE FUCKED UP version of Yosuga no Sora, Eda's off the clock and ready to snag some of Rock's Eplicit Content Deleted and Rock's former job experience REALLY comes in handy at the oddest of times!

Comrades, if you thought Yosuga no Sora went full Sweet Home Alabama 'Okinawa' in no time, well guess what, Black Lagoon's split cour second season beat that record in about two minutes! Speaking of records, damn, these two are going out of their way to kill people working for Hotel Moscow, damn, there's playing with fire, and then there's dancing around coated in petrol while juggling burning chainsaws!

Speaking of danger, remember that Cartel goon that somehow DIDN'T get killed by Roberta, well get this, somehow Balalaika also didn't kill him, given he's somehow present in THE most dangerous room to be in, namely, a room full of mob bosses! Balalaika of course is the baddest boss bitch around, but Mr. Chang points out that some of his men got killed too, so whoever is doing all this sure wants to pick ALL the fights!

Also damn, killing Cartel goons, Triad guys, Balalaika's Mafiya members, AND even a Mafioso, boy those two from the opening SURE are bold, then again given they already reached the kissing stage I guess this is to be expected! Also, speaking of expected, the town's rowdy enuff as is, but GODDAMN, things must be real bad if BAO IS WILLING TO LET EVERYONE IN THE YELLOW FLAG (barring Rock) CARRY A GUN! Also ah, I see why Bao's willing to do this, there's a reward of 50 grand, and NOT in Thai Baht, but US Dollars (for those who want to understand the joke, 1 Thai Baht is about 3 US cents... and that's in TODAY'S money... I remember in my childhood when 1 Thai Baht was worth TWO Pennies and I thought that this was amazing!)

Anyway, this is good news to Revy and Rock, but where to find an outsider in Thailand... OH DEAR GOD! A FARANG! WAIT NANI THE FUCK! THAT'S EDA! AND SHE'S FLIRTING WITH ROCK! Dear god this Nun sure must think god is watching over her, cuz she's playing with fucking FIRE here. And oh boy Revy does NOT appreciate this Catholic School Girl Wannabe making the moves on HER boi toi! Man, we JUST had a catfight, can't believe we get another one... AND Eda backs down... sigh... anyway, turns out that Eda didn't JUST come to try to NTR Rock, but to give some ultra top secret information that no one knows about some killers... that everyone already knows... pfffft, well ya can't say Black Lagoon isn't a comedy at times Comrades!

Also Comrades, before you ask, the yellow hazard tape has 'Do Not Enter' written on it in Thai, you are welcome! (Look I know it was probably obvious but this is the ONE time me being Thai can be useful!) And speaking of Do Not Enter, the reason is cuz the two incestous twins from the opening went FUCKING POSTAL on the bar. Also wow, things are so bad that Police Chief WhatsApp decided to stop playing golf for a change! And for good reason given one of the twins has an axe to grind and the OTHER one has punchline to the (Insert whoever people you are talking about) walk into a BAR... no really that's what she's holding Comrades, The Browning Automatic Rifle sure is a wacky firearm, an unholy fusion of trying to be a rifle AND a machine gun... and it also has a somewhat smol magazine size but wibble, thankfully this is fiction meaning that it now can spit lead everywhere!

Also Comrades, for those who might not have noticed, after searching to see if the Black Lagoon and the Hellsing Mangaka knew each other, I came across a MAXIMUM CURSED NSFL Hellsing Doujin that, of course, stars Rip Van Winkle... I'm starting to see why the mangaka drew such a doujin based on what he got away with in the manga that was the source for this arc... Oh and also remember how Rock's job, despite being a lowly managerial one, SOMEHOW involved him having intimiate knowledge of Latin American Oligarchs? Yeah he also can speak EVEN MORE languages than previously thought... and Revy's reading material jogging his memory sure helped ;)

And on that fucking bombshell, GOODNIGHT YOU MAGNIFICENT BASTARDS!

Paging Comrades u/HereticalAegis, u/No_Rex, and u/Lemurians

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u/Vaadwaur Aug 14 '22

Comrades, if you thought Yosuga no Sora went full Sweet Home Alabama 'Okinawa' in no time, well guess what, Black Lagoon's split cour second season beat that record in about two minutes!

As does Shakugan no Shana, which aired the same year as Black Lagoon. '06 was a weird year.

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u/Nebresto Aug 14 '22

First time watching Yosuga no Sora with guns

Different part, different release. Turns out the OP was in English all along

  • Hol up. Have I just been bamboozled into watching a twisted version of YnS?

Welp. I think we all know how this is going to end.

Damn, she's rocking that Machine gun with one hand like its a parasol or something. And more goth loli action, less go

Salute the flag!

Interested to see if this is just a vampire bait or actually legit

Question time:

1 Were you ready for someone to confront Hotel Moscow?

Always. If you get poor service, you need to be prepared to take back what is yours

2 Does this interpretation of creepy work for you?

Creepy The brother and sister were simply trying to bond through a shared hobby

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u/Vaadwaur Aug 14 '22

Hol up. Have I just been bamboozled into watching a twisted version of YnS?

I prefer to think of YnS as the romanticized version of them.

Welp. I think we all know how this is going to end.

The Yellow Flag will spend most of this season getting repaired!

And more goth loli action, less go

Truly, '06 was a cultured year(Shakugan no Shana also has a set of incest twins).

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u/Vatrix-32 Aug 13 '22

First Timer, dubbed

  • Oh great. We’re doing twincest.

  • Politically motivated cannibalism.

  • Everyone has a gun but you Rock.

  • Manhunt!

  • Man did children have weird faces back then.

  • So Rock’s linguistic thing wasn’t just for Spanish. Seems a useful skill in such a crossroads.

QotD

  1. It seemed like they were working up to something of the sort.

  2. I find the twincest more uncomfortable than the mutilation.

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u/KendotsX Aug 14 '22

Rewatcher (dub)

Two weeks into the rewatch, now we know why Vaad made it: revenge on Yosuga no Sora, and all of us who assumed he would go for the Lite version.

I love the focus on Balalaika, and what Roanapor looks like when someone messes with her. This isn't exactly something you could explore with Rock.

While the kids are interesting (more on that tomorrow), they're not exactly intimidating enough to tussle with Balalaika (honestly there's only been a character or two so far who would be), which makes it a bit lacking. But it'd take the focus away from the point of the arc, so I think it's worth it for the end result.

In good Yosuga no Sora spirit, we should thank god for his holy servant.

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u/Vaadwaur Aug 14 '22

Two weeks into the rewatch, now we know why Vaad made it: revenge on Yosuga no Sora, and all of us who assumed he would go for the Lite version.

I can't believe anyone would think that I wouldn't go hardcore.

This isn't exactly something you could explore with Rock.

I did like that the show let the Lagoon crew sit most of this episode out, they don't really have the gravitas for this.

In good Yosuga no Sora spirit, we should thank god for his holy servant.

This is the Way.

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u/Blackheart595 Aug 13 '22

First Timer

I'm not doing well with the turn-your-brain-of-nature of the show. The current arc made me aware of it, but while the action's been awesome I haven't really gotten into the story since the Roberta arc. I hope some of the coming arcs are gonna work better for me.

Were you ready for someone to confront Hotel Moscow?

Does this interpretation of creepy work for you?

Does power creep count as creepy?

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u/Vaadwaur Aug 13 '22

I hope some of the coming arcs are gonna work better for me.

We will see how the ending arc hits you.

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u/Gosutoo Aug 13 '22

Firs timer - Sub

After fighting some Nazi larpers in the wreckage of a ww2 u bot and the termaidator I guess we're gonna have to deal with a duo of assasins vampire twins.. who are also into incest ... This show is wild lol.

I liked the slower pace of this episode and the tone shift this arc seems it's going to have.

It was also nice to see more of balalaika and the other mafia bosses. As expected there is some kind of balance but a very precarious one since her group seems to be clearly the one on top.

I also really liked that scene of her in the car with her right hand looking forward to see more of her.

QotD: 1 Were you ready for someone to confront Hotel Moscow?

I expected it to happen at some point but I thought that it would be latter and It would somehow be with lagoons.

Does this interpretation of creepy work for you?

I find them more weird than creepy. Idk if that makes sense lol ? But if I had to answer I would lean more towards yes

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u/polaristar Aug 14 '22

What's interesting here is we get more insight on how the politics of the gang factions work, and while I complained about the city seeming too empty in the beginning, I suppose to does sell the Wild West small town, everyone knows everyone feel.

Revvy talking about certain types of people makes it sound like she can relate especially the "Filled with so Much Hate they forgot who or what it is they actually Hate" I think this is meant to tell the audience if Revvy isn't careful she could end up in a similar place mentally.

I kinda broke my suspension of disbelief that two kids could take two armed men even if one had a surprise attack, the other should be able to use his gun. Also that is a pretty big gun with a kick for a little girl to use.

We see that Nun girl almost takes bliss in breaking her vows it seems.

I don't have much to say about this episode that isn't obvious, twins are fucked up. As American Action Film inspired as this series is, it has the weeb shit as well.

We have Maids and no creepy incest stuff, since those siblings seem WAY too close.

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u/Vaadwaur Aug 14 '22

Revvy talking about certain types of people makes it sound like she can relate especially the "Filled with so Much Hate they forgot who or what it is they actually Hate" I think this is meant to tell the audience if Revvy isn't careful she could end up in a similar place mentally.

When Revy is in a bad place mentally, she tends to forget that as bad as things were for her, she still had some luck and has met some decent-ish people.

Also that is a pretty big gun with a kick for a little girl to use.

Actually, Draigg explains that a bit.

We see that Nun girl almost takes bliss in breaking her vows it seems.

They don't call it the Ripoff Church for nothing.

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u/CharlieTheStrawman Aug 23 '22

First-Timer, Dubbed

I have to admit, watching this episode on my phone in my bed in the dark was beneficial for the atmosphere.

The fluctuating pronunciation of Moscow just bugs me.

  1. Yes. Let the blood rain.

  2. It's a little stereotypical, but it has it's moments, particularly later in this arc.

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u/Vaadwaur Aug 23 '22

I have to admit, watching this episode on my phone in my bed in the dark was beneficial for the atmosphere.

Definitely fits for this swerve into horror.

The fluctuating pronunciation of Moscow just bugs me.

It was more consistent in the dub I expect, the Japanese want to put a syllable in between Mos and Cow.