List of Black Lagoon characters
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The following is a list of characters from the Japanese manga and anime Black Lagoon.
[edit] The Lagoon Company
[edit] Revy
Revy (Rebecca) does most of the fighting for the Lagoon Company. She is of Chinese descent and grew up in New York City, spending most of her youth as a thief and murderer. Revy is very competitive, easily bored, and quick to anger. While being extremely attractive, she also has many personality traits that some would see as highly undesirable. Unlike Rock, she is undiplomatic, believing in the use of brute force and coercion to get her way. Revy is a killer without a conscience, and she is also a heavy smoker and drinker. Of all the characters in the series, Revy uses the most foul language. She takes maniacal glee in killing anyone and everyone. She nearly shot Rock at point blank range during a confrontation in episode 7. However, she does have a tendency to save Rock from critical situations, and later on she admits to considering Rock as family to Balalaika (to which Balalaika commented she's become a better speaker). It has been implied that she cares for Rock much more than she lets on, and quite easily conveys barely-contained jealousy whenever Rock finds another female attractive and appealing. According to CIA agents in the Philippines, Revy is still notorious in the NYPD, particularly at the 27th Precinct.
Revy is one of the deadliest fighters in the series, whose skill with firearms and ability to dodge bullets is almost unparalleled - there are only a few other characters, such as Roberta and Ginji, that can hold their ground against her in combat. Her weapons of choice are twin modified Beretta 92Fs, which have been hard chromed and fitted with extended barrels. They are engraved with "Sword Cutlass", the jolly roger of the famous pirate Calico Jack (which is also inlaid into the grips), and an inscription in Thai. Due to her ambidextrous marksmanship skills, she is nicknamed "Two-Hands" by the people of Roanapur.
Revy enjoys the music of Guitar Wolf and White Zombie. She also claims to watch the Oprah Winfrey Show
[edit] Rock
Rock (Rokuro Okajima) was a Japanese salaryman for Asahi Industries in Tokyo until he was taken hostage by the crew of the Black Lagoon in 1995. He joined the Lagoon Company after his department chief, Kageyama, abandoned him in an attempt to cover up the smuggling operation in which Rock had been an unwitting participant. Rock is a humble and mild-mannered person despite being on the business end of guns from friend and foe alike, and often seems surprised at the barbarity of the Southeast Asian crime world. He still wears a tie and short-sleeved dress shirt (even though Revy went out of her way to buy him a Hawaii-patterned shirt) and prefers to use words over weapons when interacting with others. Rock, from joining the Lagoon company, has exhibited Stockholm Syndrome after sneering at Kageyama for not saving him.
Within the Lagoon Company, Rock is usually responsible for account management, diplomacy, negotiation, and the occasional errand. Having once worked in the resource investigation department of Asahi Industries, Rock is also skilled in geology. He is also a skilled linguist, being effectively bilingual in Japanese (his first language) and English as well as being familiar with other languages, including Spanish, Romanian and Russian. Rock's earnest personality has earned him the interest of several personalities in Roanapur, including Balalaika, Rowan “Jackpot” Pigeon, Yolanda, and Eda. In many ways, Rock is the heart of the Lagoon Company, serving as a balance for his more jaded teammates and as a bright spot in the world of darkness that is Roanapur.
While Rock has a family in Tokyo, he does not seem to have much connection to them due to their somewhat apathetic attitude towards him. It was later revealed that Rock did not pass his college entrance exams on his first try, leading his family to lower their expectations of him. It is known that Rock has a father, a mother, and an older brother who was academically capable (and thus attained a job in the Japanese government).
Dutch has stated that he believes Lagoon Company is complete with Rock not holding a gun. He also stated that "Rock's bullets are more dangerous than ours" because they are likely to ricochet and hit the Black Lagoon crew.
[edit] Dutch
Dutch is the leader of the Lagoon Company and captain of the ex-US Navy PT boat Black Lagoon. He is a former American marine who fought in the Vietnam War. After the Fall of Saigon in 1975, Dutch went AWOL, escaping to Thailand to work as a mercenary. He tends to stay away from the fighting associated with Lagoon Company's activities. Instead, he gives orders and negotiates contracts with clients - usually Balalaika of Hotel Moscow. However, Dutch is very capable in combat, skillfully wielding a 12 gauge shotgun and a .44 magnum revolver with ease. Dutch is a calm, easygoing character, and quite friendly. He is a Christian, denomination unknown. His body is heavily muscled, and he is always seen wearing a pair of sunglasses. He appears to be in his 30s, but is likely in his 50s, based on his military service in Vietnam.
[edit] Benny
Benny is a college dropout from a Florida university where he studied until getting into trouble with the FBI and the mafia. He works as the Lagoon Company's mechanic, computer specialist, and researcher. He is Jewish, or at least of Jewish descent as he puts it, and is often called "Benny-Boy" by Dutch. Benny joined the Lagoon Company two years before Rock, after Revy rescued him.
[edit] Hotel Moscow
Hotel Moscow is composed of the men who served under Balalaika in the Soviet war in Afghanistan. They are loyal and brave, and their military training and combat experience, as well as access to heavy weaponry, make them formidable opponents.
[edit] Balalaika
Balalaika is the boss of the Russian crime syndicate "Hotel Moscow", a branch of the Russian mafia based on Thai soil. Before joining the mafia, she was a VDV paratrooper and officer in the Soviet army during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. She wears her uniform dress coat as a jacket and is always smoking a cigar, in contrast with the other characters who smoke cigarettes. She frequently employs Dutch and the Lagoon Company, apparently because they share a mutual respect; Dutch considers her to be a person with a 'sense of honor'. Balalaika can be easily identified by the burn marks which scar most of the right side of her face and neck (in the anime they are also visible on her chest), earning her the nickname by those who dislike her as 'Fry-Face'. She has long blond hair, and usually wears a large overcoat and a low-cut business suit. She appears to be in her 30s or 40s. Balalaika, unlike many other 'bosses' takes part in work normally done by underlings such as editing hardcore pornography, as seen in Episode 7. Balalaika is also one of the few people to earn the respect of Revy, who has taken to calling her "elder sister". In turn, Balalaika also seems to hold Rock in high regard, sometimes relying on his knowledge and business skills.
In critical operations, Balalaika raises a personal cadre she called the Desantniki (Russian special forces, much like US marines, "Desant" = translates from Russian as deep strike, usually forces are delivered by air or water. Called Visotoniki in fansubs), composed of ex-Soviet special forces soldiers who had seen action in Afghanistan against anti-communist mujahedeen fighters, acting as Hotel Moscow's special ops team. Due to Balalaika's leadership during the hellish fighting in Afghanistan, her men look up to her as their superior, and will do just about anything upon her orders. Being a combat officer, she is a proficient marksman and well rounded fighter, capable of taking care of herself. When conducting foreign operations from Thai soil, she uses the Russian cargo ship Maria Zeleska as a legal cover from the police and various law enforcement agencies.
[edit] Boris
Boris is Balalaika's second-in-command. He can be easily identified by the large scar running from his right forehead to his left cheek. Like Balalaika, he had served in the former Soviet army in the Afghan Civil War.
[edit] Roanapur Gangsters
[edit] Mr. Chang
Mr. Chang is the boss of a branch of the Triads based in Thailand. Like Revy, he is adept with wielding a pistol in each hand (Beretta 76 and M1911 variants) and his combat style of preference is gun fu. Chang is far more proficient in it than Revy, and it is implied that it is he who taught her this style of combat. It is this prowess in combat that makes Chang the only male to whom Revy respectfully refers to as "Sir".
Mr Chang is based on characters commonly played by Chow Yun Fat in films by John Woo, such as John Lee in Replacement Killers and especially Mark Gor in A Better Tomorrow, as both Chang and Gor are members of the Hong Kong Triad, wield dual pistols and don similar attire.
Unlike most criminal bosses in the town, he advocates cooperation and joint ventures.
[edit] Abrego
Abrego is a Colombian drug cartel boss operating in Roanapur. Whilst very arrogant, he has a tendency to be cowardly. He was presumed dead after the South American maid Roberta detonated a bomb in the bar he was in, although his appearance in later episodes is evidence that he somehow survived. After the explosion and the loss of many of his gunmen, Abrego's influence in Roanapur seems to have fallen, judging from the attitude he takes from Balalaika, Chang and Verrocchio.
[edit] Shenhua
Shenhua is a Taiwanese assassin in the employ of Mr. Chang. She prefers to use various edged weapons in close combat, in particular a pair of kukri knives linked together with a length of leather rope at the handles. She is also skilled in the use of throwing knives. Shenhua is a professional rival of Revy, whom she has worked with and against at times. Her personal religion is Taoism. One of her most notable traits is her broken speech pattern, which is always moving between Chinese and English. This can be compared to Shampoo from Ranma 1/2. She is last seen being rescued by Rotton after being shot by Revy and Eda while hunting for Greenback Jane.
[edit] Leigharch
Leigharch is an Irish driver who worked with Shenhua at one time. A compulsive smoker of marijuana, he has a distressingly frequent tendency to hallucinate at inopportune times, such as in the middle of a car chase. Most of his hallucinations are actually references to Western pop culture, such as Playmates, Star Trek characters like Jean-Luc Picard and Klingons, or English pop music. Leigharch is said by Shenhua to have suffered a massive overdose, inducing psychological damage severe enough to commit him to full-time medical attention.
[edit] Verrocchio
Verrocchio is the boss of a branch of the Italian mafia based in Thailand. He once attempted to use the child assassins, Hansel and Gretel, to kill the rival gang leaders, including Balalaika and Mr. Chang, in an attempt to seize complete leadership of Roanapur's criminal underworld. Verrocchio was killed when Hansel and Gretel turned against him on a murderous whim.
[edit] Chin
Chin is a minor Chinese crime boss who made several serious, though foolish, attempts to replace Balalaika as one of the major powers of Roanapur. He had a weasel-like appearance and was something of a sniveler who groveled in the face of superior odds, yet acted arrogantly when in power. Balalaika easily found out about his plans and personally oversaw his execution which consisted of tying him to a chair and then blowing up his apartment.
[edit] Luak
Luak is the captain of a pirate gang that operated in the rivers and seas of Thailand.
[edit] The Church of Violence
[edit] Eda
Eda is a nun in the convent, The Church of Violence, with ties to the underground since the convent is mainly a smuggling organization. She is friends with Revy, however this does not prevent them from confronting each other, as they share the same hotheaded personality. She has taken a liking to Rock during the "Second Barrage" episodes, much to Revy's displeasure.
She has blond hair, blue eyes, and wears angular pink sunglasses even with her nun's habit. Before she came to work for the Church, she claimed to have been born in Langley, Virginia. It must be noted that Langley, Virginia is a metonym for the CIA as its headquarters is located there and it has given rise to speculation that Eda is, or once was, a CIA agent, or that the entire Church of Violence is a CIA operation. This justifies her appearance as a woman many years older (most likely her mid-30's) than Revy (Mid-20's), though that does not correspond to her emotional maturity (such as her distraction to the point of indecision when Gretel offered her a large amount of money). Eda's preferred firearm is a Glock 17L.
[edit] Yolanda
Yolanda is the leader of the convent. She appears to be quite old (at least in her 60s considering her wrinkles) and wears an eyepatch over her right eye. Despite her age and gentle appearance, she leads her organization with an iron hand. As the head of her organization, Yolanda usually never fights, leaving this job to gunmen like Eda and Rico. However she does carry a weapon, a customized golden Desert Eagle and uses it without hesitation in due course. It should be noted that she can fire the Desert Eagle one-handed and with deadly accuracy, seemingly unaffected by the gun's infamous weight and heavy recoil.
[edit] Rico
Rico (Ricardo) is an apprentice priest in the Church of Violence. Like Eda and Yolanda, he is a highly skilled gunman whose choice of weapon is a M60 machine gun. He refers to Eda as "sis" ("onee-san" in Japanese) instead of "sister," much to her chagrin.
[edit] Citizens of Roanapur
[edit] Bao
Bao is the bartender and owner of the Yellow Flag bar. He was an ex-ARVN soldier who fought in the Vietnam War. He hates Lagoon Company, especially Revy, for messing up his bar whenever they get into a fight with another party and reminds Revy to pay for the damage she has caused, which she always avoids doing. His weapon of choice is a shotgun.
[edit] Rowan “Jackpot” Pigeon
Rowan “Jackpot” Pigeon is the owner and manager of the GoofFest strip club on Rachiada Street in Roanapur. Of African descent, he has offered Revy a job as an S&M dancer more than once due to her attractive appearance and hard edged personality. He is also a movie dealer who carries both legal and illegal genres (such as all forms of pornography and snuff films).
[edit] Chief Watsup
Chief Watsup is the chief of the Roanapur police. He receives a regular stipend from Roanapur's criminal cartels, as well as the Lagoon Company, to stay away from their illegal activities. For most part, Watsup upholds this deal as long as his benefactors do not cause public incidents. He has dealt with Balalaika on more than one occasion, although she detests him. He is also an amateur golfer.
[edit] Bounty Hunters / Mercenaries
[edit] Captain
Captain is the rank of an unknown mercenary in the employ of the Extra Order Company, a mercenary contracting company. An experienced ex-soldier who saw action in the Liberian civil war in the early 1990s, Captain had no qualms with killing anyone he was asked to kill. He was also something of a challenge-seeker, since he wanted to prolong his fight with the Lagoon Company, whom he saw as worthy opponents. This proved to be his undoing, however since Rock realized this and came up with a strategy to exploit Captain's attitude. Captain was also a skilled helicopter pilot.
[edit] Sawyer the Cleaner
Sawyer the Cleaner is a young girl, appearing to be in her late teens-early twenties, who specializes in body disposal, but also does occasional bounty hunter work. She is the person that the Triads, at least, turn to to execute people in the most brutal ways possible, usually to serve as examples for their clientele and enemies. Sawyer works in a white tiled room, which is covered in blood from her various executions, and uses a chainsaw as her tool of trade. When on the job, she is dressed like a surgeon, but otherwise she wears gothic clothing. Few people seem to recognize her when she is not wearing her surgeon's robes. Because her throat had been cut open at some point, she speaks with an Ultravoice. She also seems to have various emotional issues, as she will drop into fetal position if she loses her Ultravoice.
Like Shenhua, Sawyer is an assassin in Black Lagoon who eschews the use of firearms in combat. Instead, she utilizes a thick-bladed chainsaw over half-her-height long, the same one she uses on her victims. The size and build of the weapon allows her to deflect rapid gun-fire with horrifying ease, although this can still push her back. Much like Roberta, Sawyer is presented as an "unstoppable" attacker, much in the manner of Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, where she will cut through any obstacle in her path while stalking her prey, and the fact she enjoys her work immensely makes her even more dangerous. Her name may also be a homage to the Sawyer family of that film series. Strangely, she is one of the few bounty hunters to survive the manhunt on Jane.
Her legitimate business front is, ironically, a meat packing business named "U.G. Pork".
[edit] Claude "Torch" Weaver
Claude "Torch" Weaver is an obese, middle aged man with blonde hair and glasses and always sports a grin. As his nickname would suggest, he is a pyromaniac who uses a lighter shaped-and-sized flamethrower as his weapon of choice, although for heavy duty jobs, he will also use a full-sized flamethrower. In spite of his profession and the fact he burnt his own wife to death (which he claims took five minutes), Claude claims to be religious (which religion is unknown) and does not drink alcohol. He is blown up by Revy while hunting for Greenback Jane.
[edit] Rotton the Wizard
Rotton the Wizard is a mysterious looking man and one of the bounty hunters hired to catch "Greenback" Jane. He has gray hair, wears a black trenchcoat and shaded glasses, and speaks in a light voice. His weapon of choice is one or more Mauser C96(s) with an extended magazine, although it's unknown whether this is an actual Mauser or a foreign version of the gun. He does not drink alcohol (he claims it makes him vomit). His manner and appearance are similar to Hans Günsche in Hellsing. He gets shot by Revy, when he tries to make a fancy entrance. It is implied that he is not a mighty fighter, but a poser. However, he did survive a fall from atop a warehouse building after getting shot due to his kevlar vest, so the full extent of his abilities is still in question.
He is also one of the few bounty hunters to survive the manhunt for Jane. After the battle takes off in the sea, he gets up and aids a gravely wounded Shenhua and Sawyer. Due to the uncommon act of mercy, Shenhua comments that he's not the type to kill and would be better as a host in a bordello, but Rotton claims that he's too clumsy for that.
[edit] U-1234 Crew and Passengers
[edit] Captain Wentzel Aabe
Captain Wentzel Aabe was the decorated skipper of the Type IXC U-boat U-1234 and a survivor of the Battle of the Atlantic. His last order in the closing months of World War II in Europe was to take the U-1234 and its veteran crew along with two passengers from the Kriegsmarine naval base at Kiel to ostensibly return Lt. Col. Matsuda to Batavia. He succeeded in getting safely to the Indian Ocean, but ran into trouble with US Navy destroyers near the Nicobar Islands on March 25, 1945, which succeed in fatally crippling the U-1234 with depth charges, leaving it stranded on the seafloor. With only two hours of air left, he relieved his crew of their military duties and allowed them to choose death however they choose. Aabe was a patriot, but not a Nazi, expressing his bitternesss to the SS Lieutenant Colonel that the Nazis had brought Germany to ruin and satisfaction that U-1234’s sinking had meaning if his children would never see the Nazi flag again, leading the latter to shoot him. In their last act of loyalty to their captain, his crew avenge him. Aabe left behind a wife and two children. His Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves and Swords is sought after by Revy after she and Rock recover “The Twelve Knights led by Brunhilda” for its value on the open market. Aabe is also shown to have received the Iron Cross 1st Class among his other decorations.
[edit] Lieutenant Colonel Matsuda
Lieutenant Colonel Matsuda was an Imperial Japanese Army officer posted to Germany to study aeronautics, where he remained until the early part of 1945. Returning him to Japanese-held Batavia is the apparent final mission of the U-1234. He formed a quick understanding with Captain Aabe and was sociable with the crew, engaging them in games of shogi during the voyage from Kiel to Batavia. When the U-1234 was fatally depth charged and runs aground on the seabed near the Nicobar Islands, he committed seppuku using his katana. He does not appear in the manga.
Matsuda is based on the Imperial Japanese Navy lieutenant commander Genzo Shoji, who was posted to Germany to study aeronautics as well, and tried to return to Japan as a passenger of U-234. However, when Germany surrendered in the midst of the voyage, the captain of U-234 decided to surrender to the U.S. Navy. Consequently, Shoji committed suicide to avoid capture. This episode was turned into the movie "Das Letzte U-Boot" in Germany in 1990.
[edit] The SS Lieutenant Colonel
The unnamed SS Lieutenant Colonel (Obersturmbannführer) was the U-1234’s second passenger. A member of the SD, he was charged with the care of the painting “The Twelve Knights led by Brunhilda,” which is part of a Nazi plot to prepare for the Nazis’ eventual rise to power following their defeat in World War II. He boarded the U-1234 the night before it sailed. Unlike Lt. Col. Matsuda, he was not as sociable, tending to keep to himself belowdecks, even when the U-boat was safely cruising on the surface in daytime. Like Captain Aabe he also had a family, a wife and child in Stuttgart, but unlike the former, was more focused on the failure of his mission rather than on them in his final hours. Aabe’s anti-Nazi comments infuriated him, leading him to fatally shoot the captain. About to then shoot himself, he decided to take down as many of the U-1234’s crewmembers as possible in his final moments when they avenged their captain’s death.
[edit] Neo Nazis
The Aryan Socialist Union is a group of aspiring Neo Nazis styling themselves along the lines of the Nazi Sturmabteilung. While heavily armed with modern anti-tank missiles, they even possess such retro weapons as MG-42 machine guns and Luger pistols. However, flush with the initial success of their mission, the ASU prove to be overconfident and lacking in discipline. They want to prove themselves as loyal Nazis, however they do not realize that they have been lied to and are being set up by Sir Alfred, the head of the Neo Nazi movement who believes they are a waste. There are more than 30 of them aboard their recovery ship. It is unknown how many, if any, survived the conflict with the Lagoon Company.
[edit] Ratchman
Ratchman is a short, fat man who leads the Aryan Socialist Union. He and his men are sent to retrieve a painting that was supposedly painted by Hitler and will reunite the Nazis and return them back to their former glory. He hopes that by obtaining the painting he will have proven himself and his men loyal enough to be accepted into the Neo Nazi underworld. Though he shows loyalty on the surface, he is a coward at heart. Ratchman's lack of foresight and proper planning enables the Lagoon Company to sneak onto the ASU's recovery ship and launch a surpise attack while his men are drunk from celebrating after they recover the painting.
[edit] Kruppen Feller
Kruppen Feller is the commander of the Aryan Socialist Union’s Suicide Corps, the recovery team who whill retrieve “The Twelve Knights led by Brunhilda” from the U-1234. He is the only man other than Ratchman to get emotionally worked up over the latter’s bombastic pronouncement of his mission. Feller leads his men down to the U-1234 using a special diving pod to connect with the U-boat’s hatch. Getting caught up in a firefight with Revy, he is the only member of his team to set foot in the U-1234 to make it out alive, recovering the painting in the process. When Revy and Dutch assault the Aryan Socialist Union aboard their recovery ship, he attempts to arm himself with a SAW to fight back, but is shot by Revy in the ship’s magazine. In the manga he is last seen fighting Revy inside the submarine; his fate afterwards is unknown.
[edit] Fritz Standford
Fritz Stanford is the captain of the Nazi boat that is sent to obtain the World War II painting in the sunken U-boat. He is a physically huge man, and is filled with blind faith and overconfidence. In the end it is this overconfidence that gets him killed. He wields a large .454 gold Luger that he claims only he has the strength to wield.
[edit] Sir Alfred (The Boss)
Little is known about this man, except he seems to be the head of the Neo Nazi underworld. He is an elderly man, most likely in his 80s, since he was in the SS during the war, and it is implied that he is a combat veteran. The Boss sets up a test of loyalty and ability for Ratchman and his Aryan Socialist Union, in which he purposely sends them to face off with the Lagoon Company. Even though he sets them up, he already knows that Ratchman will most likely be defeated. Ratchman and the Lagoon Company are unaware that they are being set up. The boss feels that Ratchman and his men are idiots and a disgrace to call themselves Nazis. He even thanks Dutch and Revy for killing them off for him. Dutch later finds out that the Frenchman who hired him was in fact the Boss setting him up. In the manga he is referred to as "Sir Alfred".
[edit] Terrorists
The fellow members of the terrorist group "Protectors of the Islamic Front", are a group of terrorist that would like nothing more than to see the fall of the West, mainly the United States. They will stop at nothing that gets in their way, the Lagoon Company included, in reaching their goal. While trained better than your average gangster, they are still no match for most of the main characters.
[edit] Masahiro Takenaka
Masahiro Takenaka is a co-leader of the terrorist group "Protectors of the Islamic Front" and a patient, sociable person who rarely loses his cool. Despite being involved with an Islamic terrorist group, he himself is an atheist. Born in the Adachi ward in Tokyo, Masahiro was once an enthusiastic activist for human rights before joining the Japanese Red Army during the Cold War. Later, he was forced to evade arrest by hiding overseas.
[edit] Ibraha
Ibraha is a co-leader of the terrorist group "Protectors of the Islamic Front", leading one of its main cells in the Philippines, and is resolute in his hatred for Israel. Ibraha's son was killed by Israeli soldiers in Beirut, Lebanon in 1987, after which he dedicated his life to destroying the West. Compared to his comrade, Takenaka, he is the exact opposite in personality. While chasing Revy, Rock, and Shenhua towards a Basilan Military base, he is shot and killed by Takenaka for refusing to pull their forces back for a retreat.
[edit] Yakuza
[edit] Yukio Washimine
Yukio Washimine is a high school senior and the only daughter of Ryuzo Washimine who was the former kumicho (boss) of the yakuza organization "Washimine-gumi" (Washimine Group). As the only surviving direct relation of the former boss of the Washimine Group, only Yukio had a viable claim to the leadership of the Group. She reluctantly takes up the leadership when "Hotel Moscow" steps up their efforts to claim a part of the Japanese criminal underworld. She falls, seemingly inevitably, into the world of the yakuza and fantasizes about running away with Ginji to Roanapur to stake a claim in that world of crime In her spare time, Yukio enjoyed reading a wide variety of books, particularly those concerning philosophy (she once read a book written by Martin Heidegger). She kills herself after Ginji is killed by Revy.
Thoughtful, intelligent and talented, the tragic misfortune of being the only heir to the Washimine group proved too much for Yukio to live by.
[edit] Ginji Matsuzaki
Ginji Matsuzaki is the acting wakagashira (underboss) of Washimine Group. He is currently working as a street stall vendor, but was formerly an assassin nicknamed "Hitokiri Ginji" (Manslayer Ginji) due to his use of a katana in combat. His skills in its use are exceptional, manifesting themselves in such feats as cleaving bullets in two in midflight. Coupled with his ability to evade gunfire from multiple foes, Ginji almost completely eschews the use of firearms.
Ginji had protected Yukio for a long time and hoped that she would live out her life normally despite her family's criminal background. He seems to regret his past as a murderer, but is willing to take up arms again for those he cares for. He is killed by Revy in a prearranged duel after he and Yukio realize they can't defeat Balalaika and the rest of Hotel Moscow.
It is interesting to note that although Revy calls Ginji "Jumbo" because of his height, Ginji is the only other male she seems to respect for his prowess as a warrior, much like she does with Mr. Chang.
[edit] Tsugio Bando
Tsugio Bando is the wakagashira (underboss) of the Washimine Group. Since the position of boss of the Washimine Group is left vacant by the death of the former boss Ryuzo Washimine, Yukio's father, Tsugio is the actual boss of the Washimine Group. Tsugio is very loyal to the memory of Ryuzo, who had protected him after he just arrived in Tokyo from Osaka. Due to his hate of the Kousa Council's ill-treatment of the Washimine Group, he allied with Hotel Moscow for a short time in order for his group to rise and make a name for itself. However, his plans and Hotel Moscow's completely differed in approach as Balalaika was more brutal in her methods. He is killed in a desperate attempt to assassinate Balalaika and protect the Washimine Group; Balalaika easily dodges his attempt to stab her and then breaks his neck.
[edit] Yoshida
Yoshida is one of the enforcers working for the Washimine Group. He was very loyal to Tsugio Bando and refers to him as an older brother. Yoshida is usually seen as a bodyguard for Tsugio, and later Yukio when she inherits the leadership of the Washimine Group. During Yukio's inheritance of the Washimine Group's head position, it was Yoshida who rallied support for the young lady. He is killed by Chaka during Yukio's kidnapping.
[edit] Chaka
Chaka is one of the enforcers working for the Washimine Group. Arrogant, cruel, and sadistic, Chaka is often seen as an idiot by his peers. His earlier appearance showed the fact that Revy's reputation as a gunman in Roanapur is quite great that it reaches the ears of the yakuza in Japan. Shortly after Yukio inherits the position of boss of the Group, Chaka makes his bid to take over the leadership by kidnapping Yukio. He fancies himself as a "Wild West" gunman. Chaka was determined to fight Revy in a quickdraw showdown, but Revy refused and lured him into fighting a duel with Matsuzaki Ginji instead. Ginji defeated and finished him off soon afterwards by letting him drown in a pool with both of his hands severed from his arms.
[edit] Lovelace Family
[edit] Diego Jose San Fernando Lovelace
Diego Jose San Fernando Lovelace was the former head of the Lovelace family, eleventh in succession. While it is one of the thirteen noble families of South America, the Lovelace family fell upon hard times, with only the meager income from their plantations maintaining their lifestyle. Recently assassinated during a speech.
[edit] Garcia Lovelace
Garcia Lovelace is the only son of Diego Jose San Fernando Lovelace. He was heir to the Lovelace family line, and as such, is its current head, the twelfth in succession after. He was kidnapped for a short while by a Colombian cartel, was transported by the Lagoon Company as "goods" until he was left with Roberta from Roanapur with the some help from Hotel Moscow. He has apparently returned to Roanapur searching for Roberta with a new maid named Fabiola, waiting in a local hotel called the "Sunken Palace Hotel".
[edit] Roberta
Roberta is a maid who worked for four years at the Lovelace household in Venezuela. Although her domestic skills, such as cleaning and cooking, were poor, she has developed a close friendship with the young scion of the Lovelace family, Garcia. Roberta was once known as Rosarita Cisneros, a former FARC guerrilla trained as an assassin in Cuba and an internationally wanted criminal. She earned the moniker "Bloodhound of Florencia" for her relentless drive to achieve her objectives.
In combat, Roberta is a truly fearsome opponent, having trained in a wide variety of martial, stealth, and weapon skills. Among the weapons she has used before were a sniper rifle, a combat knife, a shotgun, a machine gun, a grenade launcher, spiked brass knuckles, a trench spike, and pistols. Her strength, speed, endurance, and instincts were honed to almost supernatural levels.
It is ironic that while Roberta is one of the most powerful warrior-women in the story of Black Lagoon, she is also humane, possessing warmth, kindness, remorse, and family love for her master and his son.
She admitted that she did murder children, woman or anyone in name of revolution during her FARC years. Disillusioned by the fact that she is merely a tool for drug cartels in cahoots with FARC in the end, she opted out and joined the Lovelace clan as a maid. Despite being asked by Garcia not to pick up gunfighting anymore, later events of manga story make her go into battle again, seeking revenge.
She is also heavily modelled on El Mariachi, popularized by Antonio Banderas down to suitcase machinegun signature and her Latin America background.
[edit] Fabiola Iglesias
Fabiola Iglesias is a young maid in the employ of the Lovelace family. She is one of the maids who work as Roberta's subordinates, and the only other combat-trained person among the maids apart from Roberta herself. In combat, she prefers to use two MAG-7s that were given to her by Roberta. She first appears in the same bar that Roberta met the Lagoon crew in, panicking everybody with her resemblance to Roberta. However, unlike Roberta, her suitcase is revealed to be filled with lollypops and a lunchbox with Scooby Doo and Ranger Smith on it. She is currently fighting alongside Revy; the reason she was sent to Thailand is currently unknown.
[edit] Other Characters
[edit] Kageyama
Kageyama is one of the department chiefs of Asahi Industries, based in Tokyo. He was entrusted by the Asahi Industries board of directors to ensure that their illegal activities were not exposed. Kageyama betrayed Rock by appointing Captain to kill him and the Lagoon Company, thus encouraging Rock to stay on with the Company. Although Kageyama is married and has three children (one teenage son, one teenage daughter, and one pre-teen daughter), he seems to place more emphasis on his job rather than his family.
[edit] Hansel and Gretel
Hansel and Gretel are two unnamed Romanian identical twin orphans, suggested to be male and female, who were abandoned in a state-run orphanage due to the Nicolae Ceauşescu regime's ban on abortion. As a result of being repeatedly forced to participate in peadophilic snuff films in which they are either raped or forced to murder other children, the twins eventually became deranged, sadistic killers just to survive. Unknown to most people, "Hansel" and "Gretel" are actually two personalities alternately adopted by the two children, both of whom suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder.
In combat, "Hansel" wields a sharp, wicked-looking battle axe while "Gretel" uses a M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle that appears to be taller than she is. Both also carry additional sidearms. While they were mentally deranged, Hansel and Gretel were also cunning, having used two other children as decoys to distract the "Hotel Moscow" ex-soldiers and using money to distract Eda. They were also not above using their innocent appearance to deceive their enemies.
As revenge for killing Balalaika's men, Hansel is shot from a distance and left to bleed to death in one of Roanapur's parks, while Gretel manages to escape and eventually boards the Black Lagoon of her own volition. Due to Rock's kindness, she begins to shed her psychotic personality and takes a genuine liking to him. However, just as Gretel starts to begin a normal life, she is gunned down by a South African hitman.
Within the story of Black Lagoon, Hansel and Gretel may be two of the most evil characters, as they live for nothing other than random, senseless acts of murder. However, they may also be the most tragic characters as they believe that these acts of violence will prevent them from being harmed by others.
The characters' names are taken from the German fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel. Many of the series' characters compare them to a similar pair of disturbed, sadistic twins from the American film The Shining.
[edit] Janet Bhai (a.k.a. "Greenback Jane")
Janet Bhai is a professional money counterfeiter from India. She served as the leader for her project team, which was spread around the world but was connected thanks to the internet, and is quite knowledgable on the details of the dollar bill. Coincidentally, she falls in love with Benny after he displays his hacking skills. Janet currently seems to be having an internet romance with Benny. One of the running gags of her story arc is her clumsiness and poor luck, which usually result in her being subject to a pantyshot.
[edit] "Groovy Guy" Russel
"Groovy Guy" Russel is a middle aged American man who works for the Florida crime syndicate that's tracking Jane. He is quite distinguishable since he dresses like a cowboy: he has the trademark hat, boots with spurs, a revolver at the hip (possibly a Colt Single Action Army), bandolier belt, tan shirt and jeans. He is not taken serious by the other bounty hunters because he is an outsider. Even Shenhua says, “This is not Austin, Cowboy,” meaning that he is in over his head. However, his skills are shown to be more than everyone thought, when he is the last bounty hunter left in the hunt for Jane and he duels Eda onboard the Lagoon. It is then later revealed that he and Eda have met previously in the United States, but Eda says they have never met. When he brings up the words "CIA", Eda kills him.
[edit] Vasili Laptev
Vasili Laptev is the boss of a branch of the Russian mafia based in Tokyo. A former KGB officer, Laptev had many difficulties operating in Japan due to his status as a gaijin (foreigner). His detachment is slaughtered single-handedly by Ginji when fallout between Moscow Hotel and Washimine Yakuza begins.
Considered distasteful and incompetent by Balalaika, he appeared to lose his standing with his peers in Russian Mafia back in his home country.
It is reflected in his arrogant personality, since he did not speak Japanese despite being based in Japan.
[edit] Maki
Maki is female high school junior and goes to the same high school as her friend, Yukio Washimine. Maki seems to be a symbolic representative of the typical Japanese high school girl who is interested in skin-care, has a part-time job, and has poor school grades.
| Black Lagoon | |
|---|---|
| Episodes: | Black Lagoon (Season 1) | Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage (Season 2) |
| Characters: | Revy | Rock | Dutch | Benny Hotel Moscow | Roanapur Gangsters | The Church of Violence | Citizens of Roanapur | Bounty Hunters/Mercenaries | U-1234 Crew and Passengers | Neo Nazis | Terrorists | Yakuza | Lovelace Family | Other Characters |
| Media: | Manga | Music |
| Other: | Rei Hiroe |
