List of Black Lagoon characters
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The following is a list of characters from the Japanese 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, even children. 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). According to CIA agents in the Philippines, Revy is still notorious in the NYPD, particularly at the 27th Precinct.
Revy's skill with firearms and ability to dodge bullets seem superhuman. Her weapons of choice are twin modified Beretta 92Fs. They appear to have been hard chromed and fitted with threaded extended barrels (for silencers) with thread protectors. They are engraved with "Sword Cutlass", the jolly roger of the famous pirate Calico Jack, and an inscription in Thai. The grips are inlaid with Calico Jack's jolly roger as well. Due to her ambidextrous marksmanship skills, she is nicknamed "Two-Hands" by the people of Roanapur.
[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, often surprised at the barbarity of the Southeast Asian crime world. He still wears a tie and short-sleeved dress shirt when on the job with the Lagoon Company, and prefers to use words over weapons when interacting with others.
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 bilingual, able to speak Japanese (his first language) and English. Rock's earnest personality has earned him the interest of several personalities in Roanapur, including Balalaika, Roan “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 got a job in the Japanese government).
[edit] Dutch
Dutch is the leader of the Lagoon Company and captain of the ex-American Navy PT boat Black Lagoon. He is a former American soldier who fought in the Vietnam War. 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. 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 from Jewish descendancy 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] Roanapur Gangsters
[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 BDU shirt 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 its also visible on her chest), earning her a 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' does take part in work normally done by underlings such as editing hardcore pornography, as seen in episode seven. 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 Visotoniki, made up of ex-Soviet soldiers who had saw action in Afghanistan against anti-communist mujahedeen fighters. Due to Balalaika's leadership during the hellish fighting in Afghanistan, her men all look up to her as their superior, and will do just about anything upon her orders.
[edit] Boris
Boris is Balalaika's second-in-command. He can be easily identified due to a large scar running from his right forehead to his left cheek. Like Balalaika, he had served in the former Soviet army.
[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 in Chang's case) 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".
[edit] Abrego
Abrego A Columbian 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 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.
[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 to have suffered a massive overdose, enducing 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 tieing 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 but that doesn't keep them from pointing their guns at each other in business matters, as they share the same hotheaded personality. She has blond hair, blue eyes and wears her angular pink sunglasses even with her nun outfit. Before she came to work for the Church, she claimed to have been born in Langley, Virginia. 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 (distracted to the point of indecision when Gretel waved huge piles of cash in front of her). She also makes confusing statements about "not having balls since she was born". Very ironically, Eda has a very angelic face and expression, which she covers with her sunglasses. Eda's preferred firearm is a Glock 17L. 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.
[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. He refers to Eda as "sis", much to the nun's 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 to do.
[edit] Roan “Jackpot” Pigeon
Roan “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 a golf player.
[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 saw this and came up with a strategy to exploit the Captain's attitude. Captain was also a skilled helicopter pilot.
[edit] Sawyer the Cleaner
Sawyer the Cleaner is a young girl, appearing in her late teens-early twenties, that 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 clientelle 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 immensly 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 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.
[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 a 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 is also one of the few bounty hunters to survive the manhunt for Jane, thanks to his wearing a kevlar vest. 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] Terrorists
[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. Born in the Adachi ward in Tokyo, Masahiro was once a enthusiastic activist for human rights before joining the Japanese Red Army during the Cold War. Later, he was forced to 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 the United States of America. When his son was killed by American soldiers, Ibraha dedicated his life to destroying the country of those who ruined his life.
[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. 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).
[edit] Ginji Matsuzaki
Ginji Matsuzaki is the acting wakagashira (underboss) of Washimine Group. He is currently working as a street-stall keeper, but he was an assassin nicknamed as "Hitokiri Ginji" (Manslayer Ginji) due to his skills with a katana. He had protected Yukio for a long time and hoped that she would live out her life normally despite her family's criminal background. Ginji seems to regret his past as a murderer, but is willing to take up arms again for those he cares for.
[edit] Tsugio Bando
Tsugio Bando is the wakagashira (underboss) of Washimine Group. Since the position of boss of Washimine Group is left vacant by the death of the former boss Ryuzo Washimine (the father of Yukio), Tsugio is the actual boss of Washimine Group. Tsugio is very loyal to the memory of Ryuzo, who had protected him after he just arrived in Tokyo from Osaka.
[edit] Yoshida
Yoshida is one of the enforcers working for the Washimine Group. He is usually seen as a bodyguard for Tsugio, and later Yukio when she inherits the leadership of the Washimine Group.
[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. Shortly after Yukio inherits the position of boss of the Group, Chaka makes his bid to take over the leadership by kidnapping Yukio.
[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 was the one who betrays 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 care into his job rather than his family.
[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, 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 the most humane, possessing warmth, kindness, remorse, and maternal love for children that all her counterparts completely lack. In this respect, she is similar to Himura Kenshin, the main protagonist of the story Rurouni Kenshin.
[edit] Garcia Lovelace
Garcia Lovelace is the only son of Diego Jose San Fernando Lovelace, the eleventh head of the Lovelace family. 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.
[edit] Hansel and Gretel
Hansel and Gretel are two unnamed Romanian identical twin orphans, suggested to be male and female, who were subjected to the brutal delights of dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu in a state-run orphanage when Romania was still Communist. 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, psychotic 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 multiple personality disorder.
In combat, "Hansel" wields a sharp, wicked-looking battle axe while "Gretel" uses a M1918 BAR 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.
Within the story of Black Lagoon, Hansel and Gretel may be two of the most evil characters in the story, since they have no other purpose in life except murder, which they profoundly enjoy. Yet they may be also the most tragic characters given their background.
[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 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.
[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.
[edit] Laptev
Laptev is the boss of a branch of the Russian mafia based in Tokyo. A former KGB agent, Laptev had many difficulties operating in Japan due to his status as a gaijin (foreigner).
[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.
