***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Black Lagoon Roberta’s Blood Trail. Reader discretion is advised.***
Series Synopsis
A life of war and violence will leave deep scars on even the most hardened of soldiers. Once the fighting stops, the most difficult thing to do is find peace. Yet peace was something the infamous Bloodhound of Florencia had achieved. At last, the assassin turn housemaid, Roberta (voiced by Michie Tomizawa), could store away her guns.
Then in an instant, that life was taken from her.
An American operation in Colombia results in the death of Roberta’s beloved new master. The unstoppable killer now had a new target. By any means necessary, Roberta would see to it that the people responsible would die. Even if that meant declaring war on the full might of the US military.
Roberta’s hunt is nothing if not destructive. Her revenge soon takes her back to a small, corrupt cesspool in Southeast Asia. The crime-ridden city of Roanapur. Within the town is the headquarters of the notorious mercenaries of the Lagoon Company. Among its members is former Japanese salaryman, Rokuro “Rock” Okajima (voiced by Daisuke Namikawa). As well as one of the world’s most dangerous gunslingers, Revy (voiced by Megumi Toyoguchi).
Having laid waste to Roanapur before, the very thought of Roberta’s return puts the city on edge. Yet now there is the threat of unwanted third parties getting involved. Those at the top of the town’s criminal empire will do what it takes to ensure that doesn’t happen. Too bad that means nothing to the now enraged Roberta.
Series Positives
I was looking forward to returning to the world of Black Lagoon. The first two seasons were fantastic. As such, I had planned to get to this third installment much earlier. Then a year’s worth of time got away from me. Though, considering the release schedule of this story, this is a tad appropriate.
Four years after season two, this mini third season saw an original OVA run that lasted twelve months. Impressive since there are only five episodes. Given how this was also one complete narrative and a continuation of the series, that would’ve been a tough wait. Except I assume it would’ve been something worth waiting for.
Roberta’s Blood Trail was great.
The original show ended well enough and it doesn’t help that this season didn’t add anything new. In a sense, this can be considered skippable. Except, if you think yourself a Black Lagoon fan and decide to do that, rethink your choices.
Sure, this story didn’t deviate from what made the first two seasons what they were. It gave us much of the same. But consider what those things entailed. Black Lagoon is one of the best action anime out there. Plus, it’s borderline absurd how entertaining it was. So, if there’s something a show is going to repeat, why not make it this?
If that wasn’t enough, Roberta’s Blood Trail got a huge update in visuals. This season had outstanding animation. Commendable when you realize Black Lagoon has never looked bad. Everything in these five episodes popped. Making the whole thing pleasing to look at.Or at least that would have been the case if this story wasn’t so brutal. Then again, this level of carnage wasn’t without its own sense of beauty. It would be something if the entire series got an HD touch up.
That or give us a season four. It is a little surprising that’s not already a reality.
The Action
Black Lagoon has never failed to deliver on this aspect. This series succeeded in being over-the-top and flashy. This show’s cast of characters fills itself to the brim with people who know what they are doing. If you’re not ready to go to war at a moment’s notice in Roanapur, you won’t last long. Those who operate in this part of the world take the word dangerous and beat it to a bloody pulp. Something which happened a lot in Roberta’s Blood Trail.
Season one was a lot more explosion-happy. Season two had no qualms about getting close and personal. Where the first was fun and destructive, the second was intense and gritty. Both carved an identity for themselves. Season three kept this consistency alive.
The first two seasons focused more on the criminal side of Roanapur. Despite violence being a daily occurrence, it was self-contained. If there was a problem, the city dealt with it. This was a town the rest world left to its own devices.Except that didn’t mean people weren’t listening. If things got too much out of hand, outside parties would step in. This story toyed with such a possibility coming to fruition.
This was the most militaristic season of the series. Though Revy and the rest were seasoned fighters, they weren’t what you would call soldiers. Aside from Hotel Moscow that is. The crew of the Black Lagoon went of jobs, not missions.
Revy could take on anyone, there is no questioning that. Although most of her opponents have been simple thugs. Childs play when up against her. Often enough, she did fight people who gave her some challenge. She had plenty of experience taking on one-man armies. Except she did usually go up against actual armies. These fights consisted of combatants who knew how to kill and were good at it. 
Therefore, guns were no longer as effective as they have been. Hand to hand combat was an inevitability. Keep in mind, each punch had lethal intent behind it. The other two seasons had severed limbs and bullets to the head. Yet neither of them had a knife to the crotch. Roberta’s Blood Trail’s calling card was pain.
In addition, Black Lagoon had plenty of dark humor throughout. This season toned this element down by a huge margin. That said, the levels gruesomeness reached here made for some pretty funny moments.Albeit in an astonishment kind of way. Such as “Wow, she just bashed that guy’s skull in with her fists and continued for a bit.”
Roberta’s Blood Trail wears the label of Black Lagoon with pride. As well as taking it to a much more extreme level.
Roberta
Way back in my Black Lagoon season one review, I said this:
I don’t think (Roberta) will be in this show again. (Why give) background to someone who was only a one-time character?
As you can see, I was wrong. But if this is going to be the result, I hope I’m wrong more often. Ignoring her name being the title, Roberta stole the show.
Except, thinking back on season one, it’s almost as if this was a different character. The first time we saw Roberta, she was a badass. If memory serves, she was the first person who matched Revy in a fight. In fact, they fought each other to a draw. Had that version of the character been in this season ,that would have been fine. We didn’t get that version though.
We got someone better.
Roberta was terrifying. The path of destruction she walked put the rest of the franchise to shame. Season one built her up to be this unstoppable killing machine. Season three made her into a pure monster.
I’m not sure which Roberta moment was my favorite. They were all good. But if I had to say something, it would be her descent into madness. She was scary enough when she had control of her mind. That didn’t last and it didn’t last long. You could almost hear the instant her sanity snapped. She dropped the label of bloodhound and became a rabid wolf.
There must be thousands of people who feel they can take on the entire US military by themselves. Roberta probably could have done it.
Series Negatives
There’s a chance I’m wrong, but I remember the first two seasons of Black Lagoon being easier to follow. When there was action going on, Roberta’s Blood Trail was as entertaining as can be. Except, if you were to ask me the details about what was going on, I don’t know what I’d say to you.
I get the general gist. Roberta was pissed and she was going to kill some people. Those people happened to be active US military personnel. Having the United States breathing down your neck wasn’t something Roanapur wanted. While they didn’t care about what Roberta did, they didn’t want her to do it inside the city.
This season should have left it at that. But it insisted on dropping a ton of abbreviations and acronyms I don’t know meanings of. The story also went into the inner workings of Roanapur and the mindset of those in power. Not to mention, there was a good chunk of time spent analyzing what it meant to survive in such a dangerous world. How much could one person change such deep-seated corruption?
Then there was Rock who underwent a huge character change. He was more manipulative and cunning. He could think of detailed plans and everything went the way he predicted. This wasn’t bad and I won’t say I didn’t like it. I even understand why Rock’s character would go down such a drastic path. Too bad never in the series did he demonstrate he was capable of doing the things he did. Or at least not to this masterful degree.
Despite that, everything I mentioned would have been fine had this been a real season. The story then would have had the time to explore each of these elements to their fullest. Instead, there were only five episodes and most of it consisted of awesome action scenes. Why bother cramming this other stuff in? I ask that, but I think I know why.
Roberta could have carried this story by herself. So then why didn’t she? There was no reason why this story had to go to Roanapur. Revy and the gang did not have to be in this season. Except, the moment I saw them I knew why they were. It was nice to see them again.
To be honest, I didn’t expect Revy and the Black Lagoon to be in Roberta’s Blood Trail. I assumed this was going to be more of a spinoff story. I also assumed that would have worked. Given what I watch, I know for a fact this would have worked.
While it was good to have the gang back together, they had no impact on the story. Everyone was around to add a sense of familiarity.
At first, I was excited. In my head that meant we might get to see more of Hotel Moscow. Or to be more specific, more of Balalaika (voiced by Mami Koyama). I will admit my disappointment since neither returned to the point we saw back in season two. But it wasn’t just them.
How do you make Revy seem inconsequential? Her fights weren’t that exciting when compared to everything else that was going on. That should not have been the case whatsoever. I mean, the perfect rematch presented itself. How insane would a second Revy versus Roberta fight be? The pieces were there. Better animation. A much more violent atmosphere. Roberta was out of her God damn mind. It would be a massive shame if this story didn’t take advantage of these circumstances.
Roberta’s Blood Trail made me realize two things. One, as stated earlier, I do want there to be a Black Lagoon season four. Two, a legitimate Roberta spin-off series would have the potential to be phenomenal.
Also, the exposition dialogue in this season was out of control. This may have something to do with each episode releasing several months apart. Except while that may be a reason, it is not an excuse.
Final Thoughts
Of the three seasons, this my least favorite. That said, this installment did a lot of things right.
The animation was the best of the franchise. The action was intense and entertaining. Roberta solidified herself as on the franchise's strongest characters. There are plenty of things to like about this one.
Where this season stumbled came in the form of the execution. The first two season simply had more time to tell their story. A story that centered around the crew of the Black Lagoon. That wasn’t this and this series should not have tried to force it. This could have been its own thing.
That notwithstanding, I’m one hundred percent going to recommend this one. Black Lagoon Roberta’s Blood Trail is a great addition for those who want a little bit more.
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