List of Black Lagoon characters
Encyclopedia
The following is a list of characters from the Japanese manga
and anime
Black Lagoon
.
of the series. He was a Japanese salaryman
for Asahi Industries in Tokyo
until he was taken hostage by the crew of the Black Lagoon. He joined the Lagoon Company after his department chief, Kageyama, abandoned him (he was declared dead) 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 his tie, short-sleeved dress shirt, and dress pants because, although now a pirate, he still retains his business persona. He prefers to use words over weapons when interacting with others. Rock, after joining the Lagoon company, has wondered if he is experiencing Stockholm syndrome
.
Within the Lagoon Company, Rock is usually responsible for account management, diplomacy, negotiation, interpretation, 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 native language) and English as well as being familiar with other languages, including Spanish
, Romanian
and Russian
. He also has a surprisingly high tolerance for alcohol, owing to the heavy-drinking lifestyle of a ladder-climbing salaryman. Rock's earnest personality has earned him the interest of several figures in Roanapur, including Balalaika, Mr. Chang, Rowan "Jackpot" Pigeon, Yolanda, Eda (who develops a crush on him), and young Garcia Lovelace, whom he trusts to the greatest degree. 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. Dutch has stated that he believes Lagoon Company is complete with Rock not holding a gun, saying his bullets are the kind to ricochet back at them.
Rock is one of the "luckiest" characters in the series as he managed to survive every single thing he experienced from being taken hostage to being shot at. Thus far, he has survived the wrath of Revy, Balalaika, Roberta, and Sawyer. He is personally appointed by Mr. Chang to help Garcia Lovelace, much to Lagoon Company's disapproval. Rock eventually begins to enjoy his life as a pirate and becomes even more comfortable with corruption. Later, in a conversation with Fabiola, he demonstrates a darker, sadistically ruthless side of his personality clearly influenced by Revy and the Roanapur environment. His proposal plan to Fabiola for dealing with Roberta angered her since it is a high risk gamble with other people's lives on the line, but Rock was unfazed by it. After getting shot by an angered Fabiola in the extra missing pages of chapter 76 with a blank round resulting in broken ribs, he feels very upset and told Benny in chapter 77 that he learned his lesson the hard way and shall not meddle in other people's business anymore as the results don't always turn out well. Benny even points out that there are things about him that scare almost everyone in Roanapur, with Fabiola telling Rock that he is now being viewed as a citizen of Roanapur and perhaps the biggest number 1 bastard in Roanapur. Rock asked Benny if he has changed, with Benny not knowing the answer to that. In "The Wired Red Wild Card" arc, he is last seen driving a car with Revy.
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 he did not pass his college entrance exams on his first try, leading his family to lower their expectations of him. It is known that he has a father, a mother, and an older brother who was academically capable and thus attained a job in the Japanese government. He was born in the 49th year of the Showa period
, according to the manga version, which corresponds to 1975-1976.
of the series. She does most of the fighting for the Lagoon Company. Very little is revealed about her past. Revy is a Chinese-American born and raised in Chinatown, Manhattan
, near Mott Street, spending most of her youth as a thief and murderer. Flashbacks throughout the series reveal that she may have honed her skills with firearms by shooting at cans, and that her first murder may have involved shooting a guy who asks her for wine/money everyday that she resolves on stealing just to give the demand if she can't, she gets battered. She got arrested upon failed thievery and is beaten and raped by a police officer. This triggered Becky, Revy's real name to kill her caretaker by using a gun while using a pillow as a silencer
. Revy is very competitive, strong, stubborn, impatient, and extremely ill-tempered. Unlike Rock, she is undiplomatic, believing in the use of brute force and coercion to get her way. In contrast to this, she is revealed to be highly ticklish. She is also a heavy smoker and drinker. Of all the characters in the series, Revy is recognized as the most foul-mouthed.
She is a merciless and sadistic killer without a conscience who will kill anyone at the slightest provocation, even unarmed civilians. She has a changing but volatile attitude towards Rock, the newest and most polite crew member of the Black Lagoon; though she respects him later in the series, she is mostly hostile towards him, having nearly murdered him on two occasions and threatening him with death on several others. However, she does have a tendency to save Rock from critical situations, and later on she admits to considering Rock as family to Balalaika. It is likely that she is attracted to Rock, based on her reactions to Eda's teasing, which appear to be jealousy. Her attraction is further suggested in the last scenes of Season 2 when Eda asked her if she had gotten anywhere with Rock, instead of denying it with a short comment as usual she said she rather not say causing Eda to laugh at her hopelessness when it comes to men.
Revy is also very protective of Rock. An example can be found in her anger and resolve to kill Chaka after he beats Rock. She has also lied or gone against her "nature" in order to save him; such as when he was kidnapped by Takenaka and she lied about him having the documents they required when she actually had them the whole time, or when she stood up to Balalaika when she held Rock at gunpoint after he opposed her plan to destroy the Washimine group. She also went to Japan as his bodyguard (when Rock acted as Balalaika's translator), but as pointed out by Benny the only real reason she went was to look after him because she was worried about him.
According to CIA
agents on Basilan Island
, Revy is still notorious in the NYPD
, particularly at the fictional 27th Precinct.
Revy is one of the deadliest fighters in the series, whose skill with firearms and ability to dodge bullets is almost superhuman and unparalleled. There are only a few other characters, such as Roberta and Ginji, that can hold their ground against her in combat. In episode 11 of the first season Revy concedes to Mr. Chang that she does not possess his level of skill but hopes to attain it eventually. Her weapons of choice are a pair of modified Beretta 92
FS's; which are made out of stainless steel and had their barrels extended from 4.9" to 5.9" each (the 5.9" is the combat MOD barrel) and also adapted for silencers
. They are engraved with the words "9mm Sword Cutlass" on both sides, the Jolly Roger
of the pirate Calico Jack
(which is also inlaid into the ivory grips), and a manufacture inscription in Thai
. Due to her ambidextrous
marksmanship skills, she is nicknamed "Two Hand" by the denizens of Roanapur, which is based on Douglas E. Winter's novel Run. Revy is also proficient in the use of other weapons, such as high powered rifles and the M79 grenade launcher
.
Constantly living on the edge of life, Revy has developed a rather bleak, almost nihilistic
outlook on life, relying only on her own power, skills, and money. She does believe in god but not emotions. However, she seems to respect and trust her companions.
Black Lagoon. He is a former Marine
who fought in the Vietnam War
. Shortly before the war ended (presumably in 1973), 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 Remington 870
Marine Magnum shotgun and a Smith & Wesson 629 revolver. Dutch is a calm, easygoing character, and most of the time, is quite friendly. His body is heavily muscled, and he is always seen wearing a pair of sunglasses, typically dressed in camouflage pants and wearing a flak jacket
. He appears to be in his 30s, but is most likely in his 40s, given his apparent military service in Vietnam given the setting of Black Lagoon in the 1990s. In the "Baile de los Muertos" saga in the manga, it is suggested that Dutch lied about his Vietnam service and could just simply be a mercenary with no past. But a U.S solder said to Rock, in the previous chapter, to beware of Dutch, because a man like Dutch never lie without a serious reason. He could have a simply mercenery life or a mysterious one.
university where he studied until getting into trouble with the FBI and the mafia, and would have ended up dead if Revy had not saved him. He works as the Lagoon Company's mechanic, computer specialist, and researcher. He also functions as the Lagoon's driver, and appears to be the owner of the 1969 Dodge Coronet R/T (later replaced with a 1965 Pontiac GTO) that Lagoon Company travels around Roanapur in. 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. Benny has an easygoing and non-violent personality. He readily admits to Rock that the two of them are not gunfighters in any way, shape, or form. Unlike Rock, however, Benny is willing to turn a blind eye to Revy and Dutch's more violent methods. Benny also tends to be possessive of his computers, and will not let anyone else touch them. In the second season, he met Greenback Jane, and, after impressing her with his computer abilities, began an online relationship with her. Jane returns to Roanapur following the teams completion of the Lovelace Incident and Benny meets up with her. Possibly based on Jake Adelstein
.
Hotel Moscow is a branch of the Russian mafia
based on Thai soil. The Bougainvillea Trade Company serves as a front for their activities. It is composed of the men who served under Balalaika in the Soviet war in Afghanistan
, who are dedicated to her.
. She was brought up by her grandfather, the military head of the USSR. Before joining the mafia, Balalika was a captain in the Soviet Army
and a Vozdushno-Desantnye Vojska paratrooper who served in the Soviet war in Afghanistan. A fine marksman and sniper, she was nicknamed "balalaika
", one of Soviet Army's slang terms for the Dragunov sniper rifle. 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. As a combat officer, she is a skilled strategist and well-rounded fighter, capable of taking care of herself despite the fact that all of her troopers, including Boris, often worry about her. Although she has shown herself to be rather cynical on occasion, she is also a pragmatic and professional businesswoman. She frequently employs Dutch and the Lagoon Company, apparently because they share a mutual respect.
Balalaika can be easily identified by the burn marks which scar most of the right side of her face, neck, and chest which she suffered in Afghanistan, earning her the nickname "Fry-Face" by those who dislike her. She has long blonde hair, and usually wears a military greatcoat
, thrown over a low-cut business suit. She smokes cigar
s, in contrast with the other characters who smoke cigarette
s. Based on her service in Afghanistan and the missed opportunity to participate in the 1984 Summer Olympics
in Los Angeles, she is between 31–35 years old. She is one of the few people to earn Revy's respect. In turn, Balalaika also seems to hold Rock in high regard, sometimes relying on his knowledge and business skills.
In critical operations, Balalaika calls upon a personal cadre of ex-Soviet airborne troops and Spetsnaz
commandos who are Afghanistan veterans. Known as the Desantniki, they act as Hotel Moscow's special ops team. 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. In spite of the fact that Balalaika is on the Interpol
list, she uses her real name in Japan, being covered by diplomatic immunity
.
. He is very loyal and protective of Balalaika and often worries for her safety when she decides to fight in the field. In an Omake, he used to be a weak girlish looking boy before joining the army (this is unconfirmed however, as the Omakes are non-canon.)
The Chinese Hong Kong
They are led by Chang, who is a proficient gun fighter in his own right. Chang is more patient than Balalaika in terms of getting into battle. Under his services are Shenhua, who is his top assassin; Sawyer, who does disposal jobs for him frequently despite not being a member of the organization, and Leigharch, who is their getaway driver until recent events prevented him from acting in this capacity.
Triad. Like Revy, he is adept with dual-wielding pistols (Beretta 76 and AMT Hardballer
) in a fashion similar to that of gun fu
, the former of which are inscribed with a Chinese symbol, meaning "Heavenly King", on the grips. Chang is far more proficient in this dual-wielding gunfighting style than Revy, who, in episode 11, freely admits that she is "not on his level yet". It is implied that it is he who taught her this style of combat, though that is yet to be clarified. It may be this prowess in combat that makes Chang the only male whom Revy respectfully refers to as "Sir".
He has a deep respect for Balalaika (who annoys him by referring to him as "Babe"), though their beliefs are known to collide. Their relationship is almost playful in a business sort of way, which began after they survived a shootout with each other. They both have the ability to join forces, but choose not to because it would make their respective lives boring. He also comments that Rock's actions will determine the fate of not only Garcia and Roberta, but of Roanapur itself, and is rather amused at Rock's "unique" way of handling things. Unlike most criminal bosses in the town, he advocates cooperation and joint ventures to keep the status quo
in Roanapur. He has a conversation with Eda (which might mean that she is one of his US Government contacts) concerning "Grey Fox", the unit responsible for the death of the head of the Lovelace Family, and gets irritated when Eda taunts him when suggesting that he was not to do anything "foolish" as it will mean the destruction of Roanapur at the hands of the United States.
Chang seems easily amused, and unusually-easygoing and lighthearted, especially given his position. This might be attributed to the fact that he was once a member of law enforcement, which he reveals after being called 'an inhuman scumbag' by Rock and laughing out loud in response, and he might very well be seeing his current position as an ironic twist of fate.
His past as law enforcer may explain his combat expertise. Chang manages to survive a shootout with Balalaika, escape from ambush of superior number of Islamic front jihadists, and disarm Fabiola easily. His expertise is often overshadowed by his easygoing character, in comparison with the ill-tempered Revy and near-psychotic Roberta.
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 Triads, wield dual pistols and don similar attire.
ese assassin
in the employ of Mr. Chang. She prefers to use various edged weapons in close combat, in particular a pair of Thai E-nep Knives linked together with a length of leather rope at the handles, thus using them as modified rope dart
s. She is also skilled in the use of throwing knives. Shenhua is a professional rival of Revy (who refers to her as "Chinglish" in the anime and "Yes Lady" in the manga; in return Shenhua calls Revy "Twinkie
" in the anime (yellow on the outside (Chinese) and white on the inside), whom she has worked with and against at times. While Chang and the Triad are her primary employers, she also has been shown to do freelance work as well. Her personal religion is Taoism
. However, she tells Eda in episode 18 that she is an Atheist, but this was due to a mistranslation in the English dubbed anime. One of her most notable traits is her broken speech pattern, which is always moving between Chinese
and English
. She is last seen being helped to walk by Lotton (who says that he will take her to a doctor, despite her having suffered what she believes to be a fatal wound) after being shot by Eda while hunting for Greenback Jane. In the El Baile de la Muerte arc, she is revealed to have survived the battle when Revy is shown calling her on the phone. She agrees to take up Revy's offer to help Garcia fight off the Colombian Cartel who is trying to kill Roberta.
She showed her first glimpse of fear when in close range combat with Roberta when she managed to catch one of Shenhua's kukri in her teeth and shattered the blade to pieces.
It is unknown if Shenhua has any unarmed hand-to-hand skills, although it seems likely. In the anime, she fights only with blades, and never engages anyone in true hand-to-hand combat. The only other person who does this is Sawyer the Cleaner, who frequently works with her in "disposal" jobs.
s, Star Trek
characters like Jean-Luc Picard
and Klingon
s, or sixties rock music such as Jimi Hendrix
. Leigharch is said by Shenhua during the Greenback Jane incident to have suffered a massive overdose (he "couldn't get back from Mars"), inducing psychological damage severe enough to commit him to full-time medical attention. Despite his drug addition and hallucinations, he was still considered a skilled driver before his overdose.
Ever since the incident with Roberta, the Cartel had tried numerous times to figure out where she was hiding; fortunately for Roberta, through her connection with the Lovelace family, Roberta was protected daily by local police and military forces. Thus, the Cartel couldn't even touch her without causing an incident. Currently, he sends for many FARC Soldiers to assist the cartel in finding Roberta; however, much of the FARC has been suspicious of the cartel's action and even threatened to betray them.
.
into his boat at the end of the fight destroying it, so he is presumed dead.
) church, their main business is illegal imports, mainly firearms. However, they are known to import other items, including drugs, which seems to offend Balalaika as it is bad for their business. So far they have consistently outsmarted Hotel Moscow in terms of imports. They have a fairly good working relationship with Chang, who grants them the exclusive ability to sell weapons within his territory. Dutch refers them as "The Rip-Off Church" due to the group charging heavily on goods, especially those needed for missions. So far, it seems Rock is able to arrange proper business deals with the Church. The Church is always money-hungry and are known to do double-dealings, much to the disgust of Revy.
Eda has blond hair, blue eyes, and wears angular pink sunglasses even with her nun's habit
, and is often seen either chewing gum or smoking. She is in her mid-30s. Before she came to work for the Church, she claimed to be from Langley, Virginia
. Langley, Virginia, is a metonym
for the CIA as its headquarters is located there. Later on, it is revealed that Eda is an operative for the CIA
and is being hosted by the Church of Violence in return for monetary payments. She is given an assignment by the CIA to track down Grey Fox, the same foe Roberta is hunting as they are a threat to her CIA division. She provides Mr. Chang with much of the intelligence about Grey Fox, but warns him about his actions. Presumably, Eda herself is accompanying Roberta to chase the Grey Fox.
Eda's preferred firearm is a Glock 17L (as seen in manga chapter 41), which she wields proficiently, despite Revy's claims that she is a "second-rate gunman".
She apparently was loosely modeled after the character Thana from Ms. 45
.
over her right eye. Despite her age and gentle appearance, she leads her organization with an iron fist. As the head of her organization, Yolanda usually never fights, leaving this job to gunmen like Eda and Rico. However, she does carry a customized golden
Desert Eagle
and uses it without hesitation in due course, such as in chapter 38 of the manga. 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. Her looks could be based on Mother Angelica
, a real-life Roman Catholic
nun who, at one time, wore an eyepatch over her left eye. Yolanda is usually stern with Eda drinking alcohol in the church and seems to love tea. After an intelligent conversation with Rock, who convinces her to make a deal with Lagoon Company, she is impressed by his abilities and credits Dutch for finding someone as rare as him. She refers to Revy as "Rebecca" and tells her that she might learn a thing or two from Rock. She has connections with all the criminal organization in terms of intelligence, and though not officially part of the CIA, she serves as Eda's informant and confidant. She gives Eda fair warning that her opponent is no rookie and that she should be careful.
. He refers to Eda as "Big sis" ("Ane-san" in Japanese) instead of "Sister", much to her chagrin.
soldier who fought in the Vietnam War
. He often feels harassed by 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. Balalaika seems to cover the repairs after Roberta destroyed it, which implies that the bar may be owned by Hotel Moscow. Seen as a great hang-out by most of the residents as it give many "jobs" to locals. After being rebuilt, he calls the Lagoon Company to tell them that Roberta is back in town. When Revy and Rock arrive along with Gustavo, they all meet up with Fabiola. After some words, Revy instigates a fight between Gustavo and Fabiola leading once again to the destruction of his bar. Bao claims that his bar has been destroyed more than 15 times, most of it done by Revy.
of the "Sloppy Swing", a brothel located on the top floor of Bao's bar. She took a liking to Rock and offered to "service him herself" (were she a bit younger).
on Rachiada Street in Roanapur. Of African descent, he has employed Revy as an S/M
dancer once in the past, possibly putting her as a dominatrix
. He has stated, however, that she "could give it and take it", implying that Revy could also have been the submissive. This is changed in the anime, with Rowan conistently asking Revy to join is BDSM show when she comes to his place, but with her expressing disgust at the idea. He is also a movie dealer who carries both legal and illegal genres (such as all forms of pornography
and snuff films). He is extremely frightened of Hotel Moscow, especially of Balalaika.
. It is implied throughout the series that Revy tends to cause a lot of trouble in public and he usually has to bail her out much to his chagrin. He gets used to Revy's trouble making and he and Revy became sort of friends. For the 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.
similar to modern day Blackwater Worldwide
and the now defunct Executive Outcomes
, where the initials EO come from. 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. While attacking the Black Lagoon head-on in a Mil Mi-24
, the boat launched itself off a sunken ship and fired two torpedoes that brought down the Captain's helicopter, one hitting him in the face before detonating.
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 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 and when she realized she had lost her Ultravoice in episode 18 she briefly reenacts Leatherface's "chainsaw dance" of rage. Strangely, she is one of the few bounty hunters to survive the manhunt on Jane, and is later seen doing some "cleanup" work on a Roanapur side street in the morning. She worked with Shenhua and Lotton in helping Garcia fight off the Colombian Cartel, who were trying to kill Roberta. She also seems to have replaced her hand held Ultravoice with a wraparound version of the device that can be worn around her neck. Just like Shenhua, she first showed her fear of Roberta after their first encounter when Roberta managed to stop and break the chain of Sawyer's chainsaw with her guns.
She does not only do disposal jobs, but also cleaning jobs for hotel rooms. When she forgets her Ultravoice, she requests someone to translate for her and draws descriptions on a window or on a person's back to "speak". Given the chance to explain, she's extremely graphic about the details of her profession to the point those around her tell her to stop being descriptive. Despite the gruesome nature of her job, Sawyer seems to have a rather happy, yet morbid demeanor at times. In chapter 78 when she explained to Rock that he touched a mattress that had absorbed the bodily fluids of the corpses that died 14 days prior in the hotel room he, Benny, Jane and Feng Yifei were staying in, Sawyer has a blissful expression while everyone else vomits at this information.
. 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 is teetotal. He is one of the few characters in the series that does not use foul language, preferring to speak with euphemisms (such as "darn" or "shucks") instead. He is blown up by Revy while hunting for Greenback Jane.
(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 he's allergic to it). 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 worked with Sawyer and Shenhua in helping Garcia fight off the Colombian Cartel, who were trying to kill Roberta.
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 kind-heartedness, Shenhua comments that he is not the type to kill and would be better as a host in a bordello, but Lotton claims that he is too clumsy for that. He is seen playing video games with Sawyer at Shenhua's residence in chapter 57 of the manga. Revy refers him as being more of a gigolo than a gunman; in addition, Revy forgets that she shot Lotton during the Greenback Jane incident (she shot him on reflex) causing Shenhua and Sawyer to mock her intelligence.
His style of dress and mannerisms are very similar to both The Captain and Heinkel Wolfe
of the popular vampire anime and manga series Hellsing
. He would also seem to be something of a parody of the "brooding bishounen" archetype in anime.
", under orders from a division of the NSA
, orchestrated the assassination of Garcia Lovelace's father. As a result of his action, he has made an enemy of the formidable Roberta, which their confrontation involves the entire city of Roanapur, including the Triad, Hotel Moscow, and the Church of Violence. Despite this, Mr. Chang is trying to get Caxton and his men out of Roanapur to prevent Roberta from killing them, as their deaths will trigger a war between the Roanapur gangsters and the United States government. When he meets up with Lagoon Company, he automatically recognizes Dutch and mentions something to Dutch that seemed to shock him.
It is revealed he is a highly-esteemed operator by his fellow colleagues especially Gray Fox's second in command for his decency, integrity and honorable conduct. He is the ideal symbol of America in the story. In a flashback, he executed one of his subordinates, Larkin, in retaliation for murdering innocent women and children out of pleasure during the Vietnam War, implying he does not tolerate that kind of conduct. He also protects Garcia Lovelace as he and his team are escaping from Hotel Moscow. By the end of the arc, he is finally slain, not by Roberta, but Garcia himself in order to end Roberta's rampage. However, it is later revealed Caxton faked his own death and Garcia's gun was filled with blanks.
U-1324 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-1324 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-1324 with depth charge
s, 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 face death however they chose. Ahbe was a patriot, but he despised the Nazi cause, expressing his bitterness to the SS Lieutenant Colonel that the Nazis had brought Germany to ruin and satisfaction that U-1324’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 avenged him. Ahbe left behind a wife and two children.
His Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves 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. Ahbe is also shown to have received the Iron Cross 1st Class among his other decorations.
He is apparently modeled after Jürgen Prochnow
's character from Das Boot
. Additionally, the U-1324 bears the famed laughing sawfish emblem of the .
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-1324. He formed a fast friendship with Captain Ahbe and was sociable with the crew, engaging them in games of shogi
during the voyage from Kiel to Batavia. When the U-1324 was fatally depth charged and runs aground on the seabed near the Nicobar Islands, he committed seppuku
(ritual suicide
) 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 seppuku—suicide—to avoid capture. This episode was turned into the movie Das Letzte U-Boot in Germany in 1990.
) was the U-1324’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 return to power following their defeat in World War II.
He boarded the U-1324 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 Ahbe 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. Ahbe'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-1324’s crewmembers as possible in his final moments when they avenged their captain's murder.
group of aspiring stereotypical Neo Nazis styling themselves along the lines of the Nazi Sturmabteilung
. Though it's not explicitly stated, it is implied they are based in the United States
(in the manga they were apparently all German-Americans, due to the way they spoke such as "Fraulein" or "Jawohl"). They have a large arsenal of weapons such as MAC-10
machine pistols, MG3 machine guns, AK47 assault rifles, Luger and double action trigger-outfitted Colt 45 pistols (in the manga, they carried multiple kinds of handguns) and even TOW
Anti-Tank Missiles.
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, along with seemingly innocent hostages used to pilot the ship. It is unknown how many, if any, survived the conflict with the Lagoon Company.
Gruppenführer
The is the commander of the Aryan Socialist Union's Suicide Corps, the recovery team who was sent to retrieve The Twelve Knights Led by Brunhilda from the U-1324. 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-1324 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-1324 to make it out alive, recovering the painting in the process. Proving himself as a Nazi seems to matter to him more greatly than the lives of his comrades, as shown by his willingness to abandon his men once he had gained control of the painting, and his caviler attitude afterward.
When Revy and Dutch assault the Aryan Socialist Union aboard their recovery ship, he attempts to arm himself with a MG42
to fight back, but is shot in the back by Revy in the ship's magazine. In the manga, he is last seen fighting Revy inside the submarine; his fate afterwards is unknown.
/Scharführer
) 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. Despite this, he is the only member of the group to question whether the painting was worth the sacrifice of so many of the organization's resources. In the end, it is this overconfidence that gets him killed when he brags about his weapon and threatens Revy (as she slowly reloads her weapon), who shoots him in the chest and then point blank in the head, mostly just to shut him up. He wields a large gold
Luger chambered for the .454 Casull
cartridge.
.
group based in South East Asia. They seem to be a fairly large organization, judging from the sizable group of fighters they send to attack the Lagoon office, and the number of men in the Philippine Jungle encampment located in Mindanao. They also appear to be a rather skilled terrorist group, carrying out a successful bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Zaire
(see also Democratic Republic of the Congo
), and the planning of a terrorist attack in the United States
with the implicit goal of assassinating the President
by using biological weapons on the New York Subway in Manhattan. Among their main allies is the Abu Sayyaf
Group.
Documents detailing the plan of this "Presidential Attack" fall into the hands of Chang, who plans to give them to the CIA in exchange for money, with the Lagoon Company acting as the couriers. Subsequently, the group desperately attempts to recapture the documents, as the attack would be foiled should the documents reach their destination. The Islamic Front's members appear to be more well versed in military style tactics than the Lagoon Company's other opponents (such as the Aryan Socialist Union or Luak's gang), but prove to be little match for Revy, Chang, and Shenhua, and many of them are killed in their efforts to retrieve the Documents.
The anime depicts the Islamic fighters wearing balaclavas while the manga depicts them wearing shemaghs.
, 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 after most of its members were arrested. Takenaka is based on the Japanese Red Army
member Kozo Okamoto
.
, and is resolute in his hatred of Israel
, as his son was killed by Israeli soldiers in Beirut
, Lebanon
in 1987, after which he dedicated his life to fighting the West. Compared to Takenaka, he is the exact opposite in personality, while Takenaka is calm, reasonable and clever; Ibraha is paranoid, unreasonable and always want to fight without thinking. 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, as allowing them to continue would have gotten them all killed.
formerly run by . Balalaika came to Japan to work out a deal with the Washimine group to expand their influence in Japan in exchange for helping them weaken a rival Yakuza group, the Kousa Council. However, when Hotel Moscow's methods went too far, Tsugio Bando, the current head of the Washimine group, tried to stop them and was killed by Balalaika, who decided she would instead destroy both groups and take over their operations. Following his death, Ryuzo's daughter was put in charge. In the end, the entire Washimine group, and family, were wiped out along with the Kousa Council.
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 is once seen reading a book written by Martin Heidegger
). She commits suicide with Ginji's sword after Ginji is killed by Revy. Thoughtful, intelligent and talented, the misfortune of being the only heir to the Washimine group proved too much for Yukio to live by.
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.
So far, Ginji is the only one whom Revy admits had the perfect chance to kill her. After shattering Revy's cutlass and forcing her to fall back, Ginji proceeds to stab Revy in spot; if he was not distracted by Yukio, Revy would have had no way to defend herself.
It is interesting to note that although Revy calls Ginji "Jumbo" because of his height, the name "Jumbo" may also refer to Takeshi Takeda (AKA "Jumbo") from the Yotsuba&!
manga series with whom he shares an uncanny resembalance.
, as both of them are longing for a strong opponent equal to them and are sadistically violent. Possibly based on a presumably-existing Kudo-kai
member hanging around Harajuku
.
n families. However, the family has come under hard times from not only their peers due to their political beliefs, but also from the Colombian Cartel, which has been harassing employees of the family in order to take control of their land. However, because of Diego Lovelace's military and political connections, the family is constantly protected from threats. In addition, the family includes Roberta (aka Rosarita Cisneros), a former FARC terrorist who is wanted by both the Cartel and various law enforcement agencies. Because of her close relationship with the family, she is accepted as one of their own, serving as maid and, if necessary, bodyguard. Another maid, who is combat ready like Roberta, is Fabiola Igesias.
. Although her domestic skills such as cleaning and cooking were poor, she developed a close friendship with the young son of the Lovelace family, Garcia. Roberta was once known as , a former FARC
guerrilla trained as an assassin in Cuba
and an internationally wanted criminal. Balalaika refers her as a "hardcore terrorist" to the point that Hotel Moscow had to deploy all their commandos as well as Balalaika getting involved in the situation personally should things get out of hand. Revy refers to her as "Fucking Four Eyes" or "That Fucking Glasses Bitch". She earned the moniker "Bloodhound of Florencia" for her relentless drive to achieve her objectives. Her tormented past and the smell of blood, gunpowder and muck like that of a sewer rat emanating from her was something Revy understood full well.
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 were a .50 caliber sniper rifle
, combat knife
, SPAS-12 shotgun disguised as an umbrella(reinforced with Kevlar), machine gun
, and semi-automatic grenade launcher
hidden in a suitcase, spiked brass knuckles
, trench spike, and twin IMBEL Model 911 pistols (see Colt M1911 pistols). Her strength, speed, endurance, and instincts were honed to almost superhuman
levels, so much so that Rock at one point refers to her sardonically as "a killer robot from the future" (a reference to James Cameron
's Terminator movies).
While Roberta is one of the most powerful warrior-women in Black Lagoon, she is also humane. She is unwaveringly devoted to her master and his son, Garcia, whom she loves deeply as if he were her own child. Roberta and Revy fight each other, but only to beat themselves up. Rock interferes, but Roberta and Revy tell him to stay out of it. In the manga and anime, the fight ends in a draw right after they punch each other out simultaneously, (though Garcia claims she won because she remained conscious). Her kindness can easily change as seen in a humorous omake in Volume 1 of the manga when Garcia slapped her butt in a playful manner, which prompted her to pinch his arm and lift him up off the ground by the skin of his arm as punishment. There are a few hints that she may be religious, unlike many of the other main characters in Black Lagoon, specifically Catholic
judging from the large crucifix
she wears around her neck. It should also be noted that she very rarely uses profanity.
She admitted that she did murder children, women, or anyone in name of revolution during her FARC years. Disillusioned by the fact that she was merely a tool for the drug cartels in cahoots with FARC, she opted out and joined the Lovelace clan as a maid through her father who is a friend of Lovelace. Despite being asked by Garcia not to pick up gunfighting anymore, later events in the manga, which depicts her watching helplessly as a bomb was set killing many including Diego Lovelace. Garcia's question of why was his father was a victim makes her go into battle again, seeking revenge. Roberta also shows signs of a growing madness; she is shown taking mouthfuls of anti-psychotics, and experiencing haunting hallucinations in the form of her past victims. She once again stalks the city of Roanapur in search of the one responsible for assassinating her master. Unfortunately, it turns out to be the US Special Forces, who's intentions were to assassinate a general and had to sacrifice Diego Lovelace to complete their mission. Roberta's quest for vengeance has put many of the residents including Hotel Moscow, the Triad, and the Colombian Cartel on high alert as it could mean the end for all of them if their new enemy is the United States. Most of the residents blame the Lagoon Company for attracting her back to Roanapur despite the fact the group was in the dark about the situation and brushed it off as if it were an Elvis sighting. Further into her quest, she begins to lose sight of her goal, almost returning to her former persona to the point she begins to lose her sanity and has trouble identifying friend and foe, thus almost harming Garcia and Fabiola in the process. The Columbia Cartel even comments that she is no longer the hound they once knew, but a stray wolf searching for purpose. Her oath as the "Bloodhound of Florencia" is "In the name of Santa Maria, a hammer blow of righteousness to all injustice."
In Chapter 73, Roberta is last seen with an American woman, presumably Eda. The woman is able to disarm Roberta easily and pass her through the security, so whether she is Eda or not, she is definitely an American security agent. She finally catches up with Grey Fox and annihilates the entire squad minus Caxton, who is thought to be slain by Garcia (however, it later reveals he faked his own death); in order to stop her madness. In anger, she shoots Garcia, severely wounding him (though implied its not a mortal wound), she catches Garcia in her arms just realizing what she has done. In the extra missing pages of chapter 76, she and Garcia kissed and they made up with each other and returns to the Lovelace home. However, in the fifth episode of the OVA, Roberta is severely injured and is confined to a wheelchair as she later regains the ability to walk slowly (she has lost her left arm, her right eye, and visible as she is being wheeled out is a prosthetic foot and ankle, implying her lower right leg has been amputated as well).
In issue #50 of Anime Insider
magazine, director Sunao Katabuchi comments that the animation staff referred Roberta as an "Evil Mary Poppins
". He goes on to add that creator Rei Hiroe
long thought of Roberta as a kind of "Death Poppins".
s that were given to her by Roberta. She also carries a pump action China Lake NATIC
(Mistakenly referred to as an EX 41 grenade launcher
in the Manga). She also has heel blades concealed in her shoes (a possible reference to the James Bond
film From Russia with Love
, in which the antagonist Rosa Klebb
famously attempts to use poison-laced blades concealed in her shoes to kill the main protagonist).
Fabiola first appears in the same bar, The Yellow Flag, 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 lollipops and a lunchbox with Scooby Doo and Ranger Smith
on it. She is currently helping Garcia search for Roberta. She is something of a comic relief when compared with Roberta (whom she calls "head housemaid" with the utmost respect), as she is little, carries her grenade launcher concealed in her outfit, and is often prominent in humorous situations; such as her height, being picked up like a bratty little kid, to being made fun of her breast size.
Dutch describes her as a "short version of the Killer Maid", after she destroys Bao's bar. She states that she comes from the poorest slums of Caracas
, where she lived with her ten siblings until she was employed by the Lovelace Family. As noticed by Rock, she does not brawl, being a proficient practitioner of capoeira
. According to her, she and Roberta are the only two maids in the Lovelace house who are proficient in firearms, with Roberta being the better of the two. She also mentions that there are three other maids in the Lovelace house: Karina, Masica and Davia (though it's unknown at this time if they're combat proficient as well). This makes Revy question her "Just what is the Lovelace plantation like? Full of bad-ass motherfuckers who could storm the Iranian embassy by themselves?". Fabiola was disgusted at Revy for being heartless and merciless against her foes, with Revy lecturing her that love and friendship do not apply in Roanapur. She and Garcia are reunited with Roberta; but the happiness is short lived when she and Roberta witness Garcia shooting Caxton with a Colt 45 filled with blanks and in retaliation Roberta shoots Garcia. She and Roberta then tend to a wounded Garcia. On their way back, they encountered Rock and Fabiola gets upset and disgusted with him and shot him with a blank round which injured Rock's ribs for "gambling with people's lives". She told Rock they will not meet again and that he shall "continue to dance with the walking dead in Roanapur."
Just like Roberta, Fabiola is very protective of Garcia. She is more brash than her mentor, but not as much as Revy. She tries to attack Chang after seeing him with Garcia, but he easily disarms her without trying. She loves to play in the pool when she's relaxing, but is embarrassed to ask Garcia for a break, despite the fact he is aware of her activities.
(Gretel)
Hänsel and Gretel are two unnamed Romanian twin orphans. They were abandoned in a state-run orphanage
due to their parents' inability to afford keeping them. As a result of being repeatedly forced to participate in paedophilic
snuff film
s in which they are either raped or forced to murder other children, and being repeatedly forced to watch the people running the orphanage beat one of the children to death in front of them, the twins eventually became deranged, sadistic killers just to survive. The horrid engrossment with their torturing and murdering for pleasure is shown during the first part of Season 2 when the twins first arrive to Roanupor as they purposely wound one of Balalaika's men during a gunfight, bring him back to their temporary stay with Verrocchio's headquarters, and proceed to probe his body with sharp objects as a medical experiment, and then drain his body of blood and organs for them to bathe in; afterwards they kill Verrocchio and his men out of indulgence, even though they were supposed to help them escape the city. Unknown to most people, "Hänsel" and "Gretel" are actually two personalities alternately adopted by the two children, both of whom suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder
, meaning they swap being "Hänsel" and "Gretel" with each other from time to time (it is likely that these were their screen names in the films). There are slight implications that they could be incest
uous, possibly due to the abuse they suffered in the state-run orphanage. It is never made clear of what gender the twins are: in one scene, "Gretel" (formerly "Hänsel" before swapping) shows 'her' genitalia to Rock in what she presumably came to believe was a show of gratitude, causing him to flee in disgust and anger for her and Hänsel to have been betrayed since birth and to have been deprived of their humanity and a better chance at life than to become monstrosities, having known nothing but 'blood and darkness' their whole lives.
Both of them are white haired and dressed in dark gothic clothing
, such as "Gretel" is dressed in a Gothic Lolita outfit.
In combat, "Hänsel" 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, Hänsel and Gretel were also cunning, having used two other children as decoys to distract the bounty hunters 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, Hänsel is shot from a distance by one of her snipers and left to bleed to death, as he's left crying, in one of Roanapur's parks as Balalaika used herself as bait much to Boris' displeasure, while Gretel manages to escape and eventually boards the Black Lagoon of her own volition. Due to Rock's kindness she takes a genuine liking to him. However, just as Gretel disembarks she is gunned down by the get away man Dutch contacted, who was bribed by Hotel Moscow. Though initially shocked by her sudden death, Rock is glad that now she and her brother could rest in peace.
The characters' names are taken from the German fairy tale, Hänsel and Gretel
. Many of the series' characters compare them to a similar pair of disturbed, sadistic twins from the American film The Shining
. In the manga, the song sung by Gretel to Rock on the Black Lagoon is called "Midnight, the Stars, and You", the song used in the ending credits to The Shining. In the anime, she sings "The World of Midnight", made for the anime and sung by Minako Obata.
Despite only being in three episodes they have a considerably large fanbase.
er and hacker
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 knowledgeable 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. After the Lovelace incident, Janet returns to Roanapur searching out Benny and the team. She, with help of her counterfeiting group, hacks a server of the "Rainbach AG" Corporation and makes a scapegoat of a PLA spy
. Jane is apparently a nymphomaniac, though Benny calls it "a bit broad-minded as far as sex goes". Revy replies that "if that's "a bit", then Death Valley is a sand pit in a park".
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, bandolier
belt, tan shirt and jeans. He is not taken serious by the other bounty hunters because he is an outsider. Even Shenhua says, "Cowboy, this no Florida", 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. Shortly before killing him, she confesses to him to be from the CIA.
officer, Laptev had many difficulties operating in Japan due to his status as a gaijin
(foreigner). Considered distasteful and incompetent by Balalaika, he appeared to lose his standing with his peers back in Russia and this was reflected in his arrogant personality, since he did not speak Japanese despite being based in Japan. Laptev's detachment is slaughtered single-handedly by Ginji when the fallout between Hotel Moscow and the Washimine-gumi begins.
s, and has poor school grades.
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
and anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
Black Lagoon
Black Lagoon
is a manga series written and illustrated by Rei Hiroe, and published in Shogakukan's Sunday GX since 2002. An animated television series based on the manga aired in Japan from April 8, 2006, to June 24, 2006, totaling twelve episodes. A second season, subtitled "The Second Barrage", ran for twelve...
.
The Lagoon Company
Rock
, also known as , is the protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the series. He was a Japanese salaryman
Salaryman
refers to someone whose income is salary based; particularly those working for corporations. Its frequent use by Japanese corporations, and its prevalence in Japanese manga and anime has gradually led to its acceptance in English-speaking countries as a noun for a Japanese white-collar...
for Asahi Industries in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
until he was taken hostage by the crew of the Black Lagoon. He joined the Lagoon Company after his department chief, Kageyama, abandoned him (he was declared dead) in an attempt to cover up the smuggling
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
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 his tie, short-sleeved dress shirt, and dress pants because, although now a pirate, he still retains his business persona. He prefers to use words over weapons when interacting with others. Rock, after joining the Lagoon company, has wondered if he is experiencing Stockholm syndrome
Stockholm syndrome
In psychology, Stockholm Syndrome is an apparently paradoxical psychological phenomenon wherein hostages express empathy and have positive feelings towards their captors, sometimes to the point of defending them...
.
Within the Lagoon Company, Rock is usually responsible for account management, diplomacy, negotiation, interpretation, and the occasional errand. Having once worked in the resource investigation department of Asahi Industries, Rock is also skilled in geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
. He is also a skilled linguist, being effectively bilingual in Japanese (his native language) and English as well as being familiar with other languages, including Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
and Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
. He also has a surprisingly high tolerance for alcohol, owing to the heavy-drinking lifestyle of a ladder-climbing salaryman. Rock's earnest personality has earned him the interest of several figures in Roanapur, including Balalaika, Mr. Chang, Rowan "Jackpot" Pigeon, Yolanda, Eda (who develops a crush on him), and young Garcia Lovelace, whom he trusts to the greatest degree. 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. Dutch has stated that he believes Lagoon Company is complete with Rock not holding a gun, saying his bullets are the kind to ricochet back at them.
Rock is one of the "luckiest" characters in the series as he managed to survive every single thing he experienced from being taken hostage to being shot at. Thus far, he has survived the wrath of Revy, Balalaika, Roberta, and Sawyer. He is personally appointed by Mr. Chang to help Garcia Lovelace, much to Lagoon Company's disapproval. Rock eventually begins to enjoy his life as a pirate and becomes even more comfortable with corruption. Later, in a conversation with Fabiola, he demonstrates a darker, sadistically ruthless side of his personality clearly influenced by Revy and the Roanapur environment. His proposal plan to Fabiola for dealing with Roberta angered her since it is a high risk gamble with other people's lives on the line, but Rock was unfazed by it. After getting shot by an angered Fabiola in the extra missing pages of chapter 76 with a blank round resulting in broken ribs, he feels very upset and told Benny in chapter 77 that he learned his lesson the hard way and shall not meddle in other people's business anymore as the results don't always turn out well. Benny even points out that there are things about him that scare almost everyone in Roanapur, with Fabiola telling Rock that he is now being viewed as a citizen of Roanapur and perhaps the biggest number 1 bastard in Roanapur. Rock asked Benny if he has changed, with Benny not knowing the answer to that. In "The Wired Red Wild Card" arc, he is last seen driving a car with Revy.
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 he did not pass his college entrance exams on his first try, leading his family to lower their expectations of him. It is known that he has a father, a mother, and an older brother who was academically capable and thus attained a job in the Japanese government. He was born in the 49th year of the Showa period
Showa period
The , or Shōwa era, is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of the Shōwa Emperor, Hirohito, from December 25, 1926 through January 7, 1989.The Shōwa period was longer than the reign of any previous Japanese emperor...
, according to the manga version, which corresponds to 1975-1976.
Revy
, sometimes referred by her full name , is the female protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the series. She does most of the fighting for the Lagoon Company. Very little is revealed about her past. Revy is a Chinese-American born and raised in Chinatown, Manhattan
Chinatown, Manhattan
Manhattan's Chinatown , home to one of the highest concentrations of Chinese people in the Western hemisphere, is located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City...
, near Mott Street, spending most of her youth as a thief and murderer. Flashbacks throughout the series reveal that she may have honed her skills with firearms by shooting at cans, and that her first murder may have involved shooting a guy who asks her for wine/money everyday that she resolves on stealing just to give the demand if she can't, she gets battered. She got arrested upon failed thievery and is beaten and raped by a police officer. This triggered Becky, Revy's real name to kill her caretaker by using a gun while using a pillow as a silencer
Suppressor
A suppressor, sound suppressor, sound moderator, or silencer, is a device attached to or part of the barrel of a firearm which reduces the amount of noise and flash generated by firing the weapon....
. Revy is very competitive, strong, stubborn, impatient, and extremely ill-tempered. Unlike Rock, she is undiplomatic, believing in the use of brute force and coercion to get her way. In contrast to this, she is revealed to be highly ticklish. She is also a heavy smoker and drinker. Of all the characters in the series, Revy is recognized as the most foul-mouthed.
She is a merciless and sadistic killer without a conscience who will kill anyone at the slightest provocation, even unarmed civilians. She has a changing but volatile attitude towards Rock, the newest and most polite crew member of the Black Lagoon; though she respects him later in the series, she is mostly hostile towards him, having nearly murdered him on two occasions and threatening him with death on several others. However, she does have a tendency to save Rock from critical situations, and later on she admits to considering Rock as family to Balalaika. It is likely that she is attracted to Rock, based on her reactions to Eda's teasing, which appear to be jealousy. Her attraction is further suggested in the last scenes of Season 2 when Eda asked her if she had gotten anywhere with Rock, instead of denying it with a short comment as usual she said she rather not say causing Eda to laugh at her hopelessness when it comes to men.
Revy is also very protective of Rock. An example can be found in her anger and resolve to kill Chaka after he beats Rock. She has also lied or gone against her "nature" in order to save him; such as when he was kidnapped by Takenaka and she lied about him having the documents they required when she actually had them the whole time, or when she stood up to Balalaika when she held Rock at gunpoint after he opposed her plan to destroy the Washimine group. She also went to Japan as his bodyguard (when Rock acted as Balalaika's translator), but as pointed out by Benny the only real reason she went was to look after him because she was worried about him.
According to CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
agents on Basilan Island
Basilan (island)
Basilan Island is an island of the Philippines, it belongs to Basilan Province with its capital Isabela City.Basilan is geographically located between latitude 6°15' and 7°00' longitude 121°15' and 122°30'....
, Revy is still notorious in the NYPD
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
, particularly at the fictional 27th Precinct.
Revy is one of the deadliest fighters in the series, whose skill with firearms and ability to dodge bullets is almost superhuman and unparalleled. There are only a few other characters, such as Roberta and Ginji, that can hold their ground against her in combat. In episode 11 of the first season Revy concedes to Mr. Chang that she does not possess his level of skill but hopes to attain it eventually. Her weapons of choice are a pair of modified Beretta 92
Beretta 92
The Beretta 92 is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and manufactured by Beretta of Italy. The model 92 was designed in 1972 and production of many variants in different calibers continues today...
FS's; which are made out of stainless steel and had their barrels extended from 4.9" to 5.9" each (the 5.9" is the combat MOD barrel) and also adapted for silencers
Suppressor
A suppressor, sound suppressor, sound moderator, or silencer, is a device attached to or part of the barrel of a firearm which reduces the amount of noise and flash generated by firing the weapon....
. They are engraved with the words "9mm Sword Cutlass" on both sides, the Jolly Roger
Jolly Roger
The Jolly Roger is any of various flags flown to identify a ship's crew as pirates. The flag most commonly identified as the Jolly Roger today is the skull and crossbones, a flag consisting of a human skull above two long bones set in an x-mark arrangement on a black field. This design was used by...
of the pirate Calico Jack
Calico Jack
John Rackham , commonly known as Calico Jack, was an English pirate captain operating in the Bahamas during the early 18th century...
(which is also inlaid into the ivory grips), and a manufacture inscription in Thai
Thai alphabet
Thai script , is used to write the Thai language and other, minority, languages in Thailand. It has forty-four consonants , fifteen vowel symbols that combine into at least twenty-eight vowel forms, and four tone marks ....
. Due to her ambidextrous
Cross-dominance
Cross-dominance, also known as mixed-handedness, mixed dominance, or hand-confusion, is a motor skill manifestation where a person favors one hand for some tasks and the other hand for others. For example, a cross-dominant person might write with the left hand but throw primarily with the right...
marksmanship skills, she is nicknamed "Two Hand" by the denizens of Roanapur, which is based on Douglas E. Winter's novel Run. Revy is also proficient in the use of other weapons, such as high powered rifles and the M79 grenade launcher
M79 grenade launcher
The M79 grenade launcher is a single-shot, shoulder-fired, break-action grenade launcher that fires a 40x46mm grenade which used what the US Army called the High-Low Propulsion System to keep recoil forces low, and first appeared during the Vietnam War...
.
Constantly living on the edge of life, Revy has developed a rather bleak, almost nihilistic
Nihilism
Nihilism is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value...
outlook on life, relying only on her own power, skills, and money. She does believe in god but not emotions. However, she seems to respect and trust her companions.
Dutch
is the African-American leader of the Lagoon Company and captain of the ex-U.S. Navy PT boatPT boat
PT Boats were a variety of motor torpedo boat , a small, fast vessel used by the United States Navy in World War II to attack larger surface ships. The PT boat squadrons were nicknamed "the mosquito fleet". The Japanese called them "Devil Boats".The original pre–World War I torpedo boats were...
Black Lagoon. He is a former Marine
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
who fought in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. Shortly before the war ended (presumably in 1973), 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 Remington 870
Remington 870
The Remington Model 870 is a U.S.-made pump-action shotgun manufactured by Remington Arms Company, Inc. It is widely used by the public for sport shooting, hunting, and self-defense. It is also commonly used by law enforcement and military organizations worldwide.-Development:The Remington 870 was...
Marine Magnum shotgun and a Smith & Wesson 629 revolver. Dutch is a calm, easygoing character, and most of the time, is quite friendly. His body is heavily muscled, and he is always seen wearing a pair of sunglasses, typically dressed in camouflage pants and wearing a flak jacket
Flak jacket
thumb|300px|The two components of an obsolete British military flak vest. On the left, the nylon vest. On the right, the several layers of [[ballistic nylon]] that provide the actual protection...
. He appears to be in his 30s, but is most likely in his 40s, given his apparent military service in Vietnam given the setting of Black Lagoon in the 1990s. In the "Baile de los Muertos" saga in the manga, it is suggested that Dutch lied about his Vietnam service and could just simply be a mercenary with no past. But a U.S solder said to Rock, in the previous chapter, to beware of Dutch, because a man like Dutch never lie without a serious reason. He could have a simply mercenery life or a mysterious one.
Benny
is a college dropout from a FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
university where he studied until getting into trouble with the FBI and the mafia, and would have ended up dead if Revy had not saved him. He works as the Lagoon Company's mechanic, computer specialist, and researcher. He also functions as the Lagoon's driver, and appears to be the owner of the 1969 Dodge Coronet R/T (later replaced with a 1965 Pontiac GTO) that Lagoon Company travels around Roanapur in. 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. Benny has an easygoing and non-violent personality. He readily admits to Rock that the two of them are not gunfighters in any way, shape, or form. Unlike Rock, however, Benny is willing to turn a blind eye to Revy and Dutch's more violent methods. Benny also tends to be possessive of his computers, and will not let anyone else touch them. In the second season, he met Greenback Jane, and, after impressing her with his computer abilities, began an online relationship with her. Jane returns to Roanapur following the teams completion of the Lovelace Incident and Benny meets up with her. Possibly based on Jake Adelstein
Jake Adelstein
Joshua "Jake" Adelstein is an American journalist and writer who has spent much of his career in Japan covering vice and organised crime. For 12 years, Adelstein was a crime reporter for the Yomiuri Shinbun and was the first American to work for a Japanese newspaper as a Japanese language reporter...
.
Hotel Moscow
Russian Mafia
The Russian Mafia is a name applied to organized crime syndicates in Russia and Ukraine. The mafia in various countries take the name of the country, as for example the Ukrainian mafia....
based on Thai soil. The Bougainvillea Trade Company serves as a front for their activities. It is composed of the men who served under Balalaika in the Soviet war in Afghanistan
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
, who are dedicated to her.
Balalaika (Vladilena)
is the boss of Hotel Moscow. Her real name is Vladilena, a reduction from Vladimir Ilich LeninVladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
. She was brought up by her grandfather, the military head of the USSR. Before joining the mafia, Balalika was a captain in the Soviet Army
Soviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
and a Vozdushno-Desantnye Vojska paratrooper who served in the Soviet war in Afghanistan. A fine marksman and sniper, she was nicknamed "balalaika
Balalaika
The balalaika is a stringed musical instrument popular in Russia, with a characteristic triangular body and three strings.The balalaika family of instruments includes instruments of various sizes, from the highest-pitched to the lowest, the prima balalaika, secunda balalaika, alto balalaika, bass...
", one of Soviet Army's slang terms for the Dragunov sniper rifle. 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. As a combat officer, she is a skilled strategist and well-rounded fighter, capable of taking care of herself despite the fact that all of her troopers, including Boris, often worry about her. Although she has shown herself to be rather cynical on occasion, she is also a pragmatic and professional businesswoman. She frequently employs Dutch and the Lagoon Company, apparently because they share a mutual respect.
Balalaika can be easily identified by the burn marks which scar most of the right side of her face, neck, and chest which she suffered in Afghanistan, earning her the nickname "Fry-Face" by those who dislike her. She has long blonde hair, and usually wears a military greatcoat
Greatcoat
A greatcoat, also known as a watchcoat, is a large overcoat typically made of wool designed for warmth and protection against the weather. Its collar and cuffs can be turned out to protect the face and hands from cold and rain, and the short cape around the shoulders provides extra warmth and...
, thrown over a low-cut business suit. She smokes cigar
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
s, in contrast with the other characters who smoke cigarette
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
s. Based on her service in Afghanistan and the missed opportunity to participate in the 1984 Summer Olympics
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
in Los Angeles, she is between 31–35 years old. She is one of the few people to earn Revy's respect. In turn, Balalaika also seems to hold Rock in high regard, sometimes relying on his knowledge and business skills.
In critical operations, Balalaika calls upon a personal cadre of ex-Soviet airborne troops and Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz GRU
The Spetsnaz GRU, or Russian army special forces, are the original Spetsnaz and are generally considered the best trained and experienced units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, as evidenced by both their seniority among the Special Forces and their...
commandos who are Afghanistan veterans. Known as the Desantniki, they act as Hotel Moscow's special ops team. 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. In spite of the fact that Balalaika is on the Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
list, she uses her real name in Japan, being covered by diplomatic immunity
Diplomatic immunity
Diplomatic immunity is a form of legal immunity and a policy held between governments that ensures that diplomats are given safe passage and are considered not susceptible to lawsuit or prosecution under the host country's laws...
.
Boris
is Balalaika's second-in-command. He can be easily identified by the large scar running from the right side of his forehead to his left cheek. He is a calm, broad-built man with a deep Russian accent. Like Balalaika, he also saw service in Afghanistan. She still refers to him as "Sergeant" rather than by his name, suggesting that he was her former platoon sergeantPlatoon Sergeant
In many militaries, a platoon sergeant is the senior enlisted member of a platoon, who advises and supports the platoon's commanding officer in leading the unit.-Singapore:...
. He is very loyal and protective of Balalaika and often worries for her safety when she decides to fight in the field. In an Omake, he used to be a weak girlish looking boy before joining the army (this is unconfirmed however, as the Omakes are non-canon.)
The Chinese Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
Triad
They are led by Chang, who is a proficient gun fighter in his own right. Chang is more patient than Balalaika in terms of getting into battle. Under his services are Shenhua, who is his top assassin; Sawyer, who does disposal jobs for him frequently despite not being a member of the organization, and Leigharch, who is their getaway driver until recent events prevented him from acting in this capacity.Mr. Chang
is the boss of a Thailand branch of the Sun Yee OnSun Yee On
Sun Yee On is one of the leading triads in Hong Kong and Mainland China, with the most members – more than 40,000 – worldwide....
Triad. Like Revy, he is adept with dual-wielding pistols (Beretta 76 and AMT Hardballer
AMT Hardballer
The AMT Hardballer is a clone of the .45 ACP Colt M1911, although some components of the action are not interchangeable with other M1911s. It was made by Arcadia Machine & Tool, commonly known as AMT, from 1977. The Hardballer was the first entirely stainless steel 1911 pattern pistol...
) in a fashion similar to that of gun fu
Gun fu
Gun fu, a portmanteau of gun and kung fu, is the style of sophisticated close-quarters gunplay seen in Hong Kong action cinema and in Western films influenced by it. It often resembles a martial arts battle played out with firearms instead of traditional weapons...
, the former of which are inscribed with a Chinese symbol, meaning "Heavenly King", on the grips. Chang is far more proficient in this dual-wielding gunfighting style than Revy, who, in episode 11, freely admits that she is "not on his level yet". It is implied that it is he who taught her this style of combat, though that is yet to be clarified. It may be this prowess in combat that makes Chang the only male whom Revy respectfully refers to as "Sir".
He has a deep respect for Balalaika (who annoys him by referring to him as "Babe"), though their beliefs are known to collide. Their relationship is almost playful in a business sort of way, which began after they survived a shootout with each other. They both have the ability to join forces, but choose not to because it would make their respective lives boring. He also comments that Rock's actions will determine the fate of not only Garcia and Roberta, but of Roanapur itself, and is rather amused at Rock's "unique" way of handling things. Unlike most criminal bosses in the town, he advocates cooperation and joint ventures to keep the status quo
Status quo
Statu quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin "statu quo" – literally "the state in which" – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are...
in Roanapur. He has a conversation with Eda (which might mean that she is one of his US Government contacts) concerning "Grey Fox", the unit responsible for the death of the head of the Lovelace Family, and gets irritated when Eda taunts him when suggesting that he was not to do anything "foolish" as it will mean the destruction of Roanapur at the hands of the United States.
Chang seems easily amused, and unusually-easygoing and lighthearted, especially given his position. This might be attributed to the fact that he was once a member of law enforcement, which he reveals after being called 'an inhuman scumbag' by Rock and laughing out loud in response, and he might very well be seeing his current position as an ironic twist of fate.
His past as law enforcer may explain his combat expertise. Chang manages to survive a shootout with Balalaika, escape from ambush of superior number of Islamic front jihadists, and disarm Fabiola easily. His expertise is often overshadowed by his easygoing character, in comparison with the ill-tempered Revy and near-psychotic Roberta.
Mr. Chang is based on characters commonly played by Chow Yun-fat
Chow Yun-Fat
Chow Yun-fat, SBS is an actor from Hong Kong. He is best known in Asia for his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo in heroic bloodshed genre films A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled; and to the West for his role as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...
in films by John Woo
John Woo
John Woo Yu-Sen SBS is a Hong Kong-based film director and producer. Recognized for his stylised films of highly choreographed action sequences, Mexican standoffs, and use of slow-motion, Woo has directed several notable Hong Kong action films, among them, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Hard...
, such as John Lee in Replacement Killers and especially Mark Gor in A Better Tomorrow
A Better Tomorrow
A Better Tomorrow is a 1986 Hong Kong action film which had a profound influence on the Hong Kong film-making industry, and later on an international scale.Directed by John Woo, it stars Chow Yun-fat, Ti Lung and Leslie Cheung...
, as both Chang and Gor are members of the Hong Kong Triads, wield dual pistols and don similar attire.
Shenhua
is a TaiwanTaiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese assassin
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
in the employ of Mr. Chang. She prefers to use various edged weapons in close combat, in particular a pair of Thai E-nep Knives linked together with a length of leather rope at the handles, thus using them as modified rope dart
Rope dart
The rope dart or rope javelin , also known as Jōhyō in Japanese,is one of the flexible weapons in Chinese martial arts. Other weapons in this family include the meteor hammer, flying claws, and chain whip...
s. She is also skilled in the use of throwing knives. Shenhua is a professional rival of Revy (who refers to her as "Chinglish" in the anime and "Yes Lady" in the manga; in return Shenhua calls Revy "Twinkie
Twinkie
The Twinkie is an American snack cake made and distributed by Hostess Brands. They are marketed as a "Golden Sponge Cake with Creamy Filling".-History:...
" in the anime (yellow on the outside (Chinese) and white on the inside), whom she has worked with and against at times. While Chang and the Triad are her primary employers, she also has been shown to do freelance work as well. Her personal religion is Taoism
Taoism
Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...
. However, she tells Eda in episode 18 that she is an Atheist, but this was due to a mistranslation in the English dubbed anime. One of her most notable traits is her broken speech pattern, which is always moving between Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. She is last seen being helped to walk by Lotton (who says that he will take her to a doctor, despite her having suffered what she believes to be a fatal wound) after being shot by Eda while hunting for Greenback Jane. In the El Baile de la Muerte arc, she is revealed to have survived the battle when Revy is shown calling her on the phone. She agrees to take up Revy's offer to help Garcia fight off the Colombian Cartel who is trying to kill Roberta.
She showed her first glimpse of fear when in close range combat with Roberta when she managed to catch one of Shenhua's kukri in her teeth and shattered the blade to pieces.
It is unknown if Shenhua has any unarmed hand-to-hand skills, although it seems likely. In the anime, she fights only with blades, and never engages anyone in true hand-to-hand combat. The only other person who does this is Sawyer the Cleaner, who frequently works with her in "disposal" jobs.
Leigharch
is an Irish driver who worked with Shenhua during the incident involving the Islamic Liberation Front. A compulsive user 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 PlaymatePlaymate
A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of Playboy magazine as Playmate of the Month . The PMOM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, as well as a short biography and the "Playmate Data Sheet", which lists her birthdate, measurements, turn-ons, and...
s, Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
characters like Jean-Luc Picard
Jean-Luc Picard
Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis...
and Klingon
Klingon
Klingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...
s, or sixties rock music such as Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
. Leigharch is said by Shenhua during the Greenback Jane incident to have suffered a massive overdose (he "couldn't get back from Mars"), inducing psychological damage severe enough to commit him to full-time medical attention. Despite his drug addition and hallucinations, he was still considered a skilled driver before his overdose.
The Colombian Cartel
The cartel noted in this section is separate from the Manisalera Cartel which was originally responsible for Garcia Lovelace's kidnapping and was subsequently wiped out by Roberta and Balalaika and seems to have since taken over their territory. Along with the Italian Mafia, they are the most brash of the criminal organizations, much to the disgust of Balalaika and Chang. Just them barely appearing often results in needless fighting and bloodshed. They are led by Abrego, who is somewhat of a coward and usually travels with his men. Lately, they have been made a fool of in the criminal underworld because of the Lovelace Family and their two killer maids. While the Italians do it for profit, the Cartels do it as a sense of pride, which usually gets them into unwanted trouble. It is revealed that they had a hand in the assassination of Diego Lovelace.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. He is once again made a fool of, this time by Fabiola.Ever since the incident with Roberta, the Cartel had tried numerous times to figure out where she was hiding; fortunately for Roberta, through her connection with the Lovelace family, Roberta was protected daily by local police and military forces. Thus, the Cartel couldn't even touch her without causing an incident. Currently, he sends for many FARC Soldiers to assist the cartel in finding Roberta; however, much of the FARC has been suspicious of the cartel's action and even threatened to betray them.
Gustavo
is one of Abrego's main henchmen. At first, he is seen doing simple tasks for Abrego, such as disposal jobs, early in the series. Recently, he's been assigned to track down Roberta after hearing rumors of her returning to the city by other groups, including the police, Triad, and Hotel Moscow. He, along with some men, search for Roberta throughout the city and meets up with Revy and Rock. He then explains the situation within the Cartel regarding Roberta. He then crosses paths with Fabiola, who is requesting the aid of Lagoon Company. Fabiola is threatened by him and his men, as Revy then instigates a fight between them, resulting in a comical argument between him and Bao over the use of the telephone, much to Revy's amusement. In desperation, he tries to call Abrego, who is out with a girl according to his subordinates. He calls all of them in to warn them of another maid who is as fierce as Roberta. Finally, he orders the total destruction of the Yellow Flag, much to Bao's anger as the Yellow Flag is demolished again. He is left behind by his men after Fabiola scares them off. Because of his failure, Abrego has ordered him to be killed on sight. He is later seen at Abrego's side during a meeting with the other gangs.Verrocchio
is the boss of a branch of the Italian mafia based in Thailand. He once attempted to use the child assassins, Hänsel 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 Hänsel and Gretel turned against him on a murderous whim.Ronny the Jaws
Ronny the Jaws is Verrocchio's replacement as the Italian Mafia's boss after his death at the hands of the twins. He wears braces; hence his name. His real name was unknown until Chapter 79; Balalaika calls him by the derogatory slang "Dago" prior to this. He seems to have a cooler head than Verrocchio but is still plenty arrogant and foolish; Balalaika and Chang seem to dislike him and his immature way of handling serious business. He doesn't hold much respect for Abrego either and treats him rudely despite being the newest amongst members of those holding the most power in Roanapur. Revy says his group is almost as vicious as Hotel Moscow and he appears to have an alliance with the Albanian MafiaAlbanian mafia
The Albanian Mafia or Albanian organized crime are the general terms used for criminal organizations based in Albania or composed of ethnic Albanians. Albanian organized crime is active in Albania, the United States, and the European Union countries, participating in a diverse range of criminal...
.
Chen
was a Chinese crime boss who made several serious attempts to replace Balalaika as one of the major powers of Roanapur. Balalaika found out about his plans to kill the Lagoon Company and personally murdered him, which consisted of tying him to a chair and then blowing up his apartment using plastic explosives and gasoline.Luak
is the captain of a pirate gang that operated in the rivers and seas of Thailand. He was contracted by Chen to kill off the Lagoon Company when Dutch wouldn't accept Chen over Balalaika. Luak's gang ambushed the Black Lagoon, but the entire gang was wiped out by Revy and Dutch. Revy is seen to fire a round from an M79 grenade launcherM79 grenade launcher
The M79 grenade launcher is a single-shot, shoulder-fired, break-action grenade launcher that fires a 40x46mm grenade which used what the US Army called the High-Low Propulsion System to keep recoil forces low, and first appeared during the Vietnam War...
into his boat at the end of the fight destroying it, so he is presumed dead.
The Church of Violence/The Rip-Off Church
Using their front as a Christian (specifically CatholicRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
) church, their main business is illegal imports, mainly firearms. However, they are known to import other items, including drugs, which seems to offend Balalaika as it is bad for their business. So far they have consistently outsmarted Hotel Moscow in terms of imports. They have a fairly good working relationship with Chang, who grants them the exclusive ability to sell weapons within his territory. Dutch refers them as "The Rip-Off Church" due to the group charging heavily on goods, especially those needed for missions. So far, it seems Rock is able to arrange proper business deals with the Church. The Church is always money-hungry and are known to do double-dealings, much to the disgust of Revy.
Eda
is a woman posing as a nun in the rip-off Church, with ties to the underground, since the convent is mainly a smuggling organization. She is friends with Revy, but 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, and makes fun of Revy by threatening to take Rock for herself. She often calls Rock "Romeo."Eda has blond hair, blue eyes, and wears angular pink sunglasses even with her nun's habit
Religious habit
A religious habit is a distinctive set of garments worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognisable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anachoritic life, although in their case without conformity to a particular uniform...
, and is often seen either chewing gum or smoking. She is in her mid-30s. Before she came to work for the Church, she claimed to be from Langley, Virginia
Langley, Virginia
Langley is an unincorporated community in the census-designated place of McLean in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States.The community was essentially absorbed into McLean many years ago, although there is still a Langley High School...
. Langley, Virginia, is a metonym
Metonymy
Metonymy is a figure of speech used in rhetoric in which a thing or concept is not called by its own name, but by the name of something intimately associated with that thing or concept...
for the CIA as its headquarters is located there. Later on, it is revealed that Eda is an operative for the CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
and is being hosted by the Church of Violence in return for monetary payments. She is given an assignment by the CIA to track down Grey Fox, the same foe Roberta is hunting as they are a threat to her CIA division. She provides Mr. Chang with much of the intelligence about Grey Fox, but warns him about his actions. Presumably, Eda herself is accompanying Roberta to chase the Grey Fox.
Eda's preferred firearm is a Glock 17L (as seen in manga chapter 41), which she wields proficiently, despite Revy's claims that she is a "second-rate gunman".
She apparently was loosely modeled after the character Thana from Ms. 45
Ms. 45
Ms. 45, also known as Angel of Vengeance, is a 1981 American low-budget exploitation film directed by Abel Ferrara and starring Zoë Tamerlis Lund...
.
Yolanda
is the leader of The Rip-Off Church. She appears to be quite old and wears an eyepatchEyepatch
An eyepatch or eye pad is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, or an adhesive bandage. It is often worn by people to cover a lost or injured eye, but it also has a therapeutic use in children for the...
over her right eye. Despite her age and gentle appearance, she leads her organization with an iron fist. As the head of her organization, Yolanda usually never fights, leaving this job to gunmen like Eda and Rico. However, she does carry a customized golden
Gold plating
Gold plating is a method of depositing a thin layer of gold onto the surface of another metal, most often copper or silver , by chemical or electrochemical plating...
Desert Eagle
Desert Eagle
The Desert Eagle is a large-framed gas-operated semi-automatic pistol designed by Magnum Research in the U.S. and by IMI in Israel; the pistol is manufactured primarily in Israel by IMI...
and uses it without hesitation in due course, such as in chapter 38 of the manga. 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. Her looks could be based on Mother Angelica
Mother Angelica
Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation, PCPA is an American Roman Catholic nun who founded the Eternal Word Television Network. In 1944 she entered the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration, a Franciscan religious order for women, as a postulant, and a year later she was admitted to the order as a...
, a real-life Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
nun who, at one time, wore an eyepatch over her left eye. Yolanda is usually stern with Eda drinking alcohol in the church and seems to love tea. After an intelligent conversation with Rock, who convinces her to make a deal with Lagoon Company, she is impressed by his abilities and credits Dutch for finding someone as rare as him. She refers to Revy as "Rebecca" and tells her that she might learn a thing or two from Rock. She has connections with all the criminal organization in terms of intelligence, and though not officially part of the CIA, she serves as Eda's informant and confidant. She gives Eda fair warning that her opponent is no rookie and that she should be careful.
Rico
(Ricardo) is an apprentice priest in the Rip-Off Church. Like Eda and Yolanda, he is a highly skilled gunman whose choice of weapon is a M60 machine gunM60 machine gun
The M60 is a family of American general-purpose machine guns firing 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges from a disintegrating belt of M13 links...
. He refers to Eda as "Big sis" ("Ane-san" in Japanese) instead of "Sister", much to her chagrin.
Bao
is the bartender and owner of the Yellow Flag bar. He is an ex-ARVNArmy of the Republic of Vietnam
The Army of the Republic of Viet Nam , sometimes parsimoniously referred to as the South Vietnamese Army , was the land-based military forces of the Republic of Vietnam , which existed from October 26, 1955 until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975...
soldier who fought in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. He often feels harassed by 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. Balalaika seems to cover the repairs after Roberta destroyed it, which implies that the bar may be owned by Hotel Moscow. Seen as a great hang-out by most of the residents as it give many "jobs" to locals. After being rebuilt, he calls the Lagoon Company to tell them that Roberta is back in town. When Revy and Rock arrive along with Gustavo, they all meet up with Fabiola. After some words, Revy instigates a fight between Gustavo and Fabiola leading once again to the destruction of his bar. Bao claims that his bar has been destroyed more than 15 times, most of it done by Revy.
Flora
Madame Flora is the morbidly obese madamMadam
Madam, or madame, is a polite title used for women which, in English, is the equivalent of Mrs. or Ms., and is often found abbreviated as "ma'am", and less frequently as "ma'm". It is derived from the French madame, which means "my lady", the feminine form of lord; the plural of ma dame in this...
of the "Sloppy Swing", a brothel located on the top floor of Bao's bar. She took a liking to Rock and offered to "service him herself" (were she a bit younger).
Rowan "Jackpot" Pigeon
is the owner and manager of the GoofFest strip clubStrip club
A strip club is an adult entertainment venue in which striptease or other erotic or exotic dance is regularly performed. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, but can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style....
on Rachiada Street in Roanapur. Of African descent, he has employed Revy as an S/M
Sadism and masochism
Sadomasochism broadly refers to the receiving of pleasure—often sexual—from acts involving the infliction or reception of pain or humiliation. The name originates from two authors on the subject, Marquis de Sade and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch...
dancer once in the past, possibly putting her as a dominatrix
Dominatrix
Dominatrix or mistress is a woman or women who takes the dominant role in bondage, discipline and sadomasochism, or BDSM. A common form of address for a submissive to a dominatrix is "mistress", "ma'am", "domina" or "maîtresse"...
. He has stated, however, that she "could give it and take it", implying that Revy could also have been the submissive. This is changed in the anime, with Rowan conistently asking Revy to join is BDSM show when she comes to his place, but with her expressing disgust at the idea. He is also a movie dealer who carries both legal and illegal genres (such as all forms of pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
and snuff films). He is extremely frightened of Hotel Moscow, especially of Balalaika.
Chief Watsup
is the chief of the corrupt Roanapur police. He receives a regular stipend from Roanapur's criminal cartels, as well as the Lagoon Company, to stay away from their illegal activitiesPolice corruption
Police corruption is a specific form of police misconduct designed to obtain financial benefits, other personal gain, or career advancement for a police officer or officers in exchange for not pursuing, or selectively pursuing, an investigation or arrest....
. It is implied throughout the series that Revy tends to cause a lot of trouble in public and he usually has to bail her out much to his chagrin. He gets used to Revy's trouble making and he and Revy became sort of friends. For the 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.
The Captain
The Captain is the rank of an unknown mercenary in the employ of the Extra Order Company, a fictional private military companyPrivate military company
A private military company or provides military and security services. These combatants are commonly known as mercenaries, though modern-day PMCs refer to their staff as security contractors, private military contractors or private security contractors, and refer to themselves as private military...
similar to modern day Blackwater Worldwide
Blackwater Worldwide
Xe Services LLC, better known by its former names, Blackwater USA and Blackwater Worldwide, is a private military company founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark.. Xe is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department's three private security contractors...
and the now defunct Executive Outcomes
Executive Outcomes
Executive Outcomes was a private military company founded in South Africa by former Lieutenant-Colonel of the South African Defence Force Eeben Barlow in 1989. It later became part of the South African-based holding company Strategic Resource Corporation....
, where the initials EO come from. 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. While attacking the Black Lagoon head-on in a Mil Mi-24
Mil Mi-24
The Mil Mi-24 is a large helicopter gunship and attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport with room for 8 passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and operated since 1972 by the Soviet Air Force, its successors, and by over thirty other nations.In NATO circles the export...
, the boat launched itself off a sunken ship and fired two torpedoes that brought down the Captain's helicopter, one hitting him in the face before detonating.
Sawyer the Cleaner
, also known as 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 (and probably others) turn to execute people in the most brutal ways possible, usually to serve as examples for their clientele and enemies. Her legitimate business front is, fittingly, a meat packing business named "U.G. Pork".Sawyer works in a white-tiled room, which is covered in blood from her various executions, and uses a chainsaw
Chainsaw
A chainsaw is a portable mechanical saw, powered by electricity, compressed air, hydraulic power, or most commonly a two-stroke engine...
as her tool of trade. When on the job, she is dressed like a surgeon, but otherwise she wears gothic
Gothic fashion
Gothic fashion is a clothing style worn by members of the Goth subculture; a dark, sometimes morbid, eroticized fashion and style of dress. Typical Gothic fashion includes dyed black hair, black lips and black clothes. Both male and female goths wear dark eyeliner and dark fingernails. Styles are...
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
Mechanical larynx
A mechanical larynx, also referred to as a "throat back", is a medical device used to produce clearer speech by those who have lost their original voicebox, usually due to cancer of the larynx. The most common device is the electrolarynx which is handheld, battery operated and placed under the...
. 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 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
Leatherface
Leatherface is the main antagonist in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre horror-film series and its spin-offs. He wears masks made of human skin and engages in murder and cannibalism alongside his inbred family. He is considered by many to be one of the first major slasher film villains alongside Michael...
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 and when she realized she had lost her Ultravoice in episode 18 she briefly reenacts Leatherface's "chainsaw dance" of rage. Strangely, she is one of the few bounty hunters to survive the manhunt on Jane, and is later seen doing some "cleanup" work on a Roanapur side street in the morning. She worked with Shenhua and Lotton in helping Garcia fight off the Colombian Cartel, who were trying to kill Roberta. She also seems to have replaced her hand held Ultravoice with a wraparound version of the device that can be worn around her neck. Just like Shenhua, she first showed her fear of Roberta after their first encounter when Roberta managed to stop and break the chain of Sawyer's chainsaw with her guns.
She does not only do disposal jobs, but also cleaning jobs for hotel rooms. When she forgets her Ultravoice, she requests someone to translate for her and draws descriptions on a window or on a person's back to "speak". Given the chance to explain, she's extremely graphic about the details of her profession to the point those around her tell her to stop being descriptive. Despite the gruesome nature of her job, Sawyer seems to have a rather happy, yet morbid demeanor at times. In chapter 78 when she explained to Rock that he touched a mattress that had absorbed the bodily fluids of the corpses that died 14 days prior in the hotel room he, Benny, Jane and Feng Yifei were staying in, Sawyer has a blissful expression while everyone else vomits at this information.
Claude "Torch" Weaver
is a heavyset, middle-aged man with blonde hair and glasses and always sports a grin with a look of a stereotypical everymanEveryman
In literature and drama, the term everyman has come to mean an ordinary individual, with whom the audience or reader is supposed to be able to identify easily, and who is often placed in extraordinary circumstances...
. As his nickname would suggest, he is a pyromaniac who uses a lighter
Lighter
A lighter is a portable device used to generate a flame. It consists of a metal or plastic container filled with a flammable fluid or pressurized liquid gas, a means of ignition, and some provision for extinguishing the flame.- History :...
shaped-and-sized flamethrower
Flamethrower
A flamethrower is a mechanical device designed to project a long controllable stream of fire.Some flamethrowers project a stream of ignited flammable liquid; some project a long gas flame. Most military flamethrowers use liquids, but commercial flamethrowers tend to use high-pressure propane and...
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 is teetotal. He is one of the few characters in the series that does not use foul language, preferring to speak with euphemisms (such as "darn" or "shucks") instead. He is blown up by Revy while hunting for Greenback Jane.
Lotton the Wizard
is a mysterious-looking man and one of the bounty hunters hired to capture "Greenback" Jane. He has silver hair, wears a black trenchcoat and shaded glasses, and speaks in a light voice. His weapon of choice is one or more Mauser C96Mauser C96
The Mauser C96 is a semi-automatic pistol that was originally produced by German arms manufacturer Mauser from 1896 to 1937...
(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 he's allergic to it). 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 worked with Sawyer and Shenhua in helping Garcia fight off the Colombian Cartel, who were trying to kill Roberta.
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 kind-heartedness, Shenhua comments that he is not the type to kill and would be better as a host in a bordello, but Lotton claims that he is too clumsy for that. He is seen playing video games with Sawyer at Shenhua's residence in chapter 57 of the manga. Revy refers him as being more of a gigolo than a gunman; in addition, Revy forgets that she shot Lotton during the Greenback Jane incident (she shot him on reflex) causing Shenhua and Sawyer to mock her intelligence.
His style of dress and mannerisms are very similar to both The Captain and Heinkel Wolfe
Heinkel Wolfe and Yumie Takagi
Heinkel Wolfe and Yumie Takagi are fictional characters in the manga Hellsing, and is prominently featured in the manga series Crossfire...
of the popular vampire anime and manga series Hellsing
Hellsing
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kouta Hirano. It first premiered in Young King Ours in 1997 and ended in September 2008. The individual chapters are collected and published in tankōbon volumes by Shōnen Gahosha. As of March 2009 all chapters have been released in 10 volumes in...
. He would also seem to be something of a parody of the "brooding bishounen" archetype in anime.
Shane Caxton
is an American black-ops operator who is currently in Roanapur, awaiting deployment into Indochina. Like Dutch, Caxton is a Vietnam War veteran who still holds on to his moral code of conduct. Caxton's team, called "Gray FoxIntelligence Support Activity
The United States Army Intelligence Support Activity , frequently shortened to Intelligence Support Activity or ISA, and nicknamed The Activity is a United States Army Special Operations unit originally subordinated to the US Army Intelligence and Security Command...
", under orders from a division of the NSA
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
, orchestrated the assassination of Garcia Lovelace's father. As a result of his action, he has made an enemy of the formidable Roberta, which their confrontation involves the entire city of Roanapur, including the Triad, Hotel Moscow, and the Church of Violence. Despite this, Mr. Chang is trying to get Caxton and his men out of Roanapur to prevent Roberta from killing them, as their deaths will trigger a war between the Roanapur gangsters and the United States government. When he meets up with Lagoon Company, he automatically recognizes Dutch and mentions something to Dutch that seemed to shock him.
It is revealed he is a highly-esteemed operator by his fellow colleagues especially Gray Fox's second in command for his decency, integrity and honorable conduct. He is the ideal symbol of America in the story. In a flashback, he executed one of his subordinates, Larkin, in retaliation for murdering innocent women and children out of pleasure during the Vietnam War, implying he does not tolerate that kind of conduct. He also protects Garcia Lovelace as he and his team are escaping from Hotel Moscow. By the end of the arc, he is finally slain, not by Roberta, but Garcia himself in order to end Roberta's rampage. However, it is later revealed Caxton faked his own death and Garcia's gun was filled with blanks.
Bren the Black Death
Bren the Black Death runs a murder for hire business. According to Revy, he has an office in Roanapur but rarely does jobs there because of overlaping contracts. Roberta hires him to gather a team to attack Grey Fox to drive them out into the open. He sends in a group of hired guns knowing very well that they will be slaughtered by the trained soldiers. He then kills the one survivor himself.Filano
Filano is a young boy who works for Bren the Black Death. He is seen observing the battle between the Grey Foxes and Roberta. He says he prefers to kill with an ordinary object or with nothing at all. He is particularly fond of pushing people downstairs or in front of trains. He considers guns to be the lowest form of killing. He does however like to play first person shooters. He also likes anime.Lieutenant Commander Wentzel Ahbe
was the decorated skipper of the Type IXC U-boatU-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
U-1324 and a survivor of the Battle of the Atlantic. His last order in the closing months of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in Europe was to take the U-1324 and its veteran crew along with two passengers from the Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
naval base at Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
to ostensibly return Lt. Col. Matsuda to Batavia
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
. He succeeded in getting safely to the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, but ran into trouble with US Navy destroyers near the Nicobar Islands
Nicobar Islands
The Nicobar Islands are an archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean...
on March 25, 1945, which succeed in fatally crippling the U-1324 with depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s, 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 face death however they chose. Ahbe was a patriot, but he despised the Nazi cause, expressing his bitterness to the SS Lieutenant Colonel that the Nazis had brought Germany to ruin and satisfaction that U-1324’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 avenged him. Ahbe left behind a wife and two children.
His Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves 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. Ahbe is also shown to have received the Iron Cross 1st Class among his other decorations.
He is apparently modeled after Jürgen Prochnow
Jürgen Prochnow
Jürgen Prochnow is a German actor. His most well-known roles internationally have been as the sympathetic submarine captain in Das Boot , Duke Leto Atreides I in Dune , the minor, but important role of Neo-Stalinist dictator General Ivan Radek in Air Force One and the villain Maxwell Dent in...
's character from Das Boot
Das Boot
Das Boot is a 1981 German epic war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, and Klaus Wennemann...
. Additionally, the U-1324 bears the famed laughing sawfish emblem of the .
Lieutenant Colonel Matsuda
Lieutenant Colonel Matsuda was an Imperial Japanese ArmyImperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
officer posted to Germany to study aeronautics, where he remained until the early part of 1945. Returning him to Japanese-held Batavia
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
is the apparent final mission of the U-1324. He formed a fast friendship with Captain Ahbe and was sociable with the crew, engaging them in games of shogi
Shogi
, also known as Japanese chess, is a two-player board game in the same family as Western chess, chaturanga, and Chinese Xiangqi, and is the most popular of a family of chess variants native to Japan...
during the voyage from Kiel to Batavia. When the U-1324 was fatally depth charged and runs aground on the seabed near the Nicobar Islands, he committed seppuku
Seppuku
is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai bushido honor code, seppuku was either used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies , or as a form of capital punishment...
(ritual suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
) using his katana
Katana
A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...
. He does not appear in the manga.
Matsuda is based on the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
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 seppuku—suicide—to avoid capture. This episode was turned into the movie Das Letzte U-Boot in Germany in 1990.
SS Lieutenant Colonel Spielberger
SS Lieutenant Colonel (ObersturmbannführerObersturmbannführer
Obersturmbannführer was a paramilitary Nazi Party rank used by both the SA and the SS. It was created in May 1933 to fill the need for an additional field grade officer rank above Sturmbannführer as the SA expanded. It became an SS rank at the same time...
) was the U-1324’s second passenger. A member of the SD
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
, 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 return to power following their defeat in World War II.
He boarded the U-1324 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 Ahbe he also had a family, a wife and child in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, but unlike the former, was more focused on the failure of his mission rather than on them in his final hours. Ahbe'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-1324’s crewmembers as possible in his final moments when they avenged their captain's murder.
Neo Nazis (Aryan Socialist Union)
The Aryan Socialist Union is a paramilitaryParamilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
group of aspiring stereotypical Neo Nazis styling themselves along the lines of the Nazi Sturmabteilung
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
. Though it's not explicitly stated, it is implied they are based in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(in the manga they were apparently all German-Americans, due to the way they spoke such as "Fraulein" or "Jawohl"). They have a large arsenal of weapons such as MAC-10
MAC-10
The MAC-10 is a highly compact, blowback operated machine pistol developed by Gordon B. Ingram in 1964.-Design:The M-10 was built predominantly from steel stampings...
machine pistols, MG3 machine guns, AK47 assault rifles, Luger and double action trigger-outfitted Colt 45 pistols (in the manga, they carried multiple kinds of handguns) and even TOW
BGM-71 TOW
The BGM-71 TOW is an anti-tank missile. "BGM" is a weapon classification that stands for "Multiple Environment , Surface-Attack , Missile ". "TOW" is an acronym that stands for "Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire command data link, guided missile"...
Anti-Tank Missiles.
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, along with seemingly innocent hostages used to pilot the ship. It is unknown how many, if any, survived the conflict with the Lagoon Company.
Ratchman
Überführer 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 surprise attack while his men are drunk from celebrating after they recover the painting. He is murdered by Revy and Dutch. It is mentioned in the manga that his group is a minority party in American politics.GruppenführerGruppenführerGruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...
The is the commander of the Aryan Socialist Union's Suicide Corps, the recovery team who was sent to retrieve The Twelve Knights Led by Brunhilda from the U-1324. 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-1324 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-1324 to make it out alive, recovering the painting in the process. Proving himself as a Nazi seems to matter to him more greatly than the lives of his comrades, as shown by his willingness to abandon his men once he had gained control of the painting, and his caviler attitude afterward.When Revy and Dutch assault the Aryan Socialist Union aboard their recovery ship, he attempts to arm himself with a MG42
MG42
The MG 42 is a 7.9mm universal machine gun that was developed in Nazi Germany and entered service with the Wehrmacht in 1942...
to fight back, but is shot in the back by Revy in the ship's magazine. In the manga, he is last seen fighting Revy inside the submarine; his fate afterwards is unknown.
Fritz Stanford
is the Captain (SturmhauptführerSturmhauptführer
Sturmhauptführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank used by both the Sturmabteilung and the SS. It was the equivalent of a Hauptmann in the German Army. This is the equivalent of Captain in western militaries....
/Scharführer
Scharführer
Scharführer was a Nazi Party title that was used by several paramilitary organizations from 1925 to 1945. Translated as “Squad Leader”, the title of Scharführer can trace its origins to the First World War, where a Scharführer was often a Sergeant or Corporal who commanded special action or shock...
) of the Nazi boat that is sent to obtain the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
painting in the sunken U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
. He is a physically huge man, and is filled with blind faith and overconfidence. Despite this, he is the only member of the group to question whether the painting was worth the sacrifice of so many of the organization's resources. In the end, it is this overconfidence that gets him killed when he brags about his weapon and threatens Revy (as she slowly reloads her weapon), who shoots him in the chest and then point blank in the head, mostly just to shut him up. He wields a large gold
Gold plating
Gold plating is a method of depositing a thin layer of gold onto the surface of another metal, most often copper or silver , by chemical or electrochemical plating...
Luger chambered for the .454 Casull
.454 Casull
The .454 Casull is a firearm cartridge, developed in 1957 by Dick Casull and Jack Fulmer. It was first announced in November 1959 by Guns & Ammo magazine. The basic design was a lengthened and structurally improved .45 Colt case...
cartridge.
Sir Alfred
Little is known about , 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. Sir Alfred 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. Sir Alfred feels that Ratchman and his men are idiots and a disgrace to call themselves Nazis, seeing their easy defeat by a group of "racially inferior" members as proof of their incompetence in his view. He even thanks Dutch and Revy for killing them off for him, and even harbours an amount of respect for Dutch, despite being a black man. Dutch later finds out that the Spanishman who hired him was in fact The Boss setting him up. In the manga it is mentioned that he played a part in operation ODESSAODESSA
The ODESSA, from the German Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen, meaning “Organization of Former SS Members,” is believed to have been an international Nazi network set up toward the end of World War II by a group of SS officers...
.
Protectors of the Islamic Front
The "Protectors of the Islamic Front" (known as "Islamic Front of National Salvation" in the manga ) is a JihadistMujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...
group based in South East Asia. They seem to be a fairly large organization, judging from the sizable group of fighters they send to attack the Lagoon office, and the number of men in the Philippine Jungle encampment located in Mindanao. They also appear to be a rather skilled terrorist group, carrying out a successful bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
(see also Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
), and the planning of a terrorist attack in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with the implicit goal of assassinating the President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
by using biological weapons on the New York Subway in Manhattan. Among their main allies is the Abu Sayyaf
Abu Sayyaf
Abu Sayyaf also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya is one of several military Islamist separatist groups based in and around the southern Philippines, in Bangsamoro where for almost 30 years various Muslim groups have been engaged in an insurgency for an independent province in the country...
Group.
Documents detailing the plan of this "Presidential Attack" fall into the hands of Chang, who plans to give them to the CIA in exchange for money, with the Lagoon Company acting as the couriers. Subsequently, the group desperately attempts to recapture the documents, as the attack would be foiled should the documents reach their destination. The Islamic Front's members appear to be more well versed in military style tactics than the Lagoon Company's other opponents (such as the Aryan Socialist Union or Luak's gang), but prove to be little match for Revy, Chang, and Shenhua, and many of them are killed in their efforts to retrieve the Documents.
The anime depicts the Islamic fighters wearing balaclavas while the manga depicts them wearing shemaghs.
Masahiro Takenaka
is a soft spoken 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 TokyoAdachi, Tokyo
is one of the Special wards of Tokyo, Japan. It is located north of the heart of Tokyo. The ward consists of two separate areas: a small strip of land between the Sumida River and Arakawa River and a larger area north of the Arakawa River...
, Masahiro was once an enthusiastic activist for human rights before joining the Japanese Red Army
Japanese Red Army
The was a Communist terrorist group founded by Fusako Shigenobu early in 1971 in Lebanon. It sometimes called itself Arab-JRA after the Lod airport massacre...
during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. Later, he was forced to evade arrest by hiding overseas after most of its members were arrested. Takenaka is based on the Japanese Red Army
Japanese Red Army
The was a Communist terrorist group founded by Fusako Shigenobu early in 1971 in Lebanon. It sometimes called itself Arab-JRA after the Lod airport massacre...
member Kozo Okamoto
Kozo Okamoto
was a 24-year-old botany student from a respectable middle-class family when he was recruited to the Japanese Red Army . He was later detained in Lebanon. During his stay in Lebanon, Okamoto converted to Islam in what was seen as an attempt to avoid being returned to Japan...
.
Ibraha
is a co-leader of the "Protectors of the Islamic Front", leading one of its main cells in the PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, and is resolute in his hatred of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, as his son was killed by Israeli soldiers in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
in 1987, after which he dedicated his life to fighting the West. Compared to Takenaka, he is the exact opposite in personality, while Takenaka is calm, reasonable and clever; Ibraha is paranoid, unreasonable and always want to fight without thinking. While chasing Revy, Rock, and Shenhua towards a Basilan
Basilan
The Province of Basilan is an island province of the Philippines within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao . Basilan is the largest and northernmost of the major islands of the Sulu Archipelago and is located just off the southern coast of Zamboanga Peninsula...
military base, he is shot and killed by Takenaka for refusing to pull their forces back for a retreat, as allowing them to continue would have gotten them all killed.
The Washimine Group
The Washimine group were a YakuzaYakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
formerly run by . Balalaika came to Japan to work out a deal with the Washimine group to expand their influence in Japan in exchange for helping them weaken a rival Yakuza group, the Kousa Council. However, when Hotel Moscow's methods went too far, Tsugio Bando, the current head of the Washimine group, tried to stop them and was killed by Balalaika, who decided she would instead destroy both groups and take over their operations. Following his death, Ryuzo's daughter was put in charge. In the end, the entire Washimine group, and family, were wiped out along with the Kousa Council.
Yukio Washimine
is a high school senior and the only daughter of Ryuzo Washimine, who was the former kumicho (boss) of the yakuzaYakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
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 is once seen reading a book written by Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger was a German philosopher known for his existential and phenomenological explorations of the "question of Being."...
). She commits suicide with Ginji's sword after Ginji is killed by Revy. Thoughtful, intelligent and talented, the misfortune of being the only heir to the Washimine group proved too much for Yukio to live by.
Ginji Matsuzaki
is the acting wakagashira (underboss) of Washimine Group, and is Yukio's most loyal and humble personal body guard, and possibly love interest. He works as a street stall vendor, but was formerly an assassin nicknamed "Hitokiri Ginji" (Manslayer Ginji) due to his use of a katanaKatana
A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...
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.
So far, Ginji is the only one whom Revy admits had the perfect chance to kill her. After shattering Revy's cutlass and forcing her to fall back, Ginji proceeds to stab Revy in spot; if he was not distracted by Yukio, Revy would have had no way to defend herself.
It is interesting to note that although Revy calls Ginji "Jumbo" because of his height, the name "Jumbo" may also refer to Takeshi Takeda (AKA "Jumbo") from the Yotsuba&!
Yotsuba&!
is an ongoing Japanese comedy manga series by Kiyohiko Azuma, the creator of Azumanga Daioh. It is published in Japan by ASCII Media Works, formerly MediaWorks, in the monthly magazine Dengeki Daioh and collected in ten tankōbon volumes...
manga series with whom he shares an uncanny resembalance.
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 dodging his attempt to stab her and then breaking his neck.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.Chaka
is one of the enforcers working for the Washimine Group who fancies himself as a "Wild West" gunman and is fluent in English. Arrogant, cruel, and sadistic, Chaka is often seen as an idiot by his peers. His earlier appearance showed that Revy's reputation as a gunman in Roanapur is such that even the yakuza in Japan have heard of her. Shortly after Yukio becomes the boss of the Group, Chaka makes his bid to take over the leadership by kidnapping her with the help of a street gang. He was determined to fight Revy in a quickdraw showdown, but she refused and lured him into fighting a duel with Ginji instead, who defeated and finished him off by letting him drown in a pool with both his hands severed. His character and appearance is likely based on Kakihara from Ichi the killerIchi the Killer
is a 2001 Japanese film directed by Takashi Miike, based on Hideo Yamamoto's manga series of the same name.- Plot : While alone with a prostitute, crime lord Anjo is brutally murdered...
, as both of them are longing for a strong opponent equal to them and are sadistically violent. Possibly based on a presumably-existing Kudo-kai
Kudo-kai
The is a yakuza group headquartered in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka on the Kyushu island of Japan, with an estimated 690 active members. refers to the Kudo-kai as an affiliate of the Yamaguchi-gumi, but that is false...
member hanging around Harajuku
Harajuku
Harajuku is the common name for the area around Harajuku Station on the Yamanote Line in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo, Japan....
.
The Lovelace Family
The Lovelace are one of the 13 prominent South AmericaSouth America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n families. However, the family has come under hard times from not only their peers due to their political beliefs, but also from the Colombian Cartel, which has been harassing employees of the family in order to take control of their land. However, because of Diego Lovelace's military and political connections, the family is constantly protected from threats. In addition, the family includes Roberta (aka Rosarita Cisneros), a former FARC terrorist who is wanted by both the Cartel and various law enforcement agencies. Because of her close relationship with the family, she is accepted as one of their own, serving as maid and, if necessary, bodyguard. Another maid, who is combat ready like Roberta, is Fabiola Igesias.
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. He took in Rosarita Cisneros, when she was escaping from the Colombian Cartel as a favor to his old friend, Roberta's father. He took her in and treated her as family. Recently, he was assassinated during a speech due to the fact his political beliefs were seen as a threat by many. This event makes Roberta take up the "Bloodhound" persona once more.Garcia Lovelace
is the only son of Diego Jose San Fernando Lovelace, aged about 12 to 13 at his first appearance. He was heir to the Lovelace family line, and as such, is its current head, the twelfth in succession after his father was assassinated. He was kidnapped for a short while by a Colombian cartel and was transported by the Lagoon Company as "goods". He and Roberta left Roanapur shortly afterwards, with 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" and seemed to have matured greatly in terms of emotional strength, as commented by Rock, since his last appearance. He treats both Roberta and Fabiola as if they were his extended family and in return, both care for him equally. He requests help from Lagoon Company with additional help from Chang, Shenhua, Sawyer, and Lotton. However, the only person he truly trusts in Roanapur is Rock. To stop Roberta, Garcia comes up with the most drastic plan to stop her rampage, fake Caxton's death with his own hands, thus taking away Roberta's "Path of Justice"; this causes an angry Roberta to hallucinate once more causing her to shoot him; this enabled Garcia to snap Roberta out of it mainly because the promise Roberta made to Garcia of not harming him, a vow she broke. In the aftermath, Chang told Rock that the Lovelace family will still have a hard road ahead of them in future.Roberta
is a maid who worked for four years at the Lovelace household in VenezuelaVenezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. Although her domestic skills such as cleaning and cooking were poor, she developed a close friendship with the young son of the Lovelace family, Garcia. Roberta was once known as , a former FARC
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army is a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization based in Colombia which is involved in the ongoing Colombian armed conflict, currently involved in drug dealing and crimes against the civilians..FARC-EP is a peasant army which...
guerrilla trained as an assassin in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and an internationally wanted criminal. Balalaika refers her as a "hardcore terrorist" to the point that Hotel Moscow had to deploy all their commandos as well as Balalaika getting involved in the situation personally should things get out of hand. Revy refers to her as "Fucking Four Eyes" or "That Fucking Glasses Bitch". She earned the moniker "Bloodhound of Florencia" for her relentless drive to achieve her objectives. Her tormented past and the smell of blood, gunpowder and muck like that of a sewer rat emanating from her was something Revy understood full well.
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 were a .50 caliber sniper rifle
Sniper rifle
In military and law enforcement terminology, a sniper rifle is a precision-rifle used to ensure more accurate placement of bullets at longer ranges than other small arms. A typical sniper rifle is built for optimal levels of accuracy, fitted with a telescopic sight and chambered for a military...
, combat knife
Combat knife
A combat knife is a fighting knife designed solely for military use and primarily intended for hand-to-hand or close combat fighting.Since the end of trench warfare, most military combat knives have been secondarily designed for utility use in addition to their original role as close-quarter combat...
, SPAS-12 shotgun disguised as an umbrella(reinforced with Kevlar), machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
, and semi-automatic grenade launcher
Grenade launcher
A grenade launcher or grenade discharger is a weapon that launches a grenade with more accuracy, higher velocity, and to greater distances than a soldier could throw it by hand....
hidden in a suitcase, spiked brass knuckles
Brass knuckles
Brass knuckles, also sometimes called knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, or knuckledusters, are weapons used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckles are pieces of metal, usually steel despite their name, shaped to fit around the knuckles...
, trench spike, and twin IMBEL Model 911 pistols (see Colt M1911 pistols). Her strength, speed, endurance, and instincts were honed to almost superhuman
Superhuman
Superhuman can mean an improved human, for example, by genetic modification, cybernetic implants, or as what humans might evolve into, in the near or distant future...
levels, so much so that Rock at one point refers to her sardonically as "a killer robot from the future" (a reference to James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
's Terminator movies).
While Roberta is one of the most powerful warrior-women in Black Lagoon, she is also humane. She is unwaveringly devoted to her master and his son, Garcia, whom she loves deeply as if he were her own child. Roberta and Revy fight each other, but only to beat themselves up. Rock interferes, but Roberta and Revy tell him to stay out of it. In the manga and anime, the fight ends in a draw right after they punch each other out simultaneously, (though Garcia claims she won because she remained conscious). Her kindness can easily change as seen in a humorous omake in Volume 1 of the manga when Garcia slapped her butt in a playful manner, which prompted her to pinch his arm and lift him up off the ground by the skin of his arm as punishment. There are a few hints that she may be religious, unlike many of the other main characters in Black Lagoon, specifically Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
judging from the large crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
she wears around her neck. It should also be noted that she very rarely uses profanity.
She admitted that she did murder children, women, or anyone in name of revolution during her FARC years. Disillusioned by the fact that she was merely a tool for the drug cartels in cahoots with FARC, she opted out and joined the Lovelace clan as a maid through her father who is a friend of Lovelace. Despite being asked by Garcia not to pick up gunfighting anymore, later events in the manga, which depicts her watching helplessly as a bomb was set killing many including Diego Lovelace. Garcia's question of why was his father was a victim makes her go into battle again, seeking revenge. Roberta also shows signs of a growing madness; she is shown taking mouthfuls of anti-psychotics, and experiencing haunting hallucinations in the form of her past victims. She once again stalks the city of Roanapur in search of the one responsible for assassinating her master. Unfortunately, it turns out to be the US Special Forces, who's intentions were to assassinate a general and had to sacrifice Diego Lovelace to complete their mission. Roberta's quest for vengeance has put many of the residents including Hotel Moscow, the Triad, and the Colombian Cartel on high alert as it could mean the end for all of them if their new enemy is the United States. Most of the residents blame the Lagoon Company for attracting her back to Roanapur despite the fact the group was in the dark about the situation and brushed it off as if it were an Elvis sighting. Further into her quest, she begins to lose sight of her goal, almost returning to her former persona to the point she begins to lose her sanity and has trouble identifying friend and foe, thus almost harming Garcia and Fabiola in the process. The Columbia Cartel even comments that she is no longer the hound they once knew, but a stray wolf searching for purpose. Her oath as the "Bloodhound of Florencia" is "In the name of Santa Maria, a hammer blow of righteousness to all injustice."
In Chapter 73, Roberta is last seen with an American woman, presumably Eda. The woman is able to disarm Roberta easily and pass her through the security, so whether she is Eda or not, she is definitely an American security agent. She finally catches up with Grey Fox and annihilates the entire squad minus Caxton, who is thought to be slain by Garcia (however, it later reveals he faked his own death); in order to stop her madness. In anger, she shoots Garcia, severely wounding him (though implied its not a mortal wound), she catches Garcia in her arms just realizing what she has done. In the extra missing pages of chapter 76, she and Garcia kissed and they made up with each other and returns to the Lovelace home. However, in the fifth episode of the OVA, Roberta is severely injured and is confined to a wheelchair as she later regains the ability to walk slowly (she has lost her left arm, her right eye, and visible as she is being wheeled out is a prosthetic foot and ankle, implying her lower right leg has been amputated as well).
In issue #50 of Anime Insider
Anime Insider
Anime Insider was a monthly magazine published by Wizard Entertainment, consisting of news and entertainment pieces relating to the Japanese anime and manga subculture....
magazine, director Sunao Katabuchi comments that the animation staff referred Roberta as an "Evil Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins is a series of children's books written by P. L. Travers and originally illustrated by Mary Shepard. The books centre on a magical English nanny, Mary Poppins. She is blown by the East wind to Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane, London and into the Banks' household to care for their...
". He goes on to add that creator Rei Hiroe
Rei Hiroe
is a Japanese manga artist who is more recently known for his latest manga, Black Lagoon.-Manga:* Black Lagoon - Story and art* Blade Guns* Gunparade March - Author* Legend of the Jade Ravine* Phantom Bullet* Rayfield 2...
long thought of Roberta as a kind of "Death Poppins".
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-7MAG-7
The MAG-7 is a pump-action shotgun manufactured by Techno Arms PTY of South Africa since 1995.-History and design:The MAG-7 was developed as a close quarters combat weapon, which would combine the aspects of a compact submachine gun and a pump shotgun. The design incorporates a 5-round box...
s that were given to her by Roberta. She also carries a pump action China Lake NATIC
China Lake NATIC
The China Lake Model is a pump-action grenade launcher that was developed by the Special Projects Division of the China Lake Naval Weapons Center, which provided equipment to Navy SEALs.- History :...
(Mistakenly referred to as an EX 41 grenade launcher
EX 41 grenade launcher
The EX 41 grenade launcher, also called the Shoulder-Fired Weapon , was a prototype multi-shot grenade launcher that was never adopted by the United States military. Most of its development was at Naval Ordnance Station, Louisville for the US Marine Corps in order to replace the single-shot M203...
in the Manga). She also has heel blades concealed in her shoes (a possible reference to the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film From Russia with Love
From Russia with Love (film)
From Russia with Love is the second in the James Bond spy film series, and the second to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1963, the film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and directed by Terence Young. It is based on the 1957 novel of the...
, in which the antagonist Rosa Klebb
Rosa Klebb
Colonel Rosa Klebb is a fictional character and the main antagonist from the James Bond film and novel From Russia with Love. She was played by Lotte Lenya in the film version...
famously attempts to use poison-laced blades concealed in her shoes to kill the main protagonist).
Fabiola first appears in the same bar, The Yellow Flag, 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 lollipops and a lunchbox with Scooby Doo and Ranger Smith
Ranger Smith
Ranger John Francis Smith is a fictional character in the Yogi Bear cartoon series.-Character:A former US Army soldier, he is the serious and stern authority figure in Jellystone Park, in contrast to the antics of the troublesome Yogi, and he greatly disapproves of Yogi's picnic basket thievery.In...
on it. She is currently helping Garcia search for Roberta. She is something of a comic relief when compared with Roberta (whom she calls "head housemaid" with the utmost respect), as she is little, carries her grenade launcher concealed in her outfit, and is often prominent in humorous situations; such as her height, being picked up like a bratty little kid, to being made fun of her breast size.
Dutch describes her as a "short version of the Killer Maid", after she destroys Bao's bar. She states that she comes from the poorest slums of Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, where she lived with her ten siblings until she was employed by the Lovelace Family. As noticed by Rock, she does not brawl, being a proficient practitioner of capoeira
Capoeira
Capoeira is a Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, sports, and music. It was created in Brazil mainly by descendants of African slaves with Brazilian native influences, probably beginning in the 16th century...
. According to her, she and Roberta are the only two maids in the Lovelace house who are proficient in firearms, with Roberta being the better of the two. She also mentions that there are three other maids in the Lovelace house: Karina, Masica and Davia (though it's unknown at this time if they're combat proficient as well). This makes Revy question her "Just what is the Lovelace plantation like? Full of bad-ass motherfuckers who could storm the Iranian embassy by themselves?". Fabiola was disgusted at Revy for being heartless and merciless against her foes, with Revy lecturing her that love and friendship do not apply in Roanapur. She and Garcia are reunited with Roberta; but the happiness is short lived when she and Roberta witness Garcia shooting Caxton with a Colt 45 filled with blanks and in retaliation Roberta shoots Garcia. She and Roberta then tend to a wounded Garcia. On their way back, they encountered Rock and Fabiola gets upset and disgusted with him and shot him with a blank round which injured Rock's ribs for "gambling with people's lives". She told Rock they will not meet again and that he shall "continue to dance with the walking dead in Roanapur."
Just like Roberta, Fabiola is very protective of Garcia. She is more brash than her mentor, but not as much as Revy. She tries to attack Chang after seeing him with Garcia, but he easily disarms her without trying. She loves to play in the pool when she's relaxing, but is embarrassed to ask Garcia for a break, despite the fact he is aware of her activities.
Kageyama
is one of the department chiefs of Asahi Industries, based in Tokyo. He was entrusted by its 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 than on his family.Hänsel and Gretel
(Hänsel)(Gretel)
Hänsel and Gretel are two unnamed Romanian twin orphans. They were abandoned in a state-run orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
due to their parents' inability to afford keeping them. As a result of being repeatedly forced to participate in paedophilic
Pedophilia
As a medical diagnosis, pedophilia is defined as a psychiatric disorder in adults or late adolescents typically characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children...
snuff film
Snuff film
A snuff film is a motion picture genre that depicts the actual death or murder of a person or people, without the aid of special effects, for the express purpose of distribution and entertainment or financial exploitation. For-profit snuff films are generally regarded as an urban legend, whose...
s in which they are either raped or forced to murder other children, and being repeatedly forced to watch the people running the orphanage beat one of the children to death in front of them, the twins eventually became deranged, sadistic killers just to survive. The horrid engrossment with their torturing and murdering for pleasure is shown during the first part of Season 2 when the twins first arrive to Roanupor as they purposely wound one of Balalaika's men during a gunfight, bring him back to their temporary stay with Verrocchio's headquarters, and proceed to probe his body with sharp objects as a medical experiment, and then drain his body of blood and organs for them to bathe in; afterwards they kill Verrocchio and his men out of indulgence, even though they were supposed to help them escape the city. Unknown to most people, "Hänsel" and "Gretel" are actually two personalities alternately adopted by the two children, both of whom suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder
Dissociative identity disorder
Dissociative identity disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis and describes a condition in which a person displays multiple distinct identities , each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment....
, meaning they swap being "Hänsel" and "Gretel" with each other from time to time (it is likely that these were their screen names in the films). There are slight implications that they could be incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
uous, possibly due to the abuse they suffered in the state-run orphanage. It is never made clear of what gender the twins are: in one scene, "Gretel" (formerly "Hänsel" before swapping) shows 'her' genitalia to Rock in what she presumably came to believe was a show of gratitude, causing him to flee in disgust and anger for her and Hänsel to have been betrayed since birth and to have been deprived of their humanity and a better chance at life than to become monstrosities, having known nothing but 'blood and darkness' their whole lives.
Both of them are white haired and dressed in dark gothic clothing
Gothic fashion
Gothic fashion is a clothing style worn by members of the Goth subculture; a dark, sometimes morbid, eroticized fashion and style of dress. Typical Gothic fashion includes dyed black hair, black lips and black clothes. Both male and female goths wear dark eyeliner and dark fingernails. Styles are...
, such as "Gretel" is dressed in a Gothic Lolita outfit.
In combat, "Hänsel" wields a sharp, wicked-looking battle axe
Battle axe
A battle axe is an axe specifically designed for combat. Battle axes were specialized versions of utility axes...
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, Hänsel and Gretel were also cunning, having used two other children as decoys to distract the bounty hunters 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, Hänsel is shot from a distance by one of her snipers and left to bleed to death, as he's left crying, in one of Roanapur's parks as Balalaika used herself as bait much to Boris' displeasure, while Gretel manages to escape and eventually boards the Black Lagoon of her own volition. Due to Rock's kindness she takes a genuine liking to him. However, just as Gretel disembarks she is gunned down by the get away man Dutch contacted, who was bribed by Hotel Moscow. Though initially shocked by her sudden death, Rock is glad that now she and her brother could rest in peace.
The characters' names are taken from the German fairy tale, Hänsel and Gretel
Hansel and Gretel
"Hansel and Gretel" is a well-known fairy tale of German origin, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. Hansel and Gretel are a young brother and sister threatened by a cannibalistic hag living deep in the forest in a house constructed of cake and confectionery. The two children...
. Many of the series' characters compare them to a similar pair of disturbed, sadistic twins from the American film The Shining
The Shining (film)
The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, co-written with novelist Diane Johnson, and starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, and Danny Lloyd. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. A writer, Jack Torrance, takes a job as an...
. In the manga, the song sung by Gretel to Rock on the Black Lagoon is called "Midnight, the Stars, and You", the song used in the ending credits to The Shining. In the anime, she sings "The World of Midnight", made for the anime and sung by Minako Obata.
Despite only being in three episodes they have a considerably large fanbase.
Greenback Jane
, also known as , is a professional money counterfeitCounterfeit
To counterfeit means to illegally imitate something. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product...
er and hacker
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. 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 knowledgeable on the details of the dollar bill
Dollar bill
The dollar bill may refer to banknotes of currencies that are named dollar. Note that some of these currencies may have coins for 1 dollar instead.-See also:*Australian one-dollar note*Withdrawn Canadian banknotes*United States one-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. After the Lovelace incident, Janet returns to Roanapur searching out Benny and the team. She, with help of her counterfeiting group, hacks a server of the "Rainbach AG" Corporation and makes a scapegoat of a PLA spy
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
. Jane is apparently a nymphomaniac, though Benny calls it "a bit broad-minded as far as sex goes". Revy replies that "if that's "a bit", then Death Valley is a sand pit in a park".
Russell
is a middle-aged AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
man who works for the Florida crime syndicate that's tracking Jane. He is quite distinguishable, since he dresses like a cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
: he has the trademark hat
Cowboy hat
The cowboy hat is a high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat best known as the defining piece of attire for the North American cowboy. Today it is worn by many people, and is particularly associated with ranch workers in the western and southern United States, western Canada and northern Mexico, with...
, boots with spurs, a revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
at the hip, bandolier
Bandolier
A bandolier or a bandoleer is a pocketed belt for holding ammunition. It was usually slung over the chest. In its original form, it was common issue to soldiers from the 16th to 18th centuries. This was very useful for quickly reloading a musket....
belt, tan shirt and jeans. He is not taken serious by the other bounty hunters because he is an outsider. Even Shenhua says, "Cowboy, this no Florida", 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. Shortly before killing him, she confesses to him to be from the CIA.
Vasili Laptev
is the boss of a branch of the Russian mafia based in Tokyo. A former KGBKGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
officer, Laptev had many difficulties operating in Japan due to his status as a gaijin
Gaijin
is a Japanese word meaning "non-Japanese", or "alien". This word is a short form of gaikokujin , which literally means "person from outside of the country". The word is composed of two kanji: , meaning "outside"; and , meaning "person". Thus, the word technically means "outsider"...
(foreigner). Considered distasteful and incompetent by Balalaika, he appeared to lose his standing with his peers back in Russia and this was reflected in his arrogant personality, since he did not speak Japanese despite being based in Japan. Laptev's detachment is slaughtered single-handedly by Ginji when the fallout between Hotel Moscow and the Washimine-gumi begins.
Masami Kousa
Head of Kousa Council. In past both Washimine and Kousa Yakuza's were allies as Yukio's father and Masami's "brother" were blood brothers. When they both died and Masami took over, any relationship the two groups had were gone and the Kousa's mistreated the Washime group badly to the point that Masami wouldn't recognize Yukio as the heir to the Washimine group and wanted someone in his group to take over. His mistreatment led the Washime group to call Hotel Moscow to weaken them. In the end of Fujiyama Gangsters arc, Masami was about to form an alliance with Hotel Moscow when Balalaika, after talking with Rock, decided to kill him and his lieutenants cited she wouldn't want to work with a group with such poor merchandise.Maki
Maki is a 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, reads light novelLight novel
A is a style of Japanese novel primarily targeting junior high and high school students . The term "light novel" is a wasei-eigo, or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language. Light novels are often called or for short...
s, and has poor school grades.