Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage, 001

Presenting the first four episodes from the second season of Black Lagoon, set in a Southeastern Asian city called Roanapur, the initial focus here involves a pair of Romanian twins named Hansel and Gretel, who are engaged in reckless and gruesome antics that shake up the delicate balance among the local crime cartels. The heroes (well, sort of) are the modern day pirates comprising the Black Lagoon company, who are in a race to track down the twins (the other adventures seem a bit tame, even if one involves an encounter with decidedly unholy nuns). Black Lagoon offers many of the virtues of anime (stylish animation, wonderfully reckless storylines, daring imagination), but is also bogged down by many of the genre's vices (misogyny, excessive violence, a sense of repetition). Presented on a dual-language disc, rated 16-up, this is recommended for those collecting the series, and optional elsewhere. [Note: Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage, 002 and 003 are also newly available.] Aud: P. (P. Hall)