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Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise is the nineteenth episode of the Black Lagoon anime and the seventh episode of Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage. It originally aired in Japan on November 14, 2006.

Summary[]

Rock and Revy join Balalaika on a trip to Japan; while there, she agrees to take sides in a feud between warring yakuza clans.

Plot[]

Waking up in his hotel room, Rock thinks to himself about how he has been in Roanapur for almost a year now and will soon leave Thailand to visit Japan, where he grew up in. As he looks outside his window, he notices Sawyer the Cleaner cutting up a corpse in the alleyway. In short time, Rock arrives in Japan by way of air travel, and at a payphone, he calls Benny, who wishes him a Happy New Year as he receives photos from his girlfriend Jane on the Internet. He mentions how Tokyo is decorated nicely for the new year, also telling Benny that Revy has only complained since coming with him, especially because she has to use a Tokarev pistol and not her 9mm Sword Cutlasses. The hacker rhetorically asks Rock if Revy accompanied him because she was worried about him, and as Rock confirms, she knocks on the payphone window. Promising to call him again, Rock continues walking through Tokyo with Revy, who comments that the city's snow is less worse than the snow in New York. Curious, he asks her how she is liking Japan, and she recalls that so far, different men have attempted to flirt with her but then called her a "gaijin" (foreigner) when she talked back.

Later, Balalaika meets up with Tsugio Bandō, a yakuza leader, to discuss an alliance. As the meeting commences, Boris lights her cigarette while Bandō thanks her for coming all the way to Japan, asking how he should address her. Acting as her English-to-Japanese interpreter, Rock relays on her behalf that she is addressed as Balalaika. Confirming that she was brief by Laptev about the alliance, she expresses her desire to have a base in Tokyo for Hotel Moscow. Responding that nothing will stop them if they team up, Bandō reminds her that the Kanto Peace Council has been trying to keep foreigners, such as her associate Laptev, out of the region. Balalaika rhetorically asks if his yakuza clan, the Washimine Group, is also a part of the Kanto Peace Council. He answers that his group has fulfilled their obligation to both the Peace Council and the higher-ranking Kōsa Council, but cannot stay at the bottom of the hierarchy forever. Stating that their interests are mutually beneficial, Balalaika agrees that they can set up shop in Tokyo while the Washimine Group's influence expands. Recalling what he has heard about the Russians, Bandō remarks that he has heard Hotel Moscow is used to messy situations.

Assuring him that he does not need to be concerned about her forces, Balalaika says that Hotel Moscow is a military force. Pulling out her cellphone to demonstrate her power, she asks one of her men if he is in position. Curious, Bandō asks Rock what she is saying, but the interpreter clarifies that she is speaking Russian. Outside a Kōsa Council-owned club, two Russian men depart and detonate the bomb which they left inside the club, blowing up part of the building. As soon as Balalaika closes her phone, she and the others also feel the building shake from the explosion nearby. When she clarifies that she blew up one of the Kōsa Council's clubs, Yoshida and Itō berate her for causing a scene. She merely replies that handguns are a weak form of intimidation, declaring that the attack is how Hotel Moscow makes a show of force. Smiling, Balalaika asserts that her forces will decimate everything that stands in their way. Whereas Yoshida is shocked, Bandō admits that he is fine with her attack, reasoning that it is a good start for the Washimine Group's fight, complimenting Balalaika.

Afterward, at night, Rock rides in a taxi with Revy, and both notice the news ticker show that the Japanese police are on alert after the explosion in Kabuki-chō on the 3rd of January. Revy jokes that the yakuza are paralyzed with fear, but Rock mutters that he prefers that his home country is not turned into a battlefield like Roanapur. Smoking a cigarette, she remembers that Balalaika was itching for some action since there has not been a big fight in Roanapur in recent times. To her left, Revy notices a festival and asks Rock about it. Learning that it is a New Year's fair similar to a carnival, she orders the taxi driver to pull over. When Revy wonders why there are no ferris wheels, Rock specifies that such attractions are not at traditional Japanese fairs. While Rock gets some food, she tries out a shooting game and shoots three targets, exciting her. Eating his meal, Rock jokes that she truly lives up to her Two Hands nickname. Smugly smiling, she shoots a fourth target down and states that she would do better with her Sword Cutlass. Revy also comments that it is hard to get a gun or bribe the police in Japan compared to Roanapur. Seeing Rock with a nostalgic face, she asks if he is missing something, confusing him.

With a solemn expression, Revy rhetorically asks him if he has any family, causing Rock to answer that he thought snoops were disliked. Brushing it off, she shoots a fifth target and clarifies that she was just wondering. He notes that time has really sped by ever since he was pulled by Revy onto "that boat" a year ago. Speaking about Japan, Rock observes that he feels like he does not know Japan at all despite it being a place he is familiar with. He additionally recalls that his older brother got a government job, his family does not get along, and he himself entered college a year late and joined a normal company. Realizing that his parents are alive, Revy suggests that he contact them at least, telling him that it will be his only chance since he has not been arrested. As she shoots another target, she remembers how she shot and killed her father as a child. She reminds him that his old life is normal compared to their current one. Denying that he is truly normal, Rock jokes that hanging around the Lagoon Company is proof of that, making Revy smile. She shoots one last target, but it does not go down, annoying her. Pushing it down with her toy gun's barrel, Revy cheers, and Rock hesitantly informs the stall keeper that his friend won and wants a prize.

Refusing to give her one, the stall keeper accuses her of cheating, and Rock relays this to the anglophone Revy. Furious, she cusses him out, and he in turn angrily asks her to speak Japanese. Not understanding him, Revy thinks that he is cussing her out as well, but Rock holds her back and urges her to calm herself. Noticing the argument, a large man, Ginji Matsuzaki, walks up to Revy and sternly advises her to calm down and have fun like everyone else. Being stubborn, she refuses to back down and grins at him. Also wanting to deescalate the situation, Ginji's friend Yukio politely recommends that they sit down and drink some sweet sake. Raising his hand, Rock firmly agrees to the idea, so Revy and Ginji back down and sit together on a bench. Sitting next to Rock, the Japanese woman admits she is glad that Revy is no longer in the mood to fight. Because they politely interrupt each other, Rock volunteers to speak first per Yukio's insistence, so he asks her if she is a student or a vendor. Confirming that she is both, the woman claims that her father was a vendor, adding that Ginji is like her father's student.

Yukio also adds that anyone who has a problem at the fair goes to Ginji for mediation, commenting on his big size being imposing. For the fair, she recalls that she wanted to help him close shop after her college entrance exam classes. Speaking about Revy, Rock admits that she has a huge temper, telling the curious woman that Revy is Chinese-American. He elaborates that she came with him while he is on a job to translate for a Russian. Impressed, Yukio compliments his international occupation, though she is confused when Rock claims that the job can be dangerous sometimes. Nearby, Revy is annoyed at Rock's slip-up, but Ginji chuckles at her rash attitude. Although they cannot understand each other, he asserts that she has the eyes of a dog, and she likewise asserts that they both stink of blood and guts. Noticing the cold atmosphere, Ginji recommends to Yukio that they depart due to the temperature. Yukio bids goodbye to Rock, but not before telling him her given name.

Meanwhile, two hours after midnight, the Vysotniki raid a Kōsa Council office and swiftly kill all of the gangsters inside. The subsequent morning, at a restaurant, Balalaika and Boris meet up with Vasili Laptev, the leader of Hotel Moscow's Japanese branch. Boris reports the details of the raid to Balalaika, mentioning twelve kills and no casualties or fatalities. Seeing his boss eat her breakfast, he asks her if she wants Russian tea, but Balalaika politely declines because she does not want to create a fuss, asking Boris in turn if he wants some toast, but he declines too. When she asks about police intervention, Boris informs her that the Tokyo Metropolitan Police closed off the scene a half hour later, being on heightened security status. He adds that he had a Washimine gangster transcribe the police's wireless communications. Hearing this, Balalaika orders him to have Rock translate it as soon as possible, citing the reliability of information being a life or death situation. Eating his steak, Laptev commends Balalaika's leadership, admitting that he sees why their boss Slevinin acknowledges her.

Reminding him that he messed up in the first place, she insults Laptev as a disgrace to Hotel Moscow. Standing up, Balalaika dons her military coat and remarks that she wants to return to Roanapur, agreeing to reconvene with Laptev in six hours. Infuriated, Laptev warns her not to talk back, proclaiming that he is a highly respected boss back in Moscow. Scoffing at his grandstanding, Balalaika retorts that she cannot remember those rose through the ranks via money in lieu of skill. He shouts at her to request an apology, prompting her to grab his hair and slam him onto the table. Grinning at him, she tells him that she cannot tolerate foolish ex-KGB members, warning him to lay low where bullets will not hit him. That afternoon, while Ginji oversees his fair stall, Bandō pays him a visit, sitting next to him. Smoking a cigarette, he rhetorically asks if he enjoys doing stall work while children mostly go for video games. Ginji only answers that it is better than selling guns or women, prompting Bandō to reject the implication that he engages in unsavory business because he prefers it. The latter reminds the former that their group barely earned tribute after their mutual leader's death, claiming that they only survived due to the bond between the last head of the Kōsa Council and Ryūzō.

Bandō explains that the Kōsa gangsters have not allowed anyone take the helm of the Washimine Group, even three years later. Moreover, he repeats that he owes an obligation to their late boss because he took care of him when he arrived from Kansai. Looking at Ginji, Bandō asserts that without a name, they have no honor to rely upon, but Ginji believes that their boss believed otherwise. Whispering to him, Bandō informs him that he has made an alliance with the Russians to take out the Kōsa Council, repeating that the rival yakuza tried to eliminate them first. Although admitting that the Russians have no honor, he assesses that they need to control certain areas. Ginji asks what he means by that, to which Bandō confesses that he wants him to take up his white scabbard, recalling that the name "Manslayer Ginji" even now instills fear into all yakuza. The ex-swordsman acknowledges his debt to Bandō for taking care of Yukio but refuses to help him out because his mission lacks justice. Ginji explicates that he took up the white scabbard for their old boss because he had justice. Understanding his answer, Bandō bids him goodbye, though Ginji asks him about the Russians' interpreter. Thinking about the meeting, he tells Ginji that the interpreter was just a young guy with a pretty but short-tempered bodyguard.

At a park near his parents' house, Rock tells Revy that he will quickly visit him, so she shoos him away. Sitting on a bench and drinking canned alcohol, Revy thinks about how the sky in Japan looks the same as it did on Mott Street in her childhood. Suddenly, a toy bullet hits her head, causing her to snap at the four children who are playing with toy guns. Taking one of the children's toy guns, she gathers them around and shoots three cans, awing the children. Role-playing with them, Revy pretends to be Calamity Jane and claims that she will avenge Wild Bill by killing Jack McCall. As the children try to shoot her, she shoots them all first. When the children pretend to die in an exaggerated manner, the confused Revy informs them that in reality, people lose all their strength when they get shot. Demonstrating it, she has one of the children shoot her with the toy gun, and she pretends to immediately fall lifelessly to the ground. Disappointed, the children respond that dying looks uncool.

As she smirks, Rock comes by, much to her great embarrassment. Revy asks him how long he has been there, to which he replies that Calamity Jane did not die at the Deadwood Saloon. Mortified, Revy drags him with her and leaves, threatening to castrate him if he speaks a word about it to Dutch or Benny. In the neighborhood, Rock alleges that his parents were absent when he visited his house. Accepting his story, Revy remarks that they have a few more days left in the country. Baffled and thinking to herself, she wonders why he refuses to go home, believing that Japan suits him perfectly.

Characters and cast[]

  • Rokurō "Rock" Okajima — Daisuke Namikawa (Japanese), Brad Swaile (English)
  • Revy — Megumi Toyoguchi (Japanese), Maryke Hendrikse (English)
  • Benny — Hiroaki Hirata (Japanese), Brian Drummond (English)
  • Balalaika — Mami Koyama (Japanese), Patricia Drake (English)
  • Boris — Taiten Kusunoki (Japanese), Mark Acheson (English)
  • Tsugio Bandō — Tomomichi Nishimura (Japanese), John Novak (English)
  • Ginji Matsuzaki — Kiyoyuki Yanada (Japanese), Michael Adamthwaite (English)
  • Yukio Washimine — Houko Kuwashima (Japanese), Lalainia Lindbjerg (English)
  • Yoshida — Kenta Miyake (Japanese), Trevor Devall (English)
  • Shigeru Itō — Yūichi Nakamura (Japanese), Paul Dobson (English)
  • Vasili Laptev — Toshihiko Kojima (Japanese), Ted Cole (English)
  • Polanski — Non-speaking role
  • Frederica Sawyer — Non-speaking role
  • Yasuzawa — Non-speaking role

Songs used[]

  • Opening Theme — Red Fraction (by Mell)
  • Rock wakes up — Mad Club
  • Balalaika talks with Bandō — Dark Side of the Moon
  • Rock remembers when Revy first took him hostage — Tear Drops to Earth
  • Balalaika eats a meal with Boris and Vasili — Dark Side of the Moon
  • Bandō asks Ginji to take up the sword one last time — Behind the Clouds
  • Ending Theme — Don't Look behind (ending version)

Differences from the manga[]

  • The beginning scene with Rock waking up in Roanapur is only in the anime. Additionally, Benny wishing Rock a happy new year and seeing pictures of Jane on his computer is anime-exclusive, although Benny does call him over the phone.
  • The brief scene of the Japanese police sealing off the crime scene and Yasuzawa being there is anime-only.
  • Rock getting a canned drink from a vending machine near his parents' house in Chapter 24 is not included in the anime. In the anime, Rock gives Revy a can and then heads to his parents' house.
  • This episode does not include the young boy's comment from Chapter 24 asking if Revy is a gaijin (外人), or foreigner.
  • The frame of Rock's hand hesitating to ring the doorbell to his parents' house is left out of the anime.
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