Rasta Blasta is the eighth episode of the Black Lagoon anime. It originally aired in Japan on May 27, 2006.
Summary[]
The Lagoon Company are hired by the Manisarera Cartel to transport a young boy, who is convinced that he will be rescued by the family maid Roberta. Dutch learns about the boy's possible identity and becomes concerned about the circumstances of his abduction.
Plot[]
Somewhere in the ocean, on a Panamanian vessel, several sailors organize the receiving of several crate. On the ship as well to account for the goods, Rock recalls that he was once a Japanese businessman who now works for a shipping company in the South China Sea. Counting the crates and seeing that everything is in order, he politely asks one of the men to sign for the goods. Beng ignored, Rock asks another man, who brakes open a crate to confirm that the firearms are inside. Grabbing Rock's clipboard, the muscular man silently signs the document. In Black Lagoon, Dutch hears from Rock that the delivery went smoothly, but the ex-salaryman is confused about the package they received in turn. In the bridge with Dutch, Revy eats and jokes that Rock's business attire is perfect for the cheap job they got from the Manisarera Cartel. Entering the bridge, Rock confirms that they are done, but he rhetorically asks if their package is the young boy next to him.
Dutch answers that they will deliver the boy to a buyer carrier designated by the Colombian Mafia once they arrive at Hat Yai, Thailand. Being ordered by Dutch to watch the boy in the hold, the irate Revy drags him into the hold, where she gives him some pizza to eat while she smokes a cigarette. As Black Lagoon departs away from the shipping vessel, Dutch hands a beer can to Rock and reminds him that they are a shipping company whose responsibilities end at delivering their illicit cargo. When the boy throws some food at Revy, she becomes furious and threatens to kill him, prompting Dutch to ask Rock to take over as watchman. Benny watches Rock pull Revy out of the hold, and she curses the boy for his behavior toward her. Likewise, the boy also throws food at Rock, but the ex-salaryman politely asks him to stop throwing food for the remainder of their travel. Scoffing at his request, the child retorts that his words are deceitful, but Rock agrees and remarks that he understands his distrust of him because he is participating in the abduction. The boy comments that he seems different from the other two pirates, to which Rock responds that he is merely a villain in training.
Thinking about his own fate, the child asks Rock if he is going to be sold somewhere, though he smiles and assures Rock that he is not worried, claiming that his father will save him. Hearing his statement, Rock expresses his confusion because he thought that the boy was an orphan. Rejecting the notion, the child insults the cartel as big liars. He proclaims that his father is Diego José San Fernando Lovelace, the eleventh head of the Lovelace family, one of South America's thirteen noble families. He finishes by admitting that he is Garcia Lovelace, Diego's only son and the next head of the family. Not believing him, Rock advises the boy to come up with a better story. Garcia responds that he has no reason to lie to him now, but Rock asks him where he even heard about the Lovelace family, noting that it is the poorest of the thirteen families. Garcia confesses that his family has been getting by despite their decline in money, adding that his old-fashioned father never got involved in side businesses. Hearing that he was kidnapped by the mafia, Rock says that he has a gift for making up stories.
Ignoring his skepticism, Garcia continues that a geological test showed that lanthanides were likely present on the family's land. When his father refused to give the land to the mafia, they showed their true nature and harassed him, eventually abducting the boy. Intrigued, Rock asks him what he knows about rare earths. Garcia replies that lutetium, atomic number 71, was found on his land, specifying that it is used as a fixing agent for ceramics. Having another question to see if the child speaks the truth, Rock asks him what he knows about the Lovelace family's dog. Knowing the answer, Garcia states that the dog is a white Volpino Italiano named Lazarus that joined the family six years ago. Soon, at sunset, Dutch tells Revy that Rock is taking too long. Cleaning her Sword Cutlass, Revy guesses that he probably became attached to the child and will give them a sympathetic story in an attempt to let the child go. Returning to the bridge, Rock relays his newfound skepticism to his fellow pirates.
Talking to Dutch, Rock suggests waiting before handing over the boy to the mafia, reasoning that the cartel lied and therefore trouble must be afoot. Unconcerned, Revy warns Rock not to get attached to Garcia, declaring that they should not be worrying about where he will end up as long as Lagoon Company makes a profit. Although admitting that he feels sorry for the child, Rock clarifies that he is more concerned about their client's deceit. He additionally points out that Garcia is likely telling the truth since what he learned about rare earths during his time at the Asahi Heavy Industrial Co. materials procurement department adds up. Hearing Rock state that he knows about the Lovelace family from Asahi Industrie's South American division, Revy sarcastically responds that she is impressed with his business knowledge. She asserts that Dutch gets to make the final decision in spite of Rock's hesitancy. Agreeing with Rock, Dutch notes that the cartel could have demanded a ransom and accomplished their goal with the boy's custody, wondering why they kept his abduction a secret. Revy guesses that at the minimum, the cartel became angry with the Lovelaces.
Slowing down the PT boat, Dutch informs them that he will put "insurance" on their shipment before they deliver it, elaborating that he will discreetly ask Balalaika. At her office, Balalaika admits she is surprised that Dutch wants a favor from her. Hearing that he wants information pertaining to the relationship between the Manisarera Cartel and the Lovelace family, she tells him that Hotel Moscow by chance recently got a job related to the Manisarera Cartel. Dutch asks her not to stir things up since he still needs insurance, to which Balalaika jokes that she cannot stop the typhoon if things are stirred up. Agreeing to do so nonetheless, she asks him if she should contact him at his office, but Dutch says she should call him at the Yellow Flag. After ending the call, he asks Rock if Diego Lovelace is the type of person to hire mercenaries to rescue hostages as the child implied.
Denying that it is possible, the ex-salaryman claims that the Lovelace family is only rich enough to have one servant, such as a house maid. Yawning, Revy jokes that it would be hilarious if the maid came all the way to Thailand to save the child. Meanwhile, a Hispanic maid stands on the bow of a ship as the vessel passes by the Buddha statue at the edge of the Roanapur lagoon. In the city, as nighttime approaches, the maid walks through town and asks several Thai and Chinese men for directions to where she can talk to her countrymen, clarifying that she has come all the way from South America. One man reluctantly tells her that he knows a place where she can find out more, but they warn her that the place is like a huge viper pit. She assures them that she will be fine, and she departs. At the Yellow Flag, the maid stands outside and looks through the windows. At night, the Lagoon Company disembarks at their dock, and Revy chastises Garcia and hits him for not moving faster, causing Dutch and Rock to disagree with her attitude. On the way to the bar, riding in Benny's car, Revy retorts that Rock would live better as a butler instead of a sailor, claiming that Garcia is very pampered.
Annoyed, Garcia repeats that his family only has one servant, a maid named Roberta. At the same time, Roberta enters the Yellow Flag and sits at the counter, baffling Bao. Continuing to read his newspaper, the bartender sternly tells the maid that he does not serve milk. Asking for a glass of water, Roberta explains that she arrived in Roanapur earlier and does not know her way around. When she claims that she is looking for a Colombian friend, Bao slams a glass of beer onto the table, a bit of which splashes on Roberta's face. Unfazed, Roberta wipes away the beer droplet as Bao advises her to order a real drink. Frustrated with her constant questions, Bao rhetorically asks her if he looks like a tour guide. In the car, Garcia firmly asserts that Roberta is much stronger than Revy, making the latter burst into laughter. Ignoring her, he tells Rock that he has not actually seen Roberta in action but recalls an incident when Roberta's fist felt like steel during an arm wrestling contest with her. At that point, the child realized that she was feigning her weakness and clumsiness, indicating great strength.
Back at the Yellow Flag, Bao is surprised to see several men of the Manisarera Cartel enter the bar, causing the other bar patrons to quickly leave. Roberta breaks her beer glass in passive aggressive frustration. In her office, Balalaika learns from Boris that Diego's wife died four years ago, saying that the only ones in the picture are Diego, his son, and the family maid. Expressing her dislike for the situation, Balalaika points out to Boris that the maid has the eyes of a soldier, also noting that she is quite a dangerous person. Inside the bar, the cartel branch leader Abrego angrily asks Roberta what business she has with him, reminding her that he heard about a maid going around town asking for the Colombians. Turning around and grabbing her suitcase, the maid admits that she wanted the men to find her, confessing that she is a maid of the Lovelace family. Excusing herself, Roberta apologizes because she will have to act rude, a statement which causes the Colombians to burst out in laughter. At that point, the Lagoon Company and Garcia enter the bar. Garcia immediately recognizes Roberta's voice when she excuses herself once more. Pointing her umbrella at the men, she shoots one of them, shocking Garcia.
Characters and cast[]
- Rokuro "Rock" Okajima — Daisuke Namikawa (Japanese), Brad Swaile (English)
- Revy — Megumi Toyoguchi (Japanese), Maryke Hendrikse (English)
- Dutch — Tsutomu Isobe (Japanese), Dean Redman (English)
- Benny — Non-speaking role
- Roberta — Michie Tomizawa (Japanese), Tabitha St. Germain (English)
- Garcia Lovelace — Kazue Ikura (Japanese), Cathy Weseluck (English)
- Balalaika — Mami Koyama (Japanese), Patricia Drake (English)
- Boris — Taiten Kusunoki (Japanese), Mark Acheson (English)
- Bao — Shirō Saitō (Japanese), Alec Willows (English)
- Abrego — Hisao Egawa (Japanese), Eli Gabay (English)
- Diego Lovelace — Non-speaking role (flashback)
Songs used[]
- Opening Theme — Red Fraction (by Mell)
- Rock confirms shipment is accounted for — Tadpole Dance
- Garcia talks about Lovelace family and rare earths — Father's Chest
- Maid arrives at Roanapur, asks around town about her "countrymen" — El Sol se Recuesta
- Bar music — Unreleased #2 (repeating drums)
- Flashback to Garcia and Roberta arm wrestling — El Sol se Recuesta
- Colombian mafia enters bar — Unreleased #3 (medium bassline)
- Roberta ready to kill — El Sol se Recuesta
- Ending Theme — Don't Look Behind (ending version)
Differences from the manga[]
- This arc (Rasta Blasta) takes place before the Nazi U-boat arc in the manga, but in the anime this story takes place after the Nazi U-boat arc.
- The beginning part in Chapter 02 where Roberta interrogates and kills a cartel member in Venezuela is only in the manga.
- The beginning scene in this episode where Rock is accounting for the shipments on the Panamanian vessel and brings Garcia onto Dutch's boat is only in the anime adaptation.
- In the manga, Rock is already in the same room as Garcia when the boy makes Revy lose her temper. In the anime, Revy is the sole babysitter but gets angry, so Dutch tells Rock to leave the cabin to watch Garcia instead.
- In the manga, Roberta arrives in Roanapur before the Lagoon Company does, whereas in the anime the Lagoon Company arrives in town first. The images of Roberta standing on a ship deck and arriving to the city at sunset are exclusive to the anime.
- In the manga, the Manisarera Cartel is a different organization from the Colombian Cartel, whereas in the anime the two cartels are one organization. Additionally, in the manga the Manisarera Cartel's leader in the Thai branch is a different person from Abrego, but in the anime Abrego takes his place and even has the former's look.
- When Roberta arrives at the bar in the manga, the Lagoon Company is already at a table with Garcia unknown to her, and Revy briefly talked with Roberta and Bao and then left to give Garcia a can of Pepsi. In the anime, the Lagoon Company did not enter the bar until after the Manisarera Cartel members were laughing at Roberta inside.
- The conversation between the Lagoon crew and Garcia about his servant Roberta takes place in the Yellow Flag in the manga, whereas their conversation happens in Benny's car in the anime. Additionally, the scene in this episode where the Lagoon Company docks at the harbor with Revy hitting Garcia is only in the anime.
- The flashback to Roberta and Garcia arm-wrestling is only in the anime.