Swan Song at Dawn is the fifteenth episode of the Black Lagoon anime and the third episode of Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage. It originally aired in Japan on October 17, 2006.
Summary[]
Balalaika exacts her revenge against Hänsel and Gretel, even as one of the children seeks the aid of the Lagoon Company.
Plot[]
Late at night, although Gretel offers $150,000 to Eda and Revy to look the other way, the two women begin shooting at her, causing the child to fire back. Suddenly, several Vysotniki arrive at the alleyway's entrance and fire, with Jodorowsky reporting the enemy's position to Balalaika. Eda angrily yells at the men to back off, but Revy warns her to move out of the way since Hotel Moscow will not hesitate to kill them. As they take cover from the barrage of bullets, Hänsel and Gretel agree to split up temporarily in order to confuse the Russians and kill several of them to force them to return to their base. Subsequently, Gretel escapes into the sewers while Hänsel decides to chase the Russians. Hearing from Boris that the enemy has disappeared, Balalaika remarks that they have shown their power to the enemy, ordering him to instruct their troops to proceed on the assumption that the enemy has taken the bait. Soon, Polanski reports that the second target, Hänsel, is near Jodorowsky. Immediately, Balalaika requests that all units report back to confirm the number of targets sighted. Both Polanski and Eugene confirm that they have only seen Hänsel, adding that the boy is chasing Jodorowsky.
Adapting to the situation, Balalaika orders Polanski and the other units to corner Hänsel without mistake, advising them to be sharp and let the children think they have the advantage since they are extremely clever. She also suggests focusing their efforts on making the target frustrated and furious in order to dull the boy's senses. Looking at her watch, Balalaika tells Boris that it is time and gives him command of the final unit. Bidding her good luck, Boris departs and leaves her alone. Elsewhere in Roanapur, Eda and Revy walk away, with the former chastising Revy for getting too greedy to agree to Gretel's offer. Angered, Revy argues with her, reminding her that she saved her life by warning her about Hotel Moscow. The women exchange insults but soon stop, agreeing that they are too saddened to fight about their lost opportunity. Revy decides that she is heading back to her office, telling Eda to brief her on any changes. Worried, Eda pleads with her to at least escort her back to her car. Revy rejects her request and leaves, so Eda curses her and gives her the middle finger.
Seconds later, to her surprise, Eda hears the cocking of Gretel's gun. Pointing her large firearm at the back of Eda's head, Gretel admits that she was waiting for the women to separate, telling her that she needs her help to flee after Hänsel kills Balalaika. The girl explains that she has no getaway arrangements because she killed Verrocchio and his men, but Eda insults her for killing her guardian. The nun tries to talk her way out of the situation by claiming that the children have no more obligation to kill Balalaika, asking her why she continues to kill. Laughing at the question, Gretel answers that she kills solely because she wants to. Disarming Eda of her pistol, the girl requests that Eda find an escape specialist for her. The following morning, just a short time after sunrise, Hänsel has failed to kill any Russians while chasing them. Sitting at an elegant water fountain, Balalaika senses his presence and orders him to come out. Smiling, the boy asks her if they should converse. He attempts to taunt her by saying they can talk about the man that he killed, describing how Menshov was shouting her name until he died by severe mutilation and blood loss.
Unfazed, Balalaika accepts his story, causing Hänsel to joke that she is quite cold. Declaring that she does not have much time left, Hänsel pulls out his axe. Calmly retorting that he is the one who has little time left, Balalaika asserts that he will apologize for all of the chaos he has caused, ordering him to kneel. When the boy laughs at the request, she shouts her order again, and a sniper shoots Hänsel in his right knee, injuring him. Shocked that he is actually bleeding, the boy desperately swings his axe to no avail, as another sniper shoots his left hand apart with one shot. As Hänsel looks around and notices several gleams of light coming from sniper lenses, Balalaika professes that he walked straight into a trap, criticizing him for not noticing it earlier. Grinning and denying that he is going to die, Hänsel reasons that he can continue living because he and his sister have extended their lives by murdering so many people, even switching voices with her as he speaks. Intrigued with his view, Balalaika responds that the correct view is the song title, "No One Lives Forever."
Glaring at the boy, she comments that she could kill him by torturing him cruelly, but she claims that she is not as vulgar as him, deciding to watch him bleed to death instead. Guessing that he has ten minutes left to live, Balalaika continues smoking her cigar and dedicates the moments to Menshov and Sakharov's souls. Hearing Hänsel continue to cry, she looks away and orders him to stop. On a faraway rooftop with Lazar and Daniil, Boris watches the encounter with binoculars. Balalaika radios to him that she is finished on her end, and Boris confesses that he got chills while watching the event. Apologizing for having him stick with her plan, she sighs and mutters that she is exhausted and becoming a little too old. Later that day, having departed from the Gulf of Thailand, Black Lagoon travels across the sea while Gretel sings a song for Rock in the hold. Hearing the signing from the bridge, Dutch jokes to Benny that she has a good voice for a bloodthirsty murderer. Benny reciprocally that he admits he is surprised that Lagoon Company agreed to take on Gretel as their client, recalling that Revy was angrily hesitant to do so.
Gretel finishes singing, so Rock applauds her and asks from where she heard the song. Stating that she heard it on TV, the girl remarks that the song is one of her favorites, admitting that he is the second person apart from her brother to listen to her sing it. Rock becomes surprised when she sits on his lap and notes that he is different from everyone else. Hearing him reply that he is likely not used to his job yet, Gretel giggles and compliments his niceness, insisting that she can tell who is good and who is not. Receiving a call from Balalaika, Dutch affirms that he knows why she is calling. Sitting in her office, she sternly asks him if he realizes what he is doing, to which he responds that he is being paid extra for the risks taken, telling her that he is doing it for money. Responding that she was checking his reasoning for taking the job, Balalaika informs him that she has made a number of arrangements. Looking at one of his radars, Dutch confirms that he notices the arrangements in question. Ending the call and wishing him good luck, Balalaika orders Boris to contact their "E-File" as extra insurance.
On the radar, Benny wonders why the Vietnamese Navy is blocking their path, with Dutch elaborating that Hotel Moscow has a powerful reach. The latter pirate rejects the idea of passing by because they are a torpedo boat up against a naval boat armed with missiles. Hearing that the Hainan Island route is no longer a possibility, Benny recommends reaching out to Melody Lee of Brunei, but Dutch says that it will take too long to travel there. Benny then notes that the only getaway specialist within their fuel range is Elroy of Pangkalpinang, Indonesia. Dutch agrees to the idea, so Benny agrees to contact him. Back in the hold, Gretel politely pouts that she is not able to see any of the sea or sky outside. Curious, Rock asks her if she has truly never seen the ocean before. Recalling her dark childhood in the orphanages of Sicily, Gretel mentions that she was born in a remote village in the Carpathian Mountains. Thinking to himself, Rock remembers that Ceauşescu's regime outlawed abortion on the basis that Romania needed more workers for the poor country. Because Romanians could not afford to take care of their children in the first place, massive numbers of Romanian orphans were taken in by state-run orphanages. The new children were primed to be secret police candidates, but Ceauşescu was sacked and killed while the orphans remained.
Gretel remembers that she and her brother were handed over to mobsters in Sicily, gloomily stating that they only saw blood and darkness from then on. Hearing about her daily abuse and constant injuries, Rock is sickened but continues to listen. On some nights, she and her brother would discuss why God was so cruel to them. In the end, Gretel asserts that both of them realized that the world was rigged to function by people killing others, nonchalantly noting that the adults would be laughing when they beat children to death. When Gretel claims that her purpose is to continue the cycle of killing, Rock asks her if she misses her brother. Confused, the girl takes off her wig and, to Rock's discomfort, switches to Hänsel's personality, claiming that they are always together. Hearing "Hänsel" smilingly admitting that they became accustomed to murder and blood, Rock cries and hugs the child, assuring her that the world is so much more and that blood and darkness are just a small part. Seeing his genuine sadness, Gretel responds that he is the first person to be super nice to her. To Rock's shock, the girl claims to offer a "gift" and lifts up her skirt, so he immediately leaves the hold in disgust.
Noticing Rock leaving to climb onto the boat's deck, Revy asks Benny to check on him. Entering the hold, she punches the child and curses her for her behavior. Grinning, Gretel retorts that both of them have the same stench of blood and sewers. Unconcerned and annoyed, Revy threatens to kill her if she teases her coworker one more time or angers her. On deck, Rock yells in rage, talking to himself about how he wishes the child was not turned into a monster by evil people. Leaning next to Rock, Benny advises him to accept her reality, angering him. Rock grabs his collar, but Benny reminds him that the things done to Gretel cannot simply be undone, remarking that Gretel would certainly have a better life if she was treated kindly, but that did not happen. Begrudgingly accepting the answer, Rock lets out more tears as he lightly pounds Benny's chest. Soon, the PT boat arrives at Pangkalpinang and docks. Noticing them docking, Elroy walks toward them and greets Dutch, rhetorically asking if the little girl is the cargo. Confirming, Dutch asks if he was able to get a passport for her despite the rushed timing.
Disembarking, Gretel happily bids goodbye to Rock and expresses her desire to meet him again someday to have a picnic. As Rock agrees that the idea sounds wonderful, Elroy pulls out his revolver and shoots Gretel in the back of the head, shocking Rock. Looking up at the sky, the girl comments on its beauty and then falls dead to the ground. Admitting that Hotel Moscow hired him, Elroy agrees with Dutch that his career as a getaway man is over. The old man confesses that he learned from his daughter-in-law that his 34-year-old son in South Africa has cancer. Walking away, he vows that killing Gretel was his last job, confessing that Hotel Moscow paid him well. Accepting the outcome, Dutch orders Rock to get a canvas for covering Gretel's body, but the ex-salaryman claims that it is not necessary. Looking at the dead child, Rock remarks that she can look up at the sky and gaze at the ocean as she "sleeps." In the ending credits, Gretel is seen walking on the shore and peacefully reuniting with the deceased Hänsel, presumably in the afterlife.
Characters and cast[]
- Rokurō "Rock" Okajima — Daisuke Namikawa (Japanese), Brad Swaile (English)
- Revy — Megumi Toyoguchi (Japanese), Maryke Hendrikse (English)
- Dutch — Tsutomu Isobe (Japanese), Dean Redman (English)
- Benny — Hiroaki Hirata (Japanese), Brian Drummond (English)
- Balalaika — Mami Koyama (Japanese), Patricia Drake (English)
- Eda — Jun Karasawa (Japanese), Lisa Ann Beley (English)
- Hänsel — Omi Minami (Japanese), Ashleigh Ball (English)
- Gretel — Tomoko Kaneda (Japanese), Jocelyne Loewen (English)
- Boris — Taiten Kusunoki (Japanese), Mark Acheson (English)
- Jodorowsky — Yūichi Nakamura (Japanese), Eli Gabay (English)
- Polanski — Tōru Nara (Japanese), Brian Dobson (English)
- Eugene — Yōichi Nishijima (Japanese), Scott McNeil (English)
- Elroy — Masaru Ikeda (Japanese), Ron Halder (English)
- Lazar — Non-speaking role
- Daniil — Non-speaking role
- Menshov — Non-speaking role (flashback)
- Sakharov — Non-speaking role (flashback)
Songs used[]
- Opening Theme — Red Fraction (by Mell)
- Vysotniki ambush Twins — 66 Steps
- Gretel holds Eda at gunpoint — The Way to Last Night
- Hänsel's final moments — A Cold Wind in My Mind
- Gretel singing — The World of Midnight (vocals version, by Minako "mooki" Obata)
- Gretel recalls those "gray walls" and her orphanhood — Don't Look Behind (requiem version)
- Elroy kills Gretel and explains his payment — Tear Drops to Earth
- Ending Theme — The World of Midnight (by Minako "mooki" Obata)
Differences from the manga[]
- The brief action of Hänsel breaking into a window and Gretel entering the sewer is only in the anime.
- In the anime, it is specified that Hänsel follows Jodorowsky's unit in particular. Additionally, Polanski's presence in this arc is anime-only.
- The flashback image of Sakharov and Menshov during their service in the Soviet-Afghan War is exclusive to the anime adaptation.
- The brief image in Chapter 15 of Gretel showing Eda at gunpoint to the Lagoon Company is manga-only.
- Rock's explanation about Nicolae Ceauşescu's pro-natalist policy banning abortion in Romania and the subsequent rise in orphans is only in the anime. In the manga, it was Balalaika who explained the history earlier during her discreet meeting with Chang.
Trivia[]
- In place of the normal ending animation of Revy walking on the shore, Gretel is seen walking on the shore and reuniting with Hänsel. Additionally, the ending theme for this episode is "The World of Midnight" sang by Minako Obata, rather than the normal ending theme of "Don't Look Behind" by Edison.