Black Lagoon

The Lagoon Company is a team of pirate mercenaries operating in the coastal waters of Southeast Asia during the early to mid-1990s. The group specializes in smuggling and transporting goods aboard their vessel, the Black Lagoon, an American-made 80-foot Elco-type PT boat. The crew consists of four members: Dutch, the seasoned leader; Revy, a skilled and ruthless gunfighter; Benny, a mechanic and computer specialist; and Rock, a former salaryman who was forcibly recruited after being abandoned by his superiors. Rock eventually adapts to his new role as the group's negotiator and public representative, leveraging his corporate background to facilitate dealings with clients.

Roanapur, a fictional port city in eastern Thailand near the Cambodian border, serves as their base of operations. The city is a lawless haven dominated by organized crime syndicates, including the Hong Kong triad, the Russian Bratva, the Colombian cartel, and the Sicilian mafia. Its streets teem with mercenaries, assassins, thieves, and prostitutes, alongside a sizable population of Vietnamese refugees who fled after the communist victory in 1975.

Manga author Rei Hiroe stated that when approached by Shogakukan to develop a manga, he presented several story proposals, including Black Lagoon, which was ultimately selected. Hiroe aimed to create an action and crime series. The concept was inspired by news reports about piracy in the South China Sea during the 1990s, which he felt aligned with his goal of a "dynamic and original" narrative. He noted that pirates "know no borders and are truly free", making them an engaging subject. Initially, Hiroe considered a medieval pirate setting but shifted to a modern-day context.

Hiroe cited authors James Ellroy and Stephen King as major influences on the series's atmosphere. He also acknowledged the impact of manga artists Mikiya Mochizuki (Wild 7), Akihiro Ito (Geobreeders), and Kenichi Sonoda (Gunsmith Cats). From a visual standpoint, Hiroe was influenced by Franco-Belgian comics, particularly Soda, and admired the atmosphere and storytelling in the Spanish series Blacksad by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido.

The volumes of Black Lagoon have frequently ranked as the best-selling manga volumes on Japan's weekly charts since 2007. The eighth volume was the fourteenth best-selling manga volume of 2008 in Japan. The thirteenth volume was Shogakukan's fourth highest first print run manga volume of 2023–2024 (period from April 2023 to March 2024), with 250,000 copies printed. By February 2014, the manga had over 6 million copies in circulation; over 7 million copies in circulation by November 2018; over 8.5 million copies in circulation by January 2022; over 9.5 million copies in circulation by December 2023; and over 10 million copies in circulation by August 2026.

com critic Deb Aoki named Viz Media's English release of Black Lagoon one of the best new seinen manga of 2008, alongside Gantz. She noted its broad appeal, comparing it to a Hollywood or Hong Kong action film rather than conventional manga tropes, and described it as a mature alternative to One Piece for readers drawn to pirate adventures. Aoki praised its portrayal of strong female characters, emphasizing their confidence and combat prowess. Leroy Douresseaux of ComicBookBin likened the series to The A-Team and a "Quentin Tarantino exploitation flick or an extra-violent version of Cowboy Bebop", also calling it "Bad Boys II on paper", suggesting it would appeal to male readers drawn to action and stylized violence.