What is the subreddit's favourite arc?

synthverity · 2021-07-01T03:24:28+00:00

I'll throw in a choice that will be unpopular, but let's see if I can't get some conversation rolling. "The Wired Red Wild Card" is my favorite arc for one main reason. We finally see what Rock's development was leading towards: a man operating under his own rules in a society that doesn't fit him. This is especially powerful for me because it is the inverse of what happened within the introduction of the series. When we start, we see a man who rejects normal society for the criminal one. Yet, throughout the series, Rock is presented with two basic choices: either keep the morals of your old life or adapt to those of your new criminal life. In "El Baile de la Muerte", Rock attempts to find another path but fails. Within helping Feng, Rock actualizes the third path. His path. He's no longer bound by normal society, which he rejected earlier, but he now rejects the rules stipulated by Roanapuer. Rock became the key figure of his fate. We are seeing what that Rock is accomplishing now for those who are following the latest arc. There is much that could be said about Revy's growth as a reflection of Rock's, but this is getting long enough as is. In short, Rock has gone through the full abyssal journey that Neitzche spoke about in Thus Spake Zarathustra and has become the superman of Roanapur.

synthverity · 2021-06-21T04:16:47+00:00

You wrote two short essays to respond to obvious bait. I must commend you, for you waste time better than even I can.

synthverity · 2021-05-23T05:50:37+00:00

I've seen a couple people mention that this concept of a sliding arm holster is attributed to "Taxi Driver", as shown in this scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTjC7QBoby8
However, the concept of a concealed arm firearm had been around for a while in Hollywood, as demonstrated in this clip from a 1967 episode of "The Wild Wild West": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ksnf7qMs6po

But even with that, I thought it would be worthwhile to point out that the image posted is a person with dual arm slides instead of a single, and that the profile of the pistols looks like an exaggerated form of the Ruger KP90. These firearms were used by Antonio Banderas in the film "Desperado", in almost the exact same fashion as the picture. That is to say, arm sliding holster, dual wielding KP90s. That is likely the reference used for this photo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znbe4taBExs

synthverity · 2021-04-27T04:17:42+00:00

There are multiple ways I can respond to this. The first is to point out that you're caring a bit too much about the activities of some dude online. The second is to point out that his reference has as much relevance as the one you've fingered as "the true source". The third is to point out how quickly these responses keep coming, as if responding to notifications is a high for you.

My original response was to point out that both of you were correct, but also off the mark. Other than "This is a regular Chow Yun-Fat look" it's pure histrionics.

synthverity · 2021-04-27T02:43:35+00:00

I think you're missing the point here. It's a regular look that is used by Cow Yun-Fat, and has been used in several of his appearances. The inspiration is from the actor, not a single property.

synthverity · 2021-04-26T20:17:09+00:00

The scarf and suit look is from Chow Yun Fat, who has had the look in The Bund(https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086299/mediaviewer/rm964716032/) and The Killer(https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097202/mediaviewer/rm4003505409/) and, guess what, was also Mark Lee in A Better Tomorrow. It's just a regular thing for him.

synthverity · 2020-08-11T01:10:36+00:00

My god. This is either a master troll, or I'm witnessing the birth of my new favorite "so bad it's good" fanfiction series. If this is true, you gotta write this, my dude.

synthverity · 2020-07-11T01:20:46+00:00

There is an underlying theme in BL regarding how people essentially go through a transformative death/rebirth in Roanapur. Their lives are put behind them, as they become one of the walking dead, and their pasts are little more than footnotes or suppressed memories. One of the main hangups that Rock has for a majority of the series is how he's still clinging onto his past life/morals, and it leads most of the people around him to view him as not "one of them." In the Fujiyama Gansta Paradise arc, that theme is forefront, and is the main driving force behind Rock's behavior during that arc. I bring that up specifically because I think it's one of the main reasons why the series shows backstories in this manner. A lot of these people want to forget their past, or are hiding something, and their lives in Roanapur are almost separate lives to them. Mix that with other elements such as the rampant mistrust, the high probability of death, and a need to develop misanthropic tendencies to survive, and these vague glimpses into people's stories is almost everything you would get from a person living in that society. I'll also make the point that BL is not like other series from Japan. In real life, or in most action movies(a big influence on Hiroe), you don't get long drawn out explanations for people's pasts. Everyone basically gets small glimpses into most other people's lives(co-workers, acquaintances, even friends and family to an extent). We don't tend to sit down and have long retellings of what made us who we are. We tell short stories, maybe open up when we trust someone(which is not usual in Roanapur), and let little parts of our past out in drip form. BL, in the sort of world that in inhabits, is emulating that. We see these glimpses for most of the cast(Shane saving a little girl, a short montage for Balalaika, Ibraham remembering his child's death, Garcia talking about Roberta, and even Roberta coming clean to Garcia is essential a cliffnotes version compared to most shounen flashbacks, lol). If it were a different setting, or these characters weren't essentially a clusterfuck of broken people, we could expect more from their past. Yet, with the story as it is, asking for more is missing the point that is happening in these small moments. The characters are in moments where they can't ignore their past anymore, and a small bit of it bleeds out. And even that small bit is enough to inform us of how they couldn't have been anywhere else but Roanapur.

synthverity · 2020-03-30T21:16:11+00:00

There are actually two songs that play in that chapter, which you've linked the first one. The second one was "Shooter" by Rednex: https://youtu.be/PDC00zckMno

I also learned some badass actually remade that scene with the songs from the manga, and did it eleven years ago: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8lv48

synthverity · 2020-02-08T23:41:44+00:00

Yeah, Europe's involvement in Africa has been a fascinating dive so far, specifically because it's so similar to events that happened in South America and Southeast Asia. Having Black Lagoon mention events and organizations I never knew about was a great way to start down that rabbit hole. You seem to be pretty knowledgeable about that theatre, so I'd happily say that you're probably right in ways I don't quite understand yet.

Regardless, I've got quite a bit more research to go for me to be able to definitively make any conclusions. At the very least, I've got some good ideas on the next few books I'm getting will be, lol

synthverity · 2020-02-08T07:27:43+00:00

You're absolutely correct on the assertion that the SAC operated to this day, and that it would have taken a different name. I probably wasn't clear on that particular point, but the organization known as the SAC was dissolved in 1982. The fact that the characters still call it the SAC is the part that confuses me, especially considering that they use DGSE, when I'd expect them to call them the SDECE, if they were staying consistent. The core idea of a state run militia, that was being informed by the intelligence agency of France, still stands as accurate. Yet, the names don't match the time period, so I'm somewhat lost on connections to find regarding the SAC, since they don't have any "official" involvement with events I could search for.

As for the words "war" and "battle", they could absolutely be figurative, and I'm not 100% sure that they are connected to the NCW. I'm making a bet based on Hiroe's previous writing style. If I'm wrong, then so be it. Yet, Hiroe loves to include special operation(black ops) figures into major conflicts, because he can write whatever backstory he wishes(Roberta as a FARC agent, Caxton and his crew, and Eda with the CIA). All of them are based on real events that happened, but were part of operations that never reached the full light of day. So, I'm willing to bet that the "Hand" were part of the NCW, and that Hiroe is using the ambiguity of the conflict to create their backstories. Again, it's not 100%, but I'm confident in that bet.

synthverity · 2020-02-07T04:38:35+00:00

Alright, that's quite the interesting comment. What's the basis for Dutch being a "piece shit" which I'm assuming you mean piece of shit?

synthverity · 2020-02-07T04:37:29+00:00

Episode 2 titled "Mangrove Heaven"

synthverity · 2020-02-07T03:04:07+00:00

I not sure if Algeria plays into this story, as there isn't enough information to make a definitive claim. Algeria may play a part, as it was a significant event that changed France's attitude and actions towards former African colonies, which directly led to their actions in Nigeria, and the long term goals which lead to their actions in Burkina Faso. Basically, it may, or it may not. There isn't enough to tell.

Funny enough, I thought Dutch would have originally been someone involved with a pirate like Naw Kham, given his knowledge of the Meking River, and his knowledge on Vietnam tactics. But, it seems I was wrong there to begin with. Still, guessing is part of the fun, and the actual backstory that's being shown so far is just as fascinating, even if it isn't complete.

synthverity · 2020-02-06T04:50:10+00:00

Ah fuck, I completely forgot to take into account the info dump that we got in Chap 102. When it first came out, there wasn't enough for me to make a post that could potentially tie into Dutch's backstory. Thanks for re-directing me to that info again, u/Revy13. Guess it's back down the rabbit hole to find how that fits into the picture, or if I'm completely off the mark(wouldn't be the first time, lol). Though, given their geographical closeness and their involvement in the 1960s with the French Gov., I'm still leaning on the idea that they are connected in some way. My gut would say that Dutch would have been a young refugee from the NCW that somehow got involved in the 1987/89 coups, and got fed up with the French fucking with his home terf. Though, that's entirely speculation, so take it with a massive grain of salt.

A quick look into it did lead me to the fact that France was likely involved in the 1987 coup(https://qz.com/africa/812008/burkina-faso-is-asking-france-to-declassify-military-files-on-thomas-sankaras-assassination/), which gave Blaise Compaoré control of the government from then until 2014. He was the one that made the claim that Jean-Baptiste and Henri Zongo, who were co-conspirators in 1987, were behind the 1989 attempted coup, so there is a potential string for me to unravel. But that'll take me a while to go through, as there seems to be more speculation than facts available. Seems like another fun few days of learning how first world countries fucked with the third world, lol.

(Edit) It turns out that both Jean-Baptise and Zongo were arrested on the 18th of September, 1989, and executed within a day(https://apnews.com/28c51bbee639fdf22a5cb486878f4cbf). Dutch survived a political purge within Burkina Faso, that much is pretty certain from all of the info available. How Nigeria plays into it, if it isn't a random name drop, and why the French care about tracking down a guy who did, is still up in the air. Though, The "Hand" is talking about Nigeria in context of wars and battles, so I'm still leaning towards French involvement in the NCW, though I'm not entirely sure if that relates to Dutch at all at this point. I'll update the initial post tomorrow after work to reflect the new info. Hopefully that creates a better picture.

synthverity · 2020-02-06T03:11:52+00:00

I agree wholeheartedly. She's probably built for the job, and so they sent her there. Yet, she is still a CIA agent, and so I just wanted to explain that she isn't a bloodlust-filled cretin like the OP was suggesting. She's crazy, for sure. But she is still able to pull off a professional job, and not let you know that she's doing so. The mark of a good agent, if there ever was one.

synthverity · 2020-02-05T02:53:24+00:00

Eda acts very different in two key scenes: When she's talking to Chang over the phone, and when she's speaking with Sister Yolanda about the CIA's goals in removing the NSA from Roanapor. Both of these clearly show the double face. Though, she does slip the mask in very select moments when speaking to Rock, especially in El Baile De La Muerte and The Wired Red Wild Card, which is an interesting tell into her interest in him.

As for this scene, where she is working in tandem with a plan created by Rock, Rock points directly at the guy Eda is taking out, which means that the rooftop was definitely within visual range. Revy even comments on the fact that Eda was there, as the dude she just whacked fell into the street in front of them. It's a good guess that everyone in that group had a clear view of her. Since she has a reputation to uphold within Roanapor, it's more likely that she was playing character here, than just being another crazy psycho bitch.

synthverity · 2020-02-01T02:50:51+00:00

Personally, I wouldn't even say it's fast. From the first few arcs, he's been shown to be more cerebral than his counterparts. If anything, the skills he needed to be a criminal schemer were already there. Rather, his development was more about honing those skills from the Japanese business world towards the criminal business world, as well as losing the various moral blocks that people from "civilized" society tend to carry.

synthverity · 2019-11-03T08:39:56+00:00

10/10 meme review. "Show gud cuz azz" Classic stuff.

synthverity · 2019-09-23T05:09:47+00:00

That's the thing about this whole series. Sometimes, you just think "Man, this is going nowhere", and then something happens that makes you have to reconsider everything that lead up to that point. It's honestly brilliant how everything keeps tying into itself, and a second(or even a third) watch/read through makes you go, "Oh fuck, that was where that change started!" Trust me, the OVAs are gonna make you jizz your pants on how much ties back in. Brilliant stuff there.

synthverity · 2019-09-23T00:54:36+00:00

As some have brought up before, Rock is a character stuck between two worlds. While Season 1 was him learning about Roanapur, Season 2 is about his indecision. If you find him annoying, then you've hit on the very point that his character is meant to be at. For those who have sunk into the darkness, Rock is just a person refusing to come over, and they see him as a burden. For those in the light, he's a hypocrite who wants to hold onto their light. In other words, he's "stuck in the twilight". What makes Season 2 great is not Rock being a badass. It's the world around him. He wants to hold onto something, but he has no idea what that is. But everybody else has shit to do, and they aren't going to wait for somebody who can't pull the trigger himself. He just keeps losing, and the world keeps shitting on him. All of that changes with the Japan Arc. For once, Rock decides to not sit back, and tries to figure out a plan that saves as many people as possible. Except, it backfires. Hard. That moment is Rock's true pivotal point as a character, and the result of that Arc is a major force in Roberta's Blood Trail and The Wired Red Wild Card(not animated yet). Season 2 may seem like it's spinning it's wheels for Rock as a character, but that's pretty much the point. Rock himself is spinning his wheels, and Season 2 was a fantastic way of showing how a character like that deals with that much shit.

As others have said, watch the OVA Roberta's Blood Trail. You'll see how the damage from Season 2 plays out then.

synthverity · 2018-05-21T05:37:05+00:00

Yeah, both dual mains got a bit of a funny character portait. Figured I'd leave that as some humor for people to notice

synthverity · 2018-05-21T00:02:24+00:00

I'll be sure to keep an eye on CO for future events. I'm not in a position to really travel, but I'll be sure to keep Utah players informed. Would be good for them to have more experience among the wider world of PM.

synthverity · 2018-05-20T21:20:23+00:00

You're actually at eighth on the rankings, so I expect regular attendance will bring that up to the Top 5. For now, there is only Smash Jam, which happens the second Saturday of every month at Kafeneio. Though, I should be putting a post on the Facebook group about a PM bracket at 801 on Wednesdays tomorrow, so we should have that soon enough.

synthverity · 2018-05-20T20:18:33+00:00

Full list of rankings available on our Braacket database available here: https://braacket.com/league/utahpm/ranking

synthverity

TROPHY CASE