Hikari Hikari

12

R-17+

Black Lagoon

Salaryman Rokurou Okajima spends his days trying to climb his company's corporate ladder, until one day when a business negotiation in Thailand goes awry. During the botched deal, he falls hostage to the Lagoon Company—a band of ruthless pirate mercenaries. Left to the whims of his captors after his managers refuse to pay his ransom, Rokurou does the unthinkable: instead of begging for his life, he joins the very crew who kidnapped him. Now a member of the group, Rokurou must adjust to his new residence in the dissolute hellscape known as Roanapur, a city where corruption and crime run rampant, and even the smallest slipup could cost him his life. If not for one of the many crime syndicates on the island, Rokurou also constantly finds himself at odds with his brash, gunslinging colleague, Revy. As Rokurou struggles to abandon his past—and with more than just the profits from the Lagoon Company's illegal trading on the line—he must quickly find the resolve to make tough decisions in high-stress situations while keeping his humanity intact.

TV Spring 2006 8.03

12

R-17+

Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage

Rokurou "Rock" Okajima has joined the Lagoon Company, a pirate mercenary group which operates out of Roanapur, Thailand. Despite his initial protests, this filthy slum of depraved souls and merciless criminals now serves as the former salaryman's home. Stranded, with nothing left of his past life but the clothes on his back and his inner morality, Rock is forced to perform jobs alongside the other members of the Lagoon crew. Berated for his lack of spine as he wades through the underbelly of society, he must decide whether to continue on amidst the gunfire and ruthlessness or risk everything he has in an attempt to be free. Whether he chooses the comfort of a familiar land or the freedom of being an outlaw, his decision will have lasting consequences on the crew who gave him a home.

TV Fall 2006 8.17

13

PG-13

Yofukashi no Uta

Kou Yamori is an average middle school student who struggles with grasping the complex concept of love. Because he sees little sense in surrendering to the norm, he soon stops going to school. Plagued with insomnia due to his idleness, Kou begins roaming the lonesome streets at night. One night, Kou encounters a bizarre girl named Nazuna Nanakusa who believes that people stay awake during the night because they are dissatisfied with how they spent their day and cannot rest until they release their inhibitions. Nazuna offers to help Kou with his sleep issues and invites him over to her place, where she convinces him to share a futon with her. Feeling uncomfortable, Kou only pretends to doze off—which is when Nazuna suddenly bites his neck, revealing herself to be a vampire! While Kou thinks the bite will turn him into a vampire, the specifics of transforming are not that simple. In order to change, he must be bitten by someone he truly loves. Ready to let go of his dreary mortal life, Kou decides on a new goal: he will fall in love with Nazuna and become a vampire himself.

TV Summer 2022 7.97

11

PG-13

Dance Dance Danseur

Junpei Murao's love affair with ballet began at a young age during his sister's ballet recital, when a male ballet dancer roused his interest with a gripping performance. But for Junpei, nothing could be worse than his peers finding out about his secret passion for ballet and perceiving him as effeminate. That is why he is in the soccer club, trains Jeet Kune Do, and is intent on following in his father's footsteps of becoming a stunt coordinator: all very "manly" activities. When Junpei's classmate Miyako Godai spots him demonstrating an impressive kick that combines skills from ballet and Jeet Kune Do to his friends, she suddenly recruits him to join her mother's ballet studio. He resists at first, and although he has abandoned his dreams of formally pursuing ballet, nothing quite captures the euphoria that ballet elicits. After suppressing his desire to pursue ballet for so long, it is not so easy to shake off his hesitation and break free of the shackles of masculinity. Junpei has to be willing to make certain sacrifices and fully commit to ballet, all while risking losing some friends.

TV Spring 2022 7.85

PG-13

12

6.6