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What happens when you drop a mild-mannered Japanese salaryman in the middle of a den of pirates? If he’s lucky, those pirates adopt him as their face and occasional voice of reason, which is the basic premise of Black Lagoon. It is one of the most absurdly cool anime out there with an entire episode dedicated to blowing up Nazis, and you can buy it on Blu-ray for almost half off during the Amazon Black Friday Sale.

When Rock is kidnapped and ransomed by the pirate group known as Lagoon Company, his employers decide that the most profitable course of action is simply to not pay the ransom and leave him to his fate. However, instead of being killed, Rock ends up joining Lagoon Company as their negotiator and professional face thanks to his years working in the trenches of a Japanese business. He is joined by one of the most dangerous but compelling women in anime, “Two Hands” Revy, whose penchant for extreme violence ensures things are never boring for long.

The joy of Black Lagoon comes from the bonkers escalation of the action. By episode two, they are flying a boat at an attack helicopter. By episode six, they are fighting Nazis on a submarine. It is a wild ride and you can watch the whole thing by picking up Black Lagoon: The Complete Series on Blu-ray for $35.99, which is 49% off the usual list price of $69.98. That is a bargain for one of the best action anime in existence.

Each week, Popverse's resident anime expert Trent Cannon runs down the latest and, dare we say "greatest," in anime and manga in Popverse Jump. Some recent columns have included... 

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