For many fans, Crunchyroll is practically synonymous with anime streaming, serving as the exclusive home for countless series making the jump from Japan to the U.S. However, being the industry leader doesn’t shield the platform from shake-ups. While Crunchyroll recently welcomed back the cult-favorite series 86, it also quietly parted ways with another major franchise. Even so, the series in question is still finding plenty of success on the printed page as the story of Black Lagoon marches forward.
To the surprise of many viewers, Crunchyroll removed the Black Lagoon anime from its catalog last month. Although no official explanation was provided, fans quickly noticed that Madhouse’s three-season adaptation had vanished, leaving the series entirely absent from all major streaming platforms. Fortunately, the manga is thriving despite this digital roadblock. Combined with its spin-offs, the original Black Lagoon manga has officially surpassed 10 million copies in circulation since its 2002 debut. While that might not reach the astronomical numbers of titans like One Piece or Jujutsu Kaisen, it is an impressive milestone for the long-running property.
Black Lagoon’s Future
Creator Rei Hiroe is still producing new chapters of Black Lagoon nearly 25 years after the series first launched. That said, the journey hasn’t been without obstacles; Hiroe has dealt with severe real-world challenges that have resulted in frequent hiatuses. Being open with his global fanbase, the creator previously discussed his battle with depression and urged readers to prioritize their mental health, using his own taxing experiences as a cautionary tale.
Reflecting on those difficulties last year, Hiroe shared, “There’s a tweet going around saying that if you get depressed, you’ll waste 10 years of your life, but I seriously couldn’t recover and forced myself to serialize irregularly, and it took me 4 years to publish one volume, and I still panic when there’s a tight deadline, so I can’t write unless I have a huge buffer, so as a serialized manga artist, I haven’t recovered from that half-dead state, so please be careful.”
While a fresh chapter dropped as recently as May, ensuring the manga’s story remains active, the status of the anime adaptation is far more uncertain. Studio Madhouse previously brought the gritty action to life across 29 episodes, but neither Madhouse nor any other studio has announced plans for a revived project. For now, fans can only hope that Revy and the crew will eventually find their way back to the screen.