Ask John: Will There Be a Third Black Lagoon Series?

Question:
Just curious if you knew if there was a planned 3rd season of Black Lagoon? Now that the manga is up to almost volume 8, I believe, I think that there is enough material to continue the story in animated form.

Answer:
I think that the odds of future Black Lagoon anime are remote. In fact, even the second Black Lagoon series was not announced until after the first season ended, suggesting that there was a possibility that only 12 episodes of Black Lagoon was all that would ever be released.

Dark, violent, and adult oriented anime have always been a minority in Japan because there’s a small audience for this type of anime in Japan. Furthermore, consider that although there are 18 volumes of Tenjho Tenge manga, Madhouse has not continued the animation. Similarly, Madhouse is unlikely to revive the Black Lagoon anime. The series had its brief run, and now it’s over. Probably.