thought that it would be great if there were cute "really loopy" twin kids wielding giant guns, but that he started doing some research, reading about the history of Romania (their home country) and the Cold War/Soviet era, commenting: "[t]hings were really bad back then, so the story became much darker based on what I'd learned. It was…not exactly the happiest place on Earth." Media Manga Written and illustrated by Rei Hiroe, the pilot chapter of Black Lagoon was published in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Monthly Sunday Gene-X on March 19, 2001. It started its serialization in the same magazine on April 19, 2002. Shogakukan has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on December 12, 2002. As of August 19, 2021, twelve volumes have been released. In North America, the manga is licensed for English release by Viz Media. The first volume was released on August 12, 2008. As of January 21, 2020, eleven volumes have been released. Due to copyright-related reasons, the Viz Media edition censors the references to song lyrics and brand names, including the brands of the guns. A spin-off about Sawyer, titled , illustrated by Tatsuhiko Ida, began in Monthly Sunday Gene-X on September 19, 2019. The first tankōbon volume was released on July 17, 2020. As of September 16, 2022, five volumes have been released. A spin-off about Eda, titled Black Lagoon Eda -Initial Stage-, illustrated by Hajime Yamamura, started in Monthly Sunday Gene-X on April 19, 2022. The first tankōbon volume was released on September 16, 2022. Anime The manga was adapted into an anime television series animated by Madhouse, which was broadcast for twelve episodes on Chiba TV (and on other fifteen terrestrial stations) from April 9 to June 25, 2006. A second season, Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage, consisting of twelve more episodes, ran for the first time on Sendai Television from October 3 to December 19, 2006. A five-episode original video animation (OVA), titled Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail, which covered the "El Baile de la Muerte" arc of the manga, was released from July 17, 2010, to June 22, 2011. Other media Two light novels written by Gen Urobuchi, with illustrations by Hiroe, have been released under Shogakukan's Gagaga Bunko imprint. was published on July 18, 2008. was published on January 18, 2011. An illustration book, titled Onslaught: Black Lagoon Illustrations, was released by