This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
Unreal Tournament 3 (UT3) is a first-personarena shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Midway Games. Part of the Unreal franchise, it is the fourth game in the Unreal Tournament series, and the eighth and final game overall; its name is in reflection of the game being the first in the franchise to use Unreal Engine 3. It was released on November 19, 2007, for Microsoft Windows, December 10 for the PlayStation 3, and on July 3, 2008, for the Xbox 360. OS X and Linux ports were planned, but they were eventually cancelled. A free-to-play version, entitled Unreal Tournament 3 X, was leaked in late 2022 and cancelled in 2023.[4]
Similar to its predecessors, Unreal Tournament 3 is primarily an online multiplayer title. There are eight modes, including Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, as well as modes like Duel, Warfare, Betrayal and Greed. In vehicle maps, the player is equipped with a hover board, which allows players to quickly traverse large maps and grapple onto other teammates' vehicles. The game's single-player campaign does not follow a plot based around the eponymous tournament, but rather a Necris attack that occurs on a colony on an unknown planet, releasing armed Kralls, a warlike race of aliens, on the humans.
The game received positive reviews from critics, and sold more than 1 million copies worldwide.
Similar to the prior entries of the series, the game is primarily an online multiplayer title offering several game modes, including large-scale Warfare, Capture the Flag, and Deathmatch. It also includes an extensive offline multiplayer game with an in-depth story, beginning with a simple tournament ladder and including team members with unique personalities. The following game modes are included:
Duel – a one versus one game mode. It uses a queuing system: the winner stays, and the loser goes back to the end of the queue. A typical match lasts fifteen minutes with the winner being the player with the most kills.
Warfare – a mix of Onslaught and Assault game modes. While basic game rules are equal to those of Onslaught, Warfare adds countdown nodes (which, after being captured and defended for a certain period of time, create a vehicle or trigger an event helpful to the capturing team) as well as the orb, which can be used to instantly capture and defend nodes.
Vehicle Capture the Flag – Capture the Flag, with vehicles as part of the map; this game mode is distinct from the standard Capture the Flag mode. Also, players are given a hoverboard rather than a translocator.
Betrayal – this game type places freelance players on teams, and when the members of each team kill enemies, the pot for that team grows. Anybody on a team with a pot can betray the rest of the team by shooting them, thus taking the pot, but they must defend themselves from the betrayed teammates for 30 seconds after that, or the teammates receive extra points.
Greed – a game mode that (like the UT2004 mod of the same name) focuses on collecting skulls dropped from dead players and capturing them in the opposing team's base. For Greed, the game uses all Capture the Flag and Vehicle Capture the Flag maps.
Modes not returning from the prior Unreal Tournament games include Invasion, Mutant (having been later on partially replaced by the Titan mutator in the UT3 Titan Pack), Onslaught (replaced by Warfare), Bombing Run, Last Man Standing, Domination, and Double Domination. Assault was removed from the game during production.[5]
In this installment of Unreal Tournament, the vehicles are split into two factions, the Axon vehicles and Necris vehicles. The Axon vehicles are the same vehicles from Unreal Tournament 2004, but several have significant game play changes. In addition, on vehicle maps every player is equipped with a personal hover board, a skateboard-like device that allows players to quickly traverse large maps and grapple onto other teammates' vehicles. The hover board is vulnerable to attack, and any hit will knock the player off the board and disable him or her for several seconds, leaving the player exposed and vulnerable. The player cannot use any weapons while on the board.
Unlike the prior Unreal Tournament games, the single-player campaign does not follow a plot based around the Tournament Grand Championship, and therefore several of the teams within Unreal Tournament 3 are not Tournament competitors. The five playable factions are: the Iron Guard, a team of human mercenaries affiliated with the Axon; the Ronin, a band of four survivors of a Skaarj attack on a human colony; Liandri studius, a series of advanced humanoid robots custom-built or retrofitted for combat; the Krall, a warlike race of aliens formerly under the leadership of the Skaarj, returning from their initial appearance in the original Unreal; and the Necris, warriors who have undergone the process of the same name, making them stronger at the expense of replacing their biological processes with "Nanoblack", effectively turning them into undead soldiers (hence the name, Necris). In the Campaign, players control members of the Ronin, and the Necris serve as the chief antagonists.
In the game's story, a Necris attack occurs on the Twin Souls colony of Taryd, an Earth-like planet, releasing bloodthirsty reptilian Krall on the humans. The colony is defenseless, but a group of soldiers called 'Ronin' arrive on the scene, defending the survivors. Reaper, the group's leader, is caught in the explosion of an incoming rocket and passes out, but not before seeing an unknown Necris woman, revealed to be Necris High Inquisitor Akasha, executing a wounded soldier next to him. Reaper is rescued by Othello and Jester and wakes up in the base of the Izanagi, a megacorporation with a large private army, and meets with their leader Malcolm, a celebrated former tournament champion. Malcolm promises Reaper and the rest of Ronin that if they join the Izanagi, they will take the fight to the Necris and avenge the massacre of Twin Souls.
The missions of the campaign are identical to multiplayer matches, with the only difference being the enemies are computer-controlled bots instead of human players. The Izanagi pits Ronin against the Axon in a campaign to seize their vehicle technology, and then begins a campaign against the Liandri to seize their rich Tarydium mines, both of which are required for sustaining a war against the Necris. Shortly after this, the Necris launch a surprise invasion of Taryd, destroying cities and massacring civilians. The Necris are seen deploying tentacle-like tubes carrying Nanoblack into the planet's surface from orbit, in order to terraform the entire world. The Izanagi then mount a counterattack, and Ronin is sent on several missions to push the Necris back. After successfully repelling the Necris assault and ending the invasion, Reaper and the rest of Ronin decide to break ranks and pursue the Necris to their homeworld, Omicron-6, in an effort to kill Akasha for good.
Finally cornering Akasha in her last sanctuary on Omicron-6, Reaper defeats her in a duel and kills her with his rocket launcher. However, it is revealed that Malcolm has betrayed Ronin, allowing Necris troops to surround and kill Jester, Bishop, and Othello. Reaper swears revenge on Malcolm before powering up his rocket launcher and leaping to attack the Necris.
The game was announced in May 2005, as Unreal Tournament 2007 for a 2006 release,[6] but the game was delayed until the first half of 2007.[7] The game was renamed to Unreal Tournament 3.[8] The original Unreal Tournament uses the first Unreal Engine, while UT2003 and UT2004 use Unreal Engine 2. Since 2004 incorporates all of the content from 2003, they are regarded as part of the same generation. UT3 is the third generation, as it runs on Unreal Engine 3 and does not reuse any content.[9] The game also uses motion blur effects.
A limited collector's edition of the game features an exclusive collector's edition tin and a hardcover art book. A bonus DVD is also included, featuring more than twenty hours of Unreal Engine 3 tool kit video tutorials, the history of the Unreal Tournament series, and behind-the-scenes footage of the making of Unreal Tournament 3. The Limited Collector's Edition was sold in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, South Africa, Australia and most other territories.[10]
The PlayStation 3 version supports community-made mods that can be uploaded and downloaded to the PS3's HDD or external media, as well as mouse and keyboard inputs. The 1.1 patch was released in March 2008. It adds the ability for players using the North American and European versions to play together, fixes problems with some USB headsets, and displays the lowest pinging servers at the top of the server list. Some updates are only applied on the North American version, since the PAL version released in March 2008 was already partially updated.[11] The 2.0 patch was released on March 5, 2009, and adds better PC mod support, split screen, smarter AI, forty-eight obtainable Trophies, server-side improvements, an improved map vote, local multiplayer, and a new user interface. Online and LAN multiplayer for this version was terminated in July 2014, following the shutdown of all GameSpy servers.
Upon release, the Xbox 360 version had five exclusive maps, two exclusive characters, a two-player split screen mode,[12] and all the downloadable content released by Epic already on the disc. With the release of the PS3 and PC "Titan Upgrade" patch on March 5, these versions offered the formerly exclusive Xbox 360 content, as well as other content.[13] The Xbox 360 version does not support user-generated mods, as additional content has to be verified by Microsoft before being released. It is the only version to support controllers only.
The Linux and Mac OS X versions of the game were planned to be released as downloadable installers that work with the retail disc. Ryan C. Gordon has uploaded screenshots of the game, dating from September 2008, running on both platforms.[14][15] In May 2009, Ryan stated that the UT3 port for Linux was still in process,[16] but later in December 2010, Steve Polge revealed that the Linux port would never be released, making it the second Unreal Tournament game not to be released on Linux.[17]
A free update titled Titan Pack was released for the PC in March 2009; the PS3 version of the pack was released on March 19. The pack includes five maps and two characters that were formerly exclusive to the Xbox 360 version, along with eleven brand-new maps, two new game modes ("Greed" and "Betrayal"), and the Titan Mutator. The Titan Mutator causes a player to grow in size as they do better, while carrying alternative weapons and power-ups. The expansion also includes a new power-up, a new vehicle, two new deployables, and the addition of stinger turrets. A new patch was also released in conjunction with the Titan Pack, which allowed for various AI improvements (especially in vehicle modes), networking performance upgrades and added support for Steam Achievements (PC) and Trophies (PS3). It also adds a two-player split screen mode (formerly exclusive to the 360 version) and mod browsing for the PS3 version.
The Black Edition is a complete Unreal Tournament 3 package—included is the complete UT3 (with patch 2.0) as well as the Titan Pack.
The game's online servers for the Windows version were shutdown on in January 2023, in order to focus on supporting the Epic Online Services. In December 2022, a free-to-play version, entitled Unreal Tournament 3 X, was leaked on Steam, meaning that the game would be using the Epic Online Services and full cross-play between Steam, GOG.com, and the Epic Games Store, with the latter platform being added when it released. Epic Games was to self-publish this version, and was slated for a 2023 release, but the development of this version was cancelled and the Steam page was reverted to its original name without any announcement.
Unreal Tournament 3 received positive reviews from critics. Xbox Magazine rated it 8.5 out of 10.[44]PlayStation: the Official Magazine gave it 5 stars out of 5 in its February 2008 issue, commending the game for graphics and gameplay. By March 2008, UT3 had sold over a million copies worldwide.[45][46]
This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
Black Lagoon (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rei Hiroe. It has been published in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Monthly Sunday Gene-X since April 2002, with its chapters collected in 13 tankōbon volumes as of December 2023. In North America, the manga is licensed for English release by Viz Media.
The series follows the Lagoon Company, a four-member team of pirate mercenaries smuggling goods in and around the seas of Southeast Asia with their PT boat, the Black Lagoon. The group takes on various jobs, usually involving criminal organizations, and resulting in violent gunfights.
The manga was adapted into an animetelevision series by Madhouse, which was broadcast for two seasons of 12 episodes each in 2006, followed by a five-episode original video animation (OVA) series released from July 2010 to June 2011.
By December 2023, the Black Lagoon manga had over 9.5 million copies in circulation. The series has been overall well received, with critics particularly praising the action sequences.
A team of pirate mercenaries known as the Lagoon Company smuggles goods in and around the seas of Southeast Asia in the early to mid 1990s.[a] The Lagoon Company consists of four members: Dutch, the leader; Revy, the main gunfighter; Benny, the mechanic, computer specialist, and researcher; and Rock, an ex-salaryman hijacked by the team and abandoned by his department chief, eventually becoming their negotiator and "professional" face of the group, retaining his old job skills.
Their base of operations is located in the fictional harbor city of Roanapur in east Thailand near the border of Cambodia (somewhere in the Mueang Trat district, likely on the mainland north/northeast of the Ko Chang island or on the island itself). The city is home to the Chinese triad, the Russian Bratva, the Colombian cartel, the Italian mafia, a wide assortment of pickpockets, thugs, mercenaries, thieves, prostitutes, assassins, and gunmen. The city also has a large Vietnamese refugee population following the Vietnamese refugees exodus after the communist takeover of Vietnam in 1975.
Lagoon Company transports goods for various clients in the American made 80-foot (24 m) Elco-type PT boat, Black Lagoon. It has a particularly friendly relationship with the Russian crime syndicate Hotel Moscow. The team takes on a variety of missions—which may involve violent firefights, hand-to-hand combat, and nautical battles—in various Southeast Asian locations, even going as far as Isabela, Basilan in the Philippines. When they are not working, the members of the Lagoon Company spend much of their down time at The Yellow Flag, a bar in Roanapur which is often destroyed in firefights.
Manga author Rei Hiroe said that when he was approached by the publisher Shogakukan to work for a manga project, he offered them different prototype stories that he had planned, including Black Lagoon, which was finally selected.[4][5] Hiroe wanted to create an action and crime oriented series.[4] For the basis of the story, he was inspired by watching news about piracy cases in the South China Sea in the 1990s, which he thought that fitted perfectly with his desire to make a "dynamic and original" series, adding that pirates "know no borders and are truly free," and that it seemed interesting to work on the subject.[4][6] Hiroe also commented that, at first, the original idea was about medieval pirates, but he changed his mind and made the story about modern day pirates instead.[5]
Hiroe stated that he has been influenced by writers James Ellroy, whom he called his favorite novelist, and Stephen King, stating that he learned how to create the atmosphere of Black Lagoon based on his works.[7] Hiroe also called Mikiya Mochizuki [ja]'s manga series Wild 7 "almost like the DNA of that sort of action genre," and mentioned influence from Akihiro Ito (Geobreeders author) and Kenichi Sonoda (Gunsmith Cats author).[8][5] Apart from manga, Hiroe stated that, from a "purely graphic point of view", he was influenced by the Franco-Belgian comic series Soda, and commented that he liked the atmosphere and storytelling of Blacksad by Spanish authors Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido.[9]
Hiroe said that although the series is much influenced by American works, he was not worried about the references being lost on the Japanese readers, stating that it can be sensed when the American culture is coming from a Japanese person, so "there's a style in it that can be sensed by Japanese readers," adding that, conversely, if people in America read it, there is "more potential for awkwardness and weird parts."[5]
Regarding accuracy, Hiroe declared that he had not done too much research on modern day pirates, commenting that even on the internet is difficult to find good information on them, also stating that the crew of Black Lagoon is "a bit different from what we are used to seeing." Regarding the weapons, on the other hand, Hiroe said that he was a big fan and that he had a personal collection, being well-versed on the subject, adding that he bought encyclopedias in order to benefit from more precise details.[4] Due to the fact that the series is a "period piece of sorts," which features mafia and military themes, Hiroe commented that he did a lot of research for those subjects, watching documentaries and reading books.[6] Hiroe also stated that he would sometimes find some interesting facts that he would like to incorporate into his work, and that he tried not to go towards current events, but use past information for the entertainment value.[10] He said that the setting is loosely based on reality and that it would not be interesting if it were unrealistic, adding that he at least wants to maintain a semblance of realism, emphasizing, however, that the sense of realism is "very subjective," adding that a character like Roberta, a "Terminator-like maid," would not work in a novel, but she will in a comic; "she has to be over-the-top because it's a comic."[11]
Hiroe commented that while film is an "active" medium, manga is like having "still frames", so for the action scenes he needs to find the "best moments in time to convey meaning and movement," adding that one of the advantages of manga is that "you're not anchored to reality", commenting that he is able to make guns bigger than their physical counterparts and make explosions "far larger and more gaudy."[8] He said that from the start, it was agreed with the publisher that the series would include action and violence, so there were never issues regarding that, adding that he would "go towards even more sensationalism if it is necessary for the plot," but Hiroe added as well that he does not want it to be confined to its violence either.[9]
Hiroe said that from the start, he wanted a story "without nationalities, without specific identities," adding that "we are still in a criminal context," and by mixing different cultures in the story, he wanted to see the reaction of each culture to this "thorny subject," without making any judgment.[4] Referring to whether the manga could be perceived as a political statement, due to actual piracy issues in Africa and elsewhere, and since the manga is about pirates, Hiroe said that "as long as there are various people's opinions being voiced, it won't cease to be political," emphasizing, however, that there is not just one possible way of reading it, such as "America is bad" or "Russia is bad," and that the series is written to be perceived from different perspectives.[5] Although Hiroe noted that his series is for entertainment, he commented that he would like to make people who read it feel the backdrops, like characters with poverty backgrounds or living in the world with international conflicts.[6] Hiroe also said that it is fine if the readers only enjoy the series purely for the action, but commented: "[t]here are a few things hidden in there, so I'd be the happiest if on a second or third read-through, those things become apparent."[5]
Hiroe said that generally it takes him about a month to produce one chapter, adding that there are a lot of details and he puts a lot of work into it. Regarding the process, Hiroe explained that he has the initial thought, then the publisher would give him input as to "what’s good and what’s bad and what’s good for the audience, what they might like." They discuss it and if something might not work so well, he redoes the plot line. Hiroe commented that while there are a lot of manga artists who do not have good relationship with the publishing company, and they have to do what they are ordered, in his case, it is more mutual and he can do more of what he likes at the same time.[10] Hiroe's editor, Akinobu Natsume, commented that at first, the story was very simple, but that after having introduced more characters, they had to think about their respective stories, as well as the relationships that unite them, commenting that this was in line with the complexity that Hiroe wanted, supporting him and refraining him when the story got too difficult to follow. Hiroe declared that there are no real rules for the variable duration of the story arcs, and that he tries above all to think about the appropriate length to stage all that he had to say on the initial idea, adding that the rest of the story should stay in that direction.[9] He said that since the series is set in the 20th century, he counts on the occasion of the transition to the 21st century to create a "powerful event" that will alter its plot, commenting that if he manages to transcribe his ideas properly, "we will reach the culmination of my story."[4] He affirmed that they had in mind the end of the story and that he knew the conclusion that he needs to make for each character, but that it must be staged in the right direction and in a consistent way.[9]
Hiroe said that to keep the manga interesting and exciting for both himself and the readers, he "takes a rest right in the middle. Just stop, take a step back, and relax for a bit so I’m not stuck in the grind," commenting that manga artists who write weekly manga or other long-running series, like those published in Weekly Shōnen Jump, "don’t have that luxury," and that working on a monthly series gives him the opportunity to work on a different project "to keep things from getting stale."[8] The manga has been on hiatus several times; it went for an almost three-year hiatus from May 19, 2010,[12] to January 19, 2013;[13][14][15] it went on a three-year hiatus again from January 18, 2014,[16] to May 19, 2017;[17] it went on hiatus for a year from August 18, 2018,[18][19] to September 19, 2019.[20][21] Hiroe has attributed these pauses to his depression,[22] adding that he is doing his best to move forward with the series without rushing too much.[23]
Referring to the creation of the characters, Hiroe stated that he goes backward, imagining how they would think and how they lived, commenting that the process in itself "can be fun." He commented: "I sometimes first decide that this guy is from here, he's ethnically this way, he belongs to this kind of group, then look into historical facts and events. From there I try to tie all threads of those elements together, and when they can be tied organically together it's like, "Yay this is fun!" Hiroe said that the characters are not necessarily based on anyone in particular, but that from watching films in particular, he would arrange things which would "kind of shape the character."[6] He commented, however, that Mr. Chang, the leader of the triads, has a resemblance to Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-fat.[6][9] Hiroe claimed that the fact that in the story are women who take up arms, while men have more sedate roles, was not a well-considered choice at the start, but that it naturally "imposed itself over the course of the adventure," noting that this is one of its strong points, expressing happiness to have met women who have enjoyed the series.[9]
Regarding Revy, Hiroe said that he had no particular model in mind, but commented that after watching Robert Rodriguez's film From Dusk till Dawn, he noticed the "imposing tattoo" on the shoulder of George Clooney's character and thought that it "would be nice" to do such a tattoo on a female body.[4][9] For her personality, Hiroe first wanted that her dominant character trait was impulsiveness. To accentuate it, he decided to make her grow up in a criminal environment, so that her values were totally different from "ordinary mortals."[4] Hiroe commented that she is a strong woman, good at shooting guns and fighting, but that she is not motivated by justice and that she is just an "ordinary criminal," adding that he placed her in the story because "it is rare to see such a female" and her presence would make it more interesting.[7] Hiroe commented that the reason behind her Chinese-American heritage was because he wanted to make her a minority, adding that she does not look Caucasoid but rather Mongoloid, and that it would make it easier for Japanese readers to identify with her; "easier than if it was a white woman going ballistic." He added that it is interesting when there is a gap between the way she looks and her way of thinking, commenting that people like that "aren't really tied down to a region, like they're rootless wanderers," and that "obviously, she probably faces discrimination in her life," adding that taking all that into account, he thought the character would "stand out more."[11] Hiroe said that Revy is the character that requires most work from a graphic point of view, expressing that he had drawn her countless of times in very different situations and emotions, and that he must be careful to not go in another direction over time, so as to not distort the initial character.[9]
According to Hiroe, at the beginning of the project there were only "bad men," and after discussing it with the editorial staff, they decided to introduce a character who would share the same point of view as the readers, so he added Rock as a businessman to the story. Hiroe commented that there was no particular reason why he is Japanese. Hiroe commented that after Rock was added to the story, "he came to life and started to build his own interesting character."[7]Sunao Katabuchi, director of the anime adaptation, said that Rock is the character that he empathized more with,[24] commenting that while "[w]e live our daily lives as if we are closed inside of a box-like world," Rock "breaks out of such a box," adding that breaking out is not the end for him; "[he senses that] there may yet another box that maybe be broken out of," and he is "pointed in the right direction. The fight is not with the container which encloses the world, but with one's self."[25]
Hiroe stated that he did not dislike "cute girls" or moe characters, but that the inclusion of these characters should depend on whether there is a relevancy to use them in what he is creating. He stated that when creating the Colombian maid and former FARC guerrilla, Roberta, her design was slightly influenced from the growing interest in maids at the time, but that he dressed her as such because he imagined that an affluent family in South America "would dress maids that way," adding that her design was not a take on "moe culture" as much as it made contextual sense.[8] Katabuchi commented that the anime staff referred to the scene where Roberta's umbrella opens up and spins around the body and fires as "The Evil Mary Poppins", adding that Hiroe also had the idea to use the character as a kind of "Death Poppins."[24] Hiroe commented that at the beginning, Roberta had "a very set character background," but he wanted to see if he could go past that and break it down to see what he could do with it, which is why the character reappeared in the story.[10]
Originally, he had not planned the arc of the Hansel and Gretel twins to be more dark and serious than the rest of the series. He commented that at first he 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."[8]
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.[b] It started its serialization in the same magazine on April 19, 2002.[c] Shogakukan has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on December 12, 2002.[31] As of December 19, 2023, thirteen volumes have been released.[32]
In North America, the manga is licensed for English release by Viz Media.[33] The first volume was released on August 12, 2008.[34] As of August 16, 2022, twelve volumes have been released.[35] Due to copyright-related reasons, the Viz Media edition censors the references to song lyrics and brand names, including the brands of the guns.[36] On May 9, 2023, Viz Media launched their Viz Manga digital manga service, with the series' chapters receiving simultaneous English publication in North America as they are released in Japan.[37][38]
A spin-off about Sawyer, titled Black Lagoon: Sōjiya Sawyer – Kaitai! Gore Gore Musume (BLACK LAGOON 掃除屋ソーヤー 解体！ゴアゴア娘, lit. "Black Lagoon: Sawyer the Cleaner - Dismemberment! Gore Gore Girl"), illustrated by Tatsuhiko Ida, began in Monthly Sunday Gene-X on September 19, 2019.[39][21] The first tankōbon volume was released on July 17, 2020.[40] As of May 17, 2024, eight volumes have been released.[41]
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.[42][43] The first tankōbon volume was released on September 16, 2022.[44] As of May 17, 2024, four volumes have been released.[45]
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.[46][47]
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.[48][49]
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.[50][51][52]
Two light novels written by Gen Urobuchi, with illustrations by Hiroe, have been released under Shogakukan's Gagaga Bunko imprint. Black Lagoon: Sheitane Birdy (ブラック・ラグーン シェイターネ・バーディ, Burakku Ragūn Sheitāne Bādi) was published on July 18, 2008.[53][54]Black Lagoon 2: Ballad of the Sinful Wizard (ブラック・ラグーン 2 罪深き魔術師の哀歌, Burakku Ragūn Tsu Tsumibukaki Uizādo no Barādo) was published on January 18, 2011.[55]
An illustration book, titled Onslaught: Black Lagoon Illustrations, was released by Shogakukan on August 19, 2021. It includes the original pilot chapter illustrated pages, key visuals of the 20th anniversary exhibition and unpublished illustrations. The limited edition included a water gun replica of Revy's Beretta 92 FS "Sword Cutlass Special", five autographed illustrations and six bookmarks.[56]
Four pachinko machines based on the series have been released in 2011,[57] 2014,[58] 2019,[59] and 2023.[60] Four pachislot machines have been released in 2012,[61] 2015,[62] 2017,[63] and 2022.[64] A pachislot simulator game, Slotter Mania V: Black Lagoon, was released for the PlayStation Vita on March 15, 2012.[65][66]
A browser game developed by CTW for the G123 online platform, titled Black Lagoon: Heaven's Shot, was announced in September 2023 and released on December 7 of that same year.[67][68]
The volumes of Black Lagoon have frequently ranked as the best-selling manga volumes on Japan's weekly charts since 2007.[d] The eighth volume was the fourteenth best-selling manga volume of 2008 in Japan.[76] The thirteenth volume was Shogakukan's fourth highest first print run manga volume of 2023–2024 (period from April 2023–March 2024), with 250,000 copies printed.[77] By February 2014, the manga had over 6 million copies in circulation;[78] over 7 million copies in circulation by November 2018;[79] over 8.5 million copies in circulation by January 2022;[80] and over 9.5 million copies in circulation by December 2023.[81]
About.com's Deb Aoki listed Viz Media's English release of Black Lagoon as the best new seinen manga of 2008, along with Gantz.[82] Aoki said that even non-manga readers would enjoy it, adding that it is "more like a Hollywood or Hong Kong action flick" than a series with the "pubescent girls and giant robots" formula usually associated with manga, also calling it "a fun fantasy for readers who've outgrown the high seas hi-jinks of One Piece but are still pirates at heart."[83] Aoki added that the focus on "whip-smart, sexy and confident women" is one of the best things of the series; "[n]ot girls, but real women who can blow up enemies without blinking an eye or breaking a nail."[84] Leroy Douresseaux of ComicBookBin compared it to The A-Team and to a "Quentin Tarantinoexploitation flick," also calling it an "extra-violent version of Cowboy Bebop" and "Bad Boys II on paper," stating that the series "will appeal to any male reader old enough to understand big guns, big boobs, and gratuitous pistol-in-crotch shots."[85]
Greg McElhatton of Read About Comics said that the series is "never boring, never wasting time for anything," adding that it is not "all action and nothing else," lauding the way Hiroe was able to bring across Revy's existentialist views of the world "without sounding preachy or bringing the story to a crashing halt," mentioning her disagreements with Rock. McElhatton said that the series is "clever, fast, and fun" and that "isn't a simple shoot-em-up, it's an action comic for people who appreciate a smart script."[86] A.E. Sparrow of IGN made a positive review of the series, stating that it has "[e]verything you love about a bad action movie," but stating that unlike a "bad action movie", the series has "actual character development", commenting that it "veers towards that dynamic that made Cowboy Bebop as fun as it was."[87] Isaac Hale of PopCultureShock said that the series reminded him "intensely" of Kouta Hirano's Hellsing, stating that both series feature "psychotic badasses", "they're all about the fanservice" and they both "shamelessly fetishize violence." Hale also said that the action is "insane, impossible, and drips with overwhelming amounts of cool," praising its artwork as well.[88]
Davey C. Jones of Active Anime praised the series for its action scenes and artwork, stating: "[t]he character designs are grade A. The guns, torpedoes, boats, ships, cars, are all detailed to spec and look fantastic!" recommending as well the series to fans of Gunsmith Cats and Cowboy Bebop.[89] Greg Hackmann of Mania.com wrote that Hiroe "doesn't saddle the over-the-top action with scenes of lingering seriousness or angst," noting that the point of the story is "watch our anti-heroes work together […] to rack up ridiculous body counts and generally kick serious amounts of ass. And you know what? It may sound dumb -- hell, it is dumb -- but it's also incredibly damned entertaining."[90] David Rasmussen of Manga Life compared the series unfavorably to Cowboy Bebop, stating that while it "doesn't suck," it is not "Cowboy Bebop memorable either." Rasmussen called it a "decent
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English)[1][2] are mostly regarded as synonyms, although subtle differences in usage exist.
A sub-armory is a place of temporary storage or carrying of weapons and ammunition, such as any temporary post or patrol vehicle that is only operational in certain times of the day.[3]
The term in English entered the language in the 16th century as a loanword from French: arsenal, itself deriving from the term Italian: arsenale, which in turn is thought to be a corruption of Arabic: دار الصناعة, dār aṣ-ṣināʿa, meaning "manufacturing shop".[4][5][6][7][8][9]
A lower-class arsenal, which can furnish the materiel and equipment of a small army, may contain a laboratory, gun and carriage factories, small-arms ammunition, small-arms, harness, saddlery tent and powder factories; in addition, it must possess great storehouses. In a second-class arsenal, the factories would be replaced by workshops. The situation of an arsenal should be governed by strategic considerations. If of the first class, it should be situated at the base of operations and supply, secure from attack, not too near a frontier, and placed so as to draw in readily the resources of the country. The importance of a large arsenal is such that its defences would be on the scale of those of a large fortress.
In the early 21st century, the term "floating armoury" described a ship storing weapons to be supplied to merchant vessels in international waters subject to piracy, so that the weapons do not enter territorial waters where they would be illegal.
The branches in a great arsenal are usually subdivided into storekeeping, construction and administration:
Under storekeeping the arsenal should have the following departments and stores: Departments of issue and receipt, pattern room, armoury department, ordnance or park, harness, saddlery and accoutrements, camp equipment, tools and instruments, engineer store, timber yard, breaking-up store, and unserviceable store.
Under construction: Gun factory, carriage factory, laboratory, small arms factory, harness and tent factory, gunpowder factory, etc. In a second-class arsenal there would be workshops instead of factories.
Under the head of administration would be classed the chief director of the arsenal, officials military and civil, non-commissioned officers and military artificers, civilian foremen, workmen and laborers, with the clerks and writers necessary for the office work of the establishments.[10]
In the manufacturing branches are required skill, and efficient and economical work, both executive and administrative; in the storekeeping part, good arrangement, great care, thorough knowledge of all warlike stores, both in their active and passive state, and scrupulous exactness in the custody, issue and receipt of stores. Frederick Taylor introduced command and control techniques to arsenals, including the U.S.'s Watertown Arsenal (a principal center for artillery design and manufacture) and Frankford Arsenal (a principal center for small arms ammunition design and manufacture).[10]
^Soanes, Catherine and Stevenson, Angus (ed.) (2005). Oxford Dictionary of English, 2nd Ed., revised, Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York, p. 85. ISBN978-0-19-861057-1.
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