"Black Lagoon" is one of the pinnacle examples of action and drama done right in anime. The gritty series received an OVA sequel a few years after its two seasons finished, picking up as a fifth arc at roughly half the length of a full season, and roughly the length of a feature film. It took a long time to get released in America, but eventually Funimation would release the OVA (retaining the original excellent English cast to boot), shortly after re-releasing the original series. The result is more of the same, which is generally a good thing, but the story in particular falls hard in comparison to the original arcs.Set some time after the second season (these new episodes number 25 to 29) this act focuses on Roberta, a miad who served under a wealthy Spanish hosehold. When the kind master of the house is killed in a bombing organized by an American general, Roberta loses control and seeks revenge, going back to her dark roots from before the master had saved her from a cruel life (the bespectacled maid originally was a middle-eastern terrorist). As she starts leaving a trail of corpses on her way towards her goal, the son of the deceased master hired the Lagoon Company to help track her down and bring her home safely. Specifically, he hires Rock, the one logical and kind-hearted mind in Ronapur. My first impressions where not high: the visuals and animation match the quality of the original series, but by this point it began to show its age (the studio Madhouse had animated a few shows for North American audiences around this time, generally with poorer quality, and this OVA seems to take the same talent pool, for better or for worse). The story also has a lot of problems: original poster-girl Revi isn't the badass she normally is, getting shot early on and left on the sidelines during most of the action. For no particular reason, this OVA introduces the fact that Revy was raped as a child to explain her modern-day attitude, following a bad trend of using a serious and disturbing moment to explain an entertaining character trait (curiously, the multiple shows I can think of around 2010 that had this issue ALL came from Madhouse). Rock's presence is to act as a mastermind, watching events unfold behind the scenes and preparing a grand plan to bring Roberta back, as well as accomplish his own secret agenda to improve the crime-ridden town he's lived in for so long. But every episode simply has him, eyes narrowed, repeating "all the pieces are coming together...," until we finally learn his plan, which does not live up to the hype it creates. Not to mention, the bigger part of it proves meaningless.But I'm being too harsh. Some character drama between Roberta and her old house members provides some strong character drama. A handful of scenes are breathtakingly incredible, either in intensity or in emotion, even exceeding the best moments from the first two seasons. The action scenes are exciting when they pop up, and the ride overall is still worth experiencing. The English dub is as strong as ever, feeling perfectly natural with the characters and setting, and the audio rocks like always. 
There are several references to the original series, and character introductions aren't really present, so this OVA is only for fans of the first two seasons. And understandably, said fans would be happy to watch more, no matter the quality. I think "Roberta's Blood Trail" provides a more solid conclusion to end off on, and based on the holes in the plot this time around, ending it here is probably for the best. But there is nothing quite like "Black Lagoon," and even at its worst, it is still a standout.