The first manga like Black Lagoon that Honey’s Anime would like to recommend to all Black Lagoon fans is Dogs: Bullets & Carnage. Written and illustrated by ex-doujinshi author Shirow Miwa, Dogs is set in a post-apocalyptic dystopian Europe, in a megalopolis built on many metal underground levels where violence and danger are always behind the corner. Heine, an albino mutant result of an experiment, is the main character in this story. His childhood is connected to the one of three people who were experimented on and are connected to the organization as well: Mihai, a retired assassin in search for revenge, Badou, a smoke-addicted freelance information broker and photographer, and Naoto, a sword master who suffers with amnesia. Their objective? Deal with that tragic past they can’t get rid of.

While this manga like Black Lagoon is considerably darker, Dogs isn’t short in action and shooting sequences. Indeed, the plot revolves all around a group of marginalized characters with a difficult past whose activities just border on legality since it has to deal with secret and dangerous associations. Also, both of the manga’s art style is pretty cinematic, with incredibly detailed fight scenes illustrated so well it could give you the feeling you are watching it on the big screen. Brutality, blood, and guns are what Dogs won’t lack, so if that is what you loved the most about Black Lagoon, you should make some time for Dogs: Bullets & Carnage too.

Another manga like Black Lagoon that absolutely needed to be on this list is Star Light Woman. With a sci-fi set that reminds a little on the more well-known Cowboy Bebop, Star Light Woman follows the adventures of #214, namely the last hope of an alien race on the verge of extinction Hoshi Yumako. What’s so special about Yumako? Well, she is the possessor of an amazing power able to save the alien race from annihilation. Unfortunately for them, Yumako would just like to live a normal life and isn’t interested at all in being experimented on and being used to help aliens with their revolution. Will she be able to defeat them and realize her dream?

If you ask a Black Lagoon’s fan what is the best thing about this manga, (s)he would certainly reply “Revy”. Defined by some Black Lagoon’s lovers as “the Lara Croft of manga’s world,” Revy is the unquestioned star of the story both for her femme fatale look which made her gain the sympathy most of all of the male audience and her tragic past which made of her a cynical assassin with no regards for human’s life. Well, Revy’s fans would probably be very happy to know that Yumako from Star Light Woman resembles Revy more than pretty well. Starting from her outfit, which consists of ridiculously short pants and shirt, Yumako is far more human than Revy, but this won’t stop her from being destructive, passionate, and determined on fulfilling her mission. Fight scenes and hot camera angles are guaranteed and you can’t definitely afford to miss them!

Have you ever thought that your first flight to Japan could turn into a crazy adventure involving yakuza and mercenaries on their last job? This is the main idea behind Peepo Choo which starts by introducing us to Milton, a teenage otaku who lives in Chicago but would like to live in Japan. Milton spends most of his time dreaming about Japan and out at a local comic shop owned by Gill, a man who had spent a long time in prison and now is trying to make his life better. One day, Gill’s shop hosts a contest which awards the winner an all-expensed vacation to Japan, and Milton happens to win it. What Milton doesn’t know is that Gill has some affair with yakuza and something else in mind for him…

Action and gangster genres were born in America, so who better than an American author could write a story about a mafia and shootings? Yeah, you heard it correctly, because Felipe Smith is an enthusiast author from Ohio who found his art style in Japanese comics and is currently working for Kodansha, in Tokyo. In a similar fashion to series such as Durarara!!, Smith’s Peepo Choo is maybe the one manga which resembles Black Lagoon the most on this list. Not only for the exaggerated style of each comic strip, but also for the content and the characters’ concept. Unconventional people with a complicated past fighting on the streets trying to survive in a hostile environment is the whole point of both of the series. Fans of Black Lagoon won’t be disappointed by giving this manga like Black Lagoon Peepo Choo a try!

Some people were born special, like the middle schooler Haruka Tooyama who has always been able to predict the future. Because of her mysterious ability, Haruka is sought after by a powerful organization that wants to land its hand on her and find out about the secret which surrounds her birth. In an attempt to save herself from a terrible destiny, Haruka uses her power to get in contact with Mamoru Hijikata, a blind swordsman to which she assigns a crucial role; to be her protector until death do them part.

What many people found interesting about Black Lagoon was its international setting and its characters that came from different parts of the world. Revy, for example, is Chinese-American, Benny is a Jewish-American, and Rock is the only one of the group to be straight-up Japanese. Also, the nation in which the events take place is Southern China, obviously far away from Japan. Differently from Black Lagoon, Shi ga Futari wo Wakatsu made takes place in Japan, but it preserves the same international atmosphere as Black Lagoon. Indeed, the organization the main characters work at is not composed solely of Japanese. While blades swing and bullets fly from a page to another, big fights and international intrigues in Shi ga Futari wo Wakatsu made could really made you experience the same adrenaline Black Lagoon gave you again.

International is also the setting of Marginal Operation, and the main character Ryouta Arata wasn’t absolutely ready. Ryouta is, in fact, a 30-years-old Japanese NEET who spends all of his time watching anime and reading manga. His life changes when he is sent to join a private military company in the Middle East to serve as a strategic battlefield coordinator. Together with his new comrades from all over the world, Arata will undergo a hard training in order to accomplish the mission he was entrusted with.

There is no NEET in Black Lagoon, but just like Rock also Arata is an ordinary poor Japanese man out of place who ends up in a mercenary group far away from home in which all kind of death planners and cruel assassins work. The atmosphere in Black Lagoon is a little less heavy than the one in Marginal Operation, but the awkward situation in which Arata gets involved with is at least as funny as the one Rock was into. Surrounded by weirdos he finds hard to get used to, Arata’s adventures brings up all the best moments in Black Lagoon which made fans fond for it.

In a Catholic orphanage located in New York City, an introverted girl was raised to become a dangerous serial killer. In the morning she is just Tista, a shy girl who dreams of becoming a teacher, but at night she becomes Sister Militia, a ruthless assassin who stalks and murders criminals with her sniper rifle. In fact, Tista has got special eyes which allow her to spot targets from huge distances, and she never miss her shot whether they are moving or are stationary. But, what is the purpose behind all the murders? Why is the church involved in criminals’ extermination?

Violence, murders, corruption, and gunfights are the elements which make Black Lagoon the great work it is, so if that is what you want in a manga like Black Lagoon, look no further than Tista. Unlike Black Lagoon which is about a group of mercenaries who work together to smuggle goods around Southeast Asia, Tista follows the adventures of a solitary woman who was raised to be a professional sniper. Does this remind you of someone in particular? Exactly, because Tista’s tragic past and destiny are very similar to Revy’s ones. Like Revy’s, Tista’s destructive personality is the result of a tragic chain of events which led her to an illegal path she has no other choice but to follow. But Tista doesn’t seem to suffer too much about it, and supported by “friends” which end up in her same boat, Tista will accomplish her mission leaving a trail of blood behind her steps.