Shenhua

Origin

Creation

Shenhua (?????, Shenhoa) is a supporting character in the Black Lagoon series that was created by Rei Hiroe. The series first began serialization in Shogakukan’s Sunday GX magazine on April 19, 2002.

Her first appearance was in Black Lagoon Volume 3 CH. 18 “Goat, Jihad, Rock’ N Roll PT.III”.

Character Evolution

Major Story Arcs

Powers & Abilities

Shenhua is skilled with edged weapons preferring them to guns. She can throw them with great accuracy at multiple targets. She uses her natural speed to dodge gunfire.

Weapons & Equipment

Her main weapon is a pair of Nepalese Kukri knives connected by a rope which she uses to retrieve the knives when thrown. She also carries smaller throwing knives. She does not use guns and disdains those who do.

Other Media

Black Lagoon (2006)

The Black Lagoon animated series is a direct adaptation of Hiroe’s original manga. It’s produced by MADHouse Studios and Geneon Entertainment. The series first began airing in April 8, 2006. The series ran for twelve episodes, the last airing on June 24, 2006. It’s a seinen action series that is for mature viewers

Senhua’s first anime appearance was in Black Lagoon – Episode 11 “Lock’n Load Revolution”, which aired on June 17, 2006. Her character in the Japanese series is voiced by Yuuko Sasaki, and the U.S. dub produced by Ocean Group is done by Saffron Henderson.

Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage (2008)

Black Lagoon: Second Barrage is the second anime series of the Black Lagoon franchise. The series was directed and produced by the same team who created the first season. The first episode originally aired on January 18, 2008. The series ran for twelve episodes, the last airing on April 11, 2008. The story arcs covered in this season are Bloodsport Fairy-tale, Greenback Jane, and Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise.

Black Lagoon: Roberta’s Blood Trail (2010)

Black Lagoon: Roberta’s Blood Trail is the third anime series of the Black Lagoon franchise. Though this series was produced by the same teams who had created the previous two. It was never created to be aired on TV. Instead, it was sold directly to the Japanese market as OVAs. The entire story follows the El Baile de la muerte story arc from the manga that was told in Volumes 6-9. The first episode originally released on February 15, 2007 on Blu-ray and DVD. Production delays after the release of Volume 2 would result in delays of Volumes 3-5 by two to three months.

At the 2010 Anime Expo, FUNimation announced they had acquired the license for this series and were initially intending to release the series in 2011, but production delays that held back several of the Japanese episodes pushed back FUNimation’s plans. They eventually released the series in the US in 2013.