Sister Yolanda (シスター・ヨランダ Shisutā Yoranda) is a nun and the leader of the Rip-Off Church.
Appearance[]
Yolanda is an elderly Caucasian woman who wears a black eye patch over her right eye. She wears a typical nun's outfit (black veil and dress, white coif and guimpe) and a gold-colored cross necklace. Additionally, she carries a gold-colored customized IMI Desert Eagle pistol which she wields proficiently.
Personality[]
Despite her age and gentle appearance, she leads her organization with an iron fist. Yolanda loves tea and is usually stern with Eda drinking alcohol in the chapel. Yolanda usually never fights, leaving this job to her subordinates like Eda and Rico. However, she did use her customized Desert Eagle on one occasion, being able to fire it with one hand and with great accuracy, seemingly unaffected by the gun's infamous weight and heavy recoil. The elderly nun also refers to people by their youth or certain names, including referring to Dutch as "Dutchy-boy" and referring to younger people as either "young man" or "young lady."
Black Lagoon history[]
According to the second light novel, Yolanda used to be a cunning Nazi spy in WWII and since then has continued to gain an extraordinary abundance of knowledge on various names and organizations in the intelligence world.[1] It is unknown how or when she settled in the Thai city of Roanapur, although her church is officially registered under the Vatican. Yolanda is aware of Eda's affiliation with the CIA and allows her to operate using the church's network of informants, even having the CIA as a frequent client of her church.[2] Although the Rip-Off Church does openly deal in firearms, they also sell other firearms without the other crime syndicates' knowledge as well as selling drugs without permission. Yolanda is the only person in Roanapur whom Mister Chang allows to sell firearms, showing good relations with the Hong Kong Triad.[3]
Calm down, two men[]
Rock and Revy had to finish a weapons deal with the Rip-Off Church, so the two went to the church to account for the delivery. When the two arrived, Revy knocked on the chapel door and called for Yolanda, but Eda came out and told the two not to enter the chapel and come with her. In the drawing room, the two Lagoon Company members talked with Yolanda, who clarified that she could not give them one of the weapons from Eastern Europe by way of Cambodia on the list since another client of the church needed the weapon. When Revy threatened her due to the latter asking for a discount on the Lagoon Company's services, Yolanda calmly retorted that she could bring Dutch over if she had such an urgent grievance, causing Revy and Eda to pull out their guns in a standoff.
Deescalating the situation, Rock negotiated with Yolanda first by relating to her with their shared interest in good tea flavors, to which she greatly related. When Yolanda asked the young man what he was getting at, Rock then informed her that he knew about the Rip-Off Church's unauthorized drug shipments as well as the uneven amount of weapons leaving and entering Roanapur originating from the church. Responding nonchalantly to his accusation, Yolanda smilingly replied that Rock was relying on mere conjecture. In closing, Rock relayed to the elderly nun that the Lagoon Company was on friendly terms with Hotel Moscow (a large drug trafficker in Roanapur), but that did not mean the pirates briefed them on everything they know. Impressed by his research, Yolanda allowed the two pirates to receive the extra weapon, commending Rock for his business skills and politeness and also complimenting Dutch for recruiting him. Before Revy departed, Yolanda politely suggested that she emulate Rock's behavior, annoying the pirate enough to insult the old woman and leave.[4]
Greenback Jane[]
When Eda, Revy and Rico engaged in a shootout with the Nuevo Laredo Cartel at the chapel's front door, Yolanda heard the gunfire and found Eda's alcohol glasses, berating her for drinking in the chapel. Before Eda could explain herself, the elderly nun pulled out her Desert Eagle pistol to help out, shooting one of the cartel's cars. As the cartel members fled, Yolanda noted that the bullets used, the hole in the door, and the damage to the pews would cost a lot of money to replace, sternly requesting Jane to explain herself inside the chapel.
Jane spoke about her knowledge on reproducing counterfeit U.S. currency in an extraordinarily detailed manner, making Revy and Eda angry and bored, also causing Yolanda to ask what her point was in her story. Subsequently, Jane showed two counterfeit bills and proved that Revy could not spot a counterfeit like she could, but Yolanda still asked what she wanted. Finishing her story, Jane told them she ran away and arrived at the chapel, making Eda remark that Jane betrayed the Nuevo Laredo Cartel instead of fulfilling her deal. Nonetheless, Yolanda offered Jane help by telling her that she could be given safe passage by the church or by the Lagoon Company. When Jane said she would offer $30,000 for her printing plates and escape, Yolanda rejected her offer, nonchalantly advising her to go find help from another god.
In response, the young counterfeiter told them that she would find help elsewhere, but Eda gave her some advice to stay at the Ramsap Inn since she would be easily found at any other hotel. As soon as Jane left the chapel, Yolanda commended Eda for setting up a plan to convince Jane to agree to whatever price they wanted, confusing Revy. Immediately, Eda called Richie Leroy to tip off Jane's location at the inn in exchange for money.[5] In due time, Eda was able to save Jane and get the money printing plates from her.
El Baile de la muerte / Roberta's Blood Trail[]
When news spread throughout Roanapur that Roberta returned to the city, Eda found out that an NSA unit, the Grey Fox Commando Group, was in the city too. Smoking a cigarette in the drawing room, Yolanda listened to Eda elaborate that the NSA was trying to compete with the CIA's influence as they previously did in Venezuela. The elderly nun promised her that the Rip-Off Church's network would gather information on the NSA members' backgrounds and location, adding that she needed financial compensation from the CIA in return. Eda replied that she would bring up the compensation to her boss Ravencroft, whom Yolanda spoke of in a fond manner and remarked that she had always wanted to work with him. Soon, she provided Eda the list as well as the minutes of the Council meeting between Roanapur's crime lords at The Golden Swingin Night Club. Before the young nun left, Yolanda gave her fair warning that her opponent was no rookie and that she should be careful.[2] Sometime later after Rico dropped off some travel documents for Roberta at her hiding place, he informed Eda about the successful drop-off, so the nun ordered him to report to Sister Yolanda while she would leave Thailand for a while.[6]
The Wired Red Wild Card[]
After Eda and Rico agreed to help Rock gather some information, Eda told Rico that they needed to report back to Sister Yolanda before beginning their intelligence gathering.[7]
Other history[]
Ballad of the Sinful Wizard[]
In the 2nd light novel Ballad of the Sinful Wizard after the events of "El Baile de la muerte," Eda returned to the United States to the CIA headquarters, being briefed on the CIA's new mission, Operation Persephone. Since the mission was to take place in Roanapur, CIA Deputy Director Darryl Lansing requested that Eda attain Sister Yolanda's help. Once traveling back to Thailand, Eda visited the Rip-Off Church in her normal nun's habit, speaking to Yolanda in the chapel and informing her of the CIA's operation. Sighing, Yolanda wondered why the CIA had to get rid of their messes all the way in Thailand, but Eda reminded her that the United States was the same country that kidnapped and killed Native Americans. Nevertheless, Yolanda was still skeptical of the plan. When Eda elaborated on the parties involved, Yolanda confirmed that she knew who Philip O'Sullivan was, also revealing that she knew about the friendship between Philip and Zeng Shunten, a Communist Party of China member alleged to be connected to the Fujianese crime syndicate Budaibang.
Looking at the hard copy of the CIA strategy to stage the overseas kidnapping of the heiress Tricia O'Sullivan in order to convince the U.S. President that the CIA needed funding for international operations, the old nun sighed once more. She then asked Eda what she thought was the mission's chance to succeed. When Eda remarked that she could still go with the second best option, Yolanda asked what would happen if Philip went to someone else instead of the CIA to get help for recovering his kidnapped daughter. Eda coldly answered that Tricia would just have to die, which would result in the marriage between the O'Sullivan and Zeng families being cut off anyway. Finishing her story, Eda requested that she be allowed to use the Rip-Off Church chapel as a meeting place for the liaison agent Cardinas Sheringham, who would "save" Tricia. Although she was still skeptical, Yolanda obliged her and laughed with Eda about the coincidence that both Sheringham and the Roanapur local Lotton shared the nickname "Wizard."[1]
Gore Gore Girl[]
In a story in Volume 2 of the Black Lagoon spinoff manga Dismemberment Galore! The Gore Gore Girl, Yolanda had to leave the chapel temporarily, and in her absence, a man seeking an exorcism for his child killed them in the chapel, forcing Eda to kill him in turn. Knowing that Yolanda would be furious with the corpses and blood stains in the chapel, Eda called Sawyer the Cleaner to dispose of the mess. Unfortunately, Rico somehow became possessed and Eda had to tie him up, with the situation worsened by a sudden fog enveloping the church and making Sawyer and Eda see apparitions. In the morning, Yolanda returned to the chapel and heard from someone about the hallucinatory fog that swept Roanapur the previous night due to a shipwreck. Yolanda responded that she believed the story, then entering the chapel to see the tied-up Rico and the unconscious Eda next to the pews. Not pleased with Eda as she woke up, the elderly nun shouted Eda's name and ordered her to slowly explain herself.[8]
Trivia[]
- In the first popularity contest released for the May/June 2008 issue of Monthly Sunday Gene-X, Yolanda ranked 17th with an unspecified number of votes.[9]
- In a popularity contest during the 10th manga collection release, Yolanda ranked 25th with 35 votes.[10]
- In a popularity contest during the 12th manga collection release, Yolanda ranked 16th with 143 votes.[11]
- In the omake, Yolanda was quite beautiful in her youth as a 29-year-old, having short blonde hair and a slim figure.[12]
- Yolanda's appearance with her eyepatch and age bears similarity to Mother Angelica, a well-known Catholic television personality who donned a medical eyepatch in her later years.
- Coincidentally, in real life there was a Catholic saint named Yolanda of Poland, who herself later became an abbess (a female superior of a community of nuns).
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Black Lagoon 2: Ballad of the Sinful Wizard (Edith Blackwater)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chapter 53: El Baile de la muerte Part 10
- ↑ Episode 11: Lock'n Load Revolution
- ↑ Chapter 09: Calm down, two men Part 1
- ↑ Chapter 38: Greenback Jane Part 1
- ↑ Chapter 69: El Baile de la muerte Part 26
- ↑ Chapter 92: The Wired Red Wild Card Part 16
- ↑ Gore Gore Girl Chapter 12: The Fog
- ↑ https://sundaygx.com/blacklagoon/contest/
- ↑ http://sundaygx.info/blacklagoon_contest/
- ↑ http://sundaygx.info/blacklagoon_contest_12/
- ↑ Omake 7: Viva! Youth!