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Shenhua (シェンホア Shenhoa) is a Taiwanese assassin who is employed under Mister Chang as an assassin for the Hong Kong Triad in Roanapur. She later formed an unorthodox three-person team with Sawyer the Cleaner and Lotton the Wizard.

Appearance[]

Shenhua is a young woman with a skinny and tall build, pale skin, and dark cyan eyes. She has knee-length dark-blue hair with chest-length bangs covering the right side of her face, and she always wears red nail polish, lipstick and eyeliner.

Her hair is styled differently in the two anime series:

  • In the first two seasons of the Black Lagoon anime, she ties her hair in a low ponytail at the top.
  • In the Roberta's Blood Trail OVAs, she ties her hair at the bottom.

She has been seen wearing a Rose Chinese cheongsam that shows both of her legs, along with a white jacket. She has a strap holding throwing knives on both legs. On top of all of this, she also wears two long, red, tassel-like earrings on both ears.

Personality[]

Shenhua is an assassin who takes good care of her personal appearance, and she is also very proud of her native Taiwanese heritage; specifically she is descended from benshengren people, who migrated from mainland China to settle in Taiwan long before other mainland Chinese people (waishengren) fled to Taiwan after 1945.[1][2] In addition to her native Chinese, she only knows just enough English to work and communicate with the other people in Roanapur and does not care about grammar or structure. Her broken English earns her nicknames like "Yes-lady" ("Chinglish" in the English version) from Revy, but those who know her well are more concerned with her expertise with throwing knives and blades. In the main series, it is not specified which Sinitic language that Shenhua speaks, though Mandarin is used in the manga and anime by the editors and staff since it is the Sinitic language most commonly defaulted to when people think of the term "Chinese language." In the Black Lagoon light novel Shaitane Badi, Shenhua is shown to be able to speak Cantonese,[3] and in the light novel Ballad of the Sinful Wizard, she is shown to also understand the Hokkien language.[4] In contrast, in the spinoff manga Dismemberment Galore! The Gore Gore Girl, she has claimed that she cannot understand a word of Mandarin.[5]

Her primary weapon involves two kukri blades tied together with a long rope, and she can swing them around, throw them, and quickly pull them back. Her personal philosophy in using such weapons is that guns run out of bullets, while blades and the human body will never fail. Despite her line of work and her attitude toward Revy, she is quite kind, as she recognizes Garcia Lovelace's chivalry and even offered him to stay at her place.[6] Likewise, Black Lagoon creator Rei Hiroe said that Shenhua allowed Sawyer and Lotton to live with her because she is a caring person.[7] A difference between the anime and manga versions of Shenhua involve her religion. In the manga, she mentions to Eda that she is Taoist and is not bothered with killing nuns. In the anime, she refers to herself as an atheist and is not bothered because morals never get in the way of her work.

Skills[]

It is unknown if Shenhua has any unarmed hand-to-hand skills, although it is likely. In the anime, she fights only with blades, and never engages anyone in true hand-to-hand combat. The only other person who does this is Frederica Sawyer, who frequently works with her in "disposal" jobs.

Weapons[]

Shenhua's weapon of choice is blades since, as she sees it, they never run out of bullets. Her primary weapon is a pair of kukri-style blades attached to a long cord. These two knives are sometimes referred to in the series as yanagiba or liuyedao. With these attached, her effective weapon's reach no longer becomes limited by her arms' reach. She can throw her knives and yank them right back into her hands. Additionally, another weapon Shenhua uses are several Feidao throwing knives that she keeps in straps around each leg. She has deadly accuracy, even when throwing several at once.

Black Lagoon history[]

Goat, Jihad, Rock'N Roll[]

Shenhua made her first appearance working for Mr. Chang with the job of escorting the Lagoon Company and sensitive documents to a military base on Basilan Island in the Philippines. With her partner, Leigharch, they waited on the outskirts of an abandoned village, and Shenhua told Leigharch to stay focused on the job instead of consuming drugs. Once she heard shooting, Shenhua told Leigharch to drive. As Revy thought that she was cornered, Shenhua appeared from behind and told Revy to duck, throwing several throwing knives at the soldiers, killing them. Once Leigharch drove them away, Shenhua sat back in the passenger seat from the sunroof, and Leigharch asked Revy why she was the only person since he heard that there were 4 people.

Smoking a cigarette, Revy replied that there was a change in plans to split as well as Rock getting captured by Masahiro Takenaka of Hezbollah. When Leigharch remarked that they were returning to base, Revy asked Shenhua where the enemy camp was, with Shenhua saying that it was several miles from the military base. As soon as Revy ordered them to turn around and go to the base, Shenhua and Leigharch laughed at her request. Revy then leaned forward from her seat and clarified that Rock had the documents and mocked Shenhua's accent by calling her "Yes-lady" ("Chinglish" in the English versions), making Shenhua put her kukri to Revy's neck. Shenhua replied that she was benshengren whose family was from mainland China with their native language not being English, hence her difficulty with the language. Although she initially threatened to kill Revy, Shenhua put her weapon away when Revy reminded her that they could not get paid without the documents, so Shenhua and Leigharch begrudgingly agreed to her plan.[8]

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As the day passed, Leigharch parked his car away from the Abu Sayyaf base as Shenhua re-applied her makeup. Once Revy finished insulting Leigharch, the two women walked to the base. At sunset, they surveilled the base to determine the difficulty of raiding the camp, with Shenhua commenting that there were no landmines since the camp was constantly moving. Once nighttime arrived, the two women attacked the base, with Shenhua slicing several men and soon finding Rock. They then ran to the car to see Leigharch high, with Shenhua calmly stating that they may have problems but Leigharch was still a skilled driver while using drugs.[9]

Soon, as a high Leigharch drove, Shenhua and Revy took turns killing the terrorists that were hot on their heels, with Shenhua killing a good amount of the pursuers as the first attacker. Once Shenhua killed the first several pursuers, Revy tried to push her away so that she could get some kills. Seeing that the cars were too far away for her weapon, Shenhua allowed Revy to kill the remaining pursuers. Just before the deadline, they arrived at the Philippine Army base to drop off the documents to the CIA, and Revy revealed she had the papers tucked under her shirt the whole time, shocking Shenhua and allowing them all to get paid.[10]

Greenback Jane[]

Shenhua appeared as a hired blade in "Greenback Jane" as one of the many bounty hunters in Roanapur contracted to take Janet Bhai alive when she escaped her mafia handlers. At the Yellow Flag, Shenhua questioned Russell's leadership. She was surprised to learn that Sawyer the Cleaner was actually a woman, having previously visited Sawyer's workplace to deliver a tied-up man for execution.[11] After Revy and Eda helped Jane escape, Shenhua learned from Ronny CK about the two women's involvement. When Russell questioned the bounty hunters' skills and refused to pay them more than their $1,000-per-person bounty, Shenhua threw her kukri near the angered Russell, agreeing with the bounty hunters that Russell was a joke and out of his element in their town.

Sheathing her weapons, Shenhua told Russell to consult Lobos since he would also confirm that he would have to pay them extra. Eventually, she faced Revy and Eda at Revy's workplace when they tried to sneak Jane out of the Lagoon Company dry dock, breaking a window in the process. While bantering with Revy, Shenhua mentioned that Leigharch was put into long-term medical care due to an overdose stemming from frequent drug use. As the Taiwanese assassin waited outside on the building's exterior duct, Revy shot through the wall to force Shenhua to run toward the adjacent window, and Eda fired a shot.[12]

Although Eda thought that she hit Shenhua, her closer examination near the window resulted in Shenhua wrapping her double kukri's cord around Eda's neck. While holding onto Eda, Shenhua ordered Sawyer to go to the roof to pursue Jane, threatening that she would kill Eda if Revy tried anything funny. Quickly thinking, Revy pretended to leave while Eda pleaded with Shenhua not to kill her. When Shenhua commented that she had no problem killing nuns, Eda implied to Shenhua that the former had a trump card, with the latter gaining an eerie feeling as Revy broke through the window. Although Shenhua pierced Revy's body with several throwing knives, Revy's entrance directed Shenhua's attention elsewhere, allowing the nun to shoot Shenhua several times, leaving the Taiwanese assassin for dead. After Eda and Revy fled with Jane on the Black Lagoon, one of the other hired guns, Lotton the Wizard, rescued the bleeding but alive Shenhua along with Sawyer the Cleaner.[13] The three then joined together afterward as their own team, with Shenhua allowing them to live at her place.

El Baile de la muerte / Roberta's Blood Trail[]

Two weeks after Shenhua was finally out of the hospital, Revy called Shenhua to be some hired muscle for a special mission. Once negotiating a price, she brought along Sawyer and Lotton to help in tracking down Roberta, the killer maid of Garcia Lovelace.[6] Soon, she took quite the liking to the young boy. They arrived too late to stop the fighting, and they all got caught up in a small war between local mercenaries, FARC soldiers, and the U.S. Grey Fox Squad. When Fabiola Iglesias had a gripe with Revy since the latter killed an injured man, Shenhua held her kukri to Fabiola and told the young maid that they needed to stay on the mission, adding that Fabiola's morality got in the way.[14] As they went into the building where Roberta was hiding, Shenhua ignored Revy's warning, rushed ahead, and ran into Roberta. The killer maid had lost sanity from taking stimulants and crushed one of Shenhua's kukri knives with her teeth. Sawyer tried to save her, but Roberta broke her chainsaw. They were both saved by Lotton, who suffered a kick to his groin.[15]

They later found Garcia with two members of the Grey Fox team, and Shenhua asked Lotton if he was okay. Lotton pulled out his groin guard, disgusting the women.[16] As the women prepared to ambush Horner and Sanchez to save Garcia, they were stopped from attacking by Balalaika's Vysotniki, with Shenhua being shot in the leg as a warning shot. Not wanting to fight Hotel Moscow and die, Shenhua and her own team backed out and went home, but Fabiola assured them that they would get paid since their mission technically was to guide her and Garcia to Roberta, which they succeeded in doing.[17]

L'homme sombre[]

After several Black men in Roanapur were targeted by Les Cinq Doigts, Dutch was assumed by his fellow crew members to be a possible target, so Rock and Revy visited Mister Chang at the Hot River Film Company for help. During their talk, he recommended that the two of them should visit Jinx for details of the assassins' appearance, and he promised to send them protection later.[18] After Rock and Revy visited Jinx, they found out that the protection Chang sent them was none other than Shenhua. At a restaurant, she asked them if Rock would also pay for her meals as well as paying 1.3 times the pay that Chang ordered, and Rock confirmed he would. Revy informed Shenhua about the eight killings of Black men in Roanapur, to which Shenhua replied that she only needed them lured out and she could finish them off. She then asked Rock about the assassins' appearance and plans, and Rock stated that they needed to capture at least one of the five assassins to find out their orders.[19]

After deducing that either François Modibo or Duke Moses were the next targets of the assassins, Rock and Revy headed to the antiques shop where Modibo worked at, with Shenhua tagging along. As the three walked inside and spoke with Isaac, four of the assassins arrived and entered the building, with Le Majeur telling Revy to stay out of their way or be killed. Revy pulled out her pistol and the women draw as well, with Revy managing to shoot L'index in her shoulder. L'auriculaire ordered L'annulaire to cover her, so Shenhua charged at the latter, only managing to cut some of the fabric on L'annulaire's sleeve due to protection beneath the suit. Revy covered for Shenhua, letting the latter push L'annulaire out the store window. Le Majeur ordered her group to retreat, causing Revy to tell Shenhua to capture at least one of the women. Quickly acting, Shenhua wrapped her kukri around Le Majeur's neck, but L'index threw a stun grenade into the store, disorienting Revy's team.

As Le Majeur ran out to catch up with her crew, Revy shot her in the back and onto the ground to no avail due to her bullet-resistant jacket. While Le Majeur exchanged gunfire, L'auriculaire aimed her pistol and shot Le Majeur directly in the left eye, incapacitating her. The four Frenchwomen were forced to flee, and Shenhua saw that Le Majeur was knocked out but still alive.[20] Shenhua carried the incapacitated Majeur and Rock and Revy guided her to a warehouse. Shenhua stayed there with Rock and Revy to aid in interrogating Le Majeur, who refused to cooperate. Rock left for a bit to get intel from Feng Yifei regarding what happened in Burkina Faso on September 18, 1989, and Shenhua also left to get some food, asking Revy what she wanted while saying that as a hostage, Le Majeur would get what Shenhua bought for her.[21] When Shenhua returned with the food, Revy had convinced Le Majeur to cooperate and she revealed that she was with the Service d'Action Civique (SAC), so Shenhua gave her a burger.

After Le Majeur revealed her limited intel, Shenhua continued to accompany Rock and Revy for their plan to fight the assassins. Le Majeur decided to betray her colleagues by falsifying intel to her fellow Frenchwomen about Dutch's next mission, and Shenhua would play a role with Revy in setting a trap for Les Cinq Doigts. That night, Shenhua silently accompanied Revy at Balalaika's office as Rock convinced the ex-soldier to help them.[22] When Dutch set the trap and Balalaika's men began shooting at the Frenchwomen, Shenhua went with Revy to aid in the killing.[23] To conceal their presence from the Vysotniki during the latter's ambush, Shenhua and Revy used a hidden entrance at the nightclub.[24] After the Russians killed L'annulaire and L'index, Le Pouce managed to escape but was greatly harmed. Le Majeur, Revy and Shenhua followed her trail of blood, and Shenhua watched Le Pouce apologize to Le Majeur, who then killed the former after she revealed that she knew her comrades walked into a trap. Smiling, Shenhua remarked that Le Majeur was quite sensitive, and the three women left the building after the showdown.[25]

Light novel history[]

Shaitane Badi[]

In the 1st official light novel Shaitane Badi, after Mister Chang survived an assassination attempt that the Lagoon Company had aided not knowing about his presence, Chang told the Lagoon sailors that they could make it up to him by storming the hideout of the four surviving assassins in Roanapur once his men discovered the location. Although Chang specifically did not want to send his own men, Chang had Shenhua, Leigharch, and three other freelancers accompany Revy. As Leigharch drove them, Revy complained about having to share the mission with the Albondigas brothers, and sitting in the front seat, Shenhua teased her that Chang did not have trust in her. Unfazed by Revy's anger, Shenhua reminded her that she needed to see Revy actually fight the assassins, with the Chinese-American advising Shenhua to not kill Jake since Revy wanted to kill him. Once Leigharch pulled up to the abandoned factory, Shenhua and Revy immediately killed Alonzo outside, and Shenhua and the three brothers decided to go to the building's back once Revy entered the front area without hesitation.

While Revy killed Pedro and was still fighting Jake, Shenhua stood tensely in the darkness and asked the brothers if they were ready. Not hearing a response from the jovial brothers, she realized that one of the brothers had been killed, and quickly the enemy also killed the other two brothers. As the enemy assassin killed the third brother, Shenhua threw her sword at him but he barely dodged her attack as he severed the sword's cord in half. Showing himself, the ninja assassin, Shadow Falcon, stood in a peculiar stance, intimidating Shenhua since she could tell that his stance was deadly and she could not predict his next movement. Feeling that she had no choice except to attack, Shenhua threw her liuyedao, but Falcon had already used a smoke bomb to step back. Suddenly, Shenhua barely dodged a shuriken flying toward her as she hid behind a nearby pillar, cursing the assassin in Chinese as he left. In the end, the three assassins managed to flee the hideout, leaving Shenhua and Revy disappointed.[2]

Later the next day at Chang's office, Shenhua stood quietly as Chang examined the weapons left behind by Shadow Falcon. Speaking in Cantonese, Shenhua apologized for her blunder, clarifying that she thought that splitting her forces would suffice but she had underestimated the enemy. Adding that the ninja was quite skilled, Shenhua passionately declared that she would take off her high heels if she met him again. Seeing that even Shenhua had difficulty facing the ninja, Chang remarked that he was certainly a possible threat.[3]

Ballad of the Sinful Wizard[]

In the 2nd official light novel Ballad of the Sinful Wizard, Sawyer was at Shenhua's place with Lotton when the latter spilled coffee on Shenhua's pillow. Not wanting to face Shenhua's scorn, Lotton left the residence to find a replacement.[26] Later when Shenhua returned home, Sawyer informed Shenhua about Lotton running away because he heard Sawyer's words about Shenhua's fury. Walking through Roanapur with Sawyer, Shenhua noticed that Sawyer had brought her cleaning kit, thinking that Sawyer was anticipating cleaning up some corpses or worse. Going to several businesses and an antique shop armed with her sword, Shenhua followed Sawyer and found out that the local businesses had not received any pillows from a man.

At a market, Shenhua came across Revy, whom she despised but was also looking for Lotton by chance, so they begrudgingly agreed to search for him together. Curious as to why Lagoon Company also looked for Lotton, Shenhua asked her to provide any details, but Revy only stated that Mister Chang requested her help, grabbing Shenhua's attention since she cannot disobey Chang. Breaking her own silence, Sawyer suggested that they take a car since their next location, Sankan Palace Hotel, was far away for walking. Confused, the women asked Sawyer why there specifically, and with her voice box she muttered that he wanted to find a fancy bedding shop but could not find a feather pillow. Upon hearing that, Revy laughed and jokingly questioned if Lotton has a vicious desire to tear up feather pillows like the feathers at the Yellow Flag, surprising Shenhua. Clarifying, Revy stated that Lotton spread feathers all over the bar during her shooting of the Budaibang thugs, pointing to Sawyer since she cleaned up the mess.

Realizing that Sawyer had been reluctant due to knowing about Lotton taking the pillow, Shenhua told her that she forgave Lotton and that Sawyer should make money from selling organs to help pay for a new pillow if necessary. Rock calmly muttered about how the organ market was collapsing, but Shenhua rolled her eyes due to Rock's supposed cowardice. At the front desk inside Sankan Palace Hotel, the clerk informed them about Lotton's presence and his room number after Rock clarified that they were with Mister Chang. Going up the elevator, Revy continued cussing to Shenhua's great annoyance. Outside room 605, Shenhua knocked on the door and called for Lotton, saying that she knew he was in there. Glaring at Revy after she kicked down the door, Shenhua thought to herself that she could not act so uncouth since she was representing Mister Chang in public.

As Sawyer scoped the room, Shenhua heard someone nearby speaking Hokkien, so she quickly hid in the room with the other women and prepared her weapons. Soon, the Chinese men attempted to enter the same room, and Revy responded accordingly by shooting at them while Shenhua assessed that there were nine enemies in total. Although Shenhua and Revy killed three men, the other six shot back into the room, causing Shenhua to retreat behind the sofa. While Shenhua assessed the new situation, Revy fled to the balcony and advised Shenhua that she could use the emergency stairs to escape, angering the latter for leaving her there. Thinking that they had killed everyone in the room, the two Chinese men stopped shooting and entered the room, and the two covered each other to Shenhua's disadvantage. One gangster walked to the closet, and immediately Sawyer burst her chainsaw through and cut the man down in half.

With the other henchman surprised by the horrid sight of his comrade's blood everywhere, Shenhua used the opportunity to cut off his head with her corded sword. Terrified, the men in the hallway ran away in refusal to attack further, and Shenhua happened to hear the gangsters' leader, Lu Tao, give orders to the other men to go upstairs for finding Tricia and Lotton. Entering the room, Lu Tao saw Shenhua and complimented her two-sworded weapon in Hokkien, making her deviously smile since she had been tired of hearing English. In turn, Lu Tao pulled out a three-section staff, and the Taiwanese assassin noticed his smooth serpent-like movements. Commenting that Lu Tao was her prey, Shenhua advised Sawyer to not interfere, so Sawyer turned off her chainsaw and sat down.[4]

Assessing Shenhua's fighting style, Lu Tao knew that he had to stay at a distance from Shenhua's double yanagiba, which prevented his close-ranged three-section staff from being used. Acting quickly, Lu Tao took advantage of the gaps between Shenhua's attacks to avoid them and make her attacks sloppier, also using his Wing Chun to keep her away and avoiding her due to her high heels slowing her down. To annoy Lu Tao, Sawyer indirectly joined the fight by cutting up Song's corpse, angering Lu Tao but primarily making him scared. Additionally, Lu Tao asked Shenhua why Sawyer was enjoying her work. Casually, Shenhua replied that Sawyer was troubled and it was just her normal behavior, and she continued throwing her swords at the distraught Lu Tao. As he referred to Roanapur as a demonic town from hell, Shenhua threw her sword in her right hand, giving him the chance to roll forward and dodge the blade instead of deflecting it.

Unfortunately, he immediately realized that he was not paying attention to her left hand. Subsequently, Shenhua pulled back her other sword as he charged at her, returning her sword to Lu Tao's back. As the sword began to enter his back, Dick Krugland appeared and tackled him away, decreasing the brunt of the damage and crashing through the balcony door glass. As Krugland tried to shield Lu Tao again, Shenhua and Sawyer utilized the opportunity to flee the room to the upper floor. Leaving the hotel, Shenhua and Revy's respective groups escaped.[27] Much later, Rock managed to bring a replacement pillow to Lotton for Shenhua.[26]

Gore Gore Girl history[]

Shenhua is a supporting character in the Black Lagoon spinoff series Dismemberment Galore! The Gore Gore Girl.

Volume 1[]

When Sawyer took a long time in the bathroom at Shenhua's place due to constipation, the Taiwanese woman impatiently stood outside and demanded Sawyer to hurry up. While she stood outside the bathroom door with Lotton, Sawyer exited and Shenhua told her that she had better not cut her wrists again and spill blood inside the bathroom. Only looking at the two with a mellow expression, Sawyer walked past them and smiled to herself after great relief.[28] Later after Sawyer acquired a request from a young Thai boy to procure a corpse for him, Shenhua drank at the Yellow Flag with Sawyer and Lotton. Drinking her glass, Shenhua commented that Sawyer spent a lot of time in her work, jokingly asking if the latter was a necrophiliac. While Sawyer remained silent and Lotton contemplated her client's strange name, Shenhua agreed that the job seemed suspicious and told Sawyer that she would inform Mister Chang for further help if the latter girl felt that it was necessary.

Once Sawyer finished drinking and became tipsy, Shenhua asked her if she was all right walking home alone at night, and Sawyer did go home on her own. The next morning, Sawyer crouched on the couch as Shenhua, dressed in her nightgown, laughed at Sawyer's story about her adventure after the bar. Giggling that the young boy showed up and single-handedly fought several male assailants with Muay Thai and did not carry a gun in Roanapur, Shenhua recalled that there were a lot of orders that day and ordered Sawyer to get up and start working.[29]

Volume 2[]

Late at night close to dawn, Shenhua ordered porridge, youtiao, and a soy latte at a food stall. Going to the table with her tray of food, she saw Sawyer, saying their meeting was a coincidence. Changing her thought, Shenhua remarked that it might not be a coincidence to find a place to have a meal close to dawn, asking Sawyer if she was off work. Stating that she had finished a job, Shenhua also asked Sawyer what she was eating, looking at her food and seeing scones and tofu but her smile faded upon seeing Sawyer's offal. Commenting that she could not laugh when Sawyer was eating offal, Shenhua asked her if the food was actually good. Although silent for a bit, Sawyer formed a huge smile, surprising Shenhua since she did not often smile. Shenhua then talked about how hard her last job was, which involved disposing of a religious group leader who was in hiding.

As Shenhua talked about putting food into her stomach and Sawyer continued eating, they heard Rock ordering a warm cup of green tea with a bowl of rice and pickled mustard greens. Walking with his tray of food, Rock saw the two women and moved to another table, awkwardly saying hello from afar. Shenhua waved to him, telling him to come to their table and not sit so far away. Subsequently, Rock stood up and brought his food, and Shenhua said he was welcome unless the "slut" was also with him, but he assured her that Revy was asleep. As he poured his tea and gobbled down his bowl of rice, the tattered-shirt Rock talked about how there was a commotion over some cargo that resulted in a shootout. While Shenhua and Sawyer were put off by his stress, the former told Rock that she was astonished at the way Japanese people ate. In response, Rock replied that Japan was an unusual place, adding that he had a temptation for ochazuke but Revy herself disliked it.

As Rock and Shenhua agreed about the noisy night they both had, Lotton ordered eggs and bacon in his usual nonsensical manner, wanting his black coffee "like the dark night of a new moon." Going to the table, Lotton was surprised to see everyone, pushing his glasses up and sitting down at a table adjacent to them. Shenhua asked if he had had a long night as well, and Lotton responded that he had a hard fight but did not win, clarifying that he had to dodge a jet-black blade many times. Realizing that Lotton was talking about a video game instead of work, Shenhua calmly asked Sawyer if she was playing video games with Lotton, and the girl denied it by shaking her head. She turned to Lotton and asked him who he played games with, giving him an angry smile and asking if he invited someone to her place without permission, making Lotton sweat from nervousness. Stopping her glare, Shenhua sighed and remarked that she did not have the energy to ask anything else, telling Lotton that he could explain himself later.

As the four ate, they heard gunshots to their surprise, but seconds later as the gunshots continued, they nonchalantly resumed eating. Shenhua herself commented that gunshots are not surprising anyway since it was Roanapur and the noises were merely a neighborhood annoyance. Shenhua teased Lotton by asking him what he meant by his coffee request of a "dark night of a new moon," but the gunshots ceased, grabbing everyone's attention. Nearby, Shenhua noticed Rico at the food stand ordering a ham sandwich and honey latte, remarking that he was exhausted after a long night. Once he got his food, he saw that Shenhua and the others were also dining there, asking them if they were having a party. When Rico saw their confused faces, he clarified that he was with the Rip-Off Church, but they still did not know him.

Although Rock assured him that he meant no offense toward the apprentice priest and invited him to sit down, Shenhua in contrast calmly stated that she had never heard of the young priest, surprising Rico. While Rico explained his recent job, Shenhua and Rock agreed that they were not fond of working overtime and way late at night, whereas Rico replied that he just did his work to get by. As they continued to eat, several armed men arrived at the restaurant, yelling at everyone to give up their money. None of the five were fazed by the robbers' presence and they did not want to fight them either after their long night. As the robbers displayed confusion at the customers' unconcern regarding their armed presence, Shenhua convinced Sawyer to fight them by offering to buy her almond tofu, a rolled omelet, and Brazilian cheese bread. Finishing her drink, Sawyer pulled out her chainsaw and put on a war face, scaring the robbers. Grabbing Lotton by his collar and dragging him along, Sawyer prepared to kill the robbers as Shenhua happily told her to have fun and clean up if she made a mess.[30]

Sawyer chapter 13

Shenhua seeing Sawyer's video camera

In Shenhua's fourth story, Sawyer got hold of a video camera and started using it around the house, pushing the camera into Shenhua's face as she was cooking jiaozi in the kitchen. The three sat down, and Shenhua ordered Sawyer to put the camera down so that they could eat, telling her that it was bad manners. Lotton struggled to eat the Chinese dumplings with chopsticks and pointed at the camera, causing Shenhua to remind him that it was a video camera, piquing his interest. After Sawyer had fallen asleep while gaming with Lotton, Shenhua yelled to her to wake up, also asking herself in bafflement if Lotton had been playing video games the entire time. As the fatigued Sawyer began to wake up, Shenhua asked her if she was hungry, reminding her that she had leftover jiaozi from before.

A little later in her room, the Taiwanese assassin was putting on toenail polish while only in undergarments, and she realized that Sawyer was recording, asking the latter what she was doing. Shenhua shoved the camera away and demanded Sawyer, also only dressed in undergarments, to hand it over. She pushed Sawyer back with a pillow and told the girl that she would kill her if she tried to sell the video to a local market. Sawyer agreed to turn off the video camera, and Lotton quietly left the residence as Shenhua glared at her. Later, Sawyer played a video game as Shenhua wondered where Lotton might be after he had left the residence, and the latter woman saw Sawyer playing a single player game, telling the goth girl that it was not her thing. After time had passed again, Sawyer barely awakened while Shenhua recalled that Lotton had not shown up for a week, casually thinking that he was probably dead.

Preparing to leave the apartment, Shenhua berated Sawyer for not keeping track of Lotton, asking Sawyer if she even had her own place. She then stated that after their current search, Sawyer should go back to her place of work. The two then left the residence and began searching together. Walking through a market, Shenhua commented that she heard about a man who looked like Lotton passing through the area, and she realized that Sawyer was video recording her again. Blushing and pushing the camera away, Shenhua angrily flustered and only said that she was looking for Lotton since she was angry with him, telling Sawyer to stop grinning at her. Arriving in a rundown area, the two women soon saw Lotton walk around a corner, causing Shenhua to yell his name repeatedly and running toward the corner. Sawyer fell to the ground on her hands, staying behind as she turned off her video camera.

Finding a calm Lotton next to Tou Chi, Shenhua asked him why he left her place, but Tou Chi yelled that he would not give up Lotton. Shenhua did not recognize him at all, making the annoyed Tou Chi clarify his name. The drug user then continued talking in a hallucinating rant about how his brain was being melted as well as claiming that he needed Lotton since he was a "chosen" person. Sweating profusely and pointing his revolver at Shenhua, Tou Chi stated that he had a passport for traveling, but Shenhua knocked him onto the ground and told the aloof Lotton that he should not be hanging around people like Tou Chi. As Tou Chi lied on his back in pain, Shenhua asked Lotton if he was okay and if he had any drugs in his system.

Pushing up his sunglasses, Lotton stated that he had been recently invited and thought that Tou Chi would have dumplings and video games, but upon seeing neither, he declined and decided that he would leave. Saying that his reasoning was stupid, Shenhua calmly urged Lotton to come back home, adding that she would make him lots of jiaozi. Seeing something shiny in the sky, Shenhua quickly told Sawyer to point her camera there. As Sawyer turned the camera, she accidentally dropped it into a pond of sludge, abruptly stopping the recording.[31] In a flashback chapter, Shenhua had received the call from Revy to help Garcia Lovelace look for Roberta in Roanapur. Once negotiating the price, Shenhua yelled to Sawyer and Lotton if they wanted to join her, and Sawyer silently but warmly raised her hand.[32]

Volume 3[]

Armed with her dual swords and dodging many knives thrown at her, Shenhua asked her assailant who she was, telling them to stop showing off. Jumping down from a roof, a heavyset, spike-footed Chinese woman glared at Shenhua, who told the woman that she knew the former had been following her for the last couple of days and asked for her identity again. In Mandarin, the woman cursed Shenhua and told the Taiwanese woman that she would be sorry. In response, Shenhua sarcastically derided her as being too cruel, telling the big woman that she could not understand a word of Mandarin. Telling the woman that she at least understood the words "hate" and "kill," Shenhua dared the "pig" to try attacking her, slightly angering her. Continuing her glare, the heavyset woman fired two roped daggers from her arms. Shenhua blocked her long-ranged attack and assessed the distance, confidently throwing her two swords at the woman knowing her body served as a wide target.

The woman then sprung upward with her spiked-feet and charged at Shenhua to her surprise. Quickly thinking, Shenhua pulled back the swords' cord back to stab the woman's backside, but the woman bended her chest backward and kicked the sword upward with her right foot, shocking Shenhua. The woman then immediately began spinning around and deflected the swords back to Shenhua. As Shenhua barely caught the swords, she was caught off guard as the woman spun toward Shenhua and performed a multiple-kick combo that hit Shenhua several times, knocking her back. Shoved back against a dead-end wall with some blood dripping down her forehead, Shenhua stood on defense as the drill woman glared at her. In Mandarin, the woman told Shenhua to go to hell as her hands were shown to be sharpened four-point drills. While the woman spun her drill hands and began to spin her entire body, she counted to three in Mandarin, and Shenhua reciprocated a smug smile.

Counting number three, the woman flied in a drill-like manner toward her, but Shenhua jumped upward and hung on the wall with her sword, yelling for Sawyer to go loose. Subsequently, a chainsaw suddenly burst through from the wall's other side as the assailant's arm hooked onto the wall, shocking the drill woman and cutting her apart with blood spread everywhere on the floor. Thanking Sawyer, Shenhua told her that she would pay for her work when she got home. Seeing the blood on the floor, Shenhua awkwardly hung onto the wall and demanded Sawyer to clean up the blood so that she did not stain her high heels, but Sawyer had already left to her annoyance.[5]

Sometime later when Mister Chang was given responsibility to guard a Hong Kong actress, Ma Yanlin, he summoned Shenhua and her two roommates to his office. Subsequently, the Triad leader apologized to Shenhua and co. for calling them on such short notice. He introduced them to Yanlin as she sat next to him, saying that he had been taking care of her at home between overseas locations. Hesitating in surprise, Chang stated that Yanlin wanted to tour Roanapur for one day before returning to Hong Kong and she specifically wanted the lady-killer Lotton the Wizard to serve as her sole escort. Shenhua dropped her jaw in shock, but she quickly covered her mouth to hide her surprise. Although Chang told them that he originally advised her to take three people with her, he elaborated that she saw Lotton the previous night and took a liking to him, stating that wishes from the homeland would be granted as much as possible.

Getting up from the couch and kneeling to the actress, Lotton introduced himself. The smiling Yanlin greeted the Wizard and then left with him as Shenhua awkwardly asked Chang about Yanlin's background and what she and Sawyer should do. Smoking a cigarette, Chang replied that Yanlin was a business interest and a mistress of a powerful executive. Pointing at them and telling them that they would be in trouble too if she succumbed to danger, Chang reminded them that they knew Lotton best. In town, Lotton walked with the gazing Yanlin as Shenhua and Sawyer peered at them from behind a corner. Wondering if Lotton had a driver's license since he was not escorting Yanlin by car, Shenhua mocked Chang's notion that she and Sawyer knew Lotton, remarking that she did not truly know who Lotton was. Lotton himself told Yanlin that he thought he had met her before, and the Hong Kong actress lightly laughed and responded that she had met him every time that she had been born again and again, confusing the surveilling Shenhua as to what she was saying.

As Shenhua continued eavesdropping, Sawyer tugged at her sleeve to point at several people approaching Lotton and Yanlin, but the group approached Lotton with amicable words and quickly bid him goodbye. As Shenhua angrily wondered what Lotton was up to, Yanlin requested him to take her to the sea since she knew Roanapur had a harbor and wanted to see the sea. Arriving at a rocky cliffside overlooking the sea, Yanlin complimented the atmosphere as Shenhua and Sawyer hid behind a rock to watch them. Commenting that their silence was frustrating, Shenhua whispered to Sawyer that Yanlin's only movie actress quality was her face. Breaking her silence, Yanlin told Lotton that they met at sea. Figuring that he probably did not remember, Yanlin told him that she saved him from drowning after falling off a ship as a child. Upon hearing this, Shenhua's jaw dropped while Sawyer spit out her drink.

Lotton's eyes widened as if he remembered, and Yanlin continued that after the incident, she was arrested in Shanghai and moved from place to place until becoming a servant of the Triad. Turning her back to the cliff, Yanlin thanked Lotton and requested that they meet again in the sea, letting herself fall off the cliff backwards. The two women watched in shock, but Lotton quickly dashed forward and grasped Yanlin by her lower back, preventing her fall. As Lotton continued to grasp her wrist after she spoke a line, she rhetorically asked if his TRPG that he played was about mermaids, telling him that she got the idea last night while overhearing his game in a nearby seat. Laughing joyfully, Yanlin declared that she managed to make him believe her, making Shenhua snidely mutter that she was an actress after all. Much later, Shenhua and Sawyer watched the VHS tape of Yanlin's latest movie with Lotton's unintentional involvement, but instead of a drama, the film turned out to be a slapstick comedy wherein a clumsy Yanlin spilled food, cartoonishly fell over a cliff, and was spun around after her dress's cloth was pulled.[33]

Volume 4[]

When Sawyer found an elegant key at her workplace, she repurposed it into an earring and showed it off to Shenhua that night at the Yellow Flag. As Shenhua asked her whether the key was real or merely decorative, three policemen entered the bar loudly and walked to the counter. Shenhua listened to them, hearing the police panic about not being able to find a key, causing her to immediately look at the surprised Sawyer. Hearing the entire conversation about the key's history of people violently fighting for its possession, Shenhua advised Sawyer to take off the earring and immediately go home. After the two women and Lotton left the bar, Sawyer went to her workplace instead. Shenhua asked if she wanted to stay at her place tonight, but Sawyer gestured a thumbs up that she would be fine. Telling Sawyer that she would contact her about any news, Shenhua left with Lotton as Sawyer closed the door.[34]

Volume 5[]

Having been assigned by the Triad to keep watch of two mysterious men from mainland China, Shenhua was informed that the men had arrived to Roanapur since they wanted to abduct a Chinese child who had been initially hidden away. While the men had already began fighting with the child's protector and destroyed a Chinese herbal pharmacy in the process, Shenhua arrived and blocked a whip heading toward Sawyer's face with her corded sword, apologizing to Sawyer for being late. Shenhua calmly handed Sawyer her chainsaw, making Sawyer gleefully smile. The elderly Chinese storeowner sweated and asked Shenhua what was going on, but the Taiwanese woman replied that she only knew that the two were bad guys, clarifying that she could not understand them since they mostly remained silent.

Although the elder asked what the young boy had done, Shenhua and Sawyer began to clash with the hooked-sword wielder and whip wielder respectively. As the old man and young child watched the fight, the elder smelled something unusual, sensing something bad. Shenhua yelled that China is old, big and complicated, elaborating that there were many inviolable areas in the underworld and that the two men left their area and have entered Roanapur. Continuing to block the attackers, Shenhua clarified that she had been asked by the Triad to act as a watchwoman, saying that the men screwed up first. Both women then successfully knocked both men to the ground as their straw hats flew off their heads. All sides panted from the fighting as Shenhua angrily ordered the men to calm down. With a trick up their sleeve, the two men suddenly enveloped themselves in smoke, but to their shock, some exposed wire came into contact with a pipe's leaking water, making the silhouetted men appear to be charging up at first.

In reality, the men were being electrocuted, shocking the two women. The mist dissipated, showing the two men charred and dead, and the young girl who protected the child appeared, commenting on the black fog. As the boy stared blankly, the girl recalled the boy's history and how darkness would have enveloped the world if he was not saved, thanking Shenhua and Sawyer, who stayed silent. The young girl then concluded that there should be compensation for the storeowner from her employer, and she broke her seriousness by happily bidding them goodbye. The elderly storeowner asked Shenhua how she felt, but Shenhua immediately said that she did not care since she was no longer involved, commenting that she hoped to never see the two children again.[35]

In another story, having been mistaken for a certain murderer and defeating her assailants, Sawyer returned to Shenhua's residence completely drenched in a mix of blood, sewage, and filth, and she left a trail of the filth behind as she walked inside. As Sawyer blissfully took a shower, Shenhua returned home and immediately saw the mess all over the floor, furiously screaming. The Taiwanese assassin yelled to ask who was responsible and proclaimed that she would not forgive the perpetrator who ruined her floor.[36]

Volume 6[]

Sawyer chapter 38

Shenhua looking at a goldfish stand

Out in public with Sawyer, Shenhua came across a goldfish stand on wheels and looked at one of the goldfish bags, remarking that it was an unusual sight. As she looked at the goldfish, Shenhua saw a blurry eye through the bags and water, and she went around the stand to see a small, sulking girl standing there, asking her if she was all alone and where her father went. Although Shenhua smiled and asked in concern, the girl remained silent. At the same time, the girl's father, a police detective, began lethally attacking several Hong Kong gangsters nearby who had attempted to kill him and his family via arson. Meanwhile, Shenhua sat down next to the girl on the curb and tried to cheer her up by saying that her father should be back soon, asking the child's name. Only getting silence in response, Shenhua continued asking in English if she could understand her words. Speaking Cantonese, Shenhua asked her the same question again, also asking her where her father was. Still gloomy, the girl merely answered that he was out.

Chasing the father, the white-blazer gangster fired one shot and successfully shot him in the back, felling him to the ground. Telling the detective that he was silly, the gangster cocked his pistol, but the detective cried in pain and looked ahead of him to the goldfish stand, calling for his daughter Lai Faa. Immediately, the girl pulled out a snub-nose revolver. As the white-blazer man was surprised to learn that the daughter was alive, the father used his dying breath to order her to shoot. As the two pointed their guns at each other, Shenhua's sword suddenly flew right into the gangster's forehead, knocking him back and killing him. As Sawyer continued to hold back Lai Faa's hand from shooting, Shenhua calmly commented that "Lai Faa" was a cute name, telling the girl that she could still turn back unlike her father. Afterward, Mister Chang personally intervened to let the child go free since her father was a former friend of Chang's during his time with the Hong Kong Police.[37]

After Sawyer had escaped her captor who had tied her up and violently licked her neck repeatedly, Shenhua walked with Sawyer some day later in the heat. Noticing that Sawyer had suddenly started wearing turtlenecks, she asked her why she had done so. Remaining silent, the disgusted Sawyer did not answer and continued to manually lift her collar to cover her throat scar.[38]

Trivia[]

  • According to Rei Hiroe's editor, Shenhua was initially planned to have an androgynous appearance, but she ended up having a more feminine appearance.[7]
  • Shenhua's name in Chinese means "crane" (the type of bird).
  • In the first popularity contest released for the May/June 2008 issue of Monthly Sunday Gene-X, Shenhua ranked 7th with 222 votes.[39]
  • In the second popularity contest during the 10th manga collection release, Shenhua ranked 12th with 347 votes.[40]
  • In the third popularity contest during the 12th manga collection release, Shenhua ranked 7th with 910 votes.[41]
  • On Shenhua's accent, Hiroe said that her way of speaking came "from a lady who works at a Chinese restaurant in [Hiroe]'s neighborhood. I didn't want her talking like a cliché Chinese character, so I came up with altering her phrasing. Junichi Inoue, who wrote A Chinese Wife and an Otaku Husband, said it sounded authentic. That made me happy." In addition, Hiroe also remarked that Shenhua, Lotton and Sawyer are "Black Lagoon's mascots. The three of them live together because Shenhua's such a caring person. I think they'll stay the way they are."[7]

References[]

  1. Chapter 19: Goat, Jihad, Rock'N Roll Part 4
  2. 2.0 2.1 Black Lagoon: Shaitane Badi (Chapter 3)
  3. 3.0 3.1 Black Lagoon: Shaitane Badi (Chapter 4)
  4. 4.0 4.1 Black Lagoon 2: Ballad of the Sinful Wizard (Shenhua)
  5. 5.0 5.1 Gore Gore Girl Chapter 17: Enter The Fat Dragon
  6. 6.0 6.1 Chapter 57: El Baile de la muerte Part 14
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Loser's Horizon column in the April 2021 issue of Monthly Sunday Gene-X.
  8. Episode 11: Lock'n Load Revolution
  9. Chapter 20: Goat, Jihad, Rock'N Roll Part 5
  10. Episode 12: Guerrillas in the Jungle
  11. Episode 16: Greenback Jane
  12. Episode 17: The Roanapur Freakshow Circus
  13. Episode 18: Mr. Benny's Good Fortune
  14. Episode 27: Angels in the Crosshairs
  15. Episode 28: Oversaturation Kill Box
  16. Chapter 67: El Baile de la muerte Part 24
  17. Chapter 68: El Baile de la muerte Part 25
  18. Chapter 105: L'homme sombre Part 4
  19. Chapter 106: L'homme sombre Part 5
  20. Chapter 107: L'homme sombre Part 6
  21. Chapter 108: L'homme sombre Part 7
  22. Chapter 109: L'homme sombre Part 8
  23. Chapter 110: L'homme sombre Part 9
  24. Chapter 111: L'homme sombre Part 10
  25. Chapter 112: L'homme sombre Part 11
  26. 26.0 26.1 Black Lagoon 2: Ballad of the Sinful Wizard (Epilogue — Frederica Sawyer: 2)
  27. Black Lagoon 2: Ballad of the Sinful Wizard (Lu Tao: 2)
  28. Gore Gore Girl Chapter 01: In the Mouth of Madness
  29. Gore Gore Girl Chapter 02: The Shadow Over Roanapur
  30. Gore Gore Girl Chapter 08: Chill Out
  31. Gore Gore Girl Chapter 13: Signs
  32. Gore Gore Girl Chapter 14: Gloomy Sunday
  33. Gore Gore Girl Chapter 21: The Lure
  34. Gore Gore Girl Chapter 24: cursed
  35. Gore Gore Girl Chapter 29: Big Trouble in Little China
  36. Gore Gore Girl Chapter 31: SWAMP THING
  37. Gore Gore Girl Chapter 38: Vengeance
  38. Gore Gore Girl Chapter 39: Fetish
  39. https://sundaygx.com/blacklagoon/contest/
  40. http://sundaygx.info/blacklagoon_contest/
  41. http://sundaygx.info/blacklagoon_contest_12/
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