Baccano! tv Review

Story & Characters

Set within the Great Depression-era in the U.S., Baccano! is told in multiple points of view, each of the stories in the series involves several unrelated plots intersecting and is focused on various elements of the criminal underworld, including immortal alchemists, thieves, mafia, these unconnected individuals eventually begin to cross paths as events spiral farther and farther out of control.

The main story of Baccano! begins in 1931, introducing the two eccentric, idiotic lovers Isaac Dian and Miria Harvent who work as thieves. Having received an invitation from their old friends, the two board the new transcontinental train Flying Pussyfoot to travel to New York City, where a war between two mafia gangs, Gandor and Runorata, is worsen. Aboard the train, Isaac and Miria befriend Jacuzzi Splot and his gang, the senator's family and the mysterious boy Czeslaw Meyer. Little do they know that this ride is gonna be wild as all will get caught in a struggle created by a group of terrorist attempt to kidnap the senator's family, the Russo gang led by its psychopathic leader, Ladd, and a monster named Rail Tracer, lurking around and slaughtering the passengers.

As enigmatic as Baccano!'s execution can be, jumping around bizarrely between the arc and three different years (1930, 1931, and 1932), the producers show a deft talent for managing these seemingly unconnected threads by showing how much things have progressed and embellishing them into a satisfying yet intriguing result. Aside from the main plot, three other stories (set in different years) are shown, gradually bringing Baccano! from a mafia-typed movie to a wildest ride. While the flashback explains how the immortal elixir created, the other two entwine the ongoing plot. Events are told in New York City during November 1930, the alchemist Slizard succeeds in recreating the elixir, only to have it stolen by troublemaker Dallas Genoard, the elixir continue to move and is drunken by various people while in the early 1932, the young girl Eve Genoard came to New York looking for her missing ruffian brother.

Within the series, Baccano! is populated with dangerous figures from the underworld, even a small newspaper office is armed for "self-defense." Every character has their own kind of insane personality, even their names alone are ridiculous, such as Luck Gandor, Jacuzzi Splot, Nice Holystone (what kinds of name are those?). Better yet, these guys aren't disappointing. A fan of gangster action and bloody battle? Plenty of that going around Ladd, this madman skips down a hallway as he eagerly anticipates upcoming gunplay and promises his fiancee that he loves her so much that he will torture her to death last makes a new kind of appeal. It's interesting to see the whiny cry-baby Jacuzzi grows into a defiant, strong gangster punk befitting his tattoo as he's going head-to-head with the big bosses. And remember, this is the mafia world, it means that having cute face won't save you from being judged by Claire's "justice" as long as you are evil.

Still, the most highlighted duo of the cast is still belonged to Isaac and Miria. This "Bonnie and Clyde" pairing offer much of the series' comedy in their silly dialogues, amusing costume-themed robbery schemes, Miria's tendency to agree with Isaac no matter how dumb his comments are, and their idiocy for not realizing they haven't aged for decades. Their idiocy, weird nature, and ability to twist no matter how tensional the situation is, indeed, make them stand among the best and liveliest duo in the history of anime.

With such an interesting and easily distinguishable cast and its unique execution, Baccano! is one of the most entertaining anime, only after a few episodes, you'd want to join these guys for a couple of drinks.

Rating: 9

Art

The character designs are good, not entirely sophisticated. It doesn't take a long time to view it to see what kind of characteristics the lead duo has, just look at those two, always smirking. Their designs, again and by contrast to all the gore and violence, are not much but pure funny, such as how they perform a robber by wearing baseball uniforms with bats as their only weapons. A few other character can leave a strong impression, Jacuzzi has a large facial tattoo contrasting his timid nature, "Rail Tracer" Clair Stanfield is one of the monster of the show, having most parts of his body bathed in blood yet still confesses to Chane. Backgrounds did an acceptable jobs as the producers scouted various locations in New York to accurately portray the areas.

Studio Brain Base handles the animation, they use a lightly muted color scheme that avoids any hint of typical action anime garishness. The animation may not represent the finest of achievements, but its style serves its purpose well as it has little trouble depicting convincing blood splatters, impressive fight scenes.

Rating: 7

Sound

Even the storytelling can find support from the music as the catchy, merry, jazz-based OP "Gun's & Roses" provides the character introduction and starting from episode three onward, its visual is included with key scenes from previous episode as a type of "reviewing." The ED "Calling" is a harmonious piece combined a captivating singing voice, lonely theme and visuals of more individuals.

Performances in casting are also good as well. Much like the mafia theme the series has, some of the cast have also been provided with American accent and slang words. Of course, performances of Isaac and Miria are completely stolen the show; fans of Onosaka Masaya would remember how hilariously his tone become when voicing kooky people. But still, they are not the only good performances, the other seiyuu did a good job in bringing the characters to their spotlights, even the least important character can be found prominent.

Rating: 9

Presentation

You take a ticket of the "Baccano!" express and how much of an amazing "ruckus" this ride turns out to be. It's true that the series has been influenced after many American mobsters movies such as "Untouchable" or "Snatch" (in this case, the OP might have been inspired by "Snatch"), the uniqueness in settings: lively characters, a mix of action, comedy, and intense violence, and a complicated story coming together piece by piece, all backed by great music and good artistry make it a must-see series for fans of American mobsters.

If Baccano! isn't the best anime of the year, it's certainly the most entertaining, a dull moment can hardly be found in this one-of-a-kind anime. Like I was, you will be curious to see where this train is heading.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Story: 9
Characters: 9
Art: 7
Animation: 7
Voice: 9
Music: 8
Overall: 8.5

Good:
+Isaac and Miria, plenty of other interesting characters and situations to follow, effective musical score.
+Nothing can make American gangsters sexier than good-looking hitmen and alchemy battles.
Bad:
+Can be a bit hard to follow; quite a slam in the finale.
+Visually less than impressive.

Rating: 9

Final Verdict

8.6667 (very good)

Reviewed by Weskalia, Mar 26, 2011

Comments

CyanideBlizzard Retired Moderator Mar 27, 2011

Yet another wonderful review!

I've been meaning to pick up Baccano! For quite sometime now, but wasn't sure if I should go ahead with it or not. Now, I think I will!
Weskalia Mar 27, 2011

Then what are you waiting for? I was stunned to see how much amazing Baccano! is. First time viewing may confuse you but just stick with it then you'll be surprised. Guarantee it won't disappoint =)
aozoraskies Apr 20, 2011

I've watched Baccano! :3
I find the Story section of your review a tad too compact for readability. ^^; But Baccano does have a crazily compact story so I can't quite blame you there. The other sections look tiny in comparison though. >_< I think you could have expanded more on the faithfulness to 1930s fashion and architecture, maybe, and the mafia themes.. But still, love your review! Makes Baccano even more yummy. lol

I loved the time-skips, it was handled so well, making us stay around to see how the pieces fit together; how did they gain immortality? Who are these gangs? Who or what is the Rail Tracer? Is Eve's brother worth saving at all? and et cetera. Most of all, I enjoyed the humour and characters so much, with their light-hearted banter and unhesitating decisiveness in action. Narita Ryohgo's cast-of-thousands just shone with personality and fun - I liked how you could see his touch, slightly reminiscent of Durarara! and yet so individual.

I recalled how the first episode was so full that I almost hesitated to proceed.. I'm glad I didn't. I took the one-way ticket down the rail on the Baccano! express and it was a blast of a trip. :3 Great company, great drama, great humour, great stories - what not to love on this train ride?

P.S. Is it set that the first section must contain both the story and characters? I can't help but feel that it would be tidier to separate the two. ^_^;
SchRita May 11, 2011

When I read somewhere that this anime is one of the most underrated ones I immediately started watching it. And now, after having read your marvelous review I found your points reasonable. The only thing that may have bothered me that you included some plot lines that can be a bit spoiler for one who hasn't seen the series, at least that's what I felt. Apart from that, your review's style refelects the show's atmosphere in a rather pleasant way so I found it a nicely done job. Thank you!

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