So I came down with the tag team combo of stomach flu and upper respiratory flu over the holidays, which meant it was time to bust out the to-watch list and marathon some anime to ease the pain. Baccano! was at the top of the list after I saw the intriguing first episode way back awhile, and lucky for me, marathoning is definitely the way to go with this show. And what a show it is! Baccano! is completely off-the-wall unique, and manages to simultaneously amaze and boggle the mind. It might not be for everyone, but it definitely pushed all my buttons, and then some. Based on a light novel series, Baccano! features a fractured narrative similar to Pulp Fiction (but taking place across larger periods of time, and with a much larger cast of characters) to tell a tale of immortality and humanity. Some thoughts on the conclusion of the series are shared below – massive spoiler alert! Also, alternative opinions on the show can be found at Bateszi, Kita Ze Inbou, Azure Flame, Nirai Kanai, RIUVA, and Wakaranai.
- I’m surprised (and glad) that Nick and Donny survived! They had all the makings of cannon fodder, being loyal followers of a main character. For some reason, Donny reminded me of Franklin from Hunter X Hunter.
- There were quite a few romantic pairings! Firo X Ennis was a bit rushed, with a kind of “love at first sight” feel. They do make a strikingly stylish couple though, getting my vote for “best dressed”. Vino X Chane is an interesting and deadly combo, and Jacuzzi X Nice was surprisingly cute. Ladd X Lua is strange and twisted – I still can’t understand how Lua became part of Ladd’s bloodthirsty crew.
- I applaud the writers’ ability to juggle such a huge ensemble cast (though to be fair, a lot of the chars in that pic are from the later novels). Every character was interesting and relevant, even the minor side characters. Viva Rachel!!
- Baccano! was much more violent and gory than I expected it to be (Vino’s ground-grinding of Czeslaw’s face on the speeding train was BLARGH), but it never felt superfluous. The violence rose and ebbed with the flow of the story, without forcing itself into ‘Mandatory Set Piece A’ like many action-based series.
- I was pondering the mechanics of being immortal The Gandors got it right when they figured that if you can’t kill ‘em, incapacitate them, but I really wonder how Dallas is coping in that submerged cement-filled container. Does he die painfully from lack of oxygen and come back to life, only to instantly die again? That would drive a man insane, I would think. Little Eve might not like what she finds when she dredges him out.
- Favorite character? Hard to say. Firo is the kind of guy you can’t help but root for – yet he’s a little too “good”. Isaac and Miria are infinitely lovable, but their incredible capacity for stupidity drives me batty at times. For now, I’d have to go with Jacuzzi. Aside from having devoted followers, a cute-but-crazy girlfriend, and a badass facial tattoo, he also has the best WAH to GAR transformation this side of Simon. Because once he runs out of tears, it’s OVAH. Runner up would be Rail Tracer Vino, who is just completely overpowered and psychotic, yet maintains his own strange code of justice.
- Rewatching the first episode, I can now understand the whole conversation debating the best way to tell the story. I can’t say the final solution was truly optimal, but it definitely got the job done. Speaking of which, some of the scenes shown during the discussion never happened in the anime – I guess they are scenes from the later novels (which sadly enough, will most likely never be animated). Who was that hawt blonde halberdier? Why were Ennis and Chane hanging out with Jacuzzi’s gang? And WTF are Isaac and Miria doing there?
- Typing the exclamation mark every time I refer to Baccano! is really annoying.
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Ender – who has written 219 posts on Sea Slugs! Anime Blog.
One of the original founders, and the first to attempt a coups d'état.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
I have also just recently finished Baccano! myself and I find it very intriguing. XD
I’ve heard that the scenes that weren’t shown in the anime are going to be part of 3 special DVD only episodes. So it looks like they’ll be more Baccano! soon. Wonder if they’ll animate the rest of the novels though…
Gah, how can you make a post on Baccano! and mention Isaac and Miria only once!? They’re the soul of the show! =)
Glad to hear you like Baccano! I’m actually waiting for the DVD version (cause the first epi got me hooked, but I wanted to watch it wit Ds on dem B*tch, ya know? *talks with his hands*) But yea, I’ll have to wait awhile to marathon it. The latest DVD sub is epi 3… -_-
I especially love the OP style! Reminds me of Cowboy Bebop, but the whole “Regenerating Gangstas” reminded me of Gungrave. The rest I remember was a loli and an old man saying something like, “ZOMG! LETS BE MAIN CHARACTERS!!!” , and a train (or some other vehicle) called the “Pussyfoot”! XD I’m trying to resist reading the spoilers! I think you should put it in a spoiler tag… but then again, I love pressing buttons! OH WHAT TO SHOULD I DO!!!???
Jesus’s Inner Voice: “Why don’t you spot one of Kabi-kun’s references?”
Jesus159159159: “OKAY!!! :3″
CAUSE WE’RE THE PARTY! PEOPLE NIGHT AND DAY!!! LIVIN CRAZY THATS THE ONLY WAY!!!
LIVE YOUR LIFE OFF-THE WALL! LIVIN OFF THE WALL! *dances like Michael Jackson*…. sorry, I had to do it! My Michael Jackson fanboy mode activates itself…(just like a certain other part of my body, hurr hurr)
But I blogged Baccano too! Anyway it truly was one of my favourite shows of last year and the thing is, it went pretty much under the radar due to its need to be marathoned and lack of moe moe mongering. I’m starting to look down on the general anime viewing crowd these days, especially in Japan.
Spread the Baccano! love! A pity it was neglected whilst it was airing. Spoilers to answer two of your questions
Thinkersblock07: I really was hoping the rest of the light novels would get animated, but I doubt it will happen. The DVD specials sound like an attempt to quickly cover key material in the later novels?
tj_han: I added a link to yours too. But did you really marathon it before you had an exam??
Dang, I really wish the rest of the light novels would be animated too!
I was really surprised by how original and off-the-wall (in a good way!) Baccano was. I’m really hoping for a second season, since there’s a wealth of material that they can pull from.
Kind of a shame the raws were so bad. And the DVD quality isn’t that great either.
Grr! I keep forgetting to read that! My apologies Ender-kun! *bows*
(oh yea, I think my scouter is malfunctioning again *hint* the first commenter’s power level) =3
Though it’s almost certainly still under-seen, something about Baccano! suggests to me it’ll stand the test of time and attract more fans as the months go on… I wonder what the US anime fans will think of it once it gets licensed and released over there, it has the potential to be a real sleeper hit. Anyway, it’s awesome to read a review of something like Baccano! on Sea Slugs!, good stuff Ender
Baccano definitely had me hooked while I was watching, although I started to get weary of the annoying Catch-22 shuffled format towards the middle. I was pretty confused after the first episode, but looking back it made more sense.
I was surprised that Maiza was getting owned so badly at the end. Couldn’t he have worked on his combat skills with Vino and Kaleido Star or something? Especially with Maiza’s knife fight, I thought he would be good, but he was not much of a fighter.
As for couples, I can see how you like Jacuzzi and Nice, but they didn’t really do it for me. I understand it was tender having Nice pull a grenade out of her eye socket, but I was a little creeped out. I’d probably have to go with Firo and Ennis as my Kira/Lacus couple of choice. Isaac and Miria were amusing, but occasionally annoying. I also thought the end where everyone is like “haha, infinite lives cheat code lolz” was a bit underwhelming.
The Vino x Chane combo was so silly. Also, wouldn’t that be kinda weird where you are trying to be intimate, but ceiling Huey is watching you get it on?
Personally, I thought the bomb hidden in her eye socket was hilarious.
I think Maiza was too much of a softie to really go hardcore Rambo at the end. I mean, he really had a lot of chances to eat Szilard, but didn’t. He even let Firo get the killsteal at the end.
Concerning the whole mob crew that got immortalized, I’m not sure what the long-term implications of this are. If there’s ever any internal drama, we’d never see the end of it.
Seriously, I don’t understand why this show is so good. I’ve watched 6 episodes so far and I’m really, really bored. I like the art, I like some of the characters (namely Ladd, Isaac and Miria), and I love the original setting, but for the most part, I’m so bored I’m about to drop this show.
It just seems like it’s trying too hard to be artsy fartsy, with the Tarantino-esque time jumps and one-dimensional characters. And it’s so cluttered. Just.. ugh.
Seriously, what is it? Does this show suddenly get amazing in episode 7 or what?
Yeah it does get better in ep 7.
I can see where you’re coming from. I was bored myself in the first episodes but midway, I got the hang of it and it just turned good.
Baccano is one of my favorite animes
I was wondering if you had read Ender’s Game since your name is Ender XD. Ender is one of my favorite books of all time 