Baccano!

"-This train is cursed. It's going to be terrible.
-Is it your sixth sense again?
-Has it ever been wrong? A lot of people are going to die. The only ones to survive will be those with extraordinary good luck...and probably...those that aren't human"

- Old Couple at Chicago's Station, at the Flying Pussyfoot departure.

My review today is the adaptation of the light novels of the same name: Baccano!

The best I got. It was this or a version filmed with a potato in 244p.

Baccano! is a hard anime to describe. To get the feeling of this show maybe I'll describe how it starts. 

Gustav and Carol

The story starts with a talk between the Daily Days, a journal and information shop, Vice-President Gustav Saint Germain with his assistant Carol. They talk about where did the story start, and imediatly we're thrown in disarray. We get that they're talking about the story about some people that can't die, the immortals, and when they start talking about dates we get even more lost. They also show us some of the characters die, and get ressurected even before they were introduced. In a way this can make even more avid fans of this kind of animation give up immediatly because of the jumping plot in time, as I admit that did it myself the first time, but to those that stick to it and don't get overwhelmed by this introduction, the reward is one of the best animes that have been released.

The plot doesn't get described in a straight way. The only story that is continuous is the one that occurs in the year 1931 aboard the Intercontinental Train Flying Pussyfoot. While the story starts to develop we get flashbacks of the year 1930, and some flashforwards to the year 1932, sometimes without telling wich year it is so the viewer has to piece the pieces of story together, and it only comes to a full understanding at the very last episodes. There are a lot of characters, and I mean a lot, and only in the opening 17 of them are introduced. And yes, there are more. So to get a feeling of the story I'll divide it by groups in the years that the events occur.

1931: The Flying Pussyfoot, the intercontinental train, leaves from Chicago to New York, with a very peculiar set of passangers. This is were most of the action takes place.

The Flying Pussyfoot

Aboard are the following groups:

Miria Harvent and Isaac Dian- A dynamic couple of thieves that are on the train to meet Ennis on New York. They are a straightforward, energetic, happy, simplistic naive airheads. Always take action by impulse, and think their thoughts, most of the time very far from what's really happening, out loud. Despite being thieves they are very nice people, being most of their crimes petty and ridiculous crimes, like stealing candy or stealing an entrance to a museum 'so anyone couldn't enter'.

Chane Laforet, member of The Lemurs

The Lemurs - a terrorist group that plans to take the passangers as hostages, being that a family of a senator is there. By this they plan to negotiate the release of their leader Huey Laforet.

"Don't you think is cool to wear white? That way you can see the blood stains of the people I've killed" - Ladd Russo

The White Suits - Comanded by the assassin of Chicago's Russo family Ladd Russo, they are on the train just to make everyone hostage and kill half of them. The reason Ladd does it? Literally for the lulz. Ladd is a psycothic character, that looks like an excited children when there are killing and blood envolved. He often gets overexcited talking about his plans, and how he likes to kill people that think that are safe. He usually rambles about in a loud voice.

The Hoodlums - a group of young delinquents leaded by the sword-tatooed faced Jacuzzi Splot. They board the train to make an heist and steal all it's cargo. By coincidence they have a grudge against the Russo Family and Jaccuzi has a bounty placed by them. Jaccuzi is always apologizing and crying, even if isn't he that is at fault, but when it's time he pulls through as a leader. The most important partner of his is Nice Hollystone, a bomb maker.

Chezlaw Meyer - A young children that is travelling to New York to meet an acquaintace.

While in the dining car, the thieves duo meets Jacuzzi and Chezlaw, and Isaac tells them about a legend, the Rail Tracer, a monster that appears on trains and make people disappear. The story starts moving when the three major groups try to make their moves exactly at the same time. But after that, people are disappearing mysteriously, and reports of a crimson monster start to spread. Has the Rail Tracer come for them?

1930 - This part of the story is occur in New York, and envolves mostly Mafia Families.

Isaac Dian and Miria Harvent - The dynamic duo is in New York plotting to make their biggest heist yet: steal from the mafia to atone for their past deeds. That eventually leads to meeting the other characters, making them the link between all of the stories.

Berga, keith and Luck

The Gandor Family - one of the most important mafia families in New York. Their leaders are the Gandor Brothers: Berga, Keith and Luck. They are involved in the disapearence of Dallas Genoard. In the year of 1931 they are waiting for their most skillfull assassin to arrive in the Flying Pussyfoot. They have good ties with the Martillo Family.

Firo Prochainezo and Maiza Avaro. 

 The Martillo Family - An ally of the Gandor family because of the close ties of Firo Prochainezo, a just nominated executive, and the Gandor brothers. The more notorioous are Firo and Maiza Avaro, because of their connections with the Gandor family, and because of Firo searching for Ennis after meeting her. Carol also describes Firo as "the most main character like".

Dallas Genoard - A troublemaker delinquent, head of the Genoard Family. Always getting into trouble and being beaten. He disappears mysteriously at the end of the events of this year.

Szliard and Ennis

Szilard Quates along with Ennis, his assistant, are searching for the Cure-All Elixir that grants immortality, being stolen of a servant of his after the laboratory caughts fire. He has a ruthless personality and can be considered the biggest antagonist of the series.

1932 - also taking place in New York

Eve Genoard - The younger sister of Dallas Genoard. After the disappearance of her brother, she gets all of the estate and is searching for him with the help from the Daily Days.

As if this isn't enough, the story doesn't quite start here, but I let that for you to watch in the anime.

After the 13 episodes there are 3 specials that give some closure and background to some characters. And also introduce one of my favourites. This takes place in 1932.

Graham Specter - He comes to New York to meet Ladd Russo, his boss, and gets involved with Chane and Jacuzzi. As Ladd, Graham is also a psycopathic person, but bipolar. He always is ranting out loud, getting very philosophical about life, and get depressed and excited in extreme ways. He's dressed with a blue mechanic suit and is always with a giant monkey wrench. Voiced by the great Sugita Tomokazu (Gintama's Gintoki) that really suits his erratic train of thought.

This anime gets good because of all the characters and stories, despite being all disconnected, get all tied in mysterious and sometimes fun and unexpected ways. It's not an easy anime to see, as you have always to be putting together what happens and when, but in the end is a rewarding experience. It has one of the most interesting stories I've seen and how its presented it's impossible to stop watching.

The soundtrack is also beautiful. Most of them are Jazz beats, which fit perfectly the setting of the mafia world, and the feeling the anime gives. The opening is one of the best I heard so far, and it's also hard to forget, even if you don't watch the anime for years.

The soundtrack just for you. You're welcome.

Art - 4/5 - The art is very good, but when they get zoomed out very far, is usually used only the outlines of the characters. The animation of the immortals being regenerated is also very well done, and the backgrounds are excellent.

Plot - 5/5 - This is what this anime is for. I say again that putting it together is one of the most rewarding things I have seen on anime. The characters are good and lovable (I can't get enough of the dynamic duo, Ladd and Graham) and it never gets dull.

Soundtrack 4/5 - As I said before the Jazz theme is the perfect choice for this anime. Any other genre would have spoiled it.

Excitement 5/5 - It's impossible to stop, as every episode ends with a cliffhanger, and there's questions from the beggning to the end of the show.

It's an anime that easily gets put aside, but if you give it a chance, it's one of the most beatiful works of art in this genre.

Baccano! gets back to life with a 18/20.