“I’m going to kill you, have a beautiful laugh, then dance until I go mad.”
Baccano is a action, comedy, historical, mystery, and supernatural anime. It was originally released in July 2007 by Brain's Base with 13 episodes. It does not have any continuing series but does have a special.
General Rating: 8.4/10
My Rating: 10/10
An acquaintance I knew from an anime forum recommended that I watch Baccano since she had just seen it and loved it, but the anime did not draw my interest right away. However after the anime really got rolling, I was at the edge of my seat.
Every so often an anime comes along that isn't afraid to challenge the conventions in which a story is told. Thus enters Baccano, one of the greatest animes for mystery fanatics. It has the whole package. But what really pulled this anime through was the characters, namely my favorites Isaac, Miria, and Firo. There is no rarity in the setting of this anime; a mystery on a train filled with a wide cast of characters. But maybe its because this theme is so widely used that Baccano actually stands out, because it is the best of its type.
Set in the 1930s, Baccano tells the story of a train that left nothing but a path of blood. Meanwhile in New York, a scientist and his aid search for a missing bottle of an immortality elixir and the war between mafia groups is worsening.
Story: Baccano is an anime that seems to follow a series of seemingly unrelated events until the larger picture is revealed. I love this set up of an anime, especially for a mystery anime. Think of the type of setup you have seen in Gosick or Umineko. The story of Baccano was no snorefest, not by a long shot, but it was the characters the anime had that really made the story into a masterpiece. Mixing mystery and supernatural is always bound to have an interesting result, but the delicate addition of comedy was the icing on the cake for Baccano. Another note about Baccano's story is that its special is a masterpiece as well. This is rarely seen, at least for me, unless the special provides the ending for the series. That is not necessarily the case for Baccano's special, but it is one of the few specials that has a 10/10 from me.
Characters: Baccano is full of interesting characters that all, in some way, become connected to one another. Thieves, mafia, immortals, alchemists, and many more connected in some way, each with their own hidden ambitions and agendas. There's a wide cast of main characters and the each play a significant role in this anime, and each are enjoyable in their own way.
Soundtrack: Baccano's got a great track for a mystery anime with superb voice acting. It wasn't the biggest thing that stood out from the anime, but certainly aided it well.
Art: The animation and art in Baccano is not only well done, but there are even uniquenesses between characters, especially in the eyes. Baccano characters reveal a lot of their personality just through their eyes. For an anime that is mysterious and character driven, this is a huge strength for Baccano. I love its animation as well with a strong late-2000s feel.
Fans of animes like Gosick, Durarara, Cowboy Bebop, Kino's Journy, Darker than Black, Umineko, Samurai Champloo, Monster, Psycho-Pass, Black Cat, Phantom, FLCL, Another or the Lupin III franchise will definitely love this anime and should give it a watch!
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