Baccano!

Plot

Below is a summary for the past twenty-two volumes in chronological order.

Aboard the ship Advenna Avis in 1711, a group of alchemists summon a demon in the hopes of gaining eternal life. The demon gives them an elixir of immortality and the method of ending their existence, by "devouring" one another, and grants the summoner Maiza Avaro the formula of the elixir. Maiza and most of the alchemists decide that no one else must become immortal; only Szilard Quates opposes. That night, the alchemists begin to disappear, devoured by Szilard. Realizing the threat posed by staying together, they scatter across the globe.

In New York City during November 1930, Szilard succeeds in recreating the elixir, only to have it stolen by young thug Dallas Genoard. The elixir continually moves around the city because of Dallas, with the three mafiosi Gandor brothers, the two idiotic thieves Isaac Dian and Miria Harvent, and Maiza's protege Firo Prochainezo and their Camorra family, the Martillo, all passing it around. Szilard makes Dallas an incomplete immortal (meaning he still ages) to retrieve the elixir. However, all other parties accidentally consume the elixir, mistaking it for alcohol, at a party for Firo. Firo falls in love with Szilard's immortal homunculus Ennis, who betrays Szilard by telling Firo how to devour Szilard, which he does. The Gandor then cement Dallas to a barrel at the bottom of the Hudson River to punish him for killing Gandor members.

In late 1931, the Gandor fight the Runorata family for control of the same area after a new drug surfaces. In an attempt to resolve the situation, Luck Gandor asks his adoptive brother Claire Stanfield, an assassin and train conductor, to travel to New York. Claire agrees to, and as a conductor, boards the transcontinental train the Flying Pussyfoot. The train is hijacked by the Russo and Lemure gangs, who are trying to kidnap a senator's family, and a battle ensues between the two gangs. Jacuzzi Splot, Nice Holystone and their gang attempt to protect the passengers and fight the hijackers, while Claire assumes the identity of the Rail Tracer, a monster that eats train passengers, and slaughters much of the Russo and the Lemure. During a confrontation between Ladd Russo and Chane Laforet and the Lemure, Claire interrupts and proposes to Chane Laforet, who is the daughter of Huey Laforet, one of the original immortals aboard the Advenna Avis. A serial stowaway and newspaper field agent named Rachel flees Claire and ends up helping in the rescue of the hostages. The last remaining members of the Lemure are eventually defeated by Jacuzzi's gang, while sadistic murderer Ladd Russo is incarcerated and loses his arm to Claire. At the same time, Ennis writes to Isaac and Miria, inviting them to Manhattan. The duo boards the same train and meets Jacuzzi, and unwittingly sway immortal Czeslaw Meyer from enacting malevolent acts via bombs to be used in the New York Drug War.

Production

Ryohgo Narita wanted to write a story set during the Prohibition and chose a light novel as the medium because not many of them had that setting. He believed that this choice would better attract the interest of the ASCII Media Works judges. After Narita saw The Untouchables, he spent about ten days working with inspirations and created Baccano! "out of [his] useless calculations." While writing the first novel The Rolling Bootlegs, he consulted many books while writing and mixed fictional elements with historical situations to create a unique plot flow. The story he originally planned was about an ancient magician who was revived during the Prohibition and began to terrorize New York City. A group of mafiosi then violently oppose the magician. However, the story became very different from the original concept. Narita never wrote a detailed outline for the novel and is relieved by that fact because it allowed the characters to "move on their own." The original stages of the series included more supernatural elements. Maiza Avaro was a hypnotist; Ennis was a succubus; Szilard was a magician. In addition, every member of the Camorra, except for Firo, did not survive. Despite the great differences between the characters' initial concepts and the result, Narita is "glad" that these ideas were not used in the finished novel.

Narita did not begin work on a second novel during the six months after the publication of The Rolling Bootlegs because his chief editor asked him to write nothing until after he graduated from university. After his graduation, he was offered to publish his next book in August, and he submitted his manuscripts in late April, a bit behind original deadlines. He had written over 400 pages, making the price over ¥700, which is a high price for a novel written by a newcomer. This worried Narita because it was unlikely anyone would buy the novel. As a result, he and his chief editor decided that the novel would be released in two parts. However, Narita was still anxious about publishing such a long novel. To motivate himself to write more, he would often refer back to the dialogue he had written for Ladd Russo. As with the first novel, the plot changed because of the characters' "movements", most notably Claire Stanfield. Narita noted that all of the Lemure and Russo, with the exception of a character named Neider, were originally planned to die, but Claire's presence in the novel left that concept "in ruins". In addition, Chane Laforet, who was not well liked by the author, was also supposed to die, but as time passed, Narita became attached to her and changed her fate.

While creating the anime series, art director Akira Ito and other staff members scouted Manhattan and surrounding neighborhoods to accurately portray the area. They visited the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, Chinatown, Little Italy, Grand Central Terminal and various locations in Brooklyn and along the East River, many of which provide the backdrop for the events in Baccano!. The staff also visited the Steamtown National Historic Site to create accurate steam locomotives.

Media

Light novels

The Baccano! light novels are written by Ryohgo Narita and illustrated by Katsumi Enami. Originally, Narita entered the first novel into ASCII Media Works' ninth Dengeki Novel Prize in 2002 and the novel won the Gold Prize, placing third. The first novel was released in February 2003 under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko imprint, and as of August 2016, twenty-two novels have been released. In addition, one novel accompanied the first drama CD, released on March 31, 2006, and two gaiden novels were released in parts with DVDs of the anime adaption, released from October 24, 2007, to May 28, 2008.

Daewon C.I. licensed the Korean-language release of the series in South Korea and releases the novels under their NT Novels imprint. A Chinese-language release in Taiwan and Hong Kong is published by the Taiwan branch of Kadokawa Media under their Fantastic Novels imprint.

It was announced at the 2015 Anime Expo that Yen Press would start publishing the Baccano! novels in English in 2016. The English edition of the first volume, The Rolling Bootlegs, was published in May 2016.

Drama CDs

The series has been adapted into two drama CDs. The first, titled 1931 Local Chapter ・ Express Chapter (鈍行編・特急編, Donkōhen ・ Tokkyūhen) The Grand Punk Railroad, was released March 31, 2006, by MediaWorks. Named after the second and third light novels, the CD retells the events occurring aboard the Flying Pussyfoot train.

The second CD, Firo Prochainezo witnesses the 53rd death of Pietro Gonzalez (フィーロ・プロシェンツォ、ピエトロ・ゴンザレスの五十三回目の死を目撃す, Firo Puroshentso, Pietoro Gonzaresu no gojūsankaime no shi o mokugeki su), was released by Movic on October 24, 2007. It follows Firo and Luck as they chase two men to a small village in Mexico and attempt to retrieve money stolen from the Martillo and Gandor families.

Anime

A 16-episode anime series directed by Takahiro Omori and produced by Brain's Base, Aniplex and Movic was adapted from the light novels. The episodes describe the events spanning from 1930 to 1932 in a non-linear fashion, including the recreation of the immortality elixir, the hijacking of the Flying Pussyfoot, Eve's hunt for her brother and the gang war between the Gandor and the Runorata. The first thirteen episodes aired in Japan from July 26, 2007, to November 1, 2007, on WOWOW, a Japanese pay-per-view station, and the final three were released direct-to-DVD. The series made its North American television debut when it started airing on the Funimation Channel in 2010.

Eight DVD compilations were released by Aniplex, each containing two episodes, with the first released on October 24, 2007, and the eighth on May 28, 2008. A Blu-ray Baccano! limited edition boxset was released on January 26, 2011, by Aniplex. On July 21, 2008, Funimation announced that it has licensed Baccano! for a North American release. Four DVD compilations were released, with the first on January 27, 2009, and the fourth on June 16, 2009. A complete DVD collection boxset was released December 29, 2009, and re-released on December 28, 2010, as part of a lower-priced Viridian Collection. A limited edition Blu-ray boxset was released May 17, 2011. The entire English-dubbed series was streamed through Hulu during October 2009 and English-subtitled episodes continue to be streamed, and Funimation streamed subtitled and dubbed episodes through their website. In Australia and New Zealand, the series is licensed by Madman Entertainment, who released the series over four DVDs between June 24, 2009, and October 21, 2009. A boxset was released on March 17, 2010. Baccano! is licensed in the United Kingdom by Manga Entertainment and was released as a complete boxset on October 11, 2010. The series aired in the Philippines, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, and Southeast Asia on Animax Asia.

On January 25, 2016, it was announced that Funimation's DVD home distribution and streaming rights for the anime would expire on February 8, 2016, and the series would be transferred to Aniplex of America.

The series' original soundtrack was released as Spiral Melodies on October 24, 2007, by Aniplex. Two singles, "Gun's & Roses" by Paradise Lunch and "Calling" by Kaori Oda, were released on August 22, 2007. "Gun's and Roses" contained the opening theme, a vocal version of the opening, two songs and karaoke versions of the three tracks. The "Calling" single included the ending theme, another track and the karaoke versions of the two.

Manga

A manga adaption titled Baccano! 1931 The Grand Punk Railroad was written by Narita and illustrated by Ginyū Shijin. It was published in MediaWorks' Dengeki Comic Gao! magazine from December 27, 2006, to February 27, 2008, and was collected in two volumes released July 27, 2007, and April 26, 2008. The chapters center around the hijacking of the Flying Pussyfoot train. The Chinese-language release is published by the Taiwan branch of Kadokawa Media.

A second adaptation, written by Shinta Fujimoto and published in Square Enix's Young Gangan magazine, was published between October 16, 2015, and January 6, 2017, and collected in three volumes. The series was licensed by Yen Press, who published the chapters simultaneously with Japan.

A third manga adaptation (of the eleventh volume, 1705 The Ironic Light Orchestra), titled Baccano! (From the 1700s), written and illustrated by Kakuji Fujita, was released from December 25, 2022, to June 25, 2023, on DMM's DMM Books manga website, and collected into two volumes.

Video game

On February 28, 2008, MediaWorks released an adventure game, simply titled Baccano!, for the Nintendo DS. Based on the two Grand Punk Railroad light novels, the game recounts the events aboard the Flying Pussyfoot train from multiple perspectives. The player's goal is to help the passengers arrive safely in New York City by selecting the correct choices. The game can conclude with one of about fifty scenarios, depending on the player's decisions.

Artbook

On February 20, 2009, ASCII Media Works released an art book titled Katsumi Enami Artbook Baccano! (エナミカツミ画集バッカーノ!, Enami Katsumi Gashū Baccano!). The book not only featured illustrations drawn by Enami, but also included a story titled Boy Czeslaw, Fellows of the Forest (of Buildings) (チェスワフぼうやと、(ビルの)森の仲間達, Chesuwafu Bōya to, (Biru no) Mori no Nakamatachi).

Reception

While reviewing the first light novel, Gabriella Ekens from Anime News Network said "The prose in Baccano! is extremely punchy, moving quickly by focusing heavily on dialogue and action." She also praised it by saying "blast moment to moment." Nevertheless, she found its gore as a con to enjoying it.

The anime adaptation of Baccano! has received positive reviews. Several critics from various websites have praised the series for its plot, characters, animation, musical score and its voice acting. For example, THEM Anime Reviews gave the entire series a score of 5 out of 5 stars, with reviewer Bradley Meek stating that the show was "a joy to watch" and despite the fact that "the series ends on an epilogue that feels a bit flat", it left him with "the best possible feeling: a mixture of contentment and a hunger to see more". He also praised the series for its animation which looked "great throughout, especially for a TV series" before summarizing the series as a "beautiful, confounding mess of chaos and delight".

Baccano! has received significant praise from Anime News Network reviewers. Theron Martin described the anime as "sometimes humorous, occasionally brutal, and nearly always fun". He claimed that the anime's "complex plotting and voluminous casting, combined with strong dubbing, animation, and musical score, make this a must-see series for fans of American mobster stories," and concluding that "this could be one of the year's best series." In his review, Carl Kimlinger claimed Baccano! to be "one of the best, and certainly the most cleverly written series in recent years" and described it as "lethally fun" before giving the series an 'A' rating for both the subbed and dubbed versions.

Davey C. Jones of Active Anime praised the anime, stating that, "Like Pulp Fiction changed the way we saw movies, Baccano will be the story that will change the way we see anime," concluding that "this all over the map anime is one unique and crazy ride from start to its never ending finale" and that "Baccano offers something truly unique in anime."

Daryl Surat and Mike Toole of Anime World Order Podcast consider Baccano! to be their "pick for best series of 2007 (or 2009 depending on how you want to count it)." Bryce Coulter of Mania Entertainment gave the complete series a 'B' rating, stating that it is "a drastic and welcome departure from your typical anime formula and that's what makes it so intriguing," and concluding that it has a "little bit of comedy, drama, action, and romance all swirled up into one giant ruckus of fun!"