Remember when you watched The Godfather, and you thought to yourself, "Wouldn't it be a good idea if these mobsters all had superpowers?" Remember when you thought to yourself, "Yeah, that's a pretty dumb idea"? Well, the creators of Baccano! had the first thought, but not the second one. Taking place in 1930 prohibition America, Baccano! follows several protagonists, most of which with the ability to regenerate any loss of limb or blood, through a violent adventure.
The story's perspective switches rapidly, with some scenes lasting just seconds, taking the Witch Hunter Robin style drab urban setting into an exciting place to be observing. The show is surprisingly brutal, and not that sissy Rurouni Kenshin bullshit, but shocking, spontaneous violence. Not five minutes into the first episode, a very young child gets his head blown clean off his shoulders, another scene shows two mobsters talking quietly inside a bookstore when a car suddenly pulls up outside and fills the shop, (and the guys) with an extreme amount of bullets. It's animated violence used in an exciting way, and it makes the sometimes overlong conversation scenes genuinely exciting, because as the viewer you know, that some macabre action could erupt at any second.
It's weird to see the Japanese perspective on American gangsters. Its unfortunate that they get a lot of it wrong, or at least, it isn't the way that we yankees were told it was growing up. Mobsters in this show talk about murder and crime openly and loudly, even to police officers, which just feels incorrect. Aren't Italian mobsters known for being super secretive? Talking in code? Killing people quietly and dumping them in rivers? It might be a minor criticism, but sometimes the obvious actions of the wiseguys just feels unauthentic.
The characters themselves are numerous, and range from extremely well-rounded and interesting, to poorly written and aggravatingly one dimensional, even for anime. The best of these characters is Firo, voiced by the amazing Todd Haberkorn, and the worst is a fretful, ever-scared boy named Jacuzzi, voiced by who cares. Jacuzzi is the name of a main character, I'm not making that shit up, but the best naming mistake is naming a train, a mainstay for 3+ episodes, a location where all the main characters meet and exchange gunfire, the Flying Pussyfoot. Since the Flying Pussyfoot is such a big deal, you'll get to hear each character say in numerous times each episode, making it completely hilarious, but also ruining the mood and ambience of the episodes that it is involved in.
This show is unique in it's setting, above average in it's writing, and definitely not a series to be missed. I'll be the first fan to admit that most anime is complete and total garbage, but it's little gems like this that make the entire process worth it. Watch it.
Favorite Character: Firo
Worst Character: Jacuzzi and the President
Similar to: Cowboy Bebop and Witch Hunter Robin
Not Similar to: Gundam SD
4/5
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