Baccano! ep 1-13
Wow! What a pleasant surprise! Just finished this series, over the course of a few months, and while Baccano! isn’t one of my favourite anime by a long shot, it’s something I’m really really impressed with.
This is a show with a huge cast of characters, but each and every one of them are individual and important. In fact, this show is built upon these characters, and gives as much time to their idiosyncrasies as to the plot. The show doesn’t take itself seriously at all and everyone’s just kinda whacked, but that’s the beauty of this sort of show on anime - it works. Over-the-top psychos, more than a couple screws loose clowns, nasty mafia guys, superhuman deadly assassins, heroes with a heart of gold, and pure evil baddies, all done to glorious fun.
Baccano! is three stories all cut up and mashed together in a non-linear jumble. It takes more than half of this 13 episode series before you even get a vague clue of what is going on, and then finally it all wraps up in the last episode in a grand finale that is both what we have come to expect in natural conclusion, yet with still a surprise or two thrown in! Brilliant writing and setup! You could have told these stories separately and straightforwardly and they would still been quite good, but thanks to this mishmash gimmick, suddenly the series becomes in itself a fun show that also makes you think.
Of course, there are many ways in which this storytelling style could have failed. Luckily it’s based on a series of light novels and each story was firmly established. Of course, how the writers chose to cut it up was also crucial, because you have to give just enough to keep the audience watching and curious, yet be careful not to give it away before the end. The care with which this was done shows that the writers have not compromised for the lowest common denominator, ie they assume the viewer is pretty darn sophisticated, intelligent and patient. That’s good.
Of course, it’s not some kind of intellectual exercise. What was great about Baccano!, other than the well-handled execution of the story, was how each character was treated exactly how we, the audience, wanted it. Have you seen a show and gone, man I can’t believe the writers did that to a character, what a waste. Sometimes likable side characters are sacrificed as plot points, or kick-ass dudes get taken down in some utterly pitiful manner, or the punk kid is suddenly all powerful… Those shows can be frustrating no matter how good a story otherwise. Well, luckily, or perhaps miraculously, in Baccano!, each got what he or she deserved and more, either good or bad. That shows remarkable consistency in writing and interpreting the characters. You don’t jerk the viewer around.
Anyway, very good show and a stellar example of what creative talent can come up with even in this age of formulaic plotlines. The only problem is you have to go back and watch at least the first episode to get the whole story! In fact, I imagine a full rewatch would be very enjoyable indeed.
BTW, my favourite characters were Firo and Chane. What were yours?
