Baccano

Baccano!, es una serie con una narrativa única la cual nos relata la historia del incidente del tren transcontinental Flying Pussyfoot, específicamente el como y el porque de este, así como las historias de los personajes que toman papel en este incidente.
Baccano! como bien describe el primer narrador es una historia sin un protagonista, de igual manera es una sin principio ni final.
Con una música bastante acorde al momento histórico en el cual se desarrolla, así como una animación bastante particular, mas sin embargo lo mas resaltable es la maravillosa amalgama de historias la cual resulta en un entrañable anime.
De mi parte 5 estrellas

The beginning is stupendously confusing, and it takes a while to understand what is happening.
Yet this story is so well woven and at the end, you get one of those "Ah-hah!" moments.
(Or you just chuck your computer out the window in utter confusion.)
One of my all-time favorite openings--just watch that part if you want to get a general idea of the set-up of the series.
There are a lot of characters and individual stories to process, and the time line jumps back and forth very rapidly.
I found myself having to keep notes on who was who was where was with who else was last seen when and was .. etc.
(Perhaps I have below average comprehension capabilities?)
BUT, when everyone and everything starts connectiong--mind blown.

So stick with it (and PAY ATTENTION) and you'll enjoy the ride.

Every so often an anime comes along that isn't afraid to challenge the conventions by which a story is told. The story in Baccano! is very straightforward. Usually, it is the style of in which the story is told that receives the most attention. Baccano! adopts a non-sequential storytelling style. Baccano! has multiple individual storylines, all of which intertwine into a larger story. At first, the events and characters may be confusing. But once you're past the initial surprise of leaping feet first into the middle of the story, you find yourself immersed in an unusual, fast-paced and entertaining style of storytelling that whets your appetite for more.

Baccano! opens with the excellent (and very appropriate for the setting) track "Guns N' Roses" by Paradise Lunch. The jazzy theme of the OP fits perfectly against the backdrop of 1930's America, in which the majority of the show is set. This jazz themed music continues throughout the entirety of the show and adds a certain authentic flavor which is often lacking in other shows. The only true downside to the music is the ED, which is a stereotypical J-ballad. However, this is only a small detraction from the otherwise great music though and can easily be skipped over.

Another area where Baccano! excelled was the voice acting. The talented VA's for each role managed to breathe life and individuality into the large and diverse cast of characters. The most singular achievement of the voice actors is that each of the characters can be easily identified by voice alone, as each actor has brought a different timbre, a different nuance, sometimes even a different accent, to each role.
All the characters are very well designed and as unique as their voices.

Baccano! contains a nice mixture of drama, action and comedy. This, coupled with some amazing characters and a good short story, makes Baccano! one of the most enjoyable romps in recent years. The absurd, comedic moments serve as a perfect counterweight to the action and tension that builds throughout the show. Nothing is too dramatic or depressing, and both the humor and the violence aren't forced. The most enjoyable thing about Baccano! is that each character's actions feel natural to that character and this comes across to the viewer in a big way.

Action: B
Adventure: C
Animation: A
Appeal: B
Atmosphere: A+
Characters: A+
Character Development: B
Character Interactions: A
Comedy: B
Creativity: A+
Dialogue: A
Ending: A
Excitement: B
First Impression: B
Genre: A
Impact: B
Length: B
Pace: A
Romance: B
Story: A
Variety: A
Voice Talent: A
Overall: A
Weak Points: Some scenes may make viewers woozy.
Strong Points: One of the best anime casts I have ever seen. Completely redefines anime storytelling. It has never been so much fun going from completely confused to understanding everything.
Final Verdict: “Baccano!” Is a supernatural thrill ride jam packed with plenty of violence and enough fight scenes to get your blood pumping for even more.
Final Thought: You will never fall in love with a cast as fast as you will here.

I have not been this excited while watching an anime for a looooooooooooooooong time. It fills me with giddy joy just like back when I first got into anime. as many characters as there are, they each feel so incredibly unique and sincere. and I watched the dub based on another reviewer's recommendation which just added a whole other level of enjoyment. hearing their talking quirks and accents and such. it took me 3 episodes to finally start putting the different plot lines and characters together in my head. after watching episode #4, I went back to re-watch the first 3. which I recommend you do as well. because of how the plot lines are presented, this show totally warrants 1st, 2nd, and 3rd viewings to re-experience the excitement again and again. I would totally get this on DVD. I only wish it was longer. I saw this series in 2 days and I was so anxious to uncover more of the story that I kept clicking the next episode and before I knew it I was on episode 15, and then 16, and then the fun was over. I was filled with such sadness to see I had reached the end. because I didn't feel it coming at all. and once you realize your watching the last episode and there is no more story to uncover, you actually think to yourself, that's it? because of the way the plot goes back and forth and twists and turns and all the way the characters are connected, you think there is some grand overall defining plot that is going to explode in everyone's faces, but suddenly you reach the end, and suddenly you feel like everything makes sense. it was so simple! and you let out a sigh of relief at the wonderful happy ending. at least, that's how I felt. now for some specifics.

MUSIC:
I gave the music 5 stars as it simply a marvelous asset to the show. it's time period perfection. especially the OP. showing the characters in their element with that wonderful mood spiking jazz (?). usually I skip OP's after seeing them once, but this one was so entertaining to watch i saw it through and through every time and I'm still not sick of it!! I did skip the ED tho so I could hear Isaac and Miria's commentary.

Speaking of characters, let me go through some of my favorites:
CHARACTERS:
Jacuzzi Splott: another reviewer said he hated Jacuzzi but I positively adored him. in the world of big bad mafia men, he was such a delightful contrast. I LOVED his crybaby foible because usually that is reserved for female characters so I loved seeing it on our underdog male protagonist. he is so different than all the usual shonen jump loud mouthed short tempered orange/blonde underdog heroes (Naruto, Ichigo, Edward Elric). he reminded me of Renton from Eureka 7 and Yugi from YuGiOh, both of which are in my top 5 favorite male protagonists in anime ever (especially Yugi. I really love Yugi).

Claire Stanfield aka veno: because Claire takes out bad guys, I loved every moment of Veno's craziness! i mean, it was a bit gruesome to watch at times, but boy did I enjoy every frame with Veno in it.

Firo: i agree with Carol. He does certainly feel main character-ish but never does he overshadow any other character. the balance between them all that the producers created is just so shocking at how well done it is. in any case, as an extremely talented yet emotionally stable modest good-doer kid, he's just so....soothing.....to watch in his interactions.

Czeslaw Meyer: I am absolutely fascinated by his character. this is a real spoiler -->

Isaac and Miria: they are just a joy to watch. I've seen crazy characters but none so sincere and not vulgar as them (I'd take them over Haruhi (*barf*) always). I don't care if they're thieves. I'd let them steal from me any day! lol. and the one thing you keep wondering throughout the show is if they are together (as a couple).

even the smaller characters on the show were given enough screen time and character development to make you care about them, like Rachel and Elmer.

THE CHARACTER I DIDN'T LIKE:
the one lad I didn't like was none other than Ladd Russo. that ruthless crazy egotistical bastard just freaked the hell out of me. but you know. I was glad he was on the show, because for me he became the one true baddie bad guy that needed to be taken down. the guy I could hate and pin all the bad things on. because I had Ladd to hate, I could love Claire. the one time I was amused by his character was when he was skipping to the dining cart and talking to himself.

the genoards: i have mixed feelings about them. the truth about Dallas was dragged out as some big mystery, and to be fair the truth was surprising. Eve was assertive enough to balance her delicate appearance and her almost annoying constant mourning of her brother. overall I wish they had given her character a little extra something else to do other than fret over her brother. although, though she is a typical personality in anime, her affection/gentleness never feels forced or contrived, which is good. and how well she took the truth about Dallas was rather surprising. in a good way.

ANIMATION:
the character designs were awesome, but I feel there was room for improvement in the animation to be more fluid. and I'm not talking about the OP. but it's not in the least bit terrible or distractingly bad as you sometimes see in naruto.

POSSIBLE TURN-OFFS:
the gore. surprisingly, there is no vulgarity except for the occasional curse word, which is nothing considering we are in the world of mafia. I believe there were only 1 or 2 F-bombs. both from Ladd Russo I think. (another reason I don't like him.)

FINAL WORD:
what else can I say? in such a short time, this anime has won me over and I wish it was so much longer than it was. but perhaps its briefness is part of its appeal. after all, it never really started or ended. the events just keep replaying in my head and I wonder about all the untold stories in between the ones revealed to us. this anime has brought me such joy that I cannot put into words.

Baccano! is a unique and original series that manages to captivate audiences and suck them in. But why? There are several reasons why to watch this hilarious and interesting series.

The Plot (or rather the plots)
The plot consists of three different story lines that all intertwine and have overlapping characters. They are told out of order with only the date before a scene to tell you which story the next scene belongs to. In pretty much all the episodes you get at least two of the three and the switch back and forth with no sense of chronology. This style was taken supposedly because the director wanted the audience to get the feel they were reading jumbled clips of newspaper reports thrown together. While this device sounds confusing and like a disaster waiting to happen, the writers pull it off well and choose scenes that work well together despite being from different stories completely. In the beginning it can be hard to follow but everything eventually ties together and is explained by the end of the series.

Music
The music.... is awesome. Most of the story is set in the early 30s in New York and Chicago so the jazz instrumentals are perfect. Plus the set the pace and mood going from wacky to exciting in an instant. The opening theme is especially endearing and also serves to introduce this next part of my review.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUjqlVt6y2A

Characters
Baccano has a huge cast so it might seem like an impossible task to create memorable characters that the audience can get invested in, especially when the story moves about between plots and people. Overall the writers succeed but not without a failure or two.
[URL=http://img43.imageshack.us/i/jacuzziposter.jpg/]
I really hate this guy
There are no main characters in Baccano. One might initially think that the main characters would be Isaac and Miria as they're the only ones to show up in all three story lines, but they're involvement in them is limited. Rather all characters play they're roles with no one getting all the limelight though some are more important than others. By far the best character is the villain (or depending on your view anti-hero) Ladd Russo. Ladd is a dumb ass, however he knows what he likes and how to get it. Ladd is a sadist and there's nothing he loves more than murder and death and lots of it. He's in a good position to pull it off too, working in the mafia, though his murdering sprees cause trouble for his boss. He is ALWAYS enjoyable when onscreen despite the many heinous things he does. A great part of his character is his monologues which reveal just how batshit insane he is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNoITwTJiEM
The worst character is Jacuzzi Splot. A little wimp who runs with a criminal ring that engages in robbery. He is the most annoying character in the series and always cries and gets his ass kicked. What's weird though is that his love interest, Nice Holystone, is a great character full of personality and sass. So it's always weird when they get screen time as their interactions are pretty much her dragging him out of shit and him breaking down and crying all the time. Hell I wanted Ladd to kill the little bitch every time he showed up. However, Jacuzzi is the exception and for the most part the characters, even the submissive ones (besides Jacuzzi) are great. I'll take this time to mention something. If English is your first language..... WATCH THE DUB. The original Japanese is great but there's something great about the whole cast English cast of Baccano that just works. The voices suit the characters greatly and the accents only play up the fact that this anime is set in the US rather than detract from the work. Also Ladd's voice actor is incredible. If that first clip of him didn't convince you here's him singing a nursery song on a show in Ladds voice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bo6-i5E_xns
how can you not love that?
If that's not enough, how about this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaZdFQcKvjk

Animation
The animation is fair. Not horrible not spectacular but passable and, for the most, part fluid. The style may not be unique per se but it suits the story and characters well enough. My only beef with it is the occasional CGI used as it matches horribly with the animation around it. It stands out like a sore thumb and takes away from the enjoyment of the series.

Overall
Baccano is a great action series, with overall good characters and an incredible plot. It's not too long so it's well worth the watch.

This anime looks like it had it's color stolen from it & it has a nasty perspective. The caracters is very good & original. Iniatialy i thought that the story was about the doughter & the vice director (it is, kind of), but then i started watchin' more episodes and i realised that this is a very shortened anime...

I usually don't do this for most animes but I completed this in less in a day! Fantastic! I'm usually not this blunt with my reviews either. The storyline was simply genius! At first it might of been a little confusing to following but none the less, even being clueless at first, I was still so absorbed in this story. Each episode revealed little bits and parts of everyone and everything tying everything together! The mystery, the thrill, Horror, romance action you name it! I definitely recommended it for those who love excitement and the old classy feel of the 1930's. I certainly adore those factors about animes. I won't recommended it to those of the more shojo type (ex. Mermaid Melody) all too much. I wouldn't expect it to attract those who are for the shojo types. There was a lot of gore and it may seem morbid but I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. The main idea of this anime is immortality and usually I wouldn't go for those sort of animes because they would seem to godmod like but in thie one, they made the idea naturally flow and not seem to godmode. At the end, I cried at some of the heart felt moments which I don't usually do a lot but the moments really made my heart rejoice.

The Music was beautiful and a work of art! The jazzy feel to it and the excitement still sings in the walls of my head. I could probably find myself dancing to it! The ending story was simply beautiful and left a feeling of a sort of hope. The one thing I love about anime is the music and how when you listen to it again when you turn old, a rush of nostalgia hits you. This is exactly what this anime did to me and I sometimes wish that it was a little longer. I can't wait to see the OVA!

Characters are beautifully made! There was so much imagination to them and they really complimented the 1930 feel. In my opinion, they were all very original and hero like. The main characters even the side characters played an important part in contributing to this story. I simply love the artwork to them as well. Being a fangirl, I could fall head over heels for many of the male characters and for the first time ever, I actually thought the female characters were amazing/cool! I usually don't since they have this constant annoying ring in my ear sometimes, like the "cute" act (ex. Am I kawaii desu). These girls felt so human and real to me, I sometimes which I could be like them as well. I loved each relationships they had with each other and how they tied in with each other so well. From strangers to friends/enemies. It truly is a small world where they live in.

The animation was great. The scenes or bullets firing and ones with an overuse of gore made my skin tingle. If you're watching an anime where you can't take your eyes off even towards the simple things, then it's great.

I would give this a 10/5 if I could. One of the best animes I've seen and I'm usually not modest or blunt towards most of the animes I see.

Ah, Baccano!

This is a series which becomes an eclectic mix of good, bad, confusing, amazing and delightful all at once and somehow leaves you feeling somewhat satisfied after finishing...For reasons you don't quite understand.

Baccano's story line is semi-complex; writing several characters which appear to have nothing to do with one another into a singular plot is no small feat. The cast of people in Baccano! aren't generally the kind that would normally spend time with one another--either by choice or by the distances which happen between people over time, yet the story does weave them all back together in a believable blanket of intrigue.

Baccano! enjoys the age old ploy of tossing us in the middle of utter chaos and leaving little bread-crumb snippets of the past which explain and lead up to the current mess we're trying to figure out. Flashbacks and character recollections are often the tool used to explain what is currently going on and why. I must admit, while that can be a great way to tell the story, Baccano! appears to falter under the weight of its own ambitious story half way through and somewhat limps (but still, surprisingly, watchable) to the end.

Baccano's story leaves a few stories laying along the side of the road with little explanation as to why, perhaps realizing that it was too much of an endeavor to continue with so many side plots--and focuses instead on the main.

The main plot, however, doesn't entirely make complete sense either; yet, it's just complicated enough and unique enough to have kept me watching and will no doubt satisfy those who like their anime to make them think.

The animation style itself flutters between stylized to pleasantly detailed, using bright, flat colors and simplistic textures or patterns to suffice. The characters are unique enough to become memorable by sight as well as quirks/habits alone.

Character development is also done well enough to merit my continued watching, though some of them are so cliché that if it were not for the setting they wouldn't leave much of an impression at all. Thankfully, the setting is different enough to make blasé moments easily forgettable.

The music--ahhhh, now, here's where I was hooked! The music and opening for Baccano! is in my opinion, the best part of the entire show and the music quality is consistent throughout the entirety.

Baccano! is a little dark in some places, but nothing that I would not expect a well rounded individual could handle. I wouldn't recommend the series to anyone under thirteen basically, if that helps at all.

In its entirety, Baccano! was akin to a great party in an old dive. The walls are a little cracked, the chairs are a bit stained and maybe the paint could use another coat or two--but the decorations and cake are fancy enough that you can overlook the flaws and have a great time with everyone else.

Definitely recommend it for a rainy afternoon or filler between waiting for a favorite series release.