Baccano [Standard Edition]

Baccano! is one of the few anime out there which distinguishes itself for all the right reasons and continues to give every time watched. In every consideration it gets full marks, something very few television shows in general can say. Baccano! (the name is an Italian slang word meaning ruckus, chaos or noise) manages to weave several different themes together in perfect harmony. This show will make you laugh, make you cry, make you shiver, surprise you and that opening theme will make you dance. Comedy, romance, action adventure, murder mystery, horror and tragedy. Each theme plays out with just enough attention given to it to make it poignant without becoming overbearing or overplayed. Baccano! also has a shockingly large cast. The story line is set over the course of three years, 1930, 1931 and 1932 and focuses on around five stories, which intersect one another at various intervals, with their own clusters of characters. In total there are 21 major characters in the story and in a first, each character gets sufficient character development to stand out on their own. Also unlike most other anime, Baccano! eschews the typical angst filled teenager that populates most anime and instead goes for an older cast with only three characters under the age of eighteen. These characters vary differently in their personalities, agendas and motivations - from the eccentric duo of thieves, Isaac and Miria, to the psychotic Ladd Russo, to the enigmatic Chane, to the cool and sophisticated Luck. In terms of audio this show scores high once again. The music is pitch perfect for the period, all jazz and big band. The opening theme is a rollicking roller-coaster of brilliant music, featuring a terrific saxophone solo and from there on the music suits every scene. Every minute sounds like something out of a gangster flick and by the end of this series, your feet will be tapping. In terms of voice acting, this remains the only anime I've ever seen where the English dub is actually better than the Japanese dub. This is in part due to the fact that this anime is set in 1930's New York and the dub uses both period slang and the actors adopt local accents. While these accents are not entirely perfect, they suit the feel of the show perfectly. Indeed, each vocalist puts a huge amount of feeling into every scene and congratulations must be given to the director in this regard. In every aspect, Baccano sounds terrific. There is one flaw with this show however, that being that it is somewhat hard to follow. Since the story takes place over three years and with five interlinking plot lines all happening at once, it is very easy to get lost and confused. For this reason it is recommended to watch several episodes at a time. Otherwise it becomes difficult to remember which characters belong to which timeline and what their allegiances are. Also, the show can be pretty gory, enough to warrant its 18's rating. Baccano is one of, if not the, greatest anime ever created. With that in mind I would encourage every fan of anime to watch it at least once.

This series is simply great and has become a new favourite of mine! It ticks all the right boxes: it has a huge cast of eccentric, psychotic, interesting and likeable characters, a great story told in a nonlinear fashion, great voice acting in both Japanese and English (I watch my anime in Japanese), a great setting: New York during the 1930s Prohibition Era involving mafia gangs, thieves, assassins and other delinquents; a great, catchy jazz/blues soundtrack (listening to it right now, in fact), solid animation, action, comedy, bloody/gory violence, mystery, horror, a slight dash of romance... It's just such an entertaining show. The only gripes I have are: the series is too damn short, and the 3 DVD bonus episodes are weaker than the main series. But those are only minor issues. Either way, I'd strongly recommend this to anyone; especially if you're an anime fan or a newbie. I really hope a second series gets done.

Baccano! is a brilliant anime. The dub is brilliant, the animation superb and the music stylish. The year is 1931 and transcontinental train The Flying Pussyfoot has a motley crew of people onboard. The loveable thieves Isaac and Miria who are on their way to see their friend Ennis and give her a gift, except they have no gift. A mob dressed in black is planning a kidnapper. A gang dressed in white is also onboard under the leadership of the psgycotic Ladd Russo. A ragtag bunch of bootleggers are on board too, headed by crybaby Jacuzzi Splot and his eyepatch wearing bomb making girlfriend Nice Holystone. There is also Czeslaw Meyer, an immortal 8 year old boy, a newsreporter oh, and the Rail Tracer, a monster. The story then jumps around before and after the events on the train, mainly involving the location of a bootlegged elixir of immortality. Szilard, the oldest man on the planet wants it back, but who has it? Dallas Genoard, wannabe gangster who has dissapeared? The mob ran by the Gandorf brothers? Or plucky fancy dress wearing thieves Isaac and Miria, who are friends with the being that Szilard has artificially made, Ennis, who has taken the eye of newly initiated gangster Firo, who is friends with Maiza, who goes way back with Szilard and Czeslaw? Confused? You will be! The non linear nature of the story may put some people off but I love it. Due to the fragmented story telling each episode has many cliffhanger moments and you may have to wait a fair few episodes until the story returns to that point and you find out what happends next. Admittedly the last 3 episodes shouldnt have happened but it does feature Isaac and Miria teaching the mafia how to play domino toppling which is great fun. I have now watched the show twice through and it really is an excellent piece of work. Exceedingly violent but also funny and clever. It's wild, crazy, fun, outrageous, uncontrollable brilliance.

A multi-strand tale of mobsters and alchemy, 'Baccano' is the 16 episode story of a colourful cast of characters on the other side of the law (including hitmen, gangsters, socialites, robbers and well, an alchemist or two) whose lives change over the course of three years (1931-1933) as they deal with the likes of a turf war, gangland murders, an elaborate train heist and the convergence of 'immortals' seeking the means to produce an elixir of eternal life. And that's just a quick skim! A fun and distinct period romp, 'Baccano' is told in a manner akin to 'Rashomon': jumping between different characters and times and seeing their effects on the story, and given our diverse cast, this equals a lot of possibilities. The train is the main anchoring point, and where most of the story takes place, but we cut back to prior years to help inform characters, as well as the bigger narrative of the show, which deals with immortals, alchemy and their ongoing battle. Despite all this though, the show is for the most part a drama with comedic elements (mainly in the form of cosplaying thieves Issac and Miria), and not a big whizzbang fantasy or action show. In fact, this would make a great beginner's anime, given how restrained it actually is and not using a lot of the 'eccentricities' that the form has become notorious for. If the West produced mature dramatic animated series, this is how I imagine it would look. Animation is solid, sleek and dynamic without being hyperactive, the voice work is good despite some accents, and the 30s setting allows for some really neat recreations of the contradiction that was 30s America: really gorgeous skyscrapers and trains versus very dingy warehouses, dark speakeasys and slummy neighbourhoods. The large group of characters are also by and large rather likeable and fun, even if they are slightly stock mafia archetypes, with special note going to the aforementioned Issac and Miria. They are such wonderfully charismatic and energetic goofballs yet not so much so they clash with the darker elements. As far as complaints, I really can't offer much, except that having a big cast does mean some of them, as well as certain plot threads, are not fully tied up by the end, yet their introductions make them feel more important than they actually turn out to be. Plus, the returning immortals angle is not explored as much as you would think, with really only one episode being the focus and then a quick cap off at the end. I wish they did delve a little more into their lives and what the effects of living so long do to different people. However, the rest of the show is so engaging that it didn't become too big an issue. In the end, 'Bacanno' was a neat little surprise. It's not 'FullMetal Godfather' as one may be lead to think at first, but it's an exciting and often lively romp through the unlikely blend of mob and magic. Not sure about anime because of all the fanservice, kawaii and ADD action? Give this a shot ya mug. Issac and Miria will more than make it worth your while...

Baccano! is an anime I've always wanted to watch after seeing the YouTube channel Anime America list it as the anime with the most perfect ending, and after watching it, I can see why! Set during the Great Depression, a turf war is starting to brew in New York. But there's an even bigger mystery developing behind the scenes, one centuries in the making... The anime has so many characters in its roster, yet doesn't feel clunky as each one gets their moment to shine. All in all, this is a dazzling anime experience with the catchiest theme tune ever!

The disk plays well and the plot of the anime is all over the place and only makes sense at the end. Of you like trains and Tarantino films then you will love this mayhem filled anime! It has period accurate accents and clothing. It explores interesting characters and situations that they all find themselves in. So I have to recommend this and buy the Blu-ray and support this and recommend it to all amine fans in your life!

Ordered from First Media UK and got a resealed Blu-Ray that is wrinkled all over. The disc themselves look good with no scratches, just the Blu-ray cover itself that looks horrible. If you care about the conditions. Do not order from First Media UK

It's the classiest, most fun anime show I've watched in a while. Isaac and Miria are fun to watch and it's interesting to see how all these stories somehow connect to them, even if in the most feeble and long-winded ways. Everybody else in the cast is unique and makes watching the entire series in one sitting a very pleasurable experience. One problem I can really see is that despite there being plenty of novels left in this series, the studio hasn't come up with another season to compensate, which is a little disappointing, but doesn't detract from the splendor that is this series. Also, the intro song WILL be stuck in your head. Just FYI.

Einfach einzigartige Erzählweise und Erzählstruktur mit grandioser Handlung umwerfend gezeichnet. Kleine Warnung allerdings an zarter besaitete: Auch wenn sie nicht besonders im Fokus der Serie stehen sind einige Gewaltdarstellungen nichts für schwache Nerven.

issa very gud show

First off this is a Region B Blu Ray, so if you don’t have a region b Blu-ray player or a region free Blu Ray player then you don’t need to get this. Ok, Baccano! is a crazy anime. It almost feels like a zany animaniacs episode at time it’s so weird but then someone’s brains get splattered on the wall. This may be one of the most brutal gory animes out there. No it’s not as bloody and intense as something like attack on Titan, but the detail and the brutality of the violence is in a league of its own. I know it’s not common to see someone shoot a kid in the head and see the bullet hole in the front and the huge exit hole out the back, or a guy who’s arm was sheered off with his bones sticking out with flesh hanging on, or fingers cut off with the muscles and bone visible as they fall to the ground. This is filled with psychopaths and brutal killers. From an entertainment standpoint it’s great. The story is very convoluted and hard to follow at times because it jumps around to different years constantly, then the same scenes will replay with a different character as the focus. As a matter of fact I think about 12 of the 16 episodes are all focused on the same event that takes place in one night. This is definitely one that will be a lot easier to follow when rewatching it. I love the scenes with Isaac and Miria they are hilarious and insane. While maybe not as good as some people have led me to believe, this is still a really good anime that I don’t regret getting and watching and will rewatch. Probably around my 7th favorite anime in the action/fighting genre, and around 25 overall. Definitely not for the faint of heart given it’s brutality and gore.

作品の感想については他の方の☆5評価にまるっと同意なので割愛します。 放送時の録画＆バラ売りDVDを持っていますが予約して手に入れるくらい何度でも楽しめる作品です。 主に既に視聴済み・DVDはお持ちの方向けに、その手持ちのものと比べての感想です。 DVD映像からは正直なところ目を見張るほど綺麗になった！感はありません。 しかしながら確実に綺麗にはなっています。 期待し過ぎるとがっかりするかもしれませんが、元々がSD映像ですので比べれば【格段に綺麗になった】と言ってもいいかと思います。 BDだけ見ると「綺麗になった？」と感じますがDVDから入れ替えて見ると「おおおお凄く綺麗になった！」と感じました。 特に視聴済みの方が気になっているのは暗い場面の見易さだと思いますが、それに関しては断然今回のBD映像が鮮明かつ見易くなっています。 ただ明るくなった訳ではなく列車や人物のシャープさがあがって見易くなったというか… あまり鮮明に見えても…というあれやこれやの例の場面もはっきりくっきり。 ブックレットの読み応えについても十分といっていいかと。 原作者・各メインスタッフのメッセージやインタビュー、 個別の人物・背景イラストやDVDなどの各巻表紙や宣材など最低限入っていて欲しいと思うようなものは一通り入っていました。 DVD版とは違ったBDBOX用で、同じスタッフによる「デュラララ!!」製作後ということで両者の違いにも触れ、月日も経っての心境の変化などがおもしろく読めました。 それから目玉として、英語吹き替えがあげられると思いますが、これがかなりいい！ 声優の演技が素晴らしいので期待の大きさの分、不安がなかったといえば嘘になりますが杞憂に過ぎませんでした。 一部おおっと…と感じる方もいますが…全体としては作品の雰囲気を壊すことなく吹き替えられています。 大体が日本の声優に似た声のトーンの配役。 チェス・クレアのギャップやジャグジーの涙声での台詞、バカップルのお馬鹿で大袈裟な掛け合いにグラハムの振り幅激しい演技など特に頑張ってるなぁと感じました。 アイザックとラッドに関しては少々突き抜け感や危うさ加減が足りない気もしますが…元々が素晴らしいので、吹き替えと思えば十分及第点かと。 ■まとめ ・映像は綺麗になっている （期待しすぎなければ十分といっていい） ・暗い映像が格段に見易くなった ・ディスクの入れ替えの手間が最小限になった （特にDVDだと外伝が3枚に別れていたのが1枚にまとめられていて見やすい） ・英語吹き替え！ （OP中と次回予告時も吹き替え有。ただし字幕はない） あとどうでもいいことですが、再生中にメニューボタンでメニューを表示させた時の画面が好きです。 上手く言えませんが、左下から左上隅までをビリッと斜めに破り取ったかのような破り跡にメニューが表示されます。かっこいい。 トップメニューに関してもDVD版とは違っており相変わらずセンスがいいなぁと思いました。 長くなりましたが、 DVDからの買い替えについてはBD映像を生かせる環境＆金銭的に余裕があれば買って損はさせない！ 持っていない、手持ちが放送時のものという方にはこの機会に是非！というのが個人的な意見です。 ※追記※ 記載の通り、映像特典はノンンクレジットOP＆ED以外のものはありません。 イベントやCM集、特番、最終話ノンクレジットEDなどはDVD版にしかついていませんので、DVDを手放して買い替えを考えていらっしゃる方は注意した方がよいかと。 イベントやキャストインタビュー、ロケハンの様子などを納めた特番などもったいないものが多くあります。

I am seriously glad I bought this anime, as I now rank it with my favorite series I've seen up until now. The story telling is quite original, as you have no central character to focus on : instead, you get half a dozen, all as loveable and unique as the others. What's more, you get to see, with the occurrence of multiple jumps through time, how all of their stories tangle to finally form a complex intrigue. The only thing I recommend is that you watch this series in a short amount of time (I didn't have any trouble, as each episode left me craving for more), as the recurring flashbacks and swaps between characters can get a bit confusing if you do not pay enough attention.