Review will be broken down like so :
Baccano! Is a story about mafia families, crime and immortality. I wish i was joking with the immortality part, Baccano looking like FMAB but i digress. Baccano! is a well directed anime with a lot of laughs but dark at the same time. The story takes place in 3 different times 1930,1931,1932. The anime cuts scenes between these 3 years, which can be quite confusing at first but refreshing from the norm of storytelling.
So with these 3 years, 3 seemingly separate stories are told but are connected through Isaac and Miria. They are the glue that holds these stories together and we witness the different relationships they have with other characters and how it came to be. You may think that this spoils a lot of the content ahead of the anime but i assure you, most of these shots are taken out of context and referenced later.
The story is told in a way where you wouldn’t understand anything because most of the time scenes are not shot chronologically. For some this may seem pretentious or confusing and drop it. However, nothing beats the feeling of discovering something new and understanding how it fits into the bigger picture. For every episode you watch you are constantly referring back to previous episodes and going “OHHHH” when you realize a plot point. Personally I enjoy it because I feel like I'm not just mindlessly watching something but am actively involved with the story and it’s direction.
However, this becomes a problem. If you do not watch this continuously or take long breaks between episodes, I believe it would be jarring and confusing when you only have rough memory from the previous episodes. I strongly recommend that this to be watched in 1 sitting or daily.
With the 3 stories, I felt that the Szilard and the mafia was the weakest. He is made out to be this over ambitious alchemist but i feel that is downplayed with the comedy and i can’t help but not take him seriously. I feel like he wasn’t that threatening of a villain. This brings me to my next point : comedy and dark tones.
The anime does a great job at mixing dark moments of the show along with comedy. However, I feel like they do succeed at being able to switch from one to another. The anime occasionally trips on it’s own foot at certain moments and downplays the consequences. Although this isn’t a major issue, it didn’t affect my enjoyment. I may be reaching for this one but i kinda believe it’s a parody to those stereotypical evil scientists which actually makes it quite humorous.
Overall, the story is captivating, unique and very involved with the viewers and i thoroughly enjoyed watching this piece of anime.
Character design wise, they’re pretty solid. I think the stand out in terms of character design is definitely Jacuzzi Splot. He has this cool tattoo that covers half of his face which kinda makes him look cool despite his personality.
The background art in this anime is absolutely gorgeous but don’t get a lot of screen time since a lot of the show takes place indoors or narrow alleyways.
Overall, the art is splendid and gets the job done.
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Motion is perfectly captured, action sequences are beautifully choreographed. With the gif on the right showcasing beautiful action and smooth transitions between shots. Notice how his hat moves fluidly with everything going on. It feels real. The gif the right showcases how mad Ladd Russo is but look at how they make his celebration look insane like no sane person would jump for joy the way Russo has. The animation team behind this at Brain’s Base really knocked it out of the park. I actually thought i was watching a Bones/Madhouse anime with the quality of their animations.
I believe this is my first Brain’s Base anime, and i’m really shocked by the quality of this show. Overall really good animation, no complaints whatsoever.
For Isaac and Miria they are robbers with a weird taste in things they rob. They're a great dynamic duo and brought me the most laughs throughout the anime. Isaac and Miria have a very wholesome relationship of robbery. They’re a wild card throughout this journey, moving and acting on their own pace, unaffected by what most people are doing. They become lovable from the joy they bring and how they affects other characters
I really liked the Firo and the Mafia, the characters here are pretty cool and are quite realistic in how they behave being part of the Mafia. The Mafia guys are not bad guys but are not exactly good guys, they kind of help the needy but commit brutal and merciless crimes against their enemies.
Ladd Russo, what a lad (get it?). Absolutely insane lad who’s a merciless assassin just looking for some good action. This may seem like he’s one dimensional but the lad actually has some heart in him and you actually see this part of him without it being explained. It’s beautiful visual storytelling in how he acts. He;s a caring dude in a really messed up way but that’s what makes him lovable
There are some weak characters like Eve and Dallas. I really didn’t understand what they were trying to do with their characters. Like i get how Eve loves and misses his sister but i don’t get why they are essential casts. I mentioned previously how Isaac and Miria affect most of the different stories in anime. Isaac and Miria only met once. The Eve and Dallas story felt forced. Honestly, I forget them and still remember all the important points of the story.
The OST felt like the OP, Cowboy Bebop-ish. But where Bebop thrived in using their groovy OST, Baccano failed in, because it sounded so good yet they didn’t utilise it enough. You only hear it a handful of times and it’s such a missed opportunity to bring more character to the anime, it’s a shame really. Nevertheless i thoroughly enjoyed those moments when it was playing.
Voice acting was pretty great, especially Keiji Fujiwara’s, performance on Ladd Russo (Rest in Peace). He usually plays the good guy so hearing him as an antagonist was a first for me.Keiji-san definitely has range, I never thought he could sound so insane after getting used to his voices in Kimura (Hajime no Ippo), Maes Hughes (FMAB) and Leorio Paladiknight. I really enjoyed his performance on the Ladd Russo, what a lad (okay i’ll stop)
Sound and Voice acting was very well done and have no real qualms with it.
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