Baccano!

During the early 1930s in Chicago, the transcontinental train, Flying Pussyfoot, is starting its legendary journey that will leave a trail of blood all over the country. At the same time in New York, the ambitious scientist Szilard and his unwilling aide Ennis are looking for missing bottles of the immortality elixir. In addition, a war between the mafia groups is getting worse. On board the Advena Avis, in 1711, alchemists are about to learn the price of immortality.

Based on the award-winning light novels of the same name, Baccano! follows several events that initially seem unrelated, both in time and place, but are part of a much bigger story—one of alchemy, survival, and immortality. Merging these events together are the kindhearted would-be thieves, Isaac and Miria, connecting various people, all of them with their own hidden ambitions and agendas, and creating lifelong bonds and consequences for everyone involved.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Dian, Isaac Main

Onosaka, Masaya Japanese

Stanfield, Claire Main

Morita, Masakazu Japanese

Harvent, Miria Main

Aoki, Sayaka Japanese

Russo, Ladd Main

Fujiwara, Keiji Japanese

Prochainezo, Firo Main

Yoshino, Hiroyuki Japanese

Splot, Jacuzzi Main

Sakaguchi, Daisuke Japanese

Laforet, Chane Main

Hirohashi, Ryou Japanese

Gandor, Luck Main

Koyasu, Takehito Japanese

Ennis Main

Kobayashi, Sanae Japanese

Meyer, Czesław Main

Kanda, Akemi Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Harp, Clarine Producer

Satou, Yumi Producer

Yokoyama, Shuko Producer

Reviews

Oct 22, 2025

Shishiku-kun

Recommended

Here’s a MAL-ready review tuned to what you liked—soundtrack, art, and the narrative delivery.

Baccano!

Overall: 9.5/10
Story: 9 | Art: 9 | Sound: 10 | Character: 9 | Enjoyment: 9.5

Baccano! is an ensemble caper told like a jazz set—nonlinear, overlapping, and effortlessly cool. The show trusts the audience: it scrambles chronology across trains, speakeasies, and laboratories, then lets you stitch the mosaic together. Instead of hand-holding, it delivers payoffs via pattern recognition—faces, motifs, and cause ↔ effect beats that click three episodes later.

Story (9):
Immortality, greed, and dumb luck collide in Prohibition-era America. The narrative is a deck shuffle—multiple POVs, time jumps, and interlocked incidents—yet consequences still track. ... The frame device winks at authorship itself: who gets to “decide” the story? Occasional chaos costs a bit of emotional depth for certain side players, but the net effect is momentum and texture.

Art/Animation (9):
Period styling is sharp: suits, cars, signage, and smoky rooms with saturated, sepia-leaning palettes. Character acting is punchy and readable even when the timeline isn’t. Action is brief, brutal, and staged for clarity rather than sakuga excess.

Sound (10):
Swing/jazz-inflected score that moves the show—snare hits and brass stabs punctuate reveals; quieter bass/winds hold tension. The OP is all-timer energy, and the sound design sells metal, glass, and flesh in close quarters. This is the rare soundtrack that’s a narrative instrument, not wallpaper.

Characters (9):
A sprawling cast of crooks, immortals, psychos, and idiots-with-hearts. Archetypes are deliberate (and fun), with several standouts that steal scenes on entrance. Not everyone gets full interiority, but the ensemble chemistry—the way stories refract across personalities—does the heavy lifting.

Enjoyment (9.5):
If you want straight-line plotting, this isn’t it. If you want a show that rewards attention and rewatch, with style and music doing narrative work, Baccano! is elite.

Pros
• Jazz/swing soundtrack that actively drives pacing and tone
• Confident nonlinear structure that trusts the audience
• Distinct period aesthetic; kinetic, legible action

Cons
• Character sprawl means a few arcs feel sketched
• Timeline hopscotch may frustrate if you prefer linear delivery

Quick Take:
An intoxicating, jazz-cut crime mosaic where the soundtrack, editing, and ensemble do the storytelling. 9.5/10.

Watch if you liked: Durarara!! (multi-POV chaos), Cowboy Bebop (style+sound), Pulp Fiction (nonlinear caper energy).

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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May 29, 2025

rinbeeby

Mixed Feelings

baccano has a really interesting and unique story, there is no denying that. i didn't hate watching it! but i didn't really like it either. like Durarara, there are a LOT of characters that are all fundamental to the story. but the characters in this are way more boring and one-dimensional. i don't even remember a lot of them. the female characters are so incredibly one-note and boring that they might as well all have been one character. ennis, chare(? i don't remember her name lol), eve, nice, and lua are all the same person basically. emotionless, cold, quiet, submissive women whose whole existence in ... the plot is to serve a male character. rachel at least did something, but she acted in the exact same way as the other women, if not even less distinct. milia is the only exception, and i kind of just found her annoying.

the violence is also really gross. i'd say i'm more sensitive to violence than most people, but this took it to the next level. there was such disgusting, visceral violence that i actually had to skip some scenes! if you're desensitized to violence, obviously that won't matter, but for the squeamish, like me... i guess if you choose to watch this, be prepared to avert your eyes. and probably your ears too. the nasty violence even happens to a child at one point. i couldn't handle it!

so, all that's to say, i don't really think it was worth watching. i'm glad i watched it just so i won't be curious about it anymore, especially since i have heard so much good stuff about it, but it wasn't really for me. it was just fine. i think if some characters were maybe combined, so that there was a quality over quantity situation going on instead, it would've been easier to connect with them, and easier to follow the plot. i took notes and i still don't really know what happened in the end.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Aug 15, 2025

Fansty909

Not Recommended

Style with very little substance.

A flashy anime with chaotic story telling. By episode 5 I was still hoping the series would come together by the end but it just doesn't land.

I really feel like this is the worst case scenario of game of thrones level of characters and intrigue mixed with full metal alchemist trappings. I wasn't connected to any characters, as they all feel like caricatures vs people I want to invest time in.

Baccano is like a salad that on first glance looks gorgeous and delicious. But after 3 bites you realize there's olives, chicken, croutons, cheese, raisins, pistachios, carrots, tomatoes and ... beats and cucumber and and and and. There's just too much here and no bite is satisfying. It's all just a mish mash of ideas that dont coalesce.

Give me a salad with 5 different things that compliment and make each bite stimulating. When I finally get that bite with all 5 pieces, its fantastic.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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