When I saw 1930s America and Prohibition, my mind did wander towards comparisons to Baccano, set in the same time. However, and unlike 91 Days, Baccano is an absolute romp. It’s fun and fast-paced and inherently cool. 91 Days is a world away from that as a story primarily concerned with revenge, which is much darker. About the only thing the two have in common is a similar art style which appears to be a staple when it comes to anime about the 1930s, and a few jazzy soundtracks.
Yet there is something about the world that 91 Days presents that is really attractive, especially to those who enjoy how ‘sexy’ the 1930s is, and how slick it can sometimes seem to the modern viewer. The production team did a really good job with creating an immersive atmosphere. There were a couple of occasions when there were a few problems (my mind recalls a scene in episode 2 when Nero and Avilio are walking through a market which looked distinctly out of place), but for the most part the production was generally excellent and did build an excellent town that felt like it could have been a real-life town in America. Adding to the setting was a combination of dark colour tones and melancholic, orchestral soundtracks with their distinctive violins and piano pieces. There were a few soundtracks that could be classed under ‘jazz’, but the intention of the writers, which fed into the narrative about revenge, was to craft a dark atmosphere to match the equally dark plot, characters and themes which the story was attempting to portray, and like I said earlier, the production team did an excellent job. The setting and atmosphere complimented the narrative and the characters really well. Not to mention that 91 Days has an element of Tarantino and Scorsese, and as a fan of their films, I really enjoyed watching an anime that felt like the gangster films of the aforementioned directors.
Revenge stories, in one sense, are the easiest idea to conceive. All one needs is an avenger, the evil enemy that has wronged them, a credible motive and a shedload of betrayal. Yet executing a revenge story is far more complicated. What becomes clear is that the plot and main character become entwined. The plot of the anime is the story of the character who has been wronged. If both elements works, the anime is a triumph of excellence, as the plot and the lead character are knitted together superbly (Gankutsuo is something that does this really well). However, should the character seem badly written, or his motive useless, the revenge tale falls apart, as it becomes difficult to emphasise with the character’s revenge or to take them seriously. This doesn’t mean that the revenge tale has to be wholly realistic, but that the character’s motives and actions make sense in the context of the story.
With that in mind, 91 Days does an excellent job as a revenge tale. Our hero or antihero Angelo Lagusa sees his family gunned down by the Vanetti family and vows vengeance against them. The story itself picks up about seven years later where Angelo (now under the pseudonym of Avilio Bruno) befriends the son of Don Vanetti, Nero Vanetti, with the clear intention of worming his way into the Vanetti inner circles to eliminate the Vanetti family and see his revenge come to fruition. Avilio’s revenge tale is framed by a turf war between the Vanetti’s and the Orco family as they attempt to control the town of Lawless.
Avilio, the empty shell of our lead character, is a man driven by his thirst for revenge, and this can sometimes have him come across as mysterious (in the sense that he doesn’t talk much and seems a bit dry as a character), but when push comes to shove and he is given the chance to execute aspects of his revenge, he comes alive. Avilio as a character is a ruthless, Machiavellian and opportunistic avenger. He has a plan, and exploits it with an efficiency and subtlety that doesn’t always shout at the viewer what Avilio’s plan is, and doesn’t rely on shocking events solely to get some mileage out of an episode. Even when Avilio commits an action that seems out of place (something happens in the first couple of episodes that fits the bill) or teams up with the sadomasochistic and seriously deranged Fango (a character guilty of embellishing the insanity stakes for the sake of insanity and one of few failings in the show), Avilio always seems in control of his own actions and of those around him. Yet none of Avilio’s decisions seem forced or unnatural. There is a natural progression to the plot and to Avilio’s actions. His motives and actions make sense in the context of his revenge. Plus he looks as cool as all hell while executing his revenge plan. He might be difficult to connect with emotionally, but you have to admire his ruthlessness.
As with revenge tales, the viewer experiences the story through the prism of the main character. Avilio is the conductor of his revenge tale, and as such is something of the unreliable narrator. The viewer experiences Avilio’s relationships through his point of view. Fango is the idiot puppet king being controlled by Avilio, yet it’s his relationship with Nero that shows this unreliability at its fullest. Nero as a character is portrayed as the typical caring brother who cares not only for his family members but also for the Vanetti mafia family as well, always striving to please his father and accepts the burden of others. However, his future is shaped by his interactions with Avilio, and we the viewer are an extension of these interactions. One example is Avilio suggesting that Nero invest in an alcoholic drink made by his childhood friend Corteo. While Nero uses the drink to corner the alcohol market, Avilio uses it to further his ambitions by using Nero’s influence to get the alcoholic drink Lawless Heaven into all the pubs, which has impacts later on in the narrative. Even more obvious is when Nero ascends to become the don of the Vanetti Family. Avilio’s fingerprints are all over this scheme. It’s obvious to the viewer what will happen when Avilio befriends Nero, yet the process by which he slowly betrays him is still intriguing, even if it isn’t original, especially to those who have seen revenge stories play out.
Avilio’s relationship with Corteo, his childhood friend, is different to the relationship with Nero. Corteo gives Avilio his humanity and I enjoyed their to-and-fro interactions. I’m not fond of characters like Corteo, who can seem a bit whiney at times, but he had a humanising effect on Avilio, which enriched both their characters. Corteo is the only character who gets angry at Avilio for his continued involvement with the mafia and is the moralising element in the story. With the exploration of betrayal and loyalty and the mafia, there needs to be a moralising character to keep the narrative human. This is especially prevalent in the later episodes, when Avilio and Corteo’s relationship is explored in more depth, giving Avilio a surprising level of humanity to his personality. It can be easy to see Avilio as the Machiavellian puppet-master that he is for most of the story, but his interactions with Corteo give Avilio’s personality some extra colour, and not just merely keeping him as the empty shell that he was for most of the series. Although they is a lack of subtlety to their relationship at times (including one memorable encounter), I appreciated the fact that the writers gave Avilio some humanity: it makes his inevitable betrayals that much more impactful, and makes the ending much more dramatic. After all, one cannot relate to an empty shell.
In the end, 91 Days was an excellent revenge tale told in a wonderful setting with an excellent lead in Avilio, who is equal parts vengeful as he is human. The deconstructions of the ideas of betrayal, family and loyalty are nothing new, but the tale is told in a wonderful setting. The Prohibition town that is built is wonderful, truly excellent and in some ways, the setting that is used enhances the story of revenge being told. A really well-written, character driven story that worked better than it might have done because it was written in a context that perfectly aided the tale of revenge and vengeance. An anime for those who are attracted to the allure of America in the 1930s, for those looking for a good revenge tale and for anyone looking for a good, character-driven story.
