-Ernest Hemingway
The thing that makes a story truly great (or truly awful for that matter) is the cast that drives the story forward. A clear, strong plot where these characters interact is what creates tension, and usually, these two elements are intertwined in a way that drives the story forward as seamlessly as possible. However, Baccano! more or less tossed the "plot" aspect of that formula out the window and decided to do something completely different.
Baccano! was originally a light novel series by Ryohgo Narita with Katsumi Enami as the illustrator but was developed as an anime by Aniplex and Brain Base. The huge cast of this story makes telling it a rather daunting affair, so the creators were forced to try something different: that is, telling the story from multiple perspectives at once. In addition to changing point of view rather often, it also skips around from year to year, and doesn't tell the story in a linear fashion, as most shows do.
So, if it's told in such an unorthodox way, is it any better?
Breakdown:
Story (6/10): Baccano manages to cram an awful lot of stuff into a thirteen episode span. From the hijacking of the "Flying Pussyfoot" to the Gangster wars in New York to the search from the elixir of immortality, there's quite honestly, a lot to wrap your mind around. However, the thing that makes it tough to absorb is how the story jumps around so much. Upon the final episode, it's easy to sit back and connect all of the events together, but in the middle of the show, you may be wondering what's actually happening.
The beginning of the show doesn't offer much explanation of what it's showing, and it will probably take you until nearly the end until you're able to connect all the dots. Unfortunately, the plot is pretty straightforward, so any further synopsis would just start to spoil things. This was what I felt was the weakest part of Bacano: the story.
While the story itself may not be all that strong, the unique way in which Baccano! is presented is what ultimately makes the viewing experience so engaging. The story may be fairly simple, but the piecemeal manner in which it is told made it difficult to understand at first. I suppose if it had been told in a linear fashion, it would have been a rather boring watch. This is an example of good storytelling making an otherwise average story quite engaging.
The other thing that made it difficult to understand was the HUGE cast in the show. There are dozens of names to remember, and keeping track of them all is no easy feat. Here I do have to applaud Baccano! for introducing the cast in the opening credits, and thus, making it easier to remember the many names and faces. The opening also offered a brief synopsis of previous episodes, which made it easier to keep track of what was going on.
In spite of all the twists the story takes to arrive at its ultimate conclusion, I wasn't especially impressed by the end. It was still a good story, but it seemed like the show had a lot of great ideas that could have been expounded upon quite a bit longer. Baccano! could have easily been 26 episodes without dragging. Furthermore, some of the plot's most important aspects, such as the elixir of life, don't really get any further explanation. The viewer is just left to assume that everything just sort of works itself out. Now, drawing out the ending too long would have made it lose a lot of its impact, however some further explanation on some of the plot's more intricate aspects likely would have helped.
There is plenty of catharsis at the end of the show, but most of it is due to the way characters ultimately overcome some of their personal demons. A bit strange, considering the show was largely plot-driven until the end. It’s not that the plot was bad, it was just very simple. Simple, yet told in an unorthodox way that made it a touch hard to follow.
Art (10/10)- Good animation can make a good show even better. Baccano! really has some stellar artwork, especially in the combat scenes that have a lot of rapid movement. It's amazing how well some of the blood and gore scenes were drawn, which normally, I wouldn't care about. However, violence can just be cheesy if it looks like "Kool-Aid" is splashing from wounds instead of blood. Overall, excellently done; probably the show's strongest point.
Sound (9/10)- The OP of this show was addicting, and reminded me of "Tank" from Cowboy Bebop. The score overall fit the era and themes of the show perfectly, and added some wonderful atmosphere. I especially loved the piano theme that often accompanied battle sequences, and the big band numbers for the gangster scenes.
The voice acting is also top-notch, even in the English dub. This show's English version is on par with some truly great ones, such as Cowboy Bebop and Fullmetal Alchemist. There were a lot of Boston, New York, and even French and British accents to do in this show that would have been lost with the Japanese voice actors. The lines just sounded a lot more authentic when they were spoken in their local accents. I would recommend watching this show in English, as the voice actors are truly superb, and you won't hear that from me very often.
Characters (8/10)- Although the OP of the show introduced most of the cast, it was still quite difficult to keep track of everyone, especially when some have names like "Jacuzzi Splot". In addition to those that are introduced, there are plenty of characters that pop up without an introduction, whose names are worth remembering. Keeping track of this group is even more difficult.
The one fault with this method of introduction is that the viewer will expect each of the characters to be important in some way. However, not all of them are. Some of the "title" characters have almost no influence on the story, and some that do, aren't shown in the opening. Furthermore, the connection that many of them share is loose at best.
Having said all that, the characters are actually done quite well. The ones who get significant screen time undergo quite a lot of development, and watching their character arcs come to a close is very satisfying. This is largely what provides catharsis at the end of the show, perhaps more so than the resolution of the plot itself. As I quoted at the beginning, characters have to be “real people” and not “caricatures” for the story to seem real to the viewer. There were a few members of the cast that easily could have fallen into the latter category, but were able to remain “real people”. This is where I was truly impressed by the show, as keeping each member as their own unique entity, rather than some sort of stock character, is quite a challenge for such a large and diverse cast.
All in all, the cast was a strength rather than a weakness, as the "main" characters are all very well-written characters. The problem is that you spend half of the show sorting through the list of names, trying to figure out which ones the "main" characters actually are. If the cast hadn't been so dauntingly large, it would have made things a great deal easier to understand. That, or perhaps the story should have been extended by a few episodes.
There are three OVA specials that expound a bit on some of the more important characters, and help to close off a few more loose ends, but the plot is ultimately resolved by the end of episode 13 of the original series. The OVA's are helpful, however, for a better understanding of a number of the characters, and I strongly recommend watching them after completing the series.
Despite my complaints about the size of the cast, don't be scared by the larger than usual numbers. The characters are great fun, particularly members such as Isaac and Miria, and you'll be quite glad you got to know them by the end.
Enjoyment (8/10)- For me, Baccano! felt like a series that was very good, but could have been OUTSTANDING with just a bit more work. Much more plot could have come out of the way they set everything up, and the huge cast could have eventually become a large asset rather than just a small one. Watching characters like Jacuzzi change and overcome their fears made the show very much worth watching, even if it takes awhile to realize who the story is truly centered around.
Overall (8/10)- It may seem that my criticisms were harsh, but ultimately, this show is still very good, and stands head and shoulders above most other titles out there. I have to congratulate the creators on doing something unique, even though the “unique” aspect just made a simple story seem deeper than it actually was.
I suppose I should answer the question I posed at the beginning. Is the show any better off because of the unique way it’s told? I would have to say, yes it is. The unique way the story is presented makes it far more engaging than it otherwise might have been. And at thirteen episodes, it’s not like you’ll have wasted a great deal of time watching this show if you dislike it.
Give it a shot; you won’t regret it in the end.
