Story: This is a truly original anime. It takes a story that takes place over three years and mixes it around so that you only get the full picture at the very end. Another interesting part is that the first episode is what happens at the end of the story. It follows the events surrounding a group of people who's paths twist together by a series of chance encounters. The story is a bit twisted, it being about immortals but there is still a solid level of sanity. There is a lot of blood and murder and people enjoying it... But one of the things I love most is that the main murder actually has a sense of morality to who they chose to kill. With the story jumping around between the 3 years it get's a bit confusing at times and you really need to pay attention while you watch or you will miss things. But as you watch things will fall into place and by the end it will all make sense. You might even have some "Ohhhhhhh" moments during the anime; I know I did.
It really can't be stressed enough how important it is to pay attention to everything. Because every little detail will become important in the total development of the story.
Art: The art is great. The characters all have their own unique looks that aren't even seen in other animes. The art gives each of the characters something more than other animes. The actions is particularly great. Instead of going in slow motion for parts like some animes do this one almost speeds up. The characters blur just enough at times to make it more exciting while still letting you see everything that's going on. It takes place during times when the mafia are big and they do a great job with the setting too.
Music: The music is so good. It's big band jazz music that really fits the anime's rhythm. I loved the anime just by hearing the OP. I loved how the characters were all introduced with the music. It's a new thing I havn't seen in other animes that i really liked. The first time I saw it I predicted which character's I liked based on their short seen during the OP. The jazzy music always comes in at perfect moments to set the mood and make everything more exciting. One of my favorite OSTs.
Character: The characters are the best part of this anime, which is saying a lot. Baccano! has some of the most interesting character I'v seen in an anime yet. It's a short anime and you don't get a ton of character development but you still get a really good sense of who each of them are. They're so unique you can't help but remember them. (Sorry for using "unique" so much... it's the only word I can think of to describe its.... uniqueness xD ) The voicing is really good too. I recognized most of the voices as some of my favorite and fairly popular voice actors but they don't sound the way they usually do so I wasn't stuck thinking "All I hear is so and so." There are a couple of different accents used and the voice actors all do a good job with them. You really grow to love the characters and you'll find yourself saying things like "aw... Jacuzzi... :)" Or giggling just at little things a character says or re-quoting a character right after they say something. They are all so great I can't really pick a favorite character. Though i finally did decide on Vino. Then Firo and Jacuzzi. If they were in a different anime almost any of them would still be my favorite.
The anime technically ends after 13 episodes but there are 3 OVAs that tie up some unanswered questions that should just be considered part of the show. I really recommend this anime. It's a refreshing change from the usual anime styles.
