Baccano!

This anime was a lot of things but it is surprisingly good. The flow of it doesn't start until episode 10 when things started to really fall in to place plot wise. Though I could see at the end where the constant jumping from scene to scene was for enjoyable than confusing. Honestly its because of that that it lost a full 10/10 rating from me. The characters are actually really easy to like and some are just so weirdly violent you can;t wait to see what horrible thing they will do next. Though the over dramatic performances just add to the hilarity of it. Which honestly really does help balance out the actual horrible things that they are doing.

Overall this was a good anime. Confusing, weird, horrible but good.

There are shows with a lot of suspense, blood and gore with no humour whatsoever, being completely serious, and have to be very long to get the story complete. This is not that show. This show has its share of suspense, blood and gore, but what it also has, is an amazing story concisely told in 16 episodes. In the beginning, I was questioning as to where this story was going, but as the story progressed, I felt like I was been taken as a spectator on a journey with these interesting characters. All I can say is that the writer has been on point with the way this story has been told, and it has been executed perfectly by the animators. This is my 2nd viewing of this show, and I am able to piece things which I missed out from my first viewing without a dull moment since the pace of this show is so interesting. Kudos!

This show is incredible - and it's only 13 episodes. If you're like me, and you prefer anime shows with a bit more of a mainstream, perhaps even "Westernized" flavor, this is a great choice. The only irritating cutesiness comes from the slapstick duo of Isaac and Miria, a pair of dopey criminals; everything else is brilliantly scripted and slickly animated.

The ridiculously complex plot spans several time periods and involves an enormous cast of characters, all seamlessly intersecting in fascinating ways. Everyone, from the homicidal gangster Ladd Russo to the cocky mafiosi Firo Prochainezo, to the blood-caked assassin Clare Stanfield, receive their share of great scenes. The show is tender, surprising, violent, funny, and always compelling. The editing is some of the best I've seen in an anime, with the subplots bouncing off of each other through different time periods - 1930s Prohibition-era New York, to the 1700s, to the present day. No Japanese aesthetics here, outside of the obvious fact that it's a Japanese cartoon; characters and settings are all clearly influenced by European and American culture.

The action sequences are brutal and fluid, with plenty of great fights throughout. Lots of foul language in the English dub, which suits the show's style. As Anime News Network similarly pointed out, the English dub here is preferable just because of how well the voice cast pulls off all the different accents the characters have. Some characters are French, some are working-class "New Yohkahs" and still others are bourgeoise. One of the best English dubs you're likely to ever hear, I'd say.

There is a supernatural element to the show, but it's wonderfully subtle: some characters are immortals, growing back appendages and digits in wonderfully animated sequences that show every drop of blood coagulating and returning to the flesh from whence they came - almost like a slow-motion vacuum. The ways in which characters can become immortal function as one of the great wrinkles of the show, and there's even a unique way for immortals to kill each other known as "devouring"; saying anymore would be spoiling the fun. Needless to say, the desire to be immortal (or the desire to die) propels lots of the different factions in the show to clash with one another (often unintentionally).

As a feat of multi-pronged, centuries-spanning, character-heavy writing, this is undeniably an anime epic for the ages. I've never seen ANYTHING like it, and I doubt I ever will again. The only flaw is the ending, which feels a bit abrupt - like there should be more (I know the light novel series upon which the show is based did continue after the events of the show). One of my favorite anime shows ever, one that I often think about, and one that I rewatch at least once a year. Near perfection.

The first time I saw the title sequence cured me of all hype aversion I had for this, and I was hooked on the series. Watching and hearing the opening credits still never gets old for me.

It's hard to describe without spoilers, so I'll be brief. Unforgettable characters. Brilliant dialog. Gripping action scenes. Intelligent premises, with a little bit of the fantastic but not enough to feel inauthentic in the 30's prohibition underworld setting.

At first it's difficult to follow because of the anachronistic order and sheer loads of characters, but as you get used to the pacing and familiar with the faces, the pieces begin to fit together. The storytelling is genius, and the reveals are a lot more rewarding exposed in this way than if time were shown sequentially.

English dub: I just finished watching this, and it's a fair localization that kept to the spirit of the original, and included more appropriate accents. It's somewhat lacking in that Isaac and Miria, two of the more watchable characters, just aren't as funny, though the actors are decent they don't have the same chemistry as the original Japanese.

The people we pass by everyday all have stories, it's always the choices people make that either make the stories or even throw themselves into intentionally or unintentionally, design by fate or chance by choice, either way makes each characters story more broader because other people with stories intersect and connect. This is a principle in the mysterious art of storytelling but also life itself.

This is one of my personal favorite animes, I can't say too much about this anime since discovering things for yourself is actually one of the best things about this show. This show has so much going for it it truly will require more than one watch because it's just one of those stories where you uncover more as you revisit it making it long lasting. The animation is great the background animation is probably the most impressive to me cause it both captures decades long gone but also it's not static it's actually lively.

The story telling format is similar to films like "Pulp Fiction", "Watchman" and "Memento", which tell their stories in a non-linear format. I always loved this format in storytelling because it adds a great amount of intrigue and depth to both story and characters and makes you constantly wanting more info about their lives. There are lots of characters in this show it's confusing at first but if you stick with this show for a while you'll know who is who, how their connected and actually care about them. My favorites are Isaac and Mira whom are both eccentric airheads but their hearts are always in the right place and they do take actions that do have fruitful results.

The show is literally a puzzle another reason why it requires more than one watch. By it's nature the story is really simple it just doesn't seem that way due to it's jumbled arrangement and the fact there is so much happening and information, just when you think you have it all figured out think again because there is another twist that can throw you perception off balance. It's also beautiful mix of genres,there is alchemy, action, romance, gangster crime, noir, martial arts, slasher horror, comedy, fantasy, it's an exhausting mix but it all blends in perfectly like throwing in different fruits to make a tasty fruit punch.

As an old saying goes, "Everything happens for a reason." Rating: 4 stars