Name: Baccano!
Genre: Action, Science Fiction
Year: 2007
Rating: Recommended
In the year 1711 a group of alchemists take a chance in summoning a demon in their quest to obtaining immortality. Surprisingly the demon gives the alchemists not only the elixir of life but also the method to reproduce this liquid that grants eternal life. However what is unknown to the alchemists on this voyage, is that though given the ability to cheat death it doesn’t come completely free. In the future the recipe to create the elixir is concealed amongst two of the surviving immortals. Though the potion grants immunity to disease, physical harm and age, those who have consumed the potion can take the lives of another who has drank it. As the immortals scatter across the world many live in fear that one day they may eventually lose what they have been clutching to for the past years. Baccano is set in a world of the mafia, where gangs fight for territory and others just kill for pleasure.
Baccano was quite confusing from the beginning as expected. The story revolves around one single event that has quite a short time span. However pieces of this event is given throughout the whole series and hence the main plot may seem quite disjointed. The series often shifts back and forth between various time periods as well as displaying the story from different character perspectives. What makes this series quite enjoyable and interesting is how all the events fit together. The main event is quite packed with action, there are so many things going on at once it may be a little hard to comprehend. Along with an appropriate animation which sets out the whole mafia feel, Baccano at times has quite a number of grotesque scenes where body parts are dismembered and blood is just spraying in all directions. In this sense Baccano is more for the mature audience. However amongst all this goodness I found there was a slight drawback. It would have been mainly because of the limited number of episodes but I found many of the characters didn’t have their equal chance in explaining who and what role they take in the story. Though on the other hand the fast paced episodes do add to the effect of chaos and confusion. An anime that I’d recommend but I’m sure for many out there its probably also a Must See.
