Baccano!

Baccano! is an anime based on a series of light novels written by Ryohgo Narita and illustrated by Katsumi Enami.  The word "baccano" itself is Italian for ruckus which is an apt name if you watch the anime.  The story the anime tells is mostly based in Prohibition era and centered around Mafioso and Camorristi.  The name is apt because the events of the story are told completely out of order.  You see the ending first and after that, you have to pay attention to details just to figure out what is going on and when.  There are three main story lines in the anime that happen in three different years.

The first story centers around New York, 1930 in which a young man named Firo Prochainezo is being made an official member of the Camorristi.  Basically, the plot is set off when an old man by the name of Szilard finally manages to perfect a potion that will make the drinker completely immortal... and then promptly loses the potion after a fire.  I should note that said alchemical potion (called the "Grand Panacea") is stored in wine bottles... in New York ...during Prohibition Era.  Someone working for Szillard is a dumb ass.  Any how, into an already bad situation, we add Isaac and Miria, two thieves who are really, incredibly stupid.  They basically spend most of the anime running around doing crazy things and having a grand ol' time.  They're also thieves of a strange sort.  They dress up in costumes and steal various things like watches (time), candy (innocence?), and  they attempt to steal a museum... not something in the museum, the whole museum (they want to steal knowledge).

Isaac and Miria really are the best part of the anime.  Just when you think they couldn't possibly do or say something more stupid or outlandish... they prove you wrong in a big way.  You never know what will happen next when their around.

The second story takes place in 1931 aboard the transcontinental train known as the Flying Pussyfoot (hell of a name!).  Isaac and Miria board the train because they're going to New York to see Firo and Ennis (characters from the first story line who they are friends with).  At the same time, in New York, there is a gang war going on between the Gandor and Runorata families.  To resolve the conflict, Luck Gandor has called on his "brother" Claire Stanfield, a famous assassin, to take the train to New York.  Meanwhile, the Russo gang is also on the train because, before leaving, Isaac and Miria stole money from them (the two have an odd idea about what the phrase "train robbery" means) and Ladd Russo plans to make the money back by robbing the train and holding a certain senator's wife and daughter hostage.  Meanwhile, another group has boarded the train also with the plan to take the senator's wife and daughter hostage to free Huey LaForet from prison. As if that weren't enough, there are other groups and people on the train each with their own agendas.  When all the plans are set in motion... you get BACCANO!  The train goes crazy.  It's awesome.

The third story line is neatly tied in with the first story line, it's about Eve Genoard looking from her brother, Dallas in the midst of the gang wars alluded to in the two other story lines.  Dallas was involved in the 1930 story line and the resolution of this story line really ties up the rest of the loose ends and shows just how far familial love can go.  This story line also has heavy involvement with the Daily Days, a newspaper and general information broker which seems to have ways of finding out any information, including information on the other two stories.

All three of these story lines are not told in any kind of chronological order and are, in fact, quite mixed up amongst themselves.  The best way to tell when and where you are is by paying attention to the scenery and what Isaac and Miro are wearing.  The show has loads and loads of characters too, so once you figure out which characters are involved the most in which story line, keeping it all straight is fairly easy.  If you get confused, the title sequence shows you each character and their name in an extremely helpful manner.

Really, it's a fun anime... and the only non-movie anime I own.  I loved it so much after watching it that I had to have it so I bought it with Christmas or birthday money and I haven't yet regretted it.  It's one of those shows you can watch over and over and over and you'll find something new and different that you didn't notice before each time.  Also, if you don't like one character, don't worry, there are fifty others that you might adore.  

However, the anime does have problems.  A lot of the characters do seem one-note at times.  The plot is confusing as hell if you don't know what you're getting into.  In fact, it doesn't clear up much on first view until the fourth episode.  However, it is a jam-packed wild ride that will have you laughing so hard you can't breathe once you really get into it.

If I could compare it to western media... I would say that if Quentin Tarantino teamed up with Guillermo del Torro to make a movie about gangsters in Prohibition era... you might end up with something like Baccano!... or you might end up with an unwatchable mess.  Either way, why wait for the impossible, when you can see Baccano! now?

Just go watch it already...  You won't regret it.