When the first episode of the series begins, the year is 1931. Gustav St-Germain (the vice-director of the Daily Days) and his assistant, Carol, are researching extraordinary events that have taken place over the past few years. It turns out that in 1711, a group of alchemists seeking eternal life gathered together on a boat called the Advena Avis. They summoned the "demon" who held the secret of eternal life. The demon gave them an elixir of life, a method to create more, and the secret to ending their new-found existence. The following night, some of the alchemists mysteriously disappeared. It was decided it was too risky for the alchemists to stay together, so they spread out around the globe.
These alchemists, also known as immortals, come together once again in Prohibition-era America. The series primarily focuses on what happens between the years 1930 and 1932, with the main storyline being a hostage crisis aboard the Flying Pussyfoot in 1931. Many of the immortals are involved with the mafia.
Isaac Dian is an idiot thief who owes his success to the insanity of his crimes. He became an immortal in 1930 after drinking the immortality liquor. His partner, Miria Harvent, is also an idiot thief who unintentionally became an immortal in 1930. Firo Prochainezo is a skilled fighter who is a Camorra member. Firo became an immortal in 1930, when he mistook the liquor of immortality for a celebratory bottle of alcohol. Maiza Avaro, another Camorra member, is one of the original immortals, and was, in fact, the alchemist who summoned the demon. Keith Gandor is a mafia boss, and he and all his brothers became immortal in 1930. Szilard Quates is an immortal alchemist searching for the recipe of the elixir.
The story of Baccano! can be very hard to follow when watching the anime. It is told between eight different points of view, and there doesn't seem to be an attempt at trying to create a linear storyline. The story takes place within a fictional United States during various time periods, with the most notable being the Prohibition era.
Baccano! is also an incredibly violent anime. Personally, I would recommend the series to anime viewers who are 17 years of age and older.
| Baccano! | 16 | 2007 | Takahiro Omori | Brain's Base | FUNimation Entertainment |
