30 Day Anime Challenge-Day 2: My Favorite Anime (so far)

Okay so it’s only Day 2 and I’m already hitting a rough patch! *gasp* What does that say about the rest of the challenge?! I had a really hard time picking an anime for this prompt. Every time I would settle on one anime series a completely different one would pop into my head and supplant the previous title as my favorite…

I’m still not 100% satisfied with the final pick, but nothing better is coming to mind right now, so I guess that means this is my favorite… If only this were a 30 Day Manga Challenge, I’d have no problem picking my favorite! But, it’s not… So after putting alot of thought into this, I mean a WHOLE LOT of thought…my choice for Day 2: My favorite anime (so far) is….

Yup, after all of that my favorite anime (at least right now) is Baccano!! I don’t even remember how I found out about this anime, I just remember being confused as hell after watching the first episode. So confused that I just had to know what the heck was going on, so I binge watched the entire series over the course of two days (I could have done it in one, but a girl needs sleep). At first I was so overwhelmed by the nonstop jumpy plot, characters where popping up left and right it was so hard to keep track of everything! But, the more I watched the more all the craziness started to make sense…I think for a bit there I went a little crazy myself, but it was totally worth it in the end!

Baccano is a 2007, 16 episode anime series based on the light novel series of the same name by Ryohgo Narita. Currently the light novel series consists of 20 novels, which will be available in  English through Yen Press both in hardcopy and digital (only the first novel is available so far)!!

During the early 1930s in Chicago, the transcontinental train, Flying Pussyfoot, is starting its legendary journey that will leave a trail of blood all over the country. At the same time in New York, the ambitious scientist Szilard and his unwilling aide Ennis are looking for missing bottles of the immortality elixir. In addition, a war between the mafia groups is getting worse. On board the Advena Avis, in 1711, alchemists are about to learn the price of immortality.

–MAL

I’m well aware that that synopsis is ridiculously vague, but the plot of Baccano is really hard to pin down and I guess that’s why I like it so much. You never know where you should be looking, since the focus is constantly shifting as separate plot lines converge and diverge, everything is always moving…almost like a runaway train. Even the word Baccano is Italian for ruckus; senseless noise.  The narrative is fluid shifting backwards and forward through time at random. Often times the characters themselves get swept up in all the commotion, as they scramble from one timeline to the next. Every character has their time in the limelight, but no one story is given prominence over the others. At first glance the disjointed style is extremely frustrating, but the more you watch the more the seemingly unconnected stories weave together. Each character has a story to tell, each prospective offers a tiny piece of the overall puzzle. Baccano can be likened to a melting pot; alchemists, thieves, thugs, mobsters, and immortals all make an appearance in this erratic series. Even the mood of the series is constantly shifting from comedy to drama, you end up riding the highs as you get drawn into the intensely addicting plot!

While many of the characters exist and interact within the time frame, they rarely share the same motivations and goals, which can lead to some hairy situations for everyone involved. Let’s see if I had to name a few of the characters, there’s…Miria and Issac the outlandish “master” thieves, Luck Gandor and his brothers Keith and Berga from the Mafia, uhhhh… Szilard and alchemist and his homunculus Ennis, Firo and Maiza from the Italian Mob, gangsters Nice and Jacuzzi, hitman Ladd…and that’s not even all of them! Of all the characters, I have a bias…

Look at my man Firo Prochainezo go! If you can’t tell from the above gif, he’s a baddass fighter, and a smooth criminal! At the start of the story he’s the youngest member of the Martillo family, a branch of the Italian mob. In 1930, he accidentally drinks an immortality elixir thinking it’s a special booze…he then brings it to a party  turning everyone else their into immortals. It’s just as hilarious as it sounds… Now imagine the moment when all these people realize that they can’t die… Despite being in the mob, Firo is such an adorkable guy, you just can’t help but like him!

Well, I’ve run out of things to say about Baccano… I love it, everyone should watch it and that’s about it… Oh right, I knew I was forgetting something! I’ve read some fan translations of the first few light novels (before it was licensed) and there is so much more to the story than what’s shown in the anime. It gets even more outrageous than you could even imagine! I plan on buying the light novels when volume 3 is released in December (Am I salty that Ryohgo Narita’s latest series Durarara is being given priority over Baccano? You bet I am, but what can you do….)

What do you think about my choice? Have you seen Baccano? Who’s your favorite character? What was your favorite anime series? Let me know in the comments section! As always, Thank you for reading!!