(Warning! This article's topic is not made for kids and contains explicit content. Viewer and parental discretion are advised!)
"There's no such thing as a limit on being the best. You can always go for more. That's what it means to be human. No... that's what it means to be me!" -Claire Stanfield, Baccano!
Something Niche.Blogspot.com presents...
So, You're an Anime Fan, Huh?!
So, you're an anime fan, huh?! Well, didja watch Baccano?
Happy Holiday Season, Young and Young-at Heart Otakus, and welcome back to So You're an Anime Fan, Huh?! The show on Something Niche where we take a look at all of the unique animated titles coming out of Japan. This niche has grown in popularity in recent years, but still contains many, many hidden and underappreciated gems and IPs that are certainly worth your time.
With another Christmas behind us, we are now counting down the last hours of 2025 (at the time of me publishing this) as we prepare for the New Year. It's that time at the end of the year where we reflect on the 12 months that have seemingly flashed quickly before our eyes as we look forward to the next 12 ahead and prepare to make changes in our lives for the better (hopefully). With that in mind, perhaps it'd be appropriate to visit a place that-thanks to programs like New Year's Rockin' Eve-has become the unofficial headquarters for the New Year in the past few decades; New York City!
Indeed, as we just saw with our newest episode of Stranger Sinema, focusing on Scrooged, NYC is a place that has been immortalized in pop culture many times over. And it seems that even the Japanese can't resist the high-octane streets of the Big Apple, as we will see with today's subject; Baccano!
Originally brought to life as a light novel in 2003 by writer Ryohgo Narita and illustrator Katsumi Enami, Baccano (which literally translates to "ruckus" in Italian) is a story that spans across multiple centuries as we follow the exploits of a series of peculiar individuals who become immortal after consuming a mysterious elixir. Primarily, we follow a selection of gangsters, gentleman thieves, and other strange criminals throughout a non-linear narrative set in Prohibition-era New York City. It's anime adaptation first came to light in 2007 in Japan before being brought over to the West a few years later.
And boy, is this show one wild ride! Over the course of 16 episodes, we deal with everything that made the Prohibition era one of the most dangerous eras in the history of not just America, but the entire world. We deal with mafia hitmen, gentleman thieves, serial killers, bootleggers, a railway heist, and everything in between. But we also see a lot of supernatural elements thrown into the mix involving immortals, alchemy, telepathy, and so much more!
However, you're gonna need to pay close attention to this story! But with all of its likeable characters, intriguing twists and turns, and visceral action, that's not asking much!
So, please drink responsibly and please hand the conductor your tickets, as we are about to head out on our voyage to discover the crazy world of Baccano!
The Guest List
Baccano is a series that has a large-and I do mean LARGE- cast of characters and time periods that make up its mise-en-scene. Chronologically, the story begins in 1711, where a crew of alchemists summon a demon abord the Advenna Avis passenger ship in an attempt to gain eternal life. After receiving an elixir that does so, this group of newly immortal individuals must now retain their immortality by devouring each other. One immortal, Szilard Quates (voiced by Kinryu Aritmoto in Japanese and R. Bruce Eliot in English) rebels from the group, extending his life by devouring everyone on board.
However, much of the action of the series sets the story in New York City during the Prohibition era, starting in 1930 when Szilard manages to successfully recreate the elixir, which eventually falls into the hands (or, in this case, mouths) of several peculiar individuals who mistake it for peddled alcohol. These individuals include the likes of Issac Dian (Masaya Onosaka/J. Michael Tatum) and Miria Harvent (Sayaka Aoki/Caitlin Glass), a pair of absent-minded lovers who operate a gentleman thieves, the Italian-American mafiosi Gandor Brothers, and the young gangster Firo Prochainezo (Hiroyuki Yoshino/Todd Haberkorn), the latter of whom falls in love with Ennis (Sanae Kobayashi/Brina Palencia), an immortal homunculus created by Szilard, with the two later rebelling against him.
The following year, much of our established cast gets caught in the middle of a drug war between the Russo and Runorata crime families abord the transcontinental train The Flying Pussyfoot. This is where we spend a lot of the most important moments of the overall storyline, and where we meet a group of new characters. These include the sadistic hitman Ladd Russo (Keiji Fujiwara/ Bryan Massey), Clare Stanfield (Masakazu Morita/Jerry Jewell), a freelance assassin disguised as one of the train's conductors, and a small-time gag led by the timid Jacuzzi Splot (Daisuke Sakaguchi/Joel McDonald), which includes the likes of explosives expert Nice Holystone (Yu Kobayashi/Colleen Clickenbeard) and the mute, telepathic knife fighter Chane Laforet (Ryo Hirohashi/Monica Rial). There are also many other, but these characters are the ones we focus on the most.
As stated before, the narrative is depicted in a non-linear style, meaning we jump from many different points of view across many different points in time. This style has been used in mainstream media before, most notably in Hollywood movies like Pulp Fiction and Memento. And as with those movies, this narrative choice might make this anime a bit hard to keep up with for some viewers. However, the series provides plenty of excellent thrills that'll surely provide some much-needed help! And we'll get to those in just a bit. But first, it's time for us to see how this story came to be.
Kind Hearts Don't Grab Any Glory
Unlike the previous two stories we looked at on this show, Baccano started out the same way as a lot of the most popular anime; on the printed page. Specifically, it originally began as what we call a light novel. For the uninitiated, light novels are basically a small book that also has a few illustrated manga panels in between the pages. The source material began publication in 2003 as a feature in the magazine Dengeki Bunko, which also served as the launching point for Sword Art Online and many other well-known titles.
When creating the series, writer Ryohgo Narita took interest in the Prohibition era after watching the 1987 Gangster flick The Untouchables, and decided to choose a light novel for the storytelling medium for the simple reason that not a lot of light novels written beforehand had explored that time period. While writing the first light novel, entitled The Rolling Bootlegs, he consulted several other different sources, both historical and fictional.
While the final draft of the story still had plenty of supernatural elements, a few story beats within the first draft were included that were tweaked slightly. For example, the elixir was initially the creation of a full-on supernatural magician, rather than alchemy (yes, there is a difference), and several of the characters were completely different. For instance, Ennis was originally a succubus, rather than a homunculus. This draft of the story never went very far, as Narita felt that the way he was initially writing the story never allowed the characters to "move on their own".
Narita was still attending university while writing the first novel, and didn't continue work on the series until after his graduation. When he started work on the next few novels, which introduced The Flying Pussyfoot to the universe, he first chose what characters he would introduce to the story, and then decided to write a plot and series of twists around the personalities he had crafted for those characters.
"1931-Local and 1931-Express were stories made because I just wanted to write about the character of Claire Stanfield." He explained in an interview with his publisher. "When I reached that point, I wondered if the opposing characters would also have to be strong. From there, Chane was made first, then next was the surrounding group of Lemures [Another gang that also gets involved in the heist], and then Ladd. Finally, I came to Jacuzzi. Then, when I considered Jacuzzi's friends, I thought I'd like a heroine as well, so Nice was made."
Speaking of Jacuzzi, his personality as a rather weak-willed crybaby was decided on because Narita wanted to create a character who didn't act the way he looked, giving him a giant facial tattoo as a juxtaposition. However, he never planned to add a meaningful backstory to said tattoo until he decided to do so for the actual novel.
Nice also had a few character quirks of her own during her conception; her eye patch was added as a way to give off a strong first impression, but her eyeglasses were added on top of them in order to stand out from other eyepatch wearing characters.
Furthermore, a few characters were initially planned to have died at certain points in the first draft of the light novels. These included Chane, as Narita initially didn't feel as attached to her as he did to the other characters. She was ultimately spared after Narita started developing a bond with the character.
Of all the characters in the story, Narita has gone on record saying that Ladd was his personal favorite to create, and even looked to his dialogue for a morale boost whenever he experienced burnout while writing the story.
A New Gig
After the light novels proved to be a moderate success, an anime adaptation was announced. It was to be directed by veteran Takahiro Omori and was set to be a co-production between Brain's Base, Aniplex, and Movic. It was initially released in Japan in 2007, but had a rather limited availability. The series could only be viewed on the pay-per-view channel WOWWOW, and thanks to unfavorable ratings despite positive reviews, the last few were released direct-to-video. We'll explore that in a little more detail later.
During the anime's production, several staff members actually flew overseas to visit several locations in New York City in order to get an idea for an authentic depiction of the city. They visited many notable locations like the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, Chinatown. Little Italy, Grand Central Terminal, and several places in Brooklyn. They also visited the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania in order to find authentic inspiration for the Flying Pussyfoot's depiction.
The series' English dub, produced two years later by Funimation, had its own little production quirks behind it as well. ADR director Tyler Walker attempted to capture the idea of what he thought was a "stylized gangster flick" by adding more lingo into the dialogue that wasn't present in the Japanese version. He watched several classic gangster movies like Little Ceasar for inspiration, as well as more recent gangster flicks like Miller's Crossing. Over 140 people came to audition for the main roles over a six-day period; one that Walker considered to be the longest the studio ever had at that point.
The English-dubbed version of Baccano was first released on Hulu in 2009, and later aired on the now-defunct Funimation Channel the following year. This dub was particularly well received by the community, and has gone on to be considered one of the strongest dubs in the medium.
A series of DVD and Blu-Ray releases have since followed. However, Funimation's time with the series wouldn't last. The rights expired in 2016 and were initially transferred to Aniplex of America. However, the series later fell into obscurity, disappearing from many streaming sites without warning, with no legal way to stream as of 2025. Perhaps our next section would explain why this was the case.
Getting Ki-Boshed
Sadly, giving how niche Baccano's concept and narrative seemed to be at the time, it would appear that much of the general public were hesitant to hop aboard The Flying Pussyfoot. At least, that was the way things seemed to be in Japan.
As we just covered, Baccano was unfortunately handicapped from the get-go, thanks to its rather limited availability on a pay-per-view network. This caused it to be massively overshadowed in Japan by much more readily available titles released in 2007, such as Gurren Lagann and the impossibly popular Naruto: Shippuden. This caused the last few episodes to be dumped unceremoniously onto video, as we also just mentioned.
As a result, only the aforementioned 1931 arcs of the series were ever adapted over 16 episodes, leaving out much of the later arcs of the series that took it's now-immortal cast to the present day. Despite this, new volumes of the source material have continued to be produced in order to expand the world, with one of the most recent being a prequel set in the 1700s.
The series did seem to have bit more luck in the West, however. As mentioned before, Funimation's English Dub for the series was acclaimed, and has continued to rank considerably high on lists of the best English Dubs alongside the likes of Cowboy Bebop and Black Lagoon.
But unfortunately, it would seem that this too wasn't enough to keep it around for long. Funimation's rights for the series expired in 2016. It was initially transferred to Aniplex of America, but as the years passed, it slowly disappeared from every major streaming service, likely on account of rights issues. This has caused the series to become slowly forgotten in time, especially as more and more titles have achieved greater heights amongst mainstream audiences.
However, not all things were bad. The series still managed to get a video game made for it for the Nintendo DS, though it never left Japan. Also, series creator Ryohgo Narita later created a companion series set in modern-day Tokyo called Durarara, which later got its own anime series that proved much more successful. Several characters from Baccano even appeared in Durarara, which seems to have led to the series receiving a curious re-evaluation in recent years.
Repealed From Obscurity
Indeed, while it would seem that Baccano's glory was cut short and buried under pesky copyright laws (to the point where I admit to not yet watching the series in its entirety), in the eyes of the few who have experienced it, the series has never truly gone away. While it still hasn't achieved the same heights as it's contemporaries, there is still a niche group of metaphorical bootleggers who still hold the series to their hearts.
And in recent years, as anime has become more mainstream, it would seem that several new fans have come across the series in one way or another, with those who were lucky enough to catch it back when it wasn't hampered by rights issues even dedicating full retrospectives to the series in recent years. These fans have gone back to the anime and shared their many praises of the anime to a moderately-growing number of individuals, with a lot of them even calling the series groundbreaking.
And they aren't completely wrong! From it's premise alone, Baccano is a series that dares to stand out from the crowd. And this is in anime, a medium that seems hell bent on standing out from the crowd! But Baccano manages to stand out even further with it unique premise and complex storytelling!
And that's not even the half of it! Baccano is also a series that's filled to the brim with fun action and characters. Nearly every episode has lead flying all over the place in dazzling sequences, and every punch and kick landed hits hard! And pretty much everyone gets that one moment or line of dialogue that reallly packs a punch in the metaphorical fashion as well!
It's also a show that's not afraid to have atmosphere! It's Prohibition era setting crafts a unique mise-en-scene among its contemporaries, bringing some of the gangster classic of old to the otaku audience. And the story's supernatural elements also add a nice twist to them, creating a unique viewing experience. It even ties things together with a nice, jazzy soundtrack score for that classic old-timey feel!
But above all, Baccano is a story that isn't afraid to tell its story in an unconventional way. While it has a huge cast, it manages to balance its time with said cast thanks to its nonlinear storytelling. As a result, not one single member of the cast comes off as boring or unengaging, keeping you glued to the screen from beginning to end. And every character has a complex personality that'll keep you guessing as to what side of the tracks they're really on.
And if nothing else, despite its initial failure, Baccano has ultimately still done a lot of good for the industry as a whole, especially its own production staff, who seem to have established a trusting relationship with one another, as they would go on to work with its cousin series Durarara.
"We weren't really going for continuity." says Aniplex producer Shuko Yokoyama, on the two show's retaining the same staff. "As you might know, Baccano and Durarara have many of the same staff, but then you may also notice that Natsume's Book of Friends largely has the same staff too. This is more because of the trust and the relationship we have with those staff members. In terms of Durarara and Baccano, those were cases where, because the original writer and character designers were the same, it inevitably went on to attract similar staff. So, it wasn't really continuity, it was inevitability."
Rose McGowan Award for Leading Lady
Miria Harvent
Nice Holystone
That's right, Young and Young-At-Heart Otakus! For this anime, we have two winners for the Rose McGowan Award for Leading Lady! Our annual award that we give out to the best written, most entertaining, or just plain coolest lady lead within our topic of discussion!
Our first winner is Miria Harvent, mostly on account of her being one half of the show's standout duo. This striking young lass works alongside her dearest love in order to commit some of the greatest crimes of the century, such as...stealing the front doors of a museum so nobody else could get in...
Yeah, neither her nor her dearest Issac are exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, but the show tries to make that an endearing character trait of theirs. And for the most part, it succeeds, as the both of them have some of the show's best lines and best laughs. Yeah, they can be a bit over-the-top sometimes, but that's what we'd expect from a show like this.
Or second winner is Nice Holystone, lover of the insecure Jazuzzi Splott and second-in-command of his gang. Nice acts as an explosives expert, with her antics being involved directly with some of the show's best action scenes, as well as couple of fun, quirky moments of body language that add a nice element of endearment to her.
However, what really earns her this award is her dedication to her beloved Jacuzzi, often acting as not only his bodyguard, but also his main source of emotional support. She's basically everything you'd want in a lover, and Jacuzzi's quite a lucky guy to have her!
It also helps that her design is one of the series' best, and Colleen Clinkenbeard's performance in the dub is a real standout among the cast!
Bruce Campbell Award for Best Bro
Ladd Russo
Surprise! We've also got two winners for the Bruce Campbell Award for Best Bro! But really, how could we not? We here at Something Niche believe in gender equality, after all!
Our first winner is Issac Dian, because if one half of the show's greatest duo got the award, the other half might as well get an award as well, right.
But seriously, as I said before, Issac and Miria are really the breakout stars of this show, and bounce off of each other like kids on a trampoline! Their over-the-top shenanigans have really made them fan favorites amongst the community of this show, and for good reason!
Issac and Miria are just two fun people who stand out from the crowd, and are overall enjoyable characters to watch; even if some of their schemes make Beavis and Butt-Head look like Nobel Prize-Winning scientists compared to them!
Plus, in Issac's case, he's also another well-acted character, with both of his voice actors giving so much personality and life to match his antics.
Our second winner for this award is Ladd Russo, the tough-as-nails hitman for the Russo crime family. While he may be a sadistic brute at heart, Ladd is a sadistic brute that's strangely enjoyable to watch.
His over-the-top line delivery, snappy dialogue, and morbid sense of humor make him as much of a riot as Issac and Miria, and when they're not having the best moments of the show, it's often Ladd who's getting them! He's a character who always gives the audience an adrenaline rush thanks to the many fast-paced fights he gets involved in!
A Truly Two-Fisted Tale
So, in the end, Baccano isn't just an anime that's worth your time! It's an experience! It's colorful cast and old-timey mise-en-scene adds a layer of Americana to this creation of Japan. It's nonlinear narrative and ingenious concept create a unique atmosphere and storytelling style for viewers, as does the jazzy soundtrack and rustic setting.
And in recent years, Baccano has become the very definition of a cult classic. It's been looked back fondly upon despite its initial shortcomings, with a growing fanbase continuing to appreciate its wonderous charms and overall uniqueness. And it's managed to pave the way for other unique titles within the medium in recent years, including its own sister series! And all of this has happened despite its limited availability.
Baccano is truly the little anime that could, and its limited availability had become a crying shame. A show like this quite frankly doesn't deserve the treatment it's gotten, and is a true hidden gem for all hardcore fans to collect. If you're lucky enough to come across a DVD or Blu-Ray of this hidden gem, don't hesitate to check it out!
But, now it's time for the usual questions. Have you ever seen Baccano! What did you think about it? Have you been inspired to dig deep for it after hearing me bend your ear for minutes on end? Do you wish that they would continue the series in some way, shape, or form? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and feel free to share my blog with your friends and family!
And one last thing....
Happy New Year from Something Niche!
Sources:
Ito, Sei. “Baccano! Location Scouting Report Part 2.” Baccano！バッカーノ！, 23 Sept. 2009, www.baccano.jp/special/05.html.
Ito, Sei. “Baccano! Location Scouting Report.” Baccano！バッカーノ！, 23 Sept. 2009, www.baccano.jp/special/02.html.
Josei, Dee. “Baccano! And the Art of Adaptation.” The Josei Next Door, 14 Sept. 2016, joseinextdoor.com/2016/09/14/light-novel-vs-anime-baccano-the-art-of-adaptation/.
Minto, Evan. “Otakon 2015: Durarara!! Staff Speak to Roles and Inevitability.” Ani, 13 Aug. 2015, anigamers.com/interviews/durarara-shuko-yokoyama-toshiyuki-toyonaga-roles-inevitability-otakon-2015/.
Narita, Ryohgo (February 2003). "Afterword". The Rolling Bootlegs (in Japanese). illus. Enami, Katsumi. Dengeki Bunko. pp. 312–315.
Pineda, Rafael Antonio. “Funimation’s Baccano! License to Expire in February.” Anime News Network, 26 Jan. 2016, www.animenewsnetwork.com/daily-briefs/2016-01-26/funimation-baccano-license-to-expire-in-february/.97968.
Qooapp, Schpasm. “Baccano! Light Novel Series Gets Manga Set in 1700s - QooApp News.” QooApp: Anime Games Platform, 30 Dec. 2022, news.qoo-app.com/en/post/139395/baccano-1700-manga.
Reddit, Saiwagiacademy. “R/Baccano on Reddit: An Interview with Ryohgo Narita.” Reddit, 7 July 2020, www.reddit.com/r/Baccano/comments/hn2auo/an_interview_with_ryohgo_narita/.
Staff, Ic. (2008, July 20). Funimation raises a “ruckus.” https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/12949/funimation-raises-ruckus
Today, Anime. “Anime Today from Rightstuf.Com (Podcast) - Rightstuf.Com | Listen Notes.” The Right Stuf International, 5 Dec. 2008, www.listennotes.com/podcasts/anime-today-from-rightstufcom-rightstufcom-HNLEzqmgKaw/.
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