Search - Baccano: Volume Two on DVD

Baccano is amazing

V. K. Caron | VA | 08/08/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"1930s immortal gangsters, need I say more? How about a train robbery with 8 different sides to it? How about amazing music? Beautiful art? Full and unique characters? More suspense than you can blow up with an arsenal? I love this show. It quickly replaced every other anime I've seen in the last 10 years as my favorite."

Even if someone kills them, they never die

lain4ever | Los Angeles, CA | 05/07/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm really sorry if I convinced people not to buy into this series in volume one. This second disc of events surprised me.

"Baccano!" looks to be one of the best series of 2009, with a plot stretching over 150 years involving witchcraft, the devil and immortality.

This isn't a secret--fans of disc one already know that characters such as Firo can regenerate themselves even after they die. However, episode seven takes people way back in time to the 1770s.

Why the 1770s? Well, one of the mobsters, Maiza Avarro, was an alchemist who helped the passengers gain immortality with the assistance of a special elixir. They also gained the ability to eat other people into the palm of their hand. One of the passengers, Szilard Quates, wanted to spread this immortality, but Maiza isn't giving him the secrets. In rebellion, Szilard eats Maiza's brother Gretto, and countless other people, inciting the passengers to chase him off the ship.

However, Szilard is still alive and is still eating his fellow alchemists from the 1770s. He's about to complete his elixir for immortality, but the bottles of the elixir somehow get picked up by Firo and the Camorra gang. And meanwhile, the fights on the train are starting to heat up big time.

As scatterbrained as this series gets, with plenty of jumping around in time, it's an excellent plot device that gives me fond memories of the out-of-order storyline of "Pulp Fiction." And there's plenty of sadistic murdering that could take place at any moment. The two comedians of the series, Isaac Dian and Miria Harvent, are getting ready to put the smackdown on Ladd Russo, the sadistic hitman. The Rail Tracer monster haunting the train could be the demon summoned by Maiza Avarro years ago. And everyone's getting ready for a killing spree.

It's so exciting to watch this series, because all the characters are so well thought out. Even crybaby characters such as Jacuzzi Splot (where the heck did he get that name?) could be descendants of the alchemy incident in the 1770s. Fans, forgive me for revealing the compelling storyline involving Szilard, but this is a compelling series where no matter how many times Szilard gets his head chopped off, he still comes back to life.

There's no doubt that this series is one of the bloodiest and goriest action series, but it is also one of the most thought-provoking and original anime this year. I'm already hungering for more Baccano."