Alternative title:
Шумиха! (Russian)
バッカーノ！ (Japanese)
바카노 (Korean)
Genres: action, adventure, comedy, fantasy, horror
Themes: alchemy, crime, gore, historical, immortality, mafia, theif
Plot Summary: Each of the stories in the series involves several unrelated plots intersecting and crossing each other as events spiral farther and farther out of control. Immortal alchemists, mafia operated speakeasies, and many other elements of pulp fiction mashed together for a world straight out of the movies.
Running time: half hour per episode
Number of episodes: 16
Episode titles: 2007-07-26 1. The Assistant Editor Refuses to Discuss the Possibility that he is the Main Character
The Vice President Doesn’t Say Anything about the Possibility of Him Being the Main Character
Fukushachou wa jishin ga shuyaku de aru kanousei ni tsuite kataranai
副社長は自身が主役である可能性について語らない
2007-08-02 2. In Spite of the Old Woman's Anxieties the Trans-Continental Train Departs
Setting the Old Woman’s Qualms Aside, the Flying Pussyfoot Departs
Roufujin no fuan yoso ni tairiku oudan tetsudou wa shuppatsu suru
老婦人の不安をよそに大陸横断鉄道は出発する
2007-08-09 3. Randy and Pezzo are Busy Getting Ready for the Party
Randi to peccho wa pa-ti no junbi de isogashii
ランディとペッチョはパーティの準備で忙しい
2007-08-16 4. Ladd Russo Enjoys Talking a Lot and Killing a Lot
Ladd Russo Enjoys Talking A Lot and Slaughtering A Lot
Raddo russo wa ooini katari ooini sachiriku o tanoshimu
ラッド・ルッソは大いに語り大いに殺戮を楽しむ
2007-08-23 5. Jacuzzi Splot Cries, Cowers, and Shows His Mettle
Jacuzzi Splot Cries, Gets Scared and Musters Reckless Valor
ジャグジー・スプロットは泣いて怯えて蛮勇を奮う
Jaguji- Supurotto wa naite obiete ban'yuu o furuu
2007-09-13 6. The Rail Tracer Maneuvers Through the Train Slaughtering Many
The Rail Tracer Covertly, Repeatedly Slaughters Inside the Coaches
レイルトレーサーは車内を暗躍し虐殺をくりかえす
Reirutorure-sa- wa shanai o an'yaku shi gyakusatsu o kurikaesu
2007-09-20 7. Everything Began on Board the Advena Avis
Everything Starts Aboard the Advenna Avis
すべてはアドウェナ・アウィス号の船上からはじまる
Subete wa Adowena Awisu gou no senjou kara hajimaru
2007-09-27 8. Isaac and Miria Spread Happiness Without Realizing It
Isaac and Miria Unintentionally Spread Happiness Around Them
アイザックとミリアは我知らず周囲に幸福をまきちらす
Aizakku to Miria wa ware shirazu shuui ni koufuku o makichirasu
2007-10-04 9. Clare Stanfield Faithfully Carries Out the Mission
クレア・スタンフィールドは忠実に職務を遂行する
Kurea Sutanfi-ruto wa chuujitsu ni shokumu o suikousuru
2007-10-11 10. Czeslaw Meyer is Forced to Rework His Tremble-Before-the-Specter-of-Immortals Strategy
Czeslaw Meyer Reflects on his Scheme of Being Frightened by the Shadow of an Immortal
チェスワフ・メイエルは不死者の影に怯え策略をめぐらす
Chesuwafu Meieru wa fushisha no kage ni obie sakuryaku o megurasu
2007-10-18 11. Chane LaForet is Silent Before the Two Mysterious People
Chane Laforet Remains Silent in the Face of Two Mysterious People
シャーネ・ラフォレットは二人の怪人を前に沈黙する
Sha-ne Raforetto wa futari no kaijin o mae ni chinmoku suru
2007-10-25 12. Firo and the Gandor Brothers are Shot Down
Firo and the Three Gandor Brothers Are Felled by Assassins’ Bullets
フィーロとガンドール三兄弟は凶弾に倒れる
Fi-ro to gando-ru sankyoudai wa kyoudan ni taoreru
2007-11-01 13. Both the Immortals and Those Who Aren’t Sing the Praises of Life Equally
Both the Life of an Immortal and a Mortal are Equally Glorified
不死者もそうでない者もひとしなみに人生を謳歌する
Fushisha mo sou denai mono hitoshimi ni jinsei o ouka suru
2008-02-27 14. Graham Specter’s Love and Peace
Graham Spector's Love and Peace
Gurahamu supekutaa no ai to heiwa
「グラハム・スペクターの愛と平和」
Bonus episode 14 on DVD 5
2008-04-23 15. The Delinquents That Arrive at the High-Class Neighborhood Are the Same as Always
The Juvenile Delinquents Who Arrived at the Upscale Residential District are Still the Same as Always.
Koukyuu juutakugai ni tadori tsui ta furyou shounen tachihasoredemoitsumoto kawa ranai
「高級住宅街に辿り着いた不良少年たちはそれでもいつもと変わらない」
Bonus episode 15 on DVD 7
2008-05-28 16. Carol Realised There Was no End to This Story
Carol Realizes That the Story Cannot Have an Ending
Monogatari ni owari gaattehanaranaikotowo kyaroru ha satotta
「物語に終わりがあってはならないことを キャロルは悟った」
Bonus episode 16 on DVD 8
Vintage:
2007-07-26 to 2007-11-01
2009-09-03 (Animax Asia)
Release dates:
2007-10-24 (Japan DVD 1: Eps 1-2)
2007-11-28 (Japan DVD 2: Eps 3-4)
2007-12-26 (Japan DVD 3: Eps 5-6)
2008-01-23 (Japan DVD 4: Eps 7-8)
2008-02-27 (Japan DVD 5: Eps 9+14)
2008-03-26 (Japan DVD 6: Eps 10-11)
2008-04-23 (Japan DVD 7: Eps 12+15)
2008-05-28 (Japan DVD 8: Eps 13+16)
2009-01-27 (USA DVD 1: Eps 1-4)
2009-03-24 (USA DVD 2: Eps 5-8)
2009-05-05 (USA DVD 3: Eps 9-12)
2009-06-16 (USA DVD 4: Eps 13-16)
2009-12-29 (USA DVD boxset)
Opening Theme:
"Gun's&Roses" by Paradise Lunch
Ending Theme:
"Calling" by Kaori Oda
Official website:
Animax Asia's Baccano! Microsite
BACCANO! -バッカーノ- (Japanese)
Aniplex USA | Baccano!
Madman's Official Baccano! Sales Site
The Official Baccano! Web Site From FUNimation Productions, LTD.
WOWOW's BACCANO! Website (Japanese)
Links:
Baccano! at Telebisyon.net (Tagalog)
Gun's & Roses
Trivia:
While the television broadcast of Baccano ended at 13 episodes, there are 3 extra episodes labeled as episodes 14 through 16 that are being released on DVD, spread across the 5th, 7th and 8th and final Japanese DVD.
"Baccano" is Italian for "ruckus."
The US flag shown at around 11:08 of episode 16 has 49 stars. In 1932, there were 48 states, so the flag should have had 48 stars. It should have 6 rows of 8 stars each. Instead, it has 7 rows of 7 rows each. Now, as to why they used 49 stars in particular, who knows. But regardless of why, the number of stars is wrong.
The series creator Ryohgo Narita cites The Untouchables (1987) as an influence on the story.
Ryohgo Narita's original draft of the story focused on an ancient magician who was revived during the Prohibition era and started to terrorize New York, thus causing a bunch of Mafiosi to gang up to fight him. The supernatural elements were also more pronounced: Maiza Avaro was a hypnotist, Ennis was a succubus, and Szilard was a magician. However, Narita scrapped and revised these concepts, making the final story very different.
Ryohgo Narita did not create a detailed storyline, but instead focused on the characters and how they would interact and impact on the original plot/storylines. Although he allowed the characters to "move how they want", he found it troublesome since some characters were hard to move along with the plot and other characters "moved too much, leaving the plot in ruins."
To accurately depict the locations in the series, art director Satoshi Ito took a team of staff members to visit Manhattan and the surrounding neighborhoods, which included Hell's Kitchen, Chinatown, Little Italy, Grand Central Terminal, Brooklyn and the East River
To accurately depict steam locomotives as seen in the show, Satoshi Ito's team visited the Steamtown National Historic Site in Pennsylvania, USA.
Director Tyler Walker, who worked on the series' English dub, watched as many Prohibition-era gangster films (these included The Untouchables (1987), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Gangs of New York (2002) and James Cagney films) to get an idea of just what the dialogue of that period was like. He admits that he put more lingo into the script to make it more extravagant, since he considers the show "a stylized gangster flick."
Tyler Walker held auditions for six days (the longest casting period Funimation has held), during which about 140 people came for the 18 main roles. Walker feels that this show gave him a chance to discover new talent.
According to Ryohgo Narita, the main protagonist of the whole saga is Firo Prochainezo. Narita however found him a plain character and had difficulty giving him a suitable storyline within the saga; he solved the problem once he had Firo fall in love with Ennis.
Ryohgo Narita wanted to create a character that didn't act like he looked, so he made the outlaw Jacuzzi Splot a shy crybaby, and gave a large sword tattoo on his face.
When Ryohgo Narita designed Nice Holystone, he wanted her to have an appearance that left a strong impression and so gave her an eyepatch. Upon realizing that many other characters sported an eyepatch, Narita had Holystone wear her eyeglasses over the patch, making her look distinct.
Ryohgo Narita's favorite character in the "Baccano!" saga is the hitman Ladd Russo.
Ryohgo Narita considers the character of Claire Stanfield to be the saga's "No 1 problem child," since his role within the story caused far too many revisions/rewrites to occur.
The Martillo Family runs a speakeasy called the Alveare. "Alveare" is Italian for "beehive"; the speakeasy aptly specializes in honey and honeyed dishes.
The character of Isaac Dinan was loosely based on Monkey Punch's fun-loving thief Arsene Lupin III.
In the "Baccano!" comic, Slizard's elixir is imperfect and grants only long life; anyone who takes it will age, and eventually die. In the anime, the elixir has no defect and grants pure immortality and eternal youth; the third episode however alleges that Slizard had earlier created an imperfect version in his experiments.
Claire Stanfield goes by the alias "Vino". This is the Italian word for "wine", and alludes to his technique of coating his targets in blood to make them look "cooked in wine."