The Vice-director doesn't talk about the possibility of him being the lead character
Well, since dee_dragon finally watched the first episode despite ~two weeks of resistance, I think it's time I continued began my Baccano! episode musings. Just so everyone knows, I'll be occasionally quoting and paraphrasing from the Ayu sub. Yay for Ayu subs!
Ah, good old episode one, confusing everyone with a valuable lesson in storytelling, introducing most of the characters at breakneck speed, tossing chronological events to the wind, and squicking dee_dragon with shockingly realistic gore paired with realistic sound effects. In a word: Brilliant.
The series begins in what may seem like an odd place, with two characters that will likely never appear within the actual story discussing how the story should be told, where it should begin, and who the main character should be. If you've ever written a story, their conversation should remind you of your own internal musings right before you wrote the first word, or if you've never thought about it this way, it's time to start. For example, you decide to create a typical Hero character and a typical Villain. Both characters should have about the same amount of character development for the story to be truly worth reading, but that's where it gets interesting, because now the story could be told from either the Hero's or the Villain's point of view, and following that, if you decide that the Hero would win in the end, the story would be uplifting from the Hero's POV, yet the story written in the Villain's POV would be a tragedy. And, once you've chosen the protagonist, where are you going to start the story and how should you manipulate the timeline? You might want to start at the very beginning to tell the story chronologically all the way through, but you could also begin at the middle or even the end and have the entire story be told in flashbacks. One could even start at the beginning and scatter flash forwards throughout--in the end, though, the writer should choose the method that they feel would make their story as powerful and lasting to the readers as possible, as each method has its strengths and weaknesses.
Just by watching Carole and Gustav Saint Germain argue about storytelling made me realize that this anime had the potential to rise above all competition. It tells the viewers that the creators had put the maximum amount of thought into weaving this tale together to increase the impact of all its parts. They could have made this anime completely chronological, but then where would all the tension be? We wouldn't be so shocked when Czeslaw's head was blown to bits or when Firo's fingers got cut off because we would already know that they'd be just fine, but at the same time, we're 'spoiled' about who manages to make it off the train alive. However, in an series that relies on its characters as much as Baccano!, it's unlikely that any of the (well-liked) major players will meet an untimely end during the course of the anime, anyway, so we only really need to worry about the survival of supporting characters, as fortunate or unfortunate as that may be. Also, since every story has its weak or slow points, the way Baccano! presents all story arcs at once in a jumbled mess guarantees every episode to be fresh and exciting. One arc might be lagging a bit, but a minute later, we're transported into the middle of a gunfight or something else made of epic win. Also, mixing the arcs streamlines the story, as they're forced to keep things short and simple so it's easier for viewers to keep up, and it's very effective at creating the illusion of each episode being a lot longer than it is. And the best part is, by presenting the anime in this fashion, there is a zero possibility of crappy filler episodes. If there's going to be any filler at all (which I doubt, as it's been extremely compact up until now), it would just be a minute or two sandwiched between all the main arcs and we wouldn't even realize it was anime-only filler until the novels are translated.
Moving onto the episode itself, I was very impressed with the attention to detail. When Carole removes a book from the shelf, the rest of the books shift; during the begging scene, we see Firo's unfocused legs in the foreground slowing to a stop a few moments before he speaks up; and, as I've already touched on, the sound effects are amazing. I'm in love with the sound of Luck putting Poe back on the shelf. And, of course, the all-star cast of seiyuu bring every single character, from the main players to the last extra, to life, and we can't help but become attached to these wonderful, and sometimes completely psychotic, two dimensional characters. And did I forget to mention the amazing backgrounds and character designs? The style (and the BGM! How could I forget the BGM?!) completely fits the era. The backgrounds are mostly gray and drab, leaving it up to the characters to bring color to the scene.
Anyway, I promised dee_dragon that I would summarize the episode in extreme detail to help dispel her confusion and cement the characters in her head, so here I go. :D :D :D OH GOD THIS IS GOING TO TAKE FOREVER :X
The episode begins in an unknown year (definitely during or after 1932, but could be many years later) with a young girl named Carole deeply absorbed in researching something, so involved that she thinks nothing of crawling onto the table and leaving the research materials in messy piles scattered all around her. She is eventually interrupted by her superior (and maybe also her father? Carole seems very young to be working, and is noticeably even younger in the flashback, and is provided with no surname. The room they're in could even be the study in their mansion rather than an actual office), and after explaining herself, Gustav St. Germain seems to fall comfortably into his role as the devil's advocate, picking at everything falling out of Carole's mouth. I have a feeling that she'll grow up to be the most fearsome reporter the world has ever known with a teacher like that (;^^).
After Carole says that she was thinking about the mysteries series of events that began in November 1930, Gustav starts folding his newspaper and suddenly turns the subject to a conversation they'd shared aboard a train quite a while ago, where he told her that while most considered rainbows to be beautiful, there were probably people out there who believed them to be bad omens, and asks her why people had such powerful feelings over something as simple as the refraction of light. However, Carole doesn't understand what he's trying to say, and asserts that it's not their job to think about things like that, but to relay information between people. Gustav is unimpressed with her answer (awarding points for poor explanations FTW, my answer would have been because they only appear under certain conditions, and no one teaches a small child about light refraction so we grow up believing they're magical, mysterious things, and even after we learn about them, we still associate them with the happy childhood days full of wonder, but Carole's still a kid herself, so I wouldn't expect that kind of answer from her, anyway), and says that, while it is their job to deliver information, it was also their responsibility to never stop thinking about that information, even when it's proved to be 100% accurate. Carole is confused about what they're supposed to think about, since the truth would never change, but Gustav disagrees. The flashback ends when he finishes his origami (which I find interesting, since he started it right as he initiated the flashback. Does he always recollect memories that way? I mean, by mimicking what he had been doing at the time to remember it more clearly? That's pretty awesome), shocking Carole out of her own recollection.
He asks why she decided upon November 1930 as the starting point after pointing out that a 'story' is neither information nor information gathering, because a story never truly ends--it may not be written, but characters influence the world they live in, and that world continues to change even after the character is gone. Carole becomes a little hesitant and less confidant in her stance, which sparks Gustav to finally introduce himself to the viewers as the Vice-director of the Daily Days (and thus, establishes their relationship to the actual story, since the Daily Days plays a major part in late 1931-32), and Carole as his assistant, accusing her of falling short of his expectations. Before she can gather a response, he fires off in random examples of what else could qualify as an acceptable starting point, such as the event on the ship Advenna Avis crossing the Atlantic in 1711 (where we see a brief clip of Maiza performing part of an alchemic ritual), or the tragedy on board the transcontinental train, The Flying Pussyfoot, in 1931 that was covered up by the authorities (and we see Jacuzzi desperately running through the train cars), so why was she so dead set on 1930 as the beginning? Regaining her confidence, Carole answers, she chose that as the beginning because it would be much easier to understand that way, and, coincidentally, the Daily Days had discovered the information regarding the 1930 events first, and everything else was found later. Gustav, however, is once again unimpressed (though I found this answer more reasonable than the other one, so why did she score less points this time? Is he getting stricter as she matures? XD), and reminds her that, yes, it might be easier to understand, but she was putting too much thought into the chronology of events, and not enough into the people involved.
He initiates another discussion, this time about who the lead characters should be, and fires off the examples of Isaac and Miria (the peculiar robber duo; clip of Isaac's ear being cut by a trident-like spear [sometime during or after 1932]), Czeslaw (the boy with the cursed fate; clip of Ladd blowing Czeslaw's head off with a shotgun at point blank range [1931]), and Luck (the Gandor family's intelligent executive; clip of Luck being riddled full of bullets in the drive-by shooting [1931]). He was about to go on, but Carole interrupts him and we're shown a clip of a homeless man with a few missing teeth begging for money, using religion as a method to invoke sympathy. Everyone ignores him, but Firo stops and greets him (1930 or later). Carole nominates Firo as the main character because he's so "lead character-ish" which throws Gustav for a loop. Firo walks over (showing off his girly eyelashes XD) and pulls out his wallet, donating two dollars (which is $20 and some by today's standards) and advises the man to stop using religion only when it benefits himself. However, instead of being grateful, the man, who probably caught a glimpse inside Firo's loaded wallet, attempts to mug him instead once Firo's back was turned. "Don't you think so?" Carole adds with a creepy fangirlish grin. (Dear God, Firo, you even have fangirls within the actual series. XD And he looks so goofy in that candid photograph. XDx2 That would be something I'd tack on the wall to laugh at every morning instead of drooling over. XDx3) Firo, though, reacted fast enough to catch the knife with his bare hands, probably assuming it was a blunt object, and ended up losing a few fingers when the man jumped back in surprise. The homeless guy is scared at first, but becomes confident upon realizing he'd drawn blood--that is, until he notices the blood flowing back into Firo's body and his fingers reattaching themselves (which calls into question how Firo managed to end up with such high speed recovery time considering how long it takes for Czeslaw to recover from his massive head trauma. For God's sake, his blood didn't have time to drip off the knife and his fingers started homing in just after the first bounce. XD Also, for some reason, Firo lacks Hat-sama during this scene, which is more than just a little strange in continuity. I'm thinking that this scene either occurred while it was being repaired due to the drive by shooting, or this happened many years later and Firo doesn't wear it anymore), and even more frightening: Firo looks really pissed, and a pissed Firo is only fun when you're sitting on the other side of an LCD screen. Just before knocking out a few more of the man's teeth, he demands to know if the attack was directed at him with full knowledge that he was a part of the Martillo family, but if I were to guess, it was just an unlucky coincidence for the homeless guy. (and btw, what the heck is wrong with all the beggars I've come across in anime and RL? I once gave a guy some change and for some reason he took it as an invitation to grab my ass. I was so shocked I forgot to can him. It'll be a while before I feel charitable again, but woe be to the next guy who attempts that kind of crap with me. I'll be prepared for anything next time. >:[ )
(Aside: It's at this point that the viewers begin to realize that the 'story' is about groups of people who have become immortal. It took some time to figure out, but Gustav Saint Germain brought up the conversation about rainbows to draw parallels between their perceived 'beauty' and Carole's fascination with immortality. To elaborate, many people may find rainbows (or immortality) to be beautiful, but to others, it may be considered a curse. Think about it: no human is meant to, or prepared to, live forever. It's only a matter of time before a person becomes ready to pass on, but what could that person do if they're immortal? Luckily(?) for the Baccano! cast, there happens to be a single way for them to die, but that method is seriously grotesque and means they can only die by either being murdered or through assisted suicide. Every immortal is doomed to either literally live forever or die in tragedy, and I doubt that anyone is seriously prepared to live beyond the end of time.)
Gustav starts to laugh when he realizes that Carole fangirls the Firo, and consents to her "lead character-ish" stance, but quickly throws the entire topic out the window with one of the greatest quotes regarding storytelling that I have ever heard: "Depending on who you place in the center of the same accident, the characteristics of said accident change kaleidoscopically. In other words, there is one accident, however, there are as many stories explaining it as there are people involved in it." It was a little hard to make the connection, but this was what he was referring to on the train about how the truth can change. But, rather than "change", it would be better to say truth can expand. For example, one eyewitness could describe a violent crime without a single error from what they really saw to what they recount, but there could also be things relevant to the case that the witness did not see, so it is important to keep searching for a more whole truth. Anyway, in this context, Gustav is asserting that it would be foolish to assign any single person as a lead character, because many important things would be glossed over due to the focus upon one person's experiences. His argument is strengthened by a series of clips summarizing the situation in America during the Great Depression and how it affected many different people due to the rise in crime, unemployment, homelessness, etc, etc. To summarize, many characters are required to establish the setting, which, duh duh duuuuh, leads to the all important initial conflict.
We're suddenly shown a clip during 1931, with a gangster bellowing orders from a balcony down to his men. This is the Runorata family mafia, who are the sworn enemies of the allied Gandors (mafia) and Martillos (Camorra=Italian mafia/secret society), and the man giving orders to do everything in their power to destroy their adversaries is Gustavo (definitely not to be confused with Gustav Saint Germain. XD), one of the higher ranking executives in the 'family'.
While Gustavo is busily attempting to be a charismatic leader (and failing. XD), however, the Gandors have already begun to respond to the sudden increase of attacks from the Runoratas. The first Gandor in the scene is Berga (whom I am ashamed to admit mistook as Gustavo the first time I watched this episode, but that was quickly cured because BERGA IS MUCH YOUNGER, MORE AWESOME, AND ATTRACTIVE THAN GUSTAVO. XD), whom asks his younger brother Luck "What happened to that idiot?" (More on "that idiot" later on) and Luck, in the process of changing clothes (have I mentioned yet that it's time suspenders made a comeback? @,@), is quite pleased to inform him that Tic had it covered, though "that idiot" may have lost all the nerves to feel pain by now (quite the accomplishment, overloading every single nerve in the the man's body, Tic-san! *thumbs up*). OMG KEITH IS SHUFFLING CARDS AND IS SO HOT WHY DOESN'T HE GET ANY LINES??/!!11 D: (lmao, I really don't see how people can say those two aren't attractive. Like it's their fault that their distinctive masculine beauty is constantly overshadowed by certain bishounen. >:[ ) Anyway, one of their lackeys (The one that lost the rock paper scissors match. XD) chooses that moment to burst in on Luck still dressing in the Gandor family executive office/changeroom and informs them of another series of attacks against their various businesses, though luckily, no one was killed. I think I could survive for months with nothing but Berga's following dialogue to sustain me. XD The henchman is all, like, "Yeah, I think I'll just stay here in the doorway until he simmers down over there," and tactfully waits until Berga stops shouting, swinging, and stomping and just starts growling and hissing, clenching his teeth and fists before informing him that they'd captured one of the culprits and brought him back with them. Berga is all: ??? :D and Lackey is all: HO- SHI- *backs away quickly* and Berga goes: :D All riiiight! *slams door behind him and charges like an angry bear* and Luck and Keith are both: lol Berga we love you (or maybe it's just me. XD I don't care if it's completely unintentional--Berga is frigging hilarious. XD And its so sweet of him to go nuclear over people hurting his little brother and Firo. XD).
Anyway, as Berga begins the interrogation in the traditional mafia way, we're unfortunately transported back to Gustavo damn iiiit..., as he is interrupted in the middle of his speech by Baltro Runorata, the Godfather current leader of the Runorata family wearing nothing but his jammies and a housecoat dammit, I wanna be a mob boss tooooo causing Gustavo to feel that all too familiar "Oh, crap, I'm in shit again, aren't I?" feeling. I'm sure he gets that feeling a lot. XD
Aaand, back to Carole and Gustavo (maybe it would've been better to call him Saint Germain, but I think that would be a little taboo considering all of his devil's advocateness...) for just a moment, as Gustav suggests an option would be to start with the conflict between the various mafia groups in New York City.
Back to Gustavo, who reports with pride that Luck had been killed, and pretty easily considering he was rumored to be brilliant, but Baltro does not look pleased. Gustavo, who's starting to freak, attempts to reassure his boss that the Gandors are weak and would be easy to wipe out, but Baltro's frown does not move an inch. In a last ditch effort, Gustavo leans in close and tells him in a low voice that they're almost ready to purchase some new taxi bombs and mentions that they'll take out the Martillo's someday as well, but Baltro finally loses his patience with his desperately chattering underling, and interrupts with a job for him to do. He pulls a photo out of his desk and tosses it onto the surface.
Gustav also suggests Eve's hopes to find her missing older brother, Dallas as another possible initial conflict, and follows up on that with the whimsical addition: "Or... Carole... It wouldn't be strange if we were the beginning of this story." Carole thinks he's just kidding, but Gustav just smiles and chuckles, that last suggestion just as serious as all the others. The episode is half over, but the title is presented now, with perfect placement, "The Vice-director doesn't talk about the possibility of him being the lead character." I love the episode titles in this series and the way certain characters/words are different colors. XD
Once the title screen passes, we're back in 1931 with Baltro and Gustavo. The man in the picture is Dallas Genoard, and Gustavo had killed his father and brother without telling Baltro a word, much to his apparent displeasure (not a lot of emotional range on Baltro's face, is there?). So Gustavo asks if there's something going on, and Baltro claims he just called Dallas' office (WTF, man. I didn't realize that wannabe gangster punks had their own offices in the 1930s. O.o You know, with that comment and the way Dallas looks in the photograph they're studying, before I discovered otherwise, I was convinced that Dallas was a respectable health professional. ...lmao, couldn't be farther from the truth. XD) and was threatened by Dallas, who knew that it had been Gustavo whom had killed his family members, and claimed to have evidence to prove it. Gustavo is in disbelief, as he was certain he had bribed the police to dispose of all the evidence, but Baltro counters that by asking why Dallas would know his name if that were so. Gustavo cannot reply, so Baltro orders him to find Dallas and bring him back with him. Gustavo asks about the Gandor problem, but Baltro tells him that Dallas is most important, and to find him quickly. Getting a little bloodthirsty since a small time punk was getting in the way of his Gandor extinction campaign, Gustavo asks if it matters if he's dead or alive, but it appears that Baltro couldn't care less. As Gustavo relays the new orders to his men, Baltro acts a little suspicious, saying, "What a pathetic man."
Weeeee, back to Berga beating the snot, and a lot of blood, out of the Runorata lackey. I'd feel sorry for the guy, but I'm too amused by how Berga is not even as half as intimidating as he was during his little frenzy in the office. Not that he's particularly gentle with the guy (OMG he's getting so much blood all over the floor and couch. I'd hate to be the Gandor family maid. *pause* ...Or would I...? *conflicted*). Anyway, once Luck and KEITHKEITHKEITHFROWNINGSOHOTTTSAYSOMETHINGDAMMIT walk inside, the previously tight-lipped Runorata suddenly speaks up, surprised to see someone who should have been dead. Hearing that was all Luck needed to know to be sure that the lackey was involved in the violent attacks, so he calls out to Tic without hesitation. Scarily enough, the Gandor family torture expert was just in the next room over, just beginning the process of cleaning up after "that idiot" (even more on "that idiot" later. :D), whose bloody and quite dead body is within clear sight once he opened the door. Luck asks him to take care of another one right away, to which Tic agrees, but comments that since he wouldn't be able to clean up properly, it would be more painful than usual and apologizes to his potential future victim. I just want to say that Tic is scary awesome. If his cute little disturbing theme and the delicious *shing* of his bloody scissors doesn't freak you out in the least, the scariest part of all is that his seiyuu is Kappei Yamaguchi (aka Inuyasha). I'm sure that it's the last part that convinced the lackey to talk. XD *insert incomprehensible fangirlish squeals at the sight of Keith and Berga's stern faces here* I find the way that they instinctively stepped aside to let Luck through completely adorable and an instant classic example of the good cop, bad cop scenario because Luck completely fails at channeling abrasiveness due to the bishounen curse as he demands who had turned him into a beehive. The "beehive" comment went completely over my head the first couple times, which brought about the inevitable, "Oh, duh, smart one," moment when I finally figured out it was a reference to the following scene. *dies*
So, earlier that day, Luck had gone to visit a bookstore that he obviously frequents, considering how Firo knew exactly when and where he would be and had decided to pay him a visit, and it's certainly not a well kept secret, considering how the Runorata's also knew exactly when and where he would be and had decided to pay him a visit. But, before that little surprise party, Luck and Firo managed to have a nice little chat, and since they're so friendly, one can only assume that they've been friends since they've been kids (though Firo is technically still a minor as I believe he's still high school age--my best guess is 17). Luck pulls a collection of Edgar Allen Poe's poems from the shelf and flips through it in nostalgia, smiling in self-amusement upon finding one very familiar to him, earning a sarcastic remark from Firo, who had just arrived, about how creepy his smirk looked, and asks curiously about what he's reading. Luck replies by quoting a passage from Spirits of the Dead (and I have no idea if Firo is feigning praise or not, but I lean towards yes because I don't think he really got anything out of the poem at all. XD), and admits that it scared him as a child, but now there was no longer any reason to fear death, because of the incident that occurred a year ago (in 1930). Since Firo seems a bit lost in the conversation, Luck asks him if he ever thought about death, but Firo denies it easily. I think the quick, frank answer caused Luck to feel somewhat weak or inferior, or maybe just a little lonely, but there could also be something wrong on Firo's side that he's just really skilled at hiding, but Luck realized his mistake, anyway, since they're good friends. Despite all the characters that have appeared in the first episode so far, the only parent mentioned is Dallas and Eve's father, so I could be completely off base, but I think Firo may have been orphaned at a young age, causing him to carry unusual feelings regarding death, or maybe he somehow sealed them away. (I wonder about Mr&Mrs Gandor as well, but since the brothers all seem to be in their twenties or older, they may have just moved out on their own, but then again, since this is a mafia we're talking about, their parents would probably be involved in the 'family' as well, unless it just began with the brothers.) Regardless, however, Luck asks him to just forget about it, which Firo has absolutely no problems doing, as he did have a reason to suddenly visit Luck out of the blue, and it wasn't just for a casual chat.
It seems that the Martillo family had experienced a sudden rise in suspicious individuals on their turf, and Luck, completely recovered, replies that it could only be agents of Runorata. Firo, who probably already knew that the Gandors were having problems with the rival mafia gang, had come to offer Luck his support in driving them off. Luck, however, does not accept it, because at the moment, it was only a Gandor problem, which hurts Firo's feelings. Feeling bad about that, Luck explains that he doesn't want to cause trouble for the Martillos (aka if Firo acts openly, the Runoratas would immediately respond with aggression against the Camorra, which could strain relations between the Gandors and Martillos. He's saying the only way Firo can help without risk is if the Runoratas make a move against the Martillos first), but there was no reason to be worried, because he's already sent for "Vino". Firo doesn't immediately recognize the codename (and Luck grins at him until the light dawns), but Vino is Claire Stanfield, a Gandor assassin, and Firo responds with excitement at the thought of seeing their mutual friend again. (btw, Claire is male--Ayu made a mistake, but they can't really be blamed for it, since the guy's name is Claire of all things. XD) Luck says that he's on board the Flying Pussyfoot that would arrive in New York City tomorrow, and, completely coincidentally, Firo remarks that Isaac, Miria, and an old friend of Maiza's were on the same train, and Luck suggests that they go pick them up at the station tomorrow together. However, before any plans can be agreed upon, a car screeches to a halt just outside the bookstore and three Runorata gangsters commence with unleashing the greatest bullet-riddling scene I've ever seen. The adrenaline really comes through--Firo and Luck react in pain and confusion as they're viciously murdered, trying to protect themselves and escape from the bullets and figure out what is going on at the same time. (lol Firo gets two of his fingers shot off. Those fingers of his are determined to be released back into the wild. XD Also, Hat-sama gets damaged. D:)
We're suddenly transported to a snowy scene near some train tracks, where the police and investigators are looking over and collecting many dead bodies, which we learn were thrown offboard the Flying Pussyfoot, and over ten have been discovered already over a couple kilometers, with a potential of many more remaining undiscovered. It seems that this scene actually occurs on New Years Day, 1932, based on new information from episode 9 (Which means that, since all the action on the Flying Pussyfoot is tagged as 1931 occurances, all the action occurs during New Year's Eve). The inspector, Bill Sullivan, and his partner, Donald Brown, return to their car, telling the inquisitive policeman that the matter was top secret, so they couldn't tell him what happened, and it would be better for him not to know. Upon returning to their vehicle, the two have a very ambiguous conversation about several people. "It seems he [an undisclosed male immortal, who was listed as a passenger at the Chicago station] was aboard after all." Then they talk about determining "that person's" safety, who may or may not be the same male immortal. Preparing to leave for their next destination, they wonder if they would be able to keep such a huge incident hidden from the public eye, but before they can go, another policeman approaches with news that they'd found a couple of survivors who'd fallen from the train, surprising the investigators.
Back at the bookstore, Luck's hat is floating around, continually pelted by bullets until it falls down beside the terrified clerk huddled behind his desk. After hearing some strange noises once the shooting stopped followed by the sound of the car tires squealing off down the road, he pops his head over the counter to check on his customers and the extensive damage. To his complete surprise, Luck's arm reaches out from under the fallen books and he sits up without a scratch on his body, though his clothes are riddled with bullet holes. He asks the clerk if he's alright, but instead of answering the question, claims he was sure that he'd seen Luck getting shot, and Luck, seeing that the clerk was completely uninjured, just sends back a wry grin.
The next scene is a follow-up on the scene where Isaac's ear gets cut, and we see that a young woman is holding the spear that hurt him, saying, "There's no... problem, right?" Isaac continues to complain about the pain for a bit (which seems to annoy the woman XD), but suddenly realizes that it doesn't hurt anymore, lifting his hand, and Miria is amazed to say that the wound completely disappeared. The only reason I know that this scene happens in late 1931 or later is because Chane, Ennis, Nice, Jacuzzi & the rest of his gang, and a few people I don't recognize (Is that Inspector Sullivan in the trenchcoat? OMG, if it's actually Claire in disguise, I may giggle a bit. Who's the lady with the swords *though if its actually a man, I may die*? And *lol* if that's Dallas on the floor XD) are all together in the background, and I don't know where all the others met, but Ennis didn't look like she recognized Jacuzzi and Nice when she caught sight of them at the train station later in this episode (which happens during New Year's Day, 1932). Isaac is all: crazy magic FTW, and Miria goes: I wonder if pigeons will appear next?! :D (I LUV THOSE 2 SO MUCH).
CZESLAW RESURRECTION SCENE. Yay, I saw a clump of hair, bone fragments, and maybe a piece of an ear among all the blood and liquified brains. (lol dee_dragon did that squick you? :D :D :D ?) "What a useless guy," he says, probably in reference to Ladd, but he could also be talking about someone else that we don't know about yet.
Meanwhile, as to what occurred before Luck and the clerk began their little chat, while the bullets were still flying, Firo's blood was already starting to home in, and, waiting until the Runorata goons lowered their guns, burst out of the door, leapt on top of the car, and found out how far his shoe could go up "that idiot's" nose. :D The car speeds off, leaving their partner to his quickly approaching doom. Lately, all I can think about is how lucky Firo was that all the bullets missed his suspenders, though it would have been hilarious if he tripped over his own falling pants after running and jumping on the car XD. His momentum would have knocked down "that idiot" anyway XD. Also, its hard to judge, since his face was beaten to a pulp, but the blond guy in the car was probably the same henchman that the Gandors captured about an hour later.
Anyway, it's back to Luck and the clerk, still convinced that there was no way Luck could have survived, while Luck is more interested in dusting off his ruined clothes (and now we know why he was changing later on. XD). Luck suddenly notices the complete lack of Firo in the area and becomes concerned, calling out to him, and Firo answers by coming back in through the door with the captured, tied up Runorata, which doubly shocks the clerk. "At least allow me to do this much," Firo says. "Those bastards ruined my hat. D:" "lol, You can't stop me from helping, noooow! They savor the sweet taste of victory for a moment before Luck goes into business mode, telling the clerk that he and Firo would pay for the damages, and hopes that he would keep the incident quiet, to which the clerk replies, if he said anything, he'd just wind up in the looney bin. Luck smiles at that, but then looks at his prisoner, musing about how it would be impossible to just let the incident pass, now that it had progressed to assassination attempts. (And here's where Firo's insanely fast recovery time is once again questioned by myself--Firo was already in the process of tying up the goon when Luck was just starting to sit up among the carnage. Though, to be fair, Firo dropped from the onslaught first, so ended up taking less damage after falling out of the main bullet spray, giving him a head start on recovering.)
Now we get a really mysterious scene, where a shadowed man squats atop the Flying Pussyfoot as the sun rises, reading a message scratched on the top of the train, of which all that is visible to the viewer is: "...try to find you." The man assures the writer, "I'll find you. For sure." He stands up, runs to the edge of the train, and hops off, presumably to begin his search immediately.
We're then brought to a very realistic depiction of New York City's central station at 2:07pm, 1932, New Year's Day, where Maiza, Firo, Ennis, and the Gandors (kyaah, Berga spends this entire scene with his arms crossed while Keith sips at his coffee and reads the menu. XD) are waiting for the Flying Pussyfoot to arrive. For those of you concerned about Hat-sama, it seems to have been expertly cleaned and repaired. *cheers* Anyway, to fill the silence, Firo asks about the train, hearing that it was a little strange, and Luck replies that he'd seen it before, and it was highly decorated, but he didn't care for it, since it looked like an antique made by someone with extremely bad taste, which ends up making Firo even more curious, wanting to see it more and more. However, it falls upon Ennis to tell him that, unfortunately, she'd heard an announcement that there had been some technical problems on the train, so the passenger cars were switched to normal flat cars, causing Firo to loudly and dramatically announce his disbelief (you can see his arm go up in the air from far away. XD). What's more, Maiza adds, before entering the city, the front car would have to be switched to an electric car, so Firo wouldn't have been able to see it all, regardless. XD Firo has no other choice be to accept that, so instead, he asks Maiza about what his old friend was like. Maiza tells him that his friend was the type of person who likes to be alone, and tries to take on all the burdens by himself. Luck comments that people like that wouldn't live very long if they were completely ordinary. Berga snorts and says, if that's so, then Claire would be the complete opposite, since he was smart but unbelievably selfish. Firo is amused and in total agreement. Ennis is so cute in this scene, blinking in confusion while the rest of them casually insult their old buddy (daaaaawww...).
And back we go to the police, who're armed and gathered around Ladd and Lua sitting in the snow, and seem too scared to go any closer. Ladd, all bloody, is busy ranting at them about whether they're there just to stare or if they're eventually planning to arrest him, and just because he was injured didn't mean he was just going to sit there patiently and he was in a pretty bad mood to start with. When the policemen just gulp and stay where they are, Ladd turns his attention to Lua, who's crying, upset by Ladd's state, and tells her that if he knew it would turn out this way, he would have been sure to kill her on the train, and then he gets a little frisky, suggesting that maybe it would be a good idea to just do it then and there (lol). And Lua is still upset, unable to be consoled by Ladd's sweetness (lmao), which gets Ladd a little agitated, rubbing up against her and complaining, "You're saying you don't want to be killed by me?!" while waving around his bloody, boney stump of a left arm, freaking out the policemen even more and disturbing dee_dragon with all the squishy sound effects. I just want to say here that Ladd's flirting technique is freaking amazing.
Meanwhile, the modified Flying Pussyfoot has arrived at the station in New York City, and everyone is waiting for Claire, Isaac, Miria, and Maiza's old friend, though they're surprised to see that all the other passengers seem somehow... traumatized. Before they meet up with anyone, there's a brief clip of Pikmin Link a woman dressed in green getting off the train with one of her legs bandaged and sporting a bit of a limp (Her name is Rachel), and a little ways behind her is Nice supporting an injured, loudly complaining Jacuzzi, with Donny following behind them. We get an amusing scene of Firo, Ennis, Keith, and Berga staring at them in amazement as they pass by. (Priceless scene that will eventually become my desktop background once the episode is available in better video quality on a DVD rip.) Also, poor Nice just looks ready to crawl under a rock, having so many people staring at Jacuzzi being so pathetic. XD
The scene switches to a river where people are busily pulling luggage out of a river, which somehow fell off the Flying Pussyfoot. Suddenly, the workers spot a person clinging to a crate, and call out to them. Chane Laforet, who appears a little upset, looks up at them without uttering a sound.
Back at the train station, the group has been spotted by Isaac and Miria, who loudly call out to them and are reunited jovially despite how worn down the rest of the passengers were. Keith and Berga are all WTF when Isaac and Miria rush over to glomp Maiza and Ennis, immediately infecting them with their happiness. While Miria and Ennis are busy being adorable in the background, looking a little left out, Firo approaches Isaac and asks what happened, 'cause he looks like shit. Isaac immediately attacks Firo with his own special brand of enthusiasm and tells him he'll tell him one day if he lives long enough (and Firo is all: no problems there, so you better remember to tell me later!). Meanwhile, Maiza, who was watching that in amusement, is distracted by the sound of some luggage hitting the floor behind him and he finds Czeslaw (his "old friend", lmao) standing there, staring up at him distrustfully, bringing a small smile to Maiza's face.
End of episode. *drops to the floor in exhaustion* I swear to God, all the following synopsis' will have to be half as long as this one, or I'm not going to make it.
The only thing I'm going to say about the next episode preview is that Isaac and Miria are awesome, awesome choices as the announcers and Young Conductor is so hot and most likely doomed to become dee_dragon's favorite character if I'm able to convince her to continue watching despite all the gore, and if I remember correctly, there's not even a single drop of blood in episode 2. Just a fresh body floating in the sewer and Jacuzzi nearly choking to death, I swear. XD
IN OTHER NEWS, ENNIS IS TOTALLY MY FAVORITE CHARACTER NOW. YES, THAT'S RIGHT. EPISODE 6 WAS EPIC, BUT EPISODE 8 SEALED THE DEAL, MY FRIEND. :D :D :D MY INITIAL ICON CHOICE WAS SPOT ON.
Ah, good old episode one, confusing everyone with a valuable lesson in storytelling, introducing most of the characters at breakneck speed, tossing chronological events to the wind, and squicking dee_dragon with shockingly realistic gore paired with realistic sound effects. In a word: Brilliant.
The series begins in what may seem like an odd place, with two characters that will likely never appear within the actual story discussing how the story should be told, where it should begin, and who the main character should be. If you've ever written a story, their conversation should remind you of your own internal musings right before you wrote the first word, or if you've never thought about it this way, it's time to start. For example, you decide to create a typical Hero character and a typical Villain. Both characters should have about the same amount of character development for the story to be truly worth reading, but that's where it gets interesting, because now the story could be told from either the Hero's or the Villain's point of view, and following that, if you decide that the Hero would win in the end, the story would be uplifting from the Hero's POV, yet the story written in the Villain's POV would be a tragedy. And, once you've chosen the protagonist, where are you going to start the story and how should you manipulate the timeline? You might want to start at the very beginning to tell the story chronologically all the way through, but you could also begin at the middle or even the end and have the entire story be told in flashbacks. One could even start at the beginning and scatter flash forwards throughout--in the end, though, the writer should choose the method that they feel would make their story as powerful and lasting to the readers as possible, as each method has its strengths and weaknesses.
Just by watching Carole and Gustav Saint Germain argue about storytelling made me realize that this anime had the potential to rise above all competition. It tells the viewers that the creators had put the maximum amount of thought into weaving this tale together to increase the impact of all its parts. They could have made this anime completely chronological, but then where would all the tension be? We wouldn't be so shocked when Czeslaw's head was blown to bits or when Firo's fingers got cut off because we would already know that they'd be just fine, but at the same time, we're 'spoiled' about who manages to make it off the train alive. However, in an series that relies on its characters as much as Baccano!, it's unlikely that any of the (well-liked) major players will meet an untimely end during the course of the anime, anyway, so we only really need to worry about the survival of supporting characters, as fortunate or unfortunate as that may be. Also, since every story has its weak or slow points, the way Baccano! presents all story arcs at once in a jumbled mess guarantees every episode to be fresh and exciting. One arc might be lagging a bit, but a minute later, we're transported into the middle of a gunfight or something else made of epic win. Also, mixing the arcs streamlines the story, as they're forced to keep things short and simple so it's easier for viewers to keep up, and it's very effective at creating the illusion of each episode being a lot longer than it is. And the best part is, by presenting the anime in this fashion, there is a zero possibility of crappy filler episodes. If there's going to be any filler at all (which I doubt, as it's been extremely compact up until now), it would just be a minute or two sandwiched between all the main arcs and we wouldn't even realize it was anime-only filler until the novels are translated.
Moving onto the episode itself, I was very impressed with the attention to detail. When Carole removes a book from the shelf, the rest of the books shift; during the begging scene, we see Firo's unfocused legs in the foreground slowing to a stop a few moments before he speaks up; and, as I've already touched on, the sound effects are amazing. I'm in love with the sound of Luck putting Poe back on the shelf. And, of course, the all-star cast of seiyuu bring every single character, from the main players to the last extra, to life, and we can't help but become attached to these wonderful, and sometimes completely psychotic, two dimensional characters. And did I forget to mention the amazing backgrounds and character designs? The style (and the BGM! How could I forget the BGM?!) completely fits the era. The backgrounds are mostly gray and drab, leaving it up to the characters to bring color to the scene.
Anyway, I promised dee_dragon that I would summarize the episode in extreme detail to help dispel her confusion and cement the characters in her head, so here I go. :D :D :D OH GOD THIS IS GOING TO TAKE FOREVER :X
The episode begins in an unknown year (definitely during or after 1932, but could be many years later) with a young girl named Carole deeply absorbed in researching something, so involved that she thinks nothing of crawling onto the table and leaving the research materials in messy piles scattered all around her. She is eventually interrupted by her superior (and maybe also her father? Carole seems very young to be working, and is noticeably even younger in the flashback, and is provided with no surname. The room they're in could even be the study in their mansion rather than an actual office), and after explaining herself, Gustav St. Germain seems to fall comfortably into his role as the devil's advocate, picking at everything falling out of Carole's mouth. I have a feeling that she'll grow up to be the most fearsome reporter the world has ever known with a teacher like that (;^^).
After Carole says that she was thinking about the mysteries series of events that began in November 1930, Gustav starts folding his newspaper and suddenly turns the subject to a conversation they'd shared aboard a train quite a while ago, where he told her that while most considered rainbows to be beautiful, there were probably people out there who believed them to be bad omens, and asks her why people had such powerful feelings over something as simple as the refraction of light. However, Carole doesn't understand what he's trying to say, and asserts that it's not their job to think about things like that, but to relay information between people. Gustav is unimpressed with her answer (awarding points for poor explanations FTW, my answer would have been because they only appear under certain conditions, and no one teaches a small child about light refraction so we grow up believing they're magical, mysterious things, and even after we learn about them, we still associate them with the happy childhood days full of wonder, but Carole's still a kid herself, so I wouldn't expect that kind of answer from her, anyway), and says that, while it is their job to deliver information, it was also their responsibility to never stop thinking about that information, even when it's proved to be 100% accurate. Carole is confused about what they're supposed to think about, since the truth would never change, but Gustav disagrees. The flashback ends when he finishes his origami (which I find interesting, since he started it right as he initiated the flashback. Does he always recollect memories that way? I mean, by mimicking what he had been doing at the time to remember it more clearly? That's pretty awesome), shocking Carole out of her own recollection.
He asks why she decided upon November 1930 as the starting point after pointing out that a 'story' is neither information nor information gathering, because a story never truly ends--it may not be written, but characters influence the world they live in, and that world continues to change even after the character is gone. Carole becomes a little hesitant and less confidant in her stance, which sparks Gustav to finally introduce himself to the viewers as the Vice-director of the Daily Days (and thus, establishes their relationship to the actual story, since the Daily Days plays a major part in late 1931-32), and Carole as his assistant, accusing her of falling short of his expectations. Before she can gather a response, he fires off in random examples of what else could qualify as an acceptable starting point, such as the event on the ship Advenna Avis crossing the Atlantic in 1711 (where we see a brief clip of Maiza performing part of an alchemic ritual), or the tragedy on board the transcontinental train, The Flying Pussyfoot, in 1931 that was covered up by the authorities (and we see Jacuzzi desperately running through the train cars), so why was she so dead set on 1930 as the beginning? Regaining her confidence, Carole answers, she chose that as the beginning because it would be much easier to understand that way, and, coincidentally, the Daily Days had discovered the information regarding the 1930 events first, and everything else was found later. Gustav, however, is once again unimpressed (though I found this answer more reasonable than the other one, so why did she score less points this time? Is he getting stricter as she matures? XD), and reminds her that, yes, it might be easier to understand, but she was putting too much thought into the chronology of events, and not enough into the people involved.
He initiates another discussion, this time about who the lead characters should be, and fires off the examples of Isaac and Miria (the peculiar robber duo; clip of Isaac's ear being cut by a trident-like spear [sometime during or after 1932]), Czeslaw (the boy with the cursed fate; clip of Ladd blowing Czeslaw's head off with a shotgun at point blank range [1931]), and Luck (the Gandor family's intelligent executive; clip of Luck being riddled full of bullets in the drive-by shooting [1931]). He was about to go on, but Carole interrupts him and we're shown a clip of a homeless man with a few missing teeth begging for money, using religion as a method to invoke sympathy. Everyone ignores him, but Firo stops and greets him (1930 or later). Carole nominates Firo as the main character because he's so "lead character-ish" which throws Gustav for a loop. Firo walks over (showing off his girly eyelashes XD) and pulls out his wallet, donating two dollars (which is $20 and some by today's standards) and advises the man to stop using religion only when it benefits himself. However, instead of being grateful, the man, who probably caught a glimpse inside Firo's loaded wallet, attempts to mug him instead once Firo's back was turned. "Don't you think so?" Carole adds with a creepy fangirlish grin. (Dear God, Firo, you even have fangirls within the actual series. XD And he looks so goofy in that candid photograph. XDx2 That would be something I'd tack on the wall to laugh at every morning instead of drooling over. XDx3) Firo, though, reacted fast enough to catch the knife with his bare hands, probably assuming it was a blunt object, and ended up losing a few fingers when the man jumped back in surprise. The homeless guy is scared at first, but becomes confident upon realizing he'd drawn blood--that is, until he notices the blood flowing back into Firo's body and his fingers reattaching themselves (which calls into question how Firo managed to end up with such high speed recovery time considering how long it takes for Czeslaw to recover from his massive head trauma. For God's sake, his blood didn't have time to drip off the knife and his fingers started homing in just after the first bounce. XD Also, for some reason, Firo lacks Hat-sama during this scene, which is more than just a little strange in continuity. I'm thinking that this scene either occurred while it was being repaired due to the drive by shooting, or this happened many years later and Firo doesn't wear it anymore), and even more frightening: Firo looks really pissed, and a pissed Firo is only fun when you're sitting on the other side of an LCD screen. Just before knocking out a few more of the man's teeth, he demands to know if the attack was directed at him with full knowledge that he was a part of the Martillo family, but if I were to guess, it was just an unlucky coincidence for the homeless guy. (and btw, what the heck is wrong with all the beggars I've come across in anime and RL? I once gave a guy some change and for some reason he took it as an invitation to grab my ass. I was so shocked I forgot to can him. It'll be a while before I feel charitable again, but woe be to the next guy who attempts that kind of crap with me. I'll be prepared for anything next time. >:[ )
(Aside: It's at this point that the viewers begin to realize that the 'story' is about groups of people who have become immortal. It took some time to figure out, but Gustav Saint Germain brought up the conversation about rainbows to draw parallels between their perceived 'beauty' and Carole's fascination with immortality. To elaborate, many people may find rainbows (or immortality) to be beautiful, but to others, it may be considered a curse. Think about it: no human is meant to, or prepared to, live forever. It's only a matter of time before a person becomes ready to pass on, but what could that person do if they're immortal? Luckily(?) for the Baccano! cast, there happens to be a single way for them to die, but that method is seriously grotesque and means they can only die by either being murdered or through assisted suicide. Every immortal is doomed to either literally live forever or die in tragedy, and I doubt that anyone is seriously prepared to live beyond the end of time.)
Gustav starts to laugh when he realizes that Carole fangirls the Firo, and consents to her "lead character-ish" stance, but quickly throws the entire topic out the window with one of the greatest quotes regarding storytelling that I have ever heard: "Depending on who you place in the center of the same accident, the characteristics of said accident change kaleidoscopically. In other words, there is one accident, however, there are as many stories explaining it as there are people involved in it." It was a little hard to make the connection, but this was what he was referring to on the train about how the truth can change. But, rather than "change", it would be better to say truth can expand. For example, one eyewitness could describe a violent crime without a single error from what they really saw to what they recount, but there could also be things relevant to the case that the witness did not see, so it is important to keep searching for a more whole truth. Anyway, in this context, Gustav is asserting that it would be foolish to assign any single person as a lead character, because many important things would be glossed over due to the focus upon one person's experiences. His argument is strengthened by a series of clips summarizing the situation in America during the Great Depression and how it affected many different people due to the rise in crime, unemployment, homelessness, etc, etc. To summarize, many characters are required to establish the setting, which, duh duh duuuuh, leads to the all important initial conflict.
We're suddenly shown a clip during 1931, with a gangster bellowing orders from a balcony down to his men. This is the Runorata family mafia, who are the sworn enemies of the allied Gandors (mafia) and Martillos (Camorra=Italian mafia/secret society), and the man giving orders to do everything in their power to destroy their adversaries is Gustavo (definitely not to be confused with Gustav Saint Germain. XD), one of the higher ranking executives in the 'family'.
While Gustavo is busily attempting to be a charismatic leader (and failing. XD), however, the Gandors have already begun to respond to the sudden increase of attacks from the Runoratas. The first Gandor in the scene is Berga (whom I am ashamed to admit mistook as Gustavo the first time I watched this episode, but that was quickly cured because BERGA IS MUCH YOUNGER, MORE AWESOME, AND ATTRACTIVE THAN GUSTAVO. XD), whom asks his younger brother Luck "What happened to that idiot?" (More on "that idiot" later on) and Luck, in the process of changing clothes (have I mentioned yet that it's time suspenders made a comeback? @,@), is quite pleased to inform him that Tic had it covered, though "that idiot" may have lost all the nerves to feel pain by now (quite the accomplishment, overloading every single nerve in the the man's body, Tic-san! *thumbs up*). OMG KEITH IS SHUFFLING CARDS AND IS SO HOT WHY DOESN'T HE GET ANY LINES??/!!11 D: (lmao, I really don't see how people can say those two aren't attractive. Like it's their fault that their distinctive masculine beauty is constantly overshadowed by certain bishounen. >:[ ) Anyway, one of their lackeys (The one that lost the rock paper scissors match. XD) chooses that moment to burst in on Luck still dressing in the Gandor family executive office/changeroom and informs them of another series of attacks against their various businesses, though luckily, no one was killed. I think I could survive for months with nothing but Berga's following dialogue to sustain me. XD The henchman is all, like, "Yeah, I think I'll just stay here in the doorway until he simmers down over there," and tactfully waits until Berga stops shouting, swinging, and stomping and just starts growling and hissing, clenching his teeth and fists before informing him that they'd captured one of the culprits and brought him back with them. Berga is all: ??? :D and Lackey is all: HO- SHI- *backs away quickly* and Berga goes: :D All riiiight! *slams door behind him and charges like an angry bear* and Luck and Keith are both: lol Berga we love you (or maybe it's just me. XD I don't care if it's completely unintentional--Berga is frigging hilarious. XD And its so sweet of him to go nuclear over people hurting his little brother and Firo. XD).
Anyway, as Berga begins the interrogation in the traditional mafia way, we're unfortunately transported back to Gustavo damn iiiit..., as he is interrupted in the middle of his speech by Baltro Runorata, the Godfather current leader of the Runorata family wearing nothing but his jammies and a housecoat dammit, I wanna be a mob boss tooooo causing Gustavo to feel that all too familiar "Oh, crap, I'm in shit again, aren't I?" feeling. I'm sure he gets that feeling a lot. XD
Aaand, back to Carole and Gustavo (maybe it would've been better to call him Saint Germain, but I think that would be a little taboo considering all of his devil's advocateness...) for just a moment, as Gustav suggests an option would be to start with the conflict between the various mafia groups in New York City.
Back to Gustavo, who reports with pride that Luck had been killed, and pretty easily considering he was rumored to be brilliant, but Baltro does not look pleased. Gustavo, who's starting to freak, attempts to reassure his boss that the Gandors are weak and would be easy to wipe out, but Baltro's frown does not move an inch. In a last ditch effort, Gustavo leans in close and tells him in a low voice that they're almost ready to purchase some new taxi bombs and mentions that they'll take out the Martillo's someday as well, but Baltro finally loses his patience with his desperately chattering underling, and interrupts with a job for him to do. He pulls a photo out of his desk and tosses it onto the surface.
Gustav also suggests Eve's hopes to find her missing older brother, Dallas as another possible initial conflict, and follows up on that with the whimsical addition: "Or... Carole... It wouldn't be strange if we were the beginning of this story." Carole thinks he's just kidding, but Gustav just smiles and chuckles, that last suggestion just as serious as all the others. The episode is half over, but the title is presented now, with perfect placement, "The Vice-director doesn't talk about the possibility of him being the lead character." I love the episode titles in this series and the way certain characters/words are different colors. XD
Once the title screen passes, we're back in 1931 with Baltro and Gustavo. The man in the picture is Dallas Genoard, and Gustavo had killed his father and brother without telling Baltro a word, much to his apparent displeasure (not a lot of emotional range on Baltro's face, is there?). So Gustavo asks if there's something going on, and Baltro claims he just called Dallas' office (WTF, man. I didn't realize that wannabe gangster punks had their own offices in the 1930s. O.o You know, with that comment and the way Dallas looks in the photograph they're studying, before I discovered otherwise, I was convinced that Dallas was a respectable health professional. ...lmao, couldn't be farther from the truth. XD) and was threatened by Dallas, who knew that it had been Gustavo whom had killed his family members, and claimed to have evidence to prove it. Gustavo is in disbelief, as he was certain he had bribed the police to dispose of all the evidence, but Baltro counters that by asking why Dallas would know his name if that were so. Gustavo cannot reply, so Baltro orders him to find Dallas and bring him back with him. Gustavo asks about the Gandor problem, but Baltro tells him that Dallas is most important, and to find him quickly. Getting a little bloodthirsty since a small time punk was getting in the way of his Gandor extinction campaign, Gustavo asks if it matters if he's dead or alive, but it appears that Baltro couldn't care less. As Gustavo relays the new orders to his men, Baltro acts a little suspicious, saying, "What a pathetic man."
Weeeee, back to Berga beating the snot, and a lot of blood, out of the Runorata lackey. I'd feel sorry for the guy, but I'm too amused by how Berga is not even as half as intimidating as he was during his little frenzy in the office. Not that he's particularly gentle with the guy (OMG he's getting so much blood all over the floor and couch. I'd hate to be the Gandor family maid. *pause* ...Or would I...? *conflicted*). Anyway, once Luck and KEITHKEITHKEITHFROWNINGSOHOTTTSAYSOMETHINGDAMMIT walk inside, the previously tight-lipped Runorata suddenly speaks up, surprised to see someone who should have been dead. Hearing that was all Luck needed to know to be sure that the lackey was involved in the violent attacks, so he calls out to Tic without hesitation. Scarily enough, the Gandor family torture expert was just in the next room over, just beginning the process of cleaning up after "that idiot" (even more on "that idiot" later. :D), whose bloody and quite dead body is within clear sight once he opened the door. Luck asks him to take care of another one right away, to which Tic agrees, but comments that since he wouldn't be able to clean up properly, it would be more painful than usual and apologizes to his potential future victim. I just want to say that Tic is scary awesome. If his cute little disturbing theme and the delicious *shing* of his bloody scissors doesn't freak you out in the least, the scariest part of all is that his seiyuu is Kappei Yamaguchi (aka Inuyasha). I'm sure that it's the last part that convinced the lackey to talk. XD *insert incomprehensible fangirlish squeals at the sight of Keith and Berga's stern faces here* I find the way that they instinctively stepped aside to let Luck through completely adorable and an instant classic example of the good cop, bad cop scenario because Luck completely fails at channeling abrasiveness due to the bishounen curse as he demands who had turned him into a beehive. The "beehive" comment went completely over my head the first couple times, which brought about the inevitable, "Oh, duh, smart one," moment when I finally figured out it was a reference to the following scene. *dies*
So, earlier that day, Luck had gone to visit a bookstore that he obviously frequents, considering how Firo knew exactly when and where he would be and had decided to pay him a visit, and it's certainly not a well kept secret, considering how the Runorata's also knew exactly when and where he would be and had decided to pay him a visit. But, before that little surprise party, Luck and Firo managed to have a nice little chat, and since they're so friendly, one can only assume that they've been friends since they've been kids (though Firo is technically still a minor as I believe he's still high school age--my best guess is 17). Luck pulls a collection of Edgar Allen Poe's poems from the shelf and flips through it in nostalgia, smiling in self-amusement upon finding one very familiar to him, earning a sarcastic remark from Firo, who had just arrived, about how creepy his smirk looked, and asks curiously about what he's reading. Luck replies by quoting a passage from Spirits of the Dead (and I have no idea if Firo is feigning praise or not, but I lean towards yes because I don't think he really got anything out of the poem at all. XD), and admits that it scared him as a child, but now there was no longer any reason to fear death, because of the incident that occurred a year ago (in 1930). Since Firo seems a bit lost in the conversation, Luck asks him if he ever thought about death, but Firo denies it easily. I think the quick, frank answer caused Luck to feel somewhat weak or inferior, or maybe just a little lonely, but there could also be something wrong on Firo's side that he's just really skilled at hiding, but Luck realized his mistake, anyway, since they're good friends. Despite all the characters that have appeared in the first episode so far, the only parent mentioned is Dallas and Eve's father, so I could be completely off base, but I think Firo may have been orphaned at a young age, causing him to carry unusual feelings regarding death, or maybe he somehow sealed them away. (I wonder about Mr&Mrs Gandor as well, but since the brothers all seem to be in their twenties or older, they may have just moved out on their own, but then again, since this is a mafia we're talking about, their parents would probably be involved in the 'family' as well, unless it just began with the brothers.) Regardless, however, Luck asks him to just forget about it, which Firo has absolutely no problems doing, as he did have a reason to suddenly visit Luck out of the blue, and it wasn't just for a casual chat.
It seems that the Martillo family had experienced a sudden rise in suspicious individuals on their turf, and Luck, completely recovered, replies that it could only be agents of Runorata. Firo, who probably already knew that the Gandors were having problems with the rival mafia gang, had come to offer Luck his support in driving them off. Luck, however, does not accept it, because at the moment, it was only a Gandor problem, which hurts Firo's feelings. Feeling bad about that, Luck explains that he doesn't want to cause trouble for the Martillos (aka if Firo acts openly, the Runoratas would immediately respond with aggression against the Camorra, which could strain relations between the Gandors and Martillos. He's saying the only way Firo can help without risk is if the Runoratas make a move against the Martillos first), but there was no reason to be worried, because he's already sent for "Vino". Firo doesn't immediately recognize the codename (and Luck grins at him until the light dawns), but Vino is Claire Stanfield, a Gandor assassin, and Firo responds with excitement at the thought of seeing their mutual friend again. (btw, Claire is male--Ayu made a mistake, but they can't really be blamed for it, since the guy's name is Claire of all things. XD) Luck says that he's on board the Flying Pussyfoot that would arrive in New York City tomorrow, and, completely coincidentally, Firo remarks that Isaac, Miria, and an old friend of Maiza's were on the same train, and Luck suggests that they go pick them up at the station tomorrow together. However, before any plans can be agreed upon, a car screeches to a halt just outside the bookstore and three Runorata gangsters commence with unleashing the greatest bullet-riddling scene I've ever seen. The adrenaline really comes through--Firo and Luck react in pain and confusion as they're viciously murdered, trying to protect themselves and escape from the bullets and figure out what is going on at the same time. (lol Firo gets two of his fingers shot off. Those fingers of his are determined to be released back into the wild. XD Also, Hat-sama gets damaged. D:)
We're suddenly transported to a snowy scene near some train tracks, where the police and investigators are looking over and collecting many dead bodies, which we learn were thrown offboard the Flying Pussyfoot, and over ten have been discovered already over a couple kilometers, with a potential of many more remaining undiscovered. It seems that this scene actually occurs on New Years Day, 1932, based on new information from episode 9 (Which means that, since all the action on the Flying Pussyfoot is tagged as 1931 occurances, all the action occurs during New Year's Eve). The inspector, Bill Sullivan, and his partner, Donald Brown, return to their car, telling the inquisitive policeman that the matter was top secret, so they couldn't tell him what happened, and it would be better for him not to know. Upon returning to their vehicle, the two have a very ambiguous conversation about several people. "It seems he [an undisclosed male immortal, who was listed as a passenger at the Chicago station] was aboard after all." Then they talk about determining "that person's" safety, who may or may not be the same male immortal. Preparing to leave for their next destination, they wonder if they would be able to keep such a huge incident hidden from the public eye, but before they can go, another policeman approaches with news that they'd found a couple of survivors who'd fallen from the train, surprising the investigators.
Back at the bookstore, Luck's hat is floating around, continually pelted by bullets until it falls down beside the terrified clerk huddled behind his desk. After hearing some strange noises once the shooting stopped followed by the sound of the car tires squealing off down the road, he pops his head over the counter to check on his customers and the extensive damage. To his complete surprise, Luck's arm reaches out from under the fallen books and he sits up without a scratch on his body, though his clothes are riddled with bullet holes. He asks the clerk if he's alright, but instead of answering the question, claims he was sure that he'd seen Luck getting shot, and Luck, seeing that the clerk was completely uninjured, just sends back a wry grin.
The next scene is a follow-up on the scene where Isaac's ear gets cut, and we see that a young woman is holding the spear that hurt him, saying, "There's no... problem, right?" Isaac continues to complain about the pain for a bit (which seems to annoy the woman XD), but suddenly realizes that it doesn't hurt anymore, lifting his hand, and Miria is amazed to say that the wound completely disappeared. The only reason I know that this scene happens in late 1931 or later is because Chane, Ennis, Nice, Jacuzzi & the rest of his gang, and a few people I don't recognize (Is that Inspector Sullivan in the trenchcoat? OMG, if it's actually Claire in disguise, I may giggle a bit. Who's the lady with the swords *though if its actually a man, I may die*? And *lol* if that's Dallas on the floor XD) are all together in the background, and I don't know where all the others met, but Ennis didn't look like she recognized Jacuzzi and Nice when she caught sight of them at the train station later in this episode (which happens during New Year's Day, 1932). Isaac is all: crazy magic FTW, and Miria goes: I wonder if pigeons will appear next?! :D (I LUV THOSE 2 SO MUCH).
CZESLAW RESURRECTION SCENE. Yay, I saw a clump of hair, bone fragments, and maybe a piece of an ear among all the blood and liquified brains. (lol dee_dragon did that squick you? :D :D :D ?) "What a useless guy," he says, probably in reference to Ladd, but he could also be talking about someone else that we don't know about yet.
Meanwhile, as to what occurred before Luck and the clerk began their little chat, while the bullets were still flying, Firo's blood was already starting to home in, and, waiting until the Runorata goons lowered their guns, burst out of the door, leapt on top of the car, and found out how far his shoe could go up "that idiot's" nose. :D The car speeds off, leaving their partner to his quickly approaching doom. Lately, all I can think about is how lucky Firo was that all the bullets missed his suspenders, though it would have been hilarious if he tripped over his own falling pants after running and jumping on the car XD. His momentum would have knocked down "that idiot" anyway XD. Also, its hard to judge, since his face was beaten to a pulp, but the blond guy in the car was probably the same henchman that the Gandors captured about an hour later.
Anyway, it's back to Luck and the clerk, still convinced that there was no way Luck could have survived, while Luck is more interested in dusting off his ruined clothes (and now we know why he was changing later on. XD). Luck suddenly notices the complete lack of Firo in the area and becomes concerned, calling out to him, and Firo answers by coming back in through the door with the captured, tied up Runorata, which doubly shocks the clerk. "At least allow me to do this much," Firo says. "Those bastards ruined my hat. D:" "lol, You can't stop me from helping, noooow! They savor the sweet taste of victory for a moment before Luck goes into business mode, telling the clerk that he and Firo would pay for the damages, and hopes that he would keep the incident quiet, to which the clerk replies, if he said anything, he'd just wind up in the looney bin. Luck smiles at that, but then looks at his prisoner, musing about how it would be impossible to just let the incident pass, now that it had progressed to assassination attempts. (And here's where Firo's insanely fast recovery time is once again questioned by myself--Firo was already in the process of tying up the goon when Luck was just starting to sit up among the carnage. Though, to be fair, Firo dropped from the onslaught first, so ended up taking less damage after falling out of the main bullet spray, giving him a head start on recovering.)
Now we get a really mysterious scene, where a shadowed man squats atop the Flying Pussyfoot as the sun rises, reading a message scratched on the top of the train, of which all that is visible to the viewer is: "...try to find you." The man assures the writer, "I'll find you. For sure." He stands up, runs to the edge of the train, and hops off, presumably to begin his search immediately.
We're then brought to a very realistic depiction of New York City's central station at 2:07pm, 1932, New Year's Day, where Maiza, Firo, Ennis, and the Gandors (kyaah, Berga spends this entire scene with his arms crossed while Keith sips at his coffee and reads the menu. XD) are waiting for the Flying Pussyfoot to arrive. For those of you concerned about Hat-sama, it seems to have been expertly cleaned and repaired. *cheers* Anyway, to fill the silence, Firo asks about the train, hearing that it was a little strange, and Luck replies that he'd seen it before, and it was highly decorated, but he didn't care for it, since it looked like an antique made by someone with extremely bad taste, which ends up making Firo even more curious, wanting to see it more and more. However, it falls upon Ennis to tell him that, unfortunately, she'd heard an announcement that there had been some technical problems on the train, so the passenger cars were switched to normal flat cars, causing Firo to loudly and dramatically announce his disbelief (you can see his arm go up in the air from far away. XD). What's more, Maiza adds, before entering the city, the front car would have to be switched to an electric car, so Firo wouldn't have been able to see it all, regardless. XD Firo has no other choice be to accept that, so instead, he asks Maiza about what his old friend was like. Maiza tells him that his friend was the type of person who likes to be alone, and tries to take on all the burdens by himself. Luck comments that people like that wouldn't live very long if they were completely ordinary. Berga snorts and says, if that's so, then Claire would be the complete opposite, since he was smart but unbelievably selfish. Firo is amused and in total agreement. Ennis is so cute in this scene, blinking in confusion while the rest of them casually insult their old buddy (daaaaawww...).
And back we go to the police, who're armed and gathered around Ladd and Lua sitting in the snow, and seem too scared to go any closer. Ladd, all bloody, is busy ranting at them about whether they're there just to stare or if they're eventually planning to arrest him, and just because he was injured didn't mean he was just going to sit there patiently and he was in a pretty bad mood to start with. When the policemen just gulp and stay where they are, Ladd turns his attention to Lua, who's crying, upset by Ladd's state, and tells her that if he knew it would turn out this way, he would have been sure to kill her on the train, and then he gets a little frisky, suggesting that maybe it would be a good idea to just do it then and there (lol). And Lua is still upset, unable to be consoled by Ladd's sweetness (lmao), which gets Ladd a little agitated, rubbing up against her and complaining, "You're saying you don't want to be killed by me?!" while waving around his bloody, boney stump of a left arm, freaking out the policemen even more and disturbing dee_dragon with all the squishy sound effects. I just want to say here that Ladd's flirting technique is freaking amazing.
Meanwhile, the modified Flying Pussyfoot has arrived at the station in New York City, and everyone is waiting for Claire, Isaac, Miria, and Maiza's old friend, though they're surprised to see that all the other passengers seem somehow... traumatized. Before they meet up with anyone, there's a brief clip of Pikmin Link a woman dressed in green getting off the train with one of her legs bandaged and sporting a bit of a limp (Her name is Rachel), and a little ways behind her is Nice supporting an injured, loudly complaining Jacuzzi, with Donny following behind them. We get an amusing scene of Firo, Ennis, Keith, and Berga staring at them in amazement as they pass by. (Priceless scene that will eventually become my desktop background once the episode is available in better video quality on a DVD rip.) Also, poor Nice just looks ready to crawl under a rock, having so many people staring at Jacuzzi being so pathetic. XD
The scene switches to a river where people are busily pulling luggage out of a river, which somehow fell off the Flying Pussyfoot. Suddenly, the workers spot a person clinging to a crate, and call out to them. Chane Laforet, who appears a little upset, looks up at them without uttering a sound.
Back at the train station, the group has been spotted by Isaac and Miria, who loudly call out to them and are reunited jovially despite how worn down the rest of the passengers were. Keith and Berga are all WTF when Isaac and Miria rush over to glomp Maiza and Ennis, immediately infecting them with their happiness. While Miria and Ennis are busy being adorable in the background, looking a little left out, Firo approaches Isaac and asks what happened, 'cause he looks like shit. Isaac immediately attacks Firo with his own special brand of enthusiasm and tells him he'll tell him one day if he lives long enough (and Firo is all: no problems there, so you better remember to tell me later!). Meanwhile, Maiza, who was watching that in amusement, is distracted by the sound of some luggage hitting the floor behind him and he finds Czeslaw (his "old friend", lmao) standing there, staring up at him distrustfully, bringing a small smile to Maiza's face.
End of episode. *drops to the floor in exhaustion* I swear to God, all the following synopsis' will have to be half as long as this one, or I'm not going to make it.
The only thing I'm going to say about the next episode preview is that Isaac and Miria are awesome, awesome choices as the announcers and Young Conductor is so hot and most likely doomed to become dee_dragon's favorite character if I'm able to convince her to continue watching despite all the gore, and if I remember correctly, there's not even a single drop of blood in episode 2. Just a fresh body floating in the sewer and Jacuzzi nearly choking to death, I swear. XD
IN OTHER NEWS, ENNIS IS TOTALLY MY FAVORITE CHARACTER NOW. YES, THAT'S RIGHT. EPISODE 6 WAS EPIC, BUT EPISODE 8 SEALED THE DEAL, MY FRIEND. :D :D :D MY INITIAL ICON CHOICE WAS SPOT ON.