It's Incredible!
Just finished watching "Baccano!" a show that I heard of under the context of, "If you like 'Fullmetal Alchemist', you should watch 'Baccano!'" and I really enjoyed it. I shall tell you why in list format since I'm lazy and I have less to analyze when I really like something (and this show would be really hard to explain if you haven't seen it):
* It takes place in 1930s America. This introduces a few subsections of awesome:
* The fabulous clothes (dresses with gloves and vests and fedoras!).
* The awesome music.
* The use of hard-boiled slang ("kissing pavement" might be one of my favs).
* The fact that it's full of mobsters, thieves, illegal brewers, and the Italian mafia.
* Issac and Miria are probably the funnest characters from any show I've ever seen. They are Bonnie and Clyde if Bonnie and Clyde were huge ditzes who make friends with everyone they meet. And I usually don't have any feelings regarding the comic relief characters of a show.
* There are no fewer than three plots going on at once and out of chronological order (think "Memento"-y). There's the 1930 story (generally about the Elixir of Life disguised as booze and gangsters), the 1931 story (generally about the most insane train ride ever and gangsters), and the 1932 story (generally about a girl's missing brother and gangsters). Also a bit of the 1711 story that started everything else.
* There's an ass-load of characters who are all connected in the Bokononist sense. Also, considering the fact that there are only 16 episodes, they are all pretty well developed and likable in the sense that all well-developed characters are notable.
* No Loves Intersect. I happen to often dislike love triangles or an emphasis on relationships over action and this show made me happy in that sense. There were a lot of characters in relationships or getting into relationships but no competition.
* There's a back story involving a boat of alchemists, calling upon a demon, and obtaining the Elixir of Life. There's also a homunculus.
* People get their heads blown off with startling regularity (and often get better). I heard the show called "Pulp Fiction with Alchemy" although it's pretty light on the alchemy and more about the guns.
* The Martillo crime family looks like a fun family to join. With or without the immortality booze.
* This show has one of the best opening credits sequences since "Cowboy Bebop":
Click to viewI am helpless to watch it every time.
So, in conclusion, "Baccano!" = darn good show.