Baccano!

Baccano! (バッカーノ！) is a Japanese light novel series written by Ryohgo Narita and illustrated by Katsumi Enami. The series, often told from multiple points of view, is mostly set within a fictional United States during various time periods, most notably the Prohibition-era. It focuses on various people, including alchemists, thieves, thugs, Mafiosi and Camorristi, who are unconnected to one another. After an immortality elixir is recreated in 1930 Manhattan, the characters begin to cross paths, setting off events that spiral further and further out of control. The first novel, The Rolling Bootlegs, was originally entered into ASCII Media Works' ninth Dengeki Novel Prize in 2002, placing third to win the Gold Prize. The novel was released in February 2003 under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko imprint, and as of April 20, 2010, fifteen novels have been released.

The novels were adapted into a sixteen episode anime series directed by Takahiro Omori and produced by Brain's Base and Aniplex. The first thirteen episodes were aired on WOWOW from July 26, 2007 to November 1, 2007; the final three were released direct-to-DVD. Eight DVD compilations were released from October 24, 2007 to May 28, 2008. An English language release was licensed by Funimation Entertainment on July 21, 2008, and four DVD compilations were released from January 27, 2009 to June 16, 2009, and a complete collection boxset was released December 27, 2009. The series was also adapted into a two-volume manga, published in MediaWorks' Dengeki Comic Gao! magazine from December 27, 2006 to February 27, 2008. An additional novel was released with the first drama CD and two gaiden novels were released in parts with DVDs of the anime adaption. An adventure game for the Nintendo DS and two drama CDs were also created for the series.

Plot
Aboard the ship Advenna Avis in 1711, a group of alchemists summon a demon in the hopes of gaining eternal life. The demon gives them an elixir of immortality and the method of ending their existence, by "devouring" one another, and grants the summoner Maiza Avaro the formula of the elixir. Maiza and most of the alchemists decide that no one else must become immortal; only Szilard Quates opposes. The next night, the alchemists begin to disappear, devoured by Szilard. Realizing the threat posed by staying together, they scatter across the globe.

In New York City during November 1930, Szilard succeeds in recreating the elixir, only to have it stolen by young thug Dallas Genoard. The elixir continually moves around the city because of Dallas, the three mafiosi Gandor brothers, the two eccentric thieves Isaac Dian and Miria Harvent and Firo Prochainezo and his Camorra family, the Martillo, all of whom do not realize what it is. Szilard makes Dallas an incomplete immortal (meaning he still ages) to retrieve the elixir. However, the Gandor and Firo Prochainezo and his Camorra family, the Martillo, and Isaac and Miria accidentally consume the elixir. Firo falls in love with Szilard's homunculus Ennis. After she betrays Szilard by telling Firo how to devour Szilard, Firo uses the knowledge he absorbed from Szilard to save her from death. The Gandor cement Dallas to a barrel at the bottom of the Hudson River to punish him for killing Gandor members.

In late 1931, the Gandor fight the Runorata family for control of the same area. In an attempt to resolve the situation, Luck Gandor asks his adoptive brother Claire Stanfield, the legendary assassin, to travel to New York. Claire agrees to and boards the transcontinental train the Flying Pussyfoot, on which he works as a conductor. The train is hijacked by the Russo and Lemure gangs, and a battle ensues between the two gangs. Meanwhile, Jacuzzi Splot, Nice Holystone and their gang attempt to protect the passengers and fight the hijackers, while Claire assumes the identity of the Rail Tracer, a monster that eats train passengers, and slaughters much of the Russo and the Lemure. The last remaining members of the Lemure are eventually defeated by Jacuzzi's gang. The train arrives in early 1932. Meanwhile, Eve Genoard searches for Dallas, putting her at odds with Luck, who is still angry over the deaths Dallas caused, and she is caught up in the turf war. Luck secretly tells Eve where Dallas is, and with Claire's help, the turf war ends.

In 1933, Dallas is finally pulled out of the river, but shortly after, he is abducted by the Lamia, a group working for Huey Laforet. Meanwhile, Jacuzzi's operations begin to encroach on Gandor and Martillo turf. Representatives from both groups converge on Eve's home, where his gang is staying. At the same time, the Lamia arrive to enlist Jacuzzi's help; they have kidnapped Dallas to prove that immortality is possible, and convince Jacuzzi to join them. Elsewhere in New York, Mist Wall, the largest branch office of the military equipment researcher and developer Nebula, is bombed as according to Huey's plans.

The next year on Alcatraz Island, Ladd Russo, imprisoned for the slaughter aboard the Flying Pussyfoot, Firo, incarcerated for hiding a witness of the Mist Wall bombing, and Isaac, found guilty of various thefts, become friendly with one another and meet Huey, who was charged with treason and conspiracy years ago. Meanwhile, Christopher Shouldered, Huey's homunculus, and Graham Specter, Ladd Russo's loyal follower, cause trouble in Chicago. After, Jacuzzi and his gang return to Chicago while Ladd attempts to kill Huey.

Main characters (in credits order)

 * Isaac Dian (アイザック・ディアン)


 * Isaac is an eccentric thief who owes his success to the insanity of his crimes (i.e. stealing non-valuable items such as chocolate, or breaking into a watch shop to "steal time") and the garish costumes he habitually wears, leading witnesses to assume that he is a performer of sorts rather than a thief. He is in love with his partner-in-crime, Miria. He becomes immortal in 1930, after drinking the immortality liquor. He is caught without Miria in 1934 and sent to Alcatraz. He is released later that year.


 * Miria Harvent (ミリア・ハーヴェント)


 * Another eccentric thief, she is the partner and lover of Isaac Dian. Miria wholeheartedly believes and supports everything Isaac says, often even going so far as to mimic his body language. She also unintentionally becomes an immortal in 1930. Together they appear extremely stupid, whimsical and oblivious, but they have great affection for the people they meet—whom they always make a big impression on—and always believe the best of them.


 * Firo Prochainezo (フィーロ・プロシェンツォ)


 * Firo is a Camorra member who is an exceptionally skilled fighter. He falls in love with Ennis, later "eating" Szilard to save her from death. He is a good friend of the Gandors and Claire. Like a number of cast members, he becomes immortal in 1930, by drinking the liquor of immortality brewed by Barnes when the elixir is mistaken for a celebratory bottle of alcohol. In 1934 he is imprisoned in Alcatraz for hiding Ennis, who is witness of the Mist Wall bombing incident, from the FBI.


 * Maiza Avaro (マイザー・アヴァーロ)


 * A Camorra member and one of the original immortals. He was the alchemist who summoned the demon aboard the Advenna Avis, and in turn the only one given knowledge of the immortality elixir's recipe. His younger brother, Gretto, was one of the first to be "eaten" for knowledge of the elixir's recipe. Despite being a Camorra member, he does not advocate violence, and is rather tenderhearted. Maiza perennially wears a kind expression. After Czeslaw returns on the Flying Pussyfoot, he travels the world in search of immortals, in order to bring them together again, as Szilard Quates is no longer a threat to them.


 * Keith Gandor (キース・ガンドール)
 * Keith is a mafia boss who perpetually scowls and remains silent throughout the series. He and his brothers all become immortal in 1930. He has a wife named Kate, who is a pianist for silent movies.


 * Berga Gandor (ベルガ・ガンドール)


 * Berga is a very large and violent Mafia boss who enjoys softening up other thugs for Mr. Tick.


 * Luck Gandor (ラック・ガンドール)


 * Luck Gandor and his two brothers lead the Gandor Family; he is almost always seen with a quaint smile. He is a good friend of Firo's, thus his family has a close relationship with the Martillo's. Luck is professional, but in accordance with his profession, is merciless against those who do his "family" harm.


 * Szilard Quates (セラード・クェーツ)


 * An immortal alchemist who is seeking the recipe of the immortality elixir. The first among the alchemists on the Advenna Avis to gain immortality, he went on a killing spree soon after, "eating" many fellow alchemists, including Maiza's brother, thereby obtaining part of the elixir's recipe. Using this incomplete formula, Szilard developed a potion that created "quasi-immortals" capable of healing from any wound, but still susceptible to aging and being "eaten" by full Immortals. He created Ennis as a homunculus. Despite having the body of an old man, Szilard is exceptionally fast and strong, capable of defeating most opponents in physical combat. By the 1930s, Szilard has tracked down and "eaten"' eighteen of the original Advenna Avis immortals.


 * Ennis (エニス)


 * Ennis is Szilard's homunculus, although not his first creation. She was created as his subordinate, and is supposed to have no thoughts or emotion when executing his commands; recently, however, she has been gaining more human emotions, as well as independent thought. Eventually, she helps Firo by giving him the necessary knowledge to destroy Szilard. After seventy years of developing her newfound emotions, she marries Firo Prochainezo in 2002.


 * Claire Stanfield (クレア・スタンフィールド)


 * Claire was raised with the Gandor brothers, and as such, is a part of the family. Claire is now an assassin named Vino—Italian for "wine"—earning the name because of his predilection for mutilating the bodies of his victims beyond recognition, which usually leaves him covered in a thick layer of blood. A former trapeze artist, he now works undercover as a conductor on the Flying Pussyfoot, and later happily takes on the persona of the vengeful "Rail Tracer" monster. Claire is a thorough-going solipsist who believes that the world is a show put on for him, and that he has complete control over it. He proposes to Chane at their first meeting, and searches for her in Manhattan in 1932. He finds her after clearing his contract with the Gandor family, assassinating members of the Runorata family for them. Because Claire Stanfield is legally deceased, he purchases a new name, Felix Walken, from a retired assassin, nicknamed "The Freelancer". He has an upbeat, overconfident and eccentric personality as well being unstoppable in physical combat.


 * Lua Klein (ルーア・クライン)


 * Ladd's lover and fiancée. She is fair-haired and beautiful, despite sporting a somewhat vacant (albeit serene) expression. She is completely devoted to Ladd and is likely a masochist, as she seems to take pleasure in his promise that he will be the one to kill her. She and Ladd are the only whitesuits to survive the Flying Pussyfoot incident.


 * Ladd Russo (ラッド・ルッソ)


 * Ladd is a sadistic hitman for the Russo family. His love for acts of violence shows in the maniacal glee he exhibits while fighting or killing. He is exceptionally skilled in hand-to-hand combat—particularly boxing—and the use of firearms. Ladd is deeply in love with his fiancée, Lua, although he expresses it through a promise to kill her someday. Despite pleading not guilty on grounds of self defense (the only non-criminal on the train was killed by Dune, one of his accomplices), Ladd is thrown into Alcatraz prison for murder of many of the deceased on board the Flying Pussyfoot.


 * Chane Laforet (シャーネ・ラフォレット)


 * Mute daughter of Huey Laforet and an excellent knife fighter. She joins her father's followers in holding the passengers of the Flying Pussyfoot hostage, despite claiming to disapprove of such acts. She can communicate telepathically with Huey, though it is unknown whether the ability is hers, his, or mutual. Chane is devoted to her father, believing him to be the only person to ever love her. She later tells Claire to find her in Manhattan, saying she would always be waiting. It is revealed that, when offered anything for keeping Huey's secrets, she asked him to take her voice so that she would never betray him, something Huey finds highly interesting. After the kindness of Jacuzzi and his gang, and Claire's continued professions of love, her world begins to open up past the one that just included herself and Huey and it can be assumed that she agrees to Claire's proposal.


 * Nice Holystone (ニース・ホーリーストーン)


 * Explosives expert with a mellow disposition, Nice makes top-notch explosives, but lost her right eye and has extensive scarring on her body from an accident with her homemade explosives when she was a child. She and Jacuzzi are a couple, yet this isn't shown until Jacuzzi kisses her for the first time on board the Flying Pussyfoot.


 * Jacuzzi Splot (ジャグジー・スプロット)


 * A crybaby who is nonetheless capable of exceptional courage and leadership ability when the situation calls for it. At first, Jacuzzi seems almost cripplingly shy, even with a tendency to stutter in front of strangers. However, when his loved ones are in danger, he will summon the strength to face his problems directly, even though he'll continue to cry. After a member of his gang was killed, Jacuzzi robbed a record number of neighborhood stores, clutching a machine gun as tears streamed down his face. On board the Flying Pussyfoot, he says that he cries so he doesn't have to when he needs to put on a brave face. He actually tells Nice not to cry if he dies in his fight with the Rail Tracer, which he was ready to fend off with his life, if only to save the train's passengers. Jacuzzi went out and received his "sword tattoo" on his face when Nice was injured in an explosives accident, so that they would both be similarly marked.


 * Eve Genoard (イブ・ジェノアード)


 * Eve is the little sister of Dallas Genoard. Despite her quiet personality and aristocratic upbringing, Eve has very little fear of the New York streets, going directly against the mafia as she searches for her brother. Eve truly believes that Dallas has a kind heart. She also allows Isaac and Miria to steal the family fortune when others are fighting over it.


 * Dallas Genoard (ダラス・ジェノアード)


 * Dallas is a small-time thug and brother of Eve Genoard, whom he treasures above all. When one of his guys mentions Eve, Dallas brutally threatens him to leave his little sister out of it. After Isaac and Miria steal his family's fortune, Dallas goes on a string of robberies with his friends, getting mixed up with Szilard's plans. He and his group are later captured by Szilard, and made into quasi-immortals (they can't be killed, but they do age). Dallas goes looking for revenge with his newfound powers, but eventually gets captured by the Gandors, cemented in a steel barrel, and dropped to the bottom of the Hudson river. Eve later agrees to allow him to be dredged up and experimented on, believing it preferable to his spending the rest of his life drowning and reviving. When the Runorata family retrieve the trio of barrels from the river, Dallas and his friends are not in them, as the Lemures have beaten them to it. The Lemures then use Dallas' immortality to try and convince Jacuzzi Splot's gang to join them, and free Huey Laforet. Meanwhile, Senator Manfred Beriam attempts to capture him in order to discover the path to immortality.


 * Czeslaw Meyer (チェスワフ・メイエル)


 * Czeslaw is a young boy who gained immortality aboard the Advenna Avis. It is revealed that his father figure and guardian, also one of the original immortals, had "experimented" on the boy with extensive torture, claiming he was testing the limits of the immortality, but in actuality enjoyed Czes' pain. Czes manages to "eat" his caretaker, ending the suffering and abuse. Coming to believe there was no love nor care, only deception, he became paranoid and trusted no one, especially other immortals and planned to go to New York to "devour" Maiza before Maiza devoured him. Later, Isaac and Miria (and later Maiza) show Czes that people could actually care. He now lives with Ennis, since both have no family.

Secondary characters

 * Rachel (レイチェル)


 * A woman working for Daily Days information center. She sneaks on board the Flying Pussyfoot to collect information. She survives the train incident and reveals some important aspects of the incident on the train. She is later approached by Czeslaw, who offers to tell her everything about immortality.


 * Nicholas Wayne


 * A man working at the Daily Days information center whose intentions sometimes get the better of him. Working at the front desk of the Daily Days office, Nicholas supplies information to anyone who is willing to pay the price, regardless of who that person may be and who else may already know that information.


 * Tick Jefferson (チック)


 * A young man always seen smiling with a pair of scissors. He was sold to Luck Gandor by his stepfather as a means of payment for an overdue loan. Helps out in the Gandor family by 'taking care' of their enemies. He has a younger brother named Tock.


 * Huey Laforet (ヒューイ・ラフォレット)


 * The father of Chane Laforet and one of the first to gain immortality on the Advenna Avis, he is currently imprisoned by a government organization in Newfoundland. He has an avid following who go to great lengths to free him, including taking an entire train hostage in exchange for their leader's freedom. Huey does not agree with their methods and is aware that some of his followers only wish for the secret of his immortality.


 * Elmer C. Albatross (エルマー・C・アルバトロス)


 * One of the original members of the Advenna Avis. He is unnaturally optimistic about everything. During his time on the ship, he falls overboard and, while sinking to the bottom of the ocean, is granted a single wish from the demon. It is later revealed that his wish was for the demon to remain by Maiza's side as a human until Maiza can laugh out-loud and jokingly comments it may help the demon to be able to laugh too.


 * Sylvie Lumiere (シルヴィ)


 * One of the original members of the Advenna Avis. She is the only one who does not drink the immortality elixir immediately and instead saves her portion in a bottle. She was the lover of Maiza's brother, Gretto. In the 1930's, she has become a lounge singer.


 * Demon/Ronnie Sukiart (ロニー・スキアート)


 * Summoned aboard the Advenna Avis by Maiza. He bestows the entire crew of alchemists with the elixir of immortality and explains the rules of their immortality. He explains how to make more of the elixir, but only tells the secret to Maiza. He is currently disguised as a human and working as a member of the Martillo Family. When he is summoned he appears as faint shadow of a man, accompanied by a booming voice.


 * Graham Specter (グラハム・スペクター)


 * A young man who was not directly involved with any of the main events in the anime. He harbours deep admiration for Ladd, whom he refers to as an "older brother", and can be compared to him insofar as his psychotic, murderous attitude. Graham is obsessed with breaking things, a complex that generally manifests in dismantling cars, but sometimes results in his wanting to "break" other humans as well. He dresses in a blue mechanic's outfit and carries an oversized monkey wrench. Graham also has a peculiar tendency to speak frantically, repetitively, and often philosophizes violently and contradictorily—he will lament about his current state of affairs in the most negative way possible, before changing his mood and suddenly view the same issue in the most positive way possible.


 * Ricard Russo (リカルド・ルッソ)
 * A young relative of the Russo crime family. Is under protection by Christopher Shouldered in 1934, and later is accompanied by Graham Specter as well.


 * Christopher Shouldered (クリスタファー・シャルドレード)
 * A homunculus created by Huey Laforet. Has constantly bloodshot eyes, and razor-sharp teeth. After losing a battle with Vino in 1933, he is rescued by Ricard Russo, and becomes his bodyguard. It is believed he has dolphin DNA.


 * Placido Russo (パラシド・ルッソ)


 * The boss of the Russo crime family. The uncle of Ladd Russo, and Ricard Russo's grandfather.

Production


Ryohgo Narita wanted to write a story set during the Prohibition and chose a light novel as the medium because not many of them had that setting. He believed that this choice would better attract the interest of the ASCII Media Works judges. After Narita saw The Untouchables, he spent about ten days working with inspirations and created Baccano! "out of [his] useless calculations." While writing the first novel The Rolling Bootlegs, he consulted many books while writing and mixed fictional elements with historical situations to create a unique plot flow. The story he originally planned was about an ancient magician who was revived during the Prohibition and began to terrorize New York City. A group of mafiosi then violently oppose the magician. However, the story became very different from the original concept. Narita never wrote a detailed outline for the novel and is relieved by that fact because it allowed the characters to "move on their own." The original stages of the series included more supernatural elements. Maiza Avaro was a hypnotist; Ennis was a succubus; Szilard was a magician. In addition, every member of the Camorra, except for Firo, did not survive. Despite the great differences between the characters' initial concepts and the result, Narita is "glad" that these ideas were not used in the finished novel.

Narita did not begin work on a second novel during the six months after the publication of The Rolling Bootlegs because his chief editor asked him to write nothing until after he graduated from university. After his graduation, he was offered to publish his next book in August, and he submitted his manuscripts in late April, a bit behind original deadlines. He had written over 400 pages, making the price over ¥700, which is a high price for a novel written by a newcomer. This worried Narita because it was unlikely anyone would buy the novel. As a result, he and his chief editor decided that the novel would be released in two parts. However, Narita was still anxious about publishing such a long novel. To motivate himself to write more, he would often refer back to the dialogue he had written for Ladd Russo. As with the first novel, the plot changed because of the characters' "movements", most notably Claire Stanfield. Narita noted that all of the Lemure and Russo, with the exception of a character named Neider, were originally planned to die, but Claire's presence in the novel left that concept "in ruins". In addition, Chane Laforet, who was not well liked by the author, was also supposed to die, but as time passed, Narita became attached to her and changed her fate.

While creating the anime series, art director Ito Satoshi and other staff members scouted the Manhattan to accurately portray the area. They visited the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, Chinatown, Little Italy, Grand Central Terminal and various locations in Brooklyn and along the East River, and many of these areas provide the backdrop for the events in Baccano!. The staff also visited the Steamtown National Historic Site to create accurate steam locomotives.

Tyler Walker, the ADR director of the English dub of the series, held auditions for six days, during which about 140 people came for the eighteen main roles. Walker states that this is probably the longest casting process Funimation has held. He comments that because there are a lot of characters and most of them are older men, a character type he does not work with often, choosing voice actors and familiarizing them with their characters was difficult. He asked many directors and actors for recommendations and mainly aimed to cast newcomers, as he felt Baccano! provided him a chance to discover newer talent. Walker wished to find actors who could provide the dialect and accents of the various time periods and locations, especially when casting for the characters with heavy European accents.

To prepare to write the script, Walker watched various movies featuring gangsters. He attempted to take what he could from the The Untouchables, especially Robert DeNiro's portrayal of Al Capone. Walker watched movies created and set in the 1930s, such as The Public Enemy, Little Caesar, Once Upon a Time in America,  Miller's Crossing and various movies starring James Cagney, because he believed they would give him a truer feel on how people of the era sounded and talked. He wanted to capture the lingo and rhythm. Because Baccano! is a "stylized gangster flick" and because of the nature of anime, he made the dialogue more flowery and lingo-ridden than it would have been in reality.

Light novels
The Baccano! light novels are written by Ryohgo Narita and illustrated by Katsumi Enami. Originally, Narita entered the first novel into ASCII Media Works' ninth Dengeki Novel Prize in 2002 and the novel won the Gold Prize, placing third. The first novel was released in February 2003 under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko imprint, and as of April 10, 2010, fifteen novels have been released. In addition, one novel accompanied the first drama CD, released on March 31, 2006, and two gaiden novels were released in parts with DVDs of the anime adaption, released from October 24, 2007 to May 28, 2008.

Daewon C.I. licensed the Korean-language release of the series in South Korea and releases the novels under their Newtype Novels imprint. A Chinese-language release in Taiwan and Hong Kong is published by the Taiwan branch of Kadokawa Media under their Fantastic Novels imprint.

Drama CDs
The series has been adapted into two drama CDs. The first, titled 1931 Local Chapter ・ Express Chapter (鈍行編・特急編) The Grand Punk Railroad, was released March 31, 2006 by MediaWorks. Named after the second and third light novels, the CD retells the events occurring aboard the Flying Pussyfoot train.

The second CD, Firo Prochainezo witnesses the 53rd death of Pietro Gonzalez (フィーロ・プロシェンツォ、ピエトロ・ゴンザレスの五十三回目の死を目撃す), was released by Movic on October 24, 2007. It follows Firo and Luck as they chase two men to a small village in Mexico and attempt to retrieve money stolen from the Martillo and Gandor families.

Anime
A 16-episode anime series directed by Takahiro Omori and produced by Brain's Base and Aniplex was adapted from the light novels. The episodes describe the events spanning from 1930 to 1932 in a non-linear fashion, including the recreation of the immortality elixir, the hijacking of the Flying Pussyfoot, Eve's hunt for her brother and the gang war between the Gandor and the Runorata. The first thirteen episodes aired in Japan from July 26, 2007 to November 1, 2007 on WOWOW, a Japanese pay-per-view station, and the final three were released direct-to-DVD.

Eight DVD compilations were released by Aniplex, each containing two episodes, with the first released on October 24, 2007 and the eighth on May 28, 2008. On July 21, 2008, Funimation Entertainment announced that it has licensed Baccano! for a North American release. Four DVD compilations were released, with the first on January 27, 2009 and the fourth on June 16, 2009. A complete collection boxset was released December 27, 2009. The entire English-dubbed series was streamed through Hulu during October 2009, and Funimation streamed English-subtitled and English-dubbed episodes through their website. In Australia and New Zealand, the series is licensed by Madman Entertainment, who released the series over four DVDs between June 24, 2009 and October 21, 2009. A boxset was released on March 17, 2010. Baccano! is licensed in the United Kingdom by Manga Entertainment. The series is aired in the Philippines, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia on Animax Asia.

Soundtrack
The series' original soundtrack was released as Spiral Melodies on October 24, 2007 by Aniplex. Two singles, "Gun's & Roses" by Paradise Lunch and "Calling" by Kaori Oda, were released on August 22, 2007. "Gun's and Roses" contained the opening theme, a vocal version of the opening, two songs and karaoke versions of the three tracks. The "Calling" single included the ending theme, another track and the karaoke versions of the two.

Manga
A manga adaption titled ''Baccano! 1931 The Grand Punk Railroad'' was written by Narita and illustrated by Ginyū Shijin. It was published in MediaWorks' Dengeki Comic Gao! magazine from December 27, 2006 to February 27, 2008 and was collected in two volumes released July 27, 2007 and April 26, 2008. The chapters center around the hijacking of the Flying Pussyfoot train. The Chinese-language release is published by the Taiwan branch of Kadokawa Media.

Video game
On February 28, 2008, MediaWorks released an adventure game, simply titled Baccano!, for the Nintendo DS. Based on the two Grand Punk Railroad light novels, the game recounts the events aboard the Flying Pussyfoot train from multiple perspectives. The player's goal is to help the passengers arrive safely in New York City by selecting the correct choices. The game can conclude with one of about fifty scenarios, depending on the player's decisions.

Artbook
On February 20, 2009, ASCII MediaWorks released an art book titled Baccano! Katsumi Enami Artbook (エナミカツミ画集バッカーノ！). The book not only featured illustrations drawn by Enami, but also included a story titled Boy Czeslaw, Fellows of the Forest (of Buildings) (チェスワフぼうやと、（ビルの）森の仲間達).

Reception
The anime adaptation of Baccano has received universal critical acclaim. Theron Martin of Anime News Network gave the anime an overall 'A-' rating, with a full 'A' rating for the story, describing it as, "Sometimes humorous, occasionally brutal, and nearly always fun, the complex plotting and voluminous casting, combined with strong dubbing, animation, and musical score, make this a must-see series for fans of American mobster stories," and concluding that "this could be one of the year's best series." Davey C. Jones of Active Anime praised the anime, stating that, "Like Pulp Fiction changed the way we saw movies, Baccano will be the story that will change the way we see anime," concluding that "this all over the map anime is one unique and crazy ride from start to its never ending finale" and that "Baccano offers something truly unique in anime."

Daryl Surat and Mike Toole of Anime World Order Podcast consider Baccano! to be their "pick for best series of 2007 (or 2009 depending on how you want to count it)." Bryce Coulter of Mania.com gave the complete series a 'B' rating, stating that it is "a drastic and welcome departure from your typical anime formula and that’s what makes it so intriguing," and concluding that it has a "little bit of comedy, drama, action, and romance all swirled up into one giant ruckus of fun!"