This is it. We’ve finally come to the last episode.
1. Hints to Something More
So, here’s a frustrating thing about this last episode now that I have more knowledge of the novels. Apparently, Baccano!’s sales in Japan were abysmal, so it only got these sixteen episodes. Several scenes in this episode, however, hinted that the team was hoping to get a second season to continue the story. A conversation in the Daily Days brings up the shadowy Nebula Corporation that built the Flying Pussyfoot and has more impact further in the novels. We have Ladd Russo in custody learning that Huey Laforet will most likely be transferred to Alcatraz, setting up the “Alice in Jails” arc, and when Eve finally learns the location the Dallas, only for him to still be missing, setting up “The Slash” arc (alongside the brief scene of Adelle we had at the beginning of the series). To someone not versed in the novels, the scenes served as unresolved sequel hooks, but to me it was sadness for what we could’ve got.
2. Young Rail Tracer Seeks Dating Advice
Before following Jacuzzi’s gang to Chane, Claire ran an errand or two. The first was to meet up with Czes and Rachel again (scaring the ever-loving bejebus out of Czes) to look for some advice. Seeing Claire outside of “work” hours being an awkward love-struck dope full of hope from Chane’s note to him is kinda fun, and Rachel and him do have a good chemistry with one another, Rachel being the one that suggested sending a present, a white dress.
But those aren’t the only people that Claire visits. He still needs to find Chane, and who better than to ask than an information broker. Nicholas of the Daily Days was a smarmy, manipulative ass and seeing him get his comeuppance is incredibly satisfying. All things considered, he got off pretty light but it’s nice to see the fear put into him.
3. A Fight Cut Off
So, yeah, there isn’t a climactic fight between Claire and Graham. Graham may be weird but he knows when he can’t win. Besides, that infernal redhead is going to be killed by Boss Ladd. Thanks Graham! You… were a character! It was the frustrating thing about this epilogue story, he just ends up being a catalyst instead of a character.
But he’s not the important part here. What is important is the reunion between Chane and Claire. In a scene that will melt your heart, Claire realizes that he has been too forward with Chane, and that maybe they can start as friends and see where it goes. Her quiet, but powerful response just makes you want to see more.
4. A Last Check-In With Some Immortals
There has been one character from the Advenna Avis that has been unaccounted for until now: Sylvie. What happened to the young woman who saw her love be the first immortal devoured? Well, turns out she’s been in these last few episodes, a patron at the Alvearie. We didn’t recognize her because she didn’t drink the Elixir until a few years later. Which makes sense. If you were going to look like something for the rest of eternity, it’d be better to at least grow into someone mature first, right? Sylvie and Elmer met and it is nice to see that Sylvie has moved on from mourning Gretto and trying to find a little bit of happiness.
But that’s not the only immortal Elmer meets. He finally meets up with Ronnie and is glad to see the demon is keeping up with the promise he made. That Ronnie would look after Maiza for Elmer. Elmer is kind of the opposite of Graham for me. He had the most screen time during these epilogues next to Graham, but he feels more like a character. A simple one; he acknowledges that there is probably no meaning behind the world, so why not make it a happy world, right? But I always enjoyed watching him more than Graham.
5. Conclusion?
We end the series in how it began, with Carol and Gustav St. Germain. In a scene (warning, there’s some violence) that should be watched to be believed, they discuss the story even further. More specifically, on whether it, and stories in general, should have endings. It’s a question that I struggle with myself. Maybe it’s because being on this site, I’m exposed to lots of stories that perhaps should end (looking at you, Marvel and DC) but there is reasoning behind stories not having an end. Hell, there’s a good chunk of fanwork that tells of what happens after a story “ends” from the original creator. So who am I to judge?
Continued belowBaccano! is such a weird series. It is simultaneously built like an intricate clock while also being a splattering of various paints on a canvas to create a magnificently chaotic world. It’s characters ranger from the wonderfully eccentric to the completely insane, and yet also feel incredibly human. I hope that these last sixteen weeks have interested you enough to at least go and seek it out, because in the Canon of Great Anime, it feels like an underappreciated gem.
That brings the Baccano! portion of the 2017 Summer TV Binge. Who knows, if we’re all still here in a year, perhaps we’ll explore another part of Ryohgo Narita’s universe.
But that’s a story for another day.
