Wait, what? “Ken,” you ask, “I thought you said the last episode was the climax of the series!” Well, you’re right, but Baccano! doesn’t end with the “main” story. We still have a three-part “epilogue”, all of it taking place after the Flying Pussyfoot arrives in New York. So, let’s get to it!
1. Dominos Are Serious Business
With all the death and chaos and crazies that we have dealt with these last thirteen episodes, there is something nice about being able to see some characters just having fun. Isaac and Miria get a load of the Martillo’s to play a giant game of Dominos, and take it to a comically serious level. And seeing characters like Maiza, Ennis and Ronnie get in on the fun is such a weird turn after last episode really does help set more of a lighter tone for this mini-story.
2. Graham Specter
We’re also introduced to the titular Graham Specter here, who could be considered the “villain” of this mini-arc I suppose? He’s an underling of Ladd Russo who is out to avenge his Boss’s “good” name after the Flying Pussyfoot left in jail and missing an arm. Graham is… special. I mean, he’s a bit of a madman, with a fetish for taking things apart and putting them back together and talks a mile a minute, almost to the point where I’m agreeing with Ladd in a flashback scene: “Shut up, ya friggin nut job!” Don’t get me wrong, voice actor Chris Patton does a great job, but even in these introductions scenes and learning about his plan, Graham can be a bit… much.
3. Look Who’s Come Back
Isaac, Miria, and Czeslaw weren’t the only ones who arrived in New York City on that day. After being missing for so many episodes and many years, we see Elmer C. Albatross again, after the tragic night aboard the Advenna Avis, and he’s still chipper as ever, trying to get people to smile. I have to say, Elmer is one of the more interesting characters, particularly when you learn about his background. To put it simply: Elmer has very few reasons to be happy, and yet he keeps going on. It’s admirable. Especially with who he does come face to face with…his old friend…
4. Huey Laforet: The Lost Horrible Anime Dad
Anyone who’s watched anime knows some of the more classic Horrible Fathers. Gendo Ikari. Shou Tucker. Grisha Jeager in the more modern times. It surprises me how much that Huey Laforet keeps squeaking by. In his conversation with Elmer, we are… treated… to a flashback of Huey and Chane when she was a child. Huey’s talking about how much he is trusting Chane with the knowledge he gives her about his immortality. In return, Huey will give her anything she wants… and she volunteers to have her voice taken from her. It’s a genuinely creepy scene of Huey very obviously manipulating her and when we talk about Bad Anime Dads, we got to talk about this because this kind of manipulation feels a lot more… real.
5. My Thoughts on This Mini-Story
As we take a look at the next two episodes, my thoughts on this continuation are a bit mixed. There’s nothing in these episodes that is bad, and in fact, there’s a scene or two in the final episode that kind of justifies it, but this does feel like a downturn after the last episode. That the show could have easily ended there, but decided to just continue onward. It kind of makes me want to know a bit more about the behind the scenes of the anime production. The very first episode had some hints that the production wanted to adapt beyond what they did, but the sales in Japan didn’t justify a second season and we had this mini-arc to try and tie it all up and went overboard instead. Like I said, not bad, but their *pop* isn’t there as much.
