The first episode ofBaccano! was a wild trip through all the plots and themes that we’d be watching for the next fifteen half-hours. Now the stories, the tale of the elixir of life in 1930, the treacherous trip of the locomotive Flying Pussyfoot in 1931, and the case of the missing hoodlum Dallas Genoard in 1932, can finally begin in earnest. Let’s go!
1. Superstitions
“We shouldn’t get on. This train is cursed, I can feel it.”
Superstitions and supernatural elements are threaded throughout Baccano! and it starts right here within the first few minutes. The setting: Chicago, 1931. The transcontinental express Flying Pussyfoot is departing for New York and this old woman has a feeling in her bones. A tragedy is about to happen to the passengers on this train and the only ones that will survive are those that are incredibly lucky or those who aren’t human. This idea of superstitions, bad feelings and especially urban legends is going to resurface again by the end of the episode. But as we’ve seen the epilogue to the Pussyfoot’s story in the first episode, the bloodbath is about to begin.
2. Isaac and Miria
There’s a lot of threads that connect all three of the stories, but outside of the concept of immortals, the biggest of these is the “robbers and thieves”, Isaac Dian and Miria Harvent. They are a pair of overenthusiastic and utterly chipper thieves and I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t be shocked if there were some out there who don’t like them. They could find their shenanigans a bit much, but I do not. They serve not only as the comedic relief in the series, but their absolute earnest and good nature, in spite of their bumbling and sometimes dimwitted schemes (they try to prevent people from entering a museum by stealing the doors and steal from the Chicago Russo Family dressed as baseball players and interpret a letter from Ennis as wanting a younger sibling), brings a good sense of heartwarming outside of all the madness. Extra special credit goes to the voice actors J. Michael Tatum and Caitlin Glass for keeping them light and fun but balancing it with true heart.
3. We All Met Aboard a Train
Stop me if you’ve heard this: Like four groups try to rob a train at the same time. On top of our duo of Isaac and Miria, we’re introduced to three other groups that we’re going to become very familiar with over the show. The first is a group of young misfits led by Jacuzzi Splot (which is simultaneously the best and worst name in this show) and Nice Holystone. The second are the men in white, the associates of Ladd Russo, out to create a whole bunch of mayhem (but more on Ladd in later episodes). The final group is a seeming orchestra, all dressed in black. These are the Lemures, a group of cultists/terrorists that are out to kidnap the family of a Senator in order to secure the release of their leader. One of that group includes a mysterious, quiet young woman named Chane.
4. Beginnings of Relationships
We don’t see much overlap between the groups right away with the exception of Isaac and Miria and Jacuzzi’s gang when they all have dinner together. Jacuzzi is portrayed as a bit of a crybaby with no self-esteem, so I related instantly. We are also introduced to another player, a young, quiet boy named Czeslaw Meyer who has a lot more going on in his head than anyone expected. The scene between all of them is a fun one, with Isaac and Miria being the life of the little party. Including when they begin to tell the tale. What tale? Why it’s none other than the tale of…
5. The Rail Tracer
Simultaneously told by Isaac and a young conductor at the head of the Pussyfoot, the Rail Tracer is a creature that haunts the railways, abducting people that tell the story. One by one, from caboose to engine, the people are taken until the end, when the empty train still rolling down the tracks, the train itself vanishes! But there is one way to be spared? How did it go? Oh, only the young conductor knows that.
But it’s too late. The Lemures begin their attack, and our final shot is of the young conductor has a pistol pointed at his face, his colleague is one of the terrorists. And with a single shot into the night, the horror begins…
