Oh, I forgot to mention: watch the English dub for sure. Even anime purists agree that the English dub is far better than the Japanese one. The entire show takes place in America, and the dub gets the accents and such down to a point.

the dudes fuckin name is

Jacuzzi

Splot

fuck you doin japan

Fake gang name

Please just take my recommendation and watch this fantastic show if you haven’t yet. But if that’s not enough, take a look at this video above. It excellently sums up what’s so great about this show, and I want to actually challenge Verbatim’s argument from his Evangelion review about themes in this post.



Baccano is a multi-faceted mystery/drama with plenty of comedic elements. It takes place in Prohibition-era America, in three timelines that ultimately connect to each other in plot relevance (1929, 1930, and 1931). It has a huge cast of interesting characters, some appearing in only one timeline, some appearing in two, and one set of characters, extremely important but essentially comic characters, who appear in all three. Despite how muddled this may sound, it never gets bogged down and you’re never at a lull where you’re asking “wait, who is this guy again”?

The characters make the show, in my opinion, but make no mistake - the plot of the show is one of the most well-crafted ones where you’re never confused, but always wanting more. The only time you might be scratching your head is at the end of the first episode, as, fair warning, it’s more of a “vignettes of things to come” situation that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense on first viewing except to the most eagle-eyed viewer. I always tell people that no, you can’t skip the first episode, as it expertly sets up the characters and the tone, but the first aspect of a concise, serialized story begins in the second episode.

The show is almost, almost like a “Pulp Fiction meets a mafia movie meets a supernatural horror story”, in a way. That’s just a simple comparison, though, and the show itself is unique and unlike anything you’ve probably seen.

This show makes me disagree with Verbatim’s idea that themes make a story. He said that without themes, without the tomato in the sandwich, a story is just bread. That may be the case with most stories, yes. That may be the case when a story is trying to illustrate a larger point or provide some larger reason for you to watch it - for Verbatim, he likes to walk away from a story with some takeaway he can apply to his life, to feel like his time wasn’t wasted.

I can understand that, but really, do you need a theme or lesson to have something to apply to your life? What about a “I relate to this character and the things they went through in this story remind me of things I’ve gone through in my own life”? What about “their arc and how they changed, and how they resolved the crisis they were in has given me new insight on how to combat my similar life situation”? I’m mainly speaking to Verbatim in this paragraph, because for most people, merely the promise of watching an incredible, high-quality show is its own reward. What I’m saying is that you don’t need a theme, or to be taught a lesson, to take something away from a show or film. The characters themselves can be what you take away.

Verbatim compared shows to a sandwich - the tomato being the themes/lessons, and the bread being the vehicle - the plot and characters - on which those lessons are served. Baccano, as I said, is unlike any show I’ve ever seen, and I think an exception can be made. Baccano is like an entree of tastiest potato chips you’ve ever tasted. Not some Lays bullshit - the genuine article, made by some renowned Southern cook and served to you in a fancy restaurant. Are they a sandwich, are they good for you? Not really.  They’re still deep fried and covered in salt and seasonings and all that. They have no health food content (i.e. themes, lessons, deeper meaning), but goddamn they are delicious. Goddamn you will reach for one after the other, and they’ll be gone as fast as you can consume them. And while they didn’t do anything for you on a health food level, goddamn you’ll remember that dining experience, eating those chips, for a long, LONG time.

Baccano takes its characters and narrative very seriously, and everything is very consistent. But it also doesn’t pander to you pretending to be something it’s not. It’s definitely not an Evangelion or something like The Shining. If I had to reach and guess the overall themes of the show, they would be “morality, togetherness, and family”. The show goes out of its way to reward the characters who try to do the right thing, make the morally neutral ones reconsider their lives, and punish the outright monsters. There’s a sense of camaraderie in each episode, working together to defeat this darkness that looms over everything. And in the end of the show, there’s yes, a sense of familial love that these non-related characters have developed toward each other.

You will love the characters, that’s for sure. You’re connected with them and want to see them triumph over their foes almost immediately. Even the “villains” are endearing and charming (except for literally two who are meant to be Hate Sinks). Anyway, this isn’t really a show that even has themes, and the three I listed above are almost more like plot fixtures than themes. It’s not a pretentious show, even if it might seem that way initially. Just give it a chance and you’ll enjoy it - I promise, on the honor of Winona. 

Caffeine in the form of coffee every day

DXM like twice a week (been cutting it back)

No weed ever, everyone here is straight edge and it sucks (oh but nicotine and alcohol is fine)

Juul got too expensive so now I’m in the unenviable situation of smoking cigarettes - once I get this job it will be better

Drink like nearly every day.

---

Well played, Carmen. At least you don’t live with your mom anymore, though. And having a place to call my own is pretty chill. Just rough times rn

Did you save Niko like a loser with emotions or make the cruel hard difficult but ultimately far more moral option of defying the World Machine and saving the world?

Niko might be the only non-NPC in the game (aside from you and, arguably, the Author) but that doesn’t matter. As Niko said, Silver and Prototype existed outside the World Machine’s code when they saved you in the mines - the place that even the World Machine couldn’t see. That proves that every tamed robot and human NPC character in the game is a true AI, capable of advancing their knowledge based on preexisting knowledge, and thus able to gain sentience and sapience. That makes them just as real as Niko.

And thus even though Niko is a human and the NPCs are code, they’re living code, and it’s morally reprehensible to make them suffer in a cold sunless world to save the life of a single human being.

Thoughts? Did you even play the game? Yeah, you. I know who’s reading this.

aw you guys really do care

I like how you get more mad the longer the review goes on. Also I actually want to watch Evanglion or however you spell it for the sake of watching it now, not just for approval points. It sounds good, and from the way you describe Asuka she’d probably be my favorite character.

I kind of want to watch that movie, though, (but don’t want to get too spoiled so I won’t - the review itself was pretty spoiler free because I’m not going to remember any of that insane bs with gay magic and pulling apart spears to stop lily from rising from her grave ) because of how insane it sounds. I feel like I’d laugh throughout the thing in a “The Room” kind of way, especially since its ridiculousness is intentional like in classic Scooby Doo.

Anyway why aren’t you getting paid for this? That tomato/sandwich metaphor for themes was a really inspired way to put it. Like you waste time posting these reviews here, why not bite the small amount it costs and register a domain name and make an actual website with Cheat’s server? She helped me make winonaryder.club which is probably down now but yeah I had that site to say I had a winona ryder fansite for a while.

Long post lol sorry

I don’t need to be an admin, not even a mod, but I feel like since this site just has a few cool people left you could reward us and give me yellow text

There I said it

cards on the table I like these two members way too much. the only difference is that I’m in love with Sol (unrequited ofc) while I just have this great enjoyment and respect for Verbatim

Verbatim is a miracle and I will not have you, of all people, disparage him

Too clever by half Desty

How am I half

And there it is.

Too clever by half Desty

Quote from: Desty on June 01, 2020, 04:30:25 PM

wait who the fuck are you

*returns to the shadows*

Please don't. Desty's posts are jokes, not funny ones either. At least you put a modicum of thought into yours.

Also, Sarah Dubois is a major league cutie. Maybe my new cartoon crush if her character is any good, I guess I'll have to see.

No.

your loss