Baccano! 1931 The Grand Punk Railroad volume 1

'Baccano! 1931 The Grand Punk Railroad Vol. 1' is the first volume of the 2006 Baccano! manga adaptation, written by Ryohgo Narita and illustrated by Ginyū Shijin. It collects the first six chapters (referred to as prologues I-V and chapter 1) and was published on August 15, 2007 by MediaWorks. It has 187 pages.

It follows the various factions through their reasoning behind boarding the Flying Pussyfoot and depicts their boarding and the train's departure.

Synopsis
In the midst of the Great Depression, there are some who have faith that the railroads crisscrossing the nation can carry them to the American Dream. However, on the evening of December 31, 1931, those same rails are stained the color of blood after the baccano that took place on the transcontinental express Flying Pussyfoot.

Before departure, Ladd Russo and a group of his friends who disguise themselves as him terrorize Placido Russo before Ladd announces his intention to hijack the Flying Pussyfoot and murder its passengers.

The Lemures, a terror cell that works under Huey Laforet, deals with their betrayal by Nader Schasschule. They tie him up and leave him to die in a warehouse, demolishing it with explosives as they drive away. They plan to board the Flying Pussyfoot and hold its passengers hostage to ransom the release of Huey Laforet from prison.

Jacuzzi Splot is confronted by some Russo goons and tries to get them to lower their guns before the rest of his gang show up to dispose of the goons. As they run from the scene of the crime, they discuss their plan to board the Flying Pussyfoot and steal a shipment of explosives.

Flashing forward to December 31, after the Flying Pussyfoot 's journey, a number of FBI agents examine the carnage along the tracks and confirm that there were immortals listed on the train's passenger list. The chapter then flashes back to an unnamed Immortal who is thinking to himself that if Szilard hadn't began eating people immediately and frightened everyone away, he would have devoured everyone by now. That wasn't originally his plan, but after years of torture by the alchemist he escaped with, he trusts no one and intends to eliminate the rest of the Immortals. Now that Szilard is gone, this immortal (Czeslaw Meyer) plans to ride Flying Pussyfoot to New York and, upon arriving, devour Maiza. Also aboard the Flying Pussyfoot will be Isaac & Miria, who unwittingly became immortals in 1930 and plan to visit their friends in New York.

On the evening of December 30, all the factions above board the Flying Pussyfoot. Also on board is a mysterious man dressed all in gray; Natalie and Mary Beriam (wife and daughter of Senator Manfred Beriam); and Rachel, a woman dressed in coveralls. Just before the train departs, a car drives up to the station and Jacques-Rosé Boronial leaps out. His girlfriend, who's driving, makes sure he doesn't forget a turtle figurine and sees him off. Jacques-Rosé intends to defeat the evildoers aboard the train. The young conductor rushes him and Chané Laforet onto the train, and the Flying Pussyfoot departs.

Later in the evening, in the dining car, Jon and Fang try to get Jacuzzi to stop asking them about the train robbery--there are too many passengers in the dining car, and they can't get away from their jobs to talk about it. Jacuzzi is pushed into socializing with Isaac, Miria, and Jacques-Rosé; though their energy overwhelms him initially, he is laughing and joking with them in short order. Just then, Czeslaw accidentally slams into Jacuzzi from behind.

After Czes apologizes, he and the Beriams introduce themselves, and Isaac and Miria tell everyone the story of the Rail Tracer – but they forget how to keep the Rail Tracer from coming. Jon heard the story from the young conductor earlier and Jacuzzi rushes out of the dining car to ask the young conductor what to do. In the caboose, the young conductor is already telling the older conductor the same story – only to discover that the older conductor is with the Lemures, who intend to hijack the train. The Lemur conductor pulls a gun on the young conductor, and the volume ends with a gunshot.

Trivia

 * Several character designs, such as Ladd Russo's, Placido Russo's, and Fermet's, differ considerably from the widely-accepted designs by Enami.