Baccano! Episode 07

"Listen, Gretto. If the immortals to come are good people, if they have it in their hearts to bring miracles to this world, then the knowledge I possess is beyond any value. And so, Gretto, I think it would be a wise decision to share half of this knowledge with my brother. When you meet someone whom you trust, a truly good person, do not hesitate to come to me. And if I am no longer of this world, I am certain that you will be able to attain the secret of the elixir by combining your abilities and the knowledge I now give you. [...] Gretto. There is no one else aboard this ship whom I can trust. That is why I am asking you to accept this burden for me. Your heart is pure. This is our fate."

- Maiza Avaro to Gretto Avaro

"Everything Starts Aboard the Advenna Avis" is the seventh episode of the 2007 Baccano! anime.

Funimation Blurb
Someone gets eaten. For part of the story happening in 1711, there are a lot of familiar faces from 1930. He gets nervous when people talk about summoning demons in his presence. He says living forever isn’t the key to happiness. He says living forever is the key to happiness. A pile of clothes does not necessarily mean that someone is naked. Sometimes chanting a spell is more for dramatic flair. The best way to tell if he’s immortal is to chop his face in half. Bottoms up. The rules must be followed. He doesn’t like to share. A life of regret is longer for those who will never die. His hunger for knowledge brings out the worst in him. It is likely that they will meet again. Man overboard. Here's all you need to know: In 1711, some guys from 1930 chop his face in half to check if he's immortal. There's a demon. A life of regret is longer for those who will never die. Bottom's up. Man overboard.
 * First Version
 * Later Version

Recap Scenes
None.

Synopsis
The episode opens in 1711 aboard the ship Advena Avis. A man named Pierre walks towards the stairs leading to the deck only to pause at a noise. A hooded figure devours him, leaving Pierre's lantern and clothes to drop to the floor.

Title card.

In a cabin aboard the ship, Sylvie Lumiere asks her companion Gretto Avaro if he is worried about Maiza Avaro’s plan to summon a demon tonight. Gretto fretfully wonders if alchemists are permitted to summon demons and doubts that immortality is necessary or even good; he would rather spend his finite life with Sylvie. Sylvie replies that even if she forgoes immortality, she will not be afraid as long as she can be with Gretto.
 * The day before...

Meanwhile, an argument has broken out in the dining hall. Szilard Quates shouts at Denkurō Tōgō that alchemists summoning demons is heresy, an opinion that Victor Talbot is surprised to hear from a scientist. Lebreau Fermet Viralesque emphasizes that Grand Panacea is every alchemist’s dream, therefore they must obtain it even if they have to call on demons. At Szilard's' protests, Fermet adds that Maiza Avaro will join Synesius and Zosimos as one of the greatest alchemists should he succeed.

In response to the thick tension, Elmer C. Albatross encourages everyone to smile.

Huey Laforet stops by Gretto and Sylvie's cabin to alleviate its occupants fear, quoting the Emerald Tablet as a means of suggesting that the 'demon' may not be inherently evil. Gretto asks Huey if he is anxious; Huey claims that he is merely looking forward to see how mankind will change after tonight.

Maiza draws a symbol on the floor while Begg Garrott and Nile watch. He asks that everyone be brought together.
 * Tonight

A man warns those who are examining Pierre's abandoned possessions that Italo is also missing. At a noise from the upper duck, one of the men ascends via the already-open hatch and spots a cloaked figure, who devours him to the horror of his downstairs companions. Elmer and Maiza hasten to the scene upon hearing the man's scream.
 * The next night

In front of the assembled alchemists, Maiza admits that he is still not certain whether proceeding with the ritual is the right choice. After recalling that the one who taught it to him was a man who never aged after summoning a demon three hundred years prior, he declares that he will carry out those same summons despite his doubts.
 * Tonight

Once Gretto and Denkurō join Maiza within the boundaries of the symbol, Maiza begins reciting the ritual chant. The demon interrupts the chant partway through.

At the clamor outside the door of Sylvie's cabin, Sylvie opens the cabin door to the sight of men scrambling away from the stairwell in a panic. One of the men stops just long enough to warn her of an "evil monster" before rushing onward. Worried for Gretto's safety, Sylvie turns cautiously toward the stairs.
 * The next night

The voice denounces summoning chants as little more than complaints, revealing that it can constantly hear the alchemists' very thoughts. After remarking that it has no need of any name, much less 'demon', it dismisses the remark with a "well, no matter" before manifesting a bowl containing the Grand Panacea in Maiza's hands. This liquor, says the demon, shall grant immortal life to all who imbibe it.
 * Tonight

Szilard steps forward to drink the elixir, an action he insists is out of skepticism rather than any eagerness to prevent death. After seconds pass with no change, he deems the elixir a fake—but, with the next second, his head is decapitated and his headless corpse crumples to the floor.

The horrified alchemists are astonished when Szilard's head reattaches itself to Szilard's body, which stands soon after. That Szilard is indisputably alive is ironclad evidence of the Grand Panacea's efficacy, so everyone rushes to claim their portion without further ado. Though Gretto hesitates, he drinks his share once Maiza does his; Sylvie, however, only hesitates.

The demon explains that immortals can devour each other and obtain the devoured immortal's memories, experiences, and skills; moreover, immortals cannot use false names when within close proximity to each other. Finally, he notes that the alchemists will have to ask Maiza for the 'recipe' should they want to recreate the elixir.

Sylvie approaches the descending stairs and stares into the blackness of the floor below.
 * The next night

Morning after the summoning ritual finds another argument underway in the dining hall; where Maiza wants to seal the knowledge regarding the elixir out of trepidation regarding the consequences of its global dissemination, Szilard desires the knowledge for himself. Elmer's voiced support for Maiza prompts others to voice their own. Huey proves the one outlier by abstaining from the vote.
 * The next morning


 * That night
 * Sylvie nervously reaches for the door of a cabin, only for a hooded figure to drive its right hand into her temple and therefore her body into a wall.

Maiza confides to Gretto that he is conflicted. Where he was previously only worried about what disputes might occur should the secret of immortality become widespread, the argument in the mess hall has further worried about Szilard, whom he suspects will fight him to the death for the secret. As a precaution in the event of his own death, he transfers half of the elixir's recipe to Gretto despite Gretto's reluctance to shoulder his burden. Unbeknownst to either of them, Szilard is eavesdropping via the keyhole.
 * Earlier that evening

Later, Elmer intercepts Maiza on the way to Szilard's cabin to insist that Maiza must not be the one to kill first. Maiza nevertheless rips the covers off Szilard's bed and becomes incensed to discover it has been stuffed with pillows.

Szilard, the hooded figure, references Gretto's love for Sylvie and expresses long-thought lost excitement at the prospect of devouring a 'young girl'. Sylvie accuses him of having murdered Gretto.
 * That night

Elmer and Maiza discover Gretto's clothes and a bundle of rope pooled around a chair and grimly resume their search. A moment after Szilard realizes that Sylvie did not drink the elixir, Nile severs Szilard's right arm in twain and outthrusts his own toward Szilard's forehead. Szilard escapes to the top deck. Maiza and Elmer come across Sylvie shortly after; Maiza hurries after Nile while Elmer lingers behind, hoping that Sylvie may somehow muster a smile.

Nile and Denkurō corner Szilard near the bow, blocking off his escape routes so that Maiza may approach and devour him. Elmer calls out to Szilard from where he is doing a handstand on the guardrail—only to fall overboard a moment later, distracting Maiza from the moment at hand. Szilard lunges for him with his right hand outstretched; Nile cleaves Szilard in half at the hip, causing Szilard to plummet into the sea.

As Elmer drowns, the demon—speaking directly inside Elmer's head—remarks on how 'peculiar' Elmer was for trying to "get the old man's attention." Having decided that Elmer is 'fascinating', he offers Elmer one wish. Elmer mulls it over, then informs the demon that he has decided what the wish shall be.

When Elmer comes to on the ship's deck, he coughs up water and asks what became of Szilard. Although he is disappointed to learn Szilard fell overboard, he looks over at a desolate Sylvie and once more asks her to smile. Sylvie cannot; instead, she murmurs that she thought Elmer had no chance whatsoever.

The demon spies Huey atop the lookout platform and confides to him that it had not expected the devouring to start so soon. It further admits that it is disturbed to think it could be to blame for the incident, though it opines that the incident proved mankind's greed. When Huey asks why the demon is speaking with him, the demon says that the two of them are similar: they both observe the world from a detached, outsider's perspective. It sighs that it was "certain this was going to be the time" but refuses to elaborate on such a cryptic remark, brushing it off instead as sentiment. Huey says that the demon seems to expect something from the immortals, but the demon only replies that it is sure it will meet Huey again.

Future glimpses of the immortals follow, including those of: Maiza and Firo Prochainezo, looking for a hat in the haberdashery; Czes with the mortal Mary Beriam, crawling through the Flying Pussyfoot; Begg in his drug lab; and Sylvie singing in a speakeasy.

In one of Alveare's offices, Maiza and Ronny Schiatto—the Martillo Family’s chiamatore—discuss the Runorata Family's interest in New York City. Maiza acknowledges that the Martillos would be unwise to provoke the Runoratas' enmity, but seems confident that the Martillos have no need to fear Runorata executive Gustavo Bagetta nor to involve themselves in the Runorata's business for the time being.
 * November 1930

Once Maiza exits the office, Ronny wonders whether Maiza truly cannot sense Szilard's ever nearer presence. He shrugs and remarks, "Well, no matter," invoking the demon's pet phrase.

Preview
Isaac reads out the title of the next episode, and remarks on how "Isaac and Miria" seem to have the same names as he and Miria do. Miria calls it 'weird', and Isaac declares that he and Miria will have to make sure to spread happiness around them so that they are not shown up by the other Isaac and Miria duo. Miria says that while she is not sure she understands, she finds it incredible all the same.

Differences Between the Anime & Novels
Click "Expand" for differences regarding the Advena Avis.

The immortal man who taught Maiza the ritual is Dalton Strauss, whom Maiza speaks of too detachedly in the anime when his relationship with Dalton was more intimate; in the light novels, Maiza had studied alchemy under Dalton for four years (1707–1711).

In the anime, Maiza transfers half of his knowledge of the elixir to Gretto through his right hand. In the novels, this exchange is only possible between an immortal to their linked Homunculi, not from one immortal to another, and even then via the left hand rather than the right. Therefore, Maiza simply tells Gretto half the secret in reality.

After overhearing the brothers' conversation in the novels, Szilard sneaks into the brothers' cabin so as to devour Maiza. However, he mistakenly devours Gretto while Gretto lies asleep in bed rather than Maiza, who was asleep in the bed opposite. The anime has Szilard instead tie Gretto to a chair and devour him in order to learn the first half of the recipe.

Szilard in the novels does not remark that "can see why [Gretto] was so taken with [Sylvie]" like his anime counterpart, so Sylvie does not yet suspect Gretto's demise. Nile stops to ask Sylvie if she is all right in the novels, differing from his anime counterpart who immediately chases after Szilard. Instead of Elmer lingering behind while Maiza runs ahead, as depicted in the anime, Elmer in the novels calls down to Nile and Sylvie from the top of the stairs.

The mess hall argument over Maiza's unwillingness to share the elixir's secret consists of mostly anime-original dialogue since the argument is told, not shown, in the novels. Similarly, Ronny does not share his surprise at how fast the devouring started to Huey in the first novel, he only murmurs it to himself.

The anime never explicitly points out that Ronny is not an actual demon or devil, but a formerly complete homunculus.

In the anime, Szilard is forced overboard when Nile cleaves him in half. In the novels, Szilard is cornered by Huey and Denkurō and jumps off the ship of his own accord. The anime also has Sylvie present when Elmer regains consciousness on deck; however, in the novels, Sylvie is elsewhere sobbing by the time he wakes.

Adapted From
The episode is based on the prologue of The Rolling Bootlegs and the prologue of 2001 The Children of Bottle.

Trivia

 * English Dub Commentary: The Funimation DVD release of this episode features commentary from Tyler Walker (ADR Director), Chuck Huber (Ronny; Script Writer), and R Bruce Elliott (Szilard). A fan transcription of it is available.


 * All of the important named passengers aboard the Advena Avis make some sort of cameo in this episode except for Zank Rowan.
 * Funimation spells the ship's name as Advenna Avis in their translation of the title. In Yen Press' official translations of the novels, published long after the anime aired, Yen Press spells the ship's name as Advena Avis.
 * Funimation's English dub gives Victor Talbot a heavy pseudo-Italian accent which is blatantly mismatched, considering that he is actually an Englishman.
 * Maiza and Czes speak with much heavier accents in the English dub of this episode compared to previous episodes. This was a deliberate decision on ADR director Tyler Walker's part, since he believed their accents would have softened over time. Walker also decided to have Szilard's accent hardly change across the centuries, so as to reflect Szilard's willful separation from societal change.

New Characters

 * Ronny Schiatto (the 'demon')
 * Huey Laforet (named in previous episodes)
 * Elmer C. Albatross
 * Fermet
 * Gretto Avaro
 * Sylvie Lumiere
 * Nile (cameo)
 * Begg Garrott (cameo)
 * Victor Talbot (cameo)
 * Denkurō Tōgō (cameo)

Unanswered Questions

 * What was Elmer's wish?
 * Why and how is the 'demon' working for the Martillo Family?
 * Is Maiza aware of Ronny's real identity?
 * Where are all the surviving immortals in the 1930s?

Cultural References

 * The Zosimos mentioned by Fermet is Zosimos of Panapolis, a Greek alchemist and Gnostic mystic who provided one of the first definitions of alchemy. Synesius is a Greek bishop of Ptolemais who made contributions to alchemy.
 * The text that Huey quotes to Gretto is from the Emerald Tablet (also known as the Smaragdine Tablet), a piece of the Hermetica that is considered one of the foundations of the European branch of alchemy.