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Baccano! (バッカーノ! Bakkāno!, Italian for ruckus) is an ongoing light novel series written by Ryohgo Narita and illustrated by Katsumi Enami. It takes place in the same universe as Narita's light novel series Durarara!!, Vamp!, and Etsusa Bridge, and is known for its non-linear presentation, heavy western influences, and the interconnected quality of its large ensemble cast.

History[]

While in college, Narita was inspired by Laurence Bergreen's Capone: The Man and the Era and western gangster films to write a story about the larger-than-life criminal underworld and its pursuers set against the one-time backdrop of the American Prohibition.[1] This goal coincided with his noticing of an April 10th, 2002 deadline for submissions of full-length stories to the 9th Dengeki Game Novel Prize, which he rushed to meet by writing The Rolling Bootlegs in two weeks during the spring break between his junior and senior years of college.[2]

The Rolling Bootlegs tied for the Gold Prize: 500,000 yen (the lump sum has since risen to 1 million yen), and a guarantee that the novel would be published by Dengeki Bunko with full illustrations from a hired artist.[3] Those who selected The Rolling Bootlegs for an award commented on the novel's experimental composition, originality, sense of humor, characterization, and setting as standout qualities.[4]

Narita had not written the first Baccano! novel with the firm expectation that it would become a series, and many of the characters and elements of later novels, such as the character Czeslaw Meyer, were not conceived until after the first novel was a published success. The Rolling Bootlegs itself was quite different from some of Narita's early drafts of his story, which featured Ennis as a succubus familiar of an evil sorcerer, whom the main characters and various gangs would fight until they could successfully steal Ennis away.[2]

Volumes[]

No. Title JP Release Date US Release Date
01 The Rolling Bootlegs Feb 10, 2003 May 24, 2016
02 1931 The Grand Punk Railroad: Local Aug 10, 2003 Aug 30, 2016
03 1931 The Grand Punk Railroad: Express Sep 10, 2003 Dec 20, 2016
04 1932 Drug & The Dominos Oct 10, 2003 Apr 18, 2017
05 2001 The Children of Bottle Feb 10, 2004 Sep 19, 2017
06 1933 <First> The Slash -Cloudy to Rainy- Sep 10, 2004 Dec 19, 2017
07 1933 <Last> The Slash -Bloody to Fair- Nov 10, 2004 Apr 24, 2018
08 1934 Alice in Jails: Prison Oct 10, 2006 Aug 21, 2018
09 1934 Alice in Jails: Streets Dec 10, 2006 Dec 18, 2018
10 1934 Peter Pan in Chains: Finale Apr 10, 2007 Apr 23, 2019
11 1705 The Ironic Light Orchestra Jul 10, 2007 Sep 03, 2019
12 2002 [Side A]: Bullet Garden Oct 10, 2007 Dec 24, 2019
13 2002 [Side B]: Blood Sabbath Nov 10, 2007 Apr 21, 2020
14 1931 Another Junk Railroad: Special Express Jan 07, 2009 Sep 22, 2020
15 1710 Crack Flag Apr 10, 2010 Dec 15, 2020
16 1932 Summer: Man in the Killer Jun 10, 2011 Apr 27, 2021
17 1711 Whitesmile Dec 10, 2011 Aug 17, 2021
18 1935-A Deep Marble Sep 10, 2012 Feb 08, 2022
19 1935-B Dr. Feelgreed Dec 10, 2012 May 17, 2022
20 1931 Winter: The Time of the Oasis Mar 09, 2013 Oct 25, 2022
21 1935-C The Grateful Bet Oct 10, 2013 Jan 17, 2023
22 1935-D Luckstreet Boys Aug 10, 2016 May 23, 2023
23 1935-E The Buzz Messengers POSTPONED N/A

Reception[]

To be added.

Trivia[]

  • The majority of the novels are named after western bands.

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. The Rolling Bootlegs, afterword.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Dengeki Taisho interview.
  3. ASCII Media Works Archive. "9th Dengeki Game 3 Grand Prize Award Works." Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20090122050853/http://archive.asciimw.jp/award/taisyo/09/index.php. Accessed on March 23, 2022.
  4. ASCII Media Works Archive. Profile for 9th Dengeki Game Novel Gold Prize winner "Baccano! The Rolling Bootlegs." Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20090120070619/http://archive.asciimw.jp/award/taisyo/09/09novel3.php. Accessed on March 23, 2022.
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