Hats off to the normies.
Creative Staff:
Story: Ryohgo Narita
Art: Katsumi Enami
Translation: Taylor Engel
What They Say:
THE YEAR 1932.
The alchemist Begg believes the drugs he created will guide people to the highest plane of existence. Drugs that the junkie Roy can’t break free from. Drugs that the Runorata Family executive loses to a thief. And where were those packets of white powder manufactured? The young girl Eve is about to find out–and discover her family’s true colors. Trouble stirs in the city that never sleeps as fate links these individuals together like a chain of falling dominoes…
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The true appeal of Ryohgo Narita’s Baccano series is his insistence on there never being one “main character.” His stories are filled to the brim with characters intermingling with one another, and each one never coming off as more important than the next. At least that’s the vibe he’s trying to go for.
Now four volumes into Narita’s atypical epoch, we’re finally getting some solid story focus on some of the more downplayed characters—the Gandor brothers. While part of the handful of characters from the first volume given immortality via a bottle mistaken for bootleg liquor, the Gandors themselves were never the type to steal the spotlight in scenes they were in. Whether it be the quiet older brother Kieth, the muscle-headed middle brother Berga, or the fox-eyed youngest Luck, the three brothers seemed far too normal among the cast of quirky hit-men and eccentric criminals to make any kind of lasting impression outside of “those three guys.” And perhaps that was Narita’s aim.
Although the three brothers are technically mobsters, they have an everyman vibe about themselves as they try to make their own in a time when gangs far larger than theirs are ruling the streets. Keith’s lack of any presence simply due to his naturally quiet demeanor pits him at an odd position of power as the Gandor’s lead. Meanwhile, Luck experiences a near inverse of his older brother’s situation in that he exudes a calm leader-like composure about himself, yet ends up having the most worries in relation to how his immortality has changed him. His inner monologues fretting over whether he’s lost his touch now that he has no real life to risk feels incredibly human, and it’s in that disconnect between his inner self and how he presents himself to others that makes his interactions the most fascinating to follow this time around.
Later scenes only further underline the sentiment of “normie appreciation,” as a surprise appearance from Keith’s wife Kate leads to a melancholic and crushingly depressing look into her life as a musician. Being the go-to player during silent movies, Kate was soon out of a job once the era of “talkies” began. Regardless, Kate carries no malice towards the changing times because she was able to appreciate what the progress in technology offered her as a simple patron of the arts. It’s this repeated feeling of getting swept away by something literally louder and more impressive than yourself, yet finding more adoration than jealousy in it, that gives this volume its heart.
That’s not to say that the volume isn’t lacking in the bombastic characters from past volumes, however. From the struggling druggie and his girlfriend, to the hit-men attempting to one-up the legendary Vino, to the Runorata’s own immortal apothecary, there’s plenty of quirkiness to string together the more grounded scenes. At the same time, it’s clear that the quirkier characters are more of an afterthought and fan-service than anything else. Scenes with cameo appearances from Firo, Isaac, Miria, and even Czes serve more as moments for readers to appreciate outside of the story, and even the more plot-relevant weirdos like apothecary Begg and the mysterious katana-weilding unnamed Mexican woman don’t offer much intrigue outside of their initial introductions. Even the volume’s more blatant villain of Runorata capo Gustavo ends up being undermined by the more ordinary Henry—information broker that ends up biting off more than he can chew.
But it’s in this appreciation for the normal that keeps this series fresh every volume.
In Summary:
Baccano volume 4 is unafraid of setting aside their more memorable characters in favor of something slightly more grounded. Characters like the Gandors provide someone very real and human to follow throughout the winding story, with the slight hiccups along the way surprisingly being from the more quirky abnormal characters. In this way, author Narita proves his quirkier characters can serve just as much of a hindrance as they do a crutch.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Yen On
Release Date: April 18, 2017
MSRP: $20.00
