Reviews

Baccano!, Vol. 1 (light novel): The Rolling Bootlegs by Ryohgo Narita

duwuke's review

Go to review page

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

smtvash's review

Go to review page

4.0

It all starts here, the craziest, busiest, ruckiest story of 30s Americana through Japanese sensibilities.

Ryohgo Narita's talents lie in how much he embraces fun mixed with his knack for character traits and personalities. He lets nothing hold him back as he embraces a tale of coincidences, fate, magic, and overall LIFE. These and qualities like having strong female characters and the combination of genres make Baccano! a truly special work of art that exists uniquely in its own plain. There is nothing like this out there.

The seeds and tone of what the rest of the series follows are planted and the high-energy tackling of the story makes this a very enjoyable read.

Favorite characters so far: Isaac, Miria, Ennis, and Maiza

Off to Vol. 2~

pekoegal's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I have to say, this was a lot easier to follow than the anime. There's not a lot of time-skipping going on in this one, and the narration stays pretty consistently to the point of view a handful of clearly-identifiable people.

I appreciated the more detailed fleshing out of the characters, particularly the way the "gangs" were structured and their backgrounds so that it feels like a conflict that matters instead of just a bunch of mindless thugs shooting each other for no clear reason.

The pace is pretty lively and quick, but the chapters are very long and it's hard to find a good point to stop reading when you need to.

The only complaint I have is that the ending jumps back too neatly to the present day and reveals stuff that I didn't want to know yet. I was kind of hoping that it'd be left at a "to-be-continued". It felt too neatly wrapped up for the first book in a series. It didn't leave a lot of "unanswered questions" that I wanted a second book to delve into.

spilled_ink_on_pages's review

Go to review page

adventurous funny mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

taiga_tales's review

Go to review page

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

mcf's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I am so excited that I now have roughly 1340 light novels, a bunch of manga, and an anime series yet to go with these people and/or in this world. SO. EXCITED.

akiananda's review

Go to review page

challenging funny mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

heyhelloheather's review

Go to review page

2.0

I wanted to love this book. I did. I had heard such great things about it but perhaps it wasn't in my taste.

I felt that there were too many characters running around and it felt overwhelming to me. I would become confused or feel disconnected from their stories.

I will say that I loved the artwork.

A good book if you enjoy America in the 1950s and multiple characters.

themorbidcorvid's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

bopip's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I love stories with multiple characters whose story intertwines together.
Baccano has two funny characters -Mirria and Isaac- but the story has a dark bakground that I love.

I forgot about the anime so, even if I remember the characters, I completely forgot about the story. I liked to remember it.