Baccano! – 05

This episode sort-of ruined the sense of time I had with this series, when suddenly the hunt for Dallas Genoard was moved back to 1931, and Maiza appeared to already be immortal before he could have had any chance to meet Barnes. The previous episodes have done well to answer the necessary questions, only for this episode to ask a whole bunch of new ones. Maiza-san, for example, also shoots into the ceiling after being stabbed by Firo, as a means of welcome to his new family-member, he shoots in the air and suddenly hits Isaac. What the heck was that guy doing there?! I’m also rather confused about the 1931-business. In the past episodes, we saw Eve visit the information-office in 1932. In this episode, we see the Runorata-family enter the information-office yet again, but in 1931. Miraculously, though Eve had already visited by then. Jacuzzi also gets new development, but his past is still full of question-marks. First of all Nick was captured by the guys in black suits, who had no way of knowing what he did in the dining room. We also see a scene of what happened earlier that year, when Jacuzzi was hunted down by bounty-hunters/mafia-guys, and then suddenly saved by Nice and their other companion. Where all of them came from is still unknown. Jacuzzi also talks about how he doesn’t want to kill. Did he mean his comrades, or did his comrades prevent him from using some awful power to slaughter his assailants? Also, the red-eyed figure we see outside the train. We get some heavy hints that it’s the green-capped woman, but we never see it confirmed. In this episode, we see it use its foggy hand to kill two guys in black suits. Then Szilard, who raised the biggest question of this episode: he sucked up Barnes with his hand! I admit that I missed some of his explanations, though I doubt that he fully explained what happened there. Afterwards, Quates sends Ennis out to look for Firo, who seemed to be searching for her. Meanwhile on the train, the guys in black suits return, and they take Nathalie Williams with them. Her daughter, Merry, is safe, hiding with Czeslaw. Isaac and Miria are active again, as they set out to rescue Jacuzzi and Nice (that could be interesting). I also wonder: why did the second conductor at the back of the train die? I mean, I know he killed the younger one, but why were his head and arm ripped off afterwards? In fact, why did he feel the need to kill in the first place? I like what this series is doing, though. It first starts with an unexplainable mess, and it goes on, things get clearer and clearer. And just when you think you know what’s going on, they throw in a heap of more mysteries to confuse you. It’s a nice tactic, but I hope that everything will come together in the end.]]>