The Weekly W: When? Exploring Temporal Location in Anime

So far, we've looked at a couple of the big W's, and this week, I'm very excited to bring you "When".  This week we'll look at Anime set in a variety of times and see how the era impacts the storytelling experience.  Let's take a look.








First up is a club favorite : Baccano!

We watched Baccano! in club a while back, and it was a resounding hit for a couple of reasons.  First off, the major time-line occurs during the prohibition era (think 1920s).  It's absolutely fantastic.  And the English language version is definitely worth watching over the subtitles.  The accents of the characters definitely added to the atmosphere. 

Reason #1 - Firo's Hat

Reason #2 - Jacuzzi

Reason #3 - Isaac and Miria

This show is absolutely fantastic.  The characters are great.  Isaac and Miria are goofy and fabulous.  Jacuzzi is sweet.  And there's a whole bunch of different people in this show.  They can be hard to keep track of.  Fortunately, the opening theme, along with having awesome music, has a full introduction of the main characters along with their pictures.  It's also a really cool video, even if you haven't seen Baccano!. 

The series can be a bit confusing, since it runs a couple of different storylines at once, each taking place during a different time.  Usually when the dates show up at the beginning of a scene change, they're optional to read, but in Baccano! they are crucial to keeping track of what's going on.

Next week "When" will be continued with more wonderful anime, so check back next week for the next installment!

Hope Burns Bright