“Baccano”, which Narita translates as “stupid commotion”, is Italian for “ruckus”. Each of the stories in the series involves several unrelated plots intersecting and crossing each other as events spiral further and further out of control. Immortal alchemists, mafia operated speakeasies, and many other elements of pulp fiction mashed together for a world straight out of the movies.
In 1711, a group of alchemists seeking eternal life gathered on a boat to summon the “demon” that held the secret. The demon agreed to give them what they wanted—an elixir of life, the method to create more, and the secret to ending their new-found existence. The following night, alchemists began disappearing, “eaten” by one of their own. Realizing the threat posed by being close together, they decided to scatter across the world.
Centuries later, in Prohibition-era America, the immortals have come together once again, and the “stupid commotion” starts.