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Baccano! Light Novel #12
Baccano!, Vol. 12 (light novel): 2002 [Side A]: Bullet Garden (Volume 12)
The year 2002. Firo and Ennis are finally on their very belated honeymoon-and for some reason, Czes has been invited to join them on the cruise to Japan. The ship is as luxurious as they come, even crossing paths with its sister ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in a one-of-a-kind event. But with movie stars, stuntmen, hijackers, stowaways, and gunslingers aboard, the voyage is looking to be anything but peaceful...
200 pages, Hardcover
First published October 10, 2007
8 people are currently reading
214 people want to read
About the author
Ryohgo Narita
348 books383 followersRyohgo Narita (成田 良悟, Narita Ryōgo) is a Japanese light novelist. He won the Gold Prize in the 9th Dengeki Novel Prize for Baccano!, which was made into a TV anime in 2007.[1] His series Durarara!! was also made into a TV anime, which began airing January 2010
There are two traits found in most of Narita's works:
* Narita writes extremely fast, one volume a month if he wishes - with tons of spelling errors and missing words as a tradeoff. The editors like to leave them sometimes just for fun, though.
* His work titles often have an exclamation mark at the end (i.e. Baccano!, Vamp!, Durarara!!, etc.).
Kanji names: 成田 良悟 & 成田良悟.
There are two traits found in most of Narita's works:
* Narita writes extremely fast, one volume a month if he wishes - with tons of spelling errors and missing words as a tradeoff. The editors like to leave them sometimes just for fun, though.
* His work titles often have an exclamation mark at the end (i.e. Baccano!, Vamp!, Durarara!!, etc.).
Kanji names: 成田 良悟 & 成田良悟.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 6, 2023
A sniper and a demolition expert board a cruise ship. They’re contract killers who are sent on a mission by a criminal organization that was almost completely obliterated by an unknown group. And the killers have been hired to find out who was responsible for the attack.
Firo and Ennis have been a couple for seventy years, and they’ve been married for twenty years. Now’s the perfect time to finally go on their honeymoon. So they board a cruise ship.
Czeslaw Meyer joins the married couple on the cruise ship. He notices he’s being followed by some kids who got their territory taking by Firo’s criminal organization. And they’re looking for revenge. Czes may look like a helpless and innocent young boy, but he’s actually an immortal who’s been around the block for quite a long time.
Brother and sister Claudia and Charon Walken board the cruise ship to promote their new shark movie. She’s the fourteen year old movie star on the rise, he’s the stuntman who helps and protects his sister from the shadows. There’s clearly something off about the both of them. How could there not be? Their great-grand parents are the legendary hitman Vino and Chané Laforet, the daughter of a notorious terrorist.
It’s clear from the start that the Mask Makers from the previous novel set in 1705 are still active in 2002. But what could be they be planning aboard the cruise ship?
I’ll agree with the critics that this story and the next do feel like they have been done before. As the plot does feel a bit similar to the second and third book of the series. Only this time it’s taking place on a cruise ship instead of a train. But honestly, this story is exactly what it needs to be. It’s a crazy, ridiculously over the top and fun action-packed read with a lot of twists and turns, and a wealthy cast of fantastic characters. And a lot of movie references. Someone clearly had a lot of fun writing this one.
Firo and Ennis have been a couple for seventy years, and they’ve been married for twenty years. Now’s the perfect time to finally go on their honeymoon. So they board a cruise ship.
Czeslaw Meyer joins the married couple on the cruise ship. He notices he’s being followed by some kids who got their territory taking by Firo’s criminal organization. And they’re looking for revenge. Czes may look like a helpless and innocent young boy, but he’s actually an immortal who’s been around the block for quite a long time.
Brother and sister Claudia and Charon Walken board the cruise ship to promote their new shark movie. She’s the fourteen year old movie star on the rise, he’s the stuntman who helps and protects his sister from the shadows. There’s clearly something off about the both of them. How could there not be? Their great-grand parents are the legendary hitman Vino and Chané Laforet, the daughter of a notorious terrorist.
It’s clear from the start that the Mask Makers from the previous novel set in 1705 are still active in 2002. But what could be they be planning aboard the cruise ship?
I’ll agree with the critics that this story and the next do feel like they have been done before. As the plot does feel a bit similar to the second and third book of the series. Only this time it’s taking place on a cruise ship instead of a train. But honestly, this story is exactly what it needs to be. It’s a crazy, ridiculously over the top and fun action-packed read with a lot of twists and turns, and a wealthy cast of fantastic characters. And a lot of movie references. Someone clearly had a lot of fun writing this one.
June 16, 2021
The premise is too close to volumes 2&3 for me to give it 5 stars. Let’s see how the next volume concludes the story
November 4, 2021
Meh..
Nie było złe, ale nie było też za dobre. Większość czasu to niepotrzebne wstępy, przedłużające się przedstawienia bohaterów, za dużo nowych bohaterów, którzy w sumie niewiele wnoszą do opowieści i ogólnie ten tom to ewidentny wstęp do kolejnej części :(
Ciężko mi się czytało
Nie było złe, ale nie było też za dobre. Większość czasu to niepotrzebne wstępy, przedłużające się przedstawienia bohaterów, za dużo nowych bohaterów, którzy w sumie niewiele wnoszą do opowieści i ogólnie ten tom to ewidentny wstęp do kolejnej części :(
Ciężko mi się czytało
November 22, 2022
This volume is a wild dance between characters who seem both new and familiar. Since it's 2002, I may experiment with this and that, and the atmosphere may be different from the 1930s, but it's the same old crazy ruckus at heart, and I hope you enjoy it.
Narita sums it up pretty well in his afterword.
So familiar characters are Firo, Ennis and Czes. Which is good, I like them... and their Edogawa Conan's level of bad luck for getting into trouble.
Lots of new characters, but some are related to characters we've known for a while, which is nice. Don't want to spoil anything but Charon and Claudia are on the list of those I'm gonna enjoy reading the adventures for sure.
As for this time's ruckus... it's kinda Rail Tracer all over again, except different. Fast paced (in terms of killing (attempts)) and with everyone running after one another. That's the kind of story I get sucked into, but at the same time, there was a... something I can't quite describe that was preventing me from fully immersing myself into and enjoying the story more...
In any case, Narita's storytelling is still brilliant as ever as I finished this book faster than I'd expected considering the reading slump I'm in in terms of novels. Definitely picking up the next one right after!
Gunslinger Demolition guy And their boss The young stowaways The Mask Makers Illness Life Movie star Stuntman Director and staff
And a family of immortals who'd only wanted to enjoy their voyage.
Narita sums it up pretty well in his afterword.
So familiar characters are Firo, Ennis and Czes. Which is good, I like them... and their Edogawa Conan's level of bad luck for getting into trouble.
Lots of new characters, but some are related to characters we've known for a while, which is nice. Don't want to spoil anything but Charon and Claudia are on the list of those I'm gonna enjoy reading the adventures for sure.
As for this time's ruckus... it's kinda Rail Tracer all over again, except different. Fast paced (in terms of killing (attempts)) and with everyone running after one another. That's the kind of story I get sucked into, but at the same time, there was a... something I can't quite describe that was preventing me from fully immersing myself into and enjoying the story more...
In any case, Narita's storytelling is still brilliant as ever as I finished this book faster than I'd expected considering the reading slump I'm in in terms of novels. Definitely picking up the next one right after!
Gunslinger Demolition guy And their boss The young stowaways The Mask Makers Illness Life Movie star Stuntman Director and staff
And a family of immortals who'd only wanted to enjoy their voyage.
June 13, 2020
I really Wish I was reading these novels in Order. 2001 was several volumes ago. The series kind of jumps around a bit in the timeline. Not all of the main cast is in the novel, but maybe in later volumes they will appear. Meanwhile several new Chacters appear.
February 4, 2022
Excellent start to another misadventure for the immortals. New friends, new enemies and... great grandkids!??!!
June 26, 2023
This book felt more like just set up for the next book than its own book
One long prologue
One long prologue
September 16, 2015
My second バッカーノ！book, this バッカーノ！2002【A side】Bullet Garden, has left me with the same aftertaste as the first of the series that I read: It's not bad, not horrible, but it's not good either. Ryohgo Narita keeps making references (here less subtle) to famous books and movies and keeps the writing fast and lose. But there's no improvement in the plot department or the character development. It all feels like an episode of a TV series.
This sensation is increased by the fact that this novel is the first installment of a two-book series in the バッカーノ！world, and a pointless one. This book could not exist and it wouldn't much matter for the second part. Because 2002 A Side Bullet Garden works more like a preface or introduction that as a novel. It is almost 300 pages of what could be basically five: the characters arrive to the ship. Of course more things happen, but it all feels like a, as I said, introduction to the events that will happen in the second part.
In "The Children of Bottle" you got the team arriving to a lost-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-town-with-a-secret. Here you have the we-are-all-in-a-place-from-where-we-can't-run-away situation. It has been done (as with the other one of the series that I've read) a thousand times. And Narita-san doesn't offer anything new, again. On the other hand, there's some charming quality to his characters that makes them fun to be with.
If you like バッカーノ！you will probably like the book. If you are not a fan, you should start with something else.
5,5
This sensation is increased by the fact that this novel is the first installment of a two-book series in the バッカーノ！world, and a pointless one. This book could not exist and it wouldn't much matter for the second part. Because 2002 A Side Bullet Garden works more like a preface or introduction that as a novel. It is almost 300 pages of what could be basically five: the characters arrive to the ship. Of course more things happen, but it all feels like a, as I said, introduction to the events that will happen in the second part.
In "The Children of Bottle" you got the team arriving to a lost-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-town-with-a-secret. Here you have the we-are-all-in-a-place-from-where-we-can't-run-away situation. It has been done (as with the other one of the series that I've read) a thousand times. And Narita-san doesn't offer anything new, again. On the other hand, there's some charming quality to his characters that makes them fun to be with.
If you like バッカーノ！you will probably like the book. If you are not a fan, you should start with something else.
5,5
Read
December 22, 2014Shorter than expected, especially since I took it up with the familiar world and its adventure in mind (as a distraction). I haven't read the street chapter of Alice in Jail, so there were a few places where I couldn't be sure if I missed the full story or if it's a bit of bait for future books. Still though, love the interactions among Fino's family, and how all kinds of people connected by some threads of fate cross paths with each other expectedly (yes I know the author made it this way, but the bizarreness it's still fun).
March 7, 2014
フィーロの相変わらずウブなところににやけたり、新キャラの登場でわくわくしたり、２００３年のクレアやシャーネが元気でいることを知って嬉しくなったりして、ミリアとアイザックが登場しないのにこんなにバカ騒ぎができて思わなかった！
May 13, 2015
Charon and Claudia Walken are very much like their great-grandparents.
June 3, 2025
me everytime they mention The President: OMGGGG THE PRESIDENT HEEE HEEE~~~~~ littwol pwesident of the mask makers hihihihi😭🥀🥀 i want to see my little boy....
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews