High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Baccano! is a Japanese light novel series written by Ryohgo Narita and illustrated by Katsumi Enami. The series, often told from multiple points of view, is mostly set within a fictional United States during various time periods, most notably the Prohibition-era. It focuses on various people, including alchemists, thieves, thugs, mafiosi and Camorristi, who are unconnected to one another. After an immortality elixir is recreated in 1930 Manhattan, the characters begin to cross paths, setting off events that spiral further and further out of control. The first novel, The Rolling Bootlegs, was originally entered into ASCII Media Works' ninth Dengeki Novel Prize in 2002, placing third to win the Gold Prize. The novel was released in February 2003 under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko imprint, and as of January 7, 2009, fourteen novels have been released. The novels were adapted into a sixteen episode anime series directed by Takahiro Omori and produced by Brain's Base and Aniplex.