The Grand Punk Railroad: Express Episode
- Japanese Title: 特急編 The Grand Punk Railroad
- Date of Publication: September 25th, 2003
- Primary Timeline: 1931
- Key Cast: Chane Laforet, Claire Stanfield, Czeslaw Meyer, Isaac Dian, Ladd Russo, Lua Klein, Miria Harvent, Rachel, etc.
Released alongside the newest publication of Dengeki Novel Prize winner Ryohgo Narita, the Express Episode retells the Grand Punk Railroad saga from different POVs within the same time frame as the Local Episode.
The boy took the train to meet his friend in New York. The woman in work wear took the train to meet her employer in New York. The conductor - took the train because of work.
Without a certain twist of events, each of them would have arrived safely at their destination.
Unfortunately, the legendary monster Rail Tracer had already risen from the darkness...
available text
- Reminiscence ~The Boy~ (回想録「少年」)
- Reminiscence ~The Woman in Work Wear~ (回想録「作業着の女」)
my review
If you had a lot of question marks popping up in your head while reading the Local Episode, this book will fill in all the gaps nicely with extra spice. To quote the author in my own words: Claire Stanfield moves everyone's world around and around.
This volume mainly focuses on Claire's role in the infamous Flying Pussyfoot incident, and you're bound to remember every single word he said in it. While his sense of justice is more than simply twisted, never can there be another man as charismatic and as reliable (which quickly made him the favorite character of a million Baccano! readers, no less). His interaction with everyone especially Chane is a must-see - he'll crack you up and scare you stiff at the exact same time.
I shall stop spoiling your fun and let you start the book now. Just remember: this is where the true awesome of Baccano! begins.
author's note
This episode marks the debut of Baccano!'s No.1 problem child, Claire Stanfield.
This guy moves around too much by himself, even more so than the idiot couple. I planned to have everyone in black and white killed with the exception of Neider, but all are in ruins because of this guy.
I actually have a lot more stories to tell regarding the Grand Punk Railroad saga, so I might update this section again in the future.
About the Characters
Chane: I didn't expect to like her so much when I started writing. She was supposed to be killed at first, y'know... nevertheless, I'm really fond of her now and I shall temporarily keep what happened to her afterwards a secret.
Ladd: This character was easier to move around than Claire. Whenever I feel down, I would refer back to Ladd's words and boost up my spirit to write more. What kind of narcissist am I? I have plans for him to appear again in the future, though that depends on how well this series could sell overall. Obviously nothing would happen if I was told to stop working on it.
Claire: The most powerful character in Baccano! at this point. To be honest, I don't want to use him as a main character in any future books because he'll finish a plot within 30 pages with no sign of excitement... yet he's also my most popular character according to fan surveys and letters. Now what...
P.S.
Spike: He has a female assistant. What a useless detail.