| “ | Could you please listen to this selfish request of mine? Please ... don't forget about me. | „ |
| ~ Ennis to Isaac and Miria |
Ennis Prochainezo, formerly known simply as Ennis, is a major protagonist in the light novel and anime series Baccano!. She is a homonculus created by the immortal scientist Szilard Quates, and was his servant until he was killed by Firo Prochainezo, whom she would later marry.
She is voiced by Sanae Kobayashi in the Japanese version of the anime and Brina Palencia in the English version, the former of whom also voices Allen Walker, Madlax and Hitomi Kashiwa.
History[]
While she was initially emotionless, Ennis gained human feelings after being forced to absorb an alchemist for his knowledge, learning empathy and morality in the process for the very first time. Wrecked with guilt over what she had done, she was nevertheless forced to continue obeying Szilard, as he could kill her with a thought at any time. Fortunately, this came to an end when Firo learned about the abuse Szilard put her through, and killed him shortly afterwards.
Appearance[]
Ennis is a young woman of average height with a masculine (bifauxnen) look and a pale skin complexion. She has red hair that sticks out on both sides of her head and matching red eyes. She is considered to be beautiful by Firo, who fell in love with her at first sight and can't believe she's related to someone like Szilard. When working for Szilard, she is always shown wearing a typical black tuxedo with a white collar shirt underneath. She continues to wear this attire even after being freed by Firo. When she goes on board the Entrance in the 2002 arc, she wears a black dress similar to Chane Laforet's.
Personality[]
When first created, Ennis was little more than emotionless, until the day she devoured an alchemist pursuing Szilard. As a result of absorbing the alchemist's memories and feelings, she came to learn what it means to be "human" as well as the concepts of sin and morality, things she previously had never even heard of, let alone have any concept of. Though plagued with guilt over her sins, Ennis continued to serve Szilard due to the fact that he could literally kill her with a thought.
Ennis even grew to envy people who complain that there is no meaning in their existence or that they have no purpose in life, because she was all too acutely aware of her purpose; she was the tool and weapon of a man she can never hope to escape, forever expected to fulfill her orders without thought or hesitation. Overall, Ennis had a very low opinion of herself, believing herself to be nothing more than a puppet, and mainly stayed with Szilard because she doesn't have any better options rather than out of any genuine affection.
Ennis is able to live in such a manner for some time, tolerating her own existence more than anything else. Ever quiet and withdrawn, she speaks only when necessary and savours the moments of silence in-between orders whenever she can. She becomes skilled at suppressing her feelings while in Szilard's presence and while fulfilling his orders, able to set aside all personal thoughts in order to fully focus on one task at a time. This changes after she meets Firo, who upon learning about how Szilard treats her, is disgusted and attempts to free her. Shortly after, she attacks Szilard with a knife in an attempt to protect Isaac and Miria, whom she had previously saved when they were complete strangers to her. She knew full well that such an attack would be futile, but sees her death as a way of redemption for not being brave enough to stand up to Szilard before. Fortunately, Firo proves that that won't be necessary when arrives and consumes Szilard, freeing Ennis from the scientist's clutches once and for all.
After being freed from Szilard, Ennis has grown notably happier and more optimistic; she is frequently shown smiling, something she never did when serving under Szilard. However, she still feels guilt over her actions as Szilard's servant, and has expressed a desire to atone for them. The fact that she had no choice since Szilard could and would have killed her if he didn't follow her orders does nothing to ease her guilt- in fact, it makes her feel even worse since to her, it means she wasn't brave enough to die for others.
One of her main challenges appears to be that of emotional nuance. While she understands and experiences the concept of love, she has a great deal of difficulty comprehending the difference between different types of love. For some time, she is unable to recognise others' romantic feelings toward her, much less realise whether or not her own feelings are platonic or romantic, and it is for this reason that she initially views her relationship to Firo as sibling in nature, much like her relationship with Isaac and Miria. Eventually, however, she grows to realise that her feelings for him are actually romantic and the two get married- fifty years after they first met.
Trivia[]
- Ennis is very similar to Irisviel von Einzbern. Both are homonculi who were created to be nothing more than puppets, but gradually became more human after meeting and being rescued by Firo Prochainezo and Kiritsugu Emiya respectively. In both cases, they end up marrying the ones who saved them.
- Additionally, Ennis' Japanese voice actor, Sanae Kobayashi voices Namie Yagiri in Ryogo Narita's other major series Durarara!, whose English voice actor, Bridget Hoffman, voices Irisviel.
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