Review of Durarara!!

This is a warning NOT to watch this anime. There is no satisfaction, catharsis or what have you down the road. My score of 8 refers to only, and I mean ONLY to this first season. It sets up some intriguing mysteries, intriguing characters and an intriguing setting. The later seasons, though, waste that potential so bad that if I had read the source material, I would have rated the whole thing no higher than 5 (provided the later seasons do not deviate much from the novels). At some point, I kept watching solely for the sake of (literally) a couple of characters. The charater arcof the MC is, I kid you not, one of the most *idiotic* arcs I have ever come across in a work of fiction, and at this point I'm just incredibly happy that they finish the episodes with the disclaimer saying that this is a work of fiction. Many charaters are introduced with fanfare only to serve as some temporary annoyance with no longlasting effect whatsoever. Many other characters are simply irredeemable in spite of what some other characters want you to believe. It is this second group of characters that cause most of my frustration.

I should not have started this anime. It lures you with its potential to go places, and I am a fucking idiot for believing until the very last episode that it could deliver on at least a sliver of it.