Review of Durarara!!

I recently watched the popular show, Durarararararara!! and I have to say, it was quite enjoyable, with a few flaws/annoying parts. Durarara is a very unique show that contains a whole lot of different genres mixed together; romance, comedy, supernatural, mystery, and even some action here and there. I've never seen a show hop around all over the place, in terms of plot. In this review, I may blab nonsense, but I'll try to explain why I like Durarara. In order for me to describe the plot, it would take forever because there's just so much happening in Durarara to a whole load of different maincharacters. So I'll sum it up using Mikado Ryugamine (mainest of the main characters, I think) as the focal point. Mikado Ryugamine longs for an escape from his dull everyday life and seeks something to make his young, short life stand out from the rest, resulting in him moving to Ikebukuro, a "crazy" to say the least city in Japan. He hopes life in one of Japan’s most trendy commercial and entertainment cities can satiate his thirst for excitement and a little danger. But soon he discovers Ikebukuro is more than up to the task. An inhumanly powerful bartender, a skilled underground informant, a mysterious motorcyclist dubbed the Black Rider, an aggressively enterprising Russian sushi chef, along with all sorts of gangs are the least threatening people when there are more sinister plots simmering just beneath the surface of this urban jungle.

There really was no general plot to the story, each episode the perspective changes, meaning that the episodes are told in 1st person, by various characters. Certainly there were moments when I wondered, "Where's the story headed?", but in the end it was all answered. Each episode had a specific parallel supernatural mystery that initially appears oblique, but in the end all the mysteries are cleverly intertwined with one another, leading up to a satisfying ending. Durarara has quite a few cleverly surprising revelations and twists that had skillful misdirection, which constantly keeps the viewer guessing. Yet when expectations are heightened, the series likes to pull back, lower the tension, and make the climax seem unimportant. A thing I liked about the series is that it recognizes the important role that internet chat rooms, online associations, cell phones, and text messaging have in teenagers’ social lives. Yet it also finds opportunities to tap into that adolescent pastime of discontent with the mundane everyday. I can't relate with the overall story, because it's so unrealistic, but I can definitely relate with the main character's feelings. With that said, there are also a few things I didn't like about Durarara:

- Bad pacing; some episodes (20+ min) were dedicated to unimportant characters, and not on main characters.
- Plot is supposed to be dark, and mature, but it came out to be too bright, and naive.
- A couple moments when viewers are left to think, "This doesn't even make sense..."
- Way too much narration
- Main Character was annoying, and not very heroic, though the anime tried to portray him as so in the end(personal thought).

Characters is where Durarara shined best. The great appeal of Durarara is its diverse and colorful mix of personalities of numerous characters. During each episode, there's strang conversations on a chat in the computer, about the developing plot. I'll explain the mainest 5 characters in detail, but there are many more interesting characters that are thoroughly developed in the anime.

Mikado Ryugamine, the mainest of main characters is a polite, soft spoken boy, whom at times can be quite childish and naive. At first he is scared of all the chaos happening in Ikebukuro, but as the series progresses, Mikado gradually becomes more and more assertive, and eventually becomes able to able to accept the chaos that life throws at him without attempting to run away. With that said, despite his kindness and naivety, Mikado is much more ruthless and manipulative than he appears to be and is very capable at using intimidation to reach his goals.

Masaomi Kida is Mikado's best [childhood] friend, and is a resident in Ikebukuro. He is one of the reasons Mikado moved to Ikebukuro, and while Mikado is in Ikebukuro, Masaomi acts like a big brother, protector. He is a rather cheerful boy (in public) and is always enthusiastic about picking-up girls, but seems to be a failure at it. As the series progresses, it is revealed that Masaomi's enthusiastic, happy-go-lucky demeanor is actually a mask of his true, much less secure self. He appears to agonize over major choices much more than any other character in the series, although he falls just short of being paralyzed by his fears. His background is explained in depth, and his true nature was a surprising twist in the plot.

Anri Sonohara is a introverted and quiet girl, whom Mikado falls in love with. As the series progresses, she retains her shy personality, though her interactions with Mikado and Masaomi serve to pull her out of her emotional shell and she becomes much more expressive and shows a caring side to those close to her. The friendship she develops with Mikado and Masaomi was a treat to watch, something I could sort of relate with. Another character that the plot uses as a crazy, surprising plot twist.

My favorite character, Izaya Orihara. Izaya is a powerful, skilled, and snake-like informant, who is actually much more than just an informant. He claims to love the human race, excluding Shizuo Heiwajima whom Izaya likes to start fights. He greatly enjoys putting people in miserable or chaotic situations in order to observe their reactions. He plays chess in a bizarre fashion and the undiscloed rules he plays seem to be a metaphor for the way he lives his life. Izaya throughout the anime seemed like a "god" figure, because he always helped/protected people, but in a manner that makes him seem like an evil "tester". Anyways, very enjoyable character to watch for.

Shizuo Heiwajima is renowned as the strongest man in Ikebukuro. Shizuo apparently doesn't really like violence and has misgivings about his own strength; unfortunately, he has a very short temper and when angered, his body "acts on its own" and he beats everyone up. Shizuo is a very funny character who uses violence to cancel out violence... or when he's just pissed off... or if he sees Izaya. Shizuo Vs Izaya was a constant battle throughout the anime that was really fun to watch.

Celty Sturluson is a Dullahan, an unseelie fairy from Ireland who came to Japan looking for her stolen head (yes, she's headless). Celty's personality is, ironically, one of the most normal and down to earth out of the entire cast. Celty was certainly a character I personally did not enjoy. Celty, a badass who starts off with mysterious potential ends up becoming a useless, weak, and headless babe (always one in an anime...) who falls in love with a scientist.

And that's just the start of it, the list goes on and on, showing how much in detail Durarara focused on "characters". There should be at least one character that the audience can relate to. So, if you're wondering why I wrote useless information in my review, it was to represent how diverse and strong the "characters" were in Durarara.

I thought the opening songs of Durarara were also unique and nice to listen to; I never skipped the openings while I watched the anime. The "jazz"iness in the anime certainly fit the mood of the anime throughout. The voicing was superb, each character's voice fitting their respective personalities. Izaya's voice, quiet yet manipulative and ominous, Shizuo's voice powerful, and deep, Mikado's voice, innocent and normal. The art was solid. The depiction of Ikebukuro is very accurate to the real city in real life actually. Each character had their own uniqueness. Overall very solid. The art style was certainly a bit different from the average anime though, in a sense that you have to watch the anime to understand.

Final Verdict: I like it, so I'd recommend others to watch it as well. Heh, thanks for reading!~