Review of Durarara!!

From the people who brought you Baccano!, comes another series with a lot of the same ideas and themes told in a unique and different way. The only difference is that it's longer in terms of episodes. But does that mean it's more entertaining then the ridiculously fun show it proceeded from? Let's find out. The Story (7/10) A young boy named Mikado Ryūgamine moves into the real life city of Ikebukuro as an invitation from his childhood friend Masaomi Kida, in order to attend Raira Academy, meeting a shy timid girl, named Anri Sonohara. From there he realizes that the city he moved into isn't assafe as he thought it would. As he comes across some very dangerous and mysterious people. Like a violent man with superhuman strength, an information broker, and a mysterious gang known as "The Dollars". But the most abnormal being he comes across is a modern day version of the Headless Horseman called, "The Headless Rider". Her names goes by Celty Sturluson, who has a mission to retrieve her stolen head, with the help of a scientist named Shinra Kishitani. Most of the episodes revolve around Masaomi trying to coupe with his new home despite all the dangerous goings on in it, and the mysterious people he meets and learns more about when learning their backstories.

I will say this series does have aspects that makes a good anime. For one it knows when to give a certain character an episode mostly focusing him or her's backstory, as well as knowing the right time to introduce them. Though if there's one thing it suffers from, is that some characters that are more interesting then the main ones, don't get that much screen time. Now I'm not saying the three characters that are considered the main ones bad, they just aren't as interesting as the other characters. But I'll go more into detail later. That and their are some elements of the show that are left unfinished, but I guess that's just the animes way of making you want to read the Light Novels. Instead of adapting the entire source into an anime, they just adapt the first few books as a way of promoting. Giving people a motive to read more. Which....now that I think about it, is actually an ingenius idea.

Once compared to Baccano!, in my opinion, it doesn't hold that bright a candle to that series. Baccano! just has a much more intriguing way of telling 3 stories simultaneously and manages to end them around the same time in the course of 13 episodes. It tells so much with so little episodes. That and the characters are so much more interesting and fun to watch. Also, while it only adapted the first few books, a lot feels resolved and there are only 1 or 2 loose ends left. Allowing the anime to stand on it's own. Durarara!! does a good job following Baccano!'s foot steps, just not to a point where it's a worthy successor.

The Dub (8/10)

Aniplex is a dubbing company I don't see dubs as much as Funimation, or Bandai. But for what they are, they did good. Like every anime I've seen before, it does have the regulars that I'm use to hearing. Michelle Ruff, Crispin Freeman, Johnny Yong Bosch, Steve Blum, Kari Wahlgren, Stephanie Sheh, the list goes on. I won't go down every voice, but I will talk about the ones that really stand out. I really loved hearing Michelle Ruff as Anri Sonohara, as the voice reminds me of Yuki Nagato's human counterpart. Crispin Freeman was very entertaining as Shizuo Heiwajima, which was the second time I heard him being angry since Haruhi Season 2. Johnny Yong Bosch is the go too guy to play the shady, slimy, and very mysterious character. In this shows case, Izaya Orihara. Kari Wahlgren I didn't recognize when she's voicing Celty. So cudos to her. Steve Blum's voice is always entertaining to hear, even if most of the time it's the same voice. The dubbers make sure they pick the right voices for each individual character, rather then just picking these guys just because of their status' in the industry.

But there's this one little nitpick I feel like talking about. This isn't that big a spoiler, but Isaac and Miria from Baccano! make an appearance (Which is odd considering their are countless times where the show they came from appears in a big screen in the city.....Paradox?) and since Funimation isn't the one dubbing this series, they got Sam Riegel and Stephanie Sheh to voice them.......and BOY do they sound TERRIBLE! I can tell they were trying.....but not too much. But other then that, it's a good dub.

The Characters (7/10)

Like Baccano!, this series has a gigantic ensemble of characters. So we might be here all day if I explain every single one. So instead, I'll just talk about the major ones and give my brief thoughts on them, and then talk about what they have in common. There's the main character Mikado Ryūgamine, who......is actually the most uninteresting character in the show. In my opinion at least. I mean, there's one interesting thing that he does, but that's it. There's also his childhood friend Masaomi Kida, who kinda reminds me of Tamaki Suoh a bit. In terms of design and personality, but a lot more tone down. Anri Sonohara does seem like your typical shy, timid, big breasted girls you're use to seeing from KyoAni shows, but we learn a lot more about her past.....with some of disturbing aspects to it. There's also this gang lead by Kyohei Kadota, and other members include a guy obsessed with his fan, and two cheerful otaku's who have a fun gimmick of referencing other animes a-la Lucky Star. One of the most entertaining characters is Shizuo Heiwajima. A violent guy dressed as a butler who ironically hates violence, who usually tries to kill a shady smug informant named Izaya Orihara. But their fights usually break up by the black russian sushi shop owner, Simon Brezhnev.

Like I said, there are tons of characters in this series. Though one thing they all share in common is the fact that most of them have their backstories, their inner depth, or are just fun to watch. Though character that I thought really stood out was the headless rider, Celty Sturluson. She was the highlight of this anime for several reasons. Despite having no head, she does manage to have a personality and can be very expressive. Through her body language and her way of communicating. Through texting what she says through an iTouch looking phone. That and her backstory on how she lost her head is actually pretty tragic, which makes you route for the character. She does get assistance from a scientist named Shinra Kishitani. Whose relationship with Celty can take many twists and turns along the way.

This is a pretty entertaining cast, but it's not as memorable as the one in Baccano! Which gave equal amount of screen time for each character.

The Music (7/10)

In tradition, the music revolves around jazzy and blues like music that can be catchy when it wants to be. Not only that, but both opening themes do follow the same format as Baccano's. While the music, it shows every single character and places them in still frames, giving the characters name. The first opening theme "Trust Me" is a very catchy song that's very reminiscent of several pop songs from the early 2000's. The visuals are so fun to watch, that you'll find yourself re-watching the end credits. As it features all the characters in some form of tower, where each one carries the other in a funny looking way. The second ending theme "Butterfly" really suites the more darker tone of the second half. Which it's visuals have a similar format as Trust Me's, but not as entertaining.

Overall (7/10)

Durarara!! may be the best anime with the stupidest title. Even if it's not on par with it's sister series, it still manages to be fun to watch in it's own right. With it's intriguing ideas, fun characters, and dark atmosphere. I high recommend it to those who really enjoyed Baccano! Just don't expect it to be as good.