Review of Durarara!!

I’m a little disappointed in this series. I like it but maybe my expectations were a tad bit too high. The series starts out great with many different characters with varying goals and personalities. I got the feeling then that the plot would involve all these different characters and intertwine their stories, but I was kind of mistaken. There are many characters, yes, but most of them fall to the wayside after their issues are resolved. They still exist and we see them now and again but they do nothing for the plot. Most of them also lack any real goal, even the antagonists motivation isbasically being bored, as far as I could tell.

You would also expect such a series to be complex and intriguing when following so many different characters, but it fell short of my expectations yet again. The plot basically boils down to the three main characters being the center of the entire conflict. This was the exact opposite of what I hoped the series would turn into.

It also sometimes makes references to other anime clichés. This can be cool but it is done in such an obvious way. One character in the show says the things he would do if he was cliché and then ends up doing something else. This just makes the show come off as a bit too show-offy, in my opinion.

The story is also told in a more confusing way than it has to. This makes it more interesting but at the same time a little annoying. Everything that happens (I think, hard to keep track of it all) gets an explanation at some point even if it didn’t make sense or felt like coincidences at the time it happened.

Something else I found weird about the characters is that they are way stronger and way more skilled at fighting than they should be. There are also some supernatural elements in the series which I can accept, but that everyone (except Mikado lol) is a skilled fighter breaks the immersion for me a little.

At least you won’t be bored. A lot of different stuff happens at the same time which makes everything a large, and sometimes confusing, mess. It’s quite fine but I expected a lot more.