Review of Durarara!!

I TRIED REALLY HARD TO NOT PUT SPOILERS IN THIS, but if you're the kind of person who really, really tries to avoid them then maybe bypass this one. I thought the first few episodes were confusing and it frustrated me that I couldn't see how the plot tied together. Around the middle of the series, though, I was enamored. It was one plot twist after another after another, and I couldn't wait to see how it would be strung together. However, the end left me very underwhelmed. I don't claim to be good at reviewing. This is more stream of consciousness thananything else, as I literally just watched the last episode.

Miscellanious thing I really liked
I was kind of in love with how, when a character would be talking or narrating, background noise would still be going on. Sometimes it overpowered what they were saying and it felt more real. I don't think I've seen another show that does something like that, or that has two characters talking over each other so frequently that it gets hard to separate it at times. That was an aspect of the show that really, really hooked me at the beginning.

Characters
Pros: In just 26 episodes, this show was able to give personality to a wide range of people from all walks of life. I thought the cast was diverse and I found myself caring about characters I didn't think I would. The cast definitely wasn't flat or static, or by any means boring.

Cons: Something irked me about every single character. Every. Single. One. had a flaw or a mannerism or something that I just didn't like. In some cases, it kept me from really caring about the character's plot line at all. But in most cases, the positives of the character outweighed the negatives to the point that I enjoyed them.
I also couldn't tell what the fuck the relationships were between a lot of them. Maybe I didn't pay enough attention. But it irked me that characters like Simon and Shizuo would just kind of hang around and it was implied that everyone knew them. Yeah, they're kind of hard to miss, so it makes sense people would notice them. But I felt like the relationships between a lot of the characters were never explained.

Overall, my problems with the characters stem from my problems with the plot, I think. So it's difficult for me to objectively talk about them at this point.

Plot
Pros: Well, points for uniqueness, that's for sure.
The middle portion of the series (roughly around episodes 7 - 17) was amazing. I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next because I couldn't GUESS what would happen next. And I loved that.

Cons: Actually, I have a lot of issues with the plot overall. I think I was expecting it to go in a different direction than it did. I can't explain this without spoilers, though, so maybe I suck at my job.

I do not think characters' motives were adequately explained. I can't accept the reasons they state because this series never *showed me* they felt that way. They just told me. What the characters said was rarely backed up by what they did. It was just a lot of me being told what was happening. It was a series of events that only felt like a true story for a little, but the beginning and end were so underwhelming that the good part gets buried behind that.

The gang stuff? Okay, I could get on board with that. I never cared about gangs but I think Durarara!! painted a good picture of a city at war with itself. It felt real and there was tension and suspense. But... Where the series starts and ends don't make sense to me. When I can't see connections, I get bothered. So I'm sure a lot of this is my fault more than the series' itself.

Themes
Now I don't know if "themes" is exactly the right word here, but it's what I'm using.

I hated how blatant the themes in this series were. The reoccurring theme of love and doing anything for it and embracing it was so over the top and in your face, I wanted to puke. It wasn't because I found it corny or cliche, but because it was illustrated through people who are CHILDREN. They're spewing all of this ~love is the answer~ and ~if you think you love someone, why wouldn't you sacrifice yourself for them?~ bullshit. And the only adult couple we see often, I never felt a genuine connection between them.

There was also the theme of the past coming back to get you. I can't explain this part without giving away spoilers, but it was really beating me over the head at a certain point, and I wanted to stab someone.

.... So, in the end, this show gave me hours of entertainment. It was worth the watch, and I'm glad I saw it. But it wasn't amazing, and I have no desire to watch it again. It didn't leave any lasting impression on me. I don't want to sound all negative, or like I hated it. I certainly didn't hate it. I was just disappointed by the way it progressed. I know shows are not supposed to be about what I want, and I know the creator usually has a message they're trying to send and that's why they do what they do. I just wasn't impressed.