Review of Durarara!!

Wait, a minute is this Baccano: The Next Generation? Seems like it! So anyway the plot of Durarara.has many similarities with the highly underrated but unanimously praised Baccano. From its two openings to its pacing, it is no doubt that the creator of Baccano is the same as DRRR. And for some reason, Wikipedia didn’t need to let me know that these two shows are somehow cousins. But, I do thank Wikipedia for confirming the absolute obvious. The first episode of this show was a snooze in my opinion because the much cooler characters do not make their proper debut till the following episodes. The pilot wasbasically meant to introduce all the characters but at the same time not reveal all the juicy and interesting facts about them. The audience must sit through all 24 episodes to truly get the arcs of this show but it’s worth it because your minds will get blown over and over again with a multiple of twists and turns here there.

However, the first episode didn’t really convince to hang onto this and I almost dropped it. Thank god, I didn’t or else I would have missed out on something truly amazing.

Like Baccano,the show boasts multitude of interesting characters that may not look exactly like what they seem. Hence, let me refer to that old saying about books and looks. And I just realized the two rhymes.

Take everything you know about headless riders and throw it out the window because Celty Struluson is probably the most human character in the show, despite the fact she is a headless being. She is sweet, sensitive and caring and she is one of the most unique anime characters that I have come across.
Not to mention that she is a freaking badass! I mean this girl has my full respect.

You go Celty, kick their sorry asses!

Then we have the main antagonist of the series Izaya Orihara, or as I like to call to him “The Likeable Version of Light Yagami 2.0” and in case you didn’t know “The Likeable Version of Light Yagami 1.0” is Lelouch. This guy is a freaking troll and he effortlessly causes chaos on a daily basis. That to for his own entertainment purposes. He claims to do so for his love of the human race and wants to be this God that controls them all as if he they are his little puppets. To him they are like pawns on a chessboard. Or as I like to call it pawns on a Chinese Chessker board.

Izaya is undefinable and sadly we don’t get learn more about his childhood or past unlike his rival’s, who also coincidentally happens to be my favourite character of the entire show.

And that my friends is Shizuo Heiwajima or as I and Izaya like to call him Shizu Chan!

I knew this guy would be one of the highlights of the series ever since I saw him throw a freaking fridge at Izaya. He is basically like the ‘Hulk’ minus the huge ass biceps and the green skin colour. But deep down he really is a caring and lonely guy who just wants love. No, not from Izaya.
Oh god, stop trying to make Shizaya happen, it’s never gonna happen!
And I just pissed a millions of yaoi fangirls, I am off to a good start alright!

But joking aside, you do not want mess with this guy because if you do , then Shizuo will definitely turn you into mush with a freaking street lamp. P.S:- Did you know he hates violence?

The other character I want to give out a shoutout to is Shinra, a plastic surgeon who happens to be Celty’s love interest. And I swear these two maybe the most odd but yet interesting couple ever. The rest of the characters also have non-cliché traits despite the fact they aren’t as awesome as the four characters I just talked about. And it’s also pathetic that the three main leads are a bunch of high school students when me and everybody else wished it was Celty, Izaya and Shizuo who got the most screen time. However, despite the fact that Mikaidou, Anri and Masayome aren’t the next Luke, Leia and Han, they are still very relevant to the show as they have their own very unique and interesting story arcs. So I will give props for that!

The two opening themes are just like in the style of Baccano’s and basically it introduces all the 20 or so characters of the show. I actually prefer the second opening rather than the first one mainly because of it’s tone which hints that the second half of the show is going to be darker than the first half.

Among the two endings, I think in my opinion the first one stood out more because of it’s upbeat song. The animation for the two endings is nothing spectacular but the song Trust Me is definitely an earworm that you can jam to. And I don’t know why but I get the feeling that this song is more suited rather for a reverse harem anime rather than an action shonen one. Nonetheless, the song is brilliant and I just can’t stop listening.

The animation for the show was done by Brains Base who also did the animation for Baccano(no surprise there). The animation may not be the best but it is certainly good. The character designs are all amazing especially of characters such as Celty and Shizuo. The only thing I didn’t like about the animation was when they made the bystanders grey just to focus on one character or a group of characters.For me that kind of sucks the realism of the show for a few seconds but then again it’s not a problem, I doubt will be bothering too many people.

In case you didn’t notice, I really didn’t give you guys a summary of what the show’s about mainly because I can’t sell the show to you without spoiling some stuff here and there. You just have to go with your gut and watch the thing and then tell me whether your mind was blown or not.

Then again it might not get blown if at times you might not understand what’s going on. Even if I understood the majority of the show, for some people it might be confusing. But, after some episodes that problem tends to go away.

In fact, my brain actually got blown to bits during episode 11 which also happens to be my favourite episode of the entire show. P.S:- I know I have mentioned Baccano millions of time in this review, but then again the show does so too.

So, Durarara may not have the best animation or any entertaining leads but it has a memorable supporting cast and unique storylines. This is a show I think girls and boys will both like because of the action, humour, romance and well mind boggling plot twists.

Go give Durarara a try now and if you haven't already.Its flaws can be easily ignored and you can definitely have a blast with this show!