Review of Durarara!!

Expect the unexpected: that phrase doesn't come truer than in Durarara! This anime starts and leads up to an amazing story, backplot, twists and turns that'll leave your stomach in knots. However, towards the end the story falls flat on its face, devoid of deeper meaning or any sort of audience connection as the inner theme prematurely bursts out, forcing you down the gullet of paranoia and a little disappointment. The story was told in such a fascinating way, it was hard to grasp at first. It simply wasn't told from a main protagonists point of view, but split among multiple major and minor characters thatall told their individual stories that intertwined like spaghetti. This made for an interesting roller coaster ride: you never knew whose story you would listen to in the episode. The whole three faction conflict, mixed with string-pulling and several interesting characters was most invigorating. Several interesting backgrounds and circumstances were revealed, with each characters' problems laid bare from their internal struggles. Loved it. However, this also made for a bit of confusion: sometimes, the characters had flashbacks or the episode wasn't necessarily in chronological order; but that ALSO made it so exhilarating, holding onto the edge of your seat. But what irked me the most was the build-up: suspense, pent up from the start of the anime, built constantly and continuously throughout the anime as more and more information was revealed. The ending, by far, was the most anticlimatic ending I've ever seen. Ever. In the history of everything I've watched (which I know I haven't watched a lot, but STILL). I was literally so disappointed at the ending, it was like watching a balloon deflate instead of hearing a loud BANG from a needle stabbed suddenly. I wanted to strangle myself......

TLDR: I give the story a 7, because it was yes, overall it was an interesting and new story; however, the ending disappointed the heck out of me.

The art, however, did not disappoint me in the least. The detail was gorgeous, and if anyone has watched Baccano! before, look for the hidden messages and various details within Durarara. It'll surprise you.... Overall, I enjoyed the characters' lanky feel and the facial expressions were fantastic. There was little the art skimped on; the colors were smooth and flowing, the weather reflected the mood. I know this sounds cliche, but I've seen other animes skimp on the detail, so I give credit where credit is due.

On man, the songs and background mood music really were astounding. The OP I loved; it was fast-paced and jazzy, just like the overall mood. The ED was pop-sounding and rock-influenced; I loved the ED much more. During key moments in the anime, the music dropped to this foreboding track, and it made me feel much more engrossed. During the happy moments, there was cheerful, peppy song that really deflated the mood and made it bearable again.

The characters were, how can I say, either fantastically engrossing or stubbornly irritating. The main protagonist really grated my nerves for much of the story. Mikado continually refused to impress me, and that contributed to the anime's general decline; however, his backstory sort of explains his situation..... Masaomi, his best bud that carries a dark secret, is a well-developed character that really showed bravado and fortitude, doing everything right and more. A great character. Anri, who also harbors an ominous secret, also could have been one of the best characters of the whole series; however, she really never lives up to my expectations and constantly led me on, only to crash my dreams. The black rider was AMAZING; she really carried the story's underlying message well. Most of the other minor characters, like the hilarious mad-scientist Shinra, the hard-to-understand Shizuo, and the stolid Kadota really packed a punch. It's just two of the main characters really dragged the rest of the crew down, making for an iffy cast.

All in all, what made me so mad was this had so much potential, only to really trip on that one banana peel of character development and story climaxing. Everything else was superb and top-notch; but certain elements really made such a great anime so depressingly.....disappointing. There really is no other word, but I wasn't left with this glowing feeling of satisfaction, just emptiness. Who knows? This may not be your cup of tea; it sure wasn't mine. It was refreshingly entertaining and certainly different than your average Joe anime, but it fell far from the bulls-eye. After all, everything in the end stays the same.