Review of Durarara!!

firstly let me state that this review DOES include my perspective on this series future installments, YES the sequel Seasons are also 10/10's this is, in my opinion, the anime of the decade for the 10's if that means anything Story: I kept seeing Durarara! on the main site for and finally decided that I would try it, get good reviews, man, am I so glad that I did. The storyline for this anime was by far, brilliant. It was executed in such a fascinating and unique manner. It revolves around several people, each with their own dark secrets and pasts, that areintertwined and shows the events that lead them together and the problems that ensue from each encounter they have. Every person and event is somehow intercorrelated in direct and indirect ways in Ikeburo, the setting for the anime, propelling the story forward towards a climatic and an extremely fitting ending. Not everything was all neatly tied at the end but then again, it shouldn't have been because nothing is ever perfect and not all problems can be solved completely. The anime switches from present time to flashbacks correlating seemingly unrelated events, which was done very nicely, and there is twist after twist so I was kept guessing and left surprised episode after episode. The story has a clear direction and had plenty of humor so I was kept laughing despite the serious events going on and so didn't feel bogged down or depressed. The suspense and humor kept me hooked and I kept wanting to watch until the very end.

Animation: Amazing and perfect for the mood of the anime. It was not sparkly, glossy, and shiny like most modern anime nowadays and I am really glad about that. Now don't get me wrong. Though I do love modern animation and how vibrant and rich in color it can be, this anime took on a different style that wonderfully suited the aura that it was trying to project. It is drabber in color and everything is usually washed in a dark tone except occasionally when they want to show the color of a gang, such as Yellow Scarves or Blue Collars, or to emphasize red eyes of the Slasher or a character of importance but this anime has some dark content and so the coloring was very fitting. Even though the coloring may have been washed down, the details are the reason for the high rating. They add little details to everything that may be missed by many but that really stood out to me because it gave each character and the anime in general more personality. Cell phones had individual charms, there were references to different animes/mangas, each character wore certain types of clothing, important people could be seen secluded in the background where their presence would later be signified, even the gray background people who didn't play a significance in the anime had enough detail that they looked unique and were not left faceless, and houses and rooms within the houses were littered with a mess of papers or decorations that described the personality of the character living there. I don't see traits like that in other anime. Usually, background people either have no features or are left looking homogenous, houses/rooms usually look generic, and there is often little to no care to minute items like phones or mugs or whatnot. I can't forget to mention that the animation of the people was done beautifully. Everyone looked distant and expressed their emotions perfectly and often humorously whether it was through the eyes alone or a slight contortion of the face or even through the way they walked and fought. It was fluid, especially with fighting scenes or with Shizou hurling signpost or vending machines, and never awkward so I have little bad to say about animation.

Sound: I was a huge fan of the first opening and ending and 2nd opening through the 2nd ending was rather generic and forgettable. The first opening in itself was enough to get me to watch the anime though I didn't know what it was about. It was catchy and very cool which is rather hard for an anime to come across and yet this opening captured that essence wonderfully. The ending was fun and upbeat lessening some of the heavy content and nicely done. I liked how it represented how each character was tied to another and showed off their individual personalities. The 2nd opening basically described the direction of the 2nd half of the anime and the complications that were going to ensue and was catchy as well. I liked the details it had, such as the background colors for the three middle school kids, which took me a while to catch on to and I'm sure there are plenty of other slight details that I missed but I might get now if I rewatch it. The soundtrack was nice and had a few pieces that stood out but was on occasion forgettable. Despite the few generic pieces, on the whole, the music really added to each scene to make it more creepy/disturbing or suspenseful depending on the scenario. The Slasher theme was by far so creepy that I can still remember it which means the piece did its job. The voice actors and actresses were spot on and did a brilliant job of the conveying the emotions of the characters and adding depth. Rarely did a character fall flat and a lot of that is due to the VAs.

Overall: The intertwining of events and characters and reshowing of events in different perspectives while constantly switching from present to past creates for a unique anime that kept me hooked and surprised from episode to episode. I repeat, go see this anime if you haven't already. It is not to be missed.