Review of Durarara!!

Well to start it off, Durarara is a series I can pretty safely recommend to most audiences. Pretty much everything is done well. I will say that it doesn't shine quite as brightly as it should, and that is a slight disappointment. But this is a series that I will probably come back to in the future. It is pretty relaxing and a tad slow, but also mysterious. It has some drama and action elements, but these don't hit you too hard... which is often a shame. It is slightly 'intellectual' (a word I am always sure to air-quote) with how it approaches its charactersand themes. This show is an 8 for me, but it is a strong 8.

[Ratings]
Story: 8
Art: 8
Sound: 9
Character: 7
Enjoyment: 7
Overall: 8

[Story: 8]

Summary: The series follows a bunch of people who are tightly knit into a small city community. Things get violent, the stakes are raised, and - when the dust is settled - not everyone is who the appeared to be.

The series is structured interestingly, with a lot of the episodes (especially early on) following a specific character or theme. Hell, the series changes narrators every episode. That being said, it still gives you strong plot development in every episode. There's just a little something extra to bite on, in terms of character development/thought-provoking ideas, while the plot is ramping up. It's nice.

Something that upsets me about the plot is, about halfway through the story, all 3 of the MC's reveal a dramatic shift in perspective and then just kind of roll with it. These characters are the ones that you anchor yourself to since they are the most relatable and 'normal' of the whole cast, but they sort of subvert your attraction to them. This seems more natural when it doesn't happen 'overnight', like with shounen-like character growth based on the characters' position in the plot. In this series, it sort of is just... revealed to you. So you feel no change in the characters; it is just something you have to accept now. It's a big source of dissonance in the plot and it doesn't really line back up again.

Something else worth mentioning is that a good chunk of the plot is driven by character drama. The characters have a ton of potential but are executed upon pretty poorly, so when the plot revolves around character drama, the series suffers.

However, the plot is generally good and the series does a great job at juggling the large cast. There is always a good sense of tension and forward momentum.

[Art: 8]

Art is pretty good. Direction is good, not drifting too far from the standard. The background work is always strong. The character design is great, but the animation style can be... interesting. It's sort of intentionally sloppy, which is fine, but it just suffers a little. Linework around the hair and jawline of several male characters is where it bothers me the most. Characters are what you're looking at 95% of the time, so it's a big deal. Action is done well.

I will say that Anri is very well animated, her hair gives her a great sense of depth in all scenes. If they could mimic this for their other characters, the art would be fantastic.

[Sound: 9]

The sound is very strong. Most scores are appropriate and match in tone. Sound design is very jazzy in nature, so it makes the entire series feel more smooth and less repetitive. I would like to see some things change.

Stronger motifs and higher sound involvement in intense moments. Make the intense/meaningful moments pop a little more. Maybe I am a little too used to this from watching shounen recently.

Also. Silence! Cut the cord sometimes. Let the voice actors stand on their own, they can take it.

[Character: 7]

This is a tough one for me. The characters are good, but they had so much potential. It never feels like you truly connect to the characters... and isn't that what really defines the strength of a character? In short, the characters talk too much. I wanna see the characters do things. Growth by action, not conversation. The sudden change in the MC's I mentioned in the plot section is another sour spot.

[Enjoyment: 7]

It was nice to see what was going on as the plot progressed. There is always forward momentum to keep the audience invested. Action and drama are big players in the plot and are executed exceptionally well, so the series suffers.

[Overall: 8]

Good show. I think I hit everything I wanted to hit. Biggest problems lie in character execution.

I like the OP, where the 'Last time, on Durarara' is sort of baked into the intro. It makes the audience care about watching the intro, which is a good thing. Anyways, good show. Recommended for many.