Review of Durarara!!

Durarara is one of those shows which can seem fun looking at first, but deep down, is actually a poorly written show. It is a true waste of good voice actors, good premise and by the time the show ends, nothing has truly changed. Why? Because of lack of a simple principle: SHOW, DON'T TELL. Since the era of entertainment, SHOW, DON'T TELL is an integral part of any show. And it does not mean to focus only on the visual elements, however, it means to leave as much elements of the story line to the viewer's imagination, while bringing about the story. Even exposition, where thereis a lot of talking, can use the principle of show, don't tell by intriguing the audience into the slight hints about the character and also the setting. The principle of world building is built upon this very rule. You don't show the city immediately without discussing about it beforehand and bringing some facts and unique characteristics about the city, making the viewer imagine these to allow for a greater experience. Similar to how the idea of eating a pizza is a lot appetizing than the pizza itself, "Show, don't tell" is a part of entertainment.

All of this is so badly violated in Durarara. For starters, EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER HAS AN EPISODE WHERE THEY HAVE AN EXPOSITION. EVERY DETAIL ABOUT THEIR LIFE IS DISCUSSED IN LENGTH. IT IS DONE SO BADLY THAT YOU MIGHT BE MISTAKEN THAT THEY WERE RECITING THE LIGHT NOVEL. See how the previous sentences looked like I was shouting to you? in a similar fashion, the anime goes out of its way to throw all the facts and force them DOWN YOUR THROAT. See how discomfortable that can be? This turns people off.

In fact, when someone does something, every single character's thoughts are voiced so often, which makes it impossible to sympathize with these characters. Why? If you know what a character is like, and what he/she will do, they become tooo predictable. And you cannot seriously comprehend what went wrong with them when they do something too emotionally. Again, "SHOW, DON'T TELL".

A testament to this fact is Izaya Orihara, a man whose character/life is never explored or told in the anime, however, he remains just as intriguing and mysterious enough to be the only CHARACTER in this entire anime to be likable. And HE IS THE VILLAIN FOR GOD'S SAKES. Imagine how badly the anime should be when the villain is the only one you can root for?!

Because every single character in this show is just a spoilt kid whining to the audience about how bad their life is, it makes us senseless to their actions and makes them hated. RIGHTFULLY TOO. I mean, the thoughts in each one of their minds DISGUST me. The headless biker thinks about how cool a guy fighting is despite the fact that said guy is doing nothing cool. A outsider thinks that a murderous psychopath with another lady giving him love advice must be cool as fuck. In just what world does that work??

In the end of this show, I was just happy that I was able to run off this stupid piece of shit story. The fact that the sequels to this anime aired only after five years and also by a different studio is testament to this effect.

I rate this show a 1/10 because of just this violation that ruined everything. And just as an advice to other anime, and entertainment in general, ALWAYS LEAVE SOMETHING TO THE AUDIENCE'S IMAGINATION. That's the only way to get your audience invested in the characters and also the story. Don't become the train wreck that is Durarara!!(Exclamation mark unintended)

End of review, SPOILERS AHEAD.

PS: I hated that big boobs girl. She was a slut if you ask me, trying to make love to everyone.