Review of Durarara!!

Durarara!! does a great job of combining several stories into one main one, a difficult task for animes all around. It mixes action with supernatural and a pinch of romance (a twisted kind for a few of the characters). The first opening and ending themes fit the personalities of the characters and the anime visually and musically (the music was super catchy to the point that I would actually smile and dance to it). The score/soundtrack for the duration of Durarara!! also fit with anime's characters and their interactions, especially the creepy portions. The first half of the show goesat a slow and steady pace in introducing the characters which may cause some to consider dropping it. But, for those who continue to watch, an excellent story with superb pacing awaits. (A simile/metaphor to put the pacing into perspective: the first half of the anime is like someone dangling a small carrot on a string in front of a rabbit, it lures the rabbit in slowly [but the rabbit can lose interest] then for the second half of the anime an even bigger and fresher carrot replaces the previous one and the rabbit is enthralled.) Rather than focusing the development on a few main characters, the majority of characters and their development are woven and intertwined effortlessly. In regards to voice acting (English dubbed version), Johnny Yong Bosch does an amazing portrayal of Izaya Orihara; he conveys the character's cunningness and malevolence (along with a possibly psychotic nature). Overall, (after the eighth or ninth episode) I was hooked to Durarara!! and I would suggest it to those who are interested in action and the super-natural as well as exquisite character development.