Durarara!!! Yes I put a third exclamation mark, of my own. Now, where to start. This was an epic series, of a different scale and genre from most other anime. It's different, it's damned complex, it's seriously epic. What more could I say.
Durarara, an anime with a strange name, and with a different type of story than others, according to my friends' recommendations. I've only seen the first season so far, and decided I'll rest my brain for a moment before going to the second season, which, according to my friends, will be more jumbled. Even at halfway through season 1, I had no big idea whatever is going on in Ikebukuro. Which is, actually, fine. I love these kinds of complex, unpredictable story. Trusting my friends that this is a great show did not hurt.
Huh, didn't Izaya basically say to never trust anyone?
Thus I'll give my own thoughts here. Spoilers, intentional or otherwise, may be present. Oh, I do know that there's Durarara x2 Ketsu airing now, but I'll have to catch up with everything. I'll just put My Thoughts again for that second season.
The story starts simple, by a boy, Ryuugamine Mikado, who came to Ikebukuro (in Tokyo) in an attempt to escape the mundane daily life. He met with his old friend, the funny Masaomi Kida, and went to school together, and became friends with the shy and quiet Sonohara Anri.
And then, we learned that everyone is special in their own way. Ikebukuro is one strange town, full of wondrous people. We have the headless rider, the Dullahan, Celty Sturluson, and her strange doctor/scientist of a lover, Shinra Kishitani. Then we have the strongest person in the world, Heiwajima Shizuo, whose arch-nemesis is the influential-but-childish-and-not-right-in-the-head information broker, Orihara Izaya. Then we have Kida's friends, the Van group, whose names I haven't remembered, who frequents a shop where a dark-skinned Russian, Simon, work. Then the girl alleged dead, Mika Harima, and her lover, whose-his-name, whose sister, who heads a company but later works for Izaya, likes him. And...
Still so much characters. I am at a loss. Perhaps a good thing, before this character line-up becomes too long. Just see in the Wiki.
Point being, there are so much characters of different flavors, each special in their own way. All of them are great. Even our heroes have flaws, and our villains unclear (are there even 'villains'?)... like Game of Thrones. (perhaps I should have used 'protagonist' and 'antagonist)
Let's start from the beginning, the Dollars/Dullahan's Head arc--or whatever it is called.
A dullahan usually travels with her head cradled in one arm. Celty lost hers, her head stolen in Japan, so she came to Ikebukuro. I didn't expect the story to have this level of supernatural. And I also didn't expect this story to have a strange love dramas (though not surprised), between Harima and the siblings, and Shinra with Celty (why isn't he creeped?).
This story expands to envelop our main characters, especially Mikado--and what surprised me was, at the end, we finally know that he was the one that made the Dollars gang. But seriously, which educated person accepts a shady email request to join a gang?
And it turned out, Izaya is one shrewd man. He should be the antagonistic info broker, working on his whim, but his personality was just so hilarious, and so smart, that I just can't bear to hate him. People are fascinating.
Now, on to the second arc, the slashers. The search for the strongest man in Ikebukuro--Shizuo--connected with a string of attacks in the town, with the victims possessed by a cursed blade. It turned out, Anri was the one that held the 'mother' blade, which she kept to protect her loneliness.
I don't get it either, however this arc really fleshes Anri's conflict. Add the surprising revelation that Kida is actually the founder of another street gang, the Yellow Scarves, we have an interesting finale brewing up. Is it really coincidence that all our three teens each have their secrets?
Finally, we have the Yellow Scarves arc, where we see how their friendship start to become distant, starting with Kida who rejoined the Yellow Scarves to find the Slasher, who seemingly have attacked Anri, which turned out as a gang war between the Dollars and Yellow Scarves, which also dragged Celty and Shizuo along... see when I said that the story is complex?
That end had a nice buildup. I usually hate plot with misunderstandings, however this was... well, something different. And the end tied the loose ends. I'll leave you to watch.
What else to comment on. The art style is just normal, nothing like Hai to Gensou no Grimgar. However, it is quite nicely animated. Especially the fights featuring Shizuo. That guy is awesome.
The audio. Voice: all well and great. Music: simple, playful, not teary. Reminds you of music from old detective movies (probably). The openings, Uragiri no Yuuyake and Complication, strikes me as upbeat and fascinating, while the first closing, Trust Me, was one of only several closings to reach my playlists.
Durarara!!! Oh, what a lovely different show. It covers about everything from supernatural to drama to action, with a seriously complicated and interesting story arc. Also, the characters are all epic, memorable, and properly developed. Just, what more could you ask for from this first season. Now, I'll be watching the second, for this thing had gotten me hooked. But could this displace Shigatsu?
 |
| More or less all the important characters in Durarara. Credits to the person who made this image found in Pinterest. |
Still so much characters. I am at a loss. Perhaps a good thing, before this character line-up becomes too long. Just see in the Wiki.
Point being, there are so much characters of different flavors, each special in their own way. All of them are great. Even our heroes have flaws, and our villains unclear (are there even 'villains'?)... like Game of Thrones. (perhaps I should have used 'protagonist' and 'antagonist)
Let's start from the beginning, the Dollars/Dullahan's Head arc--or whatever it is called.
A dullahan usually travels with her head cradled in one arm. Celty lost hers, her head stolen in Japan, so she came to Ikebukuro. I didn't expect the story to have this level of supernatural. And I also didn't expect this story to have a strange love dramas (though not surprised), between Harima and the siblings, and Shinra with Celty (why isn't he creeped?).
This story expands to envelop our main characters, especially Mikado--and what surprised me was, at the end, we finally know that he was the one that made the Dollars gang. But seriously, which educated person accepts a shady email request to join a gang?
And it turned out, Izaya is one shrewd man. He should be the antagonistic info broker, working on his whim, but his personality was just so hilarious, and so smart, that I just can't bear to hate him. People are fascinating.
Now, on to the second arc, the slashers. The search for the strongest man in Ikebukuro--Shizuo--connected with a string of attacks in the town, with the victims possessed by a cursed blade. It turned out, Anri was the one that held the 'mother' blade, which she kept to protect her loneliness.
I don't get it either, however this arc really fleshes Anri's conflict. Add the surprising revelation that Kida is actually the founder of another street gang, the Yellow Scarves, we have an interesting finale brewing up. Is it really coincidence that all our three teens each have their secrets?
Finally, we have the Yellow Scarves arc, where we see how their friendship start to become distant, starting with Kida who rejoined the Yellow Scarves to find the Slasher, who seemingly have attacked Anri, which turned out as a gang war between the Dollars and Yellow Scarves, which also dragged Celty and Shizuo along... see when I said that the story is complex?
That end had a nice buildup. I usually hate plot with misunderstandings, however this was... well, something different. And the end tied the loose ends. I'll leave you to watch.
What else to comment on. The art style is just normal, nothing like Hai to Gensou no Grimgar. However, it is quite nicely animated. Especially the fights featuring Shizuo. That guy is awesome.
The audio. Voice: all well and great. Music: simple, playful, not teary. Reminds you of music from old detective movies (probably). The openings, Uragiri no Yuuyake and Complication, strikes me as upbeat and fascinating, while the first closing, Trust Me, was one of only several closings to reach my playlists.
Durarara!!! Oh, what a lovely different show. It covers about everything from supernatural to drama to action, with a seriously complicated and interesting story arc. Also, the characters are all epic, memorable, and properly developed. Just, what more could you ask for from this first season. Now, I'll be watching the second, for this thing had gotten me hooked. But could this displace Shigatsu?
___
Durarara!! is a light novel by Ryohgo Narita, then adapted into anime by Brain's Base Studios.
PS. Eightieth post!
Edit 28/1/16: Changed title, resized image, added info to first and last paragraphs.
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