Anime Hajime Review: Durarara

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Durarara. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

In the bustling city of Ikebukuro, Mikado Ryugamine (voiced by Toshiyuki Toyonaga) hopes to add excitement to his life.

Mikado meets up with his longtime friend Masaomi Kida (voiced by Mamoru Miyano). The two have not seen each other for years and they are happy to finally have the chance to catch up.

Masaomi takes Mikado on a tour of the town. Along the way, the pair run into several of Masamoi's acquaintances. Everyone is quick to make the newbie feel welcomed. But Masaomi warns of three things that must be avoided.

The first is the mysterious organization known as The Dollars. No one is sure what this group is. But there have been several incidents, some illegal and destructive, associated with The Dollars. Whether any of those rumors are true is anyone’s guess.

The second is Shizuo Heiwajima (voiced by Daisuke Ono). Shizuo is usually calm and collected. That is until you set him off. Quick to anger, Shizuo is able to tap into an endless supply of strength. Considered Ikebukuro strongest, his main weapons are road signs and vending machines. And he's durable. Shizuo can withstand stab wounds, gunshots, and high-speed collisions with cargo trucks.

The third is Izaya Orihara (voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya), a well-known and influential informant. He takes great joy in manipulating people. And he's one of the few people able to go up against Shizuo.

Mikado

After some time, Mikado and Masaomi decide to call it a night. Right before they go their separate ways, a strange cry fills the air. Masaomi tells Mikado they are about to witness an Ikebukuro legend.

Masaomi

Flying down the road, a mysterious biker dressed in black and wearing a yellow helmet. It is none other than the Headless Rider, Celty Sturluson (voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro). And her title is actually accurate. Celty's a supernatural being from Irish lore known as a Dullahan. She has come to Japan to look for her stolen head. But to make money, she works as an underground courier.

In the city filled with remarkable people, something amazing is always bound happen.

Series Positives

“So Odyssey, what is Durarara all about?”

Shizuo

Glad you asked. Durarara is about...Wait a minute...Durarara is the story about...about...?

Um...huh?

I don’t know if I can answer that.

Actually, let me rephrase…I don’t know how I can answer that.

Izaya

There's something for everyone here. Like comedy, there’s comedy. Like romance, there’s romance. Like horror, action, sci-fi, supernatural, or crime dramas, there’s all that and more.

The Story

Simplicity is great, but Durarara is nowhere near simple. Information's thrown at you all the time. There's just so much going on, but never does it feel overwhelming.

Celty

The first few episodes may be a bit intimidating. But stick with it. The story is complex but it's not as bad as it comes across.

The best thing about Durarara is that it knows how to balance. The show takes on so many different genres. And yet, it managed to make them all fit together in a masterful blend of intrigue and excitement. You can go from uncontrollable laughter to the verge of tears to breaking out in a cold sweat all in the same episode.

The transition between each was not only smooth, it was natural. There were no awkward jump cuts, no dragged out scenes, no weird or convenient plot devices.

This series was addicting. So don't even bother with that "I'll watch one more episode" nonsense.

The Characters

Durarara has one of the biggest casts I've ever seen in an anime. With having such a huge pool of characters to draw, it's hard to make everyone feel a part of what's going on.

This show made the whole crew feel important. For the most part. There were a few examples that were...questionable. But the majority had a vital role to play.

Also, if you think you can tell who the main protagonist was, I'm more than happy to listen. This wasn't a one person's story. Durarara was a collection of experiences.

The entire cast was amazing and the show would suffer if any of them weren't around. For me, though, there were two shining stars that stand above the rest.

The first was Shizuo. I always like shows that have a neutral, yet overpowered character. Shizou never went out of his way to get involved. In fact, it would completely go against his nature if he did. Trouble (a.k.a. Izaya) just has a way of finding him.

When Shizuo did fight, he went out of control and over the top. And it was the funniest thing to watch. Any and all tension was gone when he was on screen. To the show’s everlasting credit, the story knew when to do this and it never came off as a tension breaker.

Now Shizou may be great and all, but the person I'm going to remember is Celty. She was so freaking cool. Without question, she is one of the most beautiful anime characters ever. She's not only beautiful in just attractiveness, but in personality as well. She's proof that a pretty face isn't what makes a strong female character. I mean for Christ sake she didn't have a head. However, the way she rocked a black jumpsuit...damn.)

Celty was tough, brilliant, caring. And even though she could kick all the ass, she had a cute side to her.

Series Negatives

Perfect Durarara was not. There were a frustrating number of mistakes to an otherwise well-executed show.

Narration Driven

There's a difference between dialogue and narration. Dialogue helps create character and personality. This facilitates thought-provoking questions. And it makes the story interesting. Durarara did this and was brilliant at it.

Narration is not dialogue. Its best function is either to introduce or to wrap up. When you start to narrate a story you're no longer showing the viewer, you're telling the viewer. It's hard for the audience to build a connection to what's going on if they're told how to feel.

What was weird, Durarara didn't do this all the time. There were scenes that didn't have any narration at all. These moments were way better and far more interesting. It was clear what was happening, what was going on in a character’s mind. All done through imagery and action. Thus, bridging the gap between story and viewer. So if the plot didn’t need to get read to us, why do it at all?

Details, Details, Details

Complexity's great when done well and Durarara did a commendable job with complexity. Yet this show's an example of why I advocate for simplicity.

The more complex you get, the harder it is to keep track of details and the better chance for plot holes. There were two detail-specific things that bugged me about Durarara.

The first was the fact the show jumped the gun way to early a few times. There were scenes where something got introduced. And then wasn't dealt with again until much later in the show. These moments never felt important when they happened so they were forgettable. Then when they got reintroduced, it took a while to figure out what was going on.

The second and more annoying, misuse of details were the incomplete ones. It’s one thing to introduce a concept and bring it back up later. It's a completely different to introduce a concept and then never talk about it again. In Durarara, some things happened that either served no point or were ignored.

These kinds of mistakes risk the integrity of the entire story. Durarara had so much to fall back on, so it was never in danger of falling apart.

Final Thoughts

Durarara was an amazing show. The writing was solid. The characters were outstanding. It was an overall great time.

Because this series is willing to take on every genre, you'll find something you like; I guarantee it. Sure, it suffers from the drawbacks of complexity. And it should have stopped talking every now and then. But it was still fantastic. Well worth your time.