Hey Anon! Yes, I have both read the novels (original content) and watched the anime because I absolutely love this series. :)) Here’s my tag for it.
Generally when a series is a popular, it’s for a good reason and Durarara isn’t an exception. So personally, I would truly recommend it for anyone who’s after novelty (it’s really one of a kind) and who doesn’t mind when the series appears too intricately twisted for a simple summary.
The complex part of it isn’t the plot, but rather the characters: Narita-sensei doesn’t write your conventional or typical characters and that’s why this series is so good. The main plot line, so to say, would be “a story of twisted love” and if you decide to watch or read this series, then you’ll find out that “love” can take on a lot of meanings.
As with every series though, the best way to know if you might come to enjoy it would be to try it by yourself: I’d say… if you don’t find it interesting, not even a little bit, after the first four episodes then maybe it’s not for you, knowing that it only gets better the more you watch.
I’m positive that the first episode will leave you confused and the second maybe even more so. By the third you may appreciate some characters and aspects of this series though and the real test of whether or not you find the show interesting would be episode 4.
That’s my initial experience with it. It’s hard to provide a simple and spoiler-free summary though so I’ll just say that I came upon Durarara as I was searching for a series simply about a town and its inhabitants’ daily routine, which is exactly what Durarara is about… until you met the main villain (no worries though, he shows up fast).
So basically if you’re looking for a cool show, with mysterious elements and a cast full of complex characters & incredible dynamics, then Narita-sensei is your man (all of his novel series are like that).
I hope it helps a little? Sorry if not. :3 Have a nice day Anon!
Hi Anon! Well, the cast is huge, but sure, I do have characters I like more than others! It was hard to choose, but in no particular order (warning: spoilers everywhere)…
Ryuugamine Mikado
Because he started as a seemingly good and innocent kiddo…
before he lost his shit in a similar
manner
to Anakin Skywalker or Yagami Light (it’s the fallen angel trope: he went completely extreme to protect his ideals).
It used to be a subject of debate but in my opinion he lost it way more than Kida and, as Aoba once wondered, no this isn’t entirely due to Izaya or Aoba himself trying to mess with/use him. Rather it’s because he was bored of the ordinary way before the series had even started.
After all, that’s the main reason why he created the Dollars and why he moved to Ikebukuro, so his downfall isn’t that surprising after he met Celty and got to witness how powerful what he had created turned out to be (regarding the whole situation with Namie, Seiji and Mika).
That’s what makes a MC interesting though, so I’m not complaining. 🙂
Spoiler alert if you don’t read the novels Anon, but I also like how his arc and Anri’s end: it’s a shared conclusion that is expanded on in the SH novels. Mikado was bored of the ordinary, which was the basis of his character arc, but now he will never have the chance to go back to an entirely normal life anymore. I find that very fitting. ^^
Celty Sturluson
The other MC! And actually I wonder if there is anyone who dislikes her? Personally I found her incredible and that from the very moment of her introduction. It’s the only Dullahan I ever met in fiction so that makes her pretty unique, haha!
I also love the irony that she was more human & gentle than humans themselves and that she ended up falling in love with one of the most selfish humans ever. That being said, DRRR is literally “a story of twisted love” so I hope she gets to live long and happy years with Shinra. 🙂
Karisawa Erika
Because she’s an adorable Otaku and cosplay fan. I love how cheerful she always is, how she’s such a great friend and support to anyone who needs her.
I also love her VA (Tagaki Ayahi-san) and the fact that some other VAs of the series
(Mikado’s, Anri’s and Aoba’s iirc? or maybe Izaya’s and Shizuo’s?)
actually mentioned her character as a favorite for all the manga/anime references she’s constantly making. xDD
Finally she’s a great singer, many characters think so, and I don’t know why but I find this little trivia fact very enjoyable.
Orihara Mairu & Kururi
Count as 1 character even if there are two of them, just like it was explained in the novels. :))
I just… love how they’re very similar to Izaya in almost all of his good sides (that is: well informed, creative, cunning, dangerous, capable to protect themselves if they’re together) but they share none of why he’s a villain.
As such it’s amazing that they get along with Shizuo, Eijirou, Namie and Aoba, to name a few, when these characters absolutely can’t stand Izaya.
Also the irony that they’re big big fans of ‘Hanejima Yuuhei’ when Izaya and Shizuo hate each other? Pretty funny. 😀
Heiwajima Shizuo
So many feels for this character, because he is such a good guy yet he has a terrible view of himself because of his huge physical strength and anger issues, but also mostly because Izaya is constantly trying to pass him off as a monster.
It’s kinda why the Shizaya ship is a NOTP for me (despite really enjoying it when I was younger): Shizuo truly deserves the peace he wants as well as to learn to live with himself, instead of constantly being involved in schemes just because Izaya has a complex with him (I’m with Simon on this).
So anyway, he’s a great guy, he saved the situation so many times and he almost always sees through Izaya’s plans, so all the more reasons to love him.
Vorona
Amazing growth and character development + she is partially the reason Izaya vanished from the city (for now at least) while also making sure Shizuo wouldn’t become a murderer and, as much as I love Izaya’s character, that was fair and what needed to happen.
So I’m grateful to her and I hope she’ll eventually come back just like she wanted. :))
Akabayashi Mizuki
Someone once made a post about all the reasons Akabayashi is True Love My Yakuza and I’ll add just one: his VA, Yamaguchi Kappei-san (also L in Death Note) because damn, it’s a delight to listen to him speaking.
There is nothing to understand, he’s just incredible and I’m grateful to him for all that he did for both Anri and Mikado.
Kadota Kyohei
An old fashioned hero type of character, but isn’t that why we like him?
He saved the situation so many times, he’s got clear limits in what he will or won’t do, so he’s pretty amazing and I just love the whole ‘I’m no leader’ when he has the most loyal gang out of anyone in the series. xD
I’m also pretty happy about the fact that he’s a friend to Shizuo while not being a pawn to Izaya and someone who Celty and Shinra are happy to invite for hotpot, all at the same time. That just speaks of how great he is.
Rokujo Chikage
Warning: he’s my son. ❤
A ladies man (not a womanizer) but only in the most respectful way you can imagine: yes, he has something like 100 girlfriends because he’s constantly flirting with every girl he sees, but they’re all aware of this fact and okay about it (and about sharing dates with each other), so no judging.
Also he’s a student, has a part time job, is the leader of a bousouzouku gang called Toramaru in Saitama and yet he still finds the time to come to Ikebukuro to help characters he met just this one time. xDD
So he’s a pretty chivalrous guy, even towards guys (he takes his debts quite seriously), and that’s why he’s a fave!
Orihara Izaya
Well, DRRR wouldn’t be the series it is without Izaya so of course I love him, despite how joyful I am whenever he’s punched, stabbed or thrown around violently, because each time he deserves it. xD
In fact, he’s probably one of the most complex villains I ever read about and this is really emphasized by the way Kamiya Hiroshi-san voices him. Tbh I think DRRR in general stands out as a series, because
the main focus is the cast, not the plot, and all the VAs did their job quite amazingly (a big reason why, even tho’ the anime’s s2 didn’t cover the story as well as s1, I still enjoy it greatly).
But anyway: Izaya’s an ass. He knows that, everyone knows that and either hates him or rolls their eyes. When it comes to understanding him though, I think reading the novels or listening to what Shinra has to say on the subject is the most important.
Too many times Izaya was called a sociopath and I used to make this mistake too, but that’s just not who he is at all. That’s why I tend to think that the way Shinra described him and his love of humans to Manami in the last novel of the series is a direct consequence of his parents not really being around.
It’s actually hard to explain without quoting the discussion itself, so I’ll leave it at that for this post, but I do blame the absence of the Orihara parents regarding the way their 3 kids turned out to be.
I love them like that though and I love even more when Izaya himself shows a hint of weakness/annoyance about certain topics (Shinra, his complex with Shizuo, his sisters, his dislike of Saika, Tsukumoya, etc), so I wouldn’t even want their parents to try and make amends for not being around.
Anyway, I just don’t think it’s possible to enjoy DRRR as a series if you hold a real dislike for Izaya’s character, if just because it’s obvious that he’s going to be a pain in the back of most of the cast from very early on + we get to see his POV almost everytime something happens.
I find Narita-sensei is one of the best when it comes to writing complex and very unique characters, so Izaya is definitely enjoyable to read about!
Special mention: Kida, Anri, Simon, Akane, Shinra, Tom, Ruri, Kasuka, Saki, Yumasaki and Togusa. Oh and Shiki, idk why but I like him too. xD
As with every series, it’s actually way easier and quicker to list characters I don’t like, especially in DRRR because they’re all characters that aren’t really put under a good light by Narita-sensei himself, but I hope this answers your question.
As always sorry for rambling and have a nice weekend Anon!
//Just some thoughts. The people that hurt Shinra were Nakura, Adabashi, Jinnai Yodogiri, and Kujiragi Kasane.
Izaya basically vowed to make Nakura’s entire life hell.
Izaya locked Adabashi in his apartment for three days until he managed to escape with a broken leg of his own sheer will.
Izaya got rid of basically the whole Jinnai Yodogiri corporation. (in volume 11, he pretty much confirmed he had nothing against being stabbed and in fact he considered himself “lucky” for it).
Izaya had plans to get rid of Kasane Kujiragi as well, and that’s when Shizuo showed up, appearing to have befriended her. And also when he coincidentally really began to want to kill him, right before he threw down the crane tower.
And in the Epitome of Eighteen Histories, Izaya’s part, he goes on to tell Shinra’s sister the dangers of Shinra being involved with Shizuo because of the possibility of him getting hurt and caught up in one if his fights, pointing out that you can’t just go back after he’s already hurt too badly. Though he was also obviously jealous of(and for)Shinra(as a part of humanity or as an individual, one) and said to Kazane something to the degree of refusing to “share” Shinra with Shizuo(and also said to Shinra “I’d rather you cut your ties off him as soon as possible.” Maybe he was somehow afraid to lose to Shinra to somebody he felt was even more of a monster that himself?
Also his conversation with Celty in Volume 9 before he punched the telephone pole kind of reminded me of Haruna’s first conversation with Anri. “I could never hate Takashi for falling in love with somebody else, but the one he falls in love with; I won’t forgive them.” Or something like that. Izaya was only ever supportive for their relationship from Shinra’s side of things.(just like how he refused to “share” Shinra with Shizuo. :P)
I also believe that Shinra is Izaya’s “god”((aka his past)).
((The thing about Haruna, I feel really bad for Celty and Anri, but I also feel bad for her, because Takashi used her and her family to get money! She said herself in spite of everything he did to her, she still loved him even when he basically threw her away when he “got bored of” her. He’s a piece of scum that deserves to rot, and both Izaya said for a teacher he was pretty stupid, and I agree. I’m glad they showed Nasujima’s shady past in the light novel) and Shizuo for once felt the same. Thank Narita that Shizuo got to beat him up in the Volume 2 epilogue. X3))
Plus, when he realized he might be betraying Shinra and that he would probably be mad at him, he laughed before punching a telephone pole.
Furthermore, he actually told Mikage that the “guy I thought was my best friend” just hung up on him in the hospital.
Also, before Shinra and Izaya talked on the phone in the hospital, Izaya had plans to leave because he knew they probably saw his pocket knife, therefore he seemed suspicious to them.
But suddenly after Shinra tells him “go die chest-first into an iceshaver”, Izaya suddenly decides to stay at the hospital thinking, “might as well go out with a bang”. Plus, when Shinra hung up on whim, he actually bitterly said “what a piss poor excuse for a friend”, before deciding to “troll” him, for him ignoring him. Shinra and Miyoshi are the only two I believe he showed irritation at being ignored or left out by(with the hotpot thing he decided to have his own, most likely because he spited Shinra not inviting him to the hotpot party).
Kadota(despite all of his advice to stay away from Izaya) also said “If you want his love, you have to be his friend first. Start with your own to love him on the line, go to him as a friend on the line, and you will that he was unexpectedly the type of guy who has the strong bond of friendship.”
Plus, confirmed by Durarara! Light novel Volume 2 epilogue, according to Izaya, Shinra, Simon, Shiki, Yumasaki, Karisawa, Kadota and Togusa are not his pawns.
And despite that he called everyone his friend, when Celty suspected he was to blame for Shinra getting hurt, he texted her “It was not me. I’m not stupid enough to hurt a friend. I have few enough of them as it is.”
In other words, to shorten this into one sentence:
Don’t mess with Izaya’s best friend or friend, or you will pay dearly.
I’m going to talk about something somewhat spoilery concerning Celty that was mentioned in one of the Kazane Histories. I’ve tagged this post as ‘durarara spoilers’ for anyone trying to avoid them
…
…
…
…
…
Actual post:
I was so surprised when Tsukumoya told Kazane that Celty was working for another (presumably) immortal being before she lost her memories. All of this time, I had kind of assumed that Celty was a being that operated autonomously given the nature of what a dullahan does
Izaya once asked Celty what she would do if another dullahan came along and decided they also loved Shinra. That idea was kind of explored with Kasane’s character, and ultimately it was fine because Kasane was somehow able to respect Shinra’s disinterest in her. But now that its been reviled that Celty has a boss… like … does that entity care that Celty hasn’t been doing her job for 20 years? Would they care that Celty ostensibly remembers working for them, yet has decided to stay with Shinra instead of going back? If they came to check on Celty, would they wind up falling for Shinra too?
Some food for thought here. If you’re actually interested.
Irish/Scottish folk lore breaks fairies into two distinct courts. The Seelie and Unseelie courts. Each of which are usually led by a queen. The Seelie are beneficial to humans. Warning them and helping them. While the Unseelie are the opposite. Trying to trick humans all the time or leading them into trouble. It’s essentially the classic angles/devils good vs evil part of their folk loor.
One might think Celty would be from Unseelie initially. She’s a Dullahan after all, that’s pretty dark and shady; but if you actually think about it she’s probably Seelie court. Her job was to warn humans that they were dying. She helps human when given the chance, like all the time. Not to mention she falls in love with Shinra but doesn’t eat his soul or kill him. (A common feature among fairies).
It’s not just a ‘job’ or ‘task’ which defines which fairy court you belong too. A lot of the lore lies in it being at the nature of the creature, It’s natural state. Seing as she’s so kind hearted Celty is probably Seelie, meaning her ‘boss’ is probably the Seelie Queen. Who i would think would be okay with Celty taking a few decades off to spend with a mortal, so long as she went back to work afterwards. If not *shrugs* it would be cool anyway to just see what kind of fairy queen they envisionize.
This is very interesting!
In the epitome, Tsukumoya reveals that Celty works for a Valkyrie named Razgriz. I’m not sure how this would tie into the folklore, but I’d like to think she’s a Seelie.
**Note:
ラーズグリーズ (Raazuguriizu)
were the characters used which would be the pronunciation for Razgriz, but I also came up with Radgrid when I looked up the term and quite honestly don’t know the difference.
midnight-in-town 