Do you have ten favourite characters for Durarara!! ?

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!

xox-hitorabu-xox:

//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.

kaedesan721:

N: The one who gave the largest scar on Aozaki’s face is Kadota’s father. #Durarara Ketsu Episode 30

N: Since Kine-san had plenty of comrades (the Awakusu group) that have collapsed from brain hemorrhage after a while when they got hit in the head in a fight in the past……. #Durarara Ketsu Episode 26

Translator Comment: This is referring to when Kine told Izaya to go to the hospital to get checked out.

N: Saika: “I’m had enough with this vampire; how she uses a demon sword is too rough.” #Durarara Ketsu Episode 29

The lady announcer with the glasses on the news 666 is a beauty, isn’t she. When will news 666 appear in the SH story……. #Durarara Ketsu Episode 25

kaedesan721:

N: If Karisawa had Saika she is capable to take the challenge in reproducing all types of weapons that appear in the “Blade of the Immortal”, so Karisawa-san absolutely must not be allowed to have it. Besides her love for 2D is so strong Saika’s curse probably would not work.

Translation Note: “Blade of the Immortal” (Japanese name: Mugen no juunin) is a Japanese manga series by Hiroaki Samura about a cursed samurai.

Q: Would Togusa-san be able to overcome it with his love for Ruri-chan?

N: Togusa…..Well, if Ruri herself is nearby he could overcome it……maybe……?

N: Izaya, hating to lose, has his smile erased the moment he learns another person knows information he does not know about. He would vouch exaggerating, “no matter when I know the information it’ll be the same. They can gather to me in the end,” but deep in his heart, at a level he himself does not realize, he is vexed by it.

Translator’s Comment: I’m actually going through to see any interesting comments Narita-sensei made when the episodes aired (and some answered questions from the original tweet). Not sure if anyone did these, but I’m choosing ones I haven’t seen or I find interesting. Hope you enjoy.

kuzuharatouka:

(Epitome of Eighteen Histories, Episode 3)

(SPOILERS)

“Even as Yūhei tried to remove the rubble with all of his strength, he continued to speak to Ruri, who had been giving up on her life just earlier.”

so this sentence in particular caught my eye as i was translating. the thing about working on every sentence individually is that everything seems especially important and necessary. this line interested me because it was not absolutely required for the flow of the text, whereas narita’s writing skews rather heavily towards minimalism.

it is not mocking yuuhei for using the effort to talk while he could be saving her a little faster. but considering that he could be working on that instead, here we see that talking to her and telling her she is important to him is to him as much a priority as saving her from being crushed, which adds a new dimension to the scene altogether. he is not just saving her physically and just trying to comfort her; he is saving her emotionally, while trying to help her out of the rubble may well take second priority. physically, she can break free whenever she wants, but psychologically it is much harder, and to some degree he has registered that.

i believe that yuuhei handles ruri so well because of his experience with growing up with a brother in much the same situation. ono daisuke said in that one interview that yuuhei is very kind and his character shows that love does not come in a given form. while his love is not overt or very affectionate, it is constant and practical, in a sense, and that is what matters in the long run, just as in real life relationships oftentimes.

Do you have any trivia on kasuka?

heiwajimashizuo:

Literally Novel 4 is just a fucking treasure trove of Kasuka trivia tbh so you might want to read that. Since you know, that was back when Narita wasn’t rushed and could properly develop his stuff. Ruka helped me with this again so here is what we got.

His cat Yuigadokusonmaru , is a Japanese/Chinese idiom meaning “Only I am holy.” It was first said by the Buddha when he was born, and later used to describe a holier-than-thou attitude. [source]

Kanji for kasuka heiwajima is 平和島幽 while the kanji for yuuhei hanejima 羽島幽平 so you can see he pr much just mixed em up.

His talent agency is called Jack Lantern Japan [novel 4]

His manager, Max Sandshield, constantly makes random comments in order to hide ‘Yuuhei Hanejima’s real age’

“He’s a cyborg born in 3258.” “He’s a thousand-year-old vampire.” “He’s a true warrior of light – not a reincarnation of one! – who came straight from the ancient land of Atlantis.” are some of Max’s existing claims [novel 4]

He has a wide variety of hobbies (
All sports, fishing, billiard, darts, horse riding, investments, collecting automobiles, going to the theater, going to the movies, painting, calligraphy, home carpentry, table magic, aikido, flying small planes, flower arrangement, et cetera.) [source]

Kasuka dislikes people judging others based on rumors alone [source]

He also dislikes chewing gum since he’s never sure how long he should chew before he throws it away
[source]

He was obviously born in the Toshima district [novel 4]

He has a great respect for Shizuo and mentions him in his interviews [novel 4]

Most Journalists don’t know Shizuo is his brother. Any that get close to uncovering the truth find their cars mysteriously turned over [novel 4]

Kasuka was scouted when he saved the life of a talent scout who had been trying to recruit Shizuo (who, needless to say, didn’t like the scout) [novel 4]

He eats beef rice bentos for dinner from convenience stores.

He modeled first before debuting in Vampire Ninja Carmilla Saizou [novel 4]

After Carmilla Saizou, he appeared on Money Gamer where he made 1.2 billion yen in only a month due to smart investments. As per the rules of the game he was allowed to keep it all. [novel 4]

Originally he had a wealthy pretty boy stereotype, but as his amazing acting skills became more and more exhibited the public’s opinion changed.[novel 4]

He has shown skill in singing and athleticism, and has performed in wide array of acting roles from cross dressing to serial killers [novel 4]

He is unpopular as a guest on tv shows due to his lack of emotions. But his fans think that is what makes him cool [novel 4]

When he was young, Kasuka said he laughed and cried like any normal child. It was the negative example that Shizuo set with his unconstrained emotions that made him like he is now. Despite that Kasuka still claims he has a deep respect for Shizuo. [novel 4]

He is known for his unusual behavior. When a show hired delinquents to threaten him into cleaving off his pinky
Kasuka almost went through with it until the same staff stopped him.

[novel 4]

[novel 4]

When he got a call from a stalker, Kasuka didn’t speak a word. After 20 hours of silence the stalker collapsed and turned themselves into the police. [novel 4]

Since he seems capable of anything he is nicknamed Captain Embarrassing on the internet. The reasoning for this is he’s so perfect he is like a middle schooler’s fantasy and when that middle schooler grows up all they feel is embarrassment over that crush/obsession. [novel 4]

When max heard about this he made Kasuka dress up in the infamous devils horns and angel wings. This poster appeared in several fetish magazines. Somehow this impossibly earned him even more fans.[novel 4]

Although Kasuka remained emotionless throughout this entire process, rumors spread that he was actually very furious. Fearful of Kasuka’s wrath Max fled to the U.S. for two weeks, thus proving how fearsome Kasuka’s icy expression is.[novel 4]

He has hardly any friends in the show business [novel 4]

Kasuka’s private life is a mystery and no one has filmed the inside of his place.

He owns several cars, of which the majority are imported convertibles.

He is going to star in "Cruiser Field" by John Trox,a hollywood director. [novel 4]

He respects all characters he plays. He considers them all to be very complex and to possess a lot of depth while he considers himself to be very hollow – especially in comparison.

Carmilla Saizou is considered his most embarrassing role but to everyone’s shock he agreed easily to the sequel. He explains it is because Carmilla is a character worthy of respect. No one knows if he meant it or not. (He did.) [novel 4]

Although Shizuo notably relaxes around Kasuka, Kasuka still speaks rather formally to Shizuo. [novel 8]

It is impossible for most people to read Kasuka, but Shizuo is able to easily pick up the subtle changes – enough so that he can tell just how worried Kasuka is for Ruri/during the stalker situation [novel 8]

I know that often times in fanfics etc despite being the older brother Kasuka is often times the one taking care of Shizuo or giving Shizuo advice. But in novel 8 especially you can see that Shizuo really is the older brother and is there for Kasuka in the way that an older brother should be ie by giving him his support and offering advice to assist Kasuka in his endeavors. It is actually really cute the way they interact like typical older brother to younger brother.

Shizuo actually teases Kasuka for being so formal with him. [novel 8]

Novel 8 also shows how, just like with irl siblings, sometimes they say things to each other that make ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE to other people but make perfect sense to each other. To make it even funnier they don’t explain anything they just go ‘oh okay’ then move on.

Kasuka can calm Shizuo down with only a few words when he is about to fly into a rage. Celty compares it to a beautiful maiden taming a wild animal. [novel 8]

Kasuka and his cat ‘cured Ruri’s body of grief’ [novel 8]

edit//I forgot Kasuka’s fashion. His wardrobe consists of anything, from things he has a personal fondness for to expensive articles. He will wear 100 yen accessories coupled with designer accessories though he doesn’t think that is really weird [novel 4]

Hi! Sorry to bother, but I’m just not sure even though I read the novels once: why did Mikage agree to help Izaya again?? I remember her words in vol 11 about him but I just don’t see why she’d choose to help him.

heiwajimashizuo:

hmm how should I word this….I don’t think Mikage is as ‘innocent’ nor as ‘pure’ as many like to believe.

When it comes to her interactions with Izaya in high school we are given the very bare minimum and even then many interpret it in a way that implies Izaya in some way ‘ruined’ or ‘messed’ with Mikage which is quite different from the way Mikage reminisces over it. (Even I at times think Izaya in some way caused her to become messed up.) However, she doesn’t seem to view her interactions with Izaya in a negative light at all. In fact she seems to consider Izaya’s influence over her to have been more to her benefit. But until we are shown more I can’t be certain. I remember popsiclete once stating that production of a book with her and Kine’s past had been planned for publishing, but for whatever reasons had not yet been published and I feel like if we were exposed more to what she was like in high school and how her interactions with Izaya changed her we’d have a better understanding of Mikage and the choices she makes in Durarara!! now.

But here is my guess as to why Mikage is helping Izaya currently.

Afficher davantage

Informational post about the Kuzuhara family

russianoshigotonin:

or more like what I know from reading and info gathering because they’re giving me a headache please correct me if I’m wrong

Afficher davantage

rukazaya:

Narita saying how Shizuo doesn’t call Kadota a ‘friend’ despite that he trusts him a lot and that’s because Shizuo is worried that Kadota will get tangled in the troubles that Shizuo is caught up in often. As for Shinra, Shinra’s already gotten involved seral times so Shizuo ‘for now’ takes him as a ‘friend’. lol.

Shizuo is precious ;___; He’s been ignoring Kadota on the streets in season 1 and been not saying hi often because he didn’t want Kadota to get in trouble like how Tom and Shinra got in trouble ;___; (also explains why Shizuo tries to remain distant with his family and Kasuka I think)

I have a question, something doesn’t make sense: about the singer getting harassed by the mad guy with the pointed teeth, isn’t she the Hollywood killer? She is strong enough to fight that russian guy and yet she didn’t confront the one stalking her at all. I’m pretty sure she could have beat him, so I don’t get why she didn’t try to let him come to her??

heiwajimashizuo:

Adabashi was a stalker.

He wasn’t just some guy going around licking her photos and trying to kidnap her. He never even actually confronted her face to face. If he had then yeah she probably could have stood her ground against him. But Adabashi KNEW she was hollywood and wasn’t about to let himself get caught.

And besides that, he wasn’t just stalking her, he was mentally and emotionally torturing her from a distance.

Not only did he manage to break into her house but he even changed the locks so that she couldn’t get inside of it.

Camera’s only caught a masked man.

He made replica’s of all the monster’s she’s ever played in a movie and left them piled together as blood-stained cruentation crosses at her house. He then took a picture of the crime scene and posted it all over the internet.

He sent incriminating blackmail of her to her new work place.

He takes photo’s of her in private situations where he shouldn’t be near her and sends them to her.

He threatened everyone around her.

AND there are probably tons more things that he’s done but Ruri didn’t want to share all the details of this guys stalking with Shizuo.

No one, not even Ruri, can take the fear and the anxiety he was inflicting upon her. It was brave of her to even really confide in Kasuka and it took ALOT for her to be completely truthful with him.

She might be half a monster but she’s also still half human and I don’t know ANYONE who could take going through what she did.