Friday, November 21, 2014

Anime Review: Durarara!!



This is my first anime review, and I will be reviewing the anime series Durarara!!

Warning. Slight Spoilers Ahead.  
This was one of the first animes I ever watched, as my friend who got me into anime highly recommended it. The only reason I really watched it was because of her high opinion of it. I will have to admit, that by just going off the description of Durarara!! on Crunchyroll, I probably would have never watched it. Crunchyroll describes it as “Mikado Ryugamine is a young man who yearns for the city like no other. At the invitation of his childhood friend, Masaomi Kida, he moves to Ikebukuro, Tokyo and enters school there.” This describes what happens in about the first two minutes of the first episode. Even though this is a true description of the anime, it leaves much to be desired.
            I will do my best to give my own description of it, although with this particular anime it is very hard. There is so much that happens in the anime and so many great characters developed personalities, it’s hard to sum it up concisely.
            Mikado Ryugamine moves to Ikebukuro in search of adventure in order to attend school with his childhood best friend Masaomi Kida. While in the city Masaomi introduces him to the many interesting and dangerous people that inhibit Ikebukuro and strange events that occur. Before long, a string of events all unfold around a mysterious “black rider” igniting mind games, gang wars, and action packed confrontations.
            Durarara starts off slow, taking its times introducing all of the intriguing characters and their motives. But once the plot picks up, it’s a never ending ride that will keep you on the end of your seat guessing on what you think will happen next, but always throwing in a mind blowing plot twist right when you think you know what’s going on.
            I immediately fell in love with most of the characters and their quirky personalities and strange motives. I am personally a huge fan of Shizou who claims to hate violence but constantly goes around throwing street signs and vending machines at every opportunity. And it’s hard not to love Simon, the black Russian sushi selling man who seems to fill every culture stereotype there is.
            The one thing about Durarara that I loved is the fact that it takes so many elements that you wouldn’t think would fit together and makes them fit together perfectly. You have a mythical Irish creature riding around on a motorcycle searching for her head, while a school girl creates an army using a cursed blade, all unfolding while a war between color gangs brews and the world’s strongest men throw vending machines and street signs at each other in the street. Of course you also can’t forget the corrupt pharmaceutical company who kidnaps people off the street, the black Russian man who sells sushi for a living, and the crazy man who wears a fur coat who seems to be mastering minding every single event that unfolds.  
            Overall, Durarara can be seen as a slice of life anime but inserted with fantasy, adventure, action, and mystery. It’s the perfect time to watch this anime since a season two comes out in January!

My Rating: A+

Where you can watch Durarara!

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