Let's Watch: Durarara!!

[Hohenheim]

Been catching up, saw episodes 18 - 20. Wow, so now Anri knows Kida leads the Yellow Scarves, Kida knows Mikado runs the Dollars, and Mikado knows......nothing.

Concerning what people have been saying about resolving the tension between the three, I do think that some open communication would indeed help to relieve some of the tension, though I doubt it would settle everything. Izaya has worked his way too deeply into things, and so is going to make sure that this gang war is going to happen. I mean, he's dead-set on bringing about his crazy Ragnarock/apocalypse plan. Also, I do think that what seems to be the obvious choice to the viewer is not going to be the obvious choice for Kida when revealing his gang to his friends (Still, that doesn't mean I've stopped wishing for him to just do it anyway). He's really emotionally involved with everything going on, and so feels confused and out-of-sorts.

One last thing. I personally don't think that Izaya is some otherworldly, magical being (doesn't mean he isn't a screwball though). My hint is that, in episode 18, he goes through that deck of cards, trying to find out who would represent each card. He says Shizuo is the king, Celty the queen, but when he gets to the joker, he gets miffed and sets the cards on fire. For me, this suggests Izaya thinks of himself as a joker, which he doesn't like. Maybe its because he doesn't want to acknowledge that he is a clown of sorts.....a crazy, manipulative clown at that. That's just my two cents on the matter though; I may very well be wrong, and it turns out that he is something else entirely.

Anyway, these were some great episodes. Wonder if Mikado will soon discover the secret lives of Kida and Anri?

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Two things I think we might be forgetting: (1) Kida has serious emotional problems. He started a gand b/c he felt lonely and like he had no place. Then, as he met people who he formed deep relationships with and who gave him a more preferable sense of place (Saki, then Mikado, Anri), these people, these emotional anchors, became more important in his life. It is understandable if Kida is risk-averse when it comes to losing this existnetial grounding, as he places such a high value on it. Hence, caution is required. Facing a reality w/o that sort of grounding would probably be frightening to him. (2) Kida is still a kid. I did some very dumb things when I was 14/15. Pubescent boys = not always the best descision-makers.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Two things I think we might be forgetting: (1) Kida has serious emotional problems. He started a gand b/c he felt lonely and like he had no place. Then, as he met people who he formed deep relationships with and who gave him a more preferable sense of place (Saki, then Mikado, Anri), these people, these emotional anchors, became more important in his life. It is understandable if Kida is risk-averse when it comes to losing this existnetial grounding, as he places such a high value on it. Hence, caution is required. Facing a reality w/o that sort of grounding would probably be frightening to him. (2) Kida is still a kid. I did some very dumb things when I was 14/15. Pubescent boys = not always the best descision-makers.

I find it amusing that I've already made both of those points.

[ich1990]

Your annoyance has to do with the fact that you have more information than he does.

Open communication isn't a bad choice, but it's not the only choice and not the most obviously rational course of action. I can sympathize with his decisions, because if I'm going to rock some boats, I'm going to be extra cautious leading up to said rocking and I want to be sure beyond a reasonable doubt. Or who knows, maybe it's because I am a terrible friend.

Hm, you might be right, it is always difficult to imagine knowing less about something than you actually do. Perhaps I am letting my knowledge of the events bias me. Or, as Fish said, this might also be a personality thing. While it seems to me that open communication is the best option, I see things so much differently than Kida that it may not appear that way to him. Or to you.

Thank you all for talking with me, I don't see Kida's actions as quite so annoying any more. I eagerly await the next episode to see how he pulls (or fails to pull) himself out of this.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

I find it amusing that I've already made both of those points.

:o Yeah but...but...[SIZE="1"]they still forgot...[/SIZE]

lol, shows how good I am at skimming!

[Fish and Chips]

Episode 21



Chess pieces are Saika's Children.
Go pieces are Yellow Scarves.
Shogi pieces are Dollars.

Also, it appears Anri is the only well-endowed bespectacled female attendee of Raira Academy. I could accept Mikado and Kida jumping to conclusions, they're just worrying in a worst case scenario that it's someone they know - then Horada recognizes her having never seen her before in his life.

On the plus side, things are slowly returning to form with all the cast members converging again. Keep things like this, please.

Also, what happened to Shinra's dad?

[Kung_Fu_Master]

Everyone knows everyone else no matter if they have met or not-Anime rule #53

[ich1990]

Also, it appears Anri is the only well-endowed bespectacled female attendee of Raira Academy. I could accept Mikado and Kida jumping to conclusions, they're just worrying in a worst case scenario that it's someone they know - then Horada recognizes her having never seen her before in his life.

Horado just wants to beat people up. I don't think he is really concerned about accidentally hurting the wrong person, so it makes sense that he attacked the first person who matched the description. It was just an unlucky coincidence that he found Anri first, rather than an actual identification.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Horado just wants to beat people up. I don't think he is really concerned about accidentally hurting the wrong person, so it makes sense that he attacked the first person who matched the description. It was just an unlucky coincidence that he found Anri first, rather than an actual identification.

Indeed, Horada ain't the sharpest tool in the shed, and just thought it would be easiest to beat up every person matching the description.

Otherwise, this was a great episode. It was excellent to see Shinra, Seiji, Shizuo, and Mika once again. This is gonna be great.

[goldenspines]

Why is Seiji, the man who fell in love with a head, giving love advice to Mikado?

Man, I still like this series, but I'm getting depressed. I really hope they can wrap all this up by the end into a semi-happy ending.

Though, something I'm curious about; Kasuka Heiwajima appears in the new opening, but we haven't really seen much of him yet in the second arc. Unless I missed something. :I

[Fantasy Dreamer]

Ok, got behind the last two weeks, now I'm caught up! \o.o/ Also...

Why is Seiji, the man who fell in love with a head, giving love advice to Mikado?

I was wondering the same thing. XD Couldn't help thinking, "You have a weird, freaky love interest, how can I take you seriously?"[quote="goldenspines (post: 1401037)"]Man, I still like this series, but I'm getting depressed. I really hope they can wrap all this up by the end into a semi-happy ending.
Though, something I'm curious about]I'm getting depressed, too. =( It's all so mixed up, and if they would just talk to each other it could all be avoided. XD; At least, that's how I feel (though we all know that talking it out does not always make things better/easier). There is lots of tension building up though, don't you think?

And I'm wondering about Kasuka Heiwajima myself. XD;;

[blkmage]

Why is Seiji, the man who fell in love with a head, giving love advice to Mikado?

This was the best part.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Episode 22

So the Yellow Scarves think they can kill Shizuo Heiwajima with a few gunshots. Not the best plan.

[shade of dae]

So now that I'm not swamped with school and work, I've been marathoning the series to catch up with you guys. Durarara!! has quickly become one of my favorite series. I love all of the characters, which is why I was upset with the end of this ep. Seriously, Shizu-chan got shot, what, 3 times in the stomach? He may be strong, but can he survive gunshots? He is a fan favorite, which in a series like Bleach would mean that there's no way he could die, but I don't know if this series has the guts to kill off one of the most popular characters.

In other news, It looks like we may actually have a meeting between Anri and Mikado as the heads of their respective gangs. It should be interesting, mainly to see if Anri will tell Mikado about Kida. Perhaps they'll join gangs to take out the yellow scarves problem? Mikado might have disbanded the Dollars, but I doubt that the disbandment will last very long.

[blkmage]

It is always a treat to see the entirety of Dollars in action. It kind of reminds me of the Yang fleet in LOGH, motivated by "foppery and whim".

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

It is always a treat to see the entirety of Dollars in action. It kind of reminds me of the Yang fleet in LOGH, motivated by "foppery and whim".

That was definitely the best part of the episode. Seeing everyone come back like that (except the anime-only character) was great.

[ich1990]

It looks like Kida, Anri, and Mikado are moving towards open communication now, I guess we will see if that helps things or makes them worse. Is Durarara going to be an epic tragedy or an epic drama? We will soon see.

And there is no way that Shizuo is going to put down by a shot to the stomach and leg. If he did, I think the whole DRRR world would collapse from the vacuum created by so much awesomeness leaving the universe. It just wouldn't be right.

[shade of dae]

And there is no way that Shizuo is going to put down by a shot to the stomach and leg. If he did, I think the whole DRRR world would collapse from the vacuum created by so much awesomeness leaving the universe. It just wouldn't be right.

Haha, that's true. I thought it was a shot in the chest and stomach, which are a little harder to recover from than a shot in the leg. But even so, I suppose it would be unlikely for Shizuo to die based on the fact that no one else in DRRR has. I've been fairly absorbed in reading Pluto, and I guess I'm having a hard time keeping the two universes straight: Durarara!! in which no one dies (but everyone gets beaten up), and Pluto in which everyone dies (but not always permanently).

I'm really looking forward to seeing what will happen with Celty's head. I imagine that it should awaken fairly soon-- perhaps as a result of the upcoming meeting?

[mechana2015]

*facepalms* I decided I'd be on top of things and watch the new episode right now... so I open it and it pops up a bar reading 'this episode unlocks in 24 minutes'. So much for being on top of things.

*waits impatiently*

[blkmage]

I'm sure someone will be interested to learn that someone's been translating snippets of the light novel, although not in any continuous fashion yet. I'll be taking a look when there's a bit more stuff to go through.

[Kung_Fu_Master]

So the novel has 7 volumes and the anime only covers three or four of them right? And that ends next episode? So unless there's a season two it's going to end with quite the Swiss cheese. But as another anime taught us, It's more enjoyable that way(as long as they end this well.)



EXTRA:

Shinra: "Why are you walking around like that?"
Shizuo: "'Cause I can."

That scene really made my day.

[MightiMidget]

YAY! Shizuo is fine! 'Course, we knew that, but hey. The reassurance made me very very happy. *phew* And yes, Kung_Fu, that was awesome.

But KIDA!!! *cries* I am torn between rooting him on and panicking for his safety. But everything is tying off nicely, and gah! I can't wait for next week!!! My Internet better work then....

[blkmage]

I am glad that this episode implicitly answered the question of how a middle schooler was able to command the respect of a violent gang.

[Falx]

Kida was really kinda scary... especially that last move where he "rose" like some kinda zombie... creepy.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Beyond saying "Excellent episode", or whatever, has anyone noticed the parallels between Kida and Spike in Cowboy Bebop? It makes the bang from the earlier episode mean even more now.

[blkmage]

So even though the show ends next week, wrapping up the final arc, there are extra DVD-only episodes, because the production committees like money. I have learned that in Episode 25, we'll be meeting some new characters. Their names are Mairu and Kururi:



That is, Orihara Mairu and Orihara Kururi.

[mechana2015]

Yup, I've known about them for a while. This should be interesting.

[Hohenheim]

Caught up watching episodes 21-23. I gotta say, this should be one heck of a finale. I also like the themes of isolation and community that are interplaying in these later episodes, with Mikado, Kida, and Anri each off on their own path so to speak, and now trying to come back together again.

[ich1990]

Yes!

Izaya admitted that Horada was a boring and stupid villain and that he should have set up someone better; Kida manned up and faced his gang, his past, and Izaya's psychological hold on him --with a crowbar; and Celty did the smart thing and organized a parley between the Kida, Mikado, and Anri.

And of course Shizuo will be on his feet and kicking (literally) soon enough. Hopefully by the next episode. If there is one big hole in this show thus far, it is Simon. He is a cool guy and seems like he could be an important character, he just hasn't had a proper introduction episode or scene yet. It was cool that he got to give advice to Kida though.

Next episode should be some serious fun. And extra DVD episodes are seriously appreciated. Any word on a second season?

EDIT: More Oriharas? That sounds like trouble, although I have a feeling they will be more interested in tormenting Izaya than messing with high schoolers.

[blkmage]

Given the popularity of the light novels themselves (that is, super popular) and the anime (which has sold pretty well) and the dearth of available content to adapt, I'd say we can see a second season sometime. When that could be is a mystery. I'd guess that it'll probably be at least about a year.

The problem with a lot of the minor characters is that they probably get to do something important; unfortunately, it's just not in the first three arcs.