Ranked #105

Durarara!!

In many ways, watching anime might be just like listening to music for me.
I have been taught to never have any prejudices and give an honest chance to everything that comes my way.
Obviously, when it's bad ten seconds into the song, you simply know it will stink the rest of the time and drop it. You rarely even regret it afterwards (let me stress the case is somewhat different with other forms of art, like literature, which is perceived somewhat slower and more methodical).
As for Durarara, and for my most beloved songs, novels, and other works, the key is an immediate impact and an impression that lingers.

Sure, what I have written so far only has to do with personal preferences.
But if I would want to convince you to watch Durarara disregarding my own taste (and I really want to convince people!), I wouldn't have a clue which aspects of this anime to present before you with persuasive intents, because I like it as a fully accomplished work of art in which there is good music, well-developed characters, snappy plot, etc.

Well aware that I am praising an anime which is yet to be completed (thus I feel reluctant to go into details such as animation and environments) I figured, why not simply say: try it and see for yourselves that I am right! Think about those moments as you hear a song for the first time and immediately know it will never leave you. This is exactly the same. This is like Death Note. Or Ergo Proxy. Or Tengen Toppa Gurenn Lagann. Clannad. Samurai Champloo.
And all other animes which grant you new and intellectually intense perspectives.

Still three episodes into it I can totally agree with the first reviewer — this will be, and most likely already is, one of the best animes for 2010. read more

Before you click the "not helpful" tab, let me say something. I wrote this review at the start of the series, and made a bunch of predictions on how it will turn out, but I'm confident that I won't have to change any of the content in this review, even after the show ends. I'm as sure about the general structure and potential of this show as I possibly can be. (It's all here in this pamphlet *passes around*)

I've only seen 5 episodes, but I can already see how this is going (not where, the two are different). It becomes very apparent that this series is formulated much like Baccano!. Which makes sense, since they share a common maker. Let me start by saying, if you want to find out about the story, read the synopsis, my job is to tell you what you can expect to come from the story.

But enough with the chit chat, what can I tell you about Durarara?

Now, giving a review after 5 episodes is hardly a review, what am I reviewing? All I can, that's what!

Here is what I can say about Durarara, it's all in the style, in the opening, and in the way the show is played out.

The openings in anime are often used as some sort of extra bit of animation, often just put together for purpose of killing a couple minutes before the show starts. Durarara is different. Every character is highlighted, and each (again, this is insight from having seen Baccano) will play an integral part to the plot. And if you watch the opening, you'll see there's a lot of characters introduced there, and it's somewhat difficult to follow. The purpose is not to introduce you to these chracters, but to have you reflect on what events are happening in the opening, after watching the show. Which is incredibly interesting and enveloping. You can take in everything about the show from the opening, but it's done in such a way there's no way to understand until it's been introduced. And this perhaps, is one of Durarara's greatest strengths.

It's all in the style. And it's style is like Baccano!'s only in the sense that, it involves a myriad of characters, each interesting and intriguing, whose stories are all interwoven into each others. Again, I am basing all my assumptions of this on my viewing of Baccano!, but I'd be willing to wager that each character's story will be introduced seperately, with the chronology of the events somewhat a mystery at first, rising to crescendo and then climaxing at the end in a fantastic accomplishment of plot and storytelling.

The artwork is fairly dark, which is seems to suck you in. An interesting point is that all the background people are simple shades of grey. The city is dark, full of night life, but carrying a sense of anticipation, excitement, amusement, and danger. Things feel very realistic, and at the same time, there's something going on behind the scenes that teases us with an element of our usual anime supernaturality. The same could be said about the story.

The only other thing I can say about the show at this point is the music. Durarara's soundtrack has already wowed me with it's elegant subtlety. The bass guitar plucking each note in scenes of tension. Each scene's mood is completely set by the background music, flowing beautifully, and establishing a mood.

Overall, I can say Durarara is a tapestry being woven, where we are to inspect each section as an individual, and only at the end, evaluate it as a whole. And when this event occurs, we will see how each individual thread conforms to create an impressive and awe-inspiring image, which will be worth gazing at again and again, noticing subtle nuances with each new glance.

And that, is Durarara. It is an cognitive, psychological excursion beyond our normal realm of understanding. I appreciate that I have told you very little as to who is in the show, but understand a show isn't about who, it's about what "who" does, and what is going on around "who." And I've told you all I can about that. I'll once again say, this is all a prediction, one I feel very confident in, but a prediction nonetheless. I've based it off of work from the author previously. It might not turn out that way, but just like with a series of books, you can know whether or not you'll enjoy the next few by whether you'd enjoyed the first. read more