The first of three scheduled Durarara series, x2 Shou is divided into two arcs. The first of them is a simple 4-episode story pieced together from multiple perspectives. The story itself isn't all that impressive, but it is improved by its use of multiple perspectives. However, the real point of this arc is to introduce the new characters, and because of the arc's laid-back nature it's extremely fun to just watch the characters intersect and interact.
Durarara's most noteworthy feature has always been its huge cast of memorable characters, and x2 Shou follows suit by introducing a lot more. With the entire first arc dedicated to this, some excellent standouts emerge, most notably Mairu and Kururi Orihara, Izaya's younger twin sisters, who steal the show for their entire duration onscreen. However, while some of the new characters are excellent, the sheer excess of them is Durarara x2 Shou's biggest problem.
Once the second arc gets into full swing, we're treated to a plot built around remnant factions of the Blue Squares, a new gang called Torumaru, multiple corporations, several Yakuza factions with links to said corporations, a serial killer, a pair of Russian assassins, and a young girl with a tazer, along with all the previously established Dollars from the previous season. This arc lasts 8 episodes - there are as many groups of characters involved as there are episodes in this story arc. Durarara has always utilized this kind of chaotic clusterfuck well, but in this instance it bit off more than it could chew.
Because of that, it can be a struggle at times to remember which characters are involved with which other characters, and why. It also results in a very unfocused story. There are several smaller stories that all tie into the bigger picture, but the most important part of the story revolves around a small faction of the Blue Squares emerging within another gang and trying to take it over from within, and them inciting an all-out war with another gang, while their leader tries to stop it, and realizes that the gang's own structure has worked against him, creating a situation where he is powerless to control his own creation. This entire situation is deliberately set off by a manipulative genius to serve his own ends. If that sounds familiar to you, it's because that's exactly what the last arc of Durarara's first season was about.
I always considered the Yellow Scarves arc of Durarara season 1 to be its weakest, so a rehash of that arc, in theory, should have been a bad idea. However, the Torumaru arc has proven itself to be a big improvement, despite sharing the same structure. This time around, it revolves around a better set of characters (despite an unfortunate lack of Izaya), and has replaced teenage angst and irritating misunderstandings with crazy Russian assassins and HILARIOUS misunderstandings. However, it does still feel a bit redundant.
The ending, however, single-handedly justifies the entire season. The final episode begins with several minutes of Shizuo at his best. It then follows it up with three shocking and dramatic twists that promise great things for the upcoming season. While I won't go into too much detail on said twists for spoiler reasons, the best of the three makes use of everything that has happened to Mikado in the last eight episodes, and results in his characterization finally taking a brilliant new direction.
All three twists leave the series ending on a fantastic cliffhanger, which I think says it all about this season: it's transitionary. Its main purpose is to introduce new elements to build onto the first season, and prepare them for the excellent third season it promises.
(EDIT: The third season was most definitely not excellent.)
As such, we're just lucky that three new installments have all been confirmed, as x2 Shou would have been a bit of a waste otherwise. This series has been on a very low budget - the first series occasionally had some awkward or cheap animation, but it was only sporadic. x2 Shou has constant off-model shots and horribly animated fight scenes, along with a case of Noodle People the like of which is rarely seen outside of Clamp series. Hopefully, the BD sales from this season will result in an increased budget for x2 Ten and x2 Ketsu.
Final Words: Even on a bad day, Durarara is still a very entertaining show, and this holds great promise for subsequent seasons.
Story/Plot: 7/10
Characters: 7/10
Animation/Art: 3/10
Music: 8/10
Acting (JP): 7/10
Overall: 7/10
For Fans Of: Baccano!, Mekaku City Actors
