Being the #84 anime on MAL, and a persistent recommendation from my imouto herself, I had very high expectations for DRRR!!, unfortunately, that was the ultimate downfall between the 'bittersweet' romance between me and DRRR!!
For starters, DRRR!! spent the first 7 episodes depicting only about the introduction of characters and the setting, and the story was a standstill. To attempt such a daring feat, DRRR!! must have a very interesting setting to boot, right? I dunno about that, though, does modern Japan sounds interesting to you?
What about the characters? Take my advice, and focus on only 6 characters: Celty, Izaya, Shizuo forms 1 group, while Mikado, Kida and Anri forms the other group. Ignore the rest, so that you can focus on their individual developments, which is good, but is also the obscure highlight of the show. Why obscure? As DRRR!! bombards you with another 15 or so characters and most of them act as if they are also main characters, but in actuality, they aren't, they are just sidekicks and sub characters that are trying to distract you, don't let them succeed.
There are 4 arcs in DRRR!! The first arc, the introductory arc, is the lowest point of the show, as it was the bitter medicine of the show for me, turning my tongue so bitter that the remaining 3 arcs lost any sweetness they had. I am sorry to say this but in my opinion the show would be much better should episode 8 became the first episode.
The 2nd arc, the headless rider arc, has a decent degree of mystery and suspense to it, and probably the best solution to end the arc. However, nothing much changes as an aftermath.
The 3rd arc, the slasher arc, is terrifying and bloody, but the resolution was too short, too abrupt, and cut off any steam I had built myself upon this arc. This arc was actually good buildup for the last arc.
What about the last arc? I call it the misunderstanding arc, in which did a great job linking all our 6 main characters together, and it had a very good buildup, but then, what happened? The show pulled off a cheapskate resolution which left me largely disappointed.
In truth, when I finished watching the 7th episode, I asked myself a question, "why am I still watching this?". I believe this was the absolute flaw of DRRR!!, it has a weak introduction, and is heavily character driven. So if you want to watch this series, better find yourself a character or two that you are very interested on, and stick to them as your motivations to finish this show. I didn’t, as initially I did not know who I should focus, and when I realized that, it was all too late. In the end, I found myself turbo-ing through the show, skipping parts that I don't find interesting, as the entire show had already turned stale, and don't ask me to rewatch this.
One noteworthy thing about this show is that it revolves around the theme "love", in which was severely abused to many extends, to some point, absurd (I won't spoil it, *evil laugh*). Be sure to stick this around your head when you watch this anime, as it was repeated many, many times, and is the ultimate motive force for most of the characters' actions.
TLDR; if you are interested in DRRR!! Be sure to remember these advices:
- Don't have your expectations too high.
- Focus only on Celty, Izaya, Shizuo, Mikado, Kida and Anri.
- Find a character you really like and stick to him/her.
- Remember that love is the motivation to everything.
- Don’t expect any large changes except for character development.
- Tons of patience.
