The story of Durarara!! takes place in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. Ikebukuro is filled with many rumors and mysteries. It's an interesting place, and so is the story. The story carries quite a few serious tones through its run of 26 episodes. Mixed in with the seriousness is a very nice comedy seasoning with a side of ridiculousness that'll have you bursting out into laughter at regular intervals. The comedy serves as a breath of fresh air amongst the seriousness. The story itself is split up into 3 separate arcs. And while the first arc is pretty good, the second and third arcs fail to live up to that first part. The OVA episodes, 12.5 and 25, are good in their own right since they don't fit into any of the three story arcs. Episode 25 in particular is hilarious and a refreshing ending to the first season.
The art of Durarara!! unfortunately is somewhat of a week point. It's clear at most times that the budget wasn't exactly the largest. As a result, the backgrounds look stunningly beautiful as are the use of colors, but the characters themselves are not extremely detailed. However, one plus side is that the main characters stick out from the rather large crowds. Most background characters are colored a solid gray, while the main characters are fully colored and given detail. This makes them stand out amongst the city crowds and nameless characters. To make matters even better, the show has what are called Color Gangs. Each gang is represented by a color such as Blue, Red, Yellow, Green, and even Colorless. Some background characters are shown to wear colored pieces of clothing. These colored bits are in contrast to the rest of the character which is colored gray. So even though the characters tend to lack detail, this is more than made up for.
The sound of Durarara!! is yet another strong point. From the sounds of the city to the actions of the characters, everything has appropriate sounds. The soundtrack is bombastic and loud, sometimes not even seeming like music, and yet it goes very well with the chaotic nature of the series and almost always fits the scene its played in. So no complaints there. Yet another upside to this series is both the sub and the dub. Aniplex of America licensed the series, and while it's nearly impossible to get it on Blu-Ray because they demand an extremely high price for it, the quality of the dub is well worth the added expense. Many famous actors round out the cast such as Crispin Freeman, Johnny Yong Bosch, Yuri Lowenthal, Steve Blum, and Kari Wahlgren among others. Not one character sounds out of place, and I can say that after having also watched the subbed version at the exact same time. Both versions are equally good, so if you prefer one over the other, there should be absolutely no problems in the voiceover department.
Durarara!! is filled with a colorful cast of characters and not a single one of them will disappoint you. Every character gets some kind of development over the course of the series and each one of them has a unique personality that sets them apart from everyone else. They standouts are obviously Shizuo Heiwajima and Izaya Orihara whose antagonistic relationship has led to many a fanfic and shipping. I found it extremely hard to dislike any of the characters in the series which is a really good thing. Means the author did something right when creating these characters, especially with how many of them their are.
In closing, Durarara!! is a series that should definitely not be overlooked by anyone. If you loved Baccano, you'll love Durarara!! as well since it was written by the same guy and animated by the same studio. I even think it has the same composer. There's a lot to like in this average length anime, and in my opinion, it's worth a watch for the characters alone. So as far as a recommendation is concerned, this is recommended to everyone. And if for some reason you don't like ANYTHING about this series, please don't shoot the messenger. I like living. It's fun.
