Plot-wise, Durarara! sounds a cliché, half-baked anime which uses the same plot as those that have been used over and over again by the same genre. Although this is not entirely false, Durarara! knows when to add twists, variations, and innovations to its not-so-exceptional plot. First of all, Durarara! makes use of different viewpoints in telling its stories. Unlike other animes wherein the story is usually just seen from the viewpoint of the MC, in Durarara! it shows us the story through the eyes of the MC, his best friend Kida, the headless rider Celty, the killer Saika, and even some of the side characters. Along with that, they also tell the story behind each character, main or not. This gives Durarara! an incredibly detailed plot, which makes up for its somehow predictable twists. Another flaw of Durarara! is its plotholes. As incredibly detailed it is, it raised some MAJOR plot points and questions which it failed to answer at the end of the series. For a junkie for animes with good, solid, and concluding plot like me, this left a very bitter taste in my mouth.
Don’t go throwing this anime into the bin just yet though, because just as I’ve said, what it lacks in plot depth, it makes up with plot detail. If you are the kind of person who likes well developed characters, you are sure to like this. As Durarara! is told using multiple perspectives, you can damn well expect that the characters are well fleshed-out. Each of them are unique, from the shy and timid MC Mikado, to the talkative mute Celty, you can expect a multitude of personalities to collide, bringing with it one of the strong points of Durarara!. Even with that though, the character designs themselves are pretty bland. Mikado looks just like any generic high school character from a random anime, Kido looks like you typical douche/funny guy, and another character, Shizuo, looks like your normal badass.
Then there’s the art and animation. It’s quite bland compared to other animes, but it does the job. Although it might just be the actual art style, budget limitations, or just laziness, but I really don’t like when the animators leave the background characters uncolored. It’s nothing major, and won’t ruin the experience, but those little details can really cause the anime to look dull and lifeless. However, the actual animation itself is really good. Everything is smooth, slick, and shiny; just the way most animes now look like, so those with phobias with DBZ-style animation, you don’t have to worry.
So, the final verdict is, Durarara! is an above average anime, but not exceptional. It’s just that the good points of it are being offset by its bad points. So yeah, I would recommend that you watch it, but don’t expect it to be a masterpiece. It’s a good thing to waste time on; it give you good entertainment for the amount of time you spend on it.
~First and foremost, thanks for reading my review. If you have any comments regarding my review or just want to have a discussion, then leave a comment at my page. I will greatly appreciate it. =)~
