Let's Watch: Durarara!!

[Yamamaya]

An antihero is someone who is heroic despite possessing unheroic attributes.

How does Izaya qualify at all?

unheroic central character: somebody who is the central character in a story but who is not brave, noble, or morally good as heroes traditionally are.

Microsoft® Encarta® Reference Library 2003. © 1993-2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

He does help people and provides them with self empowerment. Currently his reasons for doing so are unknown. He seems to be a rather selfish person.

[blkmage]

Izaya is not the central character.

[Yamamaya]

Izaya is not the central character.

I'm well aware of that. The problem is encarta dictionary did not have another entry just for antiheroes. It only had one for antihero central characters.

Although there really isn't a central character in Durarara. It seems to focus on all of them evenly.

[Fantasy Dreamer]

I love episode seven. I really enjoyed seeing Shizuo's background story even if we may not have it in full yet. I also like his brother. I really like how caring he was even though he was the younger brother.

And Izaya... is a jerk. u_u I still like him... but I like him less after this. XD

[MasterDias]

Whether Izaya is an antihero or a villain would depend largely on his overall goals I would think, and that's still been pretty ambiguous up to this point.

Episode 7 was a fun episode. It's interesting to see how all the characters are connected to each other.

[blkmage]

Good news: Japan really likes Durarara!!.

1, 19,804 19,804 Bakemonogatari vol.5 Limited Edition DVD
2, 16,161 16,161 Durarara!! vol.1
3, 12,320 12,320 The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2009) vol.7 Limited Edition

Granted, they don't like it as much as Bakemonogatari or K-ON!, but 16k definitely qualifies as extremely good. There aren't many series that have first week, first volume sales of over 10k. Comparable series are: Macross Frontier, Clannad After Story, Gurren Lagann, and Kanon (2006). These are shows that are typically in the top ten of the year in terms of sales.

[ich1990]

I have just recently caught up with this show. In short I have truly enjoyed it so far.

Reading through some of this thread, I have to ask a question: how does episode 7 make Izaya a jerk? Perhaps I missed something but it seems to me that Shizuo picked a fight with Izaya for no good reason, and Izaya is just taking his time ending it. Sure, he is not fighting Shizuo one on one in a manly fashion, but why would he? Shizuo throws appliances. I personally think it is admirable of Izaya to be using his brain to harass and otherwise "fight with" Shizuo instead of risking a knife vs vending machine fight.

I would think that if anything makes Izaya a jerk, it is the way he emotionally manipulates suicidal people into jumping off of buildings.

For the record Shizuo is an awesome character.

[Yamamaya]

Episode 8, now that was cool. Poor Shinra, even the headless girls are complicated.

It seems our theories were correct. The girl with the scars on her neck is none other than Selty's head. This is sure to provide a lot of interesting plot twists.

One thing I love about Durarara is how it never forgets about its other characters. It tends to evenly give screentime to each of the characters.

[goldenspines]

Still watching. Though, I forgot to comment on episode 7, which was beautiful and tugged at my heart strings. It made me like Shizou a lot more and think that he also has an awesome brother.


But, Episode 8

Hmmmmmm...

I can't really believe I'm the first one linking the episode. Where has the excitement for this series gone? D:

Anyways, I was happy with this episode, it's moving the story right along and giving us more info to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
Celty, strangely enough, seems the most normal out of all the characters, even for having no head. I must admit, the more I see about her personality, the more I like her as a character. Though, right now, I'm not sure if I want her to get her head back in the end or not. (at least we know where her head is now, though. Maybe...o.o)

Judging from the preview, episode 9 looks like it will be adding a bit more interest and finally introduce a bit more of the lady doctor. Looking forward to it.

[Wyntre Rose]

LOL...I loved the screenshot, Goldenspines. That little "hmmm?" moment with Shizuo and Celty was cute. And poor Shinra! I think he's probably my favorite character so far. And is it just me, or does it feel like he's mixed up in something pretty nasty? I almost thought maybe the person who picked him up for that job with the fireworks kid might have been threatening him in some way subtly...I wonder if he's mixed up with them to protect Celty?

ich1990, I had to watch 7 again just to be sure - but I think Izaya was egging Shizuo on right from the beginning. Granted, when Shinra introduced the two of them, Shizuo immediately told Izaya he didn't like him, but he didn't get violent until Izaya started pushing his buttons. And you could tell from the smug look on his face that he was fully aware that he was ticking Shizuo off, even if he didn't know what that would mean...Izaya also kind of made it sound like the "fun" the two of them would have would be the sort of mutual antagonism that eventually evolved...so I almost think he was asking for it. I could be reading into it something that isn't there, though. At any rate, neither of them were exactly pure as the driven snow about it, but it made me think that Shizuo just sensed something wrong (evil?) about Izaya, and his emotions took over. Even Shinra introduced him as "kind of an a**hole" and Shinra strikes me as pretty non-judgemental. At any rate, that's my theory, but I could totally be off.

[ScalpelFactory]

Okay, awesome. Glad everyone's caught on to this, I'm convinced that this will be THE anime of 2010. And I don't say that lightly. It's already taking the internet by storm and since I joined up and started watching and reading the manga a couple weeks back, I have to say it's got me all fired up.

I'm even planning a cosplay of Shizuo Heiwajima [or 'Shizzy-chan' if you happen to be a certain pocketknife-carrying freakazoid] for this year's AnimeCentral in Rosemont, IL. Woo. Off to watch the 9th episode!

[blkmage]

Yeah, other than not having a head, Celty is incredibly normal: irritation at her friend that keeps trying to hit on her, cat wallpapers, etc. I really like that she and Shizuo are really good friends. As for Shinra, he is a black market doctor so it shouldn't be too surprising to see him involved in some unsavoury situations.

[ScalpelFactory]

-

[Fish and Chips]

Protip: nearly all of the posters in this scene are other books by Ryohgo Narita.

Bunch of stuff came up yesterday, so I didn't really get around to posting about it. Still, pretty entertaining, despite not much happening, though I wouldn't be surprised if this was setting the stage for something else. We did learn a little more about Yagiri though, which is still the group of characters we know the least about, despite them being the first we're introduced to in the opening.

[goldenspines]

I just watched the 9th episode {modsnip}, it's fun with much more action and plot advancement!

Of course, my favorite bit was Shizzy's interaction with Seiji, as well as Shizzy's ridiculous indifference to injury. Such a crazy, crazy man.

SPOILER ALERT from this point on.

[spoiler]I still feel sad watching Selty's head on the other body. She's so easily frightened, she's shy, she's sheltered. It's really unfortunate, I just want to hug her o.o]

Please read the opening post again. Thank you. ^_^

What if you are impatient and can't wait one week for the free stream? Go ahead and watch it, I don't care. Just don't tell anyone, don't mention it, don't talk about it, pretend you are watching it with everyone else, and stick to the discussion based on the latest freely available episode.

[Beau Soir]

It seems that the fanbase for DRRR mostly talks about Shizuo and Izaya and Celty, which is understandable because there's a lot of speculation surrounding them [and they're made of awesome]...

But is it strange that my favorite character's Mikado? And I hardly hear about him from fans, which makes me a little sad. ;__; I suppose it's because he's more of a "normal" character and the show's focus isn't directly on him or his past at the moment. I did gain a lot of respect for him though when he found Anri's shoes.

But anyway, I'll live, lol. Celty's my veeery close second favorite. :3 I giggled at her cat wallpaper and pink pajamas (ah, I want them), it was funny seeing her so... girly. But the contrast between her inner girly-ness and her everyday neutral leather suit and motorcycle is well-played, and those little tidbits are really great in building her character. It's nice to understand those things about her personality because we can't see her facial expressions, even those simple things make it easier to relate...

Shinra getting so excited for Celty and her cooking was too cute, it's interesting that even though he seems to be caught up in something darker and he's a very knowledgeable guy that he still acts like a little boy sometimes. XD I didn't like him at first at all, but he's growing on me.

And while Shinra's growing on me, I don't think Izaya will be growing on me anytime soon... .__. We'll see.

[blkmage]

I think the lack of talk about Mikado, Kida, and Anri is just a result of their relative lack of screentime recently. I mean, the show is doing one hell of a job of juggling all the different characters and I guess it just so happens that a lot of the setup requires some focus on Shizuo, Izaya, Shinra, and Celty. I'd expect some more on the high schoolers pretty soon and when they do, I'm expecting some interesting things about them to come to light.

[Yamamaya]

Keep in mind that his name is Shinra. He's bound to be involved in some shady stuff. Maybe I've been playing too much FFVII. XD

I also like Mikado. However, I would appreciate it if he gained some sort of ability or tick. Being a normal character in a show that progressively moves more towards the fantastic may cause him to become dull. However, the show is doing a good job of getting him involved into the odd situations so far.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

In regards to the prevalent sentiment that Izaya is a jerk: I have a sneaking suspicion that in the end it will come out that he was doing what he was doing (including pissing off Shizuo to no end) for a good reason and that the cast should be grateful to him.

Probably my favorite moment of the entire show is in episode 7 when Shizuo is pacing/ranting in the kitchen and his brother, completely deadpan, places a bottle of milk on the table and slides it toward him. I found that to be simply hilarious.

Yeah blkmage, I hope the high school kids get some more screen time (Kida!), but I am a little scared of what we might learn about Sonohara. Some of those early scenes with her and the teacher were a bit creepy.

[Fish and Chips]

But is it strange that my favorite character's Mikado? And I hardly hear about him from fans, which makes me a little sad. ]I like Mikado a lot, actually. And his friends. I just can't talk about them because I'm drenched knee-deep in spoilers here.

Reading through some of this thread, I have to ask a question: how does episode 7 make Izaya a jerk? Perhaps I missed something but it seems to me that Shizuo picked a fight with Izaya for no good reason, and Izaya is just taking his time ending it. Sure, he is not fighting Shizuo one on one in a manly fashion, but why would he? Shizuo throws appliances. I personally think it is admirable of Izaya to be using his brain to harass and otherwise "fight with" Shizuo instead of risking a knife vs vending machine fight.

I would think that if anything makes Izaya a jerk, it is the way he emotionally manipulates suicidal people into jumping off of buildings.

In regards to the prevalent sentiment that Izaya is a jerk: I have a sneaking suspicion that in the end it will come out that he was doing what he was doing (including pissing off Shizuo to no end) for a good reason and that the cast should be grateful to him.

Fairly certain this isn't spoiler material, but the thing about Izaya is that he sees the whole world as his own private playground. Everyone, everything that there is, is just there for him to be fascinated by, to use or abuse. His behavior with the cellphone in episode 3 is actually pretty indicative of how he relates with most people on a standard basis.

He loves to manipulate people; he hates Shizou because he can't manipulate him, so instead he settles for making his life miserable. Shizou, by this point, is so fixated on Izaya that whenever he sees him he assumes Izaya's cooking up trouble. Most of the time he's right.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

So I've been gone, so I have to comment on all the episodes that have come out since then.

So the Van Crew is pretty awesome.

Shizuo is THE awesome.

Izaya is a jerk.

Mikado, Kida, and Anri are almost as awesome, and need more screen time. I have a feeling this is coming.

Celty is awesome.

Simon is awesome, and needs more screen time. I don't know if this will happen.

Kida is awesome again.

[Fish and Chips]

Episode 9.



Question time, how much of Yagiri Pharmaceuticals budget is regularly diverted to extensive therapy sessions?

It's probably worth noting Namie walking in on her brother's casual murder scene is actually the first scene in the original novels, for whatever that's worth. That's starting things off on the right foot.

Mikado seems to rescue a lot of women these days.

[Yamamaya]

Namie is quite the jealous sister type eh?

Actually this episode was slightly disturbing when you consider the implications of beheading a stalker and then putting a head that the murderor loves on the body of the stalker.

Once again Shizuo was awesome in this episode.

[blkmage]

Once again, Shizuo had the winning lines and scenes this episode. Yeah, Seiji may be crazy and strong enough to drive ball-point pens into your thighs, but you know what? Doesn't even hurt.

Of course, while Shizuo is the winner in great things, we have Namie and Seiji competing to be the winner of being creepy. Now that the mystery of the head's been revealed, it seems like things are starting to move.

And well, it looks like Mikado may be getting himself into bit of a pickle.

[ScalpelFactory]

"I'll stay here, you go on ahead. Heh, I've always wanted to say that. 'I'll stay here, you go on ahead.'" - Shizuo Heiwajima XD

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Izaya was fantastic in this episode. I have high hopes for the "big picture" role he's going to play in the series.

Also, it was nice to see some characters interact that don't normally "run together" i.e. Shizuo and Seji and Mikado and Celty's Noggin.

[goldenspines]

Band aids and super glue. The best first aid kit. ^_^d

I don't have too much more to comment on this episodes besides what has already been said.
But, I know I was hoping for a love story in this, but come on. XDD
Also, Seiji is a jerk. Shizou knows more about love than he does. <3

Looks like we finally got all the characters mostly introduced though. Now we can get the plot moving a bit more.

[Yamamaya]

I love how Shizou reveals to Seji that he is just infatuated with Celty head, then he throws Seji into the horizon in a fit of anger. XD.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

So Shizuo is awesome. Very awesome.

One thing I continue to like about this show is the complete uniqueness of the fights. Celty runs into people with her motorcycle, Seiji uses ballpoint pens, Shizuo just throws whatever is around, the only one using a conventional weapon is Izaya. I have a feeling the teenage power trio are going to get really awesome, especially with what Fish is hinting and Mikado being in a spot of trouble.

"I've always wanted to say this!"

[Falx]

I said it on another forum...

But I would watch a spin-off series of Shizuo and Celty fighting street crime together, literally, a million times.