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Quick Grade for Impatient Readers: 9.5/10 (An excellent anime that has a bit of everything, but the story-telling is what makes it so great)
Originally starting out as a light novel by Ryohgo Narita, “Durarara” has spread out to various media formats, including a game on the Playstation Portable and even an internet radio show. The anime itself was done by Brain’s Base, who also did an anime called “Baccano!” It was because of “Baccano” that this one became introduced to “Durarara.”
The story follows the lives of many characters within the Japanese city of Ikebukuro. The main characters are Mikado Ryūgamine, a teenage boy who moved to Ikebukuro to go to high school with his friend who he has not seen for years, and Celty Sturluson (aka the ‘Black Rider’) who is an Irish dullahan looking for her stolen head while doing various jobs around town. However, in this anime every character has a story to tell and serves to further the main plot (and when this one says “every character,” this one means every character). The main story is about Celty Sturluson trying to get her head back, but it also focuses on rising tensions between the local color gangs, the ‘colorless’ gang The Dollars, and mysterious attacks by the person only known as the Slasher.
Pros: The story and characters are definitely the best part of this anime. Each character has a part to play, and has delightful personality quirks that make them loveable despite their often great flaws. The story itself often has huge twists that completely change how you look at certain characters and that are hard to guess at times (this one was completely shocked by a fair number of the twists, which does not happen often to this one). The story also manages to keep tensions rising while still revealing secrets along the way. The animation itself is overall fair with some very impressive moments, and the music perfectly matches situations and characters as needed. The humor is legitimately funny, though more likely than not it is the characters and their interactions that will make you laugh than the jokes the characters themselves try to make.
Cons: The only real issue this one has with this otherwise amazing anime is that it does not run very long and that it leaves one major point open. “Durarara” currently only has one season as far as this one knows ( or 24 episodes if this one is counting the seasons incorrectly), and while almost all of the questions and problems are solved by the end of this anime it does leave one major plot point unanswered (which this one will not reveal for fear of spoilers). This one hopes that by leaving the plot point unresolved, it means that there is another season planned, but so far there seems to be little to no hope for that.
Final Verdict: A great, great anime that this one would buy if ever given the opportunity. Even if you don’t normally watch action or supernatural series, this one would recommend it anyway. It has plenty of the real-life and romance genre to keep it balanced, and is not that long anyway so a large part of your life would not be required to watch and finish “Durarara.”
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Robot Reviews 