Today’s show, is a different kind of show from normal.
A kind of series that I don’t see often and the few times I have, they share a lot
of staff similarities.
Today’s show is less of a single tale told from beginning to end.
One with a standard setup of introduction, climaxes and conclusions.
But instead a cavalcade of many smaller stories all co-existing with one another and getting
their focus in due time.
The bonus to this kind of thing is that there is much more, openness.
The world for our characters seems much larger, like there’s always more going on.
One small throwaway scene for one story, could itself be a linchpin or even a climax for
another story.
It’s a fascinating thought to be able to watch something that is a lot closer to the
real world than most.
Because you look out into the real world, ignoring the sun because it burns us of course.
But we look out and see hundreds of people, and while we are the main character of our
own story, they are the main character of theirs.
I love that idea.
Which is why it sucks that Durarara!
Drops the ball with it. Ladies, Gentlemen, and others my name is Arkada
and welcome to Glass Reflection.
Today the 2010 Anime series directed by Takahiro Omori, produced by Studio Brains Base and
based on the original work Ryohgo Narita, Durarararararararararararara!!
Should be fun shouldn’t it?
Let’s Jam.
The problem when trying to talk about this kind of story, is that it’s hard to know
where to begin.
Because the show doesn’t seem have a Main Character.
There a trio of characters that almost every story involves in some way, so perhaps they
share the title of Main Character.
But then there’s the Mysterious character with the motorbike and the black outfit.
She has a good amount of time dedicated to her mystic and she’s a constant force in
all following storylines.
So perhaps SHE's the main character sort of like Ginko from Mushishi.
Or looking at it another way, we have a character who is without a doubt the story antagonist.
So perhaps the only one who can fight him on equal terms is the main character?
Or maybe the Main Character is Issac and Miria who unintentionally Spread Happiness around
them.
The fact is all of them and none of them are the main character.
The Main Character, really, is the city itself and not any one person.
The show takes place in Tokyo’s downtown Ikebukuro district.
Everything of importance happens there, and except for a few backstory flashbacks, the
show never leaves there.
This is interesting because this makes Durarara much more like a soap opera.
Like Coronation street for example, the story of the city is the one really being told.
Everything else is just a subplot.
Or at least that’s how I wish it turned out.
See, it started off that way.
Durarara spent some time introducing our, rather large cast.
Then it went about telling us most of their stories that were loosely connected.
Good so far, but there came a time in the shows second half where the stories started
to converge.
Not in a, “Oh wow they put a lot of thought into this, like it was planned to happen all
along!” kind of way.
More like a “Wait why is this happening?
Oh.
Well that’s some silly convoluted twist.”
They don’t just combine stories in a flowing and natural way.
They combine in a: "This kind of thing would never happen, coincidences are never this
huge!" kind of way.
I want to say that this series was more of a testbed for this kind of story.
Perhaps an experiment that the author would later learn from and improve upon.
But I can’t say that because I know better.
The author first wrote Baccano.
So we are going to talk quickly about Baccano.
Not only because I think that series is amazing and hopefully me talking about it will convince
someone out there to watch it.
But also because it’s the only other work by the same author, and they exist in the
same universe.
If the appearance of two characters and various supernatural elements are any indication.
Baccano, like Durarara was a combination of many stories told in a different way.
Just not the same way as done here.
Baccano doesn't focus on one location.
Instead it told its story in 3 sometimes 4 separate timelines.
No story was happening at the same time or place, despite being shown to the audience
as such.
But on some level all the stories were still connected.
Revelations shown to us in one storyline had an effect on the others.
It was a brilliant way of doing things, because everything just fit together so well.
Durarara relies more often than not on crazy amounts of coincidence.
Characters from several stories meeting in this small section of Tokyo is an acceptable
coincidence.
But having those characters be 3 opposing forces of one large gang war is less acceptable.
Especially when they are friends, not know how they all connect.
I should bring up at this point that there is actually quite a bit to like here.
Starting with the fact that the show’s entire first half is Fucking amazing.
Which is why this is so disappointing.
The cast of this series is huge, and that was a worry for me at the start.
How the hell were they going to introduce all these characters and make them feel relevant?
How were they going to juggle all this?
The pacing is going to be a disaster.
But it wasn’t.
The introduction to both the world and every character was masterfully done.
Those intro episodes are a paragon of pacing.
The music was timed perfectly and the whole production was brilliant.
But then someone dropped the ball.
It's almost like it was planned to happen too.
The 13th episode of the show is called “Takes a Sudden Turn” like a premonition of what
was about to occur.
From this point on, things started to become convoluted, distorted, messy, and devoid of
so much that made the series good.
That's my one line description for this series: Beautiful setup, horrible execution.
It’s funny because 2010 is around the time I started my belief that the ending is paramount.
Which would have been perfect if I watched this show when it aired and not recently.
Because here the ending really is paramount.
You can’t enjoy Durarara’s intro episodes as a standalone.
With a world this large and a cast so huge, 12.5 episodes isn’t enough.
It’s more like just a depressing taste of what could have been.
Of course after this they decided to give the story another 30 some odd episodes in
another season.
But unless that became the best frickin anime to ever grace my television, (hint it’s
not) it would not make up for what Durarara!
Became at the end of this first season.
I love the characters of this show.
I feel that Celty was amazing.
I loved the zany antics of the van crew, or how Simon keeps trying to hawk his Russian
sushi.
I try to appreciate the things of myself that I can see in Mikado.
To appreciate things about Anri besides her chest, which is all the show says is worth
noting about her.
I both like and hate the fact that Izasya now ranks near the top of my most hated characters
list.
Not because they are annoying, but because they are downright assholes.
Durarara, was at its best in the middle of the action, or at times where it's smaller
stories could shine.
It knows how to get an audience excited, in more ways than one, and then how to keep them
entertained.
But this is a story of a community that can’t really end.
But what we got, didn't try to give us closure or a conclusion worthy of the city it was
about.
Do I recommend this series?
No.
I won’t go out of my way to say to watch it but I’m biased against it.
Because I have a way that I enjoy stories, and also a way that I prefer them to conclude.
It didn’t even need a solid, all plots tied up ending for me to be happy.
Hell Baccano is nowhere near ended after only 16 episodes and I would prefer how that finished
over this.
But I will admit there is a lot to like here, and I’m leaving it open to the possibility
that the future seasons can make up for it.
Doubtful, but possible.
You might wonder why I didn’t watch the next seasons before writing this video.
I did plan to, but I felt that this frustration I feel with season one needed to be expressed.
Though if you have the time to check it out yourself, perhaps you’ll find the series’s
flaws to be not as bad as I consider them to be.
At the time of this video Durarara has been licensed by Aniplex of America.
It is available for streaming in Sub and dub surprisingly over on Crunchyroll.
Links in the description.
I don’t have much to say on the Dub other then I am a big fan of many a voice actor
in it’s cast.
But because I watched it on the Physical Blu-ray release I had to switch to subs.
That's because there is a character that speaks with text messages, and the disc does not
have a sign or text translation subtitle track.
Heck it only has one subtitle track and its dubtitles which is bad enough.
So while I watched it in sub, you might want to check out the dub online because the cast
is quite good.
For alternate anime recommendations, if you couldn’t guess the first one it’ll be
Baccano.
Because everyone should watch Baccano.
Everyone.
It is great, it is brilliant, and if everyone watches it maybe that’ll be enough to convince
someone to give us more episodes of it.
Why Durarara got another 30 some odd and Baccano only has 16 total I will never know.
The universe can be unkind sometimes.
Second recommendation goes to Blood Blockade Battlefront.
A series that has a similar style to it even if the story is much more traditional and
linear.
But that doesn’t stop it from being entertaining.
Finally I’d like to thank patrons Calhounboy, Viktor Ekmark, Nicolai Grey, Joshua Garcia,
Jocelyn Atkins, and Rurika Adachi.
Without which I would not be able to produce these videos to the same extent that I would
like.
And that’s it from me, thank you gentle viewers for watching.
Until next time, Stay Frosty.