So what do you do when you are finishing off the first edit of
your book and your editor rings you up wanting to know the title of the book you’re
working on and you have yet to name it? A) You tell your editor the truth: Dude
I 'm not even finished writing the damn thing. I'll get back to you in a week
or three. B) Say the first thing that pops into your head because you're a week
over due handing the first draft in and you don't want to piss your editor off
further.
Yeah no-brainer you go with B. That is exactly what Ryohgo Narita did and he had the
cujones to admit this in the first volume of the light novel.
Durarara!! started out in 2004 as a light
novel by Ryohgo Narita (he is also responsible for creating gems like
Baccano! and Bow Wow! Two Dog Night) there are currently 12 volumes out and it
is ongoing. In 2009 Durarara!! was adapted into manga and is illustrated
by Akiyo Satorigi. Finally in 2010 it
was adapted into anime, it ran for 26 episodes: well 24 episodes and 2 OAV to
be precise.
Durarara!! is set in Tokyo in the
district of Ikebukaro or Bukuro for short. Mikado Ryugamine longs to spice
up his dull life in the country and decides to go to high school in the urban jungle
that is Ikebukuro. There he meets up with his elementary school friend
Masaomi Kida;who has been living in Bukuro for the past 4 years.
On their way to Mikado's flat Masaomi
tells Mikado about the people he should never piss off while in Bukuro.
1) Shizuo Heiwajima: to an outsider he is an
ultra-violent man with super human strength. In reality he is a nice guy with a
big heart who gets pissed off easily and has rage control issues. 2)
Izaya Orihara: he looks like a harmless NEET but he is a mischievous ass, who is
deadly with a knife and gets bored easily.
Oh and he loves to piss Shizuo off.
He is the type of person that loves to bring situations and people to
boiling point and watch things boil over from the side lines, just for kicks. 3) The
Dollars, a mysterious gang. 4) The Black Rider, a headless biker chick. Inevitably Mikado's life gets tangled up in
each of these people’s lives pretty much from the start.
With every character in Durarara!!
looks can be deceiving and they all have a secret side that they don't
show to others and secrets they are keeping to themselves for one
reason or another.
This is one of those anime that just works
and I would put it the same league as Samuri Champloo and Cowboy Bebop.
This is another anime that has a main plot line running thought it, but
it is loose. Instead of feeling like
you’re watching events proceed in order towards an ending, Durarara!! takes you
on a kick ass pub crawl though the crazy city of Bukro with your even crazier
friends (you know the ones I'm talking about) in tow. You just know you
are going to end up with your head shaved and a wild tattoo on your rear
when you wake up in the morning, but it will be one of the best nights you have
ever had. I love this anime. For a super otaku like me I totally
flipped out when they started referencing other anime and they even had a life
size cardboard cut out of Holo from Spice and Wolf. This is one have me pissing myself with
laughter the whole way though. I even
have the opening song as my ring tone.
Tip though: I did try to watch this in Japanese
but the talking was crazy fast so I had a hard time understanding it and an
even harder time with the subtitles. If
you want to enjoy this anime to its fullest I would recommend watching it in
your native language.
Because I am a nerdlit I thought I would add a little trivia... I
love the play on words in Japanese language. I also love the meaning of Japanese names and the way a name is said and the kanji used to write it can make it
mean something complete different. When you watch Durarara!! you will
note how everyone comments on how odd Mikado Ryugamine's name is. The short version is it
sounds like a name from feudal Japan. If you want the long version follow the
link on his name. Shizuo Heiwajima name means: serene
man or peaceful island. Izaya's name is the combo of Isaiah from the
bible and the Japanese meaning for: the one who looks over the crowd, which is
very fitting. Then there is the exit signs in the subway, “around the station are the Seibu and Tōbu department stores. Seibu, written with the characters for "West"
and "Musashi (province)"
西武, is on the east end of the station and Tōbu, written with the characters for "East"
and "Musashi" 東武, is on the west end” (wikipedia.org). If you want to know more insights to the
other names and quirky things then fallow these links: without-spoilers and with-spoilers.
Subway info via wikipedia video clips via youtube
