Dalu

The hospital phone call scene is among Shinra’s coldest moments over the course of his relationship with Izaya. There’s no denying that Shinra was acting extremely callous here, but the context is important. Shinra was on vacation and had received multiple phone calls before Izaya. When Shinra picks up, Izaya doesn't take his own state seriously and tells Shinra he simply called because he was bored. It could be argued that with how well Shinra understands Izaya, he could’ve figured that this would have bothered him, but Izaya does not help his own case. After Shinra hangs up, Izaya doubles down and has the cops call Shinra. Upon further reflection, Shinra regrets how he treated Izaya and even considers his own injuries to be karma for how he acted.

Shinra defends Izaya to both Shizuo and Celty. Shizuo, who despises Izaya, and Celty, around whom Shinra’s entire world revolves. Celty does not like Izaya, but Shinra still speaks about him fairly. He also keeps the fact that Izaya wasn’t the one who stabbed him a secret, even though he had protected Izaya to impress Celty in the first place. He had gotten stabbed protecting this kid and still keeps up his lie. Even after Izaya’s disappearance, Shinra defends Izaya further: “It doesn’t mean he is a villain… It’s not like he does it with bad intent.” There is really no benefit to Shinra defending Izaya, especially for those who do not like him, yet he does so multiple times.

Additionally, Shinra is the driving force in their relationship. Shinra is the entire reason the friendship exists. Nearly every interaction between the two is initiated by Shinra. Shinra seeks Izaya out and repeatedly extends invitations to him: befriending him in the first place, finding him on the rooftop in high school, inviting him to the coming-of-age ceremony, and going to his apartment to complain. Izaya is only shown initiating on rare occasions, such as interrupting conversations between Shizuo and Shinra. Izaya is bothered that Shinra does not prioritize him, but it isn’t as if he is reaching out.

Regardless, the only time that Izaya “smiles with an honest expression” is when he is with Shinra. In other words, their relationship is benefic in some ways. That isn’t to say their relationship is without issue; they are clearly lacking in the communication department, but their friendship is not wholly one-sided or negative. Of course, Celty will always be his number one, but that does not mean he does not care about Izaya. Izaya can be pretty terrible, and he himself is not a good friend. There is no real benefit for Shinra to remain friends with him for as long as he has, unless he wants to; unless he likes having Izaya as a friend.

Regarding Izaya being a bad friend, I touched on the fact that, despite his feelings of being overlooked, we do not really see him initiating. He interrupts conversations between Shinra and Shizuo, causing conflict. There are also several scenes of Izaya trying to split apart Shizuo and Shinra as friends, even going as far as to try to involve Shinra's half-sister in a scheme.

These behaviors are not conducive to a healthy friendship. Izaya's actions are counterproductive to his wants. The reason Shinra being a bad friend is discussed so frequently is because Izaya is hurt by his actions and vocalizes it. That doesn't mean he himself is a good friend. I bring this up because it is often framed like Shinra is just a terrible friend to Izaya, when that really isn't the case. Neither of them is a particularly good friend to the other, which comes as no surprise, since neither of them is a particularly good or empathetic person.

That isn't to say that the relationship is wholly unhealthy. As mentioned above, the only time that Izaya “smiles with an honest expression” is when he is with Shinra. He is Izaya's only actual friend. While Shinra's circle is marginally larger, he isn't exactly a social butterfly.

A face only a mother (me) and Shizuo could love.

me: I want them to hold hands :D I think that’s neat

- scrambled