The City of Durarara!!
Imagine, you are a newbie who just got an opportunity to attend a new school in a new city. A fresh start in a new chapter of your life but, you are still the same old you.
There are no familiar faces here. You just showed up via the bus or the train, carrying your heavy suitcase. Stumbling about and trying your best to follow the flow of the crowd to your new home. You live in an age where yes, you have a phone to check everything but the place is much more complex than you thought.
Hence, you are very, very, lost.
That is Mikado Ryūgamine's first day in the bustling city of Ikebukuro and the subject for today. The show famously known to have 15 (give or take) main characters co-existing in a space. Developing their own stories while another story unfolds in the back.
- I Love Humans! -
< Durarara!!/ DRRR!! > by Ryōgo Narita; Follows a cast of ordinary characters who reside in Ikebukuro. A lively city known for its nightlife and as a hub for all things Otaku-related. The city is currently a home for our main character; Mikado who just moved in and is about to attend a new school with his childhood best friend; Masaomi Kida.
Elsewhere, we follow a mysterious and non-verbal biker lady who just rescued Rio Kamichika from a kidnapping. Taking her to a secluded building rooftop to "end things".
Somewhere else, Shizuo Heiwajima is throwing a fit at a random man who owes him money. Causing a scene by throwing a venting machine into the sky. Scaring the pedestrians. This, is < DRRR > in just a few minutes. A large mix of events happening all at once at separate parts of the city.
As Kida guides Mikado, he provides some exposition of what's been going on in Ikebukuro. Mentioning that there has been a new gang in town right after the city survived another previously. Kida runs into some of his friends; Kyouhei Kadota, Walker Yumasaki, Erika Karisawa, and Saburo Togusa.
Meanwhile, Rio got to the roof and encountered her online friend; Nakura whom she contacted to make a suicide pact. But it was revealed that her kidnaping was a ploy by Izaya Orihara who wanted nothing more but to mess with her. Rounding up, Kida and Mikado witnessed a famous city urban legend. The mysterious biker lady called; The Headless Rider.
-We are...Dollars! -
Several key pieces are driving the plot for < Durarara > forward. Firstly, we have the everyday life of Kida and Mikado. School students in Raira Academy with their new best friend; Anri Sonohara who has secrets of her own.
Next, we have the questionable love story of the Headless Rider; Celty Sturluson. An odd-job transporter with her partner; Shinra Kishitani an underground doctor. Both are on a quest to find Celty's missing head.
Then, we have the ongoing gang wars that Kida mentioned. Since a new gang; The Dollars started showing up. The further we follow our characters, the deeper the relations go to the point where you need a chart for who is who. Yet, the show is rather comprehensive.
< DRRR > is actually a story about no one and everyone. It takes place in a location where everyone has a story. No matter if you are interested in the gang war, a twisted love story between certain characters or the simpleton life of the Van gang.
Perhaps you like a good ole beatdown action, or maybe. You like something a little bit supernatural regarding several slasher cases. There is something for everyone and while some of the parts may not interest you as much. The threads eventually cross paths. Leading to a big Crescendo~
- The World isn't as Cruel -
One of the most consistent themes seen in all of < Durarara > is the theme of making connections. As the audience, we get to see the characters being much closer than they make it out to be.
In a chatgroup. The characters take on differing identities and exchange information to help one another. Not realizing that they chatted about it a while ago. Perhaps the most encouraging thing about the show is how it uses the word "gang".
To join a gang often comes from a desire to find a sense of belonging. As mentioned, The Dollars are a new gang but the peculiar fact is, they are a colourless and leaderless gang. Sure, factions among them can exist. But no one has the power to control each other. Anyways, the gang is often seen to have done both good and bad to their respective communities.
Ikebukuro is crowded with countless activities going on in the light and in the dark. How our characters react to it determines the outcome. Despite the show has already declared itself as ended.
I personally think it's not a definitive end. Because the ending is not the point. < Durarara > is a show about people and how people deal with complex situations in their daily lives both personally and externally as a community. Perhaps its also a good display of how we are more interested the lives of someone else rather than our own.
To wrap this up, I just want to say that this show displayed the true power of an online community. It's a stroke of genius on the power we have as a collective to make change to our communities. That is what < Durarara > is about!
