Title: DuRaRaRa!! – Part 1 Episodes 1-9
Alternative Titles: デュラララ!!
Published By: Siren Visual (Australia), Aniplex (US)
Based On: The Durarara!! light novel series by Ryohgo Narita
Audio: English and Japanese Dubs
Subtitles: English
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Full Frame, Original Ratio
Runtime: 220 Minutes over 2 Dual-layered DVD’s
Cost: $AUD 44.95 from Siren Visual Website
Trailer: Japanese Trailer – There was apparently an English Trailer, which has been region locked from me.
Classification: This title is rated M15+ for Mature Themes and Animated Violence.
Special Thanks: A review copy of this title was kindly sent to me by the good people at Siren Visual.
It is very rare that there is an Australian release of any anime series the same time as the US does… however this title is seemingly one of the titles that has been able to do it. This title was a big hit when it was originally released in Japan early last year, and when Siren Visual kindly supplied me with a few review samples (Alongside Casshern Sins and Red vs Blue: Revelation which shall be reviewed in later posts), this title was automatically placed in the nearest DVD player for my watching pleasure. In comparison to the last few titles I have reviewed which have been good, however had some component of fan-service in them, this title changes the mood to a more serious and trendy setting where there is kidnappings, gang wars and mysterious people to be found. Anyway, enough stalling, read on for my review of Durarara! Part 1.
At the invitation of his childhood friend Masaomi, Ryuugamine Mikado transfers from his home in the country to a school in the city of Ikebukuro. Masaomi has warned him about people he doesn’t want to cross in the city: a champion fighter, an informant, a pharmaceutical company who is commissioning the abduction of women off the street, and a mysterious gang called Dollars. Nervous in the labyrinth of Ikebukuro, Mikado witnesses an urban legend on his first day in the city…. DULLAHAN: a headless, black-clad motorcyclist who rides the streets with no headlights searching for its stolen head! From then on, the existence of the supernatural and a gang called the Yellow Scarves will rise to the surface… and Ikebukuro will be pushed to breaking point!
A blurb on the DVD cover states “Durarara!! moves in every direction – characters cross paths throughout each episode and drift in and out of the story, creating a complex, non-linear plot that is thick with twists and psychological depth”. That blurb is one of the most accurate means of describing the series as even in the first nine episodes of the series, there are three different plots that are going on (Gang Wars, Kidnappings and the mysterious motorcyclist) which are easily dropped between episodes and picked up a few episodes down the track as the main focus. With this as well, there is no specific main character and each episode will usually have a different narrator if there is one. Even through the main character is posed at the start as Mikado, he alongside half a dozen other characters may easily becoming nothing more then background characters for an episode or two which allows the story to progress further since they don’t have to work at writing them in. Despite this constantly branching storyline, none of the storylines are separate from the others and usually have some sort of link to the overall storyline whether it is through a character, past or event that takes place.
Whilst the series may originally seem like a normal Japan city life drama, it is far from it and incorporates the unusual and super-natural into the storyline. A headless person, a man with inhuman super strength, a couple who buy ten of every manga for “other reasons” and an underground genius doctor are just a few of the things added to the story which gives it the extra boost that makes it interesting. Another storyline mechanic they use is chat conversations between the characters and others which is used to each show the characters feelings on something, add some non-vital backstory or just to represent the technological based society us youth treasure.
Of course, old habits die hard…
In terms of the actual characters, there are a considerable number of them, and each of them are associated with a different storyline at this stage in the series whether it is the “Welcome to Ikebukuro” path or the “Headless Rider” path or several other groups of people that are featured in the episodes. Most, although not all of the characters are introduced in the first episode and you are gradually shown bits and pieces of their life and their importance to the plot. The personalities however are very interesting and every character differs from another in some way and everyone has unique traits such as Masaomi’s unfunny jokes, to Simon’s unintentional scare advertising and to Shizuo’s short-fused temper and vending machine throwing habits. Every character as their own unique quirk or trait that hooks you into them.
Note to self: Must find out what Russian Sushi is…
Some of the characters have their back stories investigated such as Shizuo, Celty and Shinra, however as expected from a 9 episode set, not all the characters have been able to have much development yet, let alone me remembering all their names (Consulting Wikipedia as I write), however the character backgrounds are interesting and not useless, instead once again, being important for the storyline in someway. However, the character personality that is by far the most interesting is Simon’s. He doesn’t have any major part in this DVD set, however he appears in almost every episode with something unique…. from appearing in the middle of the fight randomly and without warning, to having people run away when all he wants to do is sell them Russian Sushi (As of yet I have no idea what Russian Sushi is). On the issue of there only being nine episodes in a set, I do feel that they should have just gone with two sets of 12 episodes each instead of the way they have done it now as the storyline is addictive, and I am finding myself impatient already for the next set. However, I am not one to judge the publishers and I am glad that there are only two month intervals between the episodes.
Even in some of the more residential areas of the city… there is still a lot of detail to be found from things behind windows to a building sign and many more.
In terms of the background designs, they remind me of the complexity and detail of the game Yakuza 3. The environments are almost fully from within the city environment of Ikebukuro and first look like a populated and darkish city as the storyline sets it up to be, but every building and item on the street has an added layer of complexity and detail which I think is important for any series based in the city. So, the buildings aren’t buildings but they have signs, notice boards, items in non-smashed vending machines and windows et cetera. No stone is left undesigned.
Surprised they have not used this as an example for anti-smoking advertisments….
Character designs are not the best I have ever seen, however they, like the environment, are well suited to the setting of the series and any more detail would have ruined the Durarara! experience in my opinion. None of the character designs are over the top and instead would represent what the youth and young adults of the city would be like, however there is one specific character design that deserves a special mention…. the headless rider Celty. As is obvious, she has no head, however unlike some other series that you would expect them to just hide it under a helmet, early on the helmet is taken off, showing one of the more ingenious character design traits I have seen. However for the most part, the character designs are not over the top, but suit the characters personalities… simple as that.
Opening Theme: Uragiri no Yuyake by Theatre Brook
This opening sequence would take the cake as one of my favourite opening themes, or at least in my top 5. The song has an upbeat J-Rock track that so far I have not tired of listening to after consistent listening. It is really a song that needs to be listened to, to be explained, however is suits the setting of the series perfectly. The animation is a mix between still images of the characters and animation unique to this theme. It goes well with the tune of the music and does a good job at introducing all the characters. One of the more interesting features of this song is that in between the major part of the song and the conclusion, there is a convenient instrumental piece, so from episode 2, instead of cutting it out, they use it to explain parts from previous episodes that will be used in the upcoming episode. This is a really good use of an opening and something that I haven’t seen before.
Ending Theme: Trust Me by Yuya Matsushita
If you view a MAD or similar on youtube for a particular series, there is a good possibility that there will be one using this ending sequence. The sequence utilizes one image shifting upwards of the main characters in the series sitting on the black markings of the headless riders scythe and hanging onto each other. It is very weird however it works quite well, and seemed to avoid the normal Bad Ending Sequence opinion I have. The song is much slower than the opening theme but it has a similar J-Rock beat that is really enjoyable still and has some rather good lyrics.
The choice of music seems to be simplistic and it works. There is very little intense music present so far and in the sequences where there is, it does not go over the top with instruments. That being said, there are moments in the series where it is evident that they let themselves go and produced some real masterpieces that would rate in some of my top music tracks in any anime series. Despite this, the music is usually mellow and simplistic, but still very much enjoyable.
Voice acting is important in the series, considering how many characters there are and so many opportunities to screw up, and I can gladly say for the most part, it is perfect. First character of note is Shizuo, who is voiced by the talented Crispin Freeman who originally rose up the ranks as my favourite voice actor after voicing Zetta in Makai Kingdom. I wasn’t expecting to see him voice another character as well again, however his voice acting on this was exceptional, and gave the Badass Zetta feeling whenever the character was angry. Another honorable mention is the voice actor for Simon, Patrick Seitz. Despite Patrick not having the cultural background similar to Simon, it is evident that he had a lot of fun voicing this character and voiced with a lot of passion and cheer, just like if this was his first voice acting job. Izaya, voiced by Johnny Bosch is also another honorable mention and he does play the part of the mysterious informant very well. The final honorable mention goes to Kari Wahlgren who voices Celty and does a surprisingly good job for a character that does not have a head (I joke~). There are no characters that really disappointed me, however it did take a few episodes to get used to Mikado as he sounded too generic at the start.
In terms of extras, this volume sadly has zip, zero, zilch over both DVD’s. I am not sure if there is anything else in the store release copies, however all that comes with the packaging is a slipcover case for the DVD, which if I may say, is really nice and something you would want to keep your DVD in, and a slip advertising the chance to win a Japanese Durarara!!! poster signed by the director. Wouldn’t have minded some Clean OP’s and ED’s or even some trailers…..
Guest starring Holo…
Personally, this first volume was really enjoyable and it is a series I shall definitely pursue to the end. It has several different storylines going at once so you can’t ever say that a storyline is dragging on, and the setting is a pleasant change to the boobie filled series I have been watching as of late. As I stated above, the only small issues I really had with this series were:
- That there is currently no Blu-ray release of this series.
- That there are only nine episodes in such an addictive volume.
However, I can happily recommend this to all my readers.
Final Score
Storyline: A+ (10)
Characters: A (9)
Design: A (10)
Opening and Ending Themes: A (10)
Music: A- (9)
Voice Acting: A (10)
Extras: E (1)
Personal Opinion: A (10)
Overall Score: S
