As Mikado Ryuugamine continues to purge the Dollars from within in accordance with his warped sense of justice, Masaomi Kida hopes to bring his friend back to his senses by bringing the Yellow Scarves together once more. Little do they know that a far more dominant force is about to enter their struggle for power, one that their friend Anri Sonohara is all too familiar with.
Meanwhile, the group that has gathered at Shinra Kishitani's apartment realizes that they are on the brink of something life-changing, an event that will throw Ikebukuro into a spiral of confusion. Their anxiety is realized when reports of Celty's head being found in public start to appear all over the news as Kasane Kujiragi begins to make her move.
Gone are the brief periods of tranquility as the current turmoil sets the stage for one final performance in this thrilling conclusion to the story of Ikebukuro's finest.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
Flawfinder
I'll never understand what it is about Durarara that still has people showering praise on it to this very day, because quite frankly it's gotten so bad that the first season itself has been retroactively tainted. The characters are not the least bit fun or interesting, and there are too many of them to the point that I can't tell who's the glue that's supposed to be holding everything together. The plot moves incredibly slowly, often trying to put in so many plot lines in a single episode at once to the point that it gets in the way of the action and the characterization.Japan doesn't really acknowledge the show's existence anymore despite it being so popular back in the day, not helped by the shitty animation. And the story itself is dull as sin, with its commentary on social media being shallower than a celebrity marriage, and its twisted takes on love coming off as incredibly gimmicky. I mean what exactly is it about anyways? That fucked up people can love too? Is that all you've got? Well it's apparently all the final season's got, because that's pretty much the entire basis for this twelve-episode of romp of boring.
So I'd recap the plot of Durarara at this point, but I don't want this review to be longer than a Michael Crichton novel, so let's just say that after that agonizingly bad cliffhanger from last season, some of the characters are trying to figure out how to deal with Nebula (the company that wants Celty's head), some of them are trying to deal with the gang war stuff that only still exists for the same reason Bleach lasted for so long, and Izaya is doing his own thing whilst having absolutely no significant influence on what's going on whatsoever despite the show making giant claims that he is. Durarara!!x2 Ketsu is dead set on resolving all these plot points considering this is the final season, and anyone who's expecting some grand finale should be prepared for a giant letdown, because without spoiling anything in particular, the finale just sort of "happens".
Seriously, if you can't see what's wrong with this conclusion to what once shone so brightly, then you have more tolerance for this show's bullshit than I did with Crimson Moon - and believe me, I (sort of) stood with it up until Seimei left Raikou to his own devices. On the rare occasion that a light novel adaptation ever actually reaches a conclusion, more often than not, it feels like the author is paying obligation to the fans rather than creating the vision he wanted. And why would you want to pay obligation to fans? Don't you know that there's no human being more evil, more hypocritical, and more impossible to satisfy than the fanboy? I mean I used to like this show back in the day, and guess what I think of it now? Agonizingly dull is too nice an opinion at this point, but it's an effective way to sum up my feelings nevertheless.
Now this review is going to be really difficult to do without spoilers considering how character-dependent Durarara's narrative is, but even though I'm sure only die-hard fans of the show care about its existence at this point, that's still a lot of people so I'll do my best. Basically, Durarara's previous problems that have become even more obvious since its return haven't gone anywhere. The animation is still horrible - although nowhere near as bad as it used to be. The action is still shit, bar one fight scene between Masaomi and Chikage that was actually pretty exciting to watch even if the end to it was kinda lame. The pacing is still horrid, most particularly during the final fight between Izaya and Shizuo, which takes almost half the series to resolve itself on account of the show constantly interrupting it to focus on other plotlines. And the opening is even worse than the last one, which I didn't think was possible.
You remember the Yellow Scarves arc from the first season and how one of its biggest problems was that the main villain spearheading that conflict was lamer than current-day Simpsons? Well Ketsu's downplaying of all the big wigs and having that teacher from the Slashers' arc spearhead the Saika zombie invasion that makes up the majority of this lackluster finale makes it clear that the creators have a different opinion of how to do conflict than the audience does. It doesn't even make sense in his case since he was all but absent after that second arc and now suddenly he's a big shot over Yadogiri Jinnai, the Russians, the Nebula company, and fucking Izaya? That's like making the final villain in the original Star Wars trilogy that one guy who harassed Luke in the bar before Old Ben had to cut his arm off.
Oh, and if you think that being near the conclusion of this overly-long journey would mean dialing down all the exposition the characters spout out just to have an episode end on a certain cliffhanger, prepare yourself for a giant letdown. Dear god, doesn't this anime know a thing about "show don't tell?" Was there really something so profound about Anri giving a speech about how she's learned to love even though she's a monster that you had to drag it out for over ten minutes? Ten minutes that could have been spent on animating more action or something actually resembling plot progression. Clannad didn't move this slow. Sword Art Online didn't move this slow. Kaiji didn't...okay wait, that's still one of the slowest anime I've ever seen, so never mind.
I could continue listing everything wrong with this season - particularly the fact that the conclusion itself is once again an anticlimax that's only slightly better than usual - but basically every problem with Durarara's return boils down to three words: extremely too late. By the time it arrived to quench fanboys' thirst, so many anime have come out that surpassed it in everything it tries to do, from stories involving multiple characters to fujoshi-pleasing fanservice, that it has nothing to add to the mixture. Hell, it was surpassed way back when with Paranoia Agent all the way in 2003. It's not funny. It's not engaging. It's milked to oblivion despite losing its main target audience. Its return had all the impact of releasing the air from a balloon and watching it fart all around you whilst you stare at the ceiling.
AscendingAudio
To begin off, I'd like to point out one thing: Seeing Shizuo ride a bike going over 60 mph in episode 5 made the rest worth it. Although the story was a bit of a turn off because it involved a lot of miscommunication, it really portrayed what lengths people will go to if they truly believe in something, whether it be for good or for harm. I very much recommend this series as something to learn from, because it definitely shows that clear communication of feelings and a sharp understanding of a situation are the most important aspects of today's society.
HiatusXHiatus
I just want to say, early 2016 is a year of DRRR's rising when many MAL users have been focusing on a certain time leaping anime, most of them forget this. Durarara!!x2 Ketsu is the 3rd and final sequel of Durarara!!! (DRRR shortly) after DRRRx2 shou and ten. Imagine that DRRR was a Phoenix, DRRR reaches it's peak when around 2010, since many newcomers come one after another, DRRR was slowly buried. At least in 2015 DRRR have it's sequel twice so she slowly rise from the ashes. But the problem is, DRRR rise too slowly and come back to live with more wings than before.Many people confused how much wing DRRR's have in their previous live? Some of them just enjoy the new wing and continue to watch, but some of them are looking to the old wing that they loved before and can't find it.
This review aren't suitable for the one who doesn't know DRRR before, they should read the the prequel reviews. But I give some general explanation of it. DRRR are adaptation of light novel by Ryohgo Narita, the story are focused to it's character rather than usual linear storyline. While usually and anime made their MC to be most interesting, yet we see DRRR made their MC just 'normal' character compared to the others. Almost all characters on DRRR were interesting to the extend of no other anime can't mimic it. You can't see characters like Izaya, Shizuo, Celty, and Shinra in your everyday anime. Not to mention some of them aren't even considered human. You can see tons of characters, tons of theory, tons of relation, tons of conflict. One word to describe this, COMPLICATED!. (oh I forgot to said that the OST and BGM are godly present too...)
The conclusion is, DRRR have high base value, no matter how the story goes or how many new characters introduced, it would remain the same as DRRR we once loved. For the watchers who come this far, you should now what I mean.
So, don't doubt the baby Phoenix who even doesn't fully hatched from her eggs, she has potential to born better than her previous life with more wings, the new one has begun to shine, and the old one can reappear with beautiful feathers than before.
In the end when she's reborn, the Phoenix can fly beautifully. DRRR x2 Ketsu have successfully deliver the potential of previous DRRR. Of all the complicated characters and conflict, it didn't lost the purpose of the story : (Mikado - Masaomi - Anri), (Shizuo vs Izaya), and (Celty x Shinra). And what make me satisfied the most is everything was resolved. It's just sad that we can't see DRRR anymore (T^T).
Story : 9/10 (Great, everything resolved beautifully)
Art : 8/10 (Although slightly below standard of animation nowadays, it's still good)
Sound : 9/10 (DRRR sound, BGM, opening, and ending always fun to listen)
Character : 10/10 (This is the strongest DRRR point, perfect)
Enjoyment : 10/10 (My personal enjoyment of this series is perfect)
Overall : 9.2/10 (Great Series)
Must watch to everyone who watched DRRR before, if you're open minded person, certainly you will enjoy this.
vampalchemist
Durarara!!x2 Ketsu, which I will shorten to DRRR Ketsu, for laziness reasons, was just a bundle of crazy, all over the wall fun. If you have seen Baccano, then would know the same writer of this series Ryogo Narita loves his stories with, no main characters, no real plot, and no real ending; but with that being said we still have major and minor characters, a story that makes senses, and a ending that resolves the book left open. i found that the story effectively intertwined the characters in Celty's literal and figurative spider web, most of the characters were either connected directly to Celty orinfluenced by Celty's unnatural presence, which I found to be very cool. However there are so many motivation and plots they are really easy to lose if you don't pay attention, so you have to be on alert when watching DRRR Ketsu, (Actually all DRRR's).
The art and sound, looked and sounded the same from the other Durarara series, which is not a bad thing at all, aside from the the opening which I really enjoyed, but I've enjoyed almost all the DRRR openings.
The characters are very diverse, edgy, cool, and very plentiful, but the problem is they are a much too plentiful. i honestly become lost with which character was who and who did what, and why he or she was here or there. The over abundance of characters was too much, but the major major ones I kept track of.
I can say I've really enjoyed the ride Durarara has taken me on, and Ketsu did justice to close DRRR out and give the fans a proper not so end, ending. Very happy with DRRR Ketsu and would recommend this anime to anyone.
Lancehot
After six years & sixty episodes (not including specials), Ketsu sees Narita Ryohgo's Durarara (DRRR) adaptation finally come to an end. Director Takahiro Omori's apparently masochistic determination to finish the job with DRRR like he couldn't with Baccano has disappointed many, with interest in DRRR having been deeply eroded by the passage of time & the production & story problems that have dogged X2 from the start. But whether or not there are many people left who wanted it, we finally got an ending: one that we could only hope was better than the wet fart the first series ended on so long ago. As hasbecome expected of DRRR, Ketsu opens by once again dumping a heap of plot points & characters into the first episode & gradually unravelling how they all interact with each other. This has always been a strong point of DRRR &, while Ketsu is picking up pretty much exactly where Ten left off, it still manages to give itself a needed momentum boost in its first couple of episodes to keep viewers engaged as the story finally moves to a finale. The way characters drop in & out of each others orbit as they go about their business in Ikebukuro, never as coincidentally as it might first appear, is what has distinguished DRRR from its competition & continues to do so even at this late stage.
Unfortunately, also as has become expected of DRRR, after the first three or so episodes things slow down considerably as the show focuses more on which characters & stories are going to be the most important. Given that this is the final part it's what one would expect to happen, but in doing so it reminds one of one of the glaring problems with DRRR, because once again the focus is on Mikado, Masaomi & Anri, three characters who have long since been eclipsed by the other goings on in the city.
While Masaomi trying to save Mikado from becoming embroiled into the goings on in Ikebukuro has been a central pillar of DRRR since it began, it's also a story that has been stuck on loop for almost as long. Ketsu sees the Dollars & Yellow Scarves on what feels like their third showdown as Masaomi once again seeks to destroy the Dollars to free Mikado from their grasp, despite the audience being well aware that Mikado is much more involved than he Masaomi knows. Even if you consider, as I do, Sho to have been in part a ret-con of the ending of the first series, it's hard to not feel so fed up with this protracted plot to the point that seeing it resurrected & resolved again is just frustrating.
Meanwhile Anri & her relationship with the demon sword Saika has become entangled in a story so convoluted as to make it hard enough to follow, let alone care. Saika has gone from being, as it were, the physical manifestation of Anri's insecurities from an abusive childhood & the horrific murder-suicide of her parents, to by Ketsu there now being three Saika wielders, one of whom has Spiderman powers because why not, & seemingly everyone in Ikebukuro who isn't a named character being a thrall to one of them. By the time of the big finale Anri's continued “Am I a monster or human?” dilemma feels almost insignificant compared to what's going on around her, while the Saika part of the big event being orchestrated in part by Haruna & Takeshi seems like it happens for the sake of having everyone in one place for the finale.
Convoluted is a word that best describes DRRR at this point. Throughout X2 it's been fairly apparent that the mind boggling number of new characters that have been added to DRRR are primarily meant to distract from how the main characters have been stuck in a loop. The end credit character scroll of Ketsu is now so crammed with characters that you need a help sheet to name them all. While some of these characters have been welcome additions, it's hard not to watch all these faces passing by & think “who are these people & why should I care?”
Several of those previously important characters, meanwhile, have suffered for DRRR's refusal to end or let them move on. Izaya, who began as the apparent antagonist & scheming mastermind behind everything in Ikebukuro, by the the end of Ketsu just seems like an angst ridden kid. At first, this dressing down of a character who clearly had delusions of grandeur was a welcome turn of events, a reminder that he only seemed a big fish because Ikebukuro is such a small pond. It also played into the overall theme of monsters vs humans & how many in DRRR, Izaya included, were regular people who found themselves in a place where the exceptional & supernatural seemed normal & thought “me too!” Despite that, though, it's hard to really see what the point of Izaya's story was once this change in perspective occurred around the end of Sho; nor does his ongoing fight with Shizuo seem like anything more than a pointless schoolboy feud that continued for the sake of the over the top action scenes it allowed for.
Celty, meanwhile, has suffered what one might call the Ned Flanders effect. You don't have to spend long reading opinions on DRRR to see that a lot of fans liked Celty best when she was acting like a flustered girl around Shinra. While this did have the positive effect of humanising an inhuman character, by Ketsu it's been played up to such a point that it's her main character trait. The resolution of her story, finding her head & dealing with the expected fallout from her regaining her memories, ultimately just ends up as serving as a Dullahan ex Machina way to resolve the climax of the series without anybody dying.
Those production issues that have been a constant source of comment from the beginning of X2 remain, as well. Indeed, it's so accepted that at this point bringing it up is like beating a dead horse. While Ten fortunately put the low point of missing inbetweens & wonky character art that plagued Shou behind it, Ketsu still looks poor by the standards of its contemporaries. Most notable is the singular inability for the artists to make the 3D backgrounds mesh with the hand drawn characters. At no point does it look like the characters are part of their environment & while to a degree this is a problem that can be found in almost all anime made today, the lower production quality of X2 makes it stand out like a sore thumb.
That's not to say everything about Ketsu is a disappointment. While the presence of several of DRRR's better support characters is notably lacking, characters like Erika, Verona & Shizuo continue to have at least some role without feeling token or forced. Not every character resolution feels disappointing, or at least in instances like Celty & Shinra it's hard to see how it could have been expected to play out differently. & even if ultimately Ketsu ends in a surprisingly similar way to the first series, it doesn't feel as much of a cop out as it did then. It's just a shame that so much of the focus of Ketsu, & the resolution of DRRR as a whole, seems focused on characters who, in a sense, have long since been outgrown by the world they inhabit. Indeed, arguably DRRR as a whole long since grew beyond the ability of its author to resolve it in a satisfactory way.
Still, at least we got an ending. X2 may have been a let down for many, both in story & production terms, but at least they tried to give DRRR a proper resolution rather than leaving it as one of anime's many half finished casualties of a business model that sees animation as a promotional tie in to another media source. The story may have got convoluted & much of its resolution feels like a disappointment, but at least they decided to stick with DRRR's signature mix of interwoven narratives rather than following Shaft & Oisin's example of dropping the pretence that the Monogatari series is anything more than a series of barely connected short stories that happen to share characters.
Indeed, focusing on the individual plot lines in DRRR is to in some ways miss what made it such an engaging series for many of its fans. Like a Jackson Pollock painting, it's not so much the individual trails of paint that you focus on, but instead let yourself be absorbed by the whole. When DRRR was good, it was very good (my arbitrary score for the two series as a whole would be around 7), & while it never transcended to the levels of excellence, at least it could usually claim to be interesting, a claim fewer & fewer anime seem to be able to make as aesthetics & sentimentality become ever more the standard. Alas, to continue with the laboured art analogy, Ketsu is the culmination of what was perhaps DRRR's fundamental flaw: if you mix too many colours, it all ends up brown.
BanjoTheBear
(This review has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!) Durarara!!x2 Ketsu is like this grilled-cheese-and-honey-mustard sandwich I ate the other day. Could’ve been appetizing – but ultimately wasn’t. STORY Ketsu marks the end of the Durarara anime series. That means it has a lot to do. It needs to tie up plotlines, resolve character arcs, and provide a satisfactory ending. After all, the series spans sixty episodes (plus a special or OVA here and there). Did it do that?No, not really.
Ketsu centers three central happenings: Kadota’s removal, Saika’s hypnosis, and Celty’s lost (now found) head. All three intertwine to create the overarching issue that plagues the city – unbridled chaos – as well as the myriad of smaller plotlines happening simultaneously – Ryuugamine versus Masaomi, the gangsters, and so on.
At the minimum, the overarching plotline does see a conclusion. Kadota comes back to return the favor. Saika is quelled. And Celty returns to being her normal self.
Albeit these separate conclusions are not exactly thrilling. Kadota and his crew aren’t together for very long as they are sidetracked by lots of traffic and trying to save Karisawa. Nobody interesting or important gets slashed or hypnotized during the Saika debacle.
Yet the biggest offender is Celty and her head. Despite the emphasis on it throughout the entire series, her beheaded reunion is strangely anticlimactic. Besides walking around slowly and stopping the major conflict with shadow magic, this inter-season dilemma simply lacks the necessary gravitas it supposedly contained.
Indeed, the lead-up to the reunion is somewhat silly with Kujiragi strolling into Shinra and Celty’s apartment.
The smaller plotlines also fail to materialize their importance. Ryuugamine’s quarrel with Masaomi is too esoteric, relying more on miscommunication and separation than any tangible issue between the two. The gangsters are around, but, with the exception of Izumii (the hammer-wielding older brother of Aoba) and the lent gun, don’t play much of a part in the festivities.
Again, though, the biggest offender derives from a lack of something happening: Anri and the boys’ keeping their collective promise.
Throughout much of this final season (and, to some degree, the other seasons following the first), the anime makes their promise a point. That they will get back together again to reveal their respective secrets. But not only does this never happen (at least on-screen; all the audience gets is the three of them putting their hands together as though they were on a sports team), but also Ryuugamine even spoils his secret to Masaomi before the three of them finally reunite. The same for Anri to Kadota and Namie’s group.
To be fair to Ketsu, some of the smaller plotlines are taken care of. Ruri’s stalker receives a conclusion. As does Varona’s inner conflict. Meaning, the anime does manage to bring about some satisfaction – even if these plotlines are necessarily powerful.
Despite the various plotlines tripping over themselves as they reach the finish line, they reveal a connection between them. In both Celty’s and the three teenagers’ cases, reuniting occurs. It’s a theme that can be seen many a time. Haruna reunites with her “lover.” Shizuo reunites with Varona. Kadota reunites with his crew. And so on and so forth.
Such a connection is nice to see, but what’s even nicer are the outcomes. Or rather, what Ketsu argues reuniting means. On a superficial level, it spurs action. When two people reunite after a long time, be they the best of friends or mortal enemies, the sudden yet familiar interaction causes emotions to fly and movement to occur.
On a deeper level, reuniting means rethinking. In nearly every reuniting case, the characters involved rethink. About their situation, about the other party, and, perhaps most importantly, about themselves.
Finally, on a broader scale, the show could make some nifty and weird narrative choices. For example, Ryuugamine being saved from his self-inflicted headshot by Celty’s powers goes along with his desensitizing to extraordinary events. On the other side, having the main antagonist be the teacher from the first season, while a neat little callback, doesn’t make much sense when he has not been around.
Altogether, the series’ last hurrah comes out only half-hearted rather than filled with gusto.
ANIMATION
Ketsu, not unexpectedly, maintains the same level of art and animation throughout this final season.
Artistically, the different shots of the city once more add a sense of familiarity and wonder. High-rise depictions, glimpses of street, and the various locations – insides of buildings, a local park, etc. – add dynamism to the already chaotic city. Characters can appear wonky, especially when the anime zooms out to a medium distance, and the show even appears to forget that Mizuki has a missing eye and scar over it in his scene with Aoba in the final episode. But the art more or less sticks with its detailed locales.
The show’s faded-civilian appearance returns one last time as well. Dropping the coloring of the unimportant people places extra emphasis on the other characters which in turn gives them more importance. But even more importantly for this season, having the civilians as a mass of gray adds to the zombification conflict that occurs.
The character designs, similar to the city and the uncolored civilians, remain mostly the same. Anri’s unemotional face gives her all-black garb a more menacing feel, matching her (and the anime’s) focus on “monsters” (more later). Semyon, the Russian-black-sushi hitman, keeps his white-and-blue outfit. And Kujiragi’s sexy figure and yellow blouse hide her wicked ways.
In all honesty, many of the characters – such as Saki, Namie, etc. – are not eccentric in their details. But that has never given them less-than-ideal designs. Indeed, their realistic looks have kept the show grounded despite the headless women, psychological whispers, and random lunatics.
If nothing else, Ketsu gives many of its cast members new “designs” in the vein of making nearly everybody appear beat up in some form. Shinra, Masaomi, Ryuugamine, Shizuo, Izaya – many of the cast do not escape the wrath of the finale.
Yet, for one last time, the actual animation remains relatively low. Arguably the lowest it has ever been for the series. Some of the action, such as Shizuo and Izaya’s duel or Ryuugamine getting stabbed multiple times, can prove otherwise. But it’s more often the case that the anime simply cannot keep up the fluidity. Evidenced by the massive amount of sitting or standing around and talking that goes on.
CHARACTERS
In this final season, Ketsu has many characters that it ultimately does not handle well. Ryuugamine’s whole existential crisis and reasoning behind his new behavior is bizarre. Aoba, despite his conniving and believing he is in the thick of it, does not have an impact on the proceedings whatsoever. And many of the cast members are simply not given satisfying endings.
However, all that being said, the anime does hit some high notes. In particular, it chooses to focus on a singular character that has been around since the beginning. Not an unexpected choice. Perhaps surprising. Definitely interesting.
Her name is Anri.
As the audience already knows, Anri became quick friends with Ryuugamine and Masaomi. Ryuugamine had a crush on Anri, and Masaomi had some feelings for the girl, too. Although his feelings were more a way to mask his true feelings (about Saki). Nevertheless, Anri joins up with the boys to make a fun little clique.
Yet Anri had a secret: She was the wielder of Saika, the blade capable of controlling others through the smallest of scratches. Her backstory – involving her family and a certain mafia man – is sad to hear, but, thankfully, Anri’s will has managed to keep Saika in check all this time.
Discussing this backstory, despite it already being covered in earlier seasons, is important to both Anri’s development and this anime’s single most important idea. In this case, what it means to be a “monster.”
Stepping back for just a bit, the focus on Anri makes sense given what is going on with Masaomi and Ryuugamine. Their “feud”, their separation, places more emphasis on Anri because she has found herself distanced from both of the boys. Not really of her own doing but isolated nonetheless.
Such isolation allows her to meet with many other characters that she had never interacted with much before (or at all). And with each encounter, Anri develops while also cementing the show’s theme.
Her first major encounter this season comes from Erika. Erika’s presence defines Anri. Where Erika is loud and energetic, Anri is quiet and reserved. A fine case of night and day. This juxtaposition essentially gives Anri’s character her baseline, where she will progress from over the course of Ketsu.
Lo and behold, her next encounter tests her. Tests her hard. Izaya has harsh words for the kind girl, letting her know that, no matter what she may believe about herself, she is nothing more than a “monster.” Izaya’s obsession with humans and nothing but humans drives home his words even further.
Izaya doesn’t only dig at Anri. He also digs at Ryuugamine and Masaomi. The combined verbal attack makes Anri almost lose control – which is exactly what Izaya wants in order to prove his point.
Erika stops her, but the seed has been planted. Anri starts thinking about whether or not Izaya’s words are true; she keeps asking herself the same question. Is she a “monster?” While deep in thought, she happens upon not only one Saika holder but two: Haruna and Kujiragi.
While they each wield Saika, notable differences between the three can be spotted. The differing forms of the weapon – Anri’s singular katana, Haruna’s dual knives, and Kujiragi’s clawing wires – as well as their looks are some of the first contrasts. But it is their dispositions that garner the most attention.
Their café conversation highlights this idea well enough. Anri, per usual, remains passive. Haruna is forward and aggressive. Kujiragi has a more tactical, if not economical, mindset.
Yet the most striking difference, when compared to Anri, are their underlying feelings. Haruna is insane. She has nothing and wants nothing else besides the teacher she is so madly in love with. And Kujiragi, as seen through Anri’s eyes, has a horrifying evil nesting within.
Anri’s talk with the two women, who appear to be “monsters” and who also wield Saika, forces her to ask herself that same question again. Is she a “monster?”
At this point, it’s pertinent to dive into the anime’s main theme for this final season.
Anri sees these girls before her and wonders whether or not she is a “monster” herself. Quotes have been used because they have been necessary. For the actual question Anri is attempting to answer is the following: What makes a “monster?”
Anri is not the only example. Take Celty. She’s a dullahan, so she’s a monster. But is she a “monster?” She cares for the teenagers, she loves Shinra, and she fears the police. Seems pretty human.
What of Shizuo? His inhuman strength would certainly make him into a monster. So would his unrelenting hatred for Izaya. But his friendships with Celty, Shinra, and Varona prove he is far from being a “monster.”
On the opposite end, a character like Nasujima is a “monster.” His disregard for others – running over Kadota, using Saika to control others for his own gains – demonizes him. Izumii crushes others with his hammer, so he can be viewed as a “monster,” too.
Even Ryuugamine falls under this category. His twisted take on obliterating the Dollars and his misshapen perspective that the extraordinary is now only ordinary gives him a “monster” vibe, too. (Shooting his friend solidifies this as well.)
So what’s the difference between a “monster” and a human? The answer is simple: love.
Love happens to be the purest, most wonderful feeling that people have at their disposal. And as the characters of Ketsu show, love drives these people towards humanity.
For instance, Kujiragi finds herself feeling jealous of the love shared between Celty and Shinra, so she, too, vies for that same connection, lessening her overall evil persona. Varona’s love for Shizuo pushes her to stop him from killing Izaya, from committing the ultimate monstrous act that would, indeed, turn him into a “monster.”
But it’s not just lovers’ love that counts. Love between friends and people in general counts, too.
Masaomi has love for his best friend, love that tries to help him in all earnest. Kadota’s group love him as well, visiting him at the hospital and figuring out the culprit behind his attack. Shingen’s love for his son causes Shingen to mess up the plans of the one that orchestrated the attack against Shinra.
Yet as Manami (the girl trying to “kill” Izaya), Haruna, and Namie show, love can be used in an evil manner. Meaning humans almost always have the capacity to become a “monster” – how they love determines which side of the spectrum they end up at.
Back to Anri and her next important encounter. When Anri gets home, Saki speaks with her about Masaomi, whether or not the bespectacled girl loves the boy. She does – but not in the same manner as Saki. Saki is relieved, and, more importantly, she starts to get Anri to think about something besides that question. That maybe she is human.
Her second-to-last encounter proves the most pivotal. After meeting with Saki, the two of them join up with Kadota and Namie’s groups, hitching a ride in the van. While inside, Anri does something she’s never done before: She tells everybody about Saika.
It’s a strong moment because Saika is also about love. More specifically, it’s “her job to love humans.” So Anri loving, or at least controlling, Saika demonstrates that Anri is not a “monster.” She (as she says) may not fully understand how to love others (holding parallels with Saika’s way of “loving” humans), but, through this and her many other encounters this season, she has learned that she is truly human.
Indeed, her final encounter with Mizuki, the gangster who has ties to her past and ripped out his own eye to stop Saika from entering him, proves her newfound outlook. He asks her if she likes Ryuugamine – and she doesn’t shy away from saying yes. Those are “her feelings.” Feelings that make her into the girl, the person, the human she has always been.
SOUND
The same jazzy, chaotic tunes return, as do the voice actors and voice actresses for this final push. Per usual, the former adds a mysterious atmosphere to the proceedings whereas the latter more or less capture the spirit of their individual characters. (Which, at this point, they better.)
Granted, nobody gave any amazing performances, but some special shout-outs are deserved regardless. Mamoru Miyano as Masaomi strains his voice with sincere emotion. Miyuki Sawashiro as Celty reacts to the different situations with more than just the placid tone she normally uses. And Houko Kuwashima as Kujiragi keeps her voice level no matter the situation.
Moving on to the opening track, it’s a nice piece. The beginning buildup, the middle with its somewhat somber vibe, and the end’s exciting finish gives Ketsu a fun, catchy OP for the audience to listen to.
The ending track is nice, too. Piano, guitar, and drums come together to create a cool and crazy piece that matches the overall feeling of the series itself. The vocalist’s calm yet quick singing, with the occasional change in passion, is similarly fitting for the song.
ENJOYMENT
For one last time, this series just does not do it for me.
Mostly due to two characters in particular: Ryuugamine and especially Izaya. Ryuugamine is just not an interesting protagonist to me – no matter how straight-laced and demented the show tried to spin him. As for Izaya, like always, he simply got on my nerves. His demeanor. His holier-than-thou attitude. His group of girls that surround with a “hate him but secretly like him” mindset.
But worst of all, Izaya lives another day, escaping his inevitable demise and aggravating me even further.
Izaya is definitely my biggest grip, but other parts contributed to me not getting much entertainment out of the season. The different brawls weren’t fun, and the drama wasn’t moving. A couple of the comedy skits, like Namie and Mika having to sleep in the same room because of their lovers’ quarrel, could put a smile on my face. But more often than not, the anime simply failed to make me happy.
Durarara!!x2 Ketsu is a disappointing conclusion to an interesting series. Some of the music is nice and Anri’s whole arc is a definitive highlight. But the final story’s push lacks impact, many of the other cast members are mishandled, and the various unenticing elements harm this finale. If there is a next time, it needs to hold the honey-mustard.
SUMMARY
Story: Bad, a theme on reuniting gets covered by anticlimactic events, not following through on certain ideas, and mixed narrative choices
Animation: Fine, nice artistic direction, good character designs, below average actual animation
Characters: Fine, while many of the cast members receive little in the way of attention and satisfaction in their arcs, Anri’s development as well as a theme on “monsters” and love find strength
Sound: Fine, good OP, okay ED, nice OST, about average VA performances
Enjoyment: Bad, nice to see the series end, but it’s disappointing all the same
Final Score: 4/10
Mikame-
x2 Ketsu, the third and final season of Durarara! We're finally at the conclusion, it hasn't been the longest ride, but with so many characters with stories all intertwining together, it feels a lot longer than it is. I'm sad it's coming to an end, but glad, because it all built up to the ending it deserves. I've said this in the other reviews, but the portrayal of Celty and Shinra's relationship is one of my favourites. Since she's so different, but yet there's no barrier with them. Mikado isn't in the best place, Masaomi wants to save him and Anri doesn't know what's going onbetween the two of them, but starts to learn more about Saika.
Things start to get serious pretty fast, most of the important people are hulled up in Shinra and Celty's apartment. New characters come in again to help bring the story all together, and we're given even more background information for those characters and the ones we already had.
This series is so information based, so if you haven't paid attention, then you'll probably end up pretty lost.
Like the second half of the second season, there's something missing compared to the first. It's nothing specific, just.. something. It doesn't take away from the enjoyment, but if you notice it, trying to figure out what it is gets a little annoying.
But it has some of the most intense parts of the series, like the last couple of episodes. Just, wow. You know when you hold your breath, something is good.
It definitely made me teary. It's a real ending, it feels like an end. You are left with a couple of tiny questions ticking in your head but it's nothing important.
If for some reason you're reading this before watching the other seasons, do yourself a massive favour and watch this series. You won't regret it!
ellie_a94
DRRR!! was such a journey and this review will take into consideration all the seasons since they are strongly connected. I started this anime with no expectations, I saw it had a pretty decent rating and I thought I should give it a go even though the genres didn't appeal to me so much. The first season was ok, I liked the first half, but the second one just seemed a bit boring since at that time I didn't really understand where they were trying to go with this. So after I finished the first season I wasn't sure if I wanted to watch theother ones, since I was afraid the story would continue to leave me bored and unsatisfied. However I still had this curiosity about how the story will conclude for some characters ( as in will Celty get her head back, what's gonna happen with Izaya and Shizuo, what will Mikado do with the Dollars). So yeah, with those questions in mind I started the second part of the story, again with not too many expectations.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that this second arc really kept me hooked. I usually don't watch more than 3-4 episodes of the same anime per day since I get bored easily. However, I finished Ten in only one day and this doesn't happen too often when I watch anime. I started to empathise with the characters more and I found myself identifying a lot with Anri (she was so shy, insecure and didn't know what love is) and a little bit with Mikado. I started to like Shizuo more and more, at heart he was a good guy and I liked his relationship with Varona. I kind of wanted to see more of them, but in the last episodes we can pretty much tell that they really cared about each other. I really liked the new characters, I didn't actually think that it was possible to bring so many new faces and still keep the story interesting, but DRRR!! managed to do this wonderfully. My favourite new guys were definitely Rocchi and Akabayashi-san.
After I watched the last episode I was overwhelmed with a feeling of satisfaction, but also a bit of sadness that it was over.I don't know how to put it into words, everything was just so wonderful and it's been such a long time an anime has made me feel like this. I really really appreciated this 2 weeks journey that I spent watching DRRR!!.
Needless to say, the music was perfect. The only songs in my playlist these past few theys were all DRRR!! openings.
9Polysepticles
I honestly feel like this series has nothing new to offer there are hardly any new mysteries to be found since all the "dirty little secrets" are now known by, well pretty much everyone. Before I continue the funny thing is that one of Mikados final lines perfectly and I do mean perfectly sums up Ketsu "why did I do this was it all for nothing?" The answer is yes, it was all for nothing as expected all the tension deflated to begin anew. We'll all just forget what happened and go about our day to day lives. A serious point that I think should beaddressed is the fact that the mystery element is still prominent however, it is completely railed on in my opinion there is going to be less and less to offer after a while what I mean by this is the characters know everything even Celty. She got her head back then lost it only to look for it again I presume.
Before I get redundant this time around Durarara was a loaded mess it was convoluted packed to the brim with characters I didn't give a shit about so much plot being added on top of plot that has yet to be cooked and eaten.
I didn't have anything interesting to say so I'll say this the ending was stretched out so many cuts to what we wanna see then 3 maybe 4 cuts to something less interesting then finally to return to what we wanna see. Commercial break? No credits. tune in next time.
Durarara was something special to me when it first aired but now I think it's confused with what made it great in the past the animation is going wonky and downhil. This is personal preference but I don't like the changes.
Mikado was edgy in all the wrong ways and for that I'm out
Quan_
[Adapted From Original Blog Post] [Mini Review] Durarara always had to begin and end with Mikado Ryūgamine. His search for the extraordinary has been the main thematic pin holding the story of Durarara together since day 1, especially in !!x2, which has made his slow descent into darkness front and center, and Ketsu now has the responsibility to wrap up an epic character arc that has spanned over 60 episodes, along with whatever left over plot-threads have yet to be resolved. I didn't like Ten that much since its sloppy work basically is the reason why Ketsu won't be getting a higher score at the end ofthis review, but what it did do was let the cream of Durarara's story rise slowly to the top. Put simply, Ketsu is the best Durarara has ever been; a fascinating correlation of the show's insanity with the real human emotion that has made !!x2 so shockingly complicated, and damn do the episodes fly by. You can feel the narrative of what the franchise has built up over the years crash down inevitably on these characters without mercy. Everything is high stakes. Every decision made by every character is going to drastically affect how everything plays out, and in a spiral of emotional turmoil for both the characters and the audience, it's anybodies guess whether this ending will be a happy one.
But somehow, even after all this time, it still feels rushed, a fault that can be attributed to Ten not getting the unimportant stuff out of the way first. While Ketsu is mostly brilliantly built-up emotional arcs, it still has to wrap up a ton of loose ends, and doing so takes it a fair amount of time, time that should have been given to the main arcs which we've been waiting 60 episodes to see culminate, especially what can be argued to be the arc of the franchise's main character. And while once we get to end, what transpires is spectacular and satisfying, but really could have been more so if it had just a few more episodes.
Let's be straight here, while other important arcs are trivialized, the most tragic is Mikado's. It's his story that has pushed Durarara to its absolute best moments, and in Ketsu, it's best than its ever been, especially in the penultimate episode's finale which is so goddamn amazing that it seemed to me the first time that Durarara had been able to stand side-by-side with its cousin Baccano. If more time had been given to the arc, Ketsu would be no doubt have risen above anything the franchise has accomplished so far, but it simply has a rushed conclusion that stops it from being an incredible finale, a finale which really would have blown me out of my seat. Ketsu is a great ending to to this story, but if a few decisions had been different over the span of this franchise, it may have been able to find a place in my all-time favorites. But it still comes close.
Final Verdict: 7.5/10
For this review and others, feel free to check out my blog! (Link on profile)
NalarueAni
I loved the way this show was portrayed. Something about the whole time-leaping and character-leaping factors made the show a lot more interesting to watch. I loved how the show would give you half of what was going on in the story, and as you progressed through the show, the pieces of the puzzle would finally come together. The character development was insanely good, especially for the minor characters. If the names "Shizuo Heiwajima" or "Rrui Hijiribe" were mentioned, I knew exactly who the characters were. If you're not good with remembering names of anime characters and you can't remember who is whoat first, don't worry. You'll get it sooner or later.
There wasn't a dull moment in this show. I especially loved the genre variety. One moment there would be a fight going on, the next there would be a quick romance scene. That I truly enjoyed. The show all together was a pleasure to watch and I am so happy to have watched it.
NSpectre7
Hey folks, this will be a review for Durarara!!x2 Ketsu. Seemingly, and hopefully, this will be the last time I need review Durarara. This season finishes in a big bang, or at least that what they try to make it seem like. The story is roughly the same as last seasons. We continue with the few themes we have. The gang's butting heads with Mikado and Masaomi at their respective heads. The end of the Dollars, through the purge. The finishing act with Celty, her heads, and her relationship with Shinra. Finally we have a showdown between Izaya, and Shizou. This season sure was actionpacked, and because of that I can appreciate it. However it feels a bit too late, a bit non nonsensical, and slightly disappointing. The end though leaving no real cliff hangers, still leaves hardly anything settled other than the Dollars situation. If they cut out season 2 and simply removed the useless fluff and distributed the story between season 1 and 4 we would have been able to enjoy this far more, in a far more reasonable two or three seasons.
The story isn't bad because its long. Its bad because it seems reaching, it seems a bit stretched. Like going to a concert and the musician forgot some of his or her song, so they have a long solo until they remember it. They do try to bring back the interwoven story system that they ditched in early season 2. However again it falls short, making me wonder what the actual problem is. Different writers, too crazy of a story..etc?
The art and sound both great. Not much change from the other seasons.
The characters are honestly stale. Not to keep using bad analogies, but its like someone holding a dollar in front of your face. At first your interested, you want that dollar! However after a few tries you simply don't care anymore, finding its presence nothing more than an annoyance. As mentioned earlier things come to a head for most of our main characters. Nothing really happens of course but at least its interesting. Izaya and Mikado stealing the show in my eyes, though as they were the main reason for enjoying this anime in the first place I shouldn't say stealing. Though I really wanted to bang my head against the wall every time Sonahara came on the screen. How long, and how many episodes can you milk the, "I'm not a human", "I'm a parasite", "I cant possibly deserve human life" angle. The answer to that question appears to be 4 seasons.
I enjoyed this anime, much like I enjoyed season 3. Its marvelous to see things happen. Even if yet again the ending is lame, the characters were tired, and the rhetoric foggy and bland, I still enjoyed it. However I am more happy I no longer have to feel dread seeing it in my currently watching section and can, with luck move on to greener pastures. Seriously, if you made it this far its worth finishing. If you haven't started Durarara yet, I would say don't bother. I thought the first season was a great anime and recommended in its review to give it a try even with some of its shortcomings. I however don't wish this long and truly tedious journey on those who don't choose this for themselves.
TLDR: Its over...probably. The art was pretty good and the soundtrack spot on. Did I mention its probably over? Seriously if you haven't watched Durarara don't bother, unless you have nothing better to do. If you have already started its worth watching this season to as previously mentioned hopefully finish off this series.
violetIsSleepy
Sometimes a series ending is so messy that it calls into question the very quality of a show which a viewer once instinctively praised. Such is the case with Durarara. I recall watching the first season and feeling glued to the TV. "Who are these fascinating characters?" I asked myself. "What are they going to do next?" I was caught up in the suspense and the strong charisma of most characters; I dismissed the headache the show gave me as complexity which would soon pay off. The problem is, Ketsu shows that it didn't pay off. For all the countless crazy plotlines and character arcs thatwe had introduced, there is little overlap between any of them, and nothing even close to a cohesive glue holding it all together, other than the show's verbalized claims about the nature of abnormality versus normalcy; words which at first felt fresh when spoken in the early days of the series, but by this arc had worn out their welcome.
In the end, Durarara fails to offer anything new, whether it be in terms of thematic issues explored, character development, or story content. Which sort of calls to mind the question: what is the justification for x2's existence? In the end it is entirely redundant of its predecessor in just about every way. I was greatly, greatly disappointed. I hoped x2 would expand the greatness of the original, and show us more about how fascinating the world's characters are. But just about every character is notably more bland than they were in the first series. Be it Kadota, Izaya, Shizuo, Namie, Reiji, Celty, whoever, no character is developed any further at the end of this 36 episode run. Durarara x2 suggests that, upon closer inspection, the world we once found fascinating is actually rather dull.
AyemAFK
This review only tells about the last season of Durarara and not the entire story of the show,for this last season im gonna go give it a (8,41) ratings. The majority of the stories focus on how they will end the stories that have been built for 4 seasons while introducing several important characters who do play a role in the ending. Overall the development of the story towards the end is really built and executed well, although it's a shame the ending of the story seems ordinary and cliché. It seems that the adage that the process is more beautiful than the end of thestory also applies to this anime. In characterization, all the characters play their roles well in the story. It's really interesting to wait for the fate of a character in this story because basically this anime really shows the fate of all the existing characters and that's a good thing in my opinion. In terms of character design, they managed to produce some iconic and interesting characters. However, for the rest it's been kept low-key to achieve its true urban theme which is a good thing.
In terms of visuals, like other anime in general. Maintaining visual consistency in my opinion has become one of the achievements and this anime is one of the anime that has succeeded in doing so, but apart from that, I don't think there is anything to be proud of anymore in terms of the visuals of this anime. In terms of audio, again this anime has a theme song that really fits and well-executed sound effects. In terms of voice actors, even though they are filled with underrated cast, who would have thought that the voices of the characters they filled were really suitable and iconic.
I think for those of you who have finished season 3 of this anime, it feels really stupid if you hang up a story that will soon be finished. I say be a man and finish the story you have started. Whether it's good or bad, whether you're proud or disappointed, you should decide for yourself and that's determined by completing the story and not based on people's comments.
And maybe this is my little opinion regarding the whole story. The story of this anime is really neatly built and executed in every plot. But as usual, sometimes the process is more fun than the end of the story.
kaburg
I am writing this as someone who was incredibly into the first few seasons of this show. I watched all the extras, loved the characters, would rewatch the openings for fun, etc. Now I will also preface this review by explaining who I am as an anime watcher. I, like many of you, am a binger. I binge shows super quickly, especially if I am into them. However, to start my review of durarara: this show took me INCREDIBLY long to finish. I would NOT recommend this show to anyone who likes to binge. Even the first few seasons took me weeks on weeks tofinish. The final season: months. It literally took me longer than all of Naruto. Maybe two times as long.
This is for a few reasons. The first is that this show has very individualized episodes with very little running plot. Sure, there is a longer plot, but I can show a friend a random episode and with a brief explanation of the characters it can end there. The episode "A Badass Dude" is a great example of this - I watched it with a friend who liked it, but ended up asking, "So how did this fit into the show's plot? It seems like this episode was standalone." Compare this with AOT, a show with a super put together plot line, it's like night and day. I could NEVER show a random friend a random episode of AOT, besides the first episode, because it would make NO sense and would also spoil so much. Durarara is not like this. I hope that makes sense.
This makes the show super hard to binge because I would finish one or two episodes and then be ready to take a break - I'd have finished a full mini story arc.
However, I found this final season particularly hard to watch. First, it introduces SO many new characters. I mean a completely INSANE amount. Also, it bounces around a ton time wise, to the point that I (someone who is usually very on top of show's time changes) was very confused. Furthermore, the main character, who I think is easily the weakest character of the show, became so incredibly annoying. The show reused the same issues that plagued the characters in the first season (lack of communication, love problems, etc.) and it just felt stale and annoying. I kept saying "Cmon! By now you surely have to realize that's a terrible idea." It felt like the development wasn't there, and by the end, their development felt really forced and instantaneous. As if the show said, "Okay, we need to end the show! Here are a couple scenes that show these completely insane psychopaths' all of a sudden acting normal! Great character development!"
Finally, I personally found the ending quite unsatisfying. Especially because Celty, a character I really enjoyed, reverted back to being hypnotized by a creepy and annoying Shinra. The only characters who I was satisfied with are Shizuo and maybe the main 3, but even still just BARELY. A bunch of the other characters I didn't care about at all, because they were so recently introduced and I didn't know anything about them.
Furthermore, this is a show that doesn't have amazing animation or anything like that to carry the plot issues. In the end, its a hard 5/10 for me.
XxOblivion
Ah, Durarara!!x2 Ketsu... A great ending to a great anime for sure. Not only did the final season of Durarara answer many questions the previous seasons left unanswered, it also managed to add quite a lot more to the plot line within such a small amount of episodes. While the OST isn't that great compared to the rest of the show, I'd say the story is a well-written and thought-through ending for this anime. Due to the amount of suspenseful in this season, I think it's one of the best anime endings I've ever seen. The last episode wraps up the whole show, just like itshould.
The characters seem to have developed even further than in the previous episodes, and tend to show even darker sides of them, contrary to the cheerful start that we witnessed in the first season. Combine the character development with the usual action, comedy and drama of the show, and you get the awesome last season that's called Durarara!!x2 Ketsu.
Due to the fact I think this season is one of the best last seasons of anime I've ever seen, I rated this season a 9/10 in this review (and a 10/10 on my profile due to slightly biased reasons.)
Definitely recommended to watch, especially if you've got the time to watch it in one go.
firemercury
i want to start off by saying the intro video to this season was my favorite of any of them. Its the first one that i watched every episode. As to the actual anime this chapter was definitely the best of the 3 chapters of x2. The main storylines that i was interested in got wrapped up nicely and the ending was pretty dramatic! However, i still feel like there was way too much going on. Some of the more minor storylines didn't get a conclusion at all and in effect ended up being totally pointless. There are WAY too many characters, most of which didn'treally have an impact on anything, and some of them i still can;t explain how they ended up where they did. So like i've said on all the other reviews if you haven't watched the previous parts of durarara your going to want to rewatch them or at least skim them. In this case you might even want to rewatch season one because a couple people that haven't been in it since then are going to pop up and become important for no reason.
All in all the best part of season two but still not as good as season one and still left a lot of loose ends.
BabyGirl06301
I don't even have an introductory sentence; let's just get going with this final review of Durarara!! So, now that all the pieces have come together in this final season, did Durarara!! become something extraordinary? Unfortunately, I don't think so. Going in with the positives first, this season did an exceptional job utilizing the cast of characters it had. Although I can't say this anime is something I fell in love with, there were a handful of characters that made it redeemable for me, and that's got everything to do with the wonderful writing they got. Celty, Shinra, and Shizuo, specifically, were characters that kept meinterested from beginning to end throughout this whole series.
As far as the story goes, I thought the directions all the characters took were extremely interesting as well. However, sadly, something about this season felt a little off in that regard, and that's why I've decided to rate this season as I have. One of the main reasons the plot of this final season bugged me was because it felt like much of it was unimportant. There were more than a few happenings in the storyline that could've been entirely removed without affecting the quality of the anime, and especially without taking anything away from this conclusion of events we see in this last season. There were probably about five characters or so that didn't need to be in the story at all. Because that was the case, the core of the story felt like it was lacking as well. Certain stories found their conclusions without any development, and some were finished off completely out of the blue. For the most part, it felt like a majority of the respective plotlines were cut off in the middle of being told and a clean ending was forced upon them.
Adding onto that complaint, many of the characters motivations felt thin or even pointless. There were a couple characters I felt didn't have motivations at all, which confused my understanding of the story to an annoying extent. Now, part of me is gleaning that, perhaps, that was the point of the story to begin with-- that humans don't always do things for a reason, and it won't always make sense. If that's the case, that's an admirable quality to the story that I would've enjoyed a lot had it come off clearer. As it stands, it just felt like pieces were either missing or explained so badly that I was unable to infer what they meant.
All in all, I suppose the abstract storytelling of Durarara!! never truly went away. For what it was, I was interested in this final installment until the very end. I do feel like it stopped short of the finish line, especially because it seemed like a lot more was supposed to connect between certain characters' storylines than it actually did, but the finished product was still entertaining. At the end of the day, I don't think I got much out of this series beyond intriguing characters such as Izaya and the ones I've already mentioned above; however, I do think I got to see a world I've never seen before. And maybe that was the whole point.
LeruLeru
Just finished the series and holy smokes was it a ride. I was intrigued by the very first few episodes and this quickly became a series I was obsessed with. When I went to Japan I also made a point to quickly visit Ikebukuro to take a few pictures where the series took place. I haven't written many reviews but this series definetly deserves one. The first thing I want to touch on is rhe characters. Holy smokes are the characters good. That there is no main character might be the reason this series is so good and every episode feels intriguing. Well written, there's some genuine developmentand overall a great cast of characters. One of the main aspects in the stroy we follow is to get it from everyones different perspective which adds so much depth to the narrative. One thing though is that the opening which always has the names of the "main characters" or the characters whose story follow became a bit crowded at the later seasons and I didn't really see the need to add all of them into the opening but that is just a minor thing.
The other big thing that I think sets this apart from other anime is the atmosphere. This is a bit harder to explain but I'll try. The feeling I got from watching this is that I'd almost like to be there and experience everything, and in a way I did. There's always this lingering feelig of mystery surrounding events that get resolved, but sometimes not completely which leads to other questions. The supernatural tag is done really well here, a lot of supernatural elements that ad to the overall mystery, but not too much that will ruin the story.
The soundtrack is also phenomenal. The feeling of the scene was well portrayed by it and it overall enhanced the storytelling. Openings were banging too.
The story was really intriguing the first part and is what got me hooked on the series. Genuine development and interesting plot points that leave you guessing where the story is going. The second part was a bit weaker in my opinion, but had some great moments. In the end everything came to a conclusion that I am satisfied with. The chatrooms were a bit hard to follow at times, even though they were an interesting way to interact with eachother outside of any normal circumstances (characters that normally would probably never interact haad the chance to do so).
Art was overall good and the character designs were mostly unique enough.
Overall I would give this series a solid 9/10 and I would definetly recommend it to anyone who likes a story driven series with somewhat less action with lots of great character!
