Durarara is back with another DVD-only episode, this one a postscript to the events of the series. And it hearkens back to the first (and better) half of the TV series, with multiple subplots running at the same time and a heavy emphasis on humor.
The vehicle this time is a TV special hosted by Shizuo’s otouto, the famous actor. This gives us an excuse not just to show off Ikebukuro but to trace the cast as they make their way through the story, and pretty much everyone of consequence gets at least a cameo here. I stayed in Ikebukuro the last time I was in Tokyo so it’s always a bit exciting to flash back to all the street scenes in this series, though the animation quality in the specials is unfortunately well below the TV episodes.
We did get some development in key areas – most notably Mikado and Anri, who end up featured on Kasuka’s TV search for the perfect ‘Bukuro couple. This prompts Mikado to finally spill the beans about how he feels, much to Anri’s surprise (and Mikado’s, frankly). Though Mikado says they need to wait until they hear from Masaomi (shown living it up on a beach somewhere) Anri seems generally pleased to hear Mikado’s confession, so there’s hope there. We also get the revelation that Izaya has twin sisters in middle-school. There’s some actual plot here – some psycho wanting to kill Kasuka because his ex loved him so much – but that’s mostly just pretense to get Izaya and Shizuo going at it in an epic battle and Celty riding to the rescue.
There’s no question that this show does self-referential humor as well as any, and one of the highlights was seeing them toy with the huge popularity of Izaya and Shizuo as a couple (if you’ve been to an Animate! or Toranoana doujin floor in the last year, you know what I mean). The totally gratuitous but hilarious element of Izaya’s sisters being siscons was a classic DRRR moment – this show is really more about style than substance anyway, so why not? The dialogue between Celty and Shinra was highly amusing as well.
We did see a couple of new characters pop up, including a youngster who Mikado bumps into at the JR station who’s going to take the entrance exam for Raira. Hints at a new season or just indication of how Mikado has grown and come full circle?
