Not even Durarara, it seems, is immune from the anime cold.

• It was another pretty solid episode of DRRR this week, though I’d place it a notch below the last one and I’m still not quite…  I don’t know what.  The connection hasn’t quite taken – the wires aren’t joined, and I’m still watching this season more than feeling it.  But we’re creeping a little closer, or at least I think we are.
• The more worrying plotline at the moment is Shizuo and Akane.  The scenes in Shinra’s apartment had a vaguely “Three Men and a Little Lady” feel to them that sets off every warning flag I’ve got.  And since Shizuo is really the best character in the cast, I don’t want to see his arc brought low.
• Still no Masaomi, though that’s going to change in the next episode or two presumably.  Mikado is sliding nicely back into the role he had at the end of the first series – caught in between his romantic view of what the Dollars are and the reality of what their impact on the streets is.
• As always, Izaya is there to push him into confusion and self-doubt, and fan the flames of simmering bonfires.  That certainly feels classically Durarara.
• Yes, that was definitely jealousy from Mikado when Aoba asked Sunohara for his Ikebukuro tour.  Probably misguided and fruitless, but it’s progress of a sort.
• The blonde biker is Vorona, and she’s partnered with Slon (Mikami Satoshi, a very good actor who rarely does anime but when he does, makes it count).  She’s bookish and his head is filled with nonsense questions (like why cows get so big eating grass and why guys have nipples) that torment him, so they’re a good pair.
• Those two were hired by talent agency prez Yodogiri Jinnai (the great Tobita Nobuo) to kidnap Akane, because for reasons that are unclear he’s seemingly at-war with the Yakuza – and she’s the local head’s granddaughter.  And that’s why Vorona “killed” Celty, as Celty was hired to be Akane’s bodyguard (and to keep an eye out for Yodogiri).  Vorona did confirm that there was a body, but she didn’t take Shiki’s warning that the bodyguard was a “magician” seriously enough.
• By the way – why do people keep mistaking Celty for a guy?  She’s got a darn good body, headless or not – and that suit she wears certainly doesn’t hide it.
• Might Vorona and Sion’s “other job” have been to kidnap (or worse) Sonohara?  If so, Shiki certainly did her no favors as far as preparing her for what she was really getting into – and if Celty wasn’t pissed off at her enough as is, going after Sonohara is a great way to kick up the volume.
• Color me pleased that Simon is going to finally get a spotlight dance last week – he’s another of my favorites.  And the episode title being from a 1979 Academy Award winning film (Best Foreign Language Film) is a nice touch.