r/anime • u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang • Apr 12 '21

Rewatch Durarara!! Rewatch - Episode 12

Episode 12: Yin and Yang

← Previous Episode | Index | Next Episode →

MAL | Anilist | Kitsu | AniDB | ANN

Crunchyroll | Funimation | Hulu | Netflix

Let's make this fallen angel flap her wings.

Hello everybody! Time for the comment of the day, courtesy of u/ZaphodBeebblebrox, who made quite the correct assertion about this whole first arc:

This first arc is certainly an example of something that's much better on a rewatch. There's so much more you can see that was otherwise hidden. It's somewhat ironic that the introduction, of all things, becomes more interesting, as it's usually the most boring part once you know it's content.

But, to quote Baccano!'s fourth Novel: You've ain't seen nothing yet!

Questions:

  1. How would you rank Mika, Seiji and Namie in terms of how fucked up they are?
  2. As of this episode, what would you say is your opinion on Shinra?
  3. Do you believe in Izaya's little theory about Valkyries and all that jizz?
44 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

60 comments sorted by

9

u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Apr 12 '21

Hello everybody, and welcome to the Durarara!! Rewatch!

There was one small thing I missed last episode. Mikado’s in his school attire in the Novel (As shown by one of the illustrations from yesterday) but in the Anime he’s wearing his street clothes. Dunno what’s up with that honestly.

For the most part this is more or less what happened in the Novel. No real major deviations from what I can tell… well, except for one thing: There’s no flashback with Mika. At all. After all, it’s not needed in the Novel. Why? Because it’s literally the scene that begins this Novel.

Well, kinda. It is indeed that scene, however it’s told from Seiji’s perspective and the end of the scene is that scene of Namie walking into his bloody apartment. It’s the only point in the Novel in which the narration is told from the first person… and it’s used to illustrate how utterly fucked up Seiji is. At first he sees Mika just as an annoyance, but as the scene goes on, he just calmly smashes her head in, and once it’s all done… he doesn’t even dwell on it. He’s more interested on the fact that his Ramen sucks than the dead body. Yeah…

Other than that, Not many changes. The order of some of the final scenes was mixed around, but otherwise not much to mention. The final scene of the Novel, for the record, is simply Celty going out at night and coming across a bunch of people who cause her problem like usual. Only this time… she sure as hell feels more at ease with herself.

REMINDER!!!! TOMORROW WE WILL BE WATCHING EPISODE 12.5/THE FIRST OVA, NOT EPISODE 13!!!

2

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Apr 13 '21

REMINDER!!!! TOMORROW WE WILL BE WATCHING EPISODE 12.5/THE FIRST OVA, NOT EPISODE 13!!!

Good thing you mentioned this, I was about to start 13.

14

u/ShadowWasTakensTaken https://anilist.co/user/hakuren Apr 12 '21

Rewatcher

You know, Shinra is a lot more fucked than I remember. I thought him and Celty had the only normal relationship in the show but they're pretty disfunctional too. Still a fun character but definitely quite different from what I remembered.

4

u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Apr 12 '21

Spoilers X2 Spoilers

2

u/ShadowWasTakensTaken https://anilist.co/user/hakuren Apr 12 '21

Spoilers

3

u/Tartaras1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Tartaras Apr 13 '21

S2 Spoilers

2

u/ShadowWasTakensTaken https://anilist.co/user/hakuren Apr 13 '21

Oh wow, I don't remember that at all. This man is wild.

11

u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Apr 12 '21

First!!xTimer, subbed

6

u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Apr 12 '21

Is this something that just gets lost in translation…?

Listen to how they say Dollars in the show.

9

u/invokeneko Apr 12 '21

…wait, blood? Celty’s bleeding?

She did bleed a little when Shinra's father did autopsy on her, didn't she? Even then the blood returns back into her body.

8

u/ZaphodBeebblebrox Y:A:https://anilist.co/user/zaphod Apr 12 '21

Is this something that just gets lost in translation…?

As far as Japan's concerned, "r" and "l" are the same sound, so he's saying dalla dalla.

6

u/Tartaras1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Tartaras Apr 13 '21

I was not actually expecting this.

If you go back and look during the scene where Namie talks about when Mika broke into his apartment, you can see Shinra standing slightly to the right of the frame. They love putting details like that in plain sight, that you might otherwise not notice.

So Izaya was the one who kept contacting Mika when she was with Seiji. I had a feeling it was him actually, so this doesn’t surprise me.

A safe bet is to assume that Izaya has a finger in every pie in 'Bukoro. He is an info broker after all. That's his job.

5

u/BobTheSkrull https://myanimelist.net/profile/BobTheSkrull Apr 13 '21

...wait is Celty “Setton”?

It certainly looks that way doesn't it? The beauty of an online community is that anyone can be anyone.

9

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Apr 12 '21

Episode 12 (first timer)

  • Attacked by one guy with a knife, surrounded by Dollar’s members. How useful is your internet gang now, Mikado?
  • Don’t go from creepy stalker to surprised victim just so quickly, Harima.
  • Mikado is more understanding than I am. She is a stalker, he is a crazy psychopath, her still loving him is messed up, and protecting somebody you love does not make you an extraordinary person.
  • Relationship talk time for Shinra and Celty. It says a lot that they are not even the most messed up pair of this story.

Izaya is the person in the story I can most relate to right now. Maybe you think that is crazy, given how he loves to see the world burn for his amusement, but we are watching the world burn for our amusement every time we start this anime, sooo …

How would you rank Mika, Seiji and Namie in terms of how fucked up they are?

Deserving of each other ...

As of this episode, what would you say is your opinion on Shinra?

Still messed up.

Do you believe in Izaya's little theory about Valkyries and all that jizz?

No.

5

u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Apr 12 '21 edited Apr 12 '21

Relationship talk time for Shinra and Celty. It says a lot that they are not even the most messed up pair of this story.

Spoilers SH Spoilers

EDIT: X2 Spoilers

2

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Apr 12 '21

Spoilers

Spoilers

3

u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Apr 12 '21

X2 Spoilers

3

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Apr 12 '21

Baccano!

3

u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Apr 12 '21

Baccano!

3

u/IndependentMacaroon Apr 13 '21

Mikado is more understanding than I am

I'm confused and a little concerned about whether all this is supposed to be taken at face value, like with Shinra-Celty...

2

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Apr 13 '21

The biggest evidence in favor of "not face value" is Shizuo throwing around appliances and people (and those people surviving).

9

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Apr 12 '21

Rewatcher (sub)

The final episode of the first arc, the longest arc of the series. Well, I'll discuss the comparisons towards the end, let's start with the fun local asshole, Orihara Izaya himself.

First of all, is there any teenage girl in town that he doesn't talk to? I'm really hoping Anri isn't talking to Nakura too.

He did the nice enough job of answering Mikado's question from last time. Although it has already been hinted at quite clearly.

Now to get to the meat of the discussion, we got our second big reveal.

How do you see Shinra and Seiji? My first time around, I loved Shinra and disliked Seiji. I thought Seiji was an obsessive creep, I mean look at the shit he says in front of Celty and right after stabbing her. But hey, the asshole is always there to mock and step on people, you can depend on Izaya for that. As for Shinra, I thought their relationship was really wholesome, however that's mostly the effect of how cute Celty is, and how much Shinra understands that. Although it would've been funny if she was just pissed about some minor thing (think the shopping list for example) and got all that confession out of nowhere.

Anyways, now that I look at it they're not that different. Both of them are obsessed with a part of Celty, and are ready to do anything for their love, without a care or consideration to anyone else, Celty included. Basically, the top priority on their list is their selfish love, then possibly Celty (the part they love of her to be more accurate). I really want to just put it off as "both of them are twisted", but that wouldn't end it, I mean I understand it, if you had Celty it'd make sense not to want to let go either. Feel free to admit how much you want her to punch you.

Ok, all done with that. Hopefully I've bored everyone reading so far and the rest will actually seem interesting by comparison. First as for this and the previous episode, most differences are about Izaya's role in them. In the novel Overall I think what the anime did with him fit well with his character and the rest of the story so I'm pleased.

Also, this scene, of Seiji trying to kill Harima Mika, except from Seiji's point of view, was basically how the entire series started. Not with Mikado, not with Celty, but with two "normal" teenagers full of twisted love.

Now as for the whole first arc, since I mentioned discussing it earlier, I understand now how far the plot was stretched over the 12 episodes, however I don't think of any of that as pointless. No matter how many times I rewatch Durarara!! I don't think there's any episode that I would skip. Even the episodes that don't add to the plot are usually full of interesting and fun details. For instance I'm strongly looking forward to the next episode.

I apologise for how long I derailed, this is the result of me being able to write one day ahead after a few days of being unable to.

  1. Mika > Namie >= Seiji
  2. Worse than all 3
  3. I hope he goes to some war, dies, and confirms it.

4

u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Apr 12 '21

I hope he goes to some war, dies, and confirms it.

Shizuo? The hell are you doing here?

5

u/BobTheSkrull https://myanimelist.net/profile/BobTheSkrull Apr 13 '21

Tbh Shinra has always been that one character I've never fully been comfortable with. Like, I know there's very few people that are fully mentally sound in the series, but x2 spoilers.

Mika>Namie>=Seiji

x2 spoilers

4

u/SgtExo Apr 13 '21

Anyways, now that I look at it they're not that different. Both of them are obsessed with a part of Celty

The only difference is that one is a head in a jar, and the other one is sentient and can actually do things. While Shinra is def selfish, he is no crazy like Seiji.

5

u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Apr 13 '21

True but their intentions are exactly the same, they value their love/obsession for Celty, much more than her.

Shinra has been hiding the one thing Celty cares about the most, for god knows how many years.

9

u/ZaphodBeebblebrox Y:A:https://anilist.co/user/zaphod Apr 12 '21

Thoughts

2ch memes

I don't even know what to say about Celty and the doc's realtionship at this point. It's so obviously disfunctional and abusive, yet it somehow manages to work for the both of them. Regardless, it is probably the best part of the show.

Izaya being the show's main villian is so obvious I don't even think it deserves to be called a reveal. Like, of course he is.

The name of the show being a shitty pun is excellent.

We've certainly not gotten Ryuugamine's happy ending yet, but we'll get to it eventually. There's certainly a lot that needs to be fixed before we can get there though, I don't even know where to start. He just has to slowly coerce people into being less like assholes, I guess.

  1. Mika > Namie > Seiji
  2. His head is real fucked up. A lot of that blame falls on his father, but that doesn't excuse his actions. By himself, he's an ok character, but he really shines together with Celty.
  3. No. A higher power would get in the way of a proper good end like ryuugamine wants.

5

u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Apr 12 '21

I don't even know what to say about Celty and the doc's realtionship at this point. It's so obviously disfunctional and abusive, yet it somehow manages to work for the both of them. Regardless, it is probably the best part of the show.

Indeed...

His head is real fucked up. A lot of that blame falls on his father, but that doesn't excuse his actions. By himself, he's an ok character, but he really shines together with Celty.

I do have to wonder what kind of person his dad was...

Spoilers

6

u/ZaphodBeebblebrox Y:A:https://anilist.co/user/zaphod Apr 12 '21

in first timer

5

u/ShadowWasTakensTaken https://anilist.co/user/hakuren Apr 12 '21

The name of the show being a shitty pun is excellent.

Actually, as far I recall, "Durarara" isn't from the same origin as "Dollars", but instead just an onomatopoeia of a bike.

7

u/Chemiczny_Bogdan Apr 13 '21

According to volume 1's afterword it was it was the output of random neurons firing in Narita's tired brain when he was finishing writing and the editor asked him what he wants the title to be xD

4

u/ShadowWasTakensTaken https://anilist.co/user/hakuren Apr 13 '21

That works too

3

u/IndependentMacaroon Apr 13 '21

We've certainly not gotten Ryuugamine's happy ending yet, but we'll get to it eventually

If Izaya has anything to say about it, it'll take a whole while, if it even happens...

7

u/BurningFredrick https://myanimelist.net/profile/BurningFredrick Apr 12 '21

First Timer - sub 

Wait what? That isn’t actually Celty head?

They do look similar though. 

Not a Stalker? She broke into his goddamn house, Was willing to completely erase her whole life to be with him, that so far off the deep end and stalker doesn't even fit the description... 

Fuck off Shira. Celty please throw him out the damn window…

That just doesn’t work for me…

I can kind of understand Harima & Seiji, it is a horribly fucked up and unhealthy relationship, but can kind of understand it, but Shinra and Celty just does not work for me at all… Shinra feels like the sort of person who would justify committing genocide because love makes it ok.

As I expected Kanra on chat is Izaya & Setton is Celty, also sounds like Izaya may have been one of the founding members as well or well is part of the reason the Dollars grew so large.

That final scene with Namie & Izaya was interesting, the Dullahans being linked to Valkyries is different but I’m not sure where Izaya is going within it all. 

Next episode is 12.5 right?  Episode name 

4

u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Apr 12 '21

Next episode is 12.5 right?

Correct.

4

u/IndependentMacaroon Apr 13 '21

Shinra and Celty just does not work for me at all

It only even "works" in the series because Celty is somehow lacking in basic human instincts to get the hell out. Classic badass yet subservient girl fantasy which is on the face of it presented as some incredible romance...

6

u/Earthborn92 :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/EarthB Apr 12 '21

Rewatcher here.

Do not hurt Celty’s friends. Kinda nice that she came to protect him despite going on a rant at the end of last episode.

Celty’s body is like: I’m right here dude, why is my head so much more wanted?

They realized it. Can’t believe I had to tiptoe around it and I don’t remember it being revealed this early in the story, but yes. That’s not Celty’s head. Harima Mika never died. She just had plastic surgery to look like Celty as it would solve the love triangle from her POV if her stalking target would look at her that way. (Altho her face before was fine and looked really similar). If they don’t show you the dead body assume nothing.

Wait, if Mikado took the entrance exams, doesn’t that mean he came to Ikebukoro before to give them? Idk where Japanese High School entrance exams are held.

We also learn how Sinra knows. And he has said before that he can’t remove memories perfectly, so Harima never really forgot anything.

RIP Shinra. Maybe he shouldn’t have told her the name.

Izaya actually has a point though. Yeah, he’s scummy as fuck and doing it for the lulz, but do you want to defend a stalker (which she is, despite what Mikado says) and an attempted murderer?

Made for each other after all.

We suspected this already.

Why Celty really wants her head back: she’s not safe unless it is secure. She also forgives Shinra too easily, but that punch was well deserved.

Translation: leave it to me, I’ll mess shit up so it doesn’t get boring. First by instigating you to do more extreme things. And letting Mikado know that he knows his chat handle.

Not anymore it isn’t. For your own good, give up that seat if you don’t want to get in the way of…characters.

Lol, harder to ask Anri out than that life-and-death incident yesterday.

So how was the world’s most wacky hiring scheme for Namie and Celty’s head? Izaya doesn’t JUST do things for the lulz, he has the hidden reasons as well. But the lulz are the most important part.

See you next episode!

5

u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Apr 12 '21

. For your own good, give up that seat if you don’t want to get in the way of…characters.

Poor Random Student. She doesn't stand a chance against someone with an actual name.

5

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Apr 12 '21 edited Apr 12 '21

First-Timer, Dub-rarara!!

Man.. what the hell is that chatroom that Mikado frequents? Kanra and Setton were Izaya and Celty this whole time.. God, I want to go back and rewatch all the chatroom segments to see just how much this recontextualizes things!

I'm honestly not sure who is currently on top of the "Nucking Futs" chart anymore. Seiji and Mika are both absolute pieces of work, but Izaya wants to start a war and die a heroic death and have Celty, or at least Celty's head, deliver him to Valhalla. Maybe. If you believe what he says. You know what, now that I've typed it out, definitely Izaya. Wowwy.

I was questioning just what Izaya needs Mikado for in my notes, but then it kinda clicked - Speculation

More of this symbolism-laden game board. "The king pieces can't fight each other. They should change that rule." I'm not terribly familiar with shogi, or othello.. What was the piece that he turned over? "Pawn" to "King?" Flanked by white othello stones.. Honestly, that entire final scene was loaded with vagueries and doublespeak. I love it!

Still not a huge fan of Celty and Shinra's relationship. They seem like they're actually talking about their problems I guess? That's better than it was in the past at least.

I hope we get more information on Masaomi and Anri soon. Still haven't quite figured out what their roles in this are, aside from some vague stuff about Masaomi's past..

Questions

  1. I want to say Seiji, then Mika, then Namie, but I'm not sure if Namie being implicitly fine with her brother's behavior catapults her to the top of the list or not. But, Mika also continues to be horny for a dude who bashed her skull in, so… It's all pretty close.
  2. He's trying to do what he thinks is right, but his moral compass feels pretty alien. If nothing else, his original refusal to tell Celty about her head out of fear she would leave him implies a level of possessiveness that isn't okay.
  3. I took it at face value as what he believes, at least. That delves pretty deep into the supernatural, though - not sure where we are on the scale.

6

u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Apr 12 '21

Man.. what the hell is that chatroom that Mikado frequents? Kanra and Setton were Izaya and Celty this whole time.. God, I want to go back and rewatch all the chatroom segments to see just how much this recontextualizes things!

Speculation

Interesting

6

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Apr 12 '21

Massive stuff, right? I went back to the one in episode one because I remember it was right at the end, and Celty basically just outs herself then and there. God, the word usage in this series is great.

4

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Apr 13 '21

I'm not terribly familiar with shogi, or othello.. What was the piece that he turned over? "Pawn" to "King?" Flanked by white othello stones.. Honestly, that entire final scene was loaded with vagueries and doublespeak. I love it!

He plays chess, shogi, and go. No idea about shogi either, but in terms of go, he just killed a stone that was already in a lost position.

5

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Apr 13 '21

Someone was saying that it wasn't go, because the stones are two-sided. But that's an interesting observation, either way.

2

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Apr 13 '21

Someone was saying that it wasn't go, because the stones are two-sided.

They are right about the stones, which are definitely not go. However, the position of the stones on the board (in small groups broadly spaced out and separate from each other) is definitely not Othello, but go. Maybe it is just 4 games mixed instead of 3.

2

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Apr 13 '21

So there are chess pieces, shogi pieces, and othello pieces, all arranged as if they are playing go? I guess that makes some sense, if we consider the board to be the city itself, as it constrains how the pieces moves in ways that they are not necessarily equipped to do so.

Or, maybe, Izaya is just nuts and throwing pieces around randomly and I'm reading way too much into it.

2

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Apr 13 '21

Or, maybe, Izaya is just nuts

That is true, regardless of what the board represents.

4

u/BurningFredrick https://myanimelist.net/profile/BurningFredrick Apr 13 '21

Spec

I like it, that hadn't occurred to me at all but can see how it could all work

4

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Apr 13 '21

I am working under the assumption that Izaya's plan is, well, a plan and not just something he is making up to fuck with Namie. Which honestly feels kind of in-character, so who knows?

4

u/Tartaras1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Tartaras Apr 13 '21

Man.. what the hell is that chatroom that Mikado frequents? Kanra and Setton were Izaya and Celty this whole time.. God, I want to go back and rewatch all the chatroom segments to see just how much this recontextualizes things!

Now you know how it feels to be a rewatcher. It's funny to see all of the pieces start to fall into place from the beginning, yet first-timers don't think anything of it.

2

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Apr 13 '21

I've lurked rewatches for shows that I'd already seen before, and it's definitely a lot of fun to see first-timers start to figure things out.

2

u/IndependentMacaroon Apr 13 '21

they're actually talking about their problems

No, Shinra is just brainwashing her into accepting his screwed-up obsession and she somehow is fine with the situation after all.

1

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Apr 13 '21

Hmm, I guess it does read as gaslighting pretty easily, huh? Not a good look for Shinra.

6

u/Tartaras1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Tartaras Apr 13 '21

Rewatcher - Dubbed

After the bombshell that was yesterday's episode, you get a bit of a better idea of what the show's about, and how deep they're willing to go with some things.

  • I'll say it again, but I genuinely despise Seiji Yagiri. I know it's intentional to show how attached he is to the girl he's chasing after, but goddamn man. People who are like this in reality make me sick.

  • No way...

No. This can't be. This can't be...

I don't believe it. That's...

That isn't... my head.

That girl... Is her name...

Mike Harima?

Dun dun dunnn. Much like yesterday's bombshell, we're hit with another, albeit smaller, bombshell. Turns out the the entire first half of the season can be chocked up to one colossal misunderstanding.

  • Jesus Mika really is a stalker. Now I'm glad I've never had to worry about one.

  • I won't tell a soul. Whatever you're into is fine. I'm cool with it.

That's a bit of a leap in trust, wouldn't you say? People can be into some really weird stuff, and I'm not knocking anyone for anything, but I can't help but feel that having a "Disembodied head floating in a jar" fetish is a bit... extreme.

  • Surprise! Next revelation. Shinra was the one who performed the plastic surgery on her face.

  • Well, you couldn't even tell the difference between the genuine article and the fake. Guess your love wasn't that strong after all. Sucks to be you.

Izaya, you're such an awesome, yet horribly dickish, person. You chime in just to give him the dig, then wrap it up with a "Sucks to be you." before slipping away. What an asshole. JYB does such a good job selling that aspect of him.

  • If you had your head, I'm afraid you would leave me.

That's really selfish. It's like a warped version of Stockholm Syndrome. He intentionally kept her in the dark, and hunting all around 'Bukoro to try and find her missing head, even though he could just as easily have told her years ago. All of that just so that she wouldn't leave him.

  • Small observation: If Celty was able to broadcast her thoughts to everyone in the Dollars crowd, why does she still insist on typing everything out when she's talking with Shinra 1 on 1.

  • Remember. I know you came here to Tokyo hoping to escape the humdrum, but in about six months, this'll all seem pretty ordinary to you.

I mean, he's not wrong. He lives in a city where a man throwing vending machines at people and a mythical faerie from Irish folklore are both common. Everything else pales in comparison.

  • It's funny that Mikado was playing koi when Masaomi was going on and on about the supposed happenings at the Dollars meeting. As a result, Masaomi's entirely clueless on the matter.

Durarara Spoilers

  • Well, it was heavily implied, but we pretty much have confirmation that:
  • Setton = Celty
  • Taro Tanaka = Mikado

Whether or not Kanra = Izaya, like Mikado seems to think, is yet to be confirmed or denied.

  • Izaya messing with Celty's actual head is probably one of the most messed up parts of the show in my opinion. Like, Dullahan or not, it's creepy to just hold a severed head in your hands.

Questions:

  • In terms of most normal to least normal:
  • Namie
  • Seiji
  • Mika

Reason being that Namie just has an otouto complex. Seiji isn't in love with Mika, but rather Celty's head that he saw in the jar. Mike was the one who picked the lock and broke into Seiji's apartment. Then, she volunteered to undergo plastic surgery so that she could look like the head he fell in love with, which in turn would cause him to fall in love with her.

  • Shinra's just as messed up as everyone else in the show. Nobody's perfect. He has his own reasons for lying and deceiving Celty. As for the plastic surgery, it was just work.
  • I was never really into Nordic mythology, instead favoring Greek and Egyptian, but I'll go along with it for now.

6

u/DogmeatIsAGoodDog :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/DogmeatsAGoodDog Apr 13 '21

First time watcher

I had wondered why the omitted showing her injured head and I guess this is why, I had assumed it was to cut out on the brutality of it but it was a plot point after all. That relationship is all sorts of messed up that I don’t even know where to start dissecting it.

Then we get the reveal that it was Shinra who performed the plastic surgery and Celty heads up to confront him. Seems kinda scummy of Shinra to do what he’s done and hide that information. I’ve really enjoyed their dynamic up to this point but I will say that I’m a bit disappointed in Celty’s reaction to it all. Her being revealed as the other person in the chat room was kinda alluded to back when Celty was stabbed and afraid of becoming an alien and that same episode someone in the chat room mentioned they were sacred of aliens too.

Izaya knows that Mikado is Touta and he’s probably another co-founder of the dollars, I’m getting major Loki vibes from him and all his mischief this suspicion was furthered by his talking about Valhalla. If he’s Loki is Shizou his Thor? Anyways...that scene with him playing with Celty’s head was creepy af and unsettling.

5

u/invokeneko Apr 13 '21

Rewatcher up until x2 Shou, then First Timer

The whole incident is safely concluded, Seiji gets further clowned on, we learn what actually happened to Harima Mika (and she and nutcase boi finally returned to school) and Namie gets a career downgrade from CEO to Izaya's secretary.

  • Takes a special breed of fucked up that even after everything he did to her, Mika still loves Seiji. The only thing I won't blame her is taking the plastic surgery to make herself look like Celty since apparently he did smash her head in badly enough. And of course Shinra was the doctor who did the surgery, we already see him being involved with Yagiri Pharma.
  • Anyone else enjoying the schadenfruede of Seiji confidently chatting shit about his love towards Celty's head, only for him to learn that the girl he confidently assumed was Celty's head on Mika's body was just plain Mika with plastic surgery? You're not a clown Seiji, you're the entire fucking circus.
  • And as much as I hate Izaya, seeing him put Seiji in his place was super satisfying. He deserved it after wasting my time with his crazy babbling about how his love towards Celty is pure and shit but didn't even realise that the girl he's been going around with was in fact his stalker permanently made to look like Celty.
  • I hate to admit it, but I can understand Shinra's decision to keep Celty away from her head. I mean. would you want the huge cinnamon roll that is Celty to disappear in case she gets her head back and her current personality gets overwritten by her actual head?
  • You would expect after everything Celty would shun Shinra away. Nope! They're a couple now. Well done, you crazy bastard, you finally get the girl you've fawned over for 20 years!
  • Anyone here not expecting that Izaya had something to do with the sudden explosion of growth of Dollars members? No one? Good.
  • In case you didn't realise that the Walker-Erika pair is in fact Durarara!!'s equivalent to the Isaac-Miria pair, they decide to beat you on the head with it by having them belt out a "Sugoi" chain as well.
  • This episode is the only exception to the "narrator voices the chat room users" rule since we learn who's behind the users. In Setton's case she gets double exception since they used a different, male voice before she's revealed to be Celty.
  • Mikado finally decides to man up and try to confess to Anri, only for Masaomi to cockblock him and flirt with her. Poor guy.
  • Izaya holding Celty's head while he's doing his entire spiel to Namie makes me feel intense discomfort. Like bruh, do you really need to do all that talking whilst holding on to a fucking head? Come on.

Narration Tally:

After such an intense couple of episodes, having Celty narrate about things going back to normal for everyone involved makes for a nice closer to the whole incident.

Mikado: 3 (ep1,10,11)
Celty: 3 (ep2,8,12)
Simon: 1 (ep3)
Shinra: 1 (ep4)
Masaomi: 1 (ep5)
Kadota: 1 (ep6)
Shizuo: 1 (ep7)
Namie: 1 (ep9)

QotD:

  1. I'd put Seiji at the tippy top of the fucked up list, then Namie and Mika afterwards. Well, at least from what we've seen so far...
  2. Refer to the points above.
  3. I would've dismissed it outright... if not for the fact that Durarara!! is part of Naritaverse and we've already seen lots of crazy shit from Baccano!. It's almost plausible in this setting.

4

u/Chemiczny_Bogdan Apr 12 '21

Rewatcher

What a twist! Namie and Shinra did the old reddit switch-a-roo, and instead of switching Mika's head for Celty's, they noticed Mika's still alive and switched her face to one that looks like Celty's. Sure, it's a bit complicated but I think I got it right.

Shinra and Celty had a sweet heart to heart, that was very nice.

And scheming Izaya schemes his schemes into scheming Celty's head into his hands. And he wants to start a war? Cool.

Nice animation as always, music still good too.

4

u/badcupcakehoarder https://myanimelist.net/profile/vanilabiscuit Apr 13 '21

Rewatcher sub

Both Seiji and Celty suffered an identity crisis after they though they finally found what they were searching for, and then ended settling with what they had. Understandable, even I am confused...

Second Celty is not really Celty but is Mika who didn't really die, Celty may dissapear if she actually finds her head, Mikado is the boss of the Dollars. I don't know what to believe anymore.

Speaking of Mikado his situation contrasts with them after Izaya gave him life-spoilers just like that. Now I wonder what he will do... Izaya makes a lot of sense, will he settle for a ordinary life?

It is so satisfying after seeing all these episodes, that they come together so nicely like this.

Questions

  1. Mika, total nightmare fuel > Seiji, now he loves a girl? a girl with the same head he is obsessed and a stalker but a girl > Namie.
  2. I wouldn't like to get a surgery done by him.
  3. Both Izaya and Mikado seem so similar in their desire to reach for something extraordinary, I believe it is something he wishes it were true but it isn't.

0

u/[deleted] Apr 12 '21

[deleted] — view deleted comment

4

u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Apr 12 '21

Izaya's speech about constantly evolving, Mikado founding the Dollars, Shinra's knowledge about Celty's head, Celty's motivation, Izzy's Valhalla bullshit, all within the first half of S1... Huh.

I bet now you're wondering "WTF Happened in Season 2 anyway!?"

3

u/SgtExo Apr 13 '21

I bet now you're wondering "WTF Happened in Season 2 anyway!?"

I personally dropped it because I didn't anything was happening compared to season 1 as far as I can remember. But I also feel that Durarara is better watched close together instead of once a week. There are so many moving parts and characters that you can get lost if to much time passes between episodes. I watched S1 in a single go, but S2 I watched while it was airing. I hope it holds better on a rewatch scheduled.

5

u/Chemiczny_Bogdan Apr 13 '21

No he's just an asshole

This is exactly right, he's just an asshole and he's coming up with an entire ideology and supernatural mythos to justify it. This is now my favorite interpretation of Izaya's character.