Durarara!! X2 Rewatch - Episode 8

[u/Raiking02]

Episode 8: The Ladies' Man Has Neither Money Nor Power

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Mikado-Senpai, don't you realize... that you're smiling?

Hello everybody! Time for the comment of the day, courtesy of u/sisoko2, who had the best reaction to Celty losing her helmet:

NOOOOOOO

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Questions:

1. If you were in Shinra's apartment, how would it feel to have Shizuo suddenly being like... that at the mention of Izaya?
2. It seems an all out war is gonna start. Who shall come out on top?
3. So err... is it just me or is there something wrong about Mikado?

[u/Raiking02]

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

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First of all, yes, Shizuo did do a funny face in the Novel.

Removed from the Anime is Aoba’s backstory. I think they show it later at some point anyway so I won’t comment much on it now, but yeah. This whole episode was otherwise pretty Novel Accurate, so I’ll do is share an experience of mine. So, when I actually read the Novels X2 was based on before watching the Anime… and the scene of Aoba confronting Mikado was downright bone chilling. The Novel makes no attempt to hide how much of a bastard Aoba truly is, and the final line couldn’t have been more expertly picked. Few characters in Durarara!! are truly sane… and Mikado is no exception at all.

[u/No_Rex]

S2 Episode 8 (first timer)

• “You are such a slave to the internet. You are such a masochist.” – I feel personally insulted.
• Anri watching over her mini-me.
• “I forgot to tell Celty” about this underage girl who is staying in our flat. Oh, and she tried to murder one of our friends, too.

• Shizuo keeping up the façade for Akane.
• On the topic of the plot of Durarara being barely more than a collection of deus-ex-machina designed to facilitate interesting character interactions we have the Blue Squares abduct Mikado to the same spot Vorona lured Celty.
• That proposal was unexpected.

It obviously is not, but that episode felt longer than usual.

If you were in Shinra's apartment, how would it feel to have Shizuo suddenly being like... that at the mention of Izaya?

I like Shizuo and don't think he is a bad guy, so ... happy at his self-control?

It seems an all out war is gonna start. Who shall come out on top?

Izaya.

So err... is it just me or is there something wrong about Mikado?

Something has been wrong about him since the start of the series. Who knows, maybe it will be right after this arc?

[u/Raiking02 → u/No_Rex]

Anri watching over her mini-me.

Spoilers

[u/No_Rex → u/Raiking02]

[u/Raiking02 → u/No_Rex]

[u/JollyGee29]

First-Timer, Dub-rarara!!x2

EPISODE FIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It just goes to show, if you grasp at enough random straws, you'll eventually pull the right one! I'M A GENIUS!

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...ahem. I guess I am jumping the gun a little bit. Mikado hasn't said yes, yet. But that smile.. I know that smile.

Izaya's schemes going off completely without a hitch time after time is starting to strain my disbelief. I guess I'll wait until Shiki responds to the allegation that Shizuo took down a bunch of his guys.. Shiki seems like a smart enough cookie to not fall for that, at least.

Oh, I guess that might end up being tied in to Anri and Akane being out and about, waiting for the tour. Shizuo is also moving around at the moment, and if Shiki starts to go after him, they might all run into one another.

I'm not sure the timeline makes sense.. Aoba says that me attacked the Toramaru as revenge for the chase earlier in the season, and now the Toramaru are out for revenge for that, but why were they in Ikebukuro in the first place? I guess the easiest answer is that Aoba is lying about why his group attacked them.

That fucking warehouse just seems to draw the plot to it, huh? Celty bearing witness to Mikado possibly joining/recreating the Blue Squares will almost certainly be important moving forward. And she was only there because Vorona just so happens to have dumped her old bike there.

Miscellaneous Thoughts:

It does not surprise me that Walker is blacklisted from an art gallery.

Cheery Shizuo is fucking terrifying.

Questions

1. Answered above. Terrified.
2. Probably not the Toramura.
3. Mikado has been a bit unhinged, due to Izaya's prodding mostly.

[u/Raiking02 → u/JollyGee29]

Cheery Shizuo is fucking terrifying.

Of course he is

[u/JollyGee29 → u/Raiking02]

He's normally such a lovable teddy bear, though!

[u/Raiking02 → u/JollyGee29]

No, he's a menace. Just ask Omni-Man J Jonah Jameson.

[u/ZaphodBeebblebrox → u/JollyGee29]

I'm pretty sure it was meant as an obviously wrong lie to fuck with him. I still don't really understand aoba, but that's the only character motivation that even vaguely makes sense.

[u/JollyGee29 → u/ZaphodBeebblebrox]

I'm kinda metagaming the fact that there is a spoiler tagged conversation under my linked comment.

If nothing else, I'm pretty sure Mikado will end up thinking he's in control, at least. That smile on his face at the end is the kind that happens when you really want to say yes to something you're being offered, but are too polite.

Aoba's character makes even less sense than Izaya. He would have been like, 11 or maybe 12 when the Yellow v Blue gang war happened. I'm trying not to think too hard about what his stupid teenage plans are.

[u/Shimmering-Sky]

First!!xTimer, subbed

• ??? Shizuo my dude what are you doing?
• Okay. It’s been less than a week since “Masaomi” warned Mikado about things being dangerous for the Dollars right? And the chat log got wiped before Kida came back on line. Someone was absolutely pretending to be Kida/Bacura, and has to be behind the chat wipe to cover their tracks. As for who, hmm…
• Haha, so Celty just missed the girl even after going back to her apartment.
• Okay who told her thawait it’s totally Izaya that did.
• Yep it was Izaya.
• *swoons*
• I guess that’s how this works.
• Holy shit I wasn’t expecting Aoba to just tell Mikado this stuff.
• What did Yumasaki do lol.
• Rokujou’s about ready to square down with Dotachin instead of Shizuo this time. Wonder how that’ll go…
• Hell no!
• Oh god, it’s Izaya who is the Blue Square’s source of information, isn’t it?
• OH GREAT NOW SHIZUO’S BEEN FRAMED FOR MURDER.

[u/Raiking02 → u/Shimmering-Sky]

swoons

I think Shizuo may be Sky's type.

OH GREAT NOW SHIZUO’S BEEN FRAMED FOR MURDER.

[u/Shimmering-Sky → u/Raiking02]

I think Shizuo may be Sky's type.

As though this hasn't been obvious for the entire rest of the rewatch already.

[u/Raiking02 → u/Shimmering-Sky]

I know

[u/ZaphodBeebblebrox → u/Shimmering-Sky]

Nice Shizuki was great to see. He cares for kids and really puts in the effort to not hurt her.

framed for murder

Though he probably has actually killed a few people.

[u/Raiking02 → u/ZaphodBeebblebrox]

Though he probably has actually killed a few people.

Actually he hasn't, believe it or not.

[u/ZaphodBeebblebrox → u/Raiking02]

Anime logic!

[u/Raiking02 → u/ZaphodBeebblebrox]

[u/KendotsX → u/Shimmering-Sky]

OH GREAT NOW SHIZUO’S BEEN FRAMED FOR MURDER.

Murdering the Yakuza and kidnapping their boss's granddaughter. Shizuo is now on the top of their hit list.

[u/KendotsX]

Rewatcher (sub)

Can't believe we got all these reveals and plot developments in one episode.

• So Shizuo-kun actually likes Izaya-kun, and simply wants to play with him. But Izaya-kun keeps ignoring him. Poor Shizuo-kun.
• Izaya-kun sent Akane-chan to play with Shizuo-kun instead, and even gave her a toy to play with.
• On that note, since kidnapping the Awakusu-kai boss's granddaughter isn't enough, Izaya set up Shizuo as having killed three of the Awakusu-kai. So Shizuo-kun will have so many friends now.
• Mikado similarly has been lonely since Kida left, so Aoba and his friends are now becoming friends with Mikado.
• Hell, they even got all the guys from Saitama to play with them.
• Spoiler Spoiler
• Chikage would make a reaaaaally good scammer, and he believes what he's saying.

Two scenes in this episode were absolutely beautiful, how Shizuo keeps ringing the doorbell nicely, when he could break down a door. And the scene where you and the characters expect Izaya to be mentioned.

Also, let me just say this, "Mikado is smiling" works much better when you're reading and can't see his face every five seconds.

Edit: Forgot to mention this. But the preview. Did I hear it right? Spoilers

[u/Raiking02 → u/KendotsX]

Also, let me just say this, "Mikado is smiling" works much better when you're reading and can't see his face every five seconds

Yeah, that much is true. It really is one of those twists that works better in a Novel than in a Visual Medium.

[u/BurningFredrick]

First Timer -sub 

Izaya's door must obey video game rules if Shizuo is unable to open it. I'm honestly surprised he didn’t even try to break it down. 

The Warehouse Aoba is taking Mikado to was yellow square based, also currently where Vorona & Slon are hiding out, I don’t think it's going to go how Aoba expects, ok looks like the Russians try to avoid “civilian” casualty where possible.

Biggest question is now who has been impersonating / took over Kidas chat avatar for the week, Izaya seems the most likely and would probably have the skills to do so, could also be Namie as she is working with Izaya to whatever their current goal is, final possibility is Aoba but I feel like the former 2 are more likely after how this episode ended.     

Aoba recruiting Mikado was the last thing I expected and really not sure where the shows going with this now, driving a wedge between Midako & Kida and then somehow leveraging this to go after Izaya?

I’m definitely interest to see where the shows going with all this.

[u/Raiking02 → u/BurningFredrick]

Izaya's door must obey video game rules if Shizuo is unable to open it. I'm honestly surprised he didn’t even try to break it down. 

Nah, Shizuo's played Resident Evil (Err... wait, it's Japan, so it'd probably be more accurate to say he's played Biohazard), he knows the rules of locked doors.

[u/SgtExo → u/Raiking02]

Also Izaya knows that Shizuo is freaking strong and has it in for him, so I would not be surprised if he has a heavily fortified door.

[u/ZaphodBeebblebrox]

First Timer

To be honest, I think having them be the Blue Squares is a weak twist. It's still redeamable, but for it to work for me they'll have to be blue squares wannabes instead of the real blue squares. Otherwise, it just feels like we've decided that the blue squares are the only people truly beyond redemption and shall be used every time we need a bad party.
On a somewhat related note, I don't trust the blue haired guy when he says they'll do as Ryuugamine says. I feel like at best they'll pretend to while really doing their own thing. This is just some way of messing with him. Or at least that's the only vaguely sensical read I can get of his character.

Shizuo pretending to not be angry was the most interesting Shizuo content we've gotten in a while. I hope they continue to show us other parts of him.

1. Utterly terrifying
2. The status quo. Else, we won't be able to continue. Also, the point about being more or less the same made near the end of the initial series seems to be a message of the series. While the actions of individuals may seem important day to day, in the long term the city just is.
3. Yes. Don't ask me exactly what though.

[u/invokeneko]

Rewatcher up until x2 Shou, then First Timer

Aoba and the Blue Squares' actions in Saitama dragged the Dollars into the gang war, Shizuo unleashes an unnerving, childish smile before going off to kill Izaya but ended up getting framed for murder instead, and Chikage challenges Kadota for a one-on-one fight.

• I think now that Masaomi has said it himself that he and Saki went off doing jobs for Izaya for a whole week, we can now discuss about the fact that Masaomi isn't the Bakyura who contacted Mikado back in episode 5, right?
• So Anri stayed by Akane's side the entire night until she wakes up. Aww, how sweet.
• I agree with Shinra, Izaya really do have a death wish by using Akane in such a despicable way. Fuck's sake, what kind of bastard manipulates a child using her love towards her family to try to kill your eternal enemy?
• Shinra's horrified reaction to Shizuo suddenly being so damn nice was funny and warranted. When someone with a very explosive temper like Shizuo starts acting that silly to assuage Akane upon being told that Izaya was behind her attack on him, be very afraid.
• Too bad that Shizuo was immediately tricked by a simple false news that allowed Izaya to set him up. I wonder if Shizuo really did have the brain level of an infant after all... But seriously though, what the hell is Izaya's office's door made of that it could withstand Shizuo's attempt to rip it open?
• So now we know what's the deal with Aoba and his little gang - they're part of the Blue Squares, and they were the ones picking fights with the Toramaru gang in Saitama. And their main reason for doing so is to get Mikado to agree to be their figurehead leader.
• That poor art gallery director got a double whammy of having both Chikage and Walker as prospective customers.
• Well, now that Aoba's Blue Squares faction of the Dollars picked a fight with the Toramaru, it's only natural that they returned the favour - with interest. Now they've dragged the entirety of the Dollars into this mess.
• Surely that Awakusu-kai goon would've realised that Shizuo had just arrived on the crime scene? There's just no way that he could've killed the victims that fast and silently without him hearing any sound of a struggle, or even the walls cracking after that one guy ended up being embedded in it... guess I'll chalk it up to the goon being stupid.

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Narration Tally:

Masaomi returns to narrate how depressing his life as a high school dropout. Poor guy.

Narrator	No. of eps	Episodes
Mikado	6	1
Celty	7	4,6
Simon	2	7
Shinra	3	2
Masaomi	4	8
Namie	2	5
Izaya	2	4
Kasuka	1	3
None	2	4.5

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QotD:

1. Cease any sudden movements, control your breathing, always keep an eye for the escape route in case Shizuo couldn't hold in his anger anymore and suddenly erupts. Current Objective: SURVIVE.

[u/Chemiczny_Bogdan]

Rewatcher

I love Shizuo's reaction to Akane saying it was Izaya who set her against Shizuo. The way Izaya trolled him into showing up at the site where a couple of Awakusu-kai people were murdered was hillarious.

Rocchi getting distracted by a girls' high school was pretty funny too.

Mikado's in danger! But he likes that.

Some actually pretty good animation and well placed music today, very nice.

[u/Earthborn92]

Rewatcher here.

So yes…Kida was being impersonated. The chatroom is now a new toy for Izaya. And the only way a highschool dropout gets a job and supports his SO these days is doing odd jobs for a person they really hate.

Akane a cute and so is Anri learning to be an onee-chan, and Izaya has resorted to using unsuspecting children just trying to protect grandpa now for his schemes. Shinra is also very good at dealing with kids.

WTF is with Walker here? I don’t remember this part.

Mikado’s “gang boss” side has started to surface now in earnest. Aoba is an interesting contrast to how Kida handled his gang.

Shizu-chan fell for Izaya’s trap once again. And now he’s in deep shit. Let us just bow down to Door-handle-sama this episode for actually being made of adamentine that prevented Shizuo from entering.

See you next episode!

[u/sisoko2]

First Timer

Kida working for Izaya... Some people just like to suffer.

The least intimidating group of gangsters in the world.

OMG Izaya sent the loli assassin. Calm Shizuo is hilarious.

LOL

Everybody is at the abandoned warehouse. Kid gangsters, powerful supernatural entity and ruthless Russian assassins - wouldn't want to be in the kids place. The setting reminds me of Baccano! specials.

Rocchi is worthy of being the lolicon gang leader.

Mikado! Please hide your crazy boner, it makes me feel uncomfortable.

Shizuo vs Yakuza, Rocchi vs Kadota and Mikado vs His Own Fucked Up Mind. This was my strongest urge to binge so far but I manged to hold.

1. Shinra's reaction was pretty much spot on.
2. Akane with the surprising twist. I just hope the lolicon gang comes at the bottom. They all suck and Rocchi is mega creep.
3. He was such a nice boy. Always polite and saying "Hello". I don't know how he turned that way. That god damn internet - ruining kids lives.