Durarara!!
デュラララ!!
- Action
- Mystery
- Supernatural
- Episodes
- 24
- Duration
- 24 min per ep
- Aired
- Jan 8, 2010 to Jun 25, 2010
- Status
- Finished Airing
Synopsis
In Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district, whispers of anonymous gangs and ominous figures circulate as freely as the traffic. Among the city’s many rumors, one legend draws the most attention: a headless “Black Rider,” said to roam the streets on a jet-black motorcycle.
Craving the thrill of urban life, Mikado Ryuugamine takes up an invitation from a childhood friend and relocates to Tokyo. On his very first day, he catches sight of the Black Rider—an encounter that makes the city feel instantly larger than life. As increasingly supernatural incidents ripple through Ikebukuro, Mikado and everyday residents find themselves pulled into a growing upheaval alongside the area’s most distinctive locals.
Otaku Consensus
Durarara!! remains a modern urban-fantasy staple thanks to Ryohgo Narita’s web of intersecting agendas, a stacked ensemble, and Ikebukuro’s rumor-driven atmosphere—where chatrooms, gangs, and the supernatural feel like parts of the same ecosystem. Fans praise its character chemistry, mysteries, and stylish momentum, while detractors often cite uneven pacing, a “mashup” feel, and animation that can look inconsistent compared to its ambition. Even mixed reviews tend to concede it’s at its best when the cast’s choices collide and the city itself becomes the engine of suspense.
Why You Should Watch
Watch Durarara!! if you want a thriller that treats a city like a living organism—where gossip spreads faster than violence, and the supernatural doesn’t replace street-level crime so much as intensify it. Brain’s Base frames Ikebukuro as a pressure cooker of gangs, online identities, and urban legends, then lets an ensemble cast ricochet off one another in a puzzle-box structure (including achronological storytelling) that rewards attention. Makoto Yoshimori’s music and the show’s sharp editing keep scenes taut even when the narrative splinters across perspectives. This is ideal for viewers who love character-driven mysteries, morally slippery schemers, and the particular buzz of “everyone is connected” storytelling.
Key Characters
- OOrihara, Izaya(VA: Kamiya, Hiroshi)
A silver-tongued information broker who treats Ikebukuro like a personal laboratory, thriving on manipulation, secrets, and the chaos people create.
- HHeiwajima, Shizuo(VA: Ono, Daisuke)
Ikebukuro’s most infamous problem-solver—an explosively direct presence whose raw intensity makes every confrontation feel like it could tip the city off balance.
- RRyuugamine, Mikado(VA: Toyonaga, Toshiyuki)
A newcomer chasing the excitement of urban life, whose curiosity pulls him toward the district’s rumors and the strange social gravity behind them.
- KKida, Masaomi(VA: Miyano, Mamoru)
Mikado’s charismatic guide to Ikebukuro, disarmingly upbeat on the surface yet deeply attuned to the neighborhood’s shifting undercurrents.
What Makes It Stand Out
- 1
Urban fantasy that actually feels urban: the show’s “mythology” is built from modern textures—gangs, chatrooms, and reputation—so the supernatural lands like an escalation of city life rather than an escape from it.
- 2
Ensemble-cast storytelling (82%) with interlocking cause-and-effect: characters don’t exist in isolated arcs; their decisions collide, overlap, and recontextualize earlier scenes as the plot tightens.
- 3
Achronological structure (71%) that turns perspective into suspense: Durarara!! frequently reframes events through different viewpoints, encouraging viewers to piece together motives and timelines.
- 4
Distinct creative pedigree: Ryohgo Narita’s original story and Suzuhito Yasuda’s character concepts translate into a roster of instantly recognizable personalities—schemers, delinquents, and oddballs with strong silhouettes and attitudes.
- 5
Strong audiovisual glue: Makoto Yoshimori’s score and Kazuhiko Seki’s editing help maintain propulsion through dense dialogue, shifting alliances, and multi-thread mystery plotting.
Fun Facts & Trivia
- Fun fact 1
- Durarara!! aired from Jan 8, 2010 to Jun 25, 2010 and ran for 24 episodes, produced by Brain’s Base with Takahiro Oomori directing and Noboru Takagi handling series composition.
- Fun fact 2
- The series is widely tagged as “Urban Fantasy” (92%) and “Gangs” (88%) on AniList, reflecting how strongly it’s associated with modern city crime dynamics fused to supernatural lore (including a Dullahan tag at 75%).
- Fun fact 3
- It’s a long-running community favorite: on MyAnimeList it holds an 8.09/10 score from 688,915 votes, with high visibility at #97 in popularity—numbers that match its reputation as a gateway urban-mystery anime.
- Fun fact 4
- Durarara!! is frequently compared by viewers and reviewers to Narita’s earlier, similarly ensemble-driven work Baccano, with some fans recommending it as a stylistic cousin and some critics preferring the earlier series’ intensity.
Studios
- Brain's Base
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