Random Curiosity

「この親にしてこの子あり」 (Kono Oya ni Shite Kono Ko Ari)
“With this Parent, Exists this Child”

A yakuza grandfather is like a fairy godmother.

「日暮れて道遠し」 (Hi Kurete Michi Tooshi)
“The Day Is Short, the Work Is Long”

HULK SMASH PUNY TABLEWARE.

「色男、金と力はなかりけり」 (Iro Otoko, Kane to Chikara wa Nakari Keri)
“The Ladies’ Man Has Neither Money nor Power”

Ryuugamine Mikado has a terrible poker face.

「モスクワは涙を信じない」 (Mosukuwa wa Namida wo Shinjinai)
“Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears”

I can’t say ‘crazy Ivan’ without thinking of a suicide bomber. Videogames did things to me.

「闇夜に烏」 (Yamiyo ni Karasu)
“A Crow in the Dark Night”

In anime, one should never assume anyone is dead until they have cremated the body.

「一寸先は闇」 (Issun Saki wa Yami)
“No One Knows What the Future Holds”

The way to tell if someone is an Ikebukuro local: whether they’d willingly pick a fight with Heiwajima Shizuo.

「人の踊るときは踊れ」 (Hito no Odoru Toki wa Odore)
“When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do”

Ikebukuro is basically the Colosseum. You throw people in with the lions and watch them fight.

「泣き面に蜂」 (Naki Tsura ni Hachi)
“Misfortunes Seldom Come Alone”

And now it’s zombies and mummies. It must be Tuesday.

「和を以て尊して為す」 (Wa o Motte Toutoshite Nasu)
“Hold Harmony Sacred”

Suddenly! Zombies! That’s universal storytelling.

「百聞は一見に如かず」 (Hyakubun wa Ikken ni Shika Zu)
“A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words”

It’s nothing to lose your head over, but if you’re in the mind for fun anime, then this first episode of Durarara!!x2 Shou is in the right neck of the woods.

「天下泰平」 (Tenka Taihei)
“Peace and Tranquility”

Oh my god, Durarara. After being given the opportunity to watch Shizuo and Izaya’s love for each other grow, the only thing missing would be some younger sister yuri action. Oh wait!

「則天去私」 (Sokuten Kyoshi)
“Selfless Devotion”

Good eye to those who caught Kadota easily infiltrating the ranks of Horada’s Blue Square revival last time, as he and the other Dollars members lying in wait totally crashed the party.

Nico Nico Douga users never fail to impress by creating amazing fan-made videos. There’s been a sort of a craze going on at Japan’s popular video sharing site in recent months over creating seiyuu-based parody videos of Durarara‘s first ending sequence, featuring “Trust Me” by Matsushita Yuuya. It’s likely due to how the sequence itself is fairly straightforward with a vertical scrolling of characters, but when you see it with an interesting assortment that are all played by one seiyuu of the Durarara series, it’s still pretty cool to see.

Some are particularly well done, but I find this “Hanazawawawa” one featuring Sonohara Anri‘s seiyuu — the always moe Hanazawa Kana — to be one of the nicer ones. It’s Hanazawa Kana all the time here and I love how this version lists credits for each of the characters to make it look like an ending sequence as well, all played by Kana of course. Some characters that most people will recognize in addition to Anri are Tenshi from Angel Beats, Nadeko from Bakemonogatari, Suou from Darker than BLACK, Zange-chan from Kannagi, and Kobato from Kobato. For a full-list of the characters in the order they appear, see below. Enjoy!

Show Full Cast List ▼

「千錯万綜」 (Sensaku Bansou)
“All Complicated and Confusing”

After taking several gunshots last time, it turns out Shizuo’s mind over matter bursts of superhuman strength really knows no bounds. To him, he just thought he slipped and fell down in the rain.

「解散宣言」 (Kaisan Sengen)
“Declaration of Disbandment”

Okay, I clearly have to take back saying Mikado can’t to do much as the figurehead of Dollars, because once he sends out a distress message to all members, everyone in the city is suddenly on the same page in rescuing Anri. Cell phone mass e-mails are frightening!