Durarara!! / First Impressions

Summary:

Despite having been beat up by Celty, the kidnappers from before are still abducting people, and on this particular day, their target is a foreigner named Kaztano. What they don’t know is that Kaztano is friends with Kadota Kyouhei’s group, and Togusa specifically relies on Kaztano to get tickets for good seats at a certain idol’s concerts. Once Kadota’s group realizes that Kaztano has been taken, they are able to get on the kidnapper’s trail thanks to a boy who saw the kidnapper’s car and thanks to Kaztano himself who gets the kidnappers to abandon one of their own on the side of the road after a botched drugging attempt. Kadota’s group finds this kidnapper with a little help from Izaya, and using the kidnapper’s cell phone, they call up his cohorts and learn where the delivery point is.

As it turns out, Kadota’s group is part of the Dollars gang, having joined after Kadota got a text invitation one day out of the blue. The gang is divided into many smaller groups like theirs, and they’ve never met the leader before. Kadota’s group now tracks down the kidnappers and although the kidnappers initially want to fight, when they see Celty coming as back-up, they flee. Kadota and company give chase and are eventually able to capture the kidnappers, and Erika and Walker are able to make them reveal who they were working for: Yagiri Pharmaceutical. They don’t investigate for the time being though and instead go get something to eat, unaware that Seiji’s sister is in charge at the pharmaceutical company.

Preview

Coming into this, I wasn’t sure what to make of an episode about Kadota and his group of friends, so I was pleasantly surprised by how fun this episode was. Like last week, it started out again in the middle of the story and then worked its way back to that point, but this time, Celty played more of a comedy role with the TV aliens show and then the dog scene. Instead, the main plot this week served to introduce us to Kadota’s group and finally gave explanations about the Dollars gang and the kidnappings that have been going on. I have a lot of questions now about what Seiji’s sister and her company are up to, particularly since it looks like they might have control of Celty’s head.

I also didn’t expect that Kadota and company were actually in Dollars, and it makes sense now why Masaomi went to them last episode to ask about the group. Izaya’s involvement of course is interesting as well. Speaking of which, the scene this episode where Izaya’s phone conversation was interrupted by Shizuo chucking an elephant slide at him was hilarious. I can’t wait to see what next episode has in store since it looks to be focused on the two of them. On a different note, I wonder if the idol Hijiribe Ruri is more than just a randomly-mentioned character since it seems noteworthy that she’s voiced by Fujita Saki of Hatsune Miku fame…

54 Comments

  1. the anime seems much more subdued. the novel and manga was much more mysterious and suspenseful. Celty being a girl and Dotachin group being Dollars were reveal much more dramatically. Also the interrogation via anime references was much more cooler and cruel.

    however, still a good anime, flows real nicely.

    anyone else think that Celty’s head is attached to Yagiri Seiji’s girlfriend?

    xcswmboy
    Reply

  2. xcswmboy: No, but i do think she has the head of some other poor girl. I’m pretty sure Celty’s head is in that tank we saw earlier.
    I can’t wait till next week’s episode; looks like we’re gonna see the root of Shizuo’s hate for Izaya. I’m sensing some serious hilarity coming up. XD

    Kit Kat
    Reply

  12. The password of the website is ‘baccano’, and there is Chez reference on a billboard.
    Baccano is a great series too. Too much blood and too much violence for my taste but still has a great story.

    There are SELTY and now CELTY to spell her name. I won’t be surprised if I see CERTY or SERTY down the road haha.

    DC/AC
    Reply

  15. I thought this episode was the funniest so far. The elephant slide, concert, and van torture scenes were hilarious. But the funniest part of the episode for me was when they broke the fourth wall when they caught Kadota narrating to himself.

    Click
    Reply

  16. I have a theory about the head.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Steamgirl
    Reply

  19. @imerik: You forgot that Erika tortures people using light novels and manga. And yes, I like her too.

    LOL at the scene where Celty was watching stuff about aliens while looking scared in place.

    sadakups
    Reply

  30. Oh. So the official spelling is ‘Celty.’

    I too was disappointed with the torture scene having been erased out. It was so awesome in the manga with “It’s us that are twisted.” I quite like Erika (and her voice).

    Celty watching the alien program with a scared look(?)…. lol

    Not the absolute most exciting episode, especially given the Slasher stuff last week, but full of lol nonetheless. Seriously enjoying this anime without a single disappointment in terms of story itself. Oh and it’s really rare for me to like a schoolgirl+glasses+short hair+shy attitude.

    And just what’s going on with Seiji I wonder. It almost looks as if there’s something shady between Seiji and the girl itself. Like, ripening(um… okay. Just preparing) her for some experiment or something. I don’t know.

    Starshade
    Reply

  31. I wonder how Seiji spends his time with the girl? They always show them walking together but I doubt that’s all they do. They sleep right, eat together and stuff? Hoping for an episode that explains what they do with their elopement.

    conyo985
    Reply

  35. The manga spoiled the revelation about the Dollars for me… or maybe I’m just slow. But I was shivering when I read it… so seeing this played off to the side was like ‘uhh…’

    Satoida
    Reply

  36. Okay,at 1st I thought this series was going to have more action but by now I noticed that there isnt very much.A fight scene here a chase scene there but thats it.I still love the series.All the characters are different and have their own personalities.Im so freaken psyched bout next weeks epi.U dont even know how much.I love Izaya and Shizuo.And the next epi is going to be bout their past.YAY!

    tokki
    Reply

  37. I’m still not quite sure if she is SELTY or CELTY ‘officially’, since SELTY shown in the log of messenger she herself logged in, while SELTY shown on the cell phone of Shinra. But I guess Celty/Selty doesn’t care much about it, I mean alphabet spelling, as an Irish fairy. It’s not like she went to some grammer school to learn English anyways.

    Japanese word ‘itasha’ used in the sushi bar sequence in this episode, has double meaning. One is what Kadota/Dotachin referred to, Italian cars. The other one is what Walker and Erika referred to, Anime/Manga character painted cars.
    http://image.blog.livedoor.jp/kashikou/imgs/b/6/b605224f.jpg
    (something like this car)
    The latter is basically an otaku word so Kadota, as a non-otaku, had no clue what the two were talking about, while Togusa who is obviously an idol otaku, had it right.

    DC/AC
    Reply

  38. I find it interesting that people who have read the novel don’t remember this. But maybe the anime’s changed things up.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Kage
    Reply

  41. I loved the part when Izaya and Shizuo showed up too. Whenever they appear things get epic, funny, or both. That’s why I’m so excited for the next episode, it’s gonna be awesome. 😀

    akani
    Reply

  45. I get the feeling the head Namie has isn’t celty’s but Harima’s and the body of the girl thats with Seiji is Harima’s body with another head or so it would seem if you watched the manga.

    Ashur
    Reply

  46. @Kage
    I don’t think anime has changed a lot about the head part, maybe except for Seiji skipping school. But we will see.

    Lately I’ve got all 6 volumes of original novel available at the moment and read through to volume 4. I’ve found that anime story so far is basically mixing up volume 1 and 2. It’s likely going to continue to vol.3 and have a clear climax. Story-wise, vol.4,5 and 6 seem to make another chapter with a lot of new characters. I guess the anime could cover that chapter too, as this one has 24 episodes.

    DC/AC
    Reply

  48. @Kage:
    Show Spoiler ▼

    BTW here are the two reasons why people notice the scar girl isn’t Mika (you should check her pictures in ep 4 to understand my point better):
    1)She has the scar all over her neck of course. And Harima dosen’t have it.
    2)Both of them have different eye colors.

    It’s possible that scar-girl is another dullahan with ab artifical head created by the Yagiri group and modeled after Mika’s.

    SomeKindaNick
    Reply

  49. I’m in love with Erika (but that’s mostly because she reminds me of my girlfriend, right down to the scarily cute personality and her eccentric clothes and poofy hat). XD

    I really like this episode, and seeing Celty being used for comedic effect was a nice touch to offset her usual mysterious brooding and badassery. Poor Shinra, mixing his shopping list with the Dollars address drop, haha. And the way they presented the Dollars gang was interesting, particularly with Togusa’s idol worship and how it ties in with the weird guy who was kidnapped this episode.

    That said, I’m somewhat disappointed that Erika and Walker’s torturous tendencies were downplayed (maybe it’s for the sake of the show’s timeslot?) and how they revealed that they were all Dollars too offhandedly (unlike the manga which revealed they were Dollars at the very end as a cliffhanger, granted that the manga’s dialogue and pacing aren’t as tight as the anime’s). I am interested to know who the head of the Dollars gang is . . . though I’m sure most of us already have some sneaking suspicions.

    The lady doctor’s bro-con complex was a bit disturbing, and of course, Seiji and his girlfriend’s connection to the disembodied head and Celty are intriguing too.

    Reiter
    Reply

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