「犬猿もたたならず」 (Kenen mo Tatanarazu)
“No Love Lost”
It’s like a game of hot potato and somebody… dropped the potato. Who would’ve thought that this is how things would go down? With the biggest bomb dropped by Namie in the Dollars chatroom… for everyone to see! I just… I can’t even fathom what happened in those first few minutes, let’s just get down the nitty gritty:
Out of all the characters in Durarara!!, who would’ve thought that Namie was going to be the one that drops the potato huh? I wouldn’t have remembered that she knew so much – but then I rewatched the original Durarara!! earlier this month and I do recall that Mikado and Namie had a confrontation at the beginning. She made it very loud and clear this episode that Mikado was one of the biggest driving factors in everything going on in Ikebukuro right now and he can either fix it or run it into the ground. Not to mention that everyone else of importance is in this chatroom reading all its history. Holy cow! That was a big reveal and I didn’t expect it to drop right then and there. How will Mikado fix this now? This just exposes all the façades that Anri, Masaomi and Mikado have been hiding from one another. Everyone has to face the reality of what’s going on and there’s no more “ignorance is bliss” mentality. If anyone’s been waiting for a big moment – this was a big moment.
The rest of the episode just felt very tame in comparison except for that ending. Sh*t is finally going down man! Just before Shizuo goes to beat up Izaya, we see Shizuo saved by a falling beam by none other than Varona. I knew she was going to come back and somehow show her respect for Shizuo. Their relationship is such a strange one compared to the others in the series that I can’t describe it as anything else other than a mutual respect for one another. Even though they’re “frenemies”. It’s proven by the way that they both saved each other from the falling construction equipment (which, by the way, is super dangerous! and unlikely) that they’re not out to kill one another. At least not without a fair fight. It’ll be interesting to really see where Varona ends up at the end of all this. She might just disappear from Ikebukuro with a sweet farewell to Shizuo. Unfortunately, no romance here folks (which is what I was hoping for!).
Izaya is our narrator this episode and it’s only fitting seeing as how he’s such a big player watching all the other folks squirm around. I don’t really know what his ultimate goal is, but he better watch his back with Shizuo coming at him with full force. Izaya was never someone that I particularly cared for or liked, but he’s definitely interesting and knows how to get under people’s skin. Probably borderline psychopath too… his laugh is creepy.
A lot of minor appearances from Saki, Anri, Masaomi and Chikage this week, but the last people I want to focus on are Kadota’s folks. Kadota is out and about! And the rest of them are still in Celty’s apartment – unsure what to do and everyone is kind of minding their own business. Togusa is definitely the most “normal” of the bunch and his expression is priceless. I love the slight humor that Durarara!! tries to inject in the most random moments and after such an intense scene with Namie.
Sometimes you just really to take a step back and appreciate all the craziness that is Durarara!!. I imagine that it’s properly so chaotic to create such an elaborate story with so many characters, but then I remember that as th writer, you already know what’s going to happen and already have it all mapped it out. It’s just the deliver to the audience that needs to capture everything in the right moment and in the right way. And one of the flaws that I just can’t get over is the animation. Something like beams falling from the sky, crushing Varona… that really could’ve been vastly improved. You realize it when you can’t capture a good screenshot of what’s happening and that’s because, there really is no image that says what is truly happening. I’m hoping that this is only short-term though and Durarara!! will deliver a much better finale for us.
Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: I know I’m late but did someone just drop the biggest bomb on #drrr_anime? CRAZY! So this is how everything unveils!
Preview
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A Durarara episode is always better with a generous helping of Shizuo.
What about that foreshadowing? Shizuo and Izaya said goodbye to each other, is that the end? Is Shizuo the one person Izaya truly afraid of and now knows he’s going to die?
I doubt they’ll kill off Izaya but it would be nice to see some kind of Shizuo beating Izaya for once.
finally !!! shizuo is going to kick izaya’s ass. I’ve been waiting for so long for someone to do that. Izaya really pisses me off. And now he will finally pay. Yes!!!. Victory
After basically two episodes without Celty I’m suffering from withdrawal. And as much as people like to hate on Izaya…..if not for him there would have been little to no story. I view him as a Loki like character that enjoys playing god. However, I would also love to see Shizuo pound him.
LOL! Well every story needs a driving force but I’m sure even without Izaya, there would be conflicts within the colored gangs and real gangs.
If anything, this episode was great in two ways. One is like Cherrie said, the big secrets are being revealed in an online chat room no less, probably the best and most ironic way for the secrets to spill out, especially since the chat room domain should be Mikado’s expertise. The other way is how this episode really illustrates Shizuo’s growth as a character. He’s just changed so much from how he was at the start. He can control his anger and he learns to hear people out first before beating people up. He’s just matured so much more. Also, his rather calm “goodbye” to izaya was pretty powerful. Izaya lost all of his cheeriness, as if the Shizuo who he thought was very predictable and easy to anger is no longer someone he can just play around with. At least, that’s what I got out of their exchange. Really looking forward to seeing shit go down next episode.
i’m pretty sure Shizuo isn’t trying to beat up Izaya. He plans to kill him, literally.
And judging from Izaya’s removal of Shizuo, I say the same too. Before, Izaya was amused with Shizuo and wanted to release his inner beast, but the entire trilogy of Drrrx2, Shizuo learned to control the monster within. Shizuo wasn’t a controllable piece on Izaya’s board anymore and he a roadblock on all his plans. The burning of Shizuo’s card could be hinting that Izaya’s plans of permanent removal of Shizuo. Even Izaya wasn’t expecting Shizuo to be unharmed from a bulldozer falling or whatever those are called.
There hasn’t been any tragic deaths in Durarara!! so far so I hesitate to guess if Izaya will actually die =X I’m sure Shizuo has every intention to kill, but who knows if Izaya will come out alive or not. If so, maybe he’ll end up in jail or in someone’s basement trapped o.o
Pretty much this. These two episodes have been Izaya and Shizuo getting to the point where they actually, actively are trying to kill each other for real since they’ve both finally crossed lines with each other to warrant it.
How it turns out is another story but the intent is there.
screw the mutual respecting enemies…
shipping Shizuo x Varona!
they just dont have real opportunity in life to engage in romance considering their respective dysfunctional situations, so dont recognize love when they feel it
Yeah, considering how the direct undertone of this series is all about different kinds of love, it’s not too far fetched or whatever to view Shizuo and Varona’s relationship as potentially romantic or at least a platonic love.
So many people didn’t read the light novels and so misunderstand so much, dude. Like, how can someone miss the huge significance of Shizuo IGNORING his public enemy number one to check on his precious friend??? ‘Frienemies’? More like dysfunctional besties. (And maybe more). 😉
And that goodbye Shizuo gave Izaya? After telling Varona that she’s allowed to shoot him now or whatever if she needs to? Yeah… Let’s just say that Orihara needs to start thinking about purchasing a life insurance policy.
I am afraid Shizuo is classed as humanoid disaster and not covered by any insurance society…
(hat tip, Trigun)
Namie acting like a genuine internet troll. 😀
She spoiled the entire cast.