Oh boy! How excited were we in 2014 when Dengeki Bunko announced that DRRR! will be having a second season. I only watched this recently as I’ve stopped watching anime two years ago. I have a long list of leftover shows(48) in my anime list but this one is what I’m excited about the most. Firstly, because I’m a fan of Ryohgo Narita – the writer of Durarara! and Baccano! My favorite will always be Baccano! but Durarara! is equally entertaining but not as mind blowing as Baccano! will ever be.
If you haven’t watched the first season of Durarara!, you should stop reading this post by now as this review is for the second season of the franchise. Synopsis of the Drrr!x2 Shou is here for your reference.
This show met my expectations for being consistent in the story-telling department. I always commend Narita’s style about being risky in using too many characters in his novels. Remember that this is not Naruto or One Piece as those shows are long-running that they have room for character development for each cast member. For a two cour series, we are used to having less than five significant cast members in the show. Surprisingly, DRRR! gives us remarkable characters that shine in their own ways. So back to the main point, continuing to where the first season left us, Ikebukuro has been more peaceful and the citizens have long accepted the supernatural phenomena that occur in the city. The black rider still excites everyone whenever spotted but they’ve already treated her as one of their own. Color gangs are everywhere and everyone is a part of some sort of organization in which the most popular of them all is the Dollars.
We are graced with the addition of some characters like Aoba, Izaya’s two younger sisters(if you’ve watched the DRRR! specials, they are introduced there first), the Awakusus, the Toramaru and the assassins from Russia.
The first half of the show is a bit slow and one might find it boring but for us who are used to DRRR!’s storytelling, we are just anticipating for that big epiphany later on. Something like a calm before the storm feels. And dude, I was not disappointed one bit. I just love how all the events are interrelated with each other. I was expecting Celty to go one on one against Varona but the latter found herself dueling against someone I least expected to! Although they were really a pretty good match. I commend Shizuo for being a perfect gentleman this time. He’s still the hot-headed guy we love, though.
