Friday 12 March 2010

Durarara!! - Episode 10

Mikado Ryugamine doesn't want to live a boring and ordinary life, even though he seems to be just the sort of guy who is destined to inhabit one.. at least, it seemed that way until he helped some strange nameless girl escape from Selty's clutches at the end of Durarara!!'s previous episode.

As the show's tenth instalment opens, we get to see Mikado's rescue of the girl with Selty's head sewn to her body (really, I'm not sure what to call her for the benefit of this 'blog) from his own perspective, and of course come that evening once said girl is asleep he calls upon Masaomi Kida for help. Equally predictably, Kida is absolutely no help whatsoever, and very nearly gives away Mikado's secret at school the next day were it not for Mikado's seemingly dull personality. Still, all of this is forgotten soon enough as Masaomi takes Mikado to meet a member of the Dollars named Takiguchi who goes to their school (thanks to a rare moment of astute thinking from Kida), thus introducing another little thread to the tangled web of the series.


It's after school where life becomes more complicated still for Mikado, as he's first confronted by the girl who had her mobile phone stamped on by Izaya earlier in the series and her boyfriend, before then finding himself followed home by both Izaya and Selty. Eventually plucking up the courage to ask what Selty wants with him (and more importantly the girl currently in his charge), Mikado learns everything about Selty and her missing head, and so looks set to do his bit to help her before things become more complicated still, with the episode closing to what can only be described as a "new-look" Mikado looking ready and raring to go in his role as one decidedly interesting person.

For all of its moments of important plot progression, this particular episode of Durarara!! was first and foremost incredibly funny throughout, from pretty much everything Masaomi and Izaya do through to Mikado's nightmarish daydream of a "yandere" stalker Anri. Throw in some completely random reference to To Aru Kagaku no Railgun and Biribiri, and a frightening display of road rage caused by nothing more than a pebble chipping some paintwork, and I found myself laughing throughout. Again, this really serves to display the versatility of this series, as it moves from more serious and focused story-telling through to far more light-hearted efforts that still manage to remember to keep the plot moving at a reasonable pace. It's a heady mix that really helps to keep all of Durarara!!'s proverbial balls in the air, and I can't help but admire it for making something so potentially difficult look so simple (and appeal so whole-heartedly) to the viewer.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

So is Mikado the leader of Dollars or did I misunderstand that last scene in his apartment?

JW said...

Mikado may be a successor of some sort? I thought Izaya was the leader. I don't think so any more. The way Izaya said, "To be honest, I had my doubts..." led me to believe that he was asked to bring Mikado into the dollars.

Of course, I may be wrong. But wouldn't it be hilarious, if Mikado turns out to be some sort of 'hime' for the Dollars gang. After all, he is a new student. ;)

I also believe it is telling that Mikado's sign-on is "Baccano". Foreshadowing much?

When Mikado turned around looking every bit as cool as Izaya, I got the happy shivers. Bring it on, buddy!

Anonymous said...

Yeah, another great episode, and, as far as I am concerned this show just has not had a weak one yet.

It seems now the pace will pick up even more. I really wonder how this will work. Will we get a climax around episode 12/13 based upon some sort of attack on the Pharmacy? If so, what happens to the second half of the show?

Milanor said...

Another amazing episode. I can't get enough of this series. Not sure about Mikado being the leader of the Dollars or not, but either way, he's becoming a hell of a lot cooler.

@ JW: I also saw that sign-on thing. I've been loving all the little references here and there.

@ abandonedfacotry: Well, it may be like with Baccano where the 'main' storyline totally goes crazy and then gets "resolved" with a big bang, and then there are some episodes following that tie up any additional loose threads and give a little more insight into what happened.

JELEINEN said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
JELEINEN said...

The fake Dollars and his girlfriend dressed up as 80s bousouzoku members really cracked me up. Also Mikado knowing that Celty was lying from her text was fun.

JELEINEN said...

The fake Dollars and his girlfriend dressed up as 80s bousouzoku members really cracked me up. Also Mikado knowing that Celty was lying from her text was fun.