I stumbled upon this show by seeing a random meme on reddit and fell down the rabbit hole that is this show. Normally I don't write lengthy reviews, but this show impressed me to much that I felt compelled to do so. This show has something for everyone: comedy, romance, thrill, mystery and even action. Taking place in Ikebukuro, downtown Tokyo, Durarara!! starts with longtime resident Masomi showing his friend Mikado around the city. Very quickly you're introduced to a barrage of characters each more interesting than the last, each having their own unique stories that are fully threshed out, leaving no loose ends at the end of the second arc of the show. A major element of this show would definitely be the many factions or gangs of Ikebukuro which are introduced as the show goes on. The first faction introduced is the decimated “Yellow Scarves,” a color gang who are still licking their wounds after a gang war with a gang named “Blue Square” nearly dissolved both parties involved. Shortly after the viewer is introduced to the so called “Dollars,” who are leaderless and wear no color to identify themselves as a gang. With no hierarchy and shrouded in mystery, the Dollars have enraptured the public eye, with many falsely claiming to be members or their leader. Lastly, the “Slasher” faction controlled by a mysterious character not revealed until far later in the show. Nearly all the characters belong to at least one of these three factions through the two arcs in the first season of the show.

Animation: 9/10 One of the few shows I've watched that does CGI right. Although not prevalent in the show, when the show does use CGI it blends well with the hand drawn elements and is not jarring to see. Fights 9/10 Durarara!! relies primarily on dialogue and dramatic irony to advance the show, so when fights do take place it's a pleasant relief to just see action. Each fight is well coreographed and while although most of the time short lived, it leaves a strong impression nonetheless. Characters 9.5/10 Durarara!! hosts a plethura of characters, making it an ensemble cast type show. Often, the show switches between the views of the three central characters: Mikado, Masomi, and Anri, who all go to the same highschool and hangout together. In the background, you have characters that are sort of "urban legends" of Ikebukuro such as the "headless rider," Shizuo Heiwajima, and Izaya Orihara. Of the dozens of characters that compose this show, nearly all of them get tons of screen time and over half get fully threshed out with surprising turns and twists in their character development. Story 10/10 The story of this show enthralled me from the very beginning of the first episode. From here on they'll be tons of spoilers so if you plan to watch please don't read on

Spoiler, click to view

The many plot twists and shocking reveals leave the viewer in awe. From Mikado being the leader of the dollars as a way of alleviating his boring life. Anri being the real slasher all along after watching both her parents die in front of her to show herself she could love no one. Mikado being the leader of the infamous Yellow Scarves and in constant emotional agony because he abandoned his girl when she needed him most. The headless rider actually being a headless Dullahan, a mythical Celtic being who visits people on their deathbed and carries her head by her side, that is searching for her lost head and missing memories. To the simple reveal that Shizuo wears a bartender outfit because his brother gave it to him because he promised to keep a job.

What all these reveals have in common is that they were all unexpected and fully threshed out. Nothing irritates me more than a story that's incomplete, never to have a conclusion. I can't think of a single arc of character development in this show that wasn't fully explored and resolved in a way that was both satisfying and entertaining.