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EP. REVIEW: Durarara!! ×2 The Third Arc


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HanyouHime56



Joined: 29 Feb 2016
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Tue Mar 15, 2016 2:31 pm Reply with quote
HaruhiToy wrote:
The delusion is how are we supposed to make any sense of Mikado's motivations?


I’d like to think his motivation is still his friends, but his view of what he is supposed to be doing for them has become so warped. He keeps saying things like “If this works then Masaomi, Anri, and I will tell all”, but he’s very afraid of doing that. He also mentions that during his first dollars meeting they weren’t there. He says things that contradict that too, but all contradictions make sense in his mind.

While Izaya and Shizuo put each other down to make themselves feel better, Mikado, Anri, and Masaomi put each other up on a pedestal to make themselves feel worse. Anri saw Mikado and Masaomi as “saviors” who she doesn’t deserve. Masaomi once said something to the effect of “you two are not like me.” Mikado admires that Masaomi looks out for others and takes action. I think they have all had been battling the idea that they aren’t good enough for each other and that's why they push each other away. Masaomi and Anri for the first time are starting to realize that is wrong, but Mikado hasn’t had the same system of support so he still believes he doesn’t deserve them. He’d rather be around someone he hates because that’s easier. He doesn’t have be good enough for them. I think he’s driven by confusion between wanting to be with his friends, but thinking he can’t can’t belong with them. He is trying to figure out what to do with these emotions.

Mikado is also motivated by his desire for power which probably stems from feelings of inferiority. He wouldn’t be trying to change himself if he liked himself. He is also motivated by fear of being bored and being boring. He wants to lead a different life. There’s no right or wrong answer. Durarara!! encourages reading between the lines and that’s part of the fun for me. Different people will see each character differently and I think that’s really cool. In a show containing a theme about secrets it makes sense if motivations aren't always clear.
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whitesox123



Joined: 31 Jan 2012
Posts: 42
PostPosted: Sat Mar 26, 2016 8:32 pm Reply with quote
Ignore the final review, just watch the show because all of the volumes aren't even out yet and the show has top notch voice acting.
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HaruhiToy



Joined: 15 Apr 2008
Posts: 4118
PostPosted: Sat Mar 26, 2016 8:55 pm Reply with quote
Memo to Jacob Hope Chapman:

Ya did good. I had planned to write some sort of rebut to your final reviews just out of being contrarian but I found by the time I finished reading that you really didn't have any weaknesses worth addressing. More importantly your reviews (which also serve as a synopsis) made it possible for me to get much more out of watching the show. DRRR is mind-bendingly complex.

So its over now and I'll miss it and your review, but I'm glad they didn't try to take it any further. It would only go downhill.
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Random 21



Joined: 03 Jul 2014
Posts: 198
Location: Nottingham, United Kingdom
PostPosted: Sat Mar 26, 2016 8:59 pm Reply with quote
Damn, that's a lotta words. Buuuut I don't care, all these reviews have been a joy to read and I can only say Thank You for all of them. I've honestly never found DRRR TOO confusing to follow, but they certainly gave me a lot of perspective to some things I may have missed.

But yeah, as a huge DRRR fanboy, I loved this final episode and I loved the series as a whole, flaws and all. Yeah Baccano is technically the tighter work, DRRR just really puts itself out there and tries to be unique. Not always successfully, but the effort is great. The characters and atmosphere have always been what sticks with me, and honestly I love them so much I can forgive the many many problems and happily say that even after x2 DRRR is still my favorite anime. And yeah, I'm definitely reading the novels.

I think I can say pretty confidently that I'm a big Narita fan, so I'm looking forward to actually reading his work. And yeah, more Narita adaptations too please, sure Baccano s2 would be nice but I think after so much DRRR one of his other works needs some time in the spotlight. I heard Vamp! is good.
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Videogamep



Joined: 10 Jun 2014
Posts: 564
Location: CA
PostPosted: Sat Mar 26, 2016 9:42 pm Reply with quote
The finale was good, but it felt like it could have been great if there had been another episode or 2 to have a proper climax and give Anri more to do. Now I'm just wondering if there's going to be an adaptation of Durarara SH since a lot of the secondary characters (Varona, Shizuo, the Orihara sisters, Ruri, etc.) seemed like their arcs weren't completely finished, or at least not finished well enough. Does anyone know how well this did in Japan or how well the novels sold?
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killjoy_the



Joined: 30 May 2015
Posts: 2468
PostPosted: Sat Mar 26, 2016 9:49 pm Reply with quote
^ I don't think any of Narita's novels were much of a success. SH pulls like 20k each novel, or something like that. That's about the same as Heavy Object, for comparison.

Anyway, while I got kind of bored of Ketsu during its middle run, I thought the ending was pretty great. I was waiting day after for Shinra to do just that because I thought it was a pretty obvious conclusion, and even then I liked it a lot. Wish we'd seen more of the van gang doing their thing but the episode had a whole lot to do in too little time so it's understandable that they're kinda brushed aside.
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Theozilla



Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 144
Location: Oakland, California
PostPosted: Sat Mar 26, 2016 11:13 pm Reply with quote
Great review and synopsis, JO's reviews are always a joy to read and really do enhance the viewing experience. As Jacob speculated on, the majors flaw 2 and 3 from I've heard are more or less better addressed in the LN. Speaking of which I wish the LN translation/publication schedule could speed up because at the rate of release the series won't be completely available in English until July 2019!
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One-Eye



Joined: 08 Mar 2011
Posts: 2264
PostPosted: Sat Mar 26, 2016 11:22 pm Reply with quote
Overall, I thought Ketsu was way better than Drrr! Sho or Ten. The previous two tested my desire to continue watching in spite of my love for the original show. However, I was kind of disappointed with the finale. A large chunk of that had to do with Anri. I agree with the review:
Quote:
Anri needed to do more by the end of the story. It's not just because I was wrong about my prediction, but because this ending feels wrong by virtue of giving her even less agency as a character than my minimum expectations.
It felt like it was building to something with her and that she would take what she had learned and use it in some way in the last episode. But no.

I may indeed have to pick up the novels as the review suggests, because while this 3rd part was much much better than the previous two taken in totality Drrr!x2 still winds up being...well kind of mediocre for me. And that makes me kind of sad given how much I loved the first show.

Also I just want to say that I thoroughly enjoyed JHC's reviews for the show.
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wolf10



Joined: 23 Jan 2016
Posts: 916
PostPosted: Sat Mar 26, 2016 11:41 pm Reply with quote
Just remember: no matter how little Anri did in the finale, she still did more than Saki, who wasn't even mentioned in these last few reviews. Forget satellite love interest, she was more like 1000-year periodic comet love interest. I was totally expecting her to simply never interact with anyone else, and eventually be unmasked as a figment of Masaomi's imagination (as suggested by the Orihara twins) born from his guilt at coming between Mikado and Anri. But that would have required developing her as a character.
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Lostlorn Forest



Joined: 03 Apr 2014
Posts: 544
Location: USA
PostPosted: Sun Mar 27, 2016 1:35 am Reply with quote
I have been so lost since the very beginning that I actually believed, and still kind of do, that it's not supposed to make sense. But, whatever, I enjoyed mostly every episode, so I don't regret tuning in.
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GeneStriker



Joined: 03 Feb 2016
Posts: 156
PostPosted: Sun Mar 27, 2016 2:26 am Reply with quote
Loved the finale. Loved the show.

... I wanted more Orihara twins and Anri, though. And to actually understand what Mikage had been doing and why. And more Saki.

The rest was fantastic. Judging from everyone else, though, I seem to be the only one to understand these episodes the first time through. Which is probably a problem with the show; I tend to be a little quick on the draw with this style of writing, like I was with Baccano!, but that style doesn't click with everyone.

I am so glad that I checked out this show (and Baccano!) on a whim. Thanks for the ride, Durarara!!
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SnowyLightning44





PostPosted: Sun Mar 27, 2016 11:21 am Reply with quote
Although it wasn't the best finale it could've been I still thoroughly enjoyed watching it all the way through and seeing the conclusion. I agree as well that Narita does have a lot of written female characters like Celty, Kujiragi and Varona but it was disappointing to see that unlike them as pointed out in Point 1, Anri (and Saki) didn't really have as much to do with the closing up of the story as I feel they should've. Unfortunately I haven't got to reading the novels but it would've also been good to have more of an insight into Izaya's state of mind and it was kind of weird how everybody forgave Mikado just like that?

Anyway overall the Ketsu part of Durarara!! started off strong for me but the middle of it kinda got me worried so I'm mostly happy with this ending
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Ambimunch



Joined: 30 Aug 2012
Posts: 2012
PostPosted: Sun Mar 27, 2016 11:56 am Reply with quote
This show was either boring, or in other instances very exciting. Just these two extremes, it never had the middle ground.
I liked it, but can't help but notice how much was done wrong. I really hope they take a few years off and come back with an animated version of SH!

Quote:
From the very beginning, Izaya was trying to destroy Shizuo out of envy.


I never got that vibe, to me, Izaya just didn't like Shizuo, their different personalities did not match.

Shizuo is just a dumb brute, and Izaya is a very smart manipulator. The title of "legend" is truly up in the air, if you count how many things happened thanks to Izaya, he's the true legend of Ikebukuro. Shizuo just screams and breaks things, there is nothing more to his character.

I'm so happy my baby Izaya got away, now I can look forward to him coming back one day and stirring more shit, an exciting thing to look forward to.
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Animechic420



Joined: 25 Sep 2012
Posts: 1731
Location: A Cave Filled With Riches
PostPosted: Sun Mar 27, 2016 12:32 pm Reply with quote
It's finally over??? Good. Here's my take: Baccano!'s still better. Cool

I still have no idea what everyone's purpose was! Too much happened and for what???
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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 5488
Location: Iscandar
PostPosted: Sun Mar 27, 2016 1:21 pm Reply with quote
Finally, after 15 months of hope, despair and waiting Durarara!!x2 is over.

Season one is one of my most beloved anime series, and I was happy when a second season was announced. After 36 episodes I feel somewhat exhausted by season 2's ups and downs, but in the end I gave the 3 arcs a collective Good rating (I actually rated season 1 Very good).

I still consider myself a Durarara!! fan; I would welcome more anime content as long as it is better structured and animated.
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