The first thing that stood out to me when I watched s1e1 was the intro. First the rock and roll was very catchy. Second the mysterious biker looked so cool and I wanted to know more about him/her (again first impression). Third the amount of characters present. There were so many Japanese names being thrown at me in the first 30 seconds of the show and I didn't even get to the actual show at that point.
First thing I did was try to memorize as many of the characters as I could. At least some of the characters being 1 dimensional helped with remembering them for me. I started memorizing a couple characters per episode, sticking to the ones I met on screen first, so I naturally learned Celty, Shizuo and Izaya since they're pretty big and I usually get the full cast memorized by the end of each season. I play a little game when the end credits play and I try to name all the characters that appear on screen. It was really daunting at first but it really pays off and makes it easier to follow the narrative when one character is talking about another. I imagine it'd be a ton easier when watching dubbed, but I seem to have managed well just with the sub.
As the show goes on in it's round about way, I was able to appreciate the web (and it is a WEB) of events that all circle the characters. It all starts with a few side plots that all converge as time goes on. Abductions, a Headless Rider, an evil corporation, a high school, a Serial killer (or two or three), a color gangs, a secret gang, human experimentation, the mafia. It all starts on it's own with a select amount of characters involved in each side plots, but everything begins to revolve around key characters like Celty, Izaya, Mikado, Shizuo and builds upon itself. Drama and war errupt out of nowhere from either deception or misunderstanding, almost like a SOL anime.
I personally think this show is a masterpiece. There are pieces of filler that I think are weaker than the main story, but the filler usually happens at the beginning of the seasons and is more for advancing the plot or introduce you to a character or throw a twist at you. The ones that come to mind are s1e2 where we first meet Izaya, that was just filler but it introduces Izaya and his wit. Another one is the episode where we follow a detective trying to investigate the strongest man, Shizuo which was mostly just filler but it served the purpose of introducing Saika to the audience.
This isn't a show one can just passively watch. I think it requires a decent amount of attention (especially if watching subbed and you just have so much to read and take in) but the pay off is magnificent. I'm on to DRRRx2 season 2 ATM and I haven't been disappointed in any of the three finales I've seen. |