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Mix Japanese inner-city culture with Irish mythology, street gangs, high school drama, plenty of violence.. and what do you get?

Welcome to the spiky, controversial world of Durarara!!.

Produced by the same studio who animated Baccano!, Durarara!! (hereby called DRRR) is ultimately ambitious, showing us the chaos of the world clashing with the inner desire for peace. As Terry Pratchett said, "Chaos always defeats order, because it is better organized."

Expect lots of Sliding Scale of Idealism vs Cynicism.

Art

Striking, effortlessly simple character designs complement backdrops that only add to the atmosphere. This anime is filled with sharp corners, giving it the jagged look ... which is oh so recognizable for Baccano!. The coloring is simple but efficient, and although the characters might look too "hip" or "cool" for your taste, they can still display a range of emotion.

Sound

Soundtrack fits perfectly with the content of the scene. The VA's are also good, with Izaya giving an enjoyable performance.

Character

Now here is where it gets interesting. I've only watched several episodes, and the moral makeup or ethic values of the characters still seem unclear, as to their motives. It seems that the original creator (whoever he is) is showing merely edges of a characters, instead of their core- of course, the narrator helps, but some other characters seem to be there only for entertainment or comic relief, such as the cell-phone stamping Izaya and what'shisname.. the main character's friend.

Other chars. are flat (or they're just portraying an aspect of their personality), like the very violent guy or the shy girl.

Enjoyment

So far, I do not PERSONALLY agree with the morals of the characters (ESPECIALLY IZAYA, not only do you have character inconsistencies but a rotten heart as well) , but the actual enjoyment of the show rates fairly high, as I savor the nonsensical and the lack of analysis (at least on the surface) this show requires.

To be updated.

Okay, this was recommended to me by a friend, but I haven't read the manga like he did, so this is just my opinion based solely on this OVA. :)

Story
I...tried to understand it. It gives you glimpses, possibly, of the main plotline, but each of the four eps don't really pick up from the previous one. It's more like overlapping parts of stories told by 4 or 5 main characters, each with their facet of intrigue. It's main purpose is probably to make you want to read the manga and find out more. ^^

Art
Animation was smooth, and I liked each of the characters' unique ... designs. It's semi-realistic; be prepared for orange hair. XD Blood, thankfully, didn't look like it was MS-Painted on.

Sound
Again, not much to say here; this was an OVA, so no opening to critique. ='( Voice actors are nice, nothing sticks out (neither bad nor good).

Character
Extremely...different characters. Heh. They have so many quirks, you're like, isn't there anyone who's normal except for that girl in episode 2? ;) I mean, human experiments, smokers, avengersbutnotreally, galore.

Enjoyment
These eps were short (seriously, only 13 minutes or something) and interesting. If you're not sure about jumping into the manga, try this demo edition first. :)

Baccano! is a really neat, unique anime. To suffice, it manages to squash the stories of 20+ people into just 13 episodes. Trust me, you won't forget it.. I shudder to think of what might have happened had I not read Baccano's summary on MAL before I watched the series, although other people might say that it takes the fun out of it if you do.

Story:
Like I said, all the characters act independently of their own will and interact in unpredictable ways. The closest I can come to explaining it is something called a ROC Survivor Contest, where ten characters, each written by a ... different author, come together to affect the plot and move the story forward. It's also very intricate; pay attention to the dates, because they WILL matter.

Art:
It's pretty darn good for a smallish animation studio. Despite the vast amount of characters, I had no trouble telling them apart; and, might I add, not just because they had different hair colors ;) Their attire is also comfortably designed around the era of the series as well.

Sound:
I didn't remember anything bad about the voice acting or background music, which is good. The OP remains one of my favorites of all time, and voice actors seem suited to their role.

Characters:
Here's where the series really shines. All the characters are so unique, so different, from varying backgrounds and social classes, that it's delightful to watch them interact with one another. There's the old, the young, the old young one, and so many more. There are characters you will hate (like Szilard) and others you will adore (Firo and Ennis! Plus Jacuzzi.) There's someone for everyone. :) They all have depth as well, and you can see their code of ethics through their actions.

Enjoyment:
This is one of the few animes I have marathoned. Believe me, 13 episodes fly by very quickly when there's so much going on. So if you have a night free and don't mind staring at the computer for a few hours, watch Baccano!

In a Nutshell
Bratty Kid makes a Faustian Contract with a Demon from Hell to exact his Revenge, Causing a General Breakdown of Law And Order in England, Attracting the Attentions of An Angel With An Ego Problem, Also, The Happy Shinigami, The Butler with Questionable Sexual Orientation Who Has Table Cutlery Hidden Somewhere About His Person, and Some Other Characters That Are Not as Interesting... ALL in a WORLDE GONNE MADDE!!!!!

Story
Really, it doesn't go anywhere, like a lazy person on Saturday morning. It doesn't get its homework done until sunday night either.

Art
Ooh, pretty dress! gave me lots of inspiration and facts about the attire of ... late 19th century england, indeed. plus, shoto boys and the whole sebastian she-bang.

Sound
Opera+rock music? Awesome.

Character
Ciel- smart, determined, whiny, annoying.... think Artemis Fowl but WITHOUT THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
Sebastian- the demon who actually has "feelings", haha, for his master...cough, lord... SO dreamy, to those who don't mind getting their souls eaten.
Angel(a)- typical gray character. but the point is, either make your characters good or bad, or make the audience know how to tell the difference, otherwise just don't include him/her at all.
The Servants- more personality than most. More depressing history than most.

Enjoyment
Irks me some, especially the plot which meanders like a german tourist in new york, and the characters which remain as yet, unchangeable.

Overall
You gain some, you lose some. I recommend it for fans of fashion, style, angst, pretty boys, style, hot men, things which are never fully explained, and have i mentioned style?

Soul Eater! WHOOT! I bet you'll agree that there's something about this anime that makes it a tad bit different- and maybe, special- than most shonens.

Story: 8

It's really not that bad. This would have gotten a nine, if not for the last episode- which had a good theme, but poor execution.

Note: Excalibur episodes, I heard, were completely pointless; but since I skipped those (my computer conveniently crashed, you see) I can't really put them in my review 'ere.

Art: 9

Quite original. I love their plain and simple character designs- the kids looks like kids, and the adults look like adults. There are ... also some design flairs that are especially remembrable- like Medusa's and Stein's face expressions, Kid when he's despairing, and Maka's crazyness/anger. Additionally, some lovely abstract terror here and there- the Kishin arc, f'r instance.

Also, I'm reminded more of standard "American" animation here, as it were. (SE is like way better, of course. XD) It just contrasts so much with other animes I've watched, like Death Note and even FMA. So very.. comedic, in a way.

Sound: 9

Has two of my favorite OP songs- yep, both first and second. I like how in the beginning things are always moving and basically GOING somewhere.

Can't really remember the specifics of the background music, but that's a good things 'cos if I do, it probably means it's horrible. So yeah, great complimentary bg music. Rock parts were fantastic.

Character: 8

Maka's absolutely kick-ass, and although she's not particularly unique among the throngs of chars she's still a solid rock that moves the story along. Soul is there merely for shipping w/Maka, of course. :3 Kid's... interesting, provides comedy relief. Shinigami-sama's great. Tsubaki is awesome. Etc, etc..Oh yeah, and Black Star's HILARIOUS. ^^ I swear, he's there just to mock Naruto.

-backstage whispers-
Oh, he's not?
-whispers-
-shrugs- Oh well, he's still hilarious- or do I mean failarious?

Note: I was a little easier on character rating here, as this is a lighthearted anime and I'm going with the flow. If it was approaching the seriousness of Death Note, then it'd be different.

Enjoyment: 9

Okay, so here's where I'm a bit biased. For some reason this anime just rubbed off like a Terry Pratchett kind of thing- funny, sometimes inappropriately so, of course, but still retains an awesome sense of dark seriousness, depending on where the director wanted it to go. I tend to enjoy animes that take themselves lightly, and feel like the makers are enjoying themselves as well. XD

Overall: I give this a nine. I was extremely surprised to see it ranked so "low"- this was when I first registered on the site- but after the contemplation that there are over 4000 animes, and that, really, most series are not this good, I'm satisfied with its spot (#69, lol).

Okay, before everyone goes all psycho on me...

Death Note is, and will continue to be, one of my favorite animes. Then why rate it so low, you ask? Well... I'm trying my best to review honestly, and not let the hype get in the way. (If the above sentences made no sense at all, well... think of it like this.. I'm very critical of animes that receive endless applause and praise. There must be /something/ wrong with it. XD Take, for instance, Twilight. Why's it so popular if the writing's truly, academically disgusting and the plot nonexistent, not to mention the characters? It's the same ... here, except with smaller differences, of course.)

So... let's get to the review, shall we?

Story/Theme: 7

To the untrained eye it is a rollercoaster full of ups and downs and drama and people kicking the bucket- or rather, clutching their chests. To a person who's read and watched such masterpieces (or, at least, know a close someone who's passionate about them) as Jane Eyre, 1984, Macbeth, (not to mention Discworld, Ender's Game..), and such like, it is full of holes. Like cheese.

Take, for example, the theme of corruption in Death Note. It is, has anyone noticed, remarkably similar to Macbeth (which, in a nutshell, is about a guy going insane for power after he gets promoted and gets a whiff of it). However, Macbeth is done in a way that is totally realistic, in a scenario where you completely understand the character and what he's gonna do. In other words, the corruption part and all that follows is imaginable, within the "human spectrum", and godforsakenly human. All this without having to rely on a Death Note.

No, I'm not saying this series would be better off without the actual killing tool- that would defeat its entire purpose. All I'm saying is, the story takes you to a point where you just enjoy the ride and not think about what it means to us, as humans, anymore- especially doing the "deduction" and "masterplan" scenes. And that's all they are. Scenes to make you go "Wow! These people are SMART! I wouldn't've thought of that!" Basically, the show loses its "true" focus often (that IS my opinion, despite what others have said) and doesn't rely on, say, our conflicting morals to advance the story as much as really intelligent people playing mind games. What I mean is, they should've put more scenes like the "Money means all" thing that Near did. It unveils the human condition while being realistic to the situation at hand.

I also have a huge, huge problem with how the world "accepts" Kira- which is, luckily for the show, not expanded upon very much. What the author's trying to say, I think, is that humans, at their root, are cowardly and corrupted. Face it. Not many characters are acting on "good" morals (aka the ones we live our daily lives by), and when they are, they never get anywhere. Truly, is this what the world has come to? Acceptance of Kira?

Don't forget, it doesn't matter if the author/artist didn't choose to put that explicitly in the anime/manga, "they didn't need to, it was implied"- But why is it that in the entire plot, not one character achieves something good while being simultaneously good? I'm very, very confused about what they're trying to say here- that humans all all corrupted? (That's the easy "moral theme" for a series, for sure.)

And this is where Death Note fails- it fails to look at how things actually are, instead looking at how they /appear/. The world accepting Kira is something that the watcher almost subconsciously EXPECTS- they go, OMG, this is the true humanity! This is totally, like, deep and profound! when in actuality, the sort of thing might not happen. That is the difference between a masterpiece and a plot built upon a contrived, superficial theme.

Plus, the actions were coincidental enough themselves. It was almost as if the characters were playing parts in a play.

Okay, enough with the story, let's move on. :)

Art: Solid 10

Nothing to qualm about here. The art is simply beautiful, and the subtle tones delicate and succint, pushing the story wonderfully.

Sound: 9

Very good here, too. Just one thing, though. Remember that guitar note pattern we heard in the first or second episode? It started with, "da da dum dum dum"? (And I think later it became L's theme...)

Is anyone else reminded of the "Brothers" song from Fullmetal Alchemist? It starts with the same five notes, I'm pretty sure, so all the time I was waiting for the sixth note- it's coming, it's coming.. uh, no it's not.. Aww..Wait.. it is, but it's not THE RIGHT ONE!!!. And it annoyed me 'cause I felt like the composers might've been plagiarizing.

Character: 7

Points for L!!! Yay!

...Not so many points for Light. :( Sorry, but the whole evil genius thing didn't strike any chords with me. I mean, if the authors couldn't imitate some aspects of Ender's Game, at least they would've created a character we could've connected with more successfully. Most of the time he was a gibbering, conniving megalomaniac- an awfully stereotypical sort of character, and not interesting at all. His intelligence is almost like an afterthought.

L was a bit better, although I would've liked to get into his head a little more, and have kind of a sense of the isolation he must've been in, not being part of society and all that. (Seriously, just one word... Ender. L /must've/ been Ender in a past life.)

(Oh yeah.. to the person who wrote about 1984... SQUEEE!!! I love that book! It's like one of my favorites of all time! I wish we could talk about it together.. there are so little people online who know about it, and even less who could connect it with anime like Death Note. XD)

Enjoyment: 9

One thing kept it from being a ten, and that's the lack of humor- a purely personal preference. (Terry Pratchett, anyone? ;)) I enjoy a story most when it has the capacity to make fun of itself- things tend to get... bad... if the show takes itself too seriously. Death Note started well in that aspect, until the later eps, when things just... dragged on, and there was nothing funny plot-wise or character-wise at all. In the beginning there was the entire absurdity of the situation (something that the Discworld series is very well known for), which was appreciated. Then, L with his quirks. Then, people died. Then, MORE GENIUSES. Holy crap, Artemis Fowl must be irritated. XD

Overall: 7

I'm going to be honest and different. :) I would give it a seven, without hearing about the hype and all that jazz. Death Note's biggest faults are its story and character development, although it is far better overall than a lot of shows I have watched and books I have read. So.. let the anti-personal bias curtain be raised...

But it'll always be my cherished fan object! -hugs L- Fics and fanart galore! Death Note is AWESOME!!

L: Not... A... Plushie....