Review for Durarara!! Part 3

Introduction

After reviewing Parts 1 and 2 of Durarara!!, it was only inevitable that I would turn my attention to Part 3, which serves as the conclusion to the story. While Siren Visual's Part 1 release of the show had a few issues, they were resolved in Part 2. Hopefully that standard has been maintained in this final instalment of the show. And as I write this review, finally getting around to the series that I bought myself as a birthday present half a year ago, Siren Visual have only just gone and released a complete series collection, gathering all six discs into one handy boxset.


How do you even begin to describe a show like Durarara!!? Various lives collide in Tokyo's Ikebukuro, and all kinds of bizarre stuff happens. That isn't exactly the most clear of series descriptions, but Durarara!! isn't a show which predicates clarity. It's a complex interweaving of narrative, various characters' lives are explored, often presenting visions of events from different perspectives with different meanings. The stories mix, intermingle, switch back on themselves, and jump all over the place. And in Durarara!! this is a good thing.


After the first volume introduced this twisted vision of Ikebukuro, Durarara!! settled down into a series of character arcs, exploring the lives of three friends at Raira High School. First was Mikado Ryugamine and the Dollars gang, then after a brief bonus episode came the story of Anri Sonohara and The Slasher. That leaves only Kida Masaomi, and the Yellow Scarves Gang. Three close friends, and three factions competing for position in Ikebukuro. What ensues in the final arc of Durarara!! is a tale of revelations, betrayal and conflict, and pulling the strings behind it all is master manipulator Izaya Orihara.


The story concludes in seven episodes, and it's all topped off with the final bonus episode.

Disc 1
18. Out of Your Control
19. Anarchy
20. A New King Will Arise
21. Everything Covered in Fog

Disc 2
22. Declaration of Disbandment
23. Complicated and Confused
24. Selfless Devotion
25. World at Peace

Picture

Durarara!! gets a 1.78:1 anamorphic PAL transfer with the requisite 4% speedup. The image is clear and sharp throughout, free of any obvious compression, and brings the show's fantastic animation and art design out to good effect. The character designs are very special in this show, while the style offers realism with a fantastic twist that really works well for the story. The animation comes across very smoothly and fluidly on these discs, and there are only the faintest signs of aliasing and shimmer, indicative of a smidge of edge enhancement. Just as in the previous volume, you'll really only notice it if you deliberately look for it.

Sound

You have the choice between DD 2.0 English and Japanese stereo, with optional translated subtitles for the Japanese audio, and a signs only track for the English. I love the Japanese track, as that's the way I first saw the show. But the English dub has been well worth waiting for, as the translators know that they have a special property on their hands, and the actors do their characters full justice. Durarara!! is one show that you can happily watch in either language and get an equivalent experience with both. The show gets some very quirky incidental music, little off tempo riffs and whimsical melodies that counterpoint the drama, and heighten the show's absurdity. The show also gets some absolutely ripping theme songs and you'll never skip a credit sequence. Just as in the previous volume, there are no issues at all with the subtitles.

Extras

Durarara!! Part 3 gets a card slip cover with the indecently large Australian ratings logo on the front and back, which somehow fails to obscure some very nice artwork at the front, and the blurb at the back.

This does mean though that the Amaray case is free to showcase the show's artwork without blemish. It's a transparent case, and the inside sleeve has more art, as well as an episode listing. One disc is held on a central hinged panel, while the other is on the back pane of the case.

The episodes and language options are accessible from a slightly animated menu on each disc. This collection has trailers on disc 2 for Genius Party, Tatami Galaxy, and Welcome to Irabu's Office, otherwise there are no extras.

Conclusion

Of course I'm not going to tell you what happens in the conclusion of Durarara!! With a show as dependent on its narrative as this, spoiling it is tantamount to a crime. But it does deliver a conclusion worthy of its set up, bringing the stories of its three young protagonists to a satisfactory climax, tying up loose ends and making sure enough attention is given to what happens after, to provide sufficient closure to the series. Durarara!! is one of the better anime shows to come out in recent years. Its characterisations and its few tropes are familiar enough to appeal to the anime mainstream, but the way that its narrative is structured, the way that its plot threads interweave is a lot more complex than the average anime. The story that it tells, despite its supernatural overtones and more ridiculous excesses, boils down to a very human, character based drama, and it's the sort of story that few anime attempt these days. In this respect, it's even more accessible than its predecessor Baccano!, another Ryohgo Narita adaptation which has garnered great critical acclaim.


The series proper is followed by the second DVD only bonus episode, which I watched for the first time on this DVD release, although checking now I see that it is up on Crunchyroll as well. After the heaviness of the series conclusion, it's a much needed dose of levity as the story returns to the more ridiculous aspects of Durarara!! and life in its oddball vision of Ikebukuro. Shizuo Heiwajima's kid brother is a famous movie star, with the stage name of Yuhei Hanajima. He's in Ikebukuro fronting a live TV programme to find the town's most perfect in-love couple. At the same time someone has made a threat on his life, so big brother is hovering discreetly on the outskirts trying to keep Yuhei safe. But he has more trouble with Izaya Orihara's younger twin sisters, who are serious Yuhei fangirls. At the same time, Mikado and Anri are out together to watch a movie... but it's not a date... although it could be... but it's not... Of course in a situation like this Izaya can't resist needling Shizuo. On this day, what starts as a romantic reality show will shift through more than one genre as Ikebukuro's more infamous residents make their appearances.


I have to say that this was the perfect note to end the series on, and I loved every second of this final episode. If there are a few nits to pick with Durarara!!, it's that it is pretty open-ended as a series, and of all the characters and potential stories to be told, the series focuses on Mikado, Anri and Kida. The thing is that it also drops more than a few storylines into the mix which aren't satisfactorily concluded in the series, and it introduces a few characters which never really get developed well enough. One rather specific, supernatural storyline doesn't get a conclusion here, although you could say that it gets a happy ending, while characters like Shingen Kishitani and Kinnosuke Kuzuhara get the sort of introductions that portend great and epic storylines, which never really develop. Durarara!! is adapted from a series of light novels, and this series only adapts a fraction of those. There's a lot more story to tell, but unlike Baccano! which is a similar adaptation, Durarara!!'s conclusion is a lot more open-ended. You probably won't be satisfied with just these 26 episodes.


Recently however, just like rumours of headless bikers, supernatural slashers and colourless gangs, more whispers have been uttered on the Interwebs about a possible second season of Durarara!!, although it's probably more wishful thinking on my part. One thing is clear though, Ikebukuro has a cornucopia of stories left to be told, and more Durarara!! anime would be the perfect way in which to tell them.


Rumours and whispers. Rumours lie at the heart of Durarara!!, and rumours surround it as well. They say that dub version of Durarara!! will come to the UK. They also say that there will potentially be a US release of the Durarara!! Blu-ray, which is currently selling in Japan. If you have the patience to subsist on rumours, you're a stronger fan than I. If on the other hand you are a 'bird in the hand' person, then this Australian release of the show, despite the less impressive first part, is a very attractive option. If your wallet is fat enough, you may just consider the Japanese Blu-ray with its English dub and subtitles, a more enticing proposition. No matter which option you choose, this show is definitely worth it.