Last week on Durarara!!, Mikado utilized the Dollars to back Namie into a corner. At the same time, Celty went seemingly berserk and unveiled herself to the city. This week concludes the night’s festivities, as well as the first arc of the series. Will Mikado die? Will Celty get her head back? Will the Hatfields and McCoys end their feud? Read on to find out!
Dude is a deer in the fricken headlights!
The episode starts where last week ended, with Seiji about ready to kill Mikado. Celty interferes and almost decapitates the kid when Mika jumps in the middle. She admits that Seiji almost killed her, but Namie saved her and persuaded her to undergo plastic surgery. Celty realizes the only Shinra could have done this, and rides off to confront him. He admits to her that he kept the head a secret because he feared she would leave or disappear. However, Celty just fears a loss of control over her own life, and has no plans to leave. The two awkwardly embrace, and the scene shifts back to Izaya. He tells Mikado that he must keep evolving to obtain the extraordinary life he desires. Business returns to normal in the city. Seiji and Mika become a couple, at least for a while. Celty finally feels a sense of fulfillment with her life. Mikado takes Izaya’s words to heart, and finally makes a move on Anri. As for Izaya himself, we already knew he played a role in manipulating events. We finally see exactly what he wants. He desires the afterlife, and believes Celty can fulfill his wish.
This is MADNESS!
Celty and Shinra enthusiasts can rejoice because it seems the two have finally formed a couple. However, it also might leave some scratching their heads. Shinra really isn’t all that special by any stretch of the imagination, and many probably seem him as a dirtbag. Instead of looking at their sheer compatibility, think about the level of comfort they share with each other. In this world, some marriages last ten years, others five, and still others self-destruct in the hangar before they can ever go anywhere. These two have lived together for twenty years, and in some ways that’s special. We like to think about childhood friends growing up and falling in love, and I think the pair fit right into that niche. Does that mean they can live happily ever after? Unfortunately, no. Time and circumstances can change in an instant, and you can even see couples that have lived their whole lives together breaking up at death’s door. What they have now is enough for now, but given the nature of their lives, I might say they will never obtain a true happy ending.
You know what? You're still creepy, Shinra.
Izaya’s conversation with Namie ties us into the next arc. Well, it’s really more of a soliloquy with Namie attending so he doesn’t blatantly talk to the audience. He believes that Celty roughly correlates to the Norse Valkyries who take brave warriors to the afterlife. If that truly is Celty’s purpose, then Izaya needs to brew a war. His profession as an information broker and a member of the Dollars puts him in the unique position to build a war. All it takes is a little information gathering with a spread of misinformation to set two sides against each other. You might look at the history of Ikebukuro and conclude Izaya needs to resurrect the gangs. Two gangs fighting over turf can potentially build a solid body count, and involving the police can escalate the conflict and cause a three-sided war. With so many people in the Dollars already, he could potentially pull this stunt with just one other gang. The preview for the next episode implies he might use the Yellow Scarves. Alternatively, he might try to set the Dollars against each other by spreading internal strife. He could even do both to magnify the effect. Whichever method he chooses, it will take some time to set his plans into motion. He takes control of Celty’s head and invites Namie to join the Dollars so she can monitor the group.
It takes a special crazy to think you can manipulate Death.
Oh, those Hatfields and McCoys? Their feud ended in 1891. On the other hand, Shizuo still wants to wring Izaya’s neck. At the same time, they’re both members of the Dollars. The Internet allows for a great deal of anonymity that desynchronizes a person’s true persona from the way he presents himself online. I wonder if they might be friends online through the Dollars’ website. Wouldn’t that plot thread and its eventual resolution be a giant kick in the pants?
Until then, Shizuo has a sign with Izaya's name on it.
I have to agree, he still is really creepy!
I really loved the scene when Selty was on her bike, hands stretched wide, just… content. She’s accepted who she is. The Celtic-sounding music in the background added a lot to that scene.
Her confrontation with Shinra was sweet as well. Too bad they’ll never be able to kiss. There is a bit of a creepiness in that she knew him when he was just a child, but still, they make a really sweet couple.
Having a huge background on mythologies and played through Valkyrie Profile thrice, I have something against Izaya’s belief that Celty’s a kind of Irish valkyrie. For one thing, Valkyries choose the souls of the fallen/those about to die to become the heroes, where in the Dullahan case (as far as I’ve seen in DRRR) is that she goes on these “errands” of hers and throws a basin of blood on those who see her…something not even close to taking in the soul of a hero for this “war” Izaya is talking about.
Another thing is that the Valkyries choose the Einherjar (the heroes chosen) for the upcoming Ragnarok and, seeing the state of Ikebukuro, unless it’s some quasi-The World Ends With You scenario then I really can’t see any upcoming wars at all. Besides, seeing the state of the Dollars with Mikado’s intention of making it go towards the volunteering path, and encompassing most of Ikebukuro people who actually do these volunteering work, I doubt there’s gonna be some huge scale gang war.
..that is, unless Izaya brews up an internal conflict with the rowdy people of the Dollars who’ll break off as new color gangs..and that’s plus Mikado’s side of the Dollars, and then drag in the police as you said, then yes it’s gonna be a bloody conflict. O: O: O: The only good thing is that we can see more of Shizuo going crazy in such a war, and some unveiling in Kida’s history..x33
But yes, awesome episode. Celty was cute when she was bracing for Shinra’s punch. x33 I almost died of fangasm. xDD Sad that it looks like an arc stopper and that they’re putting it on hold for a while..are they?
Yeah, I do know a little about Norse mythology, and there’s definitely something wrong with Izaya’s parallels for Celty. He’s probably going to be in for a rude awakening if his plans bear any fruit. ^_^;
He’d probably get a biatch-slap from Celty’s foot like what she did to that random dude in episode 10 xDD
But anyways, yeah..so, since it’s such a major arc ender, does that mean the DRRR project is on hold right now?
Nope, it’s supposed to continue straight through the Spring season to my knowledge.
The humanity of this episode was astounding, with the exception of the ever-detestable situation of Seiji. I only hope that by the end, he’ll realize and be grateful for Namie.
It doesn’t seem like Selty will /ever/ get her head back, but honestly, that kind of Purgatory seems to be all right with her, as long as she has a purpose in life. I for one am satisfied with that un-resolution.
“Mikado takes Izaya’s words to heart, and finally makes a move on Anri. ”
It’s kind of funny to think of Izaya as cupid. He also ‘helped Mikado out’, by pointing out that Mikado was trying to protect Anri from bullying (ep 3, I think).
The funny thing with Izaya is I don’t know if I should believe a damned thing he says; so it is tempting to think he is serious about the valkyries, but for all I know that was BS designed to misinform Namie about his intentions for the head.