Mysterious adventures in Ikebukuro, the Durarara FC

[CeriaHalcyon]

By the creators of Baccano, i present to you Durarara

Spoiler!

Durarara!! (デュラララ!!, Dyurarara!!?) is a Japanese light novel series written by Ryohgo Narita, with illustrations by Suzuhito Yasuda. As of July 2009, six volumes have been published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imprint. A manga adaptation by Akiyo Satorigi started serialization in the shōnen manga magazine Monthly GFantasy on April 18, 2009. An anime adaptation began airing in Japan in January 2010.[1] The series is about a Dullahan working as an underworld courier in Ikebukuro, an internet-based anonymous gang called Dollars, and the chaos that unfolds around the most dangerous people in Ikebukuro.

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Ryuugamine Mikado is a boy who longs for the exciting life of the big city. At the invitation of his childhood friend Masaomi, he transfers to a school in Ikebukuro. Masaomi has warned him about people he doesn't want to cross in the city: a champion fighter, an informant, and a mysterious gang called "Darazu." Nervous from Masaomi's stories, Mikado witnesses an urban legend on his first day in the city, the Headless Rider astride a black motorcycle. From then on, the existence of supernatural cases and a gang called the Yellow Turbans will rise to the surface, and Ikebukuro will pushed to the breaking point.

Spoiler!

Certy Sturluson (セルティ・ストゥルルソン, Seruti Sutururuson?)
Also known as "The Black Rider" or "The Headless Rider", she is a Dullahan from Ireland who came to Japan looking for her stolen head. Her motorcycle is actually a horse in disguise. She has no heart and perceives via unknown censors that are not located on the head. The physical strength she possesses is above human, though not quite on par with Shizuo Heiwajima. She is also capable of manipulating a shadow-like, durable substance to form objects ranging from gloves to chariots at her will.
Certy lives with Shinra Kishitani and works as an underground porter. She wears a helmet when she goes out and communicates via a PDA. She enjoys online chatting, television and DVDs.
Her online chat screenname is "Setton".

Mikado Ryūgamine (竜ヶ峰 帝人, Ryūgamine Mikado?)
Voiced by: Toshiyuki Toyonaga
Mikado Ryūgamine is a high school boy who moved to Ikebukuro in search of unusual beings and adventure.
His online chat screenname is "Tanaka Taro".

Masaomi Kida (紀田 正臣, Kida Masaomi?)
Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano
A resident of Ikebukuro and Mikado Ryūgamine's best friend from childhood. He encouraged Mikado to come to Ikebukuro. He is enthusiastic about picking up girls but more often than not fails at it.

Anri Sonohara (園原 杏里, Sonohara Anri?)
Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa
A bespectacled girl who attends the same school as Mikado and Masaomi.
Her online chat screenname is "Saika".

Izaya Orihara (折原 臨也, Orihara Izaya?)
Voiced by: Hiroshi Kamiya
A young man who sells information for his own enjoyment. He claims to love the entire human race except for Shizuo Heiwajima, and exhibits said love by putting humans in often miserable conditions and observing their reactions.
He attended Raira Academy with Shizuo, Shinra and Kadota. According to Shinra, Izaya and Shizuo hated each other with a passion almost from the point they met. In the novels Izaya framed Shizuo for crimes on several occasions.
He is a master of parkour, and also quite skilled with his switchblade as he is implied to be the only one capable of leaving numerous cuts in Shizuo's bartender suit after a fight in the novels. In the anime, he shaves a gang member's head bald without him noticing it. Izaya has two younger sisters, Mairu and Kururi, who are twins and troublemakers.
His name comes from a combination of the biblical Isaiah and Japanese for "the one who looks over the crowd".
He is usually seen pretending to be female online and talks in a feminine manner in the chatroom. His screenname is "Kanra".

Shizuo Heiwajima (平和島 静雄, Heiwajima Shizuo?)
Voiced by: Daisuke Ono
A man who is always seen to wear sunglasses and a bartender's suit. Although quiet and nondescript while not angered, he has a very short fuse and fights with incredible strength. Despite his simple and unrefined fighting skills, he is often considered the strongest fighter in the series. In the novels his power is described as the naturally unlimited form of human strength and likened to "adrenaline power" that can give people superhuman strength in times of emergency. In addition, Shizuo is capable of often superhuman parkour moves, a skill he obtained naturally from years of hunting down Izaya Orihara.
He works as a debt collector in Ikebukuro and carries intense animosity towards Izaya. He has a younger brother, Kasuka, who is a top idol under the showbiz name of Hanejima Yuuhei. He is also a long-time acquaintance of Certy.
His first and last name translates literally into "serene man" and "peaceful island" respectively.

Shinra Kishitani (岸谷 新羅, Kishitani Shinra?)
Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama
A young underground doctor who lives with Certy and is also her lover. He stays mostly indoors and wears a white coat even when not working as a doctor.

Simon Brezhnev (サイモン・ブレジネフ?)
Voiced by: Takaya Kuroda
A tall Russian of African American descent who came to the city to help out his Russian friend who runs a sushi shop. His real name is Samia but everyone just calls him by the name, "Simon". Even though he is a friendly person, it has been shown that he is a force to be reckoned with as he is able to stop a fight with a man his size with just a single arm and also able to fight on par with Shizuo, who is one of the most feared men in Ikeburero.

*taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durarara

For some reason, and i'm not sure why, there is no mentioning of Erika and Walker here, (the two in the banner along with the spice and wolf diorama)
I will continue searching or just fill it in as the series progresses and we learn more about them.

Spoiler!

Ceria
Vice owner: Spartan27
Vice owner #2: Jinxie
Spacecat
Uchiha Madara
mTaichou
Bartitsu
Ninholic
Ciel
Bernkastel
Skorpz
MiraofAzureSky
Coffee_Jello
Dramafreak
Shounen
marco
Jinxie
Glaringdream
wiahwib
Sakuramiko16
ipikachu
Frozen
demoneyeskyo87
aki-kaze
Shinai
candy-rukia
feline

Spoiler!

Durarara can be viewed online here:

http://anime-media.com/category/durarara/
http://www.onemanga.com/Durarara/

http://mangahut.com/manga/m=g3Qw/durarara__

The OP is Uragiri no Yuuyake by THEATRE BROOK
Download here(video)

The ED is Trust Me by Matsushita Yuuya
Download here(video)
Trust Me(mp3)

(both were found here: http://metanorn.kokidokom.net/2010/01/durarara-01/ )

For HQ screenshots of the first episode click here:
http://randomc.animeblogger.net/2010/01/07/durarara-01/
section banners were created using screenshots from the first episode provided at the site above!

By waterylt from DA

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by laphy from DA

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By pinwheelof from DA

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by uzausa from DA

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by natsumi33 from DA

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same artist

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by shinashinju from DA

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Notes:
There will be 24 episodes of Durarara, unlike baccano's 12 Thanks Jinxie

I have also opened a branch at NF, if you're ever in the neighborhood, check it out:
http://forums.narutofan.com/showthread.php?t=589126


Rules:
1. Have fun exploring the crazy world that is Durarara
2. all other rules apply to that one
1a. ALL MEMBERS ARE OFFICIAL, so please don't use terms like unofficial, it's irritating

*all banners made by me (aside from artwork, but editing was mine)

[spacecat]

Join me please, I've been a fan for a while =D Fav is probs Izaya.

[Uchiha Madara]

Here's FC lol.

Joinage, series looks good so far.

[mTaichou]

Joinage! I love Kida and Shizuo.

[CeriaHalcyon]

Welcome to the new members

My favorite is Shizuo

[Bartitsu]

Is the third episode out yet? I'm waiting for this anime to tell us what the fuck it is about...

May I join?

[CeriaHalcyon]

Yes, the third episode is out already, and I think it's about all the mysterious people in Ikebukuro.

welcome by the way!

[Spartan27]

Ceria, you should have just put me in the members section from the start, since you know I would join in a heartbeat.

[CeriaHalcyon]

Ceria, you should have just put me in the members section from the start, since you know I would join in a heartbeat.

Yeah i know that's true, sorry i didn't do it automatically.

Well I'm already hooked, I've always loved these types of shows. Baccano! is the first thing that you think of when comparing it to something else, but it also reminds me of the Guy Ritchie films like Snatch, and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels.

The story started off fairly slow with Baccano! as well, but I have enough faith in its writers, that everything will start to come together. I like that it has the same sense of fantasy with Shizuo throwing vending machines and punching people literally out of their clothes, sort of like Ladd or Rail Tracer in Baccano!.

Good characters.

In the first episode when the vending machine goes flying and then someone is running with it across a street i busted out laughing, it was just like Rail Tracer, and the headless motorcycle shinigami is no different from that. and then there's Erika and Walker who are just as zany as Issac and Miria

and then the african american whose russian and working for a sushi restaurant run by russians is just too much

This series will gradually grow just like baccano did.

[Spartan27]

Walker and Erika are in the same vein as Miria and Issac, but really no one will ever approach the greatness that is the miria and Issac partnership. To me they are the funniest couple I have ever seen in anime, as well as one of the most lovable. I really do like Erika I might get a small crush on her, since she has a sort of plainess yet is very attractive with her faces, IDK there's just something about her that I'm really attracted to.