My new hobby is stepping on girls' cell phones.

"Durarara!!" was a series that I had pretty much no interest in until about a week ago. One of my friends came back from college and she, Mclovin, Suri, and I decided to go hang out. We hit a few bookstores and comic shops before grabbing some food and heading back to her place. And then she and McLovin started talking about "Durarara!!" and decided we should watch some of it when we got back.

Now, my friends know me. Explaining the plot of a series is not a good way to get me interested in something. In fact, it often makes me care less. That's what happened with Haruhi and Soul Eater. They have learned the trick of picking one or two things about the series that might interest me, and telling me about those. And as far as this went, theypicked the two best examples they could -- a headless woman on a motorcycle and a guy in a bartender's uniform.

And let me tell you, Celty and Shizuo quickly became two of my favorite characters in this series.



But to be honest, and this rarely happens, I am in love with every single member of this cast without exception. (Some much more than others. Celty and shinra are my favorites. But we all know I'm a total sap.) All of the characters are quirky and strange and really well thought out. The way one segment of plot moves into the next is great, and I love how even incidental characters always come back. Because we all know how much I love incidental characters. Other favorites are Walker and Erika, the ridiculous otaku pair (who refference other series frequently, and sometimes break the 4th wall), Simon the crazy black russian guy, and of course Izaya. Everyone loves a good villain after all.



The first arc of plot is my favorite, probably because it had a lot of Celty, but I also just absolutely adored the way it ended. I was still watching with my friends at that point and the four of us just errupted in excited noises and laughter and it was just beautiful. I was alone watching most of the second plot arc, but it was really just as awesome. I'm not quie as fond of how things are progressing right now but I'm hoping it will turn around again.

"Durarara!!" is this amazing blend of serious, dark, hilarious, and lighthearted, and it comes together in a way that I wasn't totally sure was possible. though all of us stand by the fact that this series is, essentially, "4chan: The Anime", but really that only makes it better.

It's got a 24 episode run, so we've only got a few left before it's over. I'm tempted to postpone watching 21, wait for the last few episodes, and then marathon the whole series.