~Opening~

Well I said I would do it and here it is, a review for the Durarara anime.

~Opening Theme~

I was really drawn in by the theme and I instantly realized who did the animation for it. Turns out the manga was written by the same person as Baccano! which really explains a lot. The music is catchy, one of those anime openings I'll get stuck in my head for awhile and it follows the same "introduce every character in the opening cause there's a lot" structure to the imagery.

~Story~

Essentially, it follows the same story as the manga with a few changes in the character appearances.

~Review~

After I totally trashed then went back and second-guessed my review on the manga, I was surprised when the anime turned out to be really good. The animation is awesome (far from the manga's art) and the action is good. The voice acting could be better but it's not bad (kinda happy that one of the best characters doesn't talk). Honestly it reminds me of the chaos and insanity of Baccano with an equal amount of acceptable comedy (I nearly died laughing when a gang member was punched in the face so hard he flew backwards and spun out of his clothes). The story is equally as hard to follow as the manga, but it seems that the less you know, the more enjoyable it is. It's a good combination of insanity mixed with a dash of mystery. I would have to say that so far, this is the anime to watch this winter season (but it is a slow winter season for anime).
Overall I'd give it:

Animation: 19
Voice Acting: 16
Characters: 20
Story: 18

Overall: 73 (Definatly a watch if you have the time)


Lu~kun!

~Opening~

Honestly, I jumped the gun a bit when I reviewed this yesterday and I'm noticing now that it's not bad.

~Story~

A youth who yearns for an un-mundane life, a hoodlum, a stalker denpa-girl, a young man who deals in information ‘for fun’, a black-market doctor, a high-schooler obsessed with magic, as well as a ‘headless rider’ riding a bike painted black. These unusual people begin a series of abnormal stories that never fail to create headaches. But, although their personalities are all twisted— they still talk about love. (ripped from one manga, I didn't think it was good enough to try and explain myself at first)

~Review~

Okay so the art is not that great, not that it's awful but nothing stands out. The limited use of grays in between black and white, as well as the huge amount of negative space leave the eye wandering a bit and it makes it hard to focus on the dialogue which is the same color as everything else. The characters, however are interesting and really hard to understand their personalities/train of thought. If there is one thing I enjoy, that's insanity and confusion which is included into the story frequently.
As for the story, it's pretty painful to get into and extremely odd once you do. Oh and when I find a clear cut answer to the question "What is Durarara about?" I'll tell you. Though I mus say the originality in this series is good. It's not your average Shonen, fight the baddies, manga. Much like Baccano, the line between good and evil is blurred constantly.
Overall I'd say:

Story: 15
Art: 10
Dialogue: 15
Originality: 25
Overall: 65 (Okay)

The weirdest thing the anime is actually pretty good. Maybe i'll do a separate review of that later.

~Lu-kun