Durarara

This show has the potential to be a classic. But...

It took them three loosely connected episodes to get to the point of the series, and this is a Winter series, so it's likely to only be 12 or 13 episodes long. So as fascinating as the storyline might be so far, my worry is whether they'll have enough episodes to tell all (or even most) of the story threads they've started. This could easily be a disappointing series ending in a tangled web of loose ends.

EDIT (March 19 2010): They pulled it off. This is by far the best series of the Winter 2010 season.

The storyline looks like it'll be full of surprises even if they don't manage to wrap them up properly. The opener starts off like it's for a motorcycle anime, but that's a complete red-herring. In just three episodes, it has evolved from a school-life story about a small-town boy who comes to the big city to change his life to a story of a strange super-powered fighter for justice to an urban fantasy where the conflicts of humans and spirit beings interact.

Through-out this seemingly chaotic jumble, the common thread is Ryugamine Mikado, the small-town boy who moves to the Ikebukuro section of Tokyo to live on his own and enroll in high school there. His point of view and those of his classmates are the glue that holds the series (so far) together. To be honest, the high schoolers are showing as fairly stereotypical characters: the shy, loser transfer student, the shy girl class-rep, the dumb-ass sidekick. But the characters aren't pure stereotypes. The one-line description doesn't do justice to the interactions the characters have with each other, which are as quirky as the storyline. Plus, there are are some exceptions to the rule, or does the girl who wanted to commit suicide but changed her mind count as a stereotype nowadays?

But the stereotypical high-schoolers are the viewers' oasis of familiarity in Ikebukuro. Humans aren't the only creatures who come to the big city to change their lives, and Ikebukuro seems to be a gathering place as well as an S-class battleground for spirit beings with their own agendas and rivalries. This is on top of the criminal gangs and other complexities of urban life facing teenagers as they grow up. The interweaving of the setting, the human and non-human characters is the high point of the series so far.

I love the animation style on this show too. It's a bit more impressionistic and stylized than the most realistically drawn anime, but the style isn't distracting. It also serves to accentuate the setting, with just enough skewed lines and other jarring elements to remind us that we are in a big, chaotic city full of life. The music also helps the series setting along more than usual too, with the same eclectic variety you can hear in a big city. After the rockin' opening theme, the incidental music can range from piano (first day of school) to accordion (a Russian encounter), to more typical synthesizer tones. This isn't just music to ignore, but it doesn't intrude, either.

All in all, this looks like the smartest new series in the Winter 2010 lineup. Whether it ends up as being the best will depend on where the story ends up.

(Edit 10 April 2010) - Well, it turns out this isn't a short-season anime, so I can't call it a "best ever" short season anime. But the good news is that means there are even more episodes to enjoy. Apart from that, this is still a classy, witty series. The multiple story lines interweave in complex patterns, the characters are multi-dimensional, and the stereotypes are not what they seem at first, and the sound and video craftsmanship are superb. The more I watch this series, the more I appreciate its combination of subtlety, action and mystery.

Durarara!, is one of the best anime I have seen so far, I love it!
So I know people don't want to watch three episodes to get to the real thing, but trust me everything after that is awesome. This anime has many mystery's and it's own unique characters and the characters personalty, like quite and mysterious, Shy and intelligent, always happy and out there. Of course there's more but carrying on.
The story is basically about a boy who wants to have an exciting life and moves to a place called Ikebukuro where his friend lives, and on the first day he arrives he see's the legendary Black Rider (I think that's what it was called, sorry I can't remember).
I loved everything about this anime, it was very good. I recommend this to people who like mystery's with some action in it and maybe a little creepy but that's my opinion. Anyway over all this is a great anime.
Go Durarara!!! xD

Durarara is hands down, one of the best Anime I've seen. I usually don't like something with such a slower pace. However, I was riveted to every episode of this series. I even purchased the Aniplex USA Blu-Ray I liked it that much.
I actually was sad that I didn't get a follow up with the open plot lines left off at the end. All of the songs for the series were great. There's not anything about this series that I hate. It's odd, it's quirky, and sometimes fills you with a whole not of WTF moments, but in a very good way.
It's hard to even pin down the plot, it goes off in so many directions with excellent character development, that you can't even say that it's centered on any ONE character. Just the character interactions and the location of the characters are the only thing central in the series.
Honestly, if I could show people in the states what our TV shows are lacking in the US, I would show Durarara.

This is a brilliant anime with good animation, unbelievably fun characters with intriguing and unique relationship, as well as a bundle of strange concepts and ideas with a quirky storyline to keep it all together, As much as I praise it I do feel like a lot of these great ideas are left unexplored by the end of the series though, like the climax doesn't quite cover it or that we aren't really done with this story yet. I do think that that is how this series is supposed to be and regardless of my few complaints, Durarara!! remains a must-watch! If you love supernatural, city life, action, delirium, and almost anything else anime has to offer, then
YOU WILL DEFINITELY ENJOY THIS SERIES!

If you're looking for an addictive anime this is it. This show introduces us to a variety of characters and personality types while conveying a wonderful plot through multiple perspectives and scenarios. It can be serious but still has comic relief that's not super over the top. It starts off a little slower but it's worth it. This anime is like a beautiful work of art- it flows perfectly- one of the best I've seen in a while.

Durarara is the type of anime that's extremely hard to tell how amazing and unique the show is, and is something that must be watched to fully understand the true beauty of this anime. It's from the creators of Baccano, so there's already a guarantee on the cover that this anime will be fantastic! However there are a few flaws which does not bring Durarara up to the height of the brilliance produced by Baccano. For example, unlike Baccano where the story was perfectly concluded, Durarara failed to complete every story arc and left many endings unfinished and to a perfectionist like me, that was very annoying.

The characters just like in Baccano were extremely detailed, well presented and very, very interesting. Especially Shizuo Heywagime! Seriously, this guy MADE the entire anime, with every moment he appears on screen being absolutely freakin' badass!! The fact that Durarara tries to be as realistic as possible and brought a character that throws road signs and vending machines, just added to it's epicness!! It's also really fun to see Shizuo's conflict with Izaya Orihara! I can't say much about Izaya other than he's and information broker and his behaviour resembles the joker from The Dark Knight. Oh and did I mention, there's an urban legend that rides the city of Ikebokuro with a missing head. However, the creators of Durarara show this legend named Celty in a very real, mature and interesting way.

Another factor that must be explained is how addicting this show is! Expect to stay up late at night watching episode after episode, forgetting how to eat, live or sleep!
The animation is also, B-E-A-utiful!
Overall: Addictive, fun, great characters and a brilliant plot! This anime is a must watch to anyone who has seen Baccano or just looking for some fun!

Everything you would expect from Ryohgo Narita, those familiar with "Baccano!" will certainly get the same Buzz as you would expect.

I started watching the 1st couple of episodes when it was released and was ment to pick it back up, once i did got hooked on the interesting character development and the dynamic change of perspectives you really do get a taste of a fantasy ikebukuro.

After watching this been asking constantly thinking about curent relationships and how beautiful piece of work is, really do hope another season is made as there are currently lot of fresh material from the Light novel.