#durarara character analysis

[ayesakara]

I made another Durarara video! This one took 9 days from scripting to voiceover to clipping everything together. And I had so much fun! Vidding is so much fun! 🥰

It's over 12 minutes long, but then it's a whole character analysis of why Shizuo Heiwajima and Izaya Orihara ended how they began: as mortal enemies.

It's not Shizaya-friendly, but then I guess that automatically makes it Shizuo-friendly. Because... you know... Shizaya is bad, bad, bad for my darling boy Shizuo Heiwajima. 🤣

[autumnmobile12]

Endeavor: Physical Strength vs Emotional Strength

Or The Total Mess that is the Todoroki House.

*Note:  The following is not a defense of Endeavor nor is it excusing his actions.  It is a deep-dive analysis into the complexities and nuances of his behavior and how it affected his life and everyone else in that family based on observations I’ve made throughout the series. There are also comparisons with other objectively violent characters from other series.

Trigger Warning for domestic and child abuse.

...

We're gonna start out by looking at what happened to his character over the available time frame. Endeavor did not start out as a violent person to his family. We can see that in the flashbacks of the family's early days.

Starting here, note that he’s not cold toward Rei in this scene.  The way they’re walking around out here in the garden gives the impression that negotiations between him and Rei’s family are going well so far, but they’re out walking and talking in private just to make sure this arrangement is going to work and making sure further negotiation isn’t going to be a waste of everyone’s time.  I say this because if he was dead set on ice powers for this Quirk marriage, Rei probably wasn’t the only option.

It's also important to remember Rei did choose this. She chose for her family rather than herself, but it wasn't her parents' end all be all decision. (And maybe there was familial pressure on her side, but it's not explicitly stated in canon so exactly how much free will Rei actually had is up for interpretation.)

However what I think shows here is they weren’t really talking all that much. Specifically, he is not ‘talking down to her.’  He is not treating her with any particular disrespect or putting her down as inferior.   He doesn’t have the arrogance he later exhibits. This also isn’t him being aloof and ignoring her either.  Look at his face, specifically his eyes.  That is the same blank, deer in the headlights, “I have one brain cell dinging around in my head that is struggling to find a way to interact with people,” stare he shares with Shouto.

He has no idea what to say to her. 

So finally, Rei turns off to the side to admire the garden, and he asks, “Do you like the flowers?”  It’s a small thing, but it does show that in some capacity, he did show some interest in Rei and making her happy.  He’s just stupidly awkward about it at this point. (Even if his ultimate goal was…well, we’ll get into that.)

But this trait of never knowing what to say is a massive defining part of Endeavor’s character that has manifested in a myriad of disastrous ways throughout his entire arc.

Now I don’t think there’s enough shown about Endeavor and Rei’s relationship that we can conclusively say they ever loved each other at any point, but I do think they were, at the very least, cordial in the beginning.  They got along, they loved their children, and that in their minds was good enough for them. If you look at the scenes that are Touya and Fuyumi's early childhood, the family seems content. There's no sign of the abuse we see later.

The other big indicator that Endeavor was not originally a violent person to his family is the two very different ways he approaches training with Touya and Shouto. His motive for training them hasn't changed, but compared to the warmth and pride extended toward Touya we see in the above picture, Shouto’s experience with training in the second screenshot is harrowing and traumatic.

So why the difference?

A big reason is it has to do with age.  When Rei defends Shouto, telling her husband that, “He’s only five!” and Endeavor is still pushing their son to achieve the standards of an older child, yes, this does show his impatience. However, the other unspoken sentiment here is he himself is not getting any younger.  When Touya was born, Endeavor was twenty-two and had his whole life, career, and all his hopes with it ahead of him.  His kid has a greater Quirk than his, his legacy is secure, nothing to worry about.  But then they learn about the genetic issue with Touya’s Quirk.  He can’t use his fire safely, he’ll never be able to use it safely, and he will never be a hero in the way Endeavor can.

Touya:  Failure

Fuyumi:  Failure

Natsuo:  Failure

Shouto was probably viewed as his last chance.  Endeavor was getting older and running out of time.  If Shouto didn’t work out, then this legacy was dead in the water. At least, I hope Shouto was the last chance, otherwise he might've tried getting another kid out of Rei, divorced Rei and married someone else for the same reason, or attempted securing his successor through a grandchild.

Which is some freaky medieval way of thinking.

Anyone else getting Henry VIII vibes here?

Remember what I said about him never knowing what to say? The most obvious example of this is his complete and total inability to control the situation with Touya.

The tragedy of both Touya and Fuyumi's characters is they are the only two kids in the house who remember the happier childhood, and they both cling to that in their own way. It's why Fuyumi is so determined to 'fix things.' She's trying to regain the family they lost. For Natsuo and Shouto, things have always been bad in the house, hence why Natsuo bailed as soon as he could.

Then we have Touya. His flashbacks start with him at a toddler age. It is very common and normal for a child that young to prefer one parent over the other, but usually it's the parent they're most familiar with: The one that stays home with and takes care of them. Remember, to a toddler, everything is new and potentially scary, and that can also include a parent that is not always present: The parent that's working. In the Todoroki house, Endeavor has his career as a hero, so we have the indication that Rei was the parent who stayed home. In that situation, the probability of Rei being the 'familiar parent' was more likely, so for Touya to prefer his father over his mother shows just how close he was to Endeavor. Or because Fuyumi was the new baby and needed more attention, he could have gravitated away from Rei and gone to his father instead. He didn't see his father's ambitions for him. He didn't see that he was a successor as opposed to a son.

What he, through a child's innocence, saw and understood was that his father loved him and wanted to spend time with him.

Cue the genetic disparity of his Quirk: Where Endeavor failed as a parent was him never talking to Touya about what had happened. He didn't sit down with him and explain it wasn't safe for him to use his Quirk.

The My Hero world has a social problem of Quirks defining one's worth. It's not just the PLF's philosophy. Having no Quirk is viewed with pity and having a Quirk that can't be used could be viewed as a disability by this society, regardless of the fact it's completely possible to live a healthy life without having a Quirk. So Touya's 'issue' required compassion and understanding, especially from a parent. What Endeavor needed to say and what Touya needed to hear was, "This is a path that is blocked to you, it isn't your fault this happened, and I will love you regardless."

Instead, he just dropped him completely. (Given his character, I doubt he's even the one who broke the news to him.) In Touya's eyes, he didn't have the adult nuance to understand why he was being ignored; he just had the child innocence of, "I don't want to hang out with Mom and Fuyumi, I want to be with Dad. Why is he ignoring me? Why won't he train me anymore?"

What Touya learned from this is he only has value in his father's eyes as a hero. So he began training himself to be a hero because he was desperate to get that love and affection back. When Endeavor discovers the fact he's been training and burning himself, Touya never apologizes for disobeying him. He just repeatedly says variations of, "I can do this, then maybe you'll finally be proud of me."

Fuck, dude, just tell the poor kid you're already proud of him. That's all he needed to hear.

And Rei does call Touya out on this. She asks him, "Do you want to be a hero because you want to be a hero or are you doing this because it's what your father wants?"

In order words: "Are you doing this because you think it will make your father love you?"

And we come full circle to the 'death' of Touya where he realized, "I was never a son. I was a product."

...

Endeavor never addresses the problem going on under his roof. He handed the problem off to Rei. He didn't know what to say, he didn't know (and still doesn't) how to be a parent, and instead of confronting that lapse in his character, he instead made a coward's retreat back into the safe and familiar territory of being a hero.

This was the catalyst for his violence to his family.

Being a hero means fighting villains.

Fighting villains is often solving problems with violence.

Because he never knows what to say, he didn't know how to properly navigate a complex emotional situation, so he resorted to the only method he knew that worked:

Beat it into submission.

And since we have the previously mentioned signs they were once a happy, normal family, I have a feeling the violence began very suddenly and without warning.

...

To back this up, I'm gonna give a little personal insight here. I used to work in an orthopedic clinic and a lot of injuries that came through were hand injuries due to someone punching a wall out of anger/frustration.  You may think this is fine since they didn’t hit another person and only hurt themselves, but the issue with taking your aggression out on even an inanimate object is you are unwittingly training your brain to associate anger with violence and make it all the more likely for you to lash out violently against another person.

Throughout his career, Endeavor has conditioned himself into this same mindset of repeatedly forging and reinforcing the physical connection of violence with the mental/emotional connection of anger.

Look at this scene from Arcane.

If you haven't seen this series yet, 1.) Get on that. You're missing out. (Don't worry, there's not too many spoilers below.) and 2.) This is Vi and this screenshot is from a scene where she, in a moment of anger and grief, strikes her little sister hard enough in the face to knock her to the ground.

Look at the horror in her eyes when she realizes what she’s done.

Now before and after this moment, we see Vi undoubtedly loves her sister and would die for her. (Season 2 pending...) The first thing she does when they're reunited is hug her and tell her how sorry she is. But Vi has also been a fighter all her life. The sisters grew up in the rough part of town, they had to fight to survive, and they've experienced a violent atmosphere from a young age. We also see that when Vi gets frustrated or angry, she punches/slaps inanimate objects, so she too subconsciously associated violence with intense emotions, and in a moment of blind rage/grief, she failed to dissociate and she hurt her sister.

It wasn't a conscious decision, but it happened nonetheless.

What follows is she walks away from Powder. She doesn't go far, she just puts some distance between herself and her sister to calm down and process what's happened and hopefully find a way to move forward. Only, for unrelated reasons that don't pertain to this topic, she is apprehended by authorities and spends the next 6-7 years in prison, obsessing over her regrets and finding her way back to Powder.

She is never going to forgive herself for this.

I bring this scene up because as far as fiction is concerned, we as the audience do often excuse a character losing their temper and hitting a loved one once. What Vi did was not okay, but because it only happened that one time, nobody is labeling Vi as 'abusive.'

...

So consider the first time Endeavor hit Rei. We don't see it in canon, but with all the indicators of a relatively happy home, I believe that first act of violence was the culmination of these factors:

Endeavor's ongoing inferiority complex with All Might and the frustration in his inability to surpass him, and then projecting that frustration onto his family.

The career of solving problems with violence.

The subconscious association of anger with violence resulting from that career.

I'm also going to throw out the possibility of multiple head injuries incurred from his career playing a role. Traumatic brain injuries can and often do lead to behavioral changes where an individual has trouble managing emotional responses, experiences anxiety, has a shorter temper, etc.

Obviously, none of the above should be treated as excuses (not even the TBI possibility because there's therapy options for that), but they are potential contributors to the pivotal moment of frustration and impatience where Endeavor, like Vi, failed to dissociate and did something he couldn't take back.

Striking Rei is his tea kettle incident. Think back to the awkward moron who didn't have a clue what to say to her when they first met. That young man never thought he would do something like this. That first moment when he hit Rei, I really don't think it was a conscious decision and it may have taken him off guard as much as it did Rei. Like Vi, he probably acted out of blind anger and may have been just as horrified by what he'd done, and I can imagine Endeavor walking away from that to calm down and process that he crossed a line he thought he would never cross.

Unlike Vi, who was going to return to Powder after calming down so she could apologize, beg forgiveness, and move forward, Endeavor is an emotional coward who never knows what to say or how to confront a complex emotional hurtle. So he did the same thing he did with Touya: He retreated from the problem and pretended it didn't exist, and because it was never addressed and he was never held accountable, it only got worse. The lid was off and there was no getting it back on.

I'm not saying there was a definite chance he could have come back from that (that ball was in Rei's court as much as it was Powder's) but Endeavor had a choice:

He could have addressed what he'd done and made amends by submitting to whatever consequence Rei set down for him.

Or he could have rationalized his own twisted justifications for what he did.

He chose wrong.

For another comparison of the violence aspect, I’m also going to bring up Shizuo Heiwajima from Durarara!!, a character who I think flies off the handle far more frequently than Endeavor does.

If you haven't seen Durarara!!, same as above with Arcane.

The nuance of Shizuo is the intense rage he experiences, the violence that follows, and his own inner turmoil. He associates violence with anger, but these are traits that he fully recognizes as detrimental to himself and his personal relationships with other people. He has a temper, he gets violent, he lashes out with abnormal strength and has seriously injured many people.

But the people he's attacked are usually people who provoked him, whether it's thugs who opted to harass him on the street or he heard that a friend was in trouble and rushed off to help them. Not that violence is the answer, but they were people who arguably deserved a beating. More importantly, though, is the way Shizuo treats his relationships with caution. He's a loner by choice. He does want to connect with other people, but he keeps his distance because he legitimately fears harming someone he cares about. Because of his caution and self-awareness, he is a complicated and likable character that I think anyone with a short temper who has said or done things they regret can relate to.

If he didn’t have that level of control on himself and was violent with everyone regardless of who they were to him, he would be despised by the fandom as much as Endeavor is.

This is how Durarara!! can get away with presenting a violent character in a comedic fashion. Shizuo, despite his temper, is an absurdly strong guy, a little bit of an idiot, and fiercely loyal to his friends. All three of those are endearing qualities.

And in the right framing, Endeavor's violence is also presented as comedic.

This scene is funny, but grabbing Hawks like that and lifting him off the ground is technically assault and it is intimidation. Replace Hawks with Rei and this scene changes drastically from funny to very unsettling. Replace him with Touya and it's a fight.

...

Where Endeavor really differentiates from Vi and Shizuo is marked by two important factors:

Shizuo, for all his claims at being unable to control his anger, has it very much under control around the people he cares about. He really only lets loose against a perceived threat.

Vi mostly has that same control even though she lost it for a moment, but she was also separated from her sister in an indirect punishment for her actions.

Endeavor does not have Shizuo's restraint nor did he face any immediate consequences like Vi.

Which brings us to Rei.

I have mixed feelings when it comes to Rei, and the absolute harshest opinion I have of her is that she is pathetic and she failed her children. And I know that's a very black and white, cold-hearted view, but hear me out because it's a lot more complicated than that.

Endeavor is ultimately responsible for his own actions, but Rei also had the option to deal with the problem when it started. When he started hitting her, she could and should and have taken the kids and run as fast as she was able and not looked back. No amount of financial security, family appearance, or whatever justification one finds in this scenario is worth it. She should not have tolerated that abuse against herself and she definitely should not have subjected her children to that. While there's nothing conclusive to say Endeavor was physically harming any of the kids aside from Shouto, not fighting for her autonomy/safety was inadvertently teaching all four of them this is how men treat their wives, women are supposed to tolerate this treatment, and a marriage like this is 'normal.'

And in the end, she straight up abandoned her children. We see from Shouto's point of view right before she attacked him with the tea kettle. She's talking to her mother on the phone, saying she 'can't take it anymore' and she just wants to 'run away from this life.' Well...considering she goes on to spend the next ten years in a psych ward and left her children to her abusive husband...she did get what she wanted. Ten years and she really didn't put any more effort in trying to get back to them? She knew Endeavor was hurting her youngest. Going home and protecting her babies should have been her priority. For a long time, I legitimately thought she was in Fujiya because she was considered unsafe to rejoin society whether she was a danger to herself or to others. When she shows up in Endeavor's hospital room, I stared at the screen and thought, "The fuck? She could discharge herself at any point?"

All right, now that I've gone over my hard-line point of view, let me dial back the judgment and consider what else is going on here:

Rei is a refrigerated character.

She has very little characterization beyond her abuse and being the victimized mother in Shouto's story, so we don't know all that much about her. In all fairness, her oldest son suddenly dying while she was hospitalized certainly would have contributed to her downward spiral and account for her prolonged hospitalization.

She tolerated her abuse longer than she should have, but it is possible:

She learned that from her own parents. Tolerating abuse is often a byproduct of generational trauma. Maybe her father treated her mother the same way and she grew up thinking this was normal.

Maybe the first time Endeavor hit her, she rationalized it into a point of acceptance where she told herself that everything was fine and that it was only the 'one time' and it wouldn't happen again, a sentiment she kept repeating every time it happened.

Maybe she was raised to believe ‘the man of the house is always right,’ and that is a mindset that is hard to break if instilled from childhood.

Her parents certainly didn’t seem all that supportive with what was going on, but we also don’t know how much she told them. We don't even know if that one phone call she had with her mom was the first time she reached out for help after years of pretending everything was fine or if this was was something she was repeatedly updating her parents about and those parents chose to be aloof to it.

Maybe she really did grow up in a loving home and just didn't know what to do when confronted with the violent relationship she found herself in.

Maybe she was gaslit into believing it wasn't abuse.

Maybe she really did report the abuse and the godforsaken, root-of-all-evil Safety Commission told her, "Your husband's a hero. Stay quiet and don't ruin that public image." Basically told her to suck it up. That is also a possibility, and one I think could be the most likely, but the series doesn't really go into just how corrupt the Commission was, so we're in headcanon territory.

Maybe she did try to take the kids and run but failed to get away. (Unlikely since it’s never mentioned in canon.)

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have an upbringing that instills the belief, 'if your partner hurts you, they are dead to you' and not everyone has the good fortune of a reliable support network that can help them recognize a bad situation and get them out of it.

Given how well-known Endeavor is to the public, maybe Rei was afraid no one would believe her about the abuse. "A hero would never do such a thing. She's making it up for attention. Her family was poor, so she must be a gold-digger trying to screw over her hero husband in the divorce proceedings."

There is also the important fact that Japan has a social stigma against divorce. Persevering for the sake of family stability and maintaining an ideal appearance is a deeply ingrained cultural norm, which does introduce a troubling power imbalance between a husband who works and a housewife who doesn't have her own independent income. We also have to remember that Rei and her family were financially dependent on Endeavor, so she may have feared the monetary fallout at the prospect of leaving him. Also, with the popularity of the hero ranking system, the No. 2 Hero's wife divorcing him would have been very public and potentially humiliating for all involved.

And we can’t ignore the fact that Endeavor systematically broke her down into a shell of a person who couldn't see a way out of her situation and was tormented to the point she had a psychotic episode and attacked Shouto, the very child she tried to protect. And this too could have contributed to her prolonged hospitalization if this was the final straw and she viewed herself as a failure of a mother.

Maybe it was a combination of two or several of the above factors.

At the end of the day, abuse is a multi-faceted beast, and just as the abuse comes in many forms, the victim can have any number of reasons for staying in their situation.

So even though I have my harsh opinion of Rei and I think she should have done more to protect her children, I do 100% sympathize with her. She is a victim and she in no way deserved what she went through.

But while her inaction wasn't the cause of the crisis in her family, it was definitely a contributor to how badly it got out of hand because whatever the reason Rei didn't expose Endeavor or try to take the children and leave him, that lack of accountability opened up the opportunity for him to rationalize his own twisted justifications for his actions.  “It’s fine. She deserved it because ______. She was 'acting out.' She was overreacting. She doesn't know what she's talking about.”  Whatever he needed to tell himself to believe he didn’t do anything wrong even though he knew he wasn’t fooling himself or anyone.

She didn't stand up to him. Their children couldn't stand up to him.

So he continued the physical abuse unchecked.

...

Moving on into the redemption arc.

After the Kamino Incident, Endeavor finally, finally, finally got that vaunted No 1. Hero spot he'd been chasing for two decades. But he didn't earn it the way he wanted to by proving he's the best of the best. All Might retired, so he won by default.

And then he finds it's just one spot further up on a ranking system that means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. So he looks back at what's really important and he sees the charred skeleton frame of a house he burned down.

One institutionalized wife

One dead son

One daughter who clings to the memories of a happier home

One estranged son

One son who only has a use for him as a teacher and not a parent and will probably drop him the second he no longer needs him

In spite of everything, I do genuinely think the man deserves some credit for at least being willing to make an attempt at reconciliation. Not a lot since he dug that hole himself, but let's face it, a lot of lesser people would have looked at that mess and thought, "Fuck it, no going back now," and continued business as usual. So the question becomes:

Is Endeavor trying to redeem himself out of a need to make himself feel better about everything he's done or is he truly doing it for the benefit of the people he's hurt?

I tentatively think/hope could be a mix of both--I believe there is a part of him that cares about his children--but it definitely skews more toward making himself feel better because there's never a moment before the redemption arc begins where he's isolated, thinking back on everything, and just has the appropriate, "What have I done?" revelation. If his remorse was genuinely all about his family, we would have had that 'crying in the hospital scene' a whole lot sooner.

I think if Horikoshi wanted to portray Endeavor's redemption as genuine remorse for what he did to his family, I think he would have put more of a focus on Endeavor actually seeing the impact of what he'd done and feeling the inner turmoil and regret. Not just Natsuo's anger but also seeing firsthand Shouto's isolation and complete lack of social skills as a result of his training or having a conversation with Fuyumi where she admits she never wants to marry or have children because she doesn't 'want to risk ending up like Mom.' Seeing the effects of his behavior, realizing it's his fault.

So no. While there may be a part of Endeavor that loves his children (or he tells himself that he does), his wanting to atone is inspired mainly by his self-worth. He realized the ends did not justify the means and he tries to fix it.

But either way, how does he go about it?

The biggest change he makes toward earning forgiveness is to his hero career, which tracks with his character. That's familiar territory, so it's easier for him to navigate. He takes a significantly gentler method of teaching/mentorship with Shouto and he tries a kinder approach with his fans. That's progress, but it's still avoidance of the main issue that is the rift he caused with the other members of the family.

His relationship with Fuyumi doesn't have much friction. Fuyumi clings to their family's happier memories. With Touya gone, she was the only child who could remember a childhood without fighting parents, abuse, and suffering siblings. In a twisted way, this is something she and Touya have in common. So it makes sense that she would be the one who's the most receptive to Endeavor's attempts to be a better father. She sees this change as their best chance at being a normal family again. Like Touya, she wanted her father back.

Natsuo is different. He was 3-4 years old when the toxicity in their household really began to spike and when the violence started. Incidentally, this is also when memory cells in the brain start to fully develop and form concrete memories. Compared to his older siblings, the abuse is all he knows and that is why he's the child who left and went low-contact. The only thing Natsuo's really done wrong is start family drama when there's company over for dinner. I mean, c'mon. That's just rude. Don't do that in front of guests.

While Endeavor makes attempts to better his training methods/fan interaction, what he doesn't do is call a family meeting to discuss things, not that this would have resolved anything by a long shot, but it would have established a baseline of where everyone in the family was at and whether or not forgiveness was even on the table at all. It is an extremely arrogant thought for Endeavor to think forgiveness for something of this magnitude is possible, and if he wanted to seek forgiveness (or to atone, whatever the hell that means) for the lifelong mistreatment of family, he should have been more prepared for the most abject, humble groveling to the people he wronged that he could manage.

He should have admitted to his mistakes and faults, laid out everything he'd done wrong, apologize for that as best he could, then express he wanted to repair their relationship and be a family again while also acknowledging that he understands if that is not possible. Lay down that groundwork, maybe be open to family therapy so that a professional third party can act as a mediator and provide impartial guidance, figure out where the boundaries are, acknowledge he can't give them back their ruined childhoods but he can *insert anything Fuyumi, Natsuo, and Shouto ask as recompense, even if it's just leaving their lives forever*, and listen for once to what his family is saying.

Instead, he tries to have normal conversations with his children as if nothing bad ever happened. He offers to come watch Shouto's remedial training like that's a totally ordinary thing for him to do. He tells Natsuo during the family dinner that he would like to try his cooking some time. That is a good olive branch! There is nothing wrong with saying that, but without that prior baseline conversation, it comes off as contrived and that's how Natsuo interpreted it. He sends flowers to Rei, also a good signal to send, but he should have done the the uncomfortable thing and contacted her through her physician to see if she's open to meeting with him for a conversation or sending her a letter she could choose to open at any time (or send back unopened.) That would have established that same baseline and helped move forward towards the atonement he wanted.

But he does the same thing he always does: He pretends the real issue just doesn't exist and he tries to control the situation to suit him.

Why?

Say it with me: He never knows what to say! He can't navigate complex emotions!

He doesn't try to find out if his family is even willing to forgive him, frankly because he's an emotional coward who doesn't want to hear the answer.

However, we cannot say he has no character development at all.

There is one thing worth noting around this point in the plot that I think is important to recognize. If Endeavor ever had any character development that was in favor of his redemption, it was when Natsuo was kidnapped and nearly killed, and it's not because he ran and hugged him in the street.

In this scene, he admits to Natsuo that his actions might as well have killed Touya.

This is a small thing, but it's also huge because you have to consider that up until this time, Endeavor has been gaslighting himself into believing it was Touya's fault for getting himself killed or Rei's fault for not doing as she was told and watching him. He could even have been irrationally blaming All Might for just being a barrier to his goals. Any warped excuse and justification he could think of to escape the blame.

It's not a lot, but he did finally give voice to the guilt that he is the reason he failed and his child died. He finally acknowledged that the blame lies squarely with him and no one else, and acknowledging he drove Touya to his own death means way more than just talking about his intentions to atone.

He took accountability here, at least within the family.

That is one point he's earned. We as the audience can begrudgingly concede that one.

But this progress is again stalled when Endeavor makes the decision that it would be best for his family if he distances himself from them. He chooses to build another house for them where they can all live together with their mother and away from his shadow.

The initial reaction I had to this decision was, "Okay, your solution is kicking them out of the only home they've ever known?" But then I considered that having those kids leave a house where they lived through a traumatic and stressful childhood was a good call. Natsuo already bailed, after all. And then there's Fuyumi... Yeah, you know what, maybe a conversation would have been appropriate here. Instead of finding out what they want, he goes and decides it for them like he always does.

Touya has a genetic disparity that prevents him from using his Quirk safely? Endeavor decides he shouldn't be a hero, disregarding any possibility of finding a potential workaround.

Shouto finally uses his fire at the Sports Festival? Endeavor has his whole speech that pretty much shows he has Shouto's entire life planned out after graduation.

He wants to do what's best for his family? He decides what's best for them.

And we're back to the big dumbass never knowing what to say and still running away from the main issue by making assumptions and decisions without actually considering the thoughts/opinions of the people around him and controlling the situation to his benefit.

He may have his intention to do better, but he has no idea what he's doing. He doesn't know how to relinquish his authority role.

And then we have Touya with his, "Bitch, you thought!" grenade. Or is it a nuke?

It's important to note is that failure to articulate emotion in a healthy way is a trait that is shared by all of the Todoroki family members.

Endeavor - the emotional coward who resorts to violence when confronted with an uncomfortable situation

Rei - the passive mother

Fuyumi - the peacekeeper and people-pleaser

Shouto - the child who was systematically deprogramed into an angry husk imitating his father that he has only recently started to recover from

Touya and Natsuo are the only two who actually have some pushback against the bullshit in their family. Touya's a whole kettle of insane fish who's warped psyche deserves a character analysis of its own, but the point is, even as a kid, he doesn't creep around his father or try to make peace with him. Natsuo also has no problem calling out Endeavor for everything that went wrong in his childhood, plus he moved out and went to college as soon as he could.

Touya - the unstable sociopath who shares his father's tendency to violently lash out while stuck with the mental fragility of his mother

Natsuo - the traumatized avoidant

Neither of them have a functional way of dealing with their issues. (In fact, Touya is so unhinged about it that the door has peaced out and is halfway down the street.)

Endeavor wanted to atone for what he did...by burying and not actually taking any real accountability until the unavoidable moment Touya is screaming down to him, "Is it because you became No. 1 that you finally paid attention to your family?"

Touya has a warped view of the world brought on by years of trauma, but he hit the nail on the head.

Endeavor's main motivation for atonement is for the self-satisfaction.

So we have the symbolism of Endeavor, who has always used his physical strength to solve his problems by beating them into submission and used his intimidating height to glare down at everyone beneath him, and then we have Touya standing on top of a mountain, shouting down. Endeavor's in a position where he's looking up at his dead child, who is arguably the broken bough, elephant in the room, core unavoidable reason a full atonement was never going to be possible, bringing about a twenty-year overdue reckoning.

And he once again doesn't know what to say.

As the story ends, this is where we leave him: Crippled, looking up at his dying child, and confronted by one of the lives he ruined. By choice, he's going to sit here and face what he did. These talks are not going to be pleasant. I doubt Touya is so burned out and exhausted that he doesn’t have the heart to spit out more of the lifetime of vitriol he’s built up.

I know a lot of fans were disappointed Horikoshi didn’t kill Endeavor off in the end, but I personally prefer to look at it this way:

Some characters deserve death.

But some deserve to live in despair.

...

To revisit Arcane, I think this quote neatly sums up Endeavor.

[docgold13]

Profiles in Villainy

Izaya Orihara

Izaya Orihara is an infamous information broker and a twisted young man who manipulates others for his own enjoyment.  He possesses a remarkable skill for reading the behaviors and attitudes of others.  His understanding of human psychology coupled with a near superhuman acumen for statistical probability analysis enables him to predict the thoughts and actions of those around him with an uncanny accuracy. 

Although young Izaya understands others quite well, he does not feel especially connected to them.  Indeed he has lived an extremely isolated life and has turned to manipulating others as a means to quell his boredom and crushing loneliness. 

Izaya's nefarious actions have put him in opposition with the heroic Shizuo.  Strong, brave, selfless and utterly predictable, Shizuo represents everything that Izaya hates and the two have quickly come to be bitter rivals and one another’s arch nemesis.    

The machiavellian menace is voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya in the original anime (with Johnny Yong Bosch voicing the character in the English language dub).  Izaya Orihara first appeared in the debut episode of Durarara!! airing on January 8th, 2010.

[azumasoroshi]

minidura chapter 2 react (izaya has stopped functioning)

i already forgot what i named the last post whoops

anyway

shizuo jumpscare

as a psychology student who is also taking sociology goddamn do i love the whole community aspect of durarara and the forms. wish i could start a festival in my town just by suggesting it online somewhere. it's so cool how you have no idea of the qualifications of the people you talk to (just like on tumblr except this is all ikebukuro people. and izaya)

i wonder if izaya being the only member of the cast (afaik) to not live in ikebukuro is symbolic of how he feels has to distance himself from the chaos at least a little bit in order to not get swept up in it himself. it's like a self restraint type thing

that's probably really obvious though forgive me im still dutsing off my character analysis lack-of-skills ANYWAY

tom is such a malewife honestly

i dont think ive ever had chocolate bananas before. huh. strawberries sure bananas nah

he looks so cute in that last panel ghghghjhhrhghgghjf

i dont get to see enough of normal laid back shizuo behavior with all the shizaya art i look at lmfAOO

i swear to god if celty's in a kimono 💀 shinra is about to be the most annoying man alive

stupid puns my beloved

the way tom's eyes are drawn in that last panel reminds me of like. american cartoon but i cant put my finger on it

is it arnold from the magic school bus or is it arthur from arthur. who knows

"you absolutely cant get into a fight today" ah so the peace wont last. damn

EGGPLANTZAYA

i cant wait for izaya to show up this chapter and annoy the living hell out of shizuo

maybe i should make eggplantzaya my profile picture (i wont because im too attached to rantaro. not even him as a character just the profile picture) (also because i cant remember where i found the profile picture and im too scared to let it go)

i see that blurb with the really cute izaya picture on the left and im assuming it's just a "this is orihara izaya btw. he's really annoying and shizuo hates him for ruining his life" type thing but god i wish i could read it anyway ill take any crumbs

HERE HE COMES!!!!!!!

oh nvm he's getting shafted for now, we transition to-

WHAT DID I FUCKING TELL YOU

celty in a kimono is inevitable. you cannot escape

she is cute though <3 this might be her first festival since she's irish too damn

that just reminded me god i wish celty talked in a super thick irish accent. some people have already mentioned that but im reiterating it because maybe some abridged series will consider it

wait oh my god is this gonna be another hotpot party type "izaya organized all this because he's lonely and wants an excuse to hang out with people that tolerate him" thing. amazing wonderful i love the izaya slander going on in this manga today

and i was about to say "oh i guess that wasnt izaya's silhouette in the shizuo-tom panel" but he's holding a chocolate banana 💀rip tom's pay i guess

i can imagine how that went but i dont think ill have to imagine for much longer

oh yeah it was right in the next panel lmAO at least you got free food izaya dont complain

"he looks like he's having fun" awwwwwwwwwwwww nothing more fun than ticking off shizuo and not getting hurt in the process

just realized he has the constantly closed eyes pff gin ichimaru lookin edgy ass bitch

he opens his eyes like it's a dramatic supervillain reveal but it's really just him being lonely. thanks for always exposing him shinra mwah

WHY IS HE ACTING SO EVIL. doing the fucking arm spread like this is a bad thing what is wrong with him

i love how mikado shinra and celty are looking at each other like "this fucking guy. cant have one normal conversation"

PFFFFFFFFFFFF

i know shinra is laughing his ass off beneath those glasses rn

izaya's face is amazing actually. you know that one scene in bungou stray dogs wan where atsushi gets dazai a gift and dazai glitches out and stops processing information because he doesnt know how to handle appreciation. this is literally that scene

huh. now i understand why durarara and bsd always get recommended together

KILL HIM MIKADO!! KILL HIM WITH KINDNESS HE'S ALREADY HALFWAY TO HELL

literal proof that izaya ceases to function when someone actually likes him. idc that this isn't canon it's canon because i say so

(side note MAN did they have to give airi noticable cleavage even in her chibi form. come on. you didnt do it for celty you dont have to do it to her 😭 the amount of fanservice with her drives me nuts in the main series)

my man is BROKEN just look at him

local gay baby realizes he accidentally made everyone happy. oops

walker and erika in the background too <3 they're so cute ugh

YOU DUMBASS

i knew itd be another hotpot thing oh mygod he's so. fucking idiot you couldve just tagged along with them 😭

it's only once he imagines shizuo that he snaps too pffffffffft

also namie appearance!!!!!!! hope she appears more in future chapters

10/10 chapter would bully izaya again

oops almost missed the ending drawing!! so cuteeee <3333

[kasururigoth]

i literally appreciate everyone in the durarara fandom. I appreciate everyone and their top tier character analysis and everything. u guys are so smart

[shizuostrans]

God you’re so right about trans Shizuo tbh.

My friend and I have been watching durarara (rewatch for me, first time viewing for him) and we are both just sitting here like “why are all these characters so trans and autistic coded”

Absolute banger analysis posts btw thank you

- an autistic trans guy

i really wish i could say i handled reading this ask gracefully so i could properly word how much this ask means to me or how narita is physically incapable of writing 6 sentences from a character’s pov without coding them but it was more like

[rjh2082]

Zine

I had an incredible amount of fun with this.

Very recently, one of my biggest interests has been the 2009 novel/anime series Durarara!! This zine focuses on my three favourite characters who all have a connection to each other in some way, and I delve into a sort of character analysis focusing on each of their perceptions of one another, and how this tells us more about them as an individual as well.

I portray these variations of interpretation through alternates - a characterisation of an individual based around how a different individual perceives them. This includes a rather… exaggerated personality and design.

The zine introduces the characters; Orihara Izaya - a scheming informant, Heiwajima Shizuo - a bodyguard with superhuman strength, and Kishitani Shinra - a mysterious doctor. 

For the printing element, I contributed to this with the background - here, I inked and pressed craft items, most notably pipe cleaners, onto this piece of paper in vague mimicry of the city landscape the series is set in. 

Perhaps next time, I would like to explore lino printing and how negative space can be used, perhaps to portray the city at night rather than day to give a different feel.

[demytasse]

Aoba’s off kilter smirk to brighten your day~♡

His expressions are so ranged and I love them so very much, specifically his smirk. It’s one of my favourites bits of Drrr characterisation as it’s similiar to Izaya’s, but with a certain devious spark.

Kinda represents how off-his-rocker he was at an earlier age, his sadistic side had more time to develop and led straight into unruly teen years—as opposed to Izaya who took influence from Shinra around middle school. That subtle difference makes all the difference. Like, early sadism that becomes him, awww.

Anyhoo, that’s my completely out of the blue harrharr observation for the day. I was honestly taking screenshots for another equally random thought when I ran into these perfect shots. Eheheh...

[lucifersus]

Hey, I'm curious. Is there anything psychologically different between Novel-Izaya and Anime-Izaya, and is there any difference between Novel-Shizuo and Anime-Shizuo?

Oh my, where do I even begin?There are definitely things psychologically different from Novel-Izaya and Anime Izaya. 

(Fun fact - Anime is an anagram of Namie, I just mispelled it lol) I talked about it in this post some time ago. Generally, anime Izaya is made to seem invincible especially in the first season. And because they left out important novel scenes, there’s inconsistency in his character. For example, how did he get knocked out so easily by Slon while talking to Kujiragi when he had the advantage before? It was actually because Kujiragi mentioned Shizuo and Izaya ‘fell silent’. She spoke about Shizuo being a hindrance and thanked Izaya for landing him in jail. 

Whether he was worried about Shizuo or not, Izaya’s moment of silence and the description of his bad feeling shows that he’s not invincible even though he suddenly seemed to gain the upper hand. He was affected by his human feelings and emotions when Kujiragi mentioned Shizuo, for whatever reason. 

I took that as a Shizaya moment because it was very unusual for Izaya. But the point is, Izaya has human feelings and emotions that can render him vulnerable to unexpected consequences and is definitely not invincible, even though he may seem like it. 

This link was something the anime left out, the novels expands on this further with his conversations with other characters and the telephone pole scene where he punched a telephone pole as he thought of betraying Shinra. 

In retrospect Shinra, who lived confidently above this world, did invoke some jealousy in him.

Yet he was attempting to betray even a friend like that. Not a friend by Izaya’s standards, but a “friend”  as defined by most people in the world.

He’ll probably be mad at me if he finds out that I went to meet Celty taking the head with me.

“Haha!”

Izaya couldn’t help but laugh slightly as he pictured his only “friend” by the world’s standards getting mad at him.

There is nothing to be afraid of.

This is the way I have lived my life all along, he laughed as he thought  –

                                                                                                     Laughed  –

                                                                                                       Laughed –                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Laughed –He clenched his right fist and slammed it hard into the telephone pole next to him.

- Durarara Volume 9

This was a very important scene in Izaya’s character development especially after they showed his past with Shinra, his only friend. It shows Izaya’s conflict over his own desires which has governed the way he has lived all along and one of his only two relationships - the friendship he has with his only friend. Izaya was affected by a human relationship, and it really shows he isn’t some villain but just an abnormal human who is eternally true to his own desires (but is still affected by relationships like everyone else)I’m working on a theory for Izaya’s attachment to humanity. It’s taking much longer than I thought since I lack the time to sit down and finish it. But I intend on showing how Izaya is actually very human. It will of course include reference to the Shinra stabbing incident as Izaya said himself it was probably the only thing that affected the formation of his personality in a significant way. I’ll also refer to the interviews about Izaya in his novel. So I’m currently integrating all the information together, both old and new about Izaya to formulate a theory that may explain Izaya’s attachment to humanity. You might want to look out for that if you’re interested in the psychology of novel Izaya. 

Other than novel Izaya not being invincible (both psychologically and outwardly), I guess another psychological difference would be that Izaya is actually a very private person. The impression I got from the first season was that Izaya was a very open person (not open-mindedness, as in socially open). 

But Izaya behind all his talk and interaction is actually very private. You don’t see it in the anime, but in the novel he thinks to himself a lot, reflects quite a bit, and generally is…very confident in his own identity internally. For example, Mikado’s first impression of Izaya was not that he was a weird person, but that he looked like an ‘intellectual that gave tuition in some remote district’. It speaks to the demeanor novel Izaya has that Mikado would form such an impression of him. 

Even though he might seem open with humans, Izaya actually keeps to himself a lot. Shinra said himself in his interview that Izaya’s not the type to stand in front of people. You can see that in both the novel and anime version of middle school Izaya. While he was portrayed like a rebel in the anime, in the novel he was just distant and enjoying observing humans. He was actually a model student, not a rebel, so that’s another difference in portrayal there. 

What a strange guy. 

I’ll just keep observing him in the future.

But I have to watch out. Getting too close to him might be dangerous.

So this is just a small scene when Izaya thinks as he watched Shinra leave to go home to Celty (though he didn’t know that yet). But even with Shinra Izaya is already distancing himself. He tells himself he can’t get too close to Shinra, can’t let himself be too affected and involved in their friendship. Perhaps he’s apprehensive Shinra wouldn’t satisfy his expectations, perhaps he just doesn’t want to become like everyone else - whatever the reason is, Izaya has, since young, kept a distance between himself and humans. So much that he has to be ‘wary’ when he feels himself getting closer to Shinra than necessary.

At first sight, he looked like a gentle-natured man of slender build, but his features had a relative sharpness in them, making him the perfect exemplification of the word “handsome”. He was smiling as if willing to accept anything in the world as part of him; yet at the same time his eyes shone without mercy as if he held contempt for everything except himself. The way he dressed was idiosyncratic, but it was hard to point at why. Overall, he gave an elusive and mercurial vibe.

- Durarara Volume 5

What are the implications of this? Well, it just shows how distant Izaya is from humans. And how he keeps to himself. Even though he’s handsome, it doesn’t matter to him, and he may only use his good looks for human observation and not any socialization. He has a stable internal perception of his love for humans, so he’s willing to accept anything, but at the same time he’s the only one who understands his love for humans so he holds a contempt for everything except himself. 

One reason why could be his tendency to keep things to himself and how he’s a private person. Like, he says he loves humans and declares love for humans but except with Shinra (and a reluctant Shizuo), doesn’t try to form any sort of relationship with them. He doesn’t try to connect to them in a way they can understand (maybe because he can’t because of his upbringing) and so they can’t understand him. And so he’s left with him only understanding himself and being shunned and outcast from society, which will naturally breed contempt.

That might be why Izaya seems mysterious and ‘elusive’ - because he’s such a private person. He’s more introverted in the novels, in that it seems natural for him to be alone with his thoughts. I guess you can kind of see this in Volume 5 where he’s shown to have stayed at an internet cafe alone while working on his plans for the city, left alone and walked away alone, he basically just does things alone.

Novel Izaya is also not in control of everything. Well you can see that in the anime as well when he got knocked out twice. But I mean, he’d move the piece that will give him the most advantage, but generally he’s open to any result. He just seems like he’s in control all the time because he accepts everything that happens (except with Shizuo). Because he loves humans unilaterally and doesn’t have any personal feelings or relationships with them (except Shinra and Shizuo) So again, he’s not invincible in his predictions. He does have some idea of how things will go and what he wants to see, but he’s less of a ‘mastermind’ in that sense. He’s still a mastermind, but has less of the ‘mastermind mindset’? In that he doesn’t expect everything to go according to plan. 

And I suppose novel Izaya is more sensitive. You don’t see it in the anime, but when he was left out of hotpot, it was mentioned he ‘felt more lonely than usual’. Tsukumoya said that he’s lonely but accepts that loneliness. And he was not happy at being left out of the events of Volume 4, which is part of the reason why he wanted the ‘city’s holiday’ to be over. He’s more human in that sense. Like, he’s a logical minded man, but he actually acts on his feelings quite a bit. He is affected by his feelings, sometimes even driven by them (like in the death match with Shizuo) and is definitely human.

Also, novel Izaya is more like a child. As in, there are various times in which he’s described like a kid having fun. So in that sense he really doesn’t have any malice. He just wants to see, like a kid discovering more about the world. Shiki agrees with this, in both the novels and his interview for Izaya’s novel. I’ll be expanding on this with my Izaya attachment theory in the future. 

Now about Shizuo…

While the second season was more accurate to Shizuo’s novel character than the first, they still left out some important aspects of his character. I talked about that in this post here. 

So unlike what Izaya says, Shizuo is actually very smart and intelligent. Not the mastermind type of intelligence Izaya has, but a sharp intelligence. Psychologically, he wants to figure things out. He takes note of discrepancies. He has a deductive mind.

- Did he kill those three men? …Not likely.- There’s no way that Izaya would have had strong enough arms to kill those three men bare-handed like that. First of all, why on earth would he want to make such total enemies of the Awakusu-kai folks in the first place?- If he didn’t do it himself, then he must have gotten the information beforehand that someone else was going to do it and tricked me into going there on purpose…

- Durarara Volume 6

This is just a small part of his thinking when he ran away from the Awakusu-kai. The anime made it seem like he did it instinctively, but there was actually real thinking behind it. He ran away from the Awakusu-kai because he assessed the situation sharply in a split moment and determined it was the best course of action because he knew he was already being framed by Izaya and they wouldn’t listen to what he had to say. That takes smartness and intelligence. 

Shizuo also thinks to himself a lot. You don’t see it often because we don’t get to see Shizuo’s thoughts often, but I think you can get a glimpse of it from this scene. Not only did he deduce that Izaya was behind it and how he did it, when he was alone on the rooftop of Sunshine 60, he mused to himself on what he should do. He independently thought about the consequences of his having been framed and what action should he take. 

If the notice had been fake, in that apartment he would at least find clues as to where Izaya might be, if not Izaya himself.

If he could negotiate with Awakusu-kai and offer those to them, the tables would be turned and they would be after Izaya instead.

This is definitely not the thinking of someone who is dumb or has a ‘protozoic brain’. This is deductive thinking. In the novel he was tricked by the fake notice on Izaya’s apartment door too, but he actually thought about it afterwards. He makes use of the new information to determine what he should do next. He makes use of both old (the fake notice) and new information (Izaya framed him) to determine his next course of action. 

And he came up with the plan to negotiate (showing that he’s not all about violence) to turn the situation to his advantage. Again, that takes intelligence and sharpness of mind - all while in an unexpected ‘crisis’ situation.

He had chosen to come here because, compared to running somewhere with no one else around, it would be harder for the Awakusu-kai men to try anything if he came to a place where everyone could be looking. Furthermore, this place also had an advantage over department stores in that were anyone to come after him, he would be able to see them. But still, this was not a place he could stay for long periods of time.

We can also see his considering of advantages and disadvantages here. Let me deconstruct this. 

‘He had chosen to come here because, compared to running somewhere with no one else around, it would be harder for the Awakusu-kai men to try anything if he came to a place where everyone could be looking.’ - to make this decision Shizuo would have to be aware of the disadvantages of other places in comparison to that of Sunshine 60. That requires some cognitive juggling of the odds of the situation. It shows he didn’t just aimlessly run around, just like he seems to do when he chases Izaya, because he was aware of the situation he was in.

‘Furthermore, this place also had an advantage over department stores in that were anyone to come after him, he would be able to see them. But still, this was not a place he could stay for long periods of time. - Again, comparing advantages and disadvantages as he makes a decision. Also considering that he would be able to see them - showing that he is on the lookout for the people chasing him, that he’s conscious he’s being hunted down and if he doesn’t want to use violence to solve the problem, he needs to use his brain to figure out how he can keep an eye on the situation instead and plan accordingly. He’s also aware he needs to think of what to do because they would catch up with him eventually, and he can’t just keep running around.

Running away and hiding from someone is very different from chasing someone. It requires intelligence and quick thinking, assessment of the environment, decision making. Being the ‘prey’ is harder than being the ‘predator’ because you’re at a disadvantage, in that you can’t fight and you have to run away. (Just think of all the survival game manga) Izaya does that when he needs to get away from Shizuo. 

And Shizuo has shown he’s able to do that. 

Shizuo also said in SH his childhood dream was to be a detective, and his deductive thinking certainly suits such a role. Shizuo can think quickly on his feet, which is not a skill that can be learned easily. And requires experience.

Another thing different psychologically is that even though outside, Shizuo seems to have no problem, inside he’s insecure and lacks confidence. When he’s not angry, he’s very quiet and introverted. It was touched on a bit in the Saika arc, but Shizuo has self-deprecation because of his past. 

“Why did I turn out like this? At least it wasn’t my family. There was no childhood trauma I can think of. I never watched any violent anime or read violent manga. Didn’t watch movies either. So that leaves only myself, doesn’t it? It’s gotta be me, right?“

Because he turned out violent and unable to control his temper for a reason he didn’t know, and ended up hurting people including the milk lady who was important to him, Shizuo hates himself. 

Don’t get the wrong idea, you idiots.

No one will love me because they’re all scared? Don’t make me laugh.

I’m the one who’s scared.

It’s me.

I’m the world’s biggest coward.

Because I’m scared of what I should trust the most – myself.

He calls himself a coward for not being able to trust himself. He’s scared to love, because he’s scared of hurting the person he loves, just like in the past.

It drifted.

And drifted.

Everything drifted away from the boy.

He only wanted to be loved by someone.

He only wanted to love someone

The shy boy didn’t even have the bravery to control himself.

He was afraid of hurting the one he loved.

So he decided not to love anyone.

Feared, feared, and unloved.

Time evolved the boy into a monster.

And it eventually turned him into a monster because he was unable to love, he probably hated himself more for that, and became more violent (which is something he didn’t want for himself but since he hated himself he didn’t care), and became a monster as time passed.

In the anime (especially the first season) he may not seem to care about violence, but he actually cares about it a lot. He really means it when he says he wants to live a peaceful life, because to him a peaceful life means no violence which is something he probably hates about himself.

“In the end, it might have been thanks to her that I’m still human… I missed my chance to thank her…”

-         Heiwajima Shizuo, Durarara Volume 13 Epilogue

The anime also made it seem like Izaya was the only one with emotional scars from their death match. But in a way, Shizuo was too. Shizuo isn’t traumatized like Izaya, but he was aware he had really almost become a true monster by killing Izaya. 

And that’s why he felt regretful for not having been able to thank Vorona for stopping him from killing Izaya and letting him remain human.

Despite his distant attitude, Shizuo also wants to connect with people.

“I’m not like Kadota, Yumasaki and the others. I’m always alone no matter what I do. I guess Izaya’s the same as me. That bastard probably doesn’t have anyone he can call a friend. But, it’s not like I want to be alone all the time. Actually, I really want to interact with people, even if it’s just a formality or something.”

I think he said it in the anime too, but it wasn’t as elaborate? 

Anyway we can see this after Volume 6, where he used his strength to save someone for the first time - Akane. He has Vorona as his kouhai, he forgives Masaomi, and he’s concerned about Mairu and Kururi, that if something happens Izaya will leave them behind. 

This is interesting because despite his outside rough demeanor, Shizuo is actually a caring person. The anime showed that too with Akane and Vorona, but there were other interactions like with Mairu and Kururi that expanded further on this, on how Shizuo was really starting to interact with people and care for them. He even had a scene with Vorona where she offered to kill Izaya for him. Despite saying he would kill Izaya, he reprimanded her for saying such a thing and telling her that it was ok, knowing that was how she felt was enough for him. It was a sweet Shizuona interaction scene which showed how Shizuo cares about others above himself, but the anime left that out.

Shizuo also said when he killed Izaya he wouldn’t get anyone involved, and we can see his distant stance while still maintaining his friendships here. It’s like, psychologically, he doesn’t think he’s worthy of making trouble over. 

Ironically, Vorona, Celty and Simon all showed him that he is worth it, because with their combined efforts, they stopped him from killing Izaya. So there’s a divide in perception in Shizuo’s perception of himself and others’ perception of him. 

I think that’s why Shizuo felt guilty he didn’t get to thank Vorona, because she stopped him from becoming a monster. She got involved even though he didn’t want her to, just like Celty and Simon did, but it was a good thing because Shizuo would have become a monster if he had killed Izaya.

So those are just some things about novel Shizuo. If you’re interested, I expand on that more in these two theories here and here. The second one is a Shizaya theory of the Saika arc but focuses on Shizuo’s character, and the first one is my own theory about Shizuo’s black and white perception.

Thanks for this question. I’m sure others are curious about the difference between novel Shizuo and anime Shizuo, and anime Izaya and novel Izaya, as well, so it’s a good opportunity for me to expand on this in an analysis. 

And it’s definitely something that’s going into my FAQ.

[ayesakara]

PART 5 OF SHIZUO/VORONA - Season 2, Final arc, Durarara.

This is the continuation of my last post in this series.

Izaya, the culprit, has just dropped a whole freaking excavator/forklift on Shizuo and Vorona. The intention behind this act cannot be anything other than to seriously injure, if not kill, Shizuo and for sure kill Vorona.

Now I can see some Shizaya fans wanting Vorona out of the way, so her dying might be seen as a good thing by them. Not ideal for us Shizuo/Vorona fans but that's fandom for ya.

But I don't understand how anyone who claims to like Shizuo would want him badly injured or killed. Like... make it make sense! One half of this supposed pairing just tried to kill the other half dead. How does this even work? Makes me doubt if anyone that supports Shizaya as a pairing actually even truly likes (let alone respect) Shizuo as a character. They gotta be just Izaya fans who think of Shizuo as nothing more than a trophy for their favorite character. Even if Izaya hates Shizuo vehemently, Shizuo is a gift for him to torment and gaslight. Because I truly believe Izaya hates Shizuo and harbors zero positive thoughts towards him.

Anyways... on to the scene. Shizuo knew Izaya was the one to drop the excavator and rightly assumed Izaya was also behind the construction debris falling earlier - which injured Vorona, when she pushed him out of harm's way.

Of course, this is the moment in the LN when Vorona realizes that Shizuo is truly like a superhero. He glances the whole excavator off with just his right shoulder. Now, despite his super strength, he isn't left completely unharmed. He dislocates his shoulder in this. But he still manages to push the excavator out of the way and saves both himself and Vorona from getting killed.

Vorona is in shock at this spectacle. But a strange calm has descended on Shizuo. His anger has turned into a cold, calculated rage. He now knows he has to kill Izaya and be done with him.

He apologizes to Vorona. She just saved his life, but he's about to go ruin his life. He tells her she can stab him or shoot him the next time she sees him. But he gotta finish this job.

He walks into the stairwell and away from Vorona.

Vorona knows what he's about to do and she tries one last time to stop him. She calls out, "Shizuo! Come back!"

The look on her face is desperate. But he doesn't hear her.

Oh. My. Heart. 😍❤️💔😭

[notcarasuma]

about Ryuugamine Mikado:

Did Izaya fuck him up by putting him between rock and hard place? Yes.

Did Izaya fuck him up by giving him unreliable information? Also yes.

Did Izaya fuck him up by giving advices to Mikado? No. But that's what happened to Masaomi.

Not that Izaya didn't whisper sweet sour things to Mikado like some evil spirit, but Mikado is already secure in accepting himself (good and bad part) to ever be swayed by Izaya's "truth". That's why he can listen to Izaya's opinions about him and confidently saying "no" if Izaya got him wrong.

And when it comes to humanity, Izaya accepts anything. The predictable and unpredictable part, the beauty and the ugliness, the charming and tedious part. That's why, I think, their personality is just compatible to each other. He can be truthful to Izaya with ease, and expecting Izaya to understand and accept Mikado's Mikado-ness without turning away. Even when he knows Izaya can use it against him. Mikado needs acceptance, not encouragement. But then again Mikado is the one choosing that path. You can say that Izaya is the chaotic mentor/terrible friend (enabler) that manipulated him to grow better/worse but always stand behind his choices (Izaya doesn't really care but Mikado is fine because he expected that). And then we also have Akabayashi as the responsible adult who gives him fair choices, safety nets, and reliable warning about future consequences. Celty is the actual responsible adult who lectured him and kept him from exploding like a fireworks.

In reverse, though, Mikado's acceptance of Izaya is both surprising and unsurprising, but I'm delighted about that. (Mikado tends to have this effect on people)

[oddeyesight]

get to know you meme

Tagged by @cherry-knight

fave colour: purple, green, and silver

currently reading: mbti analysis, because I'm addicted to those

last song: I wanna be free by Panic! at the Disco

last series: Super Giant Robot Brothers

last movie: Encanto

currently working on: Notha/Rem fics, OC lore fics, some Chandra/Ran fics when possible... I'm a messy creator with the attention span of a distracted gnat.

share 10 different favorite characters from ten different pieces of media in no particular order, then tag 10 people

In no particular order:

Chandra (Kubera One Last God)

Remthalas (DragonFable)

Eridan Ampora (Homestuck)

Padparadscha (Land of the Lustrous)

Nikolai Gogol (Bungou Stray Dogs)

Jack Vessalius (Pandora Hearts)

Stolas (Helluva Boss)

Izaya Orihara (Durarara)

Yoo Joonghyuk (Omniscient Reader)

Roy Mustang (Fullmetal Alchemist)

I tag @nualie @caparrucia @ao3riley @kikizoshi, but no pressure or anything ^^

[teamfreewill56-blog]

Welcome to my blog! I write mostly analysis about my favorite anime, books and tv shows. I also occasionally write fanfics and currently write fanfics about Kyojuro Rengoku and the Rengoku family but I’ll do any Demon Slayer character. This blog is specifically for Kyojuro Rengoku/Demon Slayer Content. If you would like to see my other analysis content please visit https://teamfreewill58.tumblr.com/post/659232699313242112/smores-thoughts-and-analysis-inferno

Regarding Asks:

-Please don’t ask me:

-If Character A would pair with “personality type/characteristic”——Fanfics are for you to write what you want, and these aren’t my characters so who you pick as a compatible partner for them is up to you. I’m not going to run around criticizing what type of person you pair a character with.

-I will only write SFW pairings so please don’t ask for NSFW. The only thing NSFW that I will write is fighting which I will always tag but I will not write excessive gore.

Pairings I won’t write:

- incest

-multiple partners (Canon polygamous couples like Uzui and his wives are my only exception.)

-heroxvillian

-adultxchild pairings

-Fetishes of any kind

-Reader being in place of a canon spouse (unless reader is with that character before or after their canon relationship)

-I also won’t write headcanons, there’s already a ton out there and for me they’re just not fun to write. If you want to offer a headcanon to turn into a fanfic I’ll be happy to oblige. 

-Do not ask me to write something that you have already asked someone else to write. As in a specific situation with just a different character.—-Writing is hard and takes a lot of time. And while it can be fun to see different people’s take of a situation for me it it’s also very hurtful to the person who wrote the original version of that request for you as well as to the current person you are asking. If I find out that someone else has written this request for you I will delete what I wrote for you and blacklist you.

-I reserve the right to refuse requests and to refuse them without explanation as to why. But I will never just delete a request, I will give you a yes or a no.

Anime I will do requests for:

Baccano

Durarara

Banana Fish

Yu Yu Hakusho

Code Geass

Fruits Basket

Demon Slayer

Noragami

Bungo Stray Dogs

Haikyuu

The Millionaire Detective

Fullmetal Alchemist

(If your anime isn’t on this list I probably haven’t seen it/it’s not my cup of tea but message me and I’ll let you know for sure.)

Requests: CLOSED

Asks are always open but it will take a while for me to respond

I will update these rules as I see fit

https://www.tumblr.com/blog/askme-submitprompt

Feel free to support me at: https://paypal.me/valkoinensonna?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US

Mugen Train Drama CD transcript:

[polandspringz]

Durarara vs. Bungo Stray Dogs

Okay so I have always thought that BSD filled the emptiness (in terms of anime fandom spaces) that Durarara left, basically attracting the same audience and was a show with equally “wacky” themes and outlandish loud characters. But just now I realized how startlingly similar the two series actually are.

I have not watched Durarara in years, so in terms of characters, here are three things I can compare-

1. Shinra Kishitani and Edogawa Ranpo- Both are characters with high intelligence offset by their childish/comedic personality. Also, they have very similar appearances just through hairstyle and glasses, and fill the same role in the story, always seeming to know more than their lighthearted masks let on.

2. Anri Sonohara and Kyouka Izumi- Both are the main female characters (although in more of a side role to the main male character) who have some sort of power that is connected to their parents’ deaths + they cannot fully control.

3. Masaomi Kida and Dazai Osamu- I could go more into these two being the MAIN comedic relief of the series with much darker backstories/dark true natures, but I’ll just point to MAMORU MIYANO and leave it.

Again, I have not watched Durarara in years to make a more detailed analysis, but the main thing that always made me see these two series as linked or BSD being the dawn of a new era/rising to fill the space another old anime left behind, was the theme of supernatural powers, but moreso in the way humanity is presented in the story. What always struck a chord with me in Durarara was the discussion of “monsters” and how the city was full of supernatural people but the ones who were true “monsters” or evil were the normal humans, while the people with these abilities were the ones who understood how-to-be human the best. BSD doesn’t have this same focus on the divide between normal humans and the supernatural/gifted humans, as any character that is NOT someone apart of these gifted groups are nonexistent in the story outside of being casualties during crossfire or just the general public that needs protecting, but it does have a similar idea in terms of characters like Atsushi who went through hell having the most humility and characters like Dazai punishing themselves or seeking destruction as a way of atonement. There are characters who are the most evil in BSD who hide behind the most lighthearted demeanors, while those who seem the most darkened ae actually the happiest deep down.

[demytasse]

The Similarities Between Shinra & Izaya’s First Introductions

   Shinra and Izaya derive from a similar foundation, moreso their dynamic is fairly integral to their respective character arcs. Which it’s most noticable while during a second readthrough—that they were introduced in mirror of each other from the get-go    Starting with their respective chapter title pages, Shinra first, Izaya to follow. Their air and poses—the direction they’re looking are nearly the same; the parallels continue on.

   Beginning with Shinra’s introduction...

    "Hey, welcome home."     A young man in a lab coat greeted the rider inside an apartment on the top floor. He was a pleasant fellow in his mid-twenties who matched the crisp coat, but there were no medical instruments to be seen inside the apartment. He looked quite out of place surrounded by the luxury furniture and electronics filling the room.

[Vol 1 - Pg 47]

    ...and onto Izaya’s introduction...

    "Hey.”     It was a very pleasant voice, crisp and clear and vibrant, as though being hailed by the pure blue sky itself.     And yet, the instant he heard that voice, Masaomi grimaced as though he'd been shot in the back with arrows. He slowly turned in the direction of the voice, an instant sweat congealing on his face.     Mikado turned the same way and saw a young man with an equally pleasant face. He looked soft and gentle, but with a bold, intrepid edge—a perfect materialization of some ideal of handsomeness. His eyes were warm and all-accepting but glinted with a hard scorn of anything that wasn't himself. His outfit, while possessing its own personality, did not show off any obvious features or characteristics. All in all, he was very difficult to grasp or classify.

[Vol 1 - Pg 68]

   Both start out with a hey and are described as being pleasant. However they split off from there. Shinra stands out amongst his surroundings, and Izaya blends in.    It’s curious how Shinra’s description as a whole is fairly brief, while Izaya’s is lengthier and more in depth.

   That makes sense, as Shinra is open with whom he is; his intentions aren’t usually questioned, though they’re not necessarily obvious until someone calls him on it—and he won’t deny it. He’s usually seen as eccentric, generally well tempered and professional, but in a moment could go for the throat.

   Izaya worked hard to create a perfect public image therefore his introduction goes more in depth to properly describe the various details he put into his craft. He needs appear pleasant, if you will, but an enigma just the same—even chilling or offputting simultaneously in certain situations. Most are fooled by him, others dislike him without question of why or how. Though he’s not afraid to defend himself and will only agree with those who call him on his deeds...if he feels it’s necessary.

   In another article I could easily go on about the depth and interest of their relationship specifically, but for now I’ll boil down their personalites to something short and bittersweet...

   Shinra doesn’t care how he’s perceived—Izaya cares to a fault how people receive him.

   Thus I end my lil passion piece for these two, forever my favourite complex characters.

♡ (´▽`ʃƪ)

[The title page images are my edits]

[lucifersus]

Hello there! I have 2 scenarios for you and I want to know your opinion regarding them. First, if Shizuo killed someone before the infamous death match, how would Izaya react? Would he enjoy it because Shizuo has finally became a monster or react in a completely unexpected way? Second, if Shizuo knew that Izaya was shot, how would he react and would he visit him in the hospital? I am looking forward to your answer!

I think it depends on the circumstance in which Shizuo would have killed that person.Celty said in Volume 2 it’s a miracle Shizuo hasn’t killed anyone with his strength. But it was like in the manner of his strength being so uncontrollable and great that it’s a testament to Shizuo’s self-control that he hasn’t killed anyone with it so far.

As for Shizuo, he’s actually on some occasion seen dead bodies but he’s never killed anyone before, and he felt nauseous when he saw the dead bodies of the Awakusu-kai men. ‘If Shizuo hadn’t been through those, he would probably have thrown up at the sight, that was how gruesome the killing scene looked like’Ironically, Shinra said to Shiki it coudn’t have been Shizuo’s doing because had it been Shizuo, those bodies would have looked way worse.

Let us assume that Shizuo was filled with rage to the point that he wanted to kill whoever his opponent was.The kind of insane rage that would make him want to kill three people in Awakusu-kai, mind you.But don’t the bodies of the deceased look a little too tidy for that to you? 

Take the body of the deceased who was rammed into the wall for example. Shizuo can easily rip guardrails off with those arms of his. If it was indeed Shizuo who rammed the man’s head into the wall with the intention of killing him - that is to say, without pulling his punches - then the body would probably not be left with a face for you to recognize. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a smashed skull instead. 

- Durarara Volume 6

If Shizuo killed someone in this manner, then his psyche would definitely take a turn for the worse. He would no longer be able to live a peaceful life. He would probably be disgusted at himself and descend further into the cycle of destruction - just like he did when he broke all his bones when he was young - it made him angry that he couldn’t control himself and he wanted to destroy himself so he broke more and more. 

But if it was intentional - then Shizuo wouldn’t care. If it was intentional, and he had no regrets afterwards he would possibly begin to see his strength as a dangerous weapon he can make use of to have a peaceful life. 

It really depends on the circumstance, but in the example Shinra gave above, if it was uncontrollable rage then Shizuo would hate himself even more and begin to truly see himself as a monster. 

As for Izaya, well, this is just my opinion but I don’t think Izaya has ever wanted Shizuo to become a monster by killing someone until the death match.

Sure, he calls Shizuo a monster and says he can’t love him as a human because of that, but Izaya has never pushed Shizuo to the point of wanting to truly kill someone until the death match, either him or another person. He speaks of killing Shizuo, but never of Shizuo killing someone. Even in the death match, he starts with the intention of killing Shizuo, and when he can’t, he aims for Shizuo to kill him and become a monster. 

“A great man could be a hero in a war, but when peace comes he might immediately become feared like a monster for being preposterously strong.”

- Orihara Izaya, Durarara! SH Volume 1

As you know, I theorized that Izaya started a war in Ikebukuro to not only wake up Celty’s head, but to make Shizuo a hero. So he shouldn’t - and hasn’t - planned things to the point that Shizuo would want to kill someone - until the death match. Because he couldn’t take the suffering anymore.

I think Izaya was content loving Shizuo from afar, he didn’t seem to suffer at all before he got out of the hospital. And he also loves humanity unrequitedly, so he seems to be someone who can live an unrequited love.

So if Shizuo killed someone before the death match in the situation Shinra described above - I think Izaya would have mixed feelings. He would be happy because it proves that Shizuo is a monster, but upset because Shizuo has become a monster, and not the hero he wanted him to be. How do I say this….he would be happy because it validates his words that he can’t love Shizuo because he can’t love a monster, but upset because it really wasn’t in his plan and he didn’t want to push Shizuo to the extent of killing someone (since before he got out of the hospital, he wasn’t suffering because Shizuo did not have as many people around him)

So it also really depends on when Shizuo would have killed someone. Before the death match yes, but before or after he met Vorona and Akane? When it was just Izaya and him, or when it was no longer about just Izaya and him? 

If it was after, when Izaya is all bitter and jealous, then Izaya would probably enjoy it, because see, Shizuo is a monster and not human like he’s trying to be with Vorona and Akane and Masaomi. And that’s why he can’t be in love with Shizuo because Shizuo is not human. Of course, he would be a bit perturbed because again, it’s unpredictable of Shizuo, who again ‘changed on his own’.

But if it was that kind of case, then Izaya would also possibly take the opportunity to confront Shizuo about it and perhaps forge a connection with him. Shizuo’s reaction would depend on whether he killed someone because of Izaya or because of something unrelated to Izaya. If it was because of Izaya - then, well, he would probably kill Izaya. However if him killing someone was completely unrelated from Izaya, then Shizuo might be able to see Izaya in a better light - for the sole reason he’s now in a worse light than Izaya who hasn’t killed anyone like him. Izaya would taunt Shizuo about it, but want to use the opportunity to get Shizuo away from his humans. 

It would then depend on Shizuo, and the impact killing someone in such a gruesome way (the way Shinra described above) would have on him. And if it was that Izaya - that bitter and jealous Izaya who was suffering from Shizuo forgetting about him, he would do anything to get Shizuo. He would definitely taunt Shizuo about it, but I think he would use it as an opportunity to get Shizuo on his side. But since Shizuo is unpredictable and is likely to react and move on his own, Izaya might be compelled to join Shizuo instead. 

The mysterious person, who uses the art of coaxing, to truly love one person. Surely that man would then become ‘evil.’ To only obtain that person, he would be fine with destroying the world, killing people, or to make a mess of society.

- Densuke Sozoro, Standing Ovation with Izaya

So Izaya did make a mess of society with his plan to start a war in Ikebukuro. It wasn’t to ‘obtain’ Shizuo, but to make Shizuo a hero, but in a way it was, since before their death match, Izaya asked Shizuo if he thinks helping humans is going to make them love him, as if he already had a plan for Shizuo to become a hero.

So in the hypothetical situation with a Shizuo who has killed someone gruesomely and a joyful but also bitter and jealous Izaya after Shizuo didn’t visit him in the hospital, Izaya might do unpredictable things to obtain the Shizuo who has killed someone and is affected by it. It would be the prime opportunity for Izaya to step in, especially because he knows, after Shizuo forgetting about him, how it feels like to not have Shizuo notice him. 

Their relationship would change. They would become closer, if Izaya is the only one Shizuo can turn to because he feels he’s a monster who shouldn’t be around the people he cares about, but it would also become more twisted. And considering Vorona has killed many people before, Izaya might make his move fast so that she and Shizuo don’t bond over him killing someone. Though I don’t think she killed people as gruesomely as Shizuo would have if he had killed someone. 

But if Shizuo reacts really negatively to having killed someone and becoming a monster, his relationship with Izaya would really become more twisted than before. He hates Izaya, but Izaya is the only one he can be with because Izaya is - was worse than him. I don’t think it would be a healthy turn because not only do you have a self-loathing Shizuo, you have a bitter and resentful but still in unrequited love Izaya and it’s really not a good equation at all. Izaya’s love for Shizuo would just become more and more twisted, because Shizuo has become a monster like he wanted him to be, but he’s reacting in such a human way and Izaya still loves him. 

If Shizuo killed someone after the death match….you mean in SH? Again it depends on the circumstance, because as said before, with Izaya gone, Shizuo has a shorter fuse because his outlet for his uncontrollable power is gone. If he killed someone in SH (in the manner Shinra described), then well, he would become a villain, because with the way things are going in SH, Shizuo killing someone could be the turning point the narration described. 

There are people who would take advantage of that like Kuon, whom Yahiro told has to become greater than Orihara Izaya if he wants Nozomi to live independently. And turning Heiwajima Shizuo into a villain (since he can’t become one himself because as Nozomi says, he’s too soft unlike Izaya) would be something even Izaya wasn’t able to do. 

And if Shizuo became a villain, Izaya might come back. You can refer back to my butterfly and camellia theory here. 

Izaya wasn’t shot, he was stabbed haha. Well, considering Izaya had framed him, Shizuo would probably not visit him in the hospital. He would probably say something along the lines of ‘Serves the bastard right’ and not visit Izaya, but he might adopt a more lenient attitude towards Izaya because Izaya being backstabbed makes him seem more human and less like a flea whom he can never catch. Like, Izaya was caught by someone, so maybe he’s not so much of a flea as Shizuo thinks, even though he probably deserved it. 

But I don’t think he would visit Izaya in the hospital, to kill him or not (as Izaya thinks he would) because he said he doesn’t really want to kill Izaya, if Izaya would just let him live his life in peace. So he wouldn’t go out of his way to go kill Izaya while he’s down - Shizuo wouldn’t kill someone who’s hospitalized anyway. 

It’s not a definite that Shizuo would not visit him, since he’s unpredictable after all. But if he did, he wouldn’t rush to do it, he would spend days wondering if Izaya is up to something - I mean, thinking about Izaya. As in, Shizuo always thinks Izaya is up to something, but now he knows Izaya is in the hospital. So the time he spends thinking Izaya is up to something because he hasn’t seen him in Ikebukuro for so long would be spent thinking if Izaya was still in the hospital. 

And then he would go visit him, out of curiosity, because it’s unusual for Izaya to be immobile for so long, and because he knows what it’s like to be hospitalized. Maybe.