Durarara!!x2 Shou - Episode 12 Discussion / Poll

[Nicaea]

Clearly the cosmic slap of karma was a nice touch. Izaya was way over his head, just like Varona.

Nice to see Akane and Shizuo bond. I wonder how they will handle his progression, now that he's becoming less reckless.

As for Mikado, it was bound to happen. Someone here mentioned that he was already one of the extraordinary, but I'd go further by saying that he's the alien here. If you look at his acquaintances, him being the last founder of the Dollars and how he organized the first meeting of the Dollars; clearly he's not too shabby himself. They say that still waters run deep. What should frighten you all is the speed at which Mikado switched between his dark and his light side, that's not something normal people can do. Aoba is in for a ride with this one.


Also Akabayashi's voice so pleasant~

[Marcus H.]

Akabayashi's so awesome when he was talking smack at Vorona. The Russian assassin turned into some kid trespassing on a golf course during that scene.

[Houreki]

Mikado making the deal with Aoba was pretty cool, I wish to see more of Mikado like this.

[Kismet-chan]

Originally Posted by rladls2121

Using the car as a soccer ball.

Ikr?! I was just sitting here laughing and going, "Oh, just another day in the life of Shizuo, I guess!" Pfft.

Damn, I knew about the pen scene before I watched this, but hearing it voice acted... Really added a whole other dimension to things.

[teja208]

Originally Posted by Iron Maw

I'm not sure why people are calling Mikado a self-insert. I don't even think that term even existed when DRRR novels and anime came out. Mikado is (at least initially) most normal person in the cast because he has least eccentric attributes on the surface. That doesn't make him a stand-in for the reader, just more relatable than some other members of the cast. Otherwise that kind of character really doesn't exist in a Nartia story.

Also feel that irony here is despite how Mikado's feels about himself, he's actually already one of the extraordinary. It's similar to irony of how Celty is more human than most of cast despite her inhuman nature. DRRR's meta layers are full of all kinds of stuff like that.

Self insert? I don’t really see him that way. You may be right that he is excentric on the inside, but compare to the rest of the cast, the fact that he’s outwardly ordinary without any status, superpower, fighting skills etc. makes him quite insignificant throughout this cour, and that’s why I think some find him boring. Well, a character that is insignificant to the plot can be compensated by taking a role of a comic relief such as Simon and the twins which Mikado is not. Note that I’m not one of those who find him boring, but I do find him falling behind the rest of the cast in this cour.

To me, Mikado is a roller coaster ride of a character development: starting out ordinary then it’s reveal to be something more than that, then a period of regressing into a pathetic state, and this episode is where Mikado is about to bounce back up, but since I haven’t read the novel, I don’t know how well he’ll succeed in the bouncing back or where will ended up landing.

He said something about wanting power this episode. Well he actually does have some power back in s1 when he thwarted Namie’s plan with his numeric superiority, but he decided to let it go at the end of the season. At that time, he probably couldn’t imagine someone else could takeover and make use of Dollar for their own selfish purpose twisting it into such a hideous state.

Starting this season, without him realizing, he starts falling behind the rest of the cast from losing touch with what’s going on with the Dollar to him beginning to find Izaya more trusting while can be justified, you realize he’s the only one (minus Akane). He also hadn't really done anything of noteworthy until we get to the pen stabbing. It seems the author’s intentionally shoving him (and Kida) into the background character folder for a few vol. He was pretty clever back then in s1 when turning the table on Namie; by ep. 11 of this season however, he’s reduced to a Leeroy Jenkins, trying to save Chikage’s girlfriend and getting his ass whooped. After his talk with Chikage, he realized that because of his lacking of any status, superpower, fighting skills etc. he has no influence over what’s going on in Ikebokuro and thus having no right in making any demands. I think this is what it means to be left behind by the city. He’s a nobody without the Dollars and that's why he’s going back to reclaim it and reform it in the way he wants it to be.

That said after this episode, I think I began to see why you insist that Mikado is eccentric on the inside. When compared to half of the cast who wishes to live a more ordinary life because they are abnormal being or having family issues etc., Mikado’s weird because he’s an ordinary person who subconsciously wishes to live a more extraordinary life starting with the creation of Dollar. I do note that how happy he seems to be at the end of this episode. If it’s me I wouldn’t feel so happy. Why would I? After all, I’m about to walk down a very dark road in life without turning back, may have to put myself and others life at risk, may have to hurt others and do cruel things to them, may have to start lying and manipulating others, and I have to keep all this a secret from my most trusted friends. So even though Mikado may claim to be doing this for the sake of his friends or the sake of Dollar, he seems unusually eager to do it, indicating there is some form of self gratification involve in this as well. Perhaps the accumulated events he encountered in the recent episodes and what Chikage said to him finally pushes his subconscious dissatisfaction with ordinary life to the surface.

P.S. : Hadn't what happened to Kida taught Mikado anything about the regrets of leading a gang? Of course not! Living an extraordinary double life as a gang leader sounds much more exciting!

[ReddyRedWolf]

Originally Posted by Nicaea

Clearly the cosmic slap of karma was a nice touch. Izaya was way over his head, just like Varona.

Yodagiri Jinai may not just be annoyed with Izaya messing his scheme but also him investigating Ruri's old place.

[Nicaea]

Originally Posted by ReddyRedWolf

Yodagiri Jinai may not just be annoyed with Izaya messing his scheme but also him investigating Ruri's old place.

Most likely. Izaya is too used to moving around with no one telling him where to stop.

[ReddyRedWolf]

Lets list Shizuo's new acquaintances this arc and how they affected him and how they perceive him.

Chikage- After all those weak and dishonorable opponents to Shizuo finds it refreshing somebody after a long time politely challenge to fight. Shizuo does admit a bit of envy he does have a girl to come back to. Chikage while cubstomp took four punches before going down. Shizuo respects him for that. Chikage in turn respects Shizuo though he wouldn't want to fight him again.

Akane- She is a nice girl with a sense of justice but considering she went out of her way to kill Shizuo shows the Yakuza blood in her. She still believes that Shizuo is out to kill her folks. She couldn't process why Shizuo would be concerned about her safety when she is still trying to kill him. This leaves her utterly confused.

Shizuo on the other hand has shown big brotherly instincts to protect Akane. And is utterly pissed off at Izaya as he would would use and harm such a little innocent girl. This has led to self control that he has been yearning for since his crush got hurt because of him. So yeah Shizuo has finally managed to protect girl.

Its a cute relationship but I have a bad feeling she'll grow up into like Shinra and Seiji with an unhealthy obsession to Shizuo like they did with Celty.

Vorona- He hasn't really met her yet. Shizuo doesn't like hurting women similar to Chikage but isn't above making Vorona regret attacking him. On the other side Vorona has found another new playmate and would like a fair fight with him as possible. Unlike Celty and Anri whom she considers monsters she still views him as a human. A super human but still a human. An interesting contrast Izaya likes to think Shizuo as a monster and considers him maintaining his humanity a regression.

Possible crazy stalker situation again for Shizuo with Vorona.

[Iron Maw]

Originally Posted by teja208

Self insert? I don’t really see him that way. You may be right that he is excentric on the inside, but compare to the rest of the cast, the fact that he’s outwardly ordinary without any status, superpower, fighting skills etc. makes him quite insignificant throughout this cour, and that’s why I think some find him boring. Well, a character that is insignificant to the plot can be compensated by taking a role of a comic relief such as Simon and the twins which Mikado is not. Note that I’m not one of those who find him boring, but I do find him falling behind the rest of the cast in this cour.

To me, Mikado is a roller coaster ride of a character development: starting out ordinary then it’s reveal to be something more than that, then a period of regressing into a pathetic state, and this episode is where Mikado is about to bounce back up, but since I haven’t read the novel, I don’t know how well he’ll succeed in the bouncing back or where will ended up landing.

He said something about wanting power this episode. Well he actually does have some power back in s1 when he thwarted Namie’s plan with his numeric superiority, but he decided to let it go at the end of the season. At that time, he probably couldn’t imagine someone else could takeover and make use of Dollar for their own selfish purpose twisting it into such a hideous state.

Starting this season, without him realizing, he starts falling behind the rest of the cast from losing touch with what’s going on with the Dollar to him beginning to find Izaya more trusting while can be justified, you realize he’s the only one (minus Akane). He also hadn't really done anything of noteworthy until we get to the pen stabbing. It seems the author’s intentionally shoving him (and Kida) into the background character folder for a few vol. He was pretty clever back then in s1 when turning the table on Namie; by ep. 11 of this season however, he’s reduced to a Leeroy Jenkins, trying to save Chikage’s girlfriend and getting his ass whooped. After his talk with Chikage, he realized that because of his lacking of any status, superpower, fighting skills etc. he has no influence over what’s going on in Ikebokuro and thus having no right in making any demands. I think this is what it means to be left behind by the city. He’s a nobody without the Dollars and that's why he’s going back to reclaim it and reform it in the way he wants it to be.

That said after this episode, I think I began to see why you insist that Mikado is eccentric on the inside. When compared to half of the cast who wishes to live a more ordinary life because they are abnormal being or having family issues etc., Mikado’s weird because he’s an ordinary person who subconsciously wishes to live a more extraordinary life starting with the creation of Dollar. I do note that how happy he seems to be at the end of this episode. If it’s me I wouldn’t feel so happy. Why would I? After all, I’m about to walk down a very dark road in life without turning back, may have to put myself and others life at risk, may have to hurt others and do cruel things to them, may have to start lying and manipulating others, and I have to keep all this a secret from my most trusted friends. So even though Mikado may claim to be doing this for the sake of his friends or the sake of Dollar, he seems unusually eager to do it, indicating there is some form of self gratification involve in this as well. Perhaps the accumulated events he encountered in the recent episodes and what Chikage said to him finally pushes his subconscious dissatisfaction with ordinary life to the surface.

I don't feel this was about him not being able to keep with the cast or anything, but rather delving to what exactly he wants to do with the Dollars and understanding himself. Being counted as an extraordinary person Ikebukuro isn't just about having superpowers (otherwise a few would count), but having a kind of quality that separates person from average whether it be personality, physically or emotional stability (or lack there of). Mikado in his case is extraordinary because he possess crazy resolve, guts and resourcefulness for someone his age while looking timid. He willingly see through anything he's done no matter what even if has to go to extremes for it.

This doesn't coming in as much into play in this arc until the end because he caught in a trap designed be two people who spent months preparing it beforehand based on what they know about him. Izaya and Aoba attempted to take hold of Mikado weakness his sense of responsibility and installed a self-doubt push him a direction they wanted by setting off a chain of events in quick succession where he be unable to respond quickly enough. This could have happening to anybody, once those two got to know them. So don't I fault him for it. Especially because narratively this was trial for to comes to terms with his inner-conflict himself and what he really wants from the Dollars.

As far as trusting Izaya or not is concerned, besides the fact Mikado is still new to the city, it doesn't matter. He can still manipulate you regardless what feel towards him because Izaya is capable of grasp the weakness of a person and setting a series of event both directly and indirectly to advantage of it like he did with Shizuo and Kida. There was not one person outside Aoba and Yodogiri that wasn't playing into his hands here. There were some small deviations, but nothing happened to really upset it, besides Yodogiri. That said in LN Izaya is actually unaware of the change Mikado took when become the leader of the Blue Squares.

P.S. : Hadn't what happened to Kida taught Mikado anything about the regrets of leading a gang? Of course not! Living an extraordinary double life as a gang leader sounds much more exciting!

Kida didn't really teach him anything, in fact he was way more desperate to hide everything to do with that past from Mikado because he himself was still running from unresolved issues at the time. Also the irony of what you say is actually what Mikado felt was holding him back for to do what needed to be done (of course that person who gave that advice was reality Izaya) for himself.

[Nvis]

I was hoping Mikado to disband Dollars, after Shizuo quitting and the guy with the hat gave him some advice.

[Iron Maw]

He can't.

More then anything the whole reason he started to the Dollars and came to Ikebukuro was break away monotony of everyday life. The group for good or bad is his lifeline to the unusual of Ikebukuro and he would sooner change the Dollars itself than do that.

[teja208]

Originally Posted by Iron Maw

*snipe*

I still have a question. What is your opinion of his smile at the end of this episode? You know, the same smile that Aoba has taken interested in.

[Dengar]

I do believe the fact that people see Mikado as an audience surrogate is intentional though.

The real point here though, is that unlike a true audience surrogate, he has these hidden depths which most of the time are hidden from the audience, which gives a bigger impact when they come out.

I did say before. He seems easy to relate to at first because he is the only normal in a town full of crazy... Except he is actually just as crazy as everyone else.

[Iron Maw]

Originally Posted by teja208

I still have a question. What is your opinion of his smile at the end of this episode? You know, the same smile that Aoba has taken interested in.

It means he's actually really thrilled/excited when something strange happening subconsciously even if he acts the opposite on the surface. Celty noticed the odd look a long time ago when she first met Mikado and was a little perturbed by it at the time. However she didn't get much time dwell on it since Mikado had stolen Mika and escaped with her.

Also when the Dollars where beating him up in this arc in the novel, he had one peculiar thought before he blackout which was how "boring" these guys were. I think the line was in anime. So I think Aoba is correct Mikado actually hides his emotions in reality which tends to make his actions at odds what he says.

[JiCi]

Originally Posted by ReddyRedWolf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nervous_laughter

Huh... dare I ask how come you had this ready to post :P ?

[ReddyRedWolf]

Originally Posted by JiCi

Huh... dare I ask how come you had this ready to post :P ?

I read a lot.

Nervous laughter during sexual assault is not unheard of.

[Mad Pierrot]

Originally Posted by ReddyRedWolf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nervous_laughter

The more you learn

[Hamster]

This episode has me confused on Varona's strength. In a flashback we see her annihilating a rival Russian gang by herself with ease and yet she was no match for the top yakuza dogs in Ikebukuro.

The guys that beat her must be extremely special themselves because I find it hard to believe it's a common thing for top gang officials to be strong enough to solo entire gangs.

[ReddyRedWolf]

Originally Posted by Hamster

This episode has me confused on Varona's strength. In a flashback we see her annihilating a rival Russian gang by herself with ease and yet she was no match for the top yakuza dogs in Ikebukuro.

The guys that beat her must be extremely special themselves because I find it hard to believe it's a common thing for top gang officials to be strong enough to solo entire gangs.

It's Ikebukurro! The city has badass normals and what would be considered monsters.

The whole point with Vorona is that while she is deadly she is inexperienced and still thinks as a child.