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I think he forgot what Shinra said about Izaya toward the end of the last (so far) season. He said that Izaya is basically the most sensitive of all, n the way that he chooses to block out every insult and hurtful attack against him and understands and accepts the worst of humanity, because that’s just the way humans are, and he loves that ability to be that unpredictable. Izaya also sees himself as a protector of that humanity, as in his own words he says that he sees Shizuo as a threat to humanity; as someone who could pose a threat to human progress. S In that light, you can almost see his manipulation of people as weeding out those who pose what he sees as a danger to humanity, by putting them against each other, because that’s what they deserve, and humanity would be all the better with them gone.
The reason so many people like Izaya so much is because he's not a villain, he's an antagonist, and the two are not always intertwined. See the explanation below for details. Below is a long paragraph regarding Digibro framing Izaya as a villain rather than as an antagonist and what the differences are. For TL;DR: Izaya is an antagonist, not a villain, as his methods and beliefs do not oppose the society in which he operates, rather his methods and beliefs interact with individuals in a manipulative way regardless of whether or not they help or harm them. In short, morality and philosophy hold little sway for him: he does what he does because that is who he is and what he enjoys doing, not because he fundamentally opposes society or the individuals involved on a philosophical or moral level. (You could argue his relationship with Shizuo differs in this regard, however, his conflict with him is not a moral one, simply something he finds to be unnatural and an inconvenience or an operational or mechanical opposition rather than a moral or philosophical opposition. Is he a sociopath? Maybe, sometimes its hard to tell. Is he an antagonist? Definitely. Is he a villain? I would argue he is not. See the paragraph below for more detail.) I have to disagree with your framing of Izaya as a villain. He is an antagonist, there is no doubt there, but villain and antagonist are two specific roles and he only fulfills one, not the other. An antagonist works with forces or within interests that are counter to the protagonists, who usually have to react to what the antagonist is doing. Izaya in the way he operates functions as something of a perfect antagonist, as he's almost entirely behind or at least involved in everything that occurs within the story itself, essentially the ultimate schemer and perpetrator. Antagonists are often opposed to individuals rather than entire societies or moral standards and principles, and they are only in opposition because of what an antagonist is doing rather than what they believe. Izaya's beliefs are highly pragmatic and functional: he often creates these scenarios to test the limits of individuals or even cause them to learn something. This might have something to do with Izaya's name deriving from the name Isaiah, who was a biblical prophet, preacher, and teacher. However, a villain is specifically defined as a character that works with morally reprehensible or otherwise evil intentions in mind, or is at least labeled as such by the society itself. This is where you run into a problem with Izaya: he does not consider morality whatsoever and society does not reject how he operates, individuals do. You can't place him as being morally evil because the rules and concepts of traditional or other types of morality do not apply to him either, and nothing he believes in or does violates the mores and standards of the society he exists within. He utilizes his abilities and furthers his goals regardless of what the moral implications are, while a true villain would be at least aware of where they stand when it comes to a moral stance and philosophical stance taken by the society in which they operate, and that society is often what they oppose, with individuals supporting said society becoming embodiments of it (such as how the Joker sees Batman as a vigilante extension of the society he opposes) rather than being seen as individuals in opposition to the villain's goals. You say so yourself within this video: Izaya utilizes the rules of society for his own personal gain, and society itself takes no issue with it. A villain would either be directly opposed to established society and its moral rules, or the villain would utilize methods that are considered completely in conflict with society's moral rules. (In terms of being in opposition to established moral rules; they might have their own moral justifications but that would be separate and in conflict with established moral rules of the society. This concept of villainy is also assuming that the established moral rules and the society itself are good or at least benign. Villains in works of dystopia function differently on a fundamental level due to this, but seeing as DuRaRaRa!! isn't considered dystopian, this is a non-issue).
izaya is now in wheelchair. doctors told him he could walk again but he refuse, because he's been traumatized from Shizuo and he wanted his legs to be a reminder from that fight.
let's make it a discord? how about a mass watch in september? 30 days of DRRR? 24+12+12+12 episodes, so 60/2: 2 episodes a day? Come on people let's get it, Netflix has all 4 cores (in the U.S.)
Alex Castro atStewingInSusumu I'd join it! Post a link to the server here, properly set up the server with different categories(maybr even a bot) and get enough people.
I'd actually disagree. See the long explanation below for details. Below is a long paragraph regarding Digibro framing Izaya as a villain rather than as an antagonist and what the differences are. For TL;DR: Izaya is an antagonist, not a villain, as his methods and beliefs do not oppose the society in which he operates, rather his methods and beliefs interact with individuals in a manipulative way regardless of whether or not they help or harm them. In short, morality and philosophy hold little sway for him: he does what he does because that is who he is and what he enjoys doing, not because he fundamentally opposes society or the individuals involved on a philosophical or moral level. (You could argue his relationship with Shizuo differs in this regard, however, his conflict with him is not a moral one, simply something he finds to be unnatural and an inconvenience or an operational or mechanical opposition rather than a moral or philosophical opposition. Is he a sociopath? Maybe, sometimes its hard to tell. Is he an antagonist? Definitely. Is he a villain? I would argue he is not. See the paragraph below for more detail.) I have to disagree with your framing of Izaya as a villain. He is an antagonist, there is no doubt there, but villain and antagonist are two specific roles and he only fulfills one, not the other. An antagonist works with forces or within interests that are counter to the protagonists, who usually have to react to what the antagonist is doing. Izaya in the way he operates functions as something of a perfect antagonist, as he's almost entirely behind or at least involved in everything that occurs within the story itself, essentially the ultimate schemer and perpetrator. Antagonists are often opposed to individuals rather than entire societies or moral standards and principles, and they are only in opposition because of what an antagonist is doing rather than what they believe. Izaya's beliefs are highly pragmatic and functional: he often creates these scenarios to test the limits of individuals or even cause them to learn something. This might have something to do with Izaya's name deriving from the name Isaiah, who was a biblical prophet, preacher, and teacher. However, a villain is specifically defined as a character that works with morally reprehensible or otherwise evil intentions in mind, or is at least labeled as such by the society itself. This is where you run into a problem with Izaya: he does not consider morality whatsoever and society does not reject how he operates, individuals do. You can't place him as being morally evil because the rules and concepts of traditional or other types of morality do not apply to him either, and nothing he believes in or does violates the mores and standards of the society he exists within. He utilizes his abilities and furthers his goals regardless of what the moral implications are, while a true villain would be at least aware of where they stand when it comes to a moral stance and philosophical stance taken by the society in which they operate, and that society is often what they oppose, with individuals supporting said society becoming embodiments of it (such as how the Joker sees Batman as a vigilante extension of the society he opposes) rather than being seen as individuals in opposition to the villain's goals. You say so yourself within this video: Izaya utilizes the rules of society for his own personal gain, and society itself takes no issue with it. A villain would either be directly opposed to established society and its moral rules, or the villain would utilize methods that are considered completely in conflict with society's moral rules. (In terms of being in opposition to established moral rules; they might have their own moral justifications but that would be separate and in conflict with established moral rules of the society. This concept of villainy is also assuming that the established moral rules and the society itself are good or at least benign. Villains in works of dystopia function differently on a fundamental level due to this, but seeing as DuRaRaRa!! isn't considered dystopian, this is a non-issue).
One thing I'm surprised you didn't mention was that Izaya has a literal god complex (which was explained in the books more clearly than the anime). It would have fit in nicely with your points. He wants to see himself as above all other humans, which is why he practices self control in many aspect of his life (such as weighing himself everyday) and avoiding human connections, so as distance himself from society and his humanity in general. The funny thing is, is that no matter what, he can only ever be just a human. This is because repeatably he's shown to suffer the aftereffects of his huge ego, such as the obvious loneliness and increasing self doubt. Hes also paranoid about aging as he visions himself as being 21 forever. Basically, in the end Izaya chases an ideal(or the role of a god) he can never reach because hes only human.
Oreki Houtarou True, there is the supernatural factor to consider in the Durarara universe. However, obtaining immortality(if he even could) wouldn't automatically make Izaya a god. To achieve a god-like status, means to be fully understand the actions and motivations of society so as to have total control. Like Digibro said, Izaya is limited in this regard and cannot predict everything. He is also not the strongest character in the series. So if he seriouslly pisses off the wrong type of person (such as Simon), then they're going to make sure he wont be able to do it again. An AU where he does gain supernatural powers would be i teresting I have to say, however I'm still sure he could never achieve the god-like status he wants to. Theres way to many factors against him..doesent stop him from trying tho XD
In a way, everything he does is his own way of lashing out at society for that very reason... that he is only human. That is why he hates monsters and abnormalities like Shizuo. They belong in their own special category that cannot be assigned any logical connection or value. They are separate and disconnected from the very rules that he loves, and they represent everything that he wishes he was. The only way he could find a way to cope with such illogic and inequality, was to try and prove that there was no inequity in the first place... by showing that he could control and beat shizuo using "the rules of society".
Mausefell Durarara is by the same author as the Baccano series, which is about a group of immortals in the U.S. during the 1920s. These series exist in the same universe, and there were even cameos by Baccano characters in Durarara. So Izaya could become an immortal who would never age or get injured and could only be killed by another immortal. (Or, since the Vamp novels are also part of this universe, Izaya could theoretically become a vampire.)
The reason so many people like Izaya so much is because he's not a villain, he's an antagonist, and the two are not always intertwined. See the explanation below for details. Below is a long paragraph regarding Digibro framing Izaya as a villain rather than as an antagonist and what the differences are. For TL;DR: Izaya is an antagonist, not a villain, as his methods and beliefs do not oppose the society in which he operates, rather his methods and beliefs interact with individuals in a manipulative way regardless of whether or not they help or harm them. In short, morality and philosophy hold little sway for him: he does what he does because that is who he is and what he enjoys doing, not because he fundamentally opposes society or the individuals involved on a philosophical or moral level. (You could argue his relationship with Shizuo differs in this regard, however, his conflict with him is not a moral one, simply something he finds to be unnatural and an inconvenience or an operational or mechanical opposition rather than a moral or philosophical opposition. Is he a sociopath? Maybe, sometimes its hard to tell. Is he an antagonist? Definitely. Is he a villain? I would argue he is not. See the paragraph below for more detail.) I have to disagree with your framing of Izaya as a villain. He is an antagonist, there is no doubt there, but villain and antagonist are two specific roles and he only fulfills one, not the other. An antagonist works with forces or within interests that are counter to the protagonists, who usually have to react to what the antagonist is doing. Izaya in the way he operates functions as something of a perfect antagonist, as he's almost entirely behind or at least involved in everything that occurs within the story itself, essentially the ultimate schemer and perpetrator. Antagonists are often opposed to individuals rather than entire societies or moral standards and principles, and they are only in opposition because of what an antagonist is doing rather than what they believe. Izaya's beliefs are highly pragmatic and functional: he often creates these scenarios to test the limits of individuals or even cause them to learn something. This might have something to do with Izaya's name deriving from the name Isaiah, who was a biblical prophet, preacher, and teacher. However, a villain is specifically defined as a character that works with morally reprehensible or otherwise evil intentions in mind, or is at least labeled as such by the society itself. This is where you run into a problem with Izaya: he does not consider morality whatsoever and society does not reject how he operates, individuals do. You can't place him as being morally evil because the rules and concepts of traditional or other types of morality do not apply to him either, and nothing he believes in or does violates the mores and standards of the society he exists within. He utilizes his abilities and furthers his goals regardless of what the moral implications are, while a true villain would be at least aware of where they stand when it comes to a moral stance and philosophical stance taken by the society in which they operate, and that society is often what they oppose, with individuals supporting said society becoming embodiments of it (such as how the Joker sees Batman as a vigilante extension of the society he opposes) rather than being seen as individuals in opposition to the villain's goals. You say so yourself within this video: Izaya utilizes the rules of society for his own personal gain, and society itself takes no issue with it. A villain would either be directly opposed to established society and its moral rules, or the villain would utilize methods that are considered completely in conflict with society's moral rules. (In terms of being in opposition to established moral rules; they might have their own moral justifications but that would be separate and in conflict with established moral rules of the society. This concept of villainy is also assuming that the established moral rules and the society itself are good or at least benign. Villains in works of dystopia function differently on a fundamental level due to this, but seeing as DuRaRaRa!! isn't considered dystopian, this is a non-issue).
And that's why I love him so much. He's so antagonistic yet entertaining that I keep rooting for what his next outcome is. Regardless on whether if it's beneficial or detrimental.
Izaya is probably one of the best characters in anime history and objectively the most important character in Durarara!!! Having said that, I admit it is pretty satisfying watching him getting his shit kicked.
Exactly! Many people think Celty is the most important one because she is the face (figuratively) of the series. But she is a passive character in contrast with the other active characters in Ikebukuro (Izaya being the most active one). Shit happens to her but not because of her and that´s the metric that I use to know when a character is more important or less than others.
According to Narita Celty is the main character, and I totally agree with you, she is a passive character, it is true that she connects all the characters and it is something that stands out very much at the end of the series, but is Izaya the one using those connections created by Celty to move all the characters, therefore, Izaya is a crucial character for the serie. Celty is a spider who creates threads without a purpose, and is Izaya the one using it to connect them and make something of worth of it as an spiderweb
Due to the marketing necessity of moe girls, Celty is objectively the most important character; just as every English teacher you ever had is objectively a failure for not teaching you the meaning of "objectively". If anyone can dispute it in any way, it's not objective. Not just if you disagree with everyone else disputing it. By the way, my Stand's ability is to trap the soul of anyone who misuses that word, so I got another!
to be fair in celty's defense it is heavily implied shinra is the kick starter to pushing izaya's human love to crazy lenghts. They did exchange some interesting dialogue in school. and i mean shinra kinda became who he was because of his infatuation of celty he was talking about her to izaya even back then. So to be fair it all kinda comes full circle but yes celty is not the direct cause intentionally like izaya.
@@dgamer1760 Durarara. Yes, It's always been a personal favorite of mine. The characters are all quirky and unique and it might seem slow at the first ep, but I advise you to go a couple of episodes in before making any judgements. Its character rather than plot oriented in my opinion, but if anyone would like to make a counterargument to that by all means do so. But anyhow....yea man. Go for it 👍
4:46 I would also like to add to this “being above Izaya” idea. Shinra Kishitani is also “above Izaya”, and someone Izaya is envious of and looks up to as a guide or some sort of god. Izaya also thinks that Shinra lives above humanity itself. Here’s a very interesting except from the novels!: “He recalled the jealousy and inferiority he had felt when it happened and wondered if perhaps Shinra Kishitani was less of a friend to him than a rival. And rather than a target of hatred like Shizuo Heiwajima, might he actually be something Izaya should strive to be? But then he thought of Shinra today and laughed. “No, of course not.” Still, I can’t deny that I was jealous of how firmly, confidently alien he was.” -Durarara!!, Vol. 9 (light novel)
It's always nice to see Durarara!! videos, especially ones that go into the series depth. Izaya Orihara is my favorite character as well. I love the guy to death but boy does he need a good Simon punch every once in awhile haha. Izaya and Shizuo wanting to actually MURDER each other never seemed to register in the Shizaya fans minds--
Izaya is one of my favorite characters of all time and damn, do I love seeing him get punched in the face. So many interesting characters in this show, watching Durarara!! feels like watching a social experiment slowly go terribly wrong. Great video.
I think Izaya hate of Shizuo is also connected with the fact that Izaya really hates supernatural. Although he is usual polite in front of Celty, there is clearly dislike behind it. The most revealing was his talk with Anri when he coldly said "Don't tell me you still consider yourself to be human" It might some form of fear, as supernatural is something he cannot fully understand or control. It might be some form of human supremacist believing that only human deserve to live and set rules.
Oh, I think you are right, it feels more like he tolerates Celty than anything, perhaps he even find interesting how humanlike she is despite not being a human at all.
...Hm. I love the way you've described this i wasnt going to watch Durarara but i'm going to watch it now just to understand this character and see if can see what you saw and break it down to see if i can replicate something similar. I love this concept for a villian. Thanks Digi.
You think so? I think a character like him can only be interesting if the world around him is just as fascinating. It would be amazing with or without him. But is made all the more so because he is there to stir the pot.
"You think so? I think a character like him can only be interesting if the world around him is just as fascinating. It would be amazing with or without him. But is made all the more so because he is there to stir the pot." You got it ! Izaya is a ton of fun and a memorable character for sure, but as Digi titled one of his past videos "Everyone is a badass in Durarara"
I really love the scene where Izaya gets stabbed. Before all that, Izaya seemed like an invincible guy, sharing the top of the hierarchy with Shizuo and Simon. Introducing another faction, which was on the same level seemed interesting to me, since things have turned around, he got played, not him messing with everyone else.
Izaya is definitely the best part of durarara. He has a similar feel to hisoka from hunter x hunter in that they both are interested in the protagonist but intend to use and destroy them eventually. Both of them are also interested in the potential of people. Of course, the way they go about pursuing these things is different but I don't think it's a coincidence that both these villains are some of the most loved in anime.
My fav is Shizo and I've been meaning too get the Baccano light novel since the first book has been translated. If Boogiepop can get a new anime 20 years later then maybe there's hope for Baccano.
I CANNOT have been the only one who thought Izaya was cool as shit and wanted him to win or something, right? To be clear I did understand Digibro’s perspective and interpretation, and I do believe that it’s more narratively sensible, but I’m not apologizing for stanning Izaya
I'm pretty sure that's the majority opinion. He's flashy, cool, in control, and a loner. He has all of the high points that characters like Kirito dream of having without being surrounded by the massive writing issues that those sorts of characters usually are.
Amir Butcher I was very disappointed that he didn't win. I love it when the sly villain beats all the "special" characters with nothing but his wits. Izaya had everything I love in a character, a twisted sense of humor, highly intelligent, fights with skill, the manipulative-type, and most importantly, his goals and motivation are personal. I'm so tired of characters that only do something because of external influence, I much prefer characters that make something happen for their own benefit.
bryan c Absolutely not, I don't dislike him as a character, but i don't gush over him either. Warning Spoiler: Griffith's first win was him being an opportunistic traitor and the second win wasn't even a contest because of his ascension to divinity. I much prefer Villains like Light from Death Note, The Major from Hellsing, Lelouch from Code Geass, or Char Aznable from Gundam.
I love Code Geass, but I don’t think Lelouch is a villain at all. He does villainous and particularly murdery shit, sure, but the whole show is morally gray. It criticizes people who think we can take on a method of being soft-asses to change a world as cruel as the one portrayed (especially through Suzaku’s hypocrisy of how he initially wanted to bring change). Every competent leader in the show hardly hesitates in taking lives, and although it’s acknowledged in passing - especially through exploring characters like the student council and Shirley - it is all portrayed as a simple result of the plans brought about by the key players. As I said, Suzaku does criticize this, but he’s not only ultimately shown to be hypocritical by committing the very actions he despises Zero for, but grows to acknowledge Lelouch’s brilliance and willingness to compromise in order to achieve the ultimate goal. In the end, of all the manipulation and bloodshed that Lelouch brings about through his actions, it’s all portrayed to be in service of eventual world peace. And he wins. He not only wins, but is depicted as morally superior to the two main antagonists, Schneizel and Charles. I paraphrase from Lelouch near the end of R2: “Father sought the past. Schneizel, you sought the present. But I shall seek the future!” Of course, he’s the one whose plan probably leads to the most widespread happiness and opportunity, at least in comparison to Charles’ destruction of God and Schneizel’s attempt at holding the world hostage with FLEIJA warheads. This was rambly I know. Its 4 am here. I may or may not reply because I used to argue too much in comments sections and I don’t want to do that anymore, at least not after spending a literal whole year arguing with some shithead on a Minecraft video.
Just saw your video about privatizing your content in 3 weeks. So I had to come back to the video that made me a fan. Good luck with everything you set out to do. We love you
It's terrifying to fully realize that if you were immortal you wouldn't know it. This has nothing to do with anything, but it occurred to me while watching this.
I mean, you’d figure it out at some point, assuming you don’t die accidentally. In which case that immortality didn’t really help all that much to begin with, did it?
Jeremy Crow probably late 40’s to early 50’s. If I’m still as springy as I was in my 20’s, I’ll start thinking something’s up. When I hit 70 and I can still run a mile, I’d probably think I’m immortal. Unless it’s the shitty kind of immortality where you just age forever, then I’d say somewhere around 110.
I have a friend who still runs marathons in his 70s, but then again your appearance and health signs might give it away. There are also forms of immortality where you stop aging at a certain point and where you regress back to a certain age at what would be time of death. There are other possibilities but we start getting into "how do we know what's real" territory there, and that just breaks down conversations.
I love Izaya so much though, he’s just fascinating. As someone who’s a major people pleaser the way he thinks, and goes about life (including the arrogance) is bewildering and intriguing.
I love this show for other reasons. But you just really improved my thoughts upon this show even more. It just makes sense?! Izaya has taught me so much. It's a very underrated anime and its rare to have people like him in other shows aswell.
I never expected Digi to make a video about Izaya, but I'm so glad he did! Im reading Durarara and this analysis makes Izayas character make much more sense, esp the bit for the reason of his hate for Shizuo. Will be rewatching for reference.
even though I didn't particularily enjoyed durarara for exactly that character (and a couple of other problems I had), this video makes me want to watch it. Everytime I think Digibro has lost his spark he comes back even stronger. Keep up the good work! We all hope for you to reach the 1 million subscribers one day.
I clicked on this expecting a beautiful roast session and slew of amazing edits of Izaya getting his ass kicked but honestly this analyzation was just as amazing and interesting so props to you lol
Finally, a summary for Durarara: "Its about a society trying to correct itself after some dude tries to mix up shit so his consciousness can live forever because he's afraid of death."
I like hearing how people sum up the world around them/the world we live in. It’s almost always interesting to see how they boil the complexities of life down into something more readily digestible, for themselves and others. Even if I rarely ever agree.
This was the show that I just happen to come by on Netflix 2 years ago, that made me take a chance to see if there was anime out there besides for what Adult Swim and Toonami wood play. Since then I couldn't tell you how many series and movies I watched that I thought were obscure and then turned out classics to the community. So this one really holds a special spot to me.
I haven't watched Durarara in so long and while I haven't finished the anime, I did catch up with the books through second hand information (I did not have the time to read the books by the time I realized they were a thing). Izaya and Shizuo are definitely some of the greatest characters in anime I believe cause while they're not as loaded with backstory and development like a lot of characters, their basic goals, basic character design, and basic motivations are pleasing and enough to draw other parts about them.
