[In 500 Words] Durarara!!x2 Ten

While I use their traditional Japanese titles: Shou, Ten, and Ketsu, on this blog, all three cours of Durarara!!x2 could feasibly go by their English titles as well. For the first cour: Shou, the kanji can be read as "understanding", as in, Mikado slowly beginning to understand the philosophy of the city he lives in, how he fits into it, and how he wants to fit into it, sparking an epiphany about his own inner self that could be argued as the spark that sets the entirety of the narrative of Durarara!!x2 spiraling into delightful chaos. Ketsu translates to "conclusion", which is pretty self-explanatory, so I have nothing more to say. However, Ten has the most interesting English translation for me; for Ten is read as "motion". And things in Durarara!!x2 Ten are indeed beginning to move, in a way that they won't be able to stop. Which is fine, because if you're Mikado Ryūgamine, stopping is the one thing that you won't ever be doing again.
     Hello people of "The Wired", my name is Quan, and welcome to the second part of this rather unusual series. Today, Durarara!!x2 Ten, and why the motion of the franchise's moving parts are finally beginning to click, in ways negligible, and depending on how close you've been paying attention to this show, completely the opposite at the same time. Let's get started.


In 500 Words

Ten constitutes somewhat of a return-to-formula for the Durarara franchise. While Shou mostly spent its time setting up the overall conflict for the season that would be reimbursed in Ketsu, Ten sets most of that to the edge of the narrative frame, which is brilliant conveyed in possibly the best opening the franchise has had thus far. The random comings-and-goings of the city are the focus in this cour, whether that be detailing a unwary stalker obsessing over a monster pretending to be a human, or a Russian assassin reexamining her life in a new situation that seems to be treating her well.

An average day in Ikebukuro.

Some of what Ten dabbles around with is relevant to the overall plot and some of it is not, but it at least provides context to the overall frame of what exactly is happening in Ikebukuro, giving information that we may be able to use as the series prepares itself for the end-game. This leads Ten to be somewhat unfocused, even by Durarara standards. Most of what it has to offer is suitable, but I can't help but feel some loose ends, not quite crucial but still relevant things could have been cleared up so Ketsu could be more focused on the core conflict. In fact, Ten does a rather shoddy job of cleaning house for the third cour to be more focused, the reason for the tad rushed pace of Ketsu.

Treading the path to total annihilation. 

In that regard, Ten is most similiar to the style and pace of the first season; chaos without the control, which is good news for fans that preferred the first season's entertaining meanderings, and bad news for people who like me who prefer !!x2's thematic focus around a whirlwind of random... stuff. Luckily, Ten does somewhat still manage to please both kinds of fans, finally doing some crucial set-up for the third cour in its last couple of episodes, which more unluckily leads into this cour's most prominent flaw. Being the middle child, Ten lacks a solid beginning or more importantly, a satisfying conclusion, something that Shou was able to do with flying colors. That probably is balanced out since Shou had a rather lackluster start, but it's something to keep in mind as we head into the final verdict.

The OP: "Day You Laugh"

Out of all three of !!x2's cours, Ten is probably the most easily enjoyable, since it requires less thinking on what the events playing out in front of you mean in the bigger narrative picture, which besides from some certain moments(like the development of Masaomi Kida and the backstory of Izaya Orihara) is reflected in this cour being arguably the least interesting of all of what Durarara has to offer collectively. That's unfortunate, but still, in a second season that has been as unexpectedly complex as this one, a little breather in the middle before we get to the deep stuff is nice, and if that was Ten's intention: to cool off the viewer's expectations before destroying them one cour later, it does its job.

Final Verdict: 7/10

P.S: Shit, he got a new jacket.


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