About
Durarara!! (Japanese: デュラララ!!), sometimes abbreviated to “DRRR!!”, is a popular light novel series created by Ryohgo Narita, also known for his work on the series Baccano!. Ever since the series’ creation, it has gained popularity online, spawning a large fan following.
History
Durarara!! originally started out as a series of light novel written by Ryohgo Narita, which was first published on April 10, 2004, with a total of 13 books in the series as of November 2013. The series follows the story of Mikado Ryugamine, a young boy who moves to the city of Ikebukuro to attend Raira Academy with his childhood friend Masaomi Kida. While there, Ryugamine meets a number of people, such as the superhumanly strong man Shizuo Heiwajima, the information broker Izaya Orihara, an Irish dullahan known as the “Black Rider”, as well as the mysterious gang known as “The Dollars”. As well as Light Novels, the series also spawned a manga, which began publication on April 18, 2009, and an anime series created by Brain’s Base and directed by Takahiro Omori, which aired in Japan from January 7, 2010 to June 24, 2010, and on Adult Swim from June 26, 2011 to December 17, 2011. The series also spawned two spin-off visual novels for the PSP, which were released on September 22, 2010 and August 25, 2011.
Online Relevance
Durarara!! has garnered a significant online following on sites such as Tumblr[1], Reddit[2], 4chan’s /a/ (Anime and Manga) board[3], Fanpop[4], My Anime List[5], FanFiction.net[6] and DeviantART[7]. There are numerous sites holding information of the series, such as the Durarara!! wiki[8], TV Tropes[9] and Anime News Network[10]. The Durarara!! official Facebook page also has over 38,000 likes[11], with a second Facebook page with over 57,000 likes[12]. The series also spawned a website based off the Dollars gang featured in the show, accessed via the password “Baccano”[13].
Notable Sub-Memes
Durarara!! Ending Parodies/Trust Me
Durarara!! Ending Parodies refers to a number of anime ending credit parody videos based on the first ending song of the anime adaptation. Ever since the first reported parody was posted to Nico Nico Douga on January 16, 2010, the parodies gained mass popularity on sites such as pixiv, Nico Nico Douga and YouTube.
Shizuo x Izaya/Shizaya
Shizuo/Izaya (Often abbreviated to Shizaya) is a popular ship within the Durarara!! fandom, involving character Shizuo Heiwajima and Izaya Orihara. Despite the two being presented as strong enemies within the series, the ship has gained a strong following online, such as on sites such as Tumblr[14].
Search Interest
External References
[2]Reddit – r/Durarara!!
[3]4chan – /a/ Anime and Manga
[4]Fanpop – Durarara!!
[5]My Anime List – Durarara!!!!
[6]Fanfiction.net – Durarara!!
[9]TV Tropes – Durarara!!
[10]Anime News Network – Durarara!!
[11]Facebook – Durarara!! Official Facebook page
[12]Facebook – Durarara!! Fan Page