By Ryohgo Narita and Suzuhito Yasuda. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

I always love to start off a review by admitting I was wrong. So yes, sorry Izaya, it turns out you were NOT the one who told Yahiro to come to Tokyo after all, it was Shinra, who is also an agent of chaos, just with a bit less malice. Of course, that’s all very well and good, but his arrival, along with meeting Himeka and Kuon, seems to have started everyone back on to their usual mess again. Narita specializes in chains of unconnected events exploding outward till they all connect, and that’s what happens here, thanks to… well, some of it is indirectly thanks to Izaya. OK, most of it. But alas, he’s still not in these books. But Celty returns, and it’s refreshing to see that she is much the same as she was before. Albeit a lot more panicked, given that while she was having a hot springs tour, people kept disappearing and she got the blame. We also find out a lot more about Himeka and Kuon… who both have a lot of issues to deal with as well.

Given that both Yahiro and Himeka are actively looking for Celty, it’s rather surprising that their confrontation goes so well. Then again, Celty’s a sweetie pie, as anyone who spends time around her knows. This helps Himeka to let go of the rage and anger towards the headless rider… and also makes her realize what’s actually going on, which is not supernatural in nature but instead involves a broken family, the desperation of being a true believer, and a drug that does very bad things to you. As for Yahiro, well, his fight with Shizuo was not nearly as secret as he’d hoped, and now everyone knows there’s a new bad boy in town. What’s more, one of his new friends is trying to manipulate him. Can he manage to resolve what it means to be a human with the monster that everyone says he is?

The answer is no, but don’t worry, that’s a good answer – in fact, it’s the best part of the book. DRRR!! is a series where we see normal, non-powerful humans turning out to be the absolute scum of the earth, while one of the actual supernatural monsters is one of the nicest people in it. Ikebukuro is a place where being a monster may be cool, it may attract attention, it may force events to revolve around you… but it’s not really the terrible thing that Yahiro dealt with in his small town. As for the human part of the book… well, Horada, everyone’s least favorite minor villain, is out of jail and still just as pathetic, but I think we know by now he’s a running gag. More concerning is the Heaven’s Slave drug, which has not only made a big comeback but also brought back two somewhat more major villains, both of whom have decided to get revenge on the city rather than a person. No doubt that will spark the third volume.

All this and I didn’t even get into the use of cults and their use to get away from what ails you, which can be a problem when your cult leader suddenly disappears. In any case, if you love DRRR!!, Izaya or no, this is a very fun volume, greatly enjoyable.

By Ryohgo Narita and Suzuhito Yasuda. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

It’s been a year and a half since the final volume of Durarara!! dropped in English, and coincidentally that’s also how much time has passed between that book and this sequel. That said, it does not really feel that all THAT much has changed. Some folks have left the city for various reasons, some others have graduated, and we have three new “main characters” to take the place of Mikado, Masaomi and Anri. Of course, “main character” in a Narita work is always a fluid title, and one could argue that this book stars Ikebukuro, in which case nothing has changed. That said, it’s definitely more story than can fit into this book, and the author apologizes for making this a multi-parter right off the bat. There’s a lot of stuff going on. A young man treated as a monster comes to the city to learn how to be human. Another young man is trying his best to be the next Izaya. And a young woman is searching for her missing sisters, both supposedly done away with … by the Headless Rider.

The first three books in the DRRR!! series proper each focused on one of the three high school students, and there’s a sign this sequel may do the same, as Yahiro is definitely the protagonist of this particular book. A young man from Akiba who has spent his life getting attacked and desperately fighting back, to the point where most people consider him to be a complete monster. He hears about Ikebukuro, a place which not only has the Headless Rider but also Shizuo (whose backstory is very similar to Yahiro’s, deliberately so) and decides to go to high school in Tokyo. But finding the Headless Rider is not recommended given the string of disappearances involved with everyone who looks for her. As for Shizuo, well, Yahiro has spent his entire life accidentally beating the crap out of people, so there may be no avoiding it. But who’s gonna win?

As noted, a lot of the “main cast” of the earlier series isn’t here or only shows up later. Shinra and Celty are on a long vacation, Izaya is still AWOL (though he does get a cameo, setting things in motion towards chaos as always), Kadota, Erika and Walker are only mentioned, etc. That said, the new characters blend seamlessly into the cast herd, and there’s so many minor characters in this series that it doesn’t feel like there’s a gaping hole missing. Yahiro is highly likeable in just the sort of way that Mikado never quite managed to be, and Kuon and Himeka also look to have promising, if twisted, stories in the future. It’s clear the city has been in stasis since Izaya left. We see Akane has grown older and is in middle school now, but Shizuo and Tom are still doing the same old thing, as is Simon, as are the Orihara twins and Aoba (he’s still not dating them, mostly as he’s just not into Mairu). Peace is good, but makes for dull storylines. In that sense, I’m grateful to Izaya for siccing Yahiro on the place.

This is a typical DRRR!! multi-parter, in that the cliffhanger ending is fairly mild, but also definitely makes you want to read more. Good news! There are three more books in the series to date. And the next one should be out soon. DRRR!! fans will definitely want to pick this up: it’s like welcoming an old friend back into your life (and then having them destroy your house again).

By Ryohgo Narita and Suzuhito Yasuda. Released in Japan by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

And so, in the end, so much of DRRR!! turns out to be about love. First and foremost we have the love of Shinra and Celty, which is twisted (as Shinra cheerfully admits, saying he values his love for Celty over her own happiness) but also romantic, with Celty continuing to be the most tsundere Dullahan ever. She also saves the day about ten times over here, making sure that Mikado doesn’t kill himself, stopping the zombie Saika outbreak for a bit, etc. There’s also the love Anri has for Mikado, which is still in its nascent form but at least she can now admit to herself that love is what it is. Mikado’s feelings are a bit more vague, but he did save her from being stabbed (and was apparently in a coma for a month afterwards!), so that counts for something. There’s Seiji and Mika, who have Celty’s head keeping them together, even if their motives are totally in opposition. And then there’s Haruna and her teacher, who get one of the more horrifying but also satisfying twisted ends. Love is everywhere.

And yes, let’s also talk about Shizuo and Izaya. I think if you told canonical Izaya that he was in love with Shizuo he’d have something nasty to say to you, but it is striking how dedicated he is to proving that Shizuo is a “monster”. Izaya, who loves humanity as an abstract whole but can’t be attached in any way to individuals, pales in comparison to Shizuo, who gets TOO emotional when confr4onted with individuals, and needs to learn restraint, something Vorona helps teach him a bit. (Basically, he needs people to be a good example for.) I would not say Izaya is jealous of this per se, but I think he does not want Shizuo, whose body is almost indestructible and who can throw vending machines with one hand, to be a normal human. Moreover, while Izaya needs to have Shizuo as his nemesis, Hark a Vagrant style, I’m, pretty sure Shizuo would be happy to never see Izaya again. They’re both dark mirrors of each other.

This was one of the few LNs where I’d watched the anime before I read the book, and I was surprised that the epilogue made a few changes. Aoba sitting himself down in front of Anri and Masaomi at the hospital and being smug reads oddly, and you wonder why Masaomi doesn’t slug him. I think the anime wondered this as well, adding in a scene with Akabayashi threatening him to replace it and make it clear that this isn’t Aoba’s win. That said, the epilogue does seem to wrap everything up, at least as far as the current plot points are. The afterword mentions the sequel LN Durarara!! SH, but it’s not clear if that will be licensed here, and Narita’s current erratic writing schedule means it’s somewhat stalled at the moment. Fortunately, DRRR!! works as a contained unit here. Celty comes to terms with herself, Mikado realizes that being a villain is not what he wants to be, and they all live happily ever after. Except Izaya.