About five years ago I learnt about the character called Izaya Orihara from Ryougo Narita‘s novel series and multiple-media project Durarara!! Little did I know that it would be this fictional character that would dominate my life for many years to come. To be fair, it is one of the most popular characters in the series if not the most popular one. I usually do not end up liking the leading characters in fiction but in this regard, Durarara!! is different to me as there is a wide range of people who could be considered the protagonist according to which point of view the story is told from and who we, as the reader, decide to rely on in the corresponding narrative. Durarara!! captivated me with its ability to make everyone, from major to minor character, interesting if not even relatable.

The first thing that drew me towards Izaya was his attitude and personality which remain to be the features I treasure about him the most until today. Surely there is the aspect of his appearance and even Narita lets the characters describe Izaya as notably handsome:

It was a very pleasant voice, crisp and clear and vibrant, as though being hailed by the pure blue sky itself. […] Mikado turned the same way and saw a young man with an equally pleasant face. He looked soft and gentle, but with a bold, intrepid edge – a perfect materialization of some ideal of handsomeness. His eyes were warm and all-accepting but glinted with a hard scorn of anything that wasn’t himself. His outfit, while possessing its own personality, did not show off any obvious features or characteristics. […]

Therefore his good looks or his individual fashion sense do no strike me as a surprise for reasoning attraction towards him. It comes as a very convenient additional fact but what really makes him intriguing is his inscrutable self.

Izaya and his self-destruction

The reader is introduced to Izaya Orihara in the form of a warning as he is “one of the people in Ikebukuro you should under no circumstances get involved with”. A negative connotation which is followed by Mikado’s more positive description as quoted before, during Izaya’s first physical appearance. The next time we meet Izaya we find him in a situation where he meets up with two girls who wish to commit suicide together with him. He reveals to them how he was just provoking and mocking them, then goes on to drug them and puts them into suitcases that are transported back to their homes. In the span of a few chapters, we are confronted with Izaya’s twisted hobbies and personality which strongly contrast with what we have learnt about him previously. Starting chapter five of the first DRRR!! volume the enthralling journey of ‘discovering’ Izaya begins;

When I talk about the information broker of Shinjuku I often say that he is a ‘complex’ character. That might be true in a sense, regarding how many layers there are to the display of his feelings and I am convinced that many of the characters in the story do not understand why Izaya acts the way he does. But what is also true is that, on a level of narrative transmission (and also on an extratextual level), it becomes easier to see through the act he puts on with every volume of the series. Narita never gives us valid proof of the ‘real’ Izaya, he only scratches the surface, throws in tiny bits and pieces of what could be the man’s true nature, so that most of the interpretative work is left to the reader. Naturally this makes him a vastly more interesting character than one that is laid bare before us because we can endlessly re-invent him if we so desire.

What do we know about Izaya? He loves fatty tuna, he owns a surreal amount of cellphones and he is a light sleeper. And he also loves to play – be it a game of chess, the role in one of his ‘plays’ or a game of deception and chaos for those around. It reconfirms a childish side within him, as he also does not do too well with losing to others, especially if it is his sworn archenemy Shizuo Heiwajima. Izaya is a man who wants to be in control as he observes how situations unfold, hoping to be amused by it. Izaya’s characteristic claim throughout the series is that he loves humans more than anything and therefore wants to place them into situations in which they behave out of the ordinary and exceed their limits and his expectations. He may go as far as putting himself in danger for that. Nevertheless, his love for humans seems contradictory when we see his masquerade crack, when we see how he might just be a lonely soul that is extremely insecure and afraid of proper human interaction and bonding. According to Shinra Kishitani, one of the few people who are close him and appear to be able to see through his facade:

He may seem cold-blooded, but he is more human, and his heart more brittle than anybody else, so much so that if you filled it with human love or betrayal, it would break easily, which is why, I think, he chose from the start to avoid it all, to love humanity, you understand? Not to accept, not to face it, to avoid it.

If we can believe Shinra’s assumptions, Izaya is constantly lying to himself and also unable to feel genuine affection towards other people. He might have chosen to do so at some point in his life to protect himself and cannot go back now. Even when it comes to his family he either cannot admit that they do matter to him or the statement that “family [are] friends just like non-family” to him is actually true (which could raise the issue of what a “friend” is in Izaya’s pereception). In the epilogue of volume 9, Izaya reflects on his life choices and his own ‘self’ and we get one of the few scenes where the barrier he built around his heart appears to come down for a short moment to show his ‘true’ feelings openly, even if Narita doesn’t clearly state which emotions he is feeling. It is truly one of my favourite moments in the series if not my no. 1:

Now that I think of it…It might be the only thing that ever did affect the formation of my personality in a significant way. Remembering the envy and the sense of defeat he had felt back then, he realized that Kishitani Shinra was probably more of a rival than a friend to him. Different from Heiwajima Shizuo, whom he hated, Shinra was probably something he should have aspired to be. […]

In retrospect Shinra, who lived confidently above his world, did invoke some jealousy in him.

Yet he was attempting to betray even a friend like that. Not a friend by Izaya’s standards, but a “friend” as defined by most people in the world.

“Haha!” Izaya couldn’t help but laugh slightly as he pictured his only “friend” by the world’s standards getting mad at him. There is nothing to be afraid of. This is the way I have lived my life all along, he laughed as he thought-

Laughed-

Laughed-

Laughed-

He clenched his right fist and slammed it hard into the telephone pole next to him. It made a loud sound, but since Izaya was in a secluded alleyway, no one took notice of him. What did Izaya’s face look like? Why did he slam his fist into the telephone pole?

What was on his mind? No one in the world would ever know.

We barely get to see a ‘genuine’ or ‘vulnerable’ Izaya and that is exactly why I love this moment so much. We get no conformation of what he is feeling but that he is capable of doing so. Right after his ‘outbreak’ his two sisters join him and actually treat him nicely for a change. The scene ends in the “abnormal” siblings chatting and walking home together through the “normal” bustling night of the city. The entire ninth volume gives us a lot more insight into Izaya’s personality, his past and his motivations. That is why I was a little disappointed when the Durarara!!x2 animation decided not to include the epilogue scene, among many other scenes from volume 9. Nevertheless, I do understand why they left it out and rather focused on other content more valuable to the main storyline which is what a good animation (and adaptation) should do.

Moving along the lines of why I like the guy: As person who usually appreciates antagonistic characters his cunning and downright menacing traits are things that I instantly appealed to me. He is not someone I would call ‘evil’ per se (especially as I am distancing myself from using the terms ‘good’ or ‘evil’ in Durarara!!) but he is extremely disrespectful towards human life. He barely shows any mercy and takes pleasure in the misery of others constantly. When people express their dislike for him I completely understand because he is morally detestable and despised by 90% of all characters in the series for good reason. Still, the fact that he isn’t simply ‘bad’ because he wasn born ‘bad’ but because he chose to play the part which eventually leads to his self-destruction.

Izaya and Shizuo

A second aspect that is very important to me in regard to Izaya’s personality is his dysfunctional relationship with Shizuo Heiwajima and how it develops in the course of the novels (as much as I love it also hurts the core of my very soul). From the first second the two boys met in highschool they hated each other with passion. They are exact opposites, and as the saying goes, those attract each other: in Shizuo’s and Izaya’s case their attraction equals conflict. However, Izaya’s fixation on Shizuo reveals a whole new side of him. It is usually the information broker who instigates and provokes their fights Saying that Izaya yearns for Shizuo’s attention perhaps goes a step too far but he is, at least, dependant on him. It is another paradoxical aspect about Izaya that, on the one hand, he wants nothing more than to kill Shizuo but on the other hand, he does enjoy scheming more plans to lead his nemesis into death traps or simply play pranks on him.

In the final arc of the series, Izaya discloses that his strong hate for Shizuo is mainly based on what we would straight out call jealousy. Shizuo, without any conscious effort, possesses the things Izaya does not – friends and acceptance. Allegedly Izaya also wishes to possess them in some way, assuming from the indirect hints Narita slips in here and there e.g. during the attempt of Izaya having hot-pot and nobody joining him.

Izaya keeps calling Shizuo a “monster”, not even acknowledging him as a human being. The ‘monster’ can be labelled as inferior to himself and under his control. Izaya mentions that he hates Shizuo because he cannot predict his actions, which seems to be a lie, at least in part, since Izaya’s provocations are only as effective as they are because he knows Shizuo will let himself be tempted into a fight (most of the time). Shortly before their final fight in volume 12, Shizuo, for the first time, ignores Izaya’s provocation and bids him farewell: his decision to finally kill Izaya for good. Suddenly , Shizuo is the one in control and no longer fulfills the requirements to be the ‘monster’ Izaya made him out to be. Shizuo has matured in various ways while Izaya is the one at a standstill who got left behind. Simon called it Izaya’s “Shizuo-complex” for good reason.

Izaya and audio-visual media

The last point I want to address is the depiction of Izaya in the animation and through the score by Makoto Yoshimori. Izaya received two different character designs in season one and two, with the second one trying to adopt Suzuhito Yasuda’s style from the novel a bit more. In all honesty, I was happy with both of them, either seemed to be a reasonable adaptation from Narita’s description on paper. Elite seiyuu Hiroshi Kamiya lent his voice to Izaya which will remains to be one of the best choices the production team has made. Since Kamiya is an extremely talented voice actor he had no problems switching between a cheerful, crazy, indifferent, uppity, charming or menacing tone. The entire range of emotions was perfectly provided by him and at this point it is hard to imagine who could have done a better job at voicing Izaya.

As mentioned before, particularly in the second season they left out a lot of scenes which include key elements to understanding Izaya’s twisted mind a little better. Yet all in all I adore the animation, merely because they went as far as devoting themselves to finish the series, even if it took them five years. Futhermore, the OVAs are a very entertaining addition to the DRRR!! franchise. In the Durarara!!x2 Ten special 「お惚気チャカポコ」 (Onoroke Chakapoko) we even learn a few new facts about the man in the fur jacket, namely his strong dislike or even fear of dogs. The new Durarara!!x2 Ketsu OVA is still playing in Japanese cinemas right now, but the plot is about a fake Shizuo Heiwajima who Izaya seemingly gets involved with as well. Teaser pictures showed a genuinely smiling Izaya, something rare of sight. Thus I am expecting even more additional details on my favourite character, I wonder what we can expect of this unusual setting?

I also want to briefly address Makoto Yoshimori’s work because I believe it plays a major part in the success of the Durarara!! animation and therefore also adds to Izaya’s characterisation. I’ve already talked about the ost in more detail before, but what is relevant here is the track that mostly served as Izaya’s theme in the first season and helped to introduce the character to the audience by giving him a recurring musical emphasis which had a certain atmosphere of mystery and temptation. I believe that both the original track and the original remix support Izaya’s shady and at the same time suave features, as well as his playful and unconventional side. The title alludes to an interesting accusation I haven’t talked about here (but might do in future). The track is called 「笑えるほど卑怯な奴」which has most often been translated as “He’s such a coward that he can laugh”. This ‘cowardice’ might lead back to Izaya’s fear of facing other people which is a fantastic extra perspective on the matter.

Concluding, after all this time, even after getting a spin-off novel devoted only to him, Izaya Orihara remains to be a character shrouded in mystery and that is why he will mostly certainly remain my favourite character forever. I never get bored thinking about his dishonesty towards himself and the ongoing contrast of what he wants people to think of him and what he earnestly wants and feels. This privilege of endless re-invention of a character which has been placed into the addressee’s hands through someone like Izaya is a delight, it is challenging and inspirational and this is why I won’t ever get enough.

Works Cited:

Narita, Ryōgo. DURARARA!!, Volume 1. Tokyo: Kadokawa Corporation, 2004. Print. (Translation by Stephen Paul)

Narita, Ryōgo. DURARARA!!, Volume 9. Tokyo: Kadokawa Corporation, 2011. Print. (Translation by anni_fiesta).

Narita, Ryōgo. DURARARA!!, Volume 12. Tokyo: Kadokawa Corporation, 2013. Print. (Translation by bangya@mizaya)