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Durarara!! Light Novels #8
Durarara!!, Vol. 8
When Ikebukuro's underground is set on a collision course, no one is safe. Dollars cofounder, Mikado Ryuugamine, continues his lonely struggle to purge his group of undesirables. Former Yellow Scarves leader, Masaomi Kida, returns to the city to make amends for his past. The owner of the cursed blade Saika, Anri Sonohara, seeks the truth from the two boys who keep leaving her in the dark. The three of them used to be the most important parts of one another's lives, but now their secrets keep them separated. With a certain information broker whispering in Mikado's ear, will their friendship survive the color gangs' struggles? Ikebukuro is going to be busy!
240 pages, Paperback
First published June 10, 2010
4 people are currently reading
224 people want to read
About the author
Ryohgo Narita
355 books386 followersRyohgo Narita (成田 良悟, Narita Ryōgo) is a Japanese light novelist. He won the Gold Prize in the 9th Dengeki Novel Prize for Baccano!, which was made into a TV anime in 2007.[1] His series Durarara!! was also made into a TV anime, which began airing January 2010
There are two traits found in most of Narita's works:
* Narita writes extremely fast, one volume a month if he wishes - with tons of spelling errors and missing words as a tradeoff. The editors like to leave them sometimes just for fun, though.
* His work titles often have an exclamation mark at the end (i.e. Baccano!, Vamp!, Durarara!!, etc.).
Kanji names: 成田 良悟 & 成田良悟.
There are two traits found in most of Narita's works:
* Narita writes extremely fast, one volume a month if he wishes - with tons of spelling errors and missing words as a tradeoff. The editors like to leave them sometimes just for fun, though.
* His work titles often have an exclamation mark at the end (i.e. Baccano!, Vamp!, Durarara!!, etc.).
Kanji names: 成田 良悟 & 成田良悟.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 20, 2019
Wow, this volume is a boom of new characters. So much fray, so much confusion, so much delirium. I thought the city would fall into chaos on account of Izaya pulling strings in the dark, but I was wrong. Izaya hardly appears in this volume at all, and when he does if seems like he is only savoring the fun-like a child does when he watches his favorite SuperSentai series. But anyway, the craze and falling-outs throughout this book leave no room for breathers. All characters are dragged into a tumultuous turn of events, a massive cycle of bloodshed and transgressions. There is no other way but to strive hard to be the last survivors when the tempest hits its end. For that, Kida is accumulating his old gang for the strike, and Mikado is building up an empire-an empire prone to be bent over destruction-to achieve his idealism. Anri has not made any major move, but one may expect to behold a grandiose display of the Saika Academy in the next arc.
People in the district of Ikebukuro fight against one another for no logical cause at all. But that's no anomaly; Ikebukuro itself was built upon irrationality, and its everyday breathe&vibe reeks of non-logic. Funny as it is, but that's how Ikebukuro happens before us.
I expect to see lots of development in the next volume. Especially from Mikado. Now Ran Izumi is back from the juvie, Mikado needs be really careful otherwise he'll lose his life in a blink. He is treading on thin ice now [sigh].
People in the district of Ikebukuro fight against one another for no logical cause at all. But that's no anomaly; Ikebukuro itself was built upon irrationality, and its everyday breathe&vibe reeks of non-logic. Funny as it is, but that's how Ikebukuro happens before us.
I expect to see lots of development in the next volume. Especially from Mikado. Now Ran Izumi is back from the juvie, Mikado needs be really careful otherwise he'll lose his life in a blink. He is treading on thin ice now [sigh].
April 14, 2018
Really hard to put down! Narita is an amazing story teller, although he pushed it a bit this time with 22 major characters for a 200 page LN using his traditional Tarantino way of telling the story going back and forth between characters and timelines. Not a lot happened plot wise, as most of the book was spent developing the characters. However, that doesn't mean there wasn't progress.
The overarching story is getting really complex! And as the series is 13 volumes long, it definitely looks like it's building up for a grand finale!
Can't recommend Durarara!! enough!
The overarching story is getting really complex! And as the series is 13 volumes long, it definitely looks like it's building up for a grand finale!
Can't recommend Durarara!! enough!
November 14, 2018
Volume 8 went completely out of control with storytelling and the number of characters featured. My favorite part was Mika being at Celty's house, she is my favorite character and I kind of missed her. Also, that part with the stalker beating up Shinra was quite intense... Ruri better befriends Claudia Walken (they should actually know each other, right?) so that stalker has to deal with that insane but cheerful solipsist
April 29, 2018
Too many characters to keep track of, and kinda missing the crazy fun. Crazy is still there, but not so much the fun.
August 24, 2023
Ikebukuro writhes with chaos and turmoil as:
- the founder of the dollars seeps deeper and deeper into the underbelly of the city as he tries to paradoxically mold himself to fit into the extraordinary while simultaneously carving out a space for him and his friends to return to the ordinary.
- an old shogun of a yellow gang returns to finally make amends and, once and for all, put his past behind him.
- a human parasite struggles with the vicissitudes of life and a friend who is suddenly, abnormally, cheerful.
- a stalker (no, not that one...or that one...or even *that* one) plots and schemes and bides their time until the moment is right to strike down their beloved idol.
- a monster remembers how she came to be; how she had discovered the bridge between utter destruction and complete freedom in the duality of a grandmother she'd never met; how she had come into contact with the *true* monsters of the world.
- all the while, somewhere in Tokyo, a man in shadow pulls all the strings.
Also in this volume are: youths in shark masks, a man who consumes photographs, extreme reptile rescue, a chat room with a sudden influx of new names, one Mr. the unusual headpiece for the fighting puppet of Ikebukuro, a reunion of monsters in an apartment near Kawagoe Highway, a man delusionally fascinated by humans, forehead flicks like nonlethal rubber bullets, successful assault, unsuccessful stabbing, amounts of running unseen since volume 3, unsuccessful arson, highly successful crotch shots, one kid getting his ass thoroughly handed to him (again), and the strangest gaggle of "friends" gathering for a hot-pot.
- the founder of the dollars seeps deeper and deeper into the underbelly of the city as he tries to paradoxically mold himself to fit into the extraordinary while simultaneously carving out a space for him and his friends to return to the ordinary.
- an old shogun of a yellow gang returns to finally make amends and, once and for all, put his past behind him.
- a human parasite struggles with the vicissitudes of life and a friend who is suddenly, abnormally, cheerful.
- a stalker (no, not that one...or that one...or even *that* one) plots and schemes and bides their time until the moment is right to strike down their beloved idol.
- a monster remembers how she came to be; how she had discovered the bridge between utter destruction and complete freedom in the duality of a grandmother she'd never met; how she had come into contact with the *true* monsters of the world.
- all the while, somewhere in Tokyo, a man in shadow pulls all the strings.
Also in this volume are: youths in shark masks, a man who consumes photographs, extreme reptile rescue, a chat room with a sudden influx of new names, one Mr. the unusual headpiece for the fighting puppet of Ikebukuro, a reunion of monsters in an apartment near Kawagoe Highway, a man delusionally fascinated by humans, forehead flicks like nonlethal rubber bullets, successful assault, unsuccessful stabbing, amounts of running unseen since volume 3, unsuccessful arson, highly successful crotch shots, one kid getting his ass thoroughly handed to him (again), and the strangest gaggle of "friends" gathering for a hot-pot.
January 12, 2020
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I feel like this volume suffers from the cast being too wide, and even the author acknowledges that he's cutting the cast down in the next few books. Plenty of characters got POV paragraphs/chapters that felt like they should have been used on someone more significant.
This issue means that the plot jerks around quite a bit. The main conflict is Ruri has a stalker who wants to murder her. We jump from character to character, some who are barely involved in the action at all and it makes a potentially exciting plot messy. I don't see why Anri and Mikado were focused on during this volume when it would have been easier to leave them out and have those plot beats in another.
We get almost no Izaya, which really lowers my enjoyment. I think the strength of having a big cast is that everyone has a favourite, but the weakness is also that all those favourites can't possibly share the lime light. I feel like Izaya is a central force of chaos that pushes the plot forward. So it's strange to see him so absent from a plot that seems to have been crafted by him.
It was nice to see Masaomi back in the spotlight, but we also don't get enough of him. The focus on secondary characters is really hurting the series in my opinion. I can't even keep them all straight at this point there's so many.
I'm excited to read the next volume and see how the author manages to trim down to just his core cast. I want to focus on a smaller group of characters and a more cohesive plot. It's true that Durarara!! is amazing in part because of it's huge cast and world, but not every volume needs to have every character getting tons of page time.
Another lull in the series, but not every volume can be a winner. I'm looking forward to the next instalment.
I feel like this volume suffers from the cast being too wide, and even the author acknowledges that he's cutting the cast down in the next few books. Plenty of characters got POV paragraphs/chapters that felt like they should have been used on someone more significant.
This issue means that the plot jerks around quite a bit. The main conflict is Ruri has a stalker who wants to murder her. We jump from character to character, some who are barely involved in the action at all and it makes a potentially exciting plot messy. I don't see why Anri and Mikado were focused on during this volume when it would have been easier to leave them out and have those plot beats in another.
We get almost no Izaya, which really lowers my enjoyment. I think the strength of having a big cast is that everyone has a favourite, but the weakness is also that all those favourites can't possibly share the lime light. I feel like Izaya is a central force of chaos that pushes the plot forward. So it's strange to see him so absent from a plot that seems to have been crafted by him.
It was nice to see Masaomi back in the spotlight, but we also don't get enough of him. The focus on secondary characters is really hurting the series in my opinion. I can't even keep them all straight at this point there's so many.
I'm excited to read the next volume and see how the author manages to trim down to just his core cast. I want to focus on a smaller group of characters and a more cohesive plot. It's true that Durarara!! is amazing in part because of it's huge cast and world, but not every volume needs to have every character getting tons of page time.
Another lull in the series, but not every volume can be a winner. I'm looking forward to the next instalment.
October 2, 2013
All's nice, the cat won my heart, especially on Shizu-chan's head, but why so little Izaya?! T_T
April 14, 2017
Pierwszy tom, z który z konieczności poznania dalszych losów bohaterów Durarara!! natychmiast, zaczęłam czytać po angielsku. Na początku trochę ciężko szło, ale spokojnie 70% tekstu można bezproblemowo zrozumieć i przejmować się brakiem znajomości niektórych słówek (mówię to z perspektywy osoby, która zna angielski na poziomie B1).
Ale przechodząc do samej książki, Durarara to fascynująca powieść, od której naprawdę ciężko się oderwać. Dochodzą nowe wątki, nowe postaci, a główne pytanie "O co w tym, do cholery, chodzi?" jest powtarzane przez czytelnika od niemal pierwszej do ostatniej strony. Powracają starzy główni bohaterowie, intrygi piętrzą się, czerwona lampka zapala się w umyśle, a my nadal nie możemy odgadnąć, do czego to wszystko dąży. Kto jest głównych przeciwnikiem, kto tutaj jest zły a kto dobry, dlaczego ludzi się tak zachowują, czy głowa Celty ma nadal jakieś znaczenie, od czego to wszystko się zaczęło i dlatego Mikado jest tak ważną postacią? Wszystko, co wydaje się mało znaczące, przybiera na sile. Już wiemy, że Narita to nie jest autor, który coś pisze aby coś napisać, tylko po to, by zrobić z tego coś wielkiego. Nie wiem, czego mogę się spodziewać po dalszych tomach. Zmierza to w niepojętym dla mnie kierunku; równie fascynującym, co strasznym...
Ale przechodząc do samej książki, Durarara to fascynująca powieść, od której naprawdę ciężko się oderwać. Dochodzą nowe wątki, nowe postaci, a główne pytanie "O co w tym, do cholery, chodzi?" jest powtarzane przez czytelnika od niemal pierwszej do ostatniej strony. Powracają starzy główni bohaterowie, intrygi piętrzą się, czerwona lampka zapala się w umyśle, a my nadal nie możemy odgadnąć, do czego to wszystko dąży. Kto jest głównych przeciwnikiem, kto tutaj jest zły a kto dobry, dlaczego ludzi się tak zachowują, czy głowa Celty ma nadal jakieś znaczenie, od czego to wszystko się zaczęło i dlatego Mikado jest tak ważną postacią? Wszystko, co wydaje się mało znaczące, przybiera na sile. Już wiemy, że Narita to nie jest autor, który coś pisze aby coś napisać, tylko po to, by zrobić z tego coś wielkiego. Nie wiem, czego mogę się spodziewać po dalszych tomach. Zmierza to w niepojętym dla mnie kierunku; równie fascynującym, co strasznym...
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