Durarara!! - Episode 18

Izaya seriously deserves to be punched. Unfortunately for Masaomi, Izaya has expected that punch (he's really so brilliant in predicting people's reactions.... ah well, the causes are done by him anywayz, must've been really easy for him). Masaomi dear, you should really learn from Shizu-chan. Only his attacks Izaya couldn't predict. LOLz~ *sadistic Izaya fangurl*

[ IZUMI'S AMUSING KIDNAP CALL ]

(BIPO-BIPO-BIPOOOO!)

I don't remember what he looks like and I'm not sure if he'll ever get featured in the anime (or was he in this episode? I didn't notice) and oh boy I never knew this part and he appears to be hell more hilarious than I thought he was xD His message about the kidnapping was so amusing.... but instead of making the scene more comical, it made the moment more frightening and intense instead. You know, it's like watching a freaky clown act, it's acting humorous yet so creepy! That was awesome!

[ WALKER THE ANIMANGA HERO ]

(JAJAJA-JAAAN!)

If the former was funny yet creepy, this part is the same, but with an additional awesomeness~ Walker appears out of the blue talking about the idea animanga scene when a girl gets kidnapped... and since he likes happy endings, he has come up with a wonderful plan~ He acts as the hero and he didn't need to kick ass to be epic. Don't ever underestimate DRRR's otaku duo xD
And ah, this episode also showed how Masaomi had met the Dollars gang.... what an interesting first encounter~ Kadota's also so nice~

[ RANDOM OTP SCENE ]

I am sorry but I can't help it. Yes, it's once again the employee sitting on the boss's chair while the boss is just around the corner. But in this episode I've noticed that the employee isn't just sitting on his chair, but actually works there as well. Izaya-kun lets her use his expensive computer? xD Moreover, the boss is just playing around like a widdle kid. Makes it easy for me to imagine that Namie is like a mom who brought her baby Izaya to work and the baby boy is playing around the office while mommy's busy. Oh me and my hallucinations....

[ IZAYA'S DESTRUCTION GAME ]

Is there a limit to Izaya's childishness??? xD We had seem him hop/leap as he walks, jump on a beaten up guy, pretends to be riding a bike including sound effects, watch kiddie cartoons including making references on such in his jokes/insults/dialogues, and now he's playing with chess/game pieces and cards imagining them as people he knows? He even has the KAMI-SAMA (GOD) ATTACK! LOLz.... LOLz.... LOLz.... (And of course he has an evil laugh too) He's no different form a kid playing with toy soldiers. No different.
What a waste on those items though.... but ah well, he's filthy rich... he could easily get new ones.
When he was looking at his deck, he had like assigned Shizu-chan and Celty as the King and Queen respectively..... YOU SHIP THEM, DON'T YOU????. I think it implies that he considers them as the male and female strongest people in town.... or his biggest enemies. Hmmm... most likely the second guess.... something bothered him at the thought of the Joker though.... he must've seen himself in it. Haha! YOU'RE SUCH A JOKE, IZAYA xD
Back to the game, things are going according to Izaya's plan again.... like what happened a year ago:

[ IZAYA THE DEVIL ]

Izaya has been like a devil of whom you make a contract with.

Their first meeting reminded me of Yojou-han Shinwa Taikei.... For Masaomi, his first contact with Izaya has also been like his worst contact xD Haha!
Masaomi had been awesome enough to sense that Izaya's not really the guy to be trusted. However, when he was in big trouble, the devil gave him something he finds very delightful: huge victory. Masaomi was so excited about it that he forgot his doubts and fears on Izaya. In that way, Izaya got his trust.
But since he is a devil, he may give you something wonderful but the price you'll pay for it will be something really horrible.
And that happened eventually..... Izaya purposely ignored poor Masaomi when he needed help the most. I guess you don't need novel spoilers to see that the big disaster in Masaomi's life was all Izaya's fault. Izaya even torments him further by instilling the guilt on Masaomi... causing Masaomi to have a big breakdown and blame himself on something he's not supposed to.
Izaya's so evil. He's more like a devil unlike other animanga characters who are supposed to be evil because they're "demons, duh" but they don't act like such. It's not yet certain if Izaya's a villain (he's so complicated) but he sure does a splendid job in acting like one. Yes, he's a despicable bastard, but that also makes him an awesome character~ I love him xD

[ MASAOMI'S HELL ]

(Unlike typical shounen, the hero had been most useless on the important moment. I really love it that DRRR!! keeps on deviating from what's typical xD)

No thanks to Izaya, Masaomi suffered greatly. He blames himself for putting her in danger (though the one to be blamed is actually Izaya) and he must have hated himself a lot for suddenly experiencing fear at the worst possible time (that is, when he finally caught up with the kidnappers). Now he's scared of even facing her... though Kadota already told him of what he's supposed to do. It took him a year to manage to do it. It was that long.... shows how traumatic the event has been to him.

(By the way, I love how Miyano Mamoru voiced him in this episode. Emo Kida had been such a drama boy~ but the comedy lines are still the best. Haha!)

[ MASAOMI'S LOVE ]

It appears that Masaomi's already a girl chaser since the very beginning xD LOLz It certainly is such a jerk of him to play around with other girls when he already has a girlfriend, but his girlfriend's reason on not minding about that made him forgivable: She knows that no matter how many girls he flirted with, she's still the one he loves the most.
Their first meeting was really cute. She could actually play along with Masaomi's corny jokes xD That alone makes it enough to make them suit each other! Hahahaha!
Surprisingly, both of them are actually aware of Saki's obsession towards Izaya. She admits it being her flaw, but also honestly said that she can't let go of it. Masaomi of course doesn't like the idea of sharing Saki's love with Izaya, but he still loved her and even promised to cure her from it. Upon hearing that, her expression seemed like she actually wanted to be cured from it! So to me.... what she said about following Izaya's orders to be with him at first but later she started to truly like him... was true!
Masaomi loved her even if she's like that.... Saki has this frustrating obsession towards Izaya but it appears that her love for Masaomi is also true..... DO YOUR BEST, MASAOMI!!!!
Oh do remember that Durarara is a twisted love story.... because Masaomi x Saki is yet another twisted couple~

[ MASAOMI'S LEADERSHIP ]

Aside from Masaomi's love life, we also get to know more about his past as the General /Shogun of the Yellow Scarves gang. Izaya has mentioned that Masaomi's a serious threat for managing to lead such a gang even though he's just a kid. What's surprising about Masaomi is not only that!
He's not only the boss by title, he really knows how to act like one and he gets a loooooooooooot of respect from his subordinates. Most, if not all, of them are even older than he is! It's seriously not common for older thugs to bow down to someone younger than them.
Masaomi also mentioned that he and his gang used to fight often (well, he starts to add dating in his routine when he and Saki became a couple~).... this already implies that Masaomi must've been a really strong fighter (well, most gang leaders in that kind of groups are usually the strongest fighters after all~).
We've seen Masaomi's authority in this episode.... hopefully next time we also get to see him kick ass!

[ MASAOMI'S PEACE ]

But ah well, that's not the life that Masaomi likes. He feels more at peace with his best friend and I think he had admittedly advertised Raira Academy so that Mikado will be encouraged to attend the same school. Hehehehehe.
Their avatars in their chats are so cute. They look younger... must've been their looks when they're still together? (But that means Masaomi should've had darker hair in that avatar.... ) Maybe that's why Mikado didn't recognize Masaomi on their reunion in the first episode.... but Masaomi doesn't look that different x_x Or maybe Mikado just fails in face recognition... or just the avatar choice mistake fo the staff ^^;
Now to present time, his happy moments with his best friends continue. It's so amusing that he keeps on emphasizing that what's important to him is for Anri and her sexiness to be safe. Haha! Mikado's reactions to Masaomi's lines had been so cute... especially on the "two chicks one guy" part. Wahahahaha!
But well, those normal days aren't going to be the same since his past life is haunting him again. His life as a gang leader and his life with his friends are both realities to him.... however, he's still so protective over Mikado that he didn't tell his best friend about the Yellow Scarves.... WHICH HE SHOULDN'T BE DOING AT THIS SITUATION SO THAT YOUR TENSION WITH DOLLARS WILL BE OVER ALREADY! AAAAHHH!!!!
But it looks like Anri has found out about Masaomi now.... I really really hope things get resolved between them eventually.
It's so tragic you know.... three close friends who are leaders of groups who are at war with each other. It's an awesome twist but it's also sad because they're such a lovely trio. Waaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh.........

[ NEXT EPISODE ]

I SEE PROBLEMS BETWEEN THE TRIO!!!!!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ EXTRA ]

(credit goes to the original scanner whom I forgot who, sorry!)
It was the Durarara spread in the Animage issue last month.... oh I love my best friends duo~