Durarara!!: Volume 2

by Ryohgo Narita (story), Suzuhito Yasuda (character design), and Akiyo Satorigi (art), 175 pages

Celty dwells on her missing piece and Ryuugamine gets an unwelcome visit from some representatives of shady Yagiri Pharmaceuticals.

There aren't many passive characters in this series, though some do prefer to observe more than others.  But underneath, they're all acting on their own inclinations, following their intuition, and shaping their own stories.  It's just that they're all bound together by the interconnectedness of their crazy neighborhood, and so bound to influence one another.  Nothing's ever static in Ikebukuro, which is one reason Ryuugamine's so drawn to it in the first place (and why the reader doesn't mind hanging out on the corner to see what happens next).

Durarara!!: Volume 2

by Ryohgo Narita (story), Suzuhito Yasuda (character design), and Akiyo Satorigi (art), 174 pages

We meet even more people Mikado is told he should know about / avoid / not tick off in any way.  And of course he bumps into them right away and gets sucked into their business.

For more information on Mikado's adventures in his crazy new neighborhood, please check out my full review of the first two volumes on NoFlyingNoTights.com!

Durarara!!: Volume 1

by Ryohgo Narita (story), Suzuhito Yasuda (character design), and Akiyo Satorigi (art), 172 pages

Tired of his quiet life in his hometown, excitement-starved Mikado Ryuugamine doesn't hesitate to follow a childhood friend's suggestion that he transfer to the latter's high school in the Ikebukuro district of Tokyo.  But once happily reconnected with his friend and joining the neighborhood's perpetual hubbub, he worries the longed-for adventure may be a little more dangerous than he expected.

You'll want to be awake before you crack this series open, as information and names and faces come at you fast and not always in order.  Adapted from an illustrated light novel series, Durarara!! has a little of everything: action, adventure, mystery, romance, horror, comedy, fantasy.  (There's also an excellent anime adaptation of the original books.)  The art is a nice fit and the story is intriguing.  I doubt the real Ikebukuro is quite this exciting, but that's the fun of fiction, no?