Durarara

Durarara!! is a Japanese anime series about a high school student, Mikado Ryugamine, who moves from the countryside to the Ikebukuro neighborhood of Tokyo and discovers an underworld of magic and organized crime. Mikado's adventures intersect with those of Celty Sturluson, an Irish "Black Rider" who works as a courier on her black bike while searching for her missing head. Mysterious events at Mikado's new high school, as well as the disappearance of Celty's head, can all be traced to the Dollars, an internet-based underground gang.

The series is based upon the light novels of the same name, written by Ryohgo Narita and illustrated by Suzuhito Yasuda. Durarara!! premiered in Japan on January 7, 2010, on the MBS network, and in the United States, the Cartoon Network aired the series as part of its Adult Swim block beginning in June 2010. Respected anime director Takahiro Omori directed Durarara!! The English-language version of the series features veteran anime voice actors including Darrel Guilbeau as Mikado, Kari Wahlgren as Celty, and Yuri Lowenthal as Shinra.

The initial episodes of Durarara!! center around Mikado's adjustment to his new high school in Ikebukuro and his friendship with classmate Masaomi. A mysterious kidnapping introduces him to a network of criminal gangs including the shadowy Dollars and menacing Yellow Scarves. Celty rescues the kidnapped girl in the second episode, and her quest for her missing head and her romance with Shinra Kishitani, a noble doctor, become important subplots. As the series progresses, secrets about the gangs and their leadership are revealed, and the characters are drawn deeper and deeper into the gangs' intrigue.

Durarara!! was produced by Brain's Base. Aniplex of America licenses it in North America, and it is licensed in Europe by Beez Entertainment in the UK and Germany and by Dybex in France and Benelux. A total of twenty-five episodes were produced, with the show conceived as a closed-ended miniseries.