Durarara!! - Izaya Orihara

"In Tokyo's downtown district of Ikebukuro, amidst many strange rumors and warnings of anonymous gangs and dangerous occupants, one urban legend stands out above the rest - the existence of a headless "Black Rider" who is said to be seen driving a jet-black motorcycle through the city streets.

Mikado Ryuugamine has always longed for the excitement of the city life, and an invitation from a childhood friend convinces him to move to Tokyo. Witnessing the Black Rider on his first day in the city, his wishes already seem to have been granted. But as supernatural events begin to occur, ordinary citizens like himself, along with Ikebukuro's most colorful inhabitants, are mixed up in the commotion breaking out in their city."

Durarara!! (in Japanese, デュラララ!!), often shortened to DRRR!!, is an Action, Comedy, Mystery & Supernatural light novel series written by Ryohgo Narita, that adapted into a 24-episode-long anime in the beginning of 2010 to the summer later the same year (to be more exact; January 8th 2010 to June 25th 2010). Very well, time to talk about one of the characters, one called Izaya Orihara.

Izaya Orihara (in Japanese, 折原 臨也. His name also comes from a combination of the biblical Isaiah and Japanese for "the one who looks over the crowd".) is one of the main characters and antagonists of the Durarara!! series, a powerful and skilled underground information broker. He usually gives information for his own enjoyment, and he claims to love the entire human race, excluding another main Shizuo Heiwajima. Izaya is one of the founders of the gambling ring Amphisbaena, gang Heaven's Slave and a member of the online group Dollars.

Appearance-wise, Izaya has short black hair and brown eyes. He is repeatedly described as a fragile-looking, handsome man with a beautiful face by other characters in the novels. However, he is also described by the same characters as appearing mischievous or otherwise unsavory. His regular outfit consists of a black coat with brown fur lining that goes down to his hips, along with a plain black long sleeved v-neck, pants, and dark brown shoes. In the novels, he occasionally dons a longer version of his coat that reaches down to his ankles. Some casual information; His birthday is on May 4th (at the introduction, he is 23 years old), blood type is O, height is 175 cm and weight is 58 kg.

Personality-wise, Izaya claims to love humanity, although his definition of "love" is much different than one would assume. What he specifically loves about humanity is the unpredictability of human nature, and he greatly enjoys putting people in enjoyable or chaotic situations in order to observe their reactions. With a thorough understanding of human behavior and tendencies, he is able to determine people´s thoughts and predict their reactions with high accuracy. Izaya is cunning and charming, but his manipulative nature prevents him from making any genuine or lasting bonds with others. He has a jolly and mocking personality, speaking informally with nearly all people. Although Izaya enjoys conflict, often showing up wherever there is potential for one, he usually stays out of it, preferring to observe the fight instead of directly taking part in it. When he needs to protect himself physically, Izaya uses a flickblade and is highly skilled in parkour and freerunning. He is a person most of the characters, himself included, could never trust, because they never know what he could or would do.

Most people are most interested in Izaya Orihara. I really like everything about Izaya. His background, his appearance, his personality, his actions, his thoughts, etc... It is his cunning side that I like so much, it makes everything funnier in the anime too. I do not care that Izaya is seen as an antagonist, I respect it all about him.