Durarara!! Episode 08

"Ephemeral Dream" is the eighth episode of the Durarara!! anime.

Synopsis
Celty Sturluson dreams a recurring dream in which a shadowy figure with a blade comes and takes her head. She wonders when she stopped considering herself whole, and also if when she is awake perhaps her head is asleep. She wakes up screaming in bed.

The next morning, Shinra Kishitani excitedly informs Celty that today is her first day off in 265 days, but is surprised to find her sad, due to his ability to read expressions on her nonexistent face. She asks him about dreams and why they occur. The doctor begins a long explanation on how they don't know for sure, but dreams seem to come from memories. As he speaks, Celty wonders if she is starting to feel love for Shinra. To celebrate her day off, Shinra decides to take off work so the two of them can do something together. He illustrates his commitment to this by turning off his phone and unplugging the internet. Celty decides she wants to cook for him, and the two hook up the internet to look up recipes.

At Raira Academy, Mikado Ryuugamine apologizes to Masaomi Kida for oversleeping and thanks him for the use of his textbook. Masaomi, after making his customary proclamations to hit on girls, questions Mikado's lack of necktie. A shocked Mikado also notices his wallet is missing. Erika Karisawa asks Simon Brezhnev if he has seen Walker Yumasaki, but Simon only continues trying to sell her sushi.

A girl with a sign for lost things offers her notebook to Erika and tells her to write what she is looking for so that she may find it. Walker, looking for his phone, bursts into a coffee shop where he is greeted by two maids who address him as 'Master.'

Kyouhei Kadota reads by a tree outside Yagiri Pharmaceuticals, musing about rumors saying the corporation is involved with the Awakusu. He wonders why he keeps looking even after Kaztano is safe and he promised Erika and Walker he would let it go. As he walks away, a young man lights a firecracker and runs toward the building. In the park, Walker first asks Simon if he has seen Erika, to which Simon replies he hasn't. As twins wearing coordinating outfits walk by, Walker sees the girl with the sign and rushes after her.

Celty, having bought ingredients for Shinra's dinner, tries to cook with a shadow-made knife, but Shinra freaks out and convinces her to use a regular one. When he begins eating, Celty notices he's crying. Although he claims the food is unorthodox (like her) and delicious, she believes him to be forcing himself to eat and traps the food in a ball of shadow. Shinra suggests they instead play a game, but Celty is annoyed that he treats her like a child. She then explains that most of her memories are of him but that she wants her memories of 100 years ago. He questions her need for hundred-year-old memories, causing Celty to yell that she is forgetting her own face, then storming out of their apartment. Later, Shinra hears the doorbell and thinks Celty returned, but the man at the door says he needs Shinra to fix someone.

Anri Sonohara notices her shoes are missing after school. Masaomi has some idea who might have taken them and rushes off. As Mikado and Anri search the school, Anri discusses the change in Masaomi's behavior. She then tells Mikado about her habit of losing things as a kid, when she would cry until her mom came to help look. He comments that her mom must be a very nice person, and Anri quickly replies that both her mom and dad are nice people. She says he can stop looking and thanks him for his help, then dashes out the door. Mikado calls Masaomi and tells him to stop looking, not because they found her shoes, but because Anri left, although he himself is still searching. As Mikado walks through the halls, he sees Anri's shoes on the lawn.

Celty and Shizuo Heiwajima stand by an empty lot and try to remember what was there. Shizuo states how weird it is to see an empty space in a city, while Celty thinks that although she gets mad at Shinra for telling her to stop looking for her head, she has friends here and acts like a human. She remembers there used to be a blue building, and Shizuo remembers that the old lady on the first floor sold cigarettes.

At the park, Mikado meets the girl carrying the sign for lost things. He asks to look through the notepad and sees Erika's message to Walker along with another page where someone wrote 'head.' While looking, he tells the girl how he had been looking for a lot of things that day, and how he had found some stuff, but didn't find some stuff, and writes his own message in the notebook.

Celty returns to home to find Shinra gone on a job, but she feels that something is not right. Shinra is told by the man from earlier about the kid who went on a rampage with fireworks, demanding Yagiri Pharma return his girlfriend. He asks Shinra to 'fix' the boy so that he won't remember the company. When Shinra hesitates, saying he would still remember the kid, the man assures the doctor they will release the boy. He reminds Shinra that both he and the boss trust Shinra because he keeps "that thing" a secret, then says he knows that the person living with Shinra isn't just an average house guest.

As Celty drives out to find Shinra, she notices it is the first time in a while where she wasn't thinking about finding her head. When they meet in the park, Shinra proposes they go out to eat. His restaurant of choice is Russia Sushi, but he soon notices the strange types of sushi. After the meal, the pair receive fortune cookies as dessert. Shinra explains what they are to Celty, whose fortune reads, "You will find what you're looking for." He states that he had never seen her so happy before. Celty asks what his fortune will be. He reads "Unrequited Love" and eats the cookie whole, with the fortune, and lies to Celty that his didn't have a fortune.

Erika and Walker have found each other outside the shop where Erika's message had said to meet, and the two happily dance around. Mikado returns Anri's shoes to her apartment, where Anri thanks him but quickly shuts the door. While she is happy, Celty hopes her head is smiling, wherever it is. Seiji Yagiri is in an apartment with the redheaded girl where he remarks that she still seems scared. He asks her if she can remember anything yet, but she shakes her head. This is fine to Seiji, who declares they are the future, and tells her he loves her, calling her Celty. As Celty climbs into her bed, she has a dream of when she was whole, for the first time in many years. In the dream, her head resembles the face of the redheaded girl.

Chatroom

TarouTanaka begins by discussing how he always seems to lose important things, like a new umbrella instead of the old one. Kanra comments that "maybe we just think the stuff we lose is more important than the things we have."

Referbacks

 * To the kidnapping of Kaztano by Yagiri Pharmaceuticals

Trivia

 * Izaya's sisters Mairu and Kururi are the twins wearing coordinating outfits who walk by Simon and Walker in the park

Character Debuts

 * Shiri

Cultural References

 * Walker and Erika meet at Toranoana, a famous shop in Akihabara that sells doujin, manga, and other manga and anime-related items.
 * The light novel covers on the outside of Toranoana are the first volumes of Baccano!, Vamp!, Etsusa Bridge, and Harimiya-san: Center of the World, all other works by Ryohgo Narita.

Quotes
Kanra: "Maybe we just think the stuff we lost is more important than the stuff we have."

Shinra: "Memories are a tricky thing to get rid of. And plus, I'll remember this kid."