Durarara!! Episode 01

Title: First Words 「開口一番」 (Kaikōichiban)

Japanese Date Aired: 8 January 2010

English Date Aired: 25 June 2011

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Next Episode → 02

Narrated by Mikado Ryūgamine

Synopsis
Mikado Ryūgamine arrives in the Tōkyō subway, where he thinks about why he chose to come here. A friend asked him to come to Raira Academy, and as Mikado has never been to Tōkyō, he is very excited. In the subway, he runs into Masaomi Kida, his elementary school friend. At first, Mikado does not recognize him due to Masaomi having died his hair blond, but soon realizes his identity because of Masaomi's bad jokes. Masaomi shows Mikado around Ikebukuro, and the cast of characters is introduced. Mikado asks Masaomi about color gangs, to which Masaomi replies that the color gangs have all essentially disappeared. Mikado wonders if this makes Ikebukuro a safe place, but Masaomi says there are far more dangerous things in Ikebukuro than color gangs. He warns Mikado that anything can happen here and usually does.

On their way to the park, the two friends meet Erika Karisawa and Walker Yumasaki with their cardboard cutout and 30 copies of the latest manga. They are instantly fascinated by Mikado's name, telling him it sounds like a manga name. He asks them what they need 30 copies of the same manga for, but they only reply that they are for "other reasons". Masaomi then introduces Mikado to Kyohei Kadota and Saburo Togusa, saying that the whole group is a little weird, but "if you're cool with them, they're cool with you."

As they continue walking, Mikado bumps into a girl with an unusual scar on her neck, who quickly runs away. Then they meet Simon Brezhnev, a sushi chef at Russia Sushi. Simon asks Masaomi to come have sushi, but Masaomi replies that he is broke. After leaving Simon, the friends watch as a vending machine and a man go flying across the night sky. Masaomi tells Mikado that he is very lucky. On his first day in Ikebukuro, he met Kyohei's group, Simon, and watched Shizuo Heiwajima throw some guy and a vending machine.

Masaomi then begins his list of who to avoid in Ikebukuro. Shizuo is one, and the Dollars are also on the list. Masaomi explains that the Dollars are a colorless color gang, completely invisible, and that for all he knows they could have disintegrated completely. Masaomi warns Mikado about Izaya Orihara, but tells him that Izaya mostly hangs in Shinjuku.

Meanwhile, a girl meets up with a man calling himself Nakura. 'Nakura' asks her if she is ready, and that there are two others waiting for them. Soon they make it to his van and in the trunk sits a man who then grabs her and pulls her into the van. However, after they leave, Izaya emerges from the shadows and remarks that "the coast isn't exactly clear."

When the guys reach the supposed drop-off lot, they find a motorcyclist on a black bike waiting for them. 'Nakura' asks if she is their guide, but at her silence, one of the other guys hits her with a metal pole. The biker knocks both him and 'Nakura' unconscious and the third man quickly drives away. She chases him and he notices that the shadow of the bike looks like a horse. He comes to an abrupt stop, knocking the biker off her motorcycle. He stares in shock at her helmet lying some ways away from her body, and at the fact that she is still moving. She pulls a scythe from the shadows around her neck and cuts the kidnapper, before calmly replacing her helmet and driving off on her mysterious motorcycle as if nothing had ever happened.

Mikado and Masaomi hear the sound of a horse's whinny and quickly rush to get a glimpse of the urban legend. As the headless rider passes, Mikado realizes that he is shaking from the excitement of knowing that everything is about to change.

Chatroom Taro Tanaka informs Setton of his arrival in Ikebukuro. Setton suggests they meet in person, to which Taro Tanaka agrees. Kanra suggests that all three of them meet, then proceeds to discuss the online suicide groups, in which people arrange to commit suicide together. Taro Tanaka says that there haven't been many suicide groups lately, to which Kanra mysteriously replies that maybe the bodies just haven't been found. He then goes on to talk about the headless rider, saying that Dotachin says it's a Shinigami. Taro Tanaka inquires about the identity of Dotachin, but Kanra ignores him. Later on, Taro Tanaka remarks that he saw the headless rider, and Setton informs him that she was there, too. Taro Tanaka thinks they may have passed each other on the street and not even known it, then asks Setton who Dotachin is.

Adapted From
Chapter 1 of the manga; Chapter 1/2 of the light novel

Referbacks
none, first episode

New Characters
In order of appearance (not including OP)
 * Celty Sturluson
 * Mikado Ryūgamine
 * Masaomi Kida
 * Erika Karisawa
 * Walker Yumasaki
 * Kyohei Kadota
 * Saburo Togusa
 * Rio Kamichika(as Magenta/Mezenda)
 * Izaya Orihara (as Nakura)
 * Simon Brezhnev
 * Shizuo Heiwajima
 * Mika Harima

Unanswered Questions

 * Why is the motorcyclist's head not attached to its body?
 * What is the motorcyclist's weapon and what does it do?
 * Why does the motorcycle make such odd noises?

Cultural References

 * Cardboard cutout is reference to Spice and Wolf.
 * When Mikado and Masaomi are walking on Sunshine Street, a clip from Baccano! is played on the big screen, showing Jacuzzi Splot and Nice Holystone.