Durarara!! Episode 20

"The Yellow Sky Rises" is the twentieth episode of the Durarara!! anime and the twenty-first episode overall.

Synopsis
The episode opens with Masaomi and Kyouhei's gang sitting inside Russia Sushi. Masaomi asks Kyouhei about the leader of the Dollars. Kyouhei reminds him that several members of the Dollars were also attacked by the Slasher. Masaomi believes that a smaller group within the Dollars could be behind the slashings, and with no chain of command in place, no one would be aware of it. He suspects that remnants of the Blue Squares could be operating from within the Dollars. Walker and Erika remind him that the Yellow Scarves are not blameless in their war with the Blue Squares. Kyouhei agrees to give Masaomi the contact information of someone who knows the leader of the Dollars but tells Masaomi that if the Yellow Scarves look to start a fight with the Dollars, they will get a larger battle than the Yellow Scarves have seen. Denis, concerned that their talk is frightening the other customers, breaks up their conversation by throwing a sushi knife across their table.

As they leave Russia Sushi, Kyouhei muses over the name ‘Horada.’ Before leaving the restaurant, Masaomi had told Kyouhei’s gang about the incident the night before involving the Black Rider and the girl with a katana, as well as the claim of a gang member named Horada that he had been attacked by the Black Rider. Kyouhei states to Walker and Erika that he might have once known a man named Horada.

Walker and Erika continue to find holes in Masaomi’s theory that the Black Rider and the Slasher might be working together from inside the Dollars by noting that they watched the Black Rider take down the Slasher with their own eyes, after Saburo hit it with his van and before Shizuo knocked it out with their van door, on the same night that 50 others were attacked. After the slashers picked a fight with Shizuo, Kyouhei believes that the slashing incidents are over. Still inside Russia Sushi, Masaomi calls the number Kyouhei left him. As he types the number into his phone, he finds it already saved to the name ‘Izaya Orihara.’ Noticing his depressed state, Simon and Denis give him sushi on the house to cheer him up. In his apartment in Shinjuku, Izaya is bored and Namie is sorting papers. Namie asks about an item in the notes she is filing. Izaya mentions that six months prior, handguns belonging to the Awakusu had gone missing, and Celty was hired to retrieve them. One handgun is still unaccounted for. As he is talking, Izaya’s phone lights up with the name ‘Masaomi Kida’ on the screen. In Izaya’s apartment, Masaomi sits across from the intel broker as Izaya welcomes him back to the dark side of the city. Izaya makes it clear to Masaomi that he is aware of the boy’s desire to find the Slasher for his friend Anri and questions his love for Saki, stating that his willingness to fight for Anri will test his ability to fight for someone he loves. Izaya unexpectedly asks how Mikado is doing, and Masaomi replies that his friend is doing well, living a quiet, peaceful life. Izaya detects jealousy in Masaomi’s voice before telling him that Mikado is the leader of the Dollars and that his best friend is the reason his life has been so turbulent lately. Outside Raira Academy the next day, Mikado catches up to Masaomi, wondering why Masaomi had not visited his class that day. Anri joins them, Masaomi mentioning that she is looking much better. Ryo Takiguchi rushes over to them, asking Mikado and Masaomi if they had mentioned to anyone that he is a member of the Dollars. He cites the fighting between the Dollars and Yellow Scarves and says that people had been asking around for him in school. Both Mikado and Masaomi assure him that they have kept his secret, and he leaves. Masaomi departs just after. In the Yellow Scarves' headquarters, Masaomi orders the gang members not to start fights with the Dollars, no matter what they do, stating that he does not want the Dollars to have a reason to come after them. He demands that his members get proof that the Slasher is a member of the Dollars before fighting them. Horada asks about the source who knows the leader of the Dollars. Masaomi states he did not find anything on the leader of the Dollars and assures his members that if it should come to it, he will be ready for a battle. Later that night, in another part of town, Ryo Takiguchi is running from a large group of Yellow Scarves members led by Horada. They corner him on a bridge and beat him up before spray painting their gang color on the ground. The next day at school, Masaomi informs Mikado and Anri that the Yellow Scarves beat up Ryo. Masaomi goes to the hospital, leaving Mikado and Anri at school.

Chatroom

In the chatroom, Kanra spreads rumors about the Dollars and Yellow Scarves. Setton sounds alarmed and TarouTanaka seems exasperated at more news of fighting. Kanra claims that the Dollars attacked the Yellow Scarves at their own headquarters and that the Black Rider teamed up with the Slasher. TarouTanaka immediately states it is way too absurd to be true. Saika joins the chat room and asks what the other members are discussing. Setton and TarouTanaka both lie to her and are called out by Kanra. Kanra continues gossiping, sharing the rumor that the leader of the Yellow Scarves wants to meet the leader of Dollars and challenge him to a showdown.

Referbacks

 * To Celty saving Anri from the Yellow Scarves in the previous episode.
 * To the night of the slashing incidents in episodes 15, 16, and 17, when Saburo hit Shuji Niekawa with his van, Celty attacked him, Shizuo knocked him out with the door of Saburo's van, and, ultimately, Shizuo defeated the Saika Army.
 * To Celty intimidating Horada and his thugs when they harassed Shingen in episode 13.

Foreshadowing

 * Izaya mentioning that there is a handgun missing fro the Awakusu.

Character Debuts

 * 1) Simon Brezhnev
 * 2) Saburo Togusa
 * 3) Denis
 * 4) Kyouhei Kadota
 * 5) Erika Karisawa
 * 6) Walker Yumasaki
 * 7) Masaomi Kida
 * 8) Celty Sturluson
 * 9) Anri Sonohara
 * 10) Izaya Orihara
 * 11) Namie Yagiri
 * 12) Mikado Ryuugamine
 * 13) Ryo Takiguchi
 * 14) Horada

Unanswered Questions

 * What connection does Kyouhei have to Horada of the Yellow Scarves?
 * Where is the missing handgun that was stolen from the Awakusu?

Cultural References

 * A commercial for the second season of Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler) can be seen playing on a large screen in a city square.
 * An image from Hetalia: Axis Powers can be seen on a vending machine.
 * In the manga store, Erika holds a figurine of Holo from Spice &amp; Wolf to represent the Yellow Scarves. Other references found in the store:
 * posters for Durarara!! and Hetalia: Axis Powers can be seen on several vending machines
 * Toradora!
 * Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu
 * Shakugan no Shana
 * So Ra No Wo To
 * The manga store has a large number of doujinshi, or self-published novels and manga.
 * While narrating, Erika mentions the terms moe, tsundere, and BL. Moe is a term used to describe something 'precious' found in manga and anime, usually in connection with innocence and youth. Tsundere is the name for an attitude in which a person pretends to hate something or someone even after they have warmed up to them. BL is an abbreviation for boys' love, or yaoi.

Quotes
Erika: "A great man once said, 'Reality is an illusion.' At least, I think he said that. Even if he didn't, I'm sure somebody said something pretty close to it."

Erika: "If you make fiction just as valuable as reality, then any reality you don't need can be a delusion. That's how we do it."

Kyouhei (to Masaomi): "If you guys want a fight, you'll get one. You're prepared for that, right? 'Cause if you keep on waving this flag of vengeance, just know that the battles you're gonna encounter will be way worse that the little kiddie fights you've seen before."

Simon (to Masaomi): "Fighting always bad. You be plenty enough happy as you are right now. Don't take away other people's happiness. Share the happiness."

Erika (about Masaomi): "In the end, he was the only one who couldn't run from his past."

Walker: "A great man once said, 'The world is symbolic.' At least, I think he said it. But even if he didn't, I sure someone else said something pretty close to that."

Izaya (to Masaomi): "It's time that I give you a proper greeting. Welcome back."

Namie (about Izaya): "Good Lord. Does he ever stop?"

Erika: "Reality is such a pain. And for those of us who get fed up with that kind of reality, we simply choose to make a new one. We create little walls and separate the trash from the stuff we like, and when that's all done, we keep the things we care about and kick the rest to the curb."

Horada (to Ryo): "You wanna know why this is happening to ya? It's 'cause you got no color. And I bet you thought that meant you were safe."