Durarara!! Episode 15

"I was only looking for an answer.

Ikebukuro. What is the source of this crazy junk-town's energy? Where does this growing sense of greed come from? Just who is the toughest guy in this city?"

- Shuuji Niekawa

"A Fool May Give Good Counsel" is the fifteenth episode of the Durarara!! anime and the sixteenth episode overall.

Synopsis
The episode opens with a flashback to sixth months prior, to the third-rate tabloid writer being thrown through the air by Shizuo. Niekawa had been following a story about the strongest guy in Ikebukuro. In the present day, the story leads him to talk to Simon and Denis at Russia Sushi, who direct him to Shiki of the Awakusu-kai. Shiki mentions the name Shizuo Heiwajima and sends Niekawa to an information broker in Shinjuku, who refuses to talk about Shizuo but introduces Niekawa to a friend of his. Niekawa meets Celty in a park, who tells him about Shizuo's strength and removes her helmet for him.

Niekawa questions members of the Yellow Scarves, who aren't sure exactly who their leader is but are under strict orders to stay away from Izaya Orihara. The Yellow Scarves believe the Dollars are behind the Slasher attacks. As Niekawa walks home, he passes the site where Anri and her bullies had been attacked by the slasher several days prior. He thinks about his own daughter and resolves to talk to her and solve the conflicts between them. As he opens the door to his house, he is stabbed from behind by the slasher. He wakes up in the hospital the following day and leaves immediately, voices in his head telling him to follow Anri Sonohara.

That morning, Anri awakens from a happy dream about her family to a reality in which her parents had been killed by the slasher five years prior. That day at Raira Academy, Anri is again harassed by Nasujima and saved by Masaomi. As they leave school with Mikado, Niekawa is watching them with glowing red eyes. When the three split up, he follows Anri.

In a park, Celty and Shizuo are sitting on Celty's bike. Shizuo is seething with anger toward the Slasher for attacking Celty earlier. Horada and his thugs are standing nearby, glaring at Celty. When Shizuo approaches, they threaten him and realize too late who the 'bartender' is. Shizuo and Celty begin patrolling the city in search of the slasher, avoiding police along the way.

Walking home, Anri is thinking about Haruna Niekawa, the girl who had transferred out of school. Ginichirou Kuzuhara and another police officer offer to walk her home for her safety, until they get a call about Shizuo's fight and have to leave. The van gang are discussing the recent slasher attack of a Dollars member when Kyouhei and Saburo spot Anri walking home and see a red-eyed man following her closely. Watching Anri standing where the slasher had attacked her and the bullies a few days before, Niekawa approaches her with a knife. As he swings the knife at her, Saburo accelerates and crashes the van into him. Niekawa rises and swings his knife wildly, focusing on Anri. As he runs toward her, ignoring Kyouhei's gang, Celty's motorcycle crashes into him. The gang are stunned by the sight of Shizuo and the Headless Rider, but Niekawa stands up again, excited by Shizuo's arrival. As he proclaims his love for Shizuo, Shizuo rips the door off of Saburo's van and uses it as a shield as he runs into Niekawa, and from Niekawa's perspective, everything goes black.

Chat Room
Kanra tells Setton and TarouTanaka about a magazine writer being attacked by the Slasher. As they are discussing the incident, Saika enters the chat, repeating the word 'cut.' Saika's disconnected words are turning into almost-coherent phrases. Setton tries to make conversation, and TarouTanaka wonders if Saika could be the Slasher, which Kanra laughs off. Saika repeats "Shizuo Heiwajima" and "love" before abruptly exiting the chat room.

Character Debuts

 * Ginichirou Kuzuhara

Character Appearances
In order of appearance, excluding the opening song:

Cultural References

 * Izaya is watching Hanamaru Kindergarten as Niekawa leaves his apartment.
 * Walker's desire to adopt a green-haired girl and live near three sisters is a reference to Yotsuba&!, a manga serialized in Dengeki Daioh.

Trivia

 * This episode is titled "Even a Stopped Clock Is Right Twice a Day" on Netflix.

Quotes
Shiki: "Most of the fights in this town aren’t done by pros like us. It's nothing but a bunch of kids, like the Dollars and Yellow Scarves. But, as long as they don't interfere with our business, then we just let the children play."

Shizuo: "You know looks can kill, right? You may not know this, but according to statistics, the chances of a stare killing a guy are .00000000000675%. So if you give someone stink-eye, then you can't complain if they kill you, can you?"

Kyouhei: "Come on, why'd you two even bother joining the Dollars, huh? Would you rather have a boring, quiet life instead?"

Walker: "The only thing I wanna do is find a cute green-haired girl in a foreign land, and then bring her back home so we can live together with three beautiful sisters. If that happens it'll be the best life ever."