In Durarara!!, Izaya Orihara can be characterized as a vivant architect of chaos. Even though the show offers many paths and perspectives, it is Izaya who most clearly integrates into chaos by means of his overt acts. His clever and sly character often shows through his actions as he puts the whole scenario in his own way to get the best results, treating people like nothing but pieces in a complicated game.
He is the mastermind, the god’s eye, and a contradiction altogether, and yet he is always consistent. Can anyone be such cruel and still love mankind? The question that he poses reflects his ambivalence. He draws the largest gains from the strife and discord that the series generates, but he is not wicked. Fairly, he is an instigator and observer, doing these things for his own fun. Such a bemused distance puts him in the company of the trickster archetypes who transgress limits.
He devises plans, considering Ikebukuro as simultaneously his playground and chessboard. Izaya claims to love humanity, but his “love” is indeed that of a scientist testing their subjects, fairly close to being icy or indifferent. His moves are like those of a ruler who is very careful with his strategies.
Being an undercover information broker, he tosses the information whenever he feels like it and turns the situation around. He mostly ignites conflicts by urging others to take action and then sits back to enjoy the show. His method of influencing views is pretty much like an unreliable narrator who takes the story but reveals no intention.
From the very beginning of the series, it is very evident that the main factor that attracts Izaya is their unpredictability. He stays idle, watching their reactions and at times making them feel at ease, luring them in, or causing chaos. Though he can see patterns and trends, he is still not able to predict what will happen exactly, and that is the reason for his excitement.
It is like he knows a lot about humans and can see what will be, but no, he is surprised all the time by what happens and how much they get after his little push, since it would not be so interesting and addictive if he could predict everything, for sure, right? Along with that, his strong wish to see the human reaction fits quite well with one of the main ideas of the story. But all of that is pretty clear on a superficial level because of Izaya’s character throughout the story.
The “why” is what comes out as unclear, the most then: the reasons behind his calling mankind so interesting, his taking only a couple of them as dull, his showing different sides of himself to some special people, and he acts the way he does, the reason why he finds social entropy so challenging to understand, etc.? What remains to be seen is his philosophy and how he perceives himself and his place in the great scheme. Still, it seems that there would be a huge amount of meaning and mystery to be gained by inferring from his role.
The first aspect that needs to be discussed is Izaya’s perspective on life and people in particular. He has the tactic of maintaining a position that is neither too close nor too distant to people; he stays away from developing close relationships but gets so fascinated by the humans’ activities that he cannot cut off his links, and the dilemma mirrors the trickster figure who is present at the borders.
In the group chat, he is perceived as the one who initiates the spreading of news in order to provoke a discussion and a reaction, behaving like a narrative manipulator whose voice bears hints of an unreliable narrator by influencing the interpretation of the events. He presents himself as a strange mentor for many characters in the plot, but he does not do so out of empathy. Izaya acts out of intrigue, fun, and delight, and almost all the guidance or information he provides is in the form of a roundabout way to quench his curiosity.
His communication with people gives the impression of a person with great interpersonal and emotional intelligence, which means he is neither short-sighted nor unable to empathize. However, he does not permit himself to care outside the limits of his deception and masks, and moreover, he seldom shares such emotions; hence, he never applies empathy. He knows what makes people, to some extent, both intellectually and emotionally, but he does not feel their pain, and it could be one of the most important factors in decoding his character.
Another thing that is very interesting to note is that Izaya uses the third person to refer to humans, as if he is not part of them, and even if it is not the intended meaning of that phrasing, he definitely sets himself apart and has a different vibe from the other characters, and, by implication, from humans.
It permits him to see things that he would not have access to, with a wise mind, impartial and not influenced by feelings, and he applies such a viewpoint to bring about the turmoil he longs for, a viewpoint that is similar to Machiavelli’s focus on the separation between the sovereign and the people.
Ikebukuro is a rumor hub that has a changing culture, through interactions and connections within the city, and Izaya is the main reason for this, as he is able to distance himself just a little. The core of Izaya’s character is a distinct sort of truth. His words are heavy with double meanings, deflections, redirections, and lies, but he is very skilled in slicing through falsehoods, bias, emotion, and layers to recognize people for who they are.
Simply put, his enchantment mostly comes from the fact that others simply cannot do it. If everyone was able to perceive the world and each other for what they really are, and if honesty always prevailed, the world would be very simple, but pride and deceit are the major characteristics of humans, and consequently, there are many layers of draw and lies the world is composed of, which, together with personality, experience, environment, and other variables, makes the world such a profound and interesting place.
The factors add to the existing layers and repercussions that Izaya finds so amusing. The very beginning of Izaya’s interaction with Rio Kamichika clearly reveals the two types of people that he gladly accepts and the ones he represses. Initially, he is not taken by her, and he considers her boring. She possesses her own secrets, and she is resentful towards her parents for having the same; she is a double-dealer, and tells everyone she wishes to die, but in fact, does not.
She is one of the liars, but in the aspect of lying, still the most uninteresting. She asserts and disputes, but is always too weak to support her position, and does not even realize that the dullness she perceives in others is nothing but the projection of her own. Izaya has the competence of predicting the unsuspected. Rio, on the other hand, is always predictable, which is it is essentially the reason why she is so monotonous.
Until she went for it and attempted suicide after coming to some very difficult truths, that is how it was, and that plunge was what Izaya enjoyed the most. There is also the chance that he was aware that his words would lead her to jump. If so, then he was untruthful, and he found her to be a captivating human from the very beginning because of her possessing the potential to perceive the truth, and also because of his wanting to know if she would learn from his words.
Izaya has the ability to assess the emotions and thoughts of people around him, though he cannot actually see through their minds nor foresee the flow of consciousness, sudden insights, and their consequences, and that fact is precisely what attracts him, initiating new events and acquiring, so to speak, keeping the whole thing fresh and exciting.
It is a lovely combination of both, predictable and unpredictable, and difficult to say if Izaya really means all he says, but when he claims that all humans are the same, he is telling the truth. He appreciates the quirks of the people around him, but doubtlessly thinks that they are the only ones.
Perhaps he wishes to think that way about people not being special just for his sake. He does not form any deep relationships and speaks about people as if they are not part of him; therefore, he may be trying to show his humanness. Possibly, he regards himself as a dark, immoral, so-called bad person and sees himself with a sneaky grin, and because of his humanity, he wants to prove himself to be from that society by disclosing that everyone is both flawed and dark like him.
To lower the importance of others to his level, or better, to demonstrate that all are equal. Then, perhaps, he could be a real part of something, a real part of the community he adores and that the Durarara!! is obsessed with. It would bring a somewhat sympathetic quality that seems out of place. Feasibly, he thinks so, shrugs it off, and laughs in his usual light-hearted manner, and keeps on with it. The enigma of Izaya really allows for multiple interpretations, and the story is so rich that it can support various perspectives on him.
In such regard, Izaya’s observation that Shinra Kishitani could safely cut himself off from the world with his love for Celty Sturluson, which, in a way, made him strong enough to shut himself off while still feeling like a part of humanity, is quite convincing. If a person cannot love, then there is no reason to co-exist with others, and there can be no reason to feel jealous of them, as is Izaya’s case with Shinra and Shizuo Heiwajima.
At the same time, Izaya has been said to be envious of Shizuo since the latter’s unstable actions are very typical of humanity, and besides, people come to him and make friends with him even though he is aggressive. It is suggested that he consider that if he kills Shizuo, he might be loved, at least in the way he loves people, instead of being feared.
The envy, along with the uncertainty of Shizuo’s actions, is the reason why he is one of the few people he despises. He stands for a value that Izaya considers impossible to get. Shizuo is not at all like the rotten and dishonest ones that Izaya thinks exist, and the fact makes him uneasy because he finds human beings’ moral decay and confusion so attractive that he wants to be a part of them, but at the same time he is scared that humans are not as he thinks they are at their core which is frightening for Izaya.
His viewpoint is that every person has a hidden side and only shows a nice side. That everyone is alike, but they just have differing ways to manifest and cover up the truth, and it is an interesting thing. The differences between people, the manner in which various circumstances lead to various results. He finds it one of the human natures, but he knows it so well. If he is not capable of at least a basic understanding of someone like Shizuo, he must be even further away from being a human.
It was indeed a frightening thought. Nonetheless, irrespective of the cause behind his role, it is undeniable that Izaya is in a totally different narrative degree. He is, as said, a provocateur and spectator of the chaos, spreading rumors and igniting fires, but apart from his quarrels with Shizuo, he is usually not involved in conflict. He is the one who watches, and his actions and contacts give rise to a number of the story’s themes.
Izaya is definitely not the type of person that people will appreciate when he chooses to be honest or when he chooses to hide behind lies or tricks. When you look at things this way, it shows a lot about the world that the truth is that the honest expression of one’s opinions and the person’s view on things is considered impolite. Humans are full of lies and facades and play-acting, so Izaya’s truth is the absolute opposite of all that, and that creates a separate universe for him.
He is honesty personified, plans to expose the truth of the people to the world, wants to see how the situation turns out, how the dust settles after people recognize the things he knows already, and wants to witness the reaction of the world when he reflects them through a mirror. Do they hide in fear of their own nature, suppress and dodge, or do they welcome it? In addition, a common theme throughout Durarara!! is change where people coming to Ikebukuro trying to find a way to alter their lives, to find a new form of fulfillment.
It is common for us to dislike the sensation of being immobile, but sometimes we can be lazy or confused about how to break that resistance, and Izaya understands this trait. Therefore, he presents people with a possibility for transformation, adventure, and a sneak peek at the opposite side.
And he employs it, along with his expertise in the deceptive similarities among people, to perform his tricks. It is such knowledge and insight that he possesses, his capacity to see through the nonsense, that makes him a pleasant person to interact with and, for some, an appealing person to trust. People are attracted to their idea of honesty, as much of a jerk as he is, possesses his own charm both in and out of the universe through his intelligence and his power to be straightforward, notwithstanding his objectives and deliberately complex conversations.
In view of his personality, principles, and drivers, Izaya is an advocate of the unstable side and manifestations of humanity. Their interactions, mutual influences, clashes, and bouncing, going apart and coming together again. It is a technical and frozen method to win the favor of mankind, and that is the reason why he is the one to drive Durarara!! forward.
It is difficult for people to remove themselves from their own situations and to open up their minds. The first and foremost reason is self-deception: humans tend to lie to themselves, besides they always have their prejudices and biases influencing their perceptions. Conversely, Izaya feels he is not a human being in the full sense of the word and considers himself a knowing jester who sees through people and their pretensions. He revels in both his ignorance and knowledge, dishing out the cynical truth and watching the outcome of the situation.
The story’s insights about the spontaneous and organic nature of memetics and community, how history and culture are sensationalized as humans tend to do, how the people we meet and the impact we have on the world may all be a series of coincidences caused by natural human wants and desires and darkness, are integral to the whole picture. The revelations of everyone hiding some part of the truth from others, and also the big marks we leave in the world when those truths come out, or through the way we try to conceal them, are among the themes.
Izaya is at the center of it all, setting off, orchestrating, and watching. He is a catalyst, a trickster, and a humanity-lover with a deterministic and persuasive nature.
References
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- Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Anchor Books.
- Hyde, L. (1998). Trickster Makes This World. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
- Hynes, W., & Doty, W. (1993). Mythical Trickster Figures. University of Alabama Press.
- Machiavelli, N. (1998). The Prince (H. Mansfield, Trans.). University of Chicago Press.
- Ryohgo, N. (2004). Durarara!! Vol. 1. ASCII Media Works.
- Takumi, Y. (Director). (2010). Durarara!! [TV series]. Brain’s Base.
