Durarara!! - Rio Kamichika - On Cyber Dangers

Durarara!! is something of a cultural trip. The story takes place in Ikebukuro, Tokyo; a district overflowing with a unique cast of characters, ranging from violent gangs to supernatural entities. The series is also known for its dynamic first person perspective (in each episode, the narration swaps from character to character) and for its intermissions, where the scene changes to that of a chat room.

In the first episode, Mikado Ryugamine arrives in the city, meeting up with an old friend who begins to explain the ways of city life. At the same time, a mysterious girl is wandering the city when she gets attacked and kidnapped. However, she is leaders saved by the "Headless Rider," a mysterious woman writing a black motorcycle. This episode is told from Mikado's point-of-view.

The second episode explores the past and present surrounding the mysterious girl and is narrated both by her and by the "Headless Rider." It is revealed that her name is Rio Kamichika, and that her parents were secretly having an affair.  She felt dejected and depressed, so she turned to the guidance of an online friend. This "friend" convinced her to form a suicide pact with him, and set her into the city.  It turns out that he also orchestrated the kidnapping. The mastermind, Izaya Orihara, did all of this to dissect the mind of Rio Kamichika, all for his own amusement. Rio jumps off a tall building, but is caught by the Headless Rider before hitting the ground, who then goes on to tell her that "the world isn't as bad as you think."

Do the complex nature of the series, most if not all of the articles pertaining to it shall revolve around individual character profiles, not unlike the articles of the Danganronpa series. Therefore, for this article, we shall focus on Rio Kamichika.

From her plotline, a multitude of discussions about net culture can be derived. Notice, for example, that this girl rapidly put her full trust into an online stranger. Opening with a "stranger danger" scenario is rather interesting for a series like this, because later on this series aims to reveal the true value hidden online relationships. The second red flag is when Rio hides her phone from her mother in one scene, that really symbolize how little her parents knew about what was going on in her life.

What the Internet has allowed us to do as individuals is to create in us a second self, an identity through which we can unveil our deepest thoughts, fears, and aspirations. At the same time, however, there is a downside in that the second selves are put on display, and thus can be exploited. Rio's example serves as a disclaimer to what we risk, providing a strong juxtaposition to those things which we can gain. With that of the way, the next plots will serve to expand on that those gains are (as will be explained in future articles).