A long time ago (2017), I saw this post someone made on Tumblr. I think at the time, I kind of agreed with it, but I was 13, and extremely stupid. The fact that I disagree with it now after my brain has developed much more just goes to show how stupid it is. I came across it again a few years later in 2020 and it's irritated me badly ever since. I won't add it here or mention what it was, partially because I don't remember who posted it, and partially because I just don't want to do that. But I will complain about it.
It's this stupid "meme" (if you can even call it that) basically trying to call certain statements about Izaya from other fans false and whatnot. Some of them are just dumb jokes, but there's two that stand out: "Izaya isn't mentally ill", and "Izaya did this to himself and he enjoys it".
How fucking braindead do you have to be to actually believe this?
No, seriously. This is exactly what Izaya himself wants you to think. If you genuinely believe at least one of these statements, you are 1) very stupid and 2) you have fallen for Izaya's very poor attempt at covering up his own issues. Do you watch Durarara with your hands over your eyes and earplugs in?
It is quite literally this image.
Actually, if you watched only the anime, I can maybe start to see why you think this way. The amount of important lore pertaining to Izaya's character and personality that is cut is insane. I think the people at Brain's Base and especially Shuka really dislike him.
Anyways... as I was saying. I don't see how it is possible to see the things Izaya does and think he is truly enjoying himself. He has "joked" on multiple times that all he is good for is information, which (if you didn't fail ELA in school) would lead you to infer that he is bitter about the fact that people only come to him when they want something. He gets CAT scans and MRIs and interprets the normal results as meaning there is nothing wrong with his personality. I believe Izaya is very smart. Hell, Narita says he either majored in Psychology or Cultural Anthropology. If it's the former, he definitely knows no brain scan is going to automatically pick up mental issues or any abnormalities in personality. So why does he pretend it does?
Because he is choosing to be ignorant so it can let him stay in denial...
Like, literally go through any of the chapters on the sidebar, and there will be probably be something about this. (I'll probably go repeat myself on the chapter for that above quote but it's fine.) Izaya is not in control of himself, he has many self-destructive tendencies because having a stable and healthy life cannot sustain him.
Generally, the stuff I say about Izaya is not unique to him. As in, there are many characters who are multifaceted and very complex. That being said, I still like to ignore this fact and pretend like it is in fact unique to him because I love him.
Even within Durarara, Izaya feels like a very special character to me. There's so much of his personality and characteristics sprinkled throughout the other characters in Ikebukuro. In a way, it kind of feels like the impact he left on the city before leaving.
Anyways, I might get completely sidetracked if I go down that line of thinking. This is just meant to be an introduction to this section of the analysis page, and my reasoning behind making it.
In the case of Anri, this is actually the parallel that motivated me to add this section and add the whole "my random thoughts" thing as a whole.
Anri describes her view of the world around her as if she were observing it like a painting. She is unable to actually interact with it, and she feels detached from everyone and everything. She herself cannot love, and she uses Saika to love for her instead.
Similarly, Izaya prefers to stay in the shadows, observing the world from afar. He actively tries to keep a distance from those around him, and when this is actually ruined [1], he has little control over the more "human" side of him that reacts. Izaya states that he loves all of humanity, but that all-encompassing love is because his heart is so fragile, if he were to actually open up his heart, he would "fall apart"[2].
Neither Anri nor Izaya can love others in the traditional sense, and instead use a proxy of sorts (Saika for Anri, loving all of humanity for Izaya) to do it for them. It makes me wonder if part of that is why Izaya is so hostile to her. He hates to be reminded of himself.
This is probably a strange section. Well, to anyone who is not smart and cannot read between the lines. The thing about Shizuo and Izaya is that despite appearing so different, they are actually similar in some ways as well.
The hatred that Shizuo feels for himself mirrors Izaya's own self hatred.