If there’s one thing audiences love, it’s an antihero. Antiheroes get to have it all, in a way. Not bound by the strict good or evil label that heroes and villains often are, they’re allowed to be both charming, courageous saviors, and gruff, morally grey antagonists. They get to be more human, with motivations and choices that are realistic. They usually have the most memorable and enjoyable personalities because they aren’t forced into any box. With these things in mind, it’s no surprise that antiheroes are among some of the most beloved characters in anime.
There’s no shortage of memorable anime antiheroes, either. From Berserk’s Guts to Code Geass’s Lelouch Lamperouge to Naruto’s Sasuke Uchiha, antihero protagonists have become a staple in the medium. The list could honestly go on forever. However, there’s quite a few notable characters that people overlook when it comes to discussing antiheroes. One such character is Durarara’s Shizuo Heiwajima.
Durarara is a wild ride from start to finish. The series takes place in Ikebukuro, a place where rumors of gangs and larger than life individuals run rampant. While the series follows a handful of characters, it mostly focuses on Mikado Ryuugamine, a boy who has recently moved to Tokyo from a small town and becomes tangled up in the mystery of the city. The series makes use of many interconnecting plotlines, revealing piece by piece how the characters came to know each other and how the gangs formed.
However, one of the most interesting characters in the series is Shizuo Heiwajima. Introduced as a violent, no nonsense type of person, Shizuo is one of the first people Mikado is warned about when he arrives in Ikebukuro. This is mostly due to how he rampages upon seeing Izaya Orihara; He seems to be unable to contain his rage and will uproot street signs and vending machines to use as weapons without caring about the destruction he’s causing. In addition, he often loses his temper at people who hurt his friends or his brother. However, throughout the series, the audience is shown another side of Shizuo. He is presented as someone who is quiet, tries to avoid conflict, and often worries about how his ability affects those around him. He often claims that he hates violence despite how often he is shown being violent towards people.
To some, Shizuo can seem rather antagonistic on the surface. He’s angry, aggressive, and quite rude. He comes off as hypocritical with how he denounces violence and yet turns around and hurls vending machines at people. However, Shizuo’s duality is part of what makes him such a compelling antihero. A good antihero doesn’t just do everything for the greater good. They often mix selfish and selfless motivations and follow their own moral compass. At his core, he wants to be normal. He wants to be close to other people, and tries to do right by them. This is why he tries to be nondescript in his day to day life and avoid things that trigger his short fuse. Unfortunately, the hand he’s been given doesn’t allow for him to lead the life he wants. His seemingly unlimited strength is born out of his anger, and even when he uses it to help people, it can cause more harm than good. Regardless of how good his heart may be, his temper and strength alienate him from the people around him.
Shizuo’s internal struggle is also consistently exacerbated by outside forces, most notably by Izaya. Izaya is hellbent on destroying Shizuo’s life and goes out of his way to cause Shizuo to lose jobs, get in trouble with the police, and simply aggravate him. Izaya also tends to bait Shizuo by talking about his brother, Kasuka. It’s impossible for Shizuo to control himself in the presence of someone who wants to hurt not only him, but the people around him, and constantly activates his rage. Not to mention, Shizuo’s patience is incredibly thin, and he doesn’t take well to being pestered. While there are many times he simply walks away from a situation that annoys him without resorting to physical violence, there’s also quite a few where he resolves these annoyances with his fists (especially when they involve people close to him.) It’s important to note a recurring theme here; For the most part, Shizuo’s violent tendencies manifest in response to people bothering him or threatening something he cares about. It’s not out of a love of violence or destruction, but out of a desire to protect and defend himself and his friends and family.
In addition to this making Shizuo a great antihero, it also makes him a relatable one. Most people have something they can’t escape in their lives, whether it be a responsibility, obligation or otherwise. These things fundamentally shape who we are as people, just as Shizuo’s power and anger have shaped him and caused him so much grief. Shizuo is often alone due to his strength, either because people are afraid of him or because he must push them away to keep them safe. He’s misunderstood by most of the people around him, and it’s a good connection point for the audience because most people can relate to this feeling. It’s one of the more realistic struggles in the series and helps ground it amidst all of the convoluted plot points.
Shizuo also receives some of the best development in the series. We’re able to watch him come to terms with his anger and strength and try to channel it in a way that’s more constructive, but he is allowed to retain his rough, easily frustrated personality still. He isn’t pushed towards a hero or villain label upon his revelation; He’s allowed to continue to be a bit morally ambiguous and continue to wrestle with how his ability affects him and the world around him. He’s able to retain all of the things that make him a likeable, relatable, and interesting character.
Shizuo Heiwajima embodies all of the reasons why antiheroes are so beloved by audiences. He’s powerful, full of interesting internal conflict and motivation, and isn’t bound by the conventional morality of a hero. He’s relatable, portrayed as a complex person with his own code of ethics. For viewers, an antihero is often easier to root for than a hero because even though they might do something bad or have self-serving motives, they’re far more realistic than a typical hero - they behave like real people. Shizuo provides that dose of realism for the series and offers a complex character for the audience to connect with and cheer for. For this reason, he's easily one of the best and most memorable antiheroes in recent years.