Analysis of the Saika Arc
Let’s talk about the Saika arc.
In SH, we have this scene.
Shizuo fell deeper in thought, and, clicking his tongue, spoke up again.
“Hey, Celty.”
‘Yeah?’
“Hypothetically, if we got along… If I could get along with Izaya about as well as Shinra, what do you think would have happened?”
‘That’s an amazing question.’
Celty did not hide her surprise, and probing Shizuo’s intention, asked,
‘Why are you asking?’
“Nothing… It’s just, that building we ruined one and a half years ago was completed in the past few months…”
‘Oh, that building.’
One and a half years ago.
In a series of events, Shizuo had wound up in a death match against his nemesis Orihara Izaya.
Izaya’s survival was unclear since he had vanished from the city, but scars of their incredible fight had been etched onto the city itself.
There had even been a giant explosion in a building under construction, but the crime could not be pinned since Izaya, the one responsible, had disappeared.
The police could have realised Shizuo was related to it, but seeing as he had yet to be remanded for questioning, one could imagine they had let it go, or there was some special arrangement within the department.
The building’s construction had been delayed due to the explosion, and Celty remembered the completion date was during her and Shinra’s vacation.
“I was recalling what happened there… And I don’t want to even imagine it, but I was thinking, if I got along with that flea, maybe it could have saved this city loads of trouble…”
—That’s not…
true, Celty typed, but her fingers stopped.
Because she realised that indeed, had Shizuo and Izaya been on speaking terms, the victims who had been embroiled in their fights would have had much more peace in their lives.
Of course, this was including Celty herself.
‘Well, that might be true, but it might have been disastrous, too.’
“Really?”
‘Yeah. There’s no way Izaya would have ever become a good guy. If you got along with him he could have used you to start terrible things.’
“Yeah… That’s true.”
Shizuo sighed lightly, and said to his friend, the Headless Rider,
“That Yahiro guy, in the middle of our fight… How to put it? He… He seemed happy. He’s probably only been forced into fights he hated all this time.”
‘Forced to fight?’
“Yeah. When I went all out for the first time in my life, against those people controlled by that sword… I had fun, too. Just a little.”
As if embarrassed that he was saying this, Shizuo switched the conversation to the future instead.
“Maybe he felt the same thing as me back then… If you’re such a strong fighter, it’s going to attract all kinds of people. If the flea was still here, he would have approached him.”
Shizuo brought up Izaya, which he has never done before. In fact, in the past everyone was afraid to mention Izaya in front of him because Shizuo would automatically get pissed off at hearing Izaya’s name. Shizuo would get pissed off at any mere implication of Izaya, such as how he was pissed off at the guy carrying three phones because it reminded him of the flea.
But here Shizuo brings up Izaya to Celty, after asking Celty if she remembered him, which means Izaya has been gone for so long and forgotten that Shizuo thinks no one remembers Izaya except him. Because Shizuo is asking Izaya’s courier if she remembers him.
Shizuo said it’s because the building he and Izaya ruined in their death match where he seriously tried to kill Izaya, was completed in the past few months – according to Celty, during her and Shinra’s vacation.
‘Izaya’s survival was unclear since he had vanished from the city, but scars of their incredible fight had been etched onto the city itself.’ They ruined the building one and a half years ago. Which means for over a year, Shizuo has been remembering Izaya and their death match when everyone has forgotten him.
Shizuo also asked what would have happened if he could get along with Izaya about as well as Shinra - Shinra is Izaya’s only friend. From wanting to kill Izaya and getting pissed off at any mention of him to wanting to be someone important to Izaya (as important as the guy who introduced Izaya to him, who told him he introduced his friend from elementary school to his friend from middle school), Shizuo’s impression of Izaya has definitely improved. Shizuo said later it’s because of Yahiro, but even before Yahiro came, Shizuo was already remembering Izaya for over a year, when there has been no trace of him. Yahiro seemed to be the catalyst for Shizuo to bring up the possibility of getting along with Izaya.
‘Well, that might be true, but it might have been disastrous, too.’
“Really?”
‘Yeah. There’s no way Izaya would have ever become a good guy. If you got along with him he could have used you to start terrible things.’
“Yeah… That’s true.”
Shizuo sighed lightly, and said to his friend, the Headless Rider,
“That Yahiro guy, in the middle of our fight… How to put it? He… He seemed happy. He’s probably only been forced into fights he hated all this time.”
‘Forced to fight?’
“Yeah. When I went all out for the first time in my life, against those people controlled by that sword… I had fun, too. Just a little.”
Although Shizuo agreed with Celty that Izaya would have made use of him, it’s still significant he brought up the possibility in the first place when in the past he was like this –
“I think asking Izaya would be the fastest. As long as you’re honest, you can work hard together. What do you think?”
‘Crack!’ the cup Shizuo was holding broke apart and multiple shards fell.
Tea spilled over his hands and knees, Shizuo’s face twitched and after a few seconds said.
“…..Sorry, I can compensate, Celty.”
“Huh? How come not to me, you only apologized to Celt—Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
Shinra had tilted his head, Shizuo pinched the side of his neck and pulled it towards the ceiling.
“Regardless if it’d be good or bad….. I have never been on good terms with that flea!”
“Calm down, brother.”
“……I know, excuse me.”
At the moment, Shizuo had the urge to throw Shinra out the window, Kasuka admonished his brother without showing a hint of expression on his face, but Shizuo slowly returned the doctor to the floor.
“That Yahiro guy, in the middle of our fight… How to put it? He… He seemed happy. He’s probably only been forced into fights he hated all this time.”
‘Forced to fight?’
“Yeah. When I went all out for the first time in my life, against those people controlled by that sword… I had fun, too. Just a little.”
Durarara is about connections, about how seemingly unrelated things connect together eventually. After bringing up Izaya, Shizuo mentioned how Yahiro was happy in the fight with him and it reminded him of how he had fun when fighting against Saika and was happy too. Yahiro was happy fighting Shizuo because he could go all out against someone.
“I wonder if… it’s fine for me to be human.”
- Miuzuchi Yahiro, Durarara SH Volume 1
Because even though he experienced the greatest fear ever when fighting Shizuo, he lost a fight for the first time and felt happy when he did. Because it felt to him like he was normal, that he wasn’t such a monster if there was a monster like Heiwajima Shizuo who could beat him. That maybe he and Shizuo are both monsters, or he (and Shizuo) are human. He had gone all out against someone, and lost.
It’s a reflection of Shizuo in the Saika arc. Shizuo won, because he’s the strongest human, but like Yahiro, he was happy at being able to release his full strength against someone.
“Nah, Celty…to be honest, I’m actually happy..”
“Huh…?” This reaction was not what Saika expected, either. The people in the crowd gave one another confused looks.
“I’ve always despised this strength I was given. I thought no one would ever accept me for what I am.,” Shizuo stated. There was a variety of emotions in his voice as he spoke of his past.
“The thing is…now I don’t have to worry anymore. Look at how many people love me. One, two…well, let’s just say ‘a lot.’ So…it’s all fine now,” he said, grinding his teeth with pleasure.
“I mean, I can accept who I am now, right?” he said, clenching his fists with enjoyment.
“I can like myself for what I am, right?” he said, his eyes wide with bliss as he tucked his sunglasses into his pocket.
“This power I’ve tried and tried and tried to get rid of, because I hated it so, so so much…But now it’s okay for me to accept it, right? It’s okay for me to use it, right?”
“I can – I can finally use my full power, right?”
And in the next instant, for the first time in his life, Shizuo Heiwajima willingly used all of his power. Not in the grips of rage, like always…But out of joy that something loved his power.
What he said next plunged the Saikas into despair.
“Oh, just for the record, people like y’all are not, at all, even the slightest, my type of partner.”
“The one thing I can say for you…is that I only hate you second most after Izaya.”
- Durarara Volume 2 (official translation)
It was the turning point for his violence to become strength.
Shizuo noticed that one of the slashers coming after him suddenly lost the will to fight and he gave his body an order with all of his mind and spirit.
That had never worked before. The cells, ruled by his anger, always continued their destruction until everything was finished.
Shizuo was not ruled by anger now.
It was joy. He was using his strength of his own will, out of nothing but joy.
Stop…Stop…stop,, damn you!
Finally, his anger appeared, its momentum focused at all of his own cells. The fist that threatened to crush the face of the oncoming but nonhostile slasher, now just an ordinary, harmless person…
Stopped right before making contact with the nose and went still.
Shizuo looked at the halted fist and realized he was laughing.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha…ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha…”
It was the laughter of an innocent child and the laughter of an insane killer.
About time you finally started listening to me.
Behind him was the by-product of that personal victory.
An entire field of Saikas, beaten until they couldn’t move again, and a pile of broke blades in all shapes and sizes, snapped in half by Shizuo’s shadow-gloved hands.
But none was them was dead.
He swung his fists with a different emotion than anger. It was pleasure – still a twisted emotion to utilize for fighting – but the result was that he’d been able to hold back for once.
It was the moment that violence turned to strength for Heiwajima Shizuo.
It was the Saika incident that let Shizuo realize his strength could be used out of his own free will.
He accepted his strength, and with acceptance of his strength, he was able to control it and hold back.
Because he was happy at being able to use his full strength against someone without them being hurt.
Because that would mean his strength doesn’t necessarily make him a monster.
Someone loving his strength gave Shizuo the confidence to use his strength, and not let it control him.
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