Waifu Wednesday: Erika Karisawa (Durarara!!)

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Lilia Hellal
September 14, 2022
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Waifu Wednesday time! Since I have previously covered my undying love for one half of Ryōgo Narita’s iconic pair of works with Baccano!, here’s to his other classic Durarara!!, which features its own delightfully entertaining and charismatic female supporting character. She often goes underappreciated, since she makes up a pairing of her own within this world — so it’s time to show some appreciation for our goofy fujoshi fangirl and local Ikebukuro torturer, Erika Karisawa!

Who is Erika?

Erika Karisawa is a side character within the Durarara!! universe, appearing in both the anime series and light novels.

As a member of the Dollars and someone who was once affiliated with the Blue Squares, Erika’s particular set of skills has her lead quite the double life as a jewellery maker and torturer — although that makes her all the more charming and intriguing in her own unique way for how proudly peculiar she really is.

Let’s talk about that funky personality of hers first.

Why we love Erika

Much like how Miria and Isaac from Baccano! function best as a pairing rather than separately, Erika and Walker are joined at the hip, never being seen without the other whenever they appear. Unlike Miria, though, there’s a bit more individuality to Erika, having more of her own quirks to make her stand out from the group she’s always seen in.

As a member of the Dollars along with Walker, Saburo and its leader Kyouhei, she is closest to Walker for their shared adoration of all things anime and manga, making the pair the biggest of otaku fans. They take their obsession to some of the most concerning but hilarious of extremes, such as how they even implement tactics that they have learnt from their favourite media into how they torture.

But no matter what Erika is doing, it will always somehow be tied to an anime or manga, such as how she cooks anime-themed dishes and sings anime-themed songs during karaoke. You love to see it. She is an overall really appealing and memorable character. She’s highly capable in her own right, making use of logic and reason to protect herself and those she cares about — but she’s also wildly entertaining for her interests and the way in which she expresses them so openly without any shame.

Why you will love Erika

As the face of one of the earliest memes of a particularly classic format back in the early 2010s, Erika was beyond relatable for a certain kind of consumer of Durarara!!. Since she is both a cosplayer and fujoshi, there is a wonderfully peculiar duality to her character since she is spunky and silly when her otaku side takes over, but on the other hand, she is also quite the unassumingly scary and serious interrogator.

She is skilled and will partake in any form of mental or physical torture when interrogating others for information as a member of the Dollars, although to balance out this dark side of her personality, the group is at least led by the more morally sound Kyouhei. Furthermore, if you’re reading this, you probably wouldn’t have much difficulty befriending Erika due to shared interests — and she’s most definitely loyal and fiercely protective of those she considers to be comrades.

Outside of that more alarming side to her, she is incredibly endearing with her on-screen antics when her obsession is catered to even in the smallest and most unintentional ways as she gets increasingly more animated. This can be seen when she fangirls for the Black Rider whenever they make a grand entrance, or when she is enthusiastically attempting and failing to convince the other characters that Shizuo has a crush on Izaya since he wants to kill him.

Just try and tell me that other young female viewers were not also shipping Shizuo and Izaya during its initial airing back in 2010. This ship probably proved to be one of the biggest draws in giving the show a watch back in the day, which lined up well with my own exploration of yaoi games at the time. Erika existing when I was so young was the role model I needed and deserved at the time.

Finally, it’s worth noting her voice actress Ayahi Takagaki voices the best heroine of the Norn9 series, Mikoto Kuga. That’s a nice bit of IP intersecting there if you ask me!

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