Personality: Shizuo is introduced as the personification of violence and, for a good while, we have a ton of evidence to support this portrayal.
Someone who is referred to as one of the most dangerous people in Ikebukuro and tosses vending machines and street signs around like they're made out of papier-mâché doesn't exactly put forward an image of peaceful serenity. Punching a man clean out of his clothes - fandom will never forget that one - doesn't hurt his violent image. The root of his infamous violent nature is the poor guy's uncontrollable and frighteningly short temper; short to the point where it becomes more and more impossible to avoid setting him off as any given conversation drags on. Whether this is with a stranger - a journalist who wants to interview him for a magazine - or one of the few people he has allowed himself to get close to - Simon, for example - doesn't seem to matter.
Shizuo's tantrums, for lack of a better term, often stem from his simplistic ideas of right and wrong. His brother stealing his pudding, a grown man who claims he loves a woman he stalks, a stupid teenager who doesn't know anything about the girl he claims to love, putting innocent people in harm's way. Y'know, the usual. Although that's not to say he doesn't flip his shit at pretty much anything and everything else, because he does. Frequently.
Only one thing tends to set him off without fail - Izaya Orihara. Either the man himself or just the name. Both work. Their relationship boils down to one of mutual hatred - Shizuo didn't like the feeling he got from Izaya since the very first day they met. This was cemented when Izaya attacked him with a knife minutes later and things would only get worse between them over the years. Shizuo seems to judge his hatred of and anger at others by using Izaya as a benchmark. He tells Seiji that he'll let him off with a swift headbutt - in return for multiple stabs - simply because he "likes [him] more than Izaya." I won't go into too much detail about their relationship, but it should be noted that while Izaya would be happy is Shizuo dropped dead, Shizuo would be happy if Izaya stayed out of his life for good. There's a fine line there, sure, but it's an important one because it reveals a key fact about Shizuo's personality.
Whenever he subcums to these bouts of rage, he enters a super-human state and leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Street-lamps ripped out the ground, fences buckled and bent, whoever pissed him off left in a beaten heap. But the thing you've got to understand is that Shizuo hates violence with every fibre of his being. Since he didn't grow up reading violent manga or playing mature video games, he feels as though his freakish strength and hair-trigger temper are his own fault. There must be something wrong with him if he ended up as such a monstrous kid while his brother was so calm and stoic. After his attempt to save a grown woman who was kind to him from some Yakuza thugs ended with her being caught up in his violence, the young Shizuo grew to develop a complex about his own strength. He distanced himself from other people because he hates the thought of them getting hurt by him, because he couldn't stand to be around people who feared him for his strength. Celty, Simon and other unconventional types found in the city are the kind of people he allows himself to get close to - even these characters can't be considered normal by any stretch of the imagination.
While the first of his violent outbursts resulted in an attempt to attack his brother, Kasuka, with a fridge, Shizuo has grown into the kind of guy who’ll do whatever necessary to keep his brother safe and happy. This might be because his brother was never scared of Shizuo’s extreme strength; but it might also have stemmed out of guilt. The relationship he has with his brother reveals quite a bit of his poor self image, but I’ll talk about that more in a minute. Kasuka comes off as emotionally dead, to put it bluntly, because he grew up controlling his emotions in an attempt to make up for Shizuo’s lack of control and ease the burden on their family. Although Shizuo looks up to him and cares about him more than anyone in the world, he feels inferior enough to consider it an insult to Kasuka when people compare the two of them. Even the suggestion that Kasuka is disappointed in him can send Shizuo into a little bought of depression. His desire to be someone his brother can be proud of can be seen in how he still wears the bartender outfits his brother bought him in bulk despite having lost his job. Oh, and any clothing damage tends to send him into a blind fury because he doesn't want a gift from Kasuka to get ruined.
Shizuo is so fixated on his inability to function as a normal person that he’s blind to all his good points. Not everyone sees him as an unstoppable monster, some people see him as a reliable and friendly enough guy, but this is the image he’s stuck with. He thinks of himself as lonely and monstrous despite how many good friends he has and has let this get in the way of his social abilities. It isn’t until a swarm of cursed sword possessed zombies attack him because of how much they love his strength that he can even begin to see himself as something other than brute strength given form. Which is a shame because, underneath the yelling and the smashing up public property, Shizuo is pretty much a huge dorky loser in a bartender outfit. He’s the kind of guy who prefers milk and sweets over beer and curry, who remembers dorky lines from action movies and waits for the perfect chance to use them, who thinks two serial killers brawling in public are common thieves because they swiped his briefcase.
Basically, Shizuo's personality has been shaped by his unfortunate strength. This makes other people think of him as a monstrous man, often before they've even had a chance to meet him face to face, rather than seeing him for the calm and reserved person who loves his friends and family to death that he might've grown into if his temper (and, I guess, Izaya) hadn't gotten in the way during his school years.
Abilities/Powers: Unlike regular people, Shizuo's brain doesn't restrict his physical power in reaction to pain or to avoid potential injuries. He has the power to rip streetlamps from the ground and swing them around like baseball bats, or hurtle vending machines through the air like baseballs. This is described as an unlimited form of human strength.
His short temper and lack of self-control means the smallest slight will send him into a violent rage. He describes this as his body "acting on its own".
Although his childhood was spent in a constant state of injury - since his body couldn't keep up with the physical strain - he has since developed to the point where pain isn't much of a problem. His bones have strengthened to the point where they don't break like bones should. He keeps a pen shoved through his palm because pulling it out will spill blood everywhere, before he decides to superglue the wound shut. Another time he mistakes being shot for slipping in a puddle. It wasn't until he noticed his shirt soaked in blood that he put two and two together.
Items/Weapons: A pack of cigarettes and a lighter and the shirt on his back.
Shizuo Heiwajima | Durarara!! | Reserved
Someone who is referred to as one of the most dangerous people in Ikebukuro and tosses vending machines and street signs around like they're made out of papier-mâché doesn't exactly put forward an image of peaceful serenity. Punching a man clean out of his clothes - fandom will never forget that one - doesn't hurt his violent image. The root of his infamous violent nature is the poor guy's uncontrollable and frighteningly short temper; short to the point where it becomes more and more impossible to avoid setting him off as any given conversation drags on. Whether this is with a stranger - a journalist who wants to interview him for a magazine - or one of the few people he has allowed himself to get close to - Simon, for example - doesn't seem to matter.
Shizuo's tantrums, for lack of a better term, often stem from his simplistic ideas of right and wrong. His brother stealing his pudding, a grown man who claims he loves a woman he stalks, a stupid teenager who doesn't know anything about the girl he claims to love, putting innocent people in harm's way. Y'know, the usual. Although that's not to say he doesn't flip his shit at pretty much anything and everything else, because he does. Frequently.
Only one thing tends to set him off without fail - Izaya Orihara. Either the man himself or just the name. Both work. Their relationship boils down to one of mutual hatred - Shizuo didn't like the feeling he got from Izaya since the very first day they met. This was cemented when Izaya attacked him with a knife minutes later and things would only get worse between them over the years. Shizuo seems to judge his hatred of and anger at others by using Izaya as a benchmark. He tells Seiji that he'll let him off with a swift headbutt - in return for multiple stabs - simply because he "likes [him] more than Izaya." I won't go into too much detail about their relationship, but it should be noted that while Izaya would be happy is Shizuo dropped dead, Shizuo would be happy if Izaya stayed out of his life for good. There's a fine line there, sure, but it's an important one because it reveals a key fact about Shizuo's personality.
Whenever he subcums to these bouts of rage, he enters a super-human state and leaves a trail of destruction behind him. Street-lamps ripped out the ground, fences buckled and bent, whoever pissed him off left in a beaten heap. But the thing you've got to understand is that Shizuo hates violence with every fibre of his being. Since he didn't grow up reading violent manga or playing mature video games, he feels as though his freakish strength and hair-trigger temper are his own fault. There must be something wrong with him if he ended up as such a monstrous kid while his brother was so calm and stoic. After his attempt to save a grown woman who was kind to him from some Yakuza thugs ended with her being caught up in his violence, the young Shizuo grew to develop a complex about his own strength. He distanced himself from other people because he hates the thought of them getting hurt by him, because he couldn't stand to be around people who feared him for his strength. Celty, Simon and other unconventional types found in the city are the kind of people he allows himself to get close to - even these characters can't be considered normal by any stretch of the imagination.
While the first of his violent outbursts resulted in an attempt to attack his brother, Kasuka, with a fridge, Shizuo has grown into the kind of guy who’ll do whatever necessary to keep his brother safe and happy. This might be because his brother was never scared of Shizuo’s extreme strength; but it might also have stemmed out of guilt. The relationship he has with his brother reveals quite a bit of his poor self image, but I’ll talk about that more in a minute. Kasuka comes off as emotionally dead, to put it bluntly, because he grew up controlling his emotions in an attempt to make up for Shizuo’s lack of control and ease the burden on their family. Although Shizuo looks up to him and cares about him more than anyone in the world, he feels inferior enough to consider it an insult to Kasuka when people compare the two of them. Even the suggestion that Kasuka is disappointed in him can send Shizuo into a little bought of depression. His desire to be someone his brother can be proud of can be seen in how he still wears the bartender outfits his brother bought him in bulk despite having lost his job. Oh, and any clothing damage tends to send him into a blind fury because he doesn't want a gift from Kasuka to get ruined.
Shizuo is so fixated on his inability to function as a normal person that he’s blind to all his good points. Not everyone sees him as an unstoppable monster, some people see him as a reliable and friendly enough guy, but this is the image he’s stuck with. He thinks of himself as lonely and monstrous despite how many good friends he has and has let this get in the way of his social abilities. It isn’t until a swarm of cursed sword possessed zombies attack him because of how much they love his strength that he can even begin to see himself as something other than brute strength given form. Which is a shame because, underneath the yelling and the smashing up public property, Shizuo is pretty much a huge dorky loser in a bartender outfit. He’s the kind of guy who prefers milk and sweets over beer and curry, who remembers dorky lines from action movies and waits for the perfect chance to use them, who thinks two serial killers brawling in public are common thieves because they swiped his briefcase.
Basically, Shizuo's personality has been shaped by his unfortunate strength. This makes other people think of him as a monstrous man, often before they've even had a chance to meet him face to face, rather than seeing him for the calm and reserved person who loves his friends and family to death that he might've grown into if his temper (and, I guess, Izaya) hadn't gotten in the way during his school years.
Abilities/Powers: Unlike regular people, Shizuo's brain doesn't restrict his physical power in reaction to pain or to avoid potential injuries. He has the power to rip streetlamps from the ground and swing them around like baseball bats, or hurtle vending machines through the air like baseballs. This is described as an unlimited form of human strength.
His short temper and lack of self-control means the smallest slight will send him into a violent rage. He describes this as his body "acting on its own".
Although his childhood was spent in a constant state of injury - since his body couldn't keep up with the physical strain - he has since developed to the point where pain isn't much of a problem. His bones have strengthened to the point where they don't break like bones should. He keeps a pen shoved through his palm because pulling it out will spill blood everywhere, before he decides to superglue the wound shut. Another time he mistakes being shot for slipping in a puddle. It wasn't until he noticed his shirt soaked in blood that he put two and two together.
Items/Weapons: A pack of cigarettes and a lighter and the shirt on his back.