Ryohgo Narita and Suzuhito Yasuda wrapped up the Durarara!! light novels in January 2014, but then in April launched Durarara!! SH, a followup set two years later. (They also launched an Orihara Izaya to, Yūyake wo spin-off last July).

"SH" has a double meaning. It refers to Yahiro “Snake Hands” Mizuchi, a Raira Academy first-year with a cowardly demeanor, but frightening fighting abilities. And, it refers to the Chinese idiom “adding legs to a snake,” that suggests an act of adding unnecessary details onto something that should otherwise be complete.

Along with the other new leads, classmates Kuon Kotonami and Himeka Tatsugami,Mizuchi kicks off the series' action by hunting down the truth behind the Headless Rider urban legend.

Volume four was released last week, and as the cover suggests, this more comedic entry, along the lines of the original series' volumes 4 and 7, features the return of characters such as Anri.

In an afterward, Narita discusses the excitement of Durarara!! x2 airing its final cour and the opportunity he had to watch some of its dubbing. He mentions the Durarara!! Re: Dollars Arc and Baccano!! manga adaptations. He thanks Yasuda Suzuhito for bringing life to his characters and introducing new charm to each one.

He also says he visited a dermatologist to see to a skin condition and wound up diagnosed with a anaphylactoid purpura kidney inflammation. The remedy was to rest and recover naturally, but unfortunately, "resting" didn't mean sitting behind a desk. So, Narita needed to lying down with his legs elevated and spent several months living horizontally in his bed at home.

While his work initially slowed, he found that he could write on a smartphone more effectively than he original thought he could. He didn't name the phone or software to avoid advirtising.

With his health improved, he cleaned up the work on his desktop computer.

via popsiclete and Durarara!! Wiki

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Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.