Dororo is a 2019 Japanese Anime television series based on the 1967 manga of the same name by Osamu Tezuka. The series serves as a reboot of sorts from the previous 1968 anime television series and was produced by Studio Mappa.
Plot[]
With his region suffering and his dreams of power fading, Kagemitsu Daigo abandons the way of buddhism and makes a deal with a great many demons, anything they want in exchange for stability and his own dreams fulfilled. The deal works, and the Kaga province experiences an age of prosperity, but the price paid is the body of his newborn son, who he quickly discards. However, as fate would have it, Daigo's son survives and becomes the prosthetically-enhanced ronin Hyakkimaru, defeating demons throughout the land to regain the parts of him that were stolen. Accompanied by the young orphaned thief Dororo, Hyakkimaru regains his senses and learns what it is to be human in turn, all while the country of Japan suffers from a state of seemingly endless war.
Why it Rocks[]
- While there was an anime adaptation before, it somewhat suffers from being a product of it's time, and the manga, while great overall, also kind of suffers from the same problem. This anime, on the other hand, gives the series some much needed juice, adapting the series very faithfully while also arguably improving many aspects, specifically with the plot.
- Breathtaking animation courtesy of Mappa studios, even using traditional painting techniques for backgrounds a lot of the time to make it feel like it came from that era of Japan.
- Hyakkimaru and Dororo's designs are also updated, still being faithful to the original, but more realistic and appealing in this case.
- Lots of interesting characters and concepts that come with them, also improving and updating them from the original source material to better fit a modern audience.
- Hyakkimaru is the first son of Daigo who had sacrificed his body to demons for power, though he was saved by a doctor in a distant village who gave him prosthetics to counteract all the pieces of him that were stolen. Though starting out blind, deaf, mute, paraplegic, and devoid of any sensory experiences (even lacking skin), he sets out to kill all the demons, which in turn replaces his prosthetics with the parts the demons stole, which brings sensory experiences that he's never had before and threaten to drive him crazy at times (especially when he gets his hearing back for the first time and is overwhelmed by all the sounds he hears). Although technically blind, he is still able to see the world around him through high-contrast colors, where evil creatures are red, non-evil ones are grey, and plants are green.
- Dororo is a young thief who's parents died and who resorts to many schemes and such just to make a living. Although depicted as a boy at first, it's later revealed that they are, in fact, a girl, having been raised as a boy by her parents to the point of believing she is one. She joins Hyakkimaru on his quest to eradicate demons, wondering if he is even really human, and starts to form a rather strong bond with him after he starts regaining his senses from the demons. She often charges people money for Hyakkimaru's services, but will do it for free if the client is either destitute or kind to them.
- Jukai is a doctor who specializes in prosthetics which he gives to people for free and even gives to the deceased to make them whole again. Years ago, he was forced to crucify many people for a cruel lord, which drove him to attempt suicide, but fail and become a doctor as penance, though he knows he can never be truly redeemed. He also is the one responsible for all of Hyakkimaru's prosthetics and even practically raised him until he was forced to send him on his way when the demons targeted him directly after he trained him how to fight.
- Daigo's characterization is vastly changed from the original source material, as he's depicted as being less outright evil and making the deal with the demons for the sake of his people as well, though that doesn't quite excuse what he's done and there's still underlying selfish reasons. Although he had another son, Tahomaru, his wife still feels a void left by the supposed death of Hyakkimaru years ago.
- Even plenty of minor characters are still really interesting, with a particular case being Mio, a young woman who takes care of other war orphans like herself in an abandoned temple, reluctantly working as a prostitute to make ends meet. She has a habit of singing to try and bear the terrible conditions of her work and overall life, and her doing so is what calms Hyakkimaru when he first gains his hearing back and helps him deal with it.
- It takes a much darker and more serious and emotional tone compared to the original manga and anime, showing the Warring States period as a truly terrible time where a great many people, many of them innocent, died horribly, and where humans could be even worse than the monsters Hyakkimaru fights. It also gives a lot more depth to the lore, especially with how Hyakkimaru gains his senses back, with the aforementioned case of him hearing for the first time and others like when he feels pain and can speak for the first time, treating them much more realistically and making the overall story that much more interesting.
- Great voice acting all around, especially as Dororo was voiced by an actual child instead of an adult woman, and there's plenty of other great performances in the mix.
- Dororo and Hyakkimaru have wonderful chemistry and character development throughout, which becomes a primary focus of the series and makes it all the more emotional and interesting, especially as Hyakkimaru gains his senses back and is able to communicate with Dororo.
- Wonderful musical score throughout, especially with the opening theme song paired with beautiful visuals and an energizing tone while the ending song has simplified visuals and a more emotional tune to make Dororo and Hyakkimaru's relationship more in focus.
- Plenty of great episodes with moral ambiguity and shocking moments in them, especially with the deaths of some major characters and very emotional moments to boot.
- The fight scenes are off the charts, with plenty of awesome choreography and camera work, rivaling plenty of other popular anime that are noted for this. They're also a bit more realistic to always have the possibility of Hyakkimaru losing and making them that much more interesting.
- NO FANSERVICE! Despite that being rather common in anime, in this case it would only distract from the narrative. Luckily, they made the wise choice to not have any at all, even if sex is still somewhat of a theme, it doesn't get used in that way.
- It has a lot of great themes throughout, such as how every human life has value, especially in a time when it was regularly devalued, and that a case like Daigo's deal is a false paradise as it's built on the bodies of many others, including and especially (and also quite literally) that of Hyakkimaru.
- Unlike the original manga and anime series, it has a much more full and complete ending to the series, tying up Hyakkimaru and Dororo's stories completely and leaving no room for more spin-offs or anything, even taking an overall idea that Tezuka had for the ending but ultimately scrapped. It also gives an emotional payoff to the series where Hyakkimaru returns many years later, fully human after killing all the demons, and reunites with a now adult Dororo.
Bad Qualities[]
- There are some filler episodes, ones that are faithful to the original series, but can still slow it down a bit.
- The finale, while great overall, had some issues like a few arguably rushed plot points and Dororo's conflicting gender identity kind of being discarded.
- Some occasional moments of gross out humor, such as when Dororo throws manure at some people.