Japanese: どろろ
Episodes: 24
Aired: Jan 7, 2019 to Jun 24, 2019
Studio: Tezuka Productions, MAPPA
Genre: Shounen, Action, Supernatural, Historical
Duration: 24 min. per ep.
Rating: R – 17+ (violence & profanity)
Add to list on MAL
MY RATING: 9 out of 10
The greedy samurai lord Daigo Kagemitsu’s land is dying, and he would do anything for power, even renounce Buddha and make a pact with demons. His prayers are answered by 12 demons who grant him the power he desires by aiding his prefecture’s growth, but at a price. When Kagemitsu’s first son is born, the boy has no limbs, no nose, no eyes, no ears, nor even skin—yet still, he lives.
This child is disposed of in a river and forgotten. But as luck would have it, he is saved by a medicine man who provides him with prosthetics and weapons, allowing for him to survive and fend for himself. The boy lives and grows, and although he cannot see, hear, or feel anything, he must defeat the demons that took him as sacrifice. With the death of each one, he regains a part of himself that is rightfully his. For many years he wanders alone, until one day an orphan boy, Dororo, befriends him. The unlikely pair of castaways now fight for their survival and humanity in an unforgiving, demon-infested world.
via MAL
To my surprise, I really enjoyed watching Dororo. My mood has been very crazy since the start of this year because of work, so I didn’t expect much when I decided to watch this anime. Oh boy, what a surprise. A very nice surprise.
I’m not sure if I will be able to describe how much I enjoyed this anime in my review below, so please just bear with it, hehehe.
Intro & Ending Themes + Songs
I absolutely love both openings. I don’t even remember skipping once because I really love the animation as well as the song. I always love samurai-themed stories, so I guess that wasn’t a surprise eh, hahahaha.
The ending themes on the other hand were a masterpiece. I don’t usually care that much about the ending because I tend to just watch once and then skip next. But the art of Dororo’s endings were amazing for me to just skip. Heck, don’t even get me started with the song. Just like with the opening songs, the ending songs fit perfectly with the overall feel of the ending themes as well.
Story
This is a story of a boy’s journey on getting his body back from the demons. His father made a pact with the 12 demons to aid their prefecture’s growth at a price – and that was at his first son’s expense.
Along his journey, he met this kid named Dororo who soon became his companion and a person who also became important to him. The two of them encountered not just demons but also some people who wanted to harm them.
This story was set in a feudal era of samurai where there’s war and famine. And with the addition of demons, I think made this anime even more interesting.
Aside from that, this anime will also make you question morality. Should you sacrifice the life of one person for the sake of all the people in the village or not? That question has been on my mind while watching this series, and I came up with my own answer after finishing it. And I’m sure you will too if you’ll give this series a try, *wink.
Main Characters
Hyakkimaru. Hyakkimaru had a really hard life. The betrayal of the people who are supposed to love him, and all of those hardships he needs to endure as a result. Maan, it was really hard not to sympathize with him. In his journey to get back his body, he made a lot of discoveries that really changed him. His character development was really nice to see. He still has a lot to go after that ending, but giving us a glimpse on what’s coming next makes me so hopeful. I am just so happy for him <3
Dororo. I really adore this kid. Dororo is like a ray of sunshine. In a very cruel world they live in, and with all those bad experiences they’ve encountered, Dororo remained pure hearted. I love how Dororo cares so much for Hyakkimaru and when faced with many adversaries, Dororo still persists.
Art & Animation
MAPPA definitely didn’t disappoint at all. The character design, the composition and animation, everything just looks beautiful. Even with episodes that have a lot of blood shown all over, lol.
And the fight scenes, you can’t definitely mention this series without appreciating the fight scenes. Great story, with great fight scenes, equals great anime series.
Voice Actors
I watched this anime in both the original (English sub) and English dub. I want to believe that I am not very particular in this aspect of anime, but I guess it depends on the anime itself, wahahaha. In all fairness, I believe that the English dub of this anime was decent. I don’t think it was awkward at all. Oh well, maybe it’s just for me, wahahaha.
I don’t think I need to comment about the original dub eh? Hahaha. I don’t remember that I hated any original dub from all the anime I’ve watched so far though.
***
Dororo beautifully combined historical, supernatural, adventure and a whole lot of samurai into one awesome series. Definitely a remake made right!
If you’re a fan of any of those genres, I’m sure you’ll enjoy Dororo like I did. Have fun watching, *wink.
I get excited about samurai stories, too. Looks exciting!
It is! I hope you give it a try some time Sophia Rose 🙂