Dororo

Stories of redemption, regret, and overcoming adversity remind me of a rainy night spent with my grandmother as she tells me a story about an urban legend as I sip from my warm bowl of soup. I was holding on to her during the rough parts of the story, waiting for the conclusion to drop so that I could fill up the lost bits in my memory. A child banished from the safety of their parents would eventually exact a severe punishment. A man meditates on top of a mountain only to find that everything he is praying for has already faded away.

MAPPA and Tezuka Productions' 2019 anime television series Dororo is based on Osamu Tezuka, the most important person in comics history. People who haven't read a single one of his works frequently refer to the man as "the father of manga." Twin Engine produced the animation. Kazuhiro Furuhashi directed the film, and Kobayashi Yasuko composed the series. Asada Hiroyuki created the Original Character Design, while Iwataki Satoshi created the Character Designs.

While Ike Yoshihiro wrote the music and Funahashi Toshihiro was the music producer, Ootsuka Manabu, and Yamamoto Kouji were producers. Koizumi Kisuke handled the sound design, and Kurahashi Shizuo dealt with the sound effects.

This is a remake of the earlier 1969 television series. The main innovation was the new portrayal of Hyakkimaru, a weaker samurai than the one written by the late Tezuka, with director Kazuhiro Furuhashi and other staff members coming up with the alternative take of the young swordsman changing after his journey with Dororo in a way akin to buddy movies.

Dororo serves the appetites of the action, adventure, and supernatural genres, this series comes with historical, mythological, and samurai themes serving the Shounen demographic. Additionally, the series is available in English through Sentai Filmworks and Amazon Prime. Twenty-four episodes total, each lasting 24 minutes, made up this series. It was given an R-17+ rating due to the profanity and violence.

The territory of the rapacious samurai lord Daigo Kagemitsu is withering, and he would do anything to gain control, including the denial of Buddha and the forging of a deal with demons. Twelve demons respond to his prayers and grant him aid in expanding his empire alongside the power he seeks. In return, the first kid of Kagemitsu is born without any limbs, a nose, eyes, ears, or even skin, but he somehow manages to survive.

This kid is abandoned and dumped in a river by his heartless father. Fortunately (or unfortunately?), he is saved by a man of Medicine who gives him weapons and prostheses to survive and fend for himself. Even though the boy cannot see, hear, or feel anything, he continues to grow and must now battle the very demons who used him as a sacrifice. How and will he succeed?

The primary protagonist of the Dororo series is Hyakkimaru. He is a ronin who hunts down and kills demons while recovering the body parts that they took. His body parts were initially born by the monsters as part of his father’s deal, who is also his archenemy. He swears to kill his father in retaliation after discovering the truth from his mother, Lady Nui, and his somewhat sympathetic fifteen-year-old younger brother to reclaim all his lost body parts. A young orphaned thief named Dororo travels with him on this arduous trek.

Hyakkimaru is a young man with delicate features and dark brown prosthetic eyes. Later, it is discovered that his natural eyes are also dark brown. He has bangs extending past his chin, and long black hair pulled back in a ponytail. These features frequently conceal some of his emotionless face. He is strikingly similar to his mother.

The show's deuteragonist and name brand is Dororo. He is a young, abandoned thief who roams the streets alone, looking for opportunities to steal and cause mischief. Hyakkimaru takes Dororo along on his adventures after saving him from a demon. Despite having a youthful, innocent appearance, Dororo is a clever, cunning criminal who uses deceit to further his ends. He sometimes claims credit that should have gone to others and exudes an air of recklessness and arrogance.

Small-boned Dororo has brown eyes, black hair with spiky ends, and a short ponytail. He also has a strong attitude, which makes him fond of trouble, on top of all that. Dororo decided to travel with the ronin after Hyakkimaru saved his life. Since Hyakkimaru's job is to slay any demons or monsters out for his body parts, Dororo attempts to use this as an opportunity to obtain wealth. Later, the two grow close, and Dororo refers to Hyakkimaru as "bro."

The melancholy and dark tones of Dororo, the show's centerpiece, are well-known. The retribution motif has always existed. This show typically tells its stories in an episodic fashion, or "monster of the week," as some fans call it. Character growth, though, is what gives Dororo its unique material. This is particularly true for Hyakkimaru as he exhibits human traits and feelings and matures into his actual nature. Dororo develops as well, and as the episodes continue, they get to know one another better and better. We even catch Hyakkimaru chuckling at one point, which he probably never imagined himself doing. The event also benefits from the lighthearted spirit that Dororo brings.

Dororo is a child, but he occasionally exhibits the maturity of an adult. As a show about surviving in a gloomy world, the pair depend on one another constantly. The adaptation diverges from the source material in several ways. Still, it sticks to the manga's central idea: a young ronin named Hyakkimaru and a little boy named Dororo must battle numerous demons in Sengoku-era Japan to recover various body parts rightfully his.

The anime series was well-received by critics, who frequently cited it as one of the top shows of 2019. Many people have commended how Hyakkimaru and Dororo are portrayed, how they grow, and how the exploration of the former's family is done. Some critics believed certain episodic storylines lacked the same charm as earlier ones.

Dororo's audio was excellent, particularly the song that opened the film. According to part of the lyrics, it's straight fire, which is a fitting description. The final music is also good; it nearly has a ballad-like quality. The second opening and ending are also excellent, but the first set best captures the series' sound. The Opening themes are "Dororo" by Asian Kung-Fu Generation and "Kaen" by QUEEN BEE. The Ending themes are Sayonara-gokko by Amazarashi and "Yamiyo" by Eve.

I suggest this exciting anime to beginners or those who enjoy gloomy themes. Dororo is the anime for you if you're searching for a challenging action show with samurais, demons, and battles. It is highly recommended!