Dororo (2019) - Reviews

My first review! I hope it is at least ok, aha〜

*With regards to Dororo's pronouns, I am going to use he\him. Although he has a female's physical anatomy, his mind and expression say otherwise, as he (1) uses "ore" and speaks in a masculine fashion, (2) dresses in more masculine clothing, and (3) insists himself that he is a boy, not a girl.

Story
I will admit personally-- I did not have much of an interest in Dororo initially. I guess I wasn't reading the synopsis carefully enough, or I wasn't in the mood for shounen, or something along those lines. But, after seeing its high ratings and praise, I got curious, so I decided to give this anime a shot, and I don't regret it one single bit.

The story is somewhat episodic because they seem to split the whole story into mini arcs, but definitely, they have the "keystone" overarching plot of Hyakkimaru, the protagonist, having to confront his father, who had made a deal with Hell's demons as Hyakkimaru continues to regain his stolen body parts with the help of a young thief named Dororo.

Because of these two aspects-- the smaller story arcs and the larger, overarching, and broad storyline-- this story is rich, and it feels full overall. Although each "arc" has its own end to it, there's always something new introduced that makes you want to find out what happens next, bringing you in and engaging you to the next episode with little flaw.

I'm glad that this anime is receiving more than 12 episodes, because the 12th episode didn't satisfy me quite enough, story wise, and I'm light-years away from getting tired of Hyakkimaru and Dororo.

My only complaint about the story is flashbacks. I think the scenes themselves are very well-done and they give more depth to the corresponding character, but some of them feel a little bit draggy to me, and some of them I feel aren't the best-placed either. Of course, that's not to say every flashback was bad-- some were done quite impeccably, cleverly.

Animation
Wow... if only every anime had the animation quality that Dororo has.

Given that this is a shounen anime, rich with fantasy, supernatural, and action elements, the quality of animation really enriches the watching experience.

The animation is probably one of the stronger aspects in this anime, and it's imperative to depict the action scenes or scenes with a lot of movement. It definitely feels like a video rather than, say, going back and forth between two photos or simply moving the camera or shot a little bit.

Sound
I... actually don't remember the music too well, but I sure do remember the voices and the sound effects! None of them were bad. I actually like the voices a lot! It's evident that the voice actors understand their characters and are conscious of their possible thoughts while speaking. They successfully give life to the character through their voices-- which, as I know from experience, is no easy feat.

Even Hyakkimaru's voice actor, who actually didn't have a lot of lines thus far (12 episodes) despite being the protagonist of the show, was definitely conscious of his character, whether it was with his murmured one-word phrases, little laughs or chuckles, screaming, or broken and robotic not-so-full sentences that seemed to give him almost a childlike quality.

The music is something, as I've said, I don't remember well, but it was clear that they knew which OST would fit in what scene, so I've got no qualms on that. It's not like I cringed badly when I listened to the music or anything like that when watching the show.

Characters
The characters is what drew me personally to this anime as well. First of all, I thought Hyakkimaru was good-looking. (I'm a girl, okay.) Aside from that, I also found the characters endearing, and they each had their significance or "deep" part to them. Also, the interactions these characters share are well-done as well, illuminating different personalities. I'm impressed with the writing of this story because dialogue is, in fact, a difficult thing to do successfully, because there are quite a bit of nit-picky things you have to take into account, which Dororo does a very good job with.

With that said, my favorite part regarding characters is the relationship, specifically between Hyakkimaru and Dororo. Me being generally more of a shoujo/character drama fan, I can say I thoroughly enjoyed watching the relationship between Hyakkimaru and Dororo unfold. What I got from this: a caring and trusting relationship between the two forms after Hyakkimaru lets Dororo tag along (at first only) because his soul wasn't the color of blood. Dororo helped Hyakkimaru do many things that can't be done on his own, and he almost seems like Hyakkimaru's... care taker or assistant at some points in time? I think I could talk for a long time about Hyakkimaru and Dororo, to be honest, but I don't want to drag this too long right now, haha.

Another relationship I liked was the one between Mio and Hyakkimaru. I wouldn't go... as far as to call it a romantic, "I want us to be lovers" relationship (as other sites may have described Mio as being Hyakkimaru's first love or love interest), but Hyakkimaru definitely found comfort and peace in chaotic times from Mio, and Mio cared for Hyakkimaru as if he was her own brother. That's my interpretation, at least.

I also like the usage here of more complex characters rooted from political intrigue, namely but not limited to Tahoumaru. Even though he's depicted as somewhat of an antagonist in its denotative sense, especially later in the series, he's definitely got his own charming points that makes him just as likeable as Hyakkimaru and Dororo.

This leads me to my next and final point: Many characters have charming qualities about him or her that makes him or her endearing/likeable. So, even if only for the characters, I would recommend this anime!

Overall rating: 8.8 / 10
This was rounded up from 8.75.

As this was one of my top animes I have watched this year, I guarantee that I am NOT overexaggerating in ANY part of this review, it's just that this anime was produced so well. Starting off with a simple story, the anime develops into something that transforms the characters, setting, while at the same time reflects what was happening to Japan in the past. 

A young wandering girl known by the name of Dororo(presented as a boy) without parents comes across a mysterious person unable to speak, hear, see, taste, smell, and is missing multiple vital organs. After he defends her from a demon that she wanders into, she decides to stick with him as they both travel across Japan experiencing events that occur in the Muromachi Period. 

The story itself is amazing and expected of the legendary Osamu Tezuka. Through each episode, you are put to experience the overwhelming up and down events that force the characters to face demons that come not only in a mythical form but in human form from self-discovery. Historical animes are not a common genre, let alone Japanese history. They presented this theme extremely well and kept it consistent throughout the whole story. There wasn't much comedy or laughter which I found was a key factor that differentiates it from other typical anime(they were really portraying the setting this time, as back then they probably wouldn't have make jokes and such considering they were in the middle of war). 

Both the sound and animation were good, and like I said before it fits well with the theme and genre. For the animations, they never had bright colors, and it always seems shaded and darker than usual anime. The drawings weren't overexaggerated, and they had a realistic appeal to them(which I personally liked). The sound was all in theme and the OP and ED were violently sung by some of the best and well known Japanese artists. The sound effects were decent and had that traditional vibe to it too(old and more outdated instruments). 

The characters were not annoying at all, and if they were, it was due to a problem that occurred in the episode. There are a lot of backstories that completely justified why each character acted like they were, which is important because it is a historical anime. 

Overall this most likely going to be my TOP anime for this year's airing seasons. I highly recommend it, it is definitely worth your screentime(don't worry you won't regret it). Since it is based on the manga, most likely there won't be a second season since there isn't enough content. I hope that this review has convinced you to try it out, although it is perfectly fine if you don't enjoy it, this is just my personal opinion. 

Dororo is just one of those anime's you have to watch.

Story/characters

Personally, having seeing a fair share of anime's, it's unlike anything i have watched or have yet to see. The character developments are incredible to see & its also one of the things that just keeps you watching. He's taken back what he lost, so seeing him addept to everything what is his is just wauw. You know how in anime's the mc always tries to save the world blah blah blah & puts everyone before him, well let me tell you this ain't one of them, which in my opinion, really makes it stand out bc he is retrieving what got stolen from him, and he is determind to get it back, despite everyone else.

Sound

I normally dont like any anime opening song, i just found them kinda annoying, but this one mehh i wouldn't mind hearing.

Animation 

Tbh i have seen better animation, but since it's story is set in the samurai era it just fits perfectly

Don't read any further reviews, Dororo is an amazing anime to watch when you have no clue what it is about that way i promise you, you'll get the best experience.

The story is real cool and the plot is really interesting. Also, Hyakkimaru is SUPER cute!!! (づ￣ ³￣)づ♡ 

     I personally absolutely love this anime! The way it was written and the story behind it is just so amazing. It's not a particularly happy anime, some parts made me smile but a lot made me cry which I consider that a win. I think of an anime making me cry as it breaking through a wall reaching the emotional side of me. I also love how there's kind of this greyscale view of the animation itself. It gives it kind of the eerie or bad vibes you should get when watching it. Overall absolutely amazing! The only thing is, if you are sensitive to seeing blood or light gore I suggest that you might want to find something else cause this anime is fairly bloody.