Review of Dorohedoro
Dorohedoro, but how about Okuyasu's Bizarre Adventure? Ayee, I think that fits nicely. Ermm, I don't want to disappoint but... I've known you for a long time I know but... YES, I'll admit.. there are spoilers. Wow wow wow what a fantastic series put out by Studio MAPPA, truly, this might be a great endeavor from them to go full 3D on the show. I am still amazed. Yes, we are all familiar with the 'God-tier' 3D masters of Studio Orange and their 3D works. But man, has MAPPA really outdone themselves. While I am not super familiar with MAPPA's other series, I think this is thefirst fully 3D show they have put out. I am so so happy they managed to not only pull this off by giving us fantastic visuals, they even managed to make the story, characters and even the sounds of Dorohedoro all executed smoothly. While this show is about Caiman's bizarre adventure of him going on a Scooby-Doo hunt on who placed the magic on him, the show has a consistent theme of food incorporations and it's great. From the opening, we are thrown into the scene where Nikaidou is happily making Gyoza when suddenly she just goes full ham on the chopping of the meat. That was pretty cute if I'm going, to be honest.
At first watch, I was slightly confused by why we are seeing someone cooking instead of some dark mystery or horror-themed opening, but after going down the episodes food plays a huge part in, not only the characters but in the story as well. While it might seem like a very 'Bizarre' theme to follow, I personally feel it's very innovative and fun at the same time. Not only is food such a relatable thing in human life, but it also keeps our mind awake and eager (for some reason). And what Dorohedoro did was such a gamer move in my opinion. Not only are we just getting the story of Caiman's caster, but we are also presented with the fun side of the world of Dorohedoro where food is a huge part of society. I feel this incorporation keeps us the viewers interested and fascinated by what the world has to offer.
I'll do admit that it's not perfect, an example of this is in around episode 9 or maybe 10 when Caiman travels to the 'Magic User World', it's what it's called. The pacing for some reason just sped up a ton and I feel that many of the scenes were too rushed and too brief as well, not that the quality of the episodes dropped in anyways. I think after the Blue Night part is where the pacing started to resume to its original speed. Also, the final episode, while I somewhat saw the show taking on a second season, I feel that episode 12 could have been slightly better in terms of it being the final episode leading to the second season. Other things are like weird and 'side stories' if you would call it, being prioritized over the main plot in terms of screen time. Like, I think it would have been better if the show cut down a tee-bit on the baseball plot to make more time for when Caiman goes to the 'Magic User World'. Don't get me wrong, I do love sharky Ebisu. I guess that's about all the problems I have, while the series had somewhat a difficult time sticking to the main story, all the side stories were pretty hilarious and just adds to the depth of the world even more.
-SCORES-
Characters- 9/10: I can't believe how great every one of the characters is in this show. Rarely do you have a show where there aren't really any bad guys, while we know in the story En's gang is the enemy, a huge chunk of the show is about En along with Noi and Shin, even Fujita. The show presents them as 'badies' at first but later on, we get to know what kind of people they are and you can't help but have some relatable moments with them. I mean, take Ebisu for example, she being a bad guy? No way. Plus I think everyone agrees on this, Noi and Shin are such power couples. Plus, man, I think it's in episode 10 where Blue Night was about to end, and Ebisu revealed that she was the one who wanted to sign the contract with Fujita. Man, such a cute ass moment. How can I forget, Caiman and Nikaidou, that scene where Nikaidou was talking to Asu about this 'friend' she cares, gosh, what the hell is this show a romance? Cause it's doing a pretty good job if I'm going to be honest. Plus supporting characters like the two doctors, Kasukabe and Bauks, all play quite a significate part. Lastly, and I save the best for last, JOHNSON! SHOCKING!
Art- 8/10: Wow wow wow, while I know visually it's not as good or as refined as Orange's Beastars or Land of the Lustrous, I personally feel that it's just as good as Studio Orange's standard. This is just my opinion but with all the characters and the story, the visuals are really good and I'll say it's at Studio Orange's level. I really can't wait for season two.
Writing- 8/10: The main story alone is pretty interesting, in the first half or maybe till the last 3/4 of the show, it was pretty difficult to see how all of the plot points add up. I guess we got to have a clearer picture later on but the show does a good job of keeping it unpredictable and keeps the viewers eager for the next episode. Curses, I really want to see more, shame that we have to wait a while.
Sound- 9/10: WHAT A FLEX, the studio just keeps hitting us with bangers after bangers. Intro's a banger, the several outros are all bangers (especially the last episode and the Blue Night episode). Even the OST just fits the show's entirety and complements the mood well in scenes. GOOD JOB, SHOCKING!!!
Overall, one of the best watch of that season (despite me watching only 5) and a whole it's a pretty solid watch altogether.
Decent 8