Review of Dororo
Samurai (or bushi) were an integral component of Japanese history, impacting several aspects of society that still resonate in the modern day culture. Their influence can be traced back to the Heian Period — around the late 8th to early 9th century — where they served the landed interests of the nobles who were preoccupied with the affairs of the imperial court. Due to the diminishment of the emperor’s dominance over the country, the warrior class sought to fill the power void that culminated in the creation of the shogunate (a military government). With political power and military might on their side,the samurai were poised to seize control of the country.
After the Genpei War of 1180 to 1185, in which the Minamoto clan prevailed over the Taira clan, the Kamakura Shogunate was formed, leaving the emperors and court nobility as mere figureheads, while the real power was wielded by the samurai who served the Daimyo (a vassal of the Shogun). Samurai without a lord or master were considered rōnin — also known as a “drifter” or “wanderer” — who resorted to a life of crime to maintain their ruthless aura and keep themselves from starving. Because of a general lack of knowledge, romanticizing samurai (particularly rōnin) in fictional works has become rather common in recent decades. Hence, why Osamu Tezuka — the mangaka of Dororo — decided to amalgamate the samurai heritage with surrealistic demons to create an interesting narrative about a boy (Hyakkimaru) who roams the countryside to recover the limbs that were “stolen” from him, due to his father’s plead for power.
In this regard, the story follows a predictable pattern of presenting new demons/monsters to be defeated by the accomplished samurai (Hyakkimaru) and the cunning orphan (Dororo). Biwamaru — an old, blind man — also swoops in from time to time to help the two when the circumstances seem too dire (a fine example of plot-armor). Besides the built in redundancy and overt plot conveniences, Dororo also suffers from inconsistent pacing. Often times, the story meanders for large segments of time before commencing the next exhilarating battle. This would not preclude the viewer from enjoying the show if the battles themselves delivered a worthwhile experience. Yet the various scuffles seem like a blurred, unimaginative mishmash of gore and randomness. No demon/monster did anything worth remembering, making each episode seem rather trivial. Furthermore, numerous fights had inconsequential dialogue or cut away scenes that dragged out the proceedings unnecessarily — making the pacing quite unbearable.
Hyakkimaru, the focal point of the series, was primarily used to fight demons to reclaim his stolen body parts. Because of his unfortunate disposition, his development as a character was restricted. As a consequence, Dororo was intended to bridge the gap by showing compassion to the various villagers the two came into contact with, and provide comedic relief from the grim adventures they engaged in. That being said, Dororo’s childish antics were far from hilarious, and more often than not, were quite irksome. He also served as a male, ‘damsel in distress’ for Hyakkimaru to save/protect on several occasions; except when Dororo got his arm stuck under some rocks in episode 20, and Hyakkimaru — unable to dislodge Dororo’s arm — proceeded to bash his head against said rocks in rage. Perhaps Hyakkimaru thought the magical force of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (permanent brain damage) would propel the rocks somewhere else. But despite his best efforts, telekinesis (and common sense) were not on his side. And if it weren’t for Biwamaru conveniently saving the day, that would have been the end of Hyakkimaru and Dororo’s adventures.
Similar to MAPPA’s previous production, Banana Fish, Dororo displays egregious actions — like rape and murder — to allow the viewer to sympathize with the characters and better understand their emotional suffering. A wise decision, only if the mistreated characters were fleshed out enough to permit the viewer to actually care about their suffering. Sure. The natural inclination for any sane human is to commiserate with the offended individual, but artistic mediums require a scrupulous approach; otherwise, the desired outcome comes off as cheap window dressing.
Speaking of cheap, Dororo’s animation was rather tacky for a modern anime. It certainly did not offend the eyes, but neither did it generate a distinguished brilliance or captivate the viewer. It, more or less, resembled the unremarkable, ordinary characters with its general lack of lively essence. If Dororo, however, maintained this garden-variety quality for the duration the series, then all would have been well; however, it got worse. Episode 15 was an abomination. Hyakkimaru’s running through the forest looked like an early 90’s Mario game. Character aesthetics were hazy, unfocused, and rough. And the red hue of the fire blended in with the orange shading of the house (contrasting colors would have made the event more impactful). The subsequent episodes, unfortunately, did not ameliorate these problems.
While there were terrible portions of Dororo, it was not an unspeakable mess. It was just an aseptic story that overly relied on sanguinary scenes to deceive the viewer into thinking it was greater than it truly was.