Review of Dororo

Reason for watching: I was in the mood for something with a lot of action and blood and drama. TL;DR: The show concept is unique and executed very well with above average art and really good animation(at least for the first half of the show), alongside with amusing characters that are closer to real life than you can expect from a fantasy story like this. The show is definitely action-packed at the start that transitions to heartfelt drama with the moral compass of that era in its centre. Tbh, I was a little hesitant to watch this show after I read the synopsis, and have beenputting it off for several months, only after I saw a fight scene clip of this show somewhere on the net (AND I was feeling in the mood for some dramatic story) that I decided to finally watch this. The synopsis just didn't attract me as it sounds a little cringey~
I am reviewing solely on this anime adaptation, not including others or its sourced material etc.

Story: Concept and Execution
The concept is pretty interesting from the synopsis, and after watching it, it stays true to being intriguing. The protagonist that was made handicapped (he was born normal), work his way to take back all that should have belonged to him despite never really knowing what it would be like living as a regular able-bodied human, and being subject to the morals and ethics of a "regular human society" of that time. I absolutely loved how the protagonist is so empty; He doesn't have drive and goals and personality, he is emptier than a baby can be, other than survival instincts. Being ripped of all senses, there's no way he can "think" like how we are all used to. He doesn't know a thing about humanity, neither is he able to feel anything. A baby could at least feel pain of sort and learnt what is pain, and comfort. And because he is so empty and lacking, the audience would try to fill the protagonist with their own assumptions and perspectives, but then there's this sidekick named Dororo doing half of that work for the audience too. Dororo who is always by the protagonist side does the "normal human" actions during the story that the audience will tend to forget that the protagonist himself is emptier than that child, Dororo. As the story starts off with the protagonist slaying demons, because he can, and also because there happens to be something he can gain(get back) from slaying them, it also briefly introduces the demons/lore in Japanese culture. Then the show starts to pick up its paces and establish the overarching story, with more emphasis on the protagonist along with his new found (regained) human senses by having him come face to face with a past he never knew existed (the climax of the first half), and introduces him to the cruelty of the current situation/fate that he have to faced with in the later half of the show. Then the second half of the story shift its focus on to the protagonist and his relationship with Dororo. As he learnt the ways of the human world with whatever senses he got back, he was able to interact more deeply(humanly) with his sidekick, and their relationship begin to foster. The story then wraps out with the protagonist finally being a real human after a face off with his fated past that spans over several episodes with the psychological genre showing its fangs. Throughout the whole story, there is certainly a very discreet undertone of the psychological theme lurking around, but was never brought to focus. Even in the ending episodes, the question of morals and ethics was not pushed into the face of the audience, but if you were to ponder even a little, those questions and thoughts just come rushing out. There is no answer in the show about what is right or wrong, just a general perspective that clearly doesn't beg the audience to accept it. I loved how the sidekick (a regular human child) tries to "impart" the regular morals and ethics of a human to the protagonist only to fail not because the protagonist is evil and vengeful and petty and inconsiderate or the sorts. Is just purely because there is no right or wrong or what is appropriate in the protagonist's life. He just wants to get back the things that other humans have told him that belongs to him.
So then, should his journey towards beginning a life as a human be bound by human rules? Shouldn't these rules created by humans only affect humans? And really, what makes a human, human?
Though the show did ended a little unsatisfactory for me, is not exactly a happy ending, not a sad one either, just like how you lose some friends over time naturally, the story sort of fade out.

Execution (Story-telling)
Personally, I think the story execution is really well done. From how they introduced the main characters and the premise using the episodic story plot style where they also briefly introduces the demons as an added bonus. The episodic start of the show clearly tries to portrays how the characters are like day to day, and after establishing the "normal" life of the characters, the story-telling shifts to focus on the main protagonist by showing his pasts and his interaction with humans before and after he gained back certain sense/ body organs/limbs. The portrayal of him regaining his sense of hearing is my favourite storyline of the show. Is one of the core senses that enables humans to do a lot of things. The story was able to show how sudden gaining of this core sense can be very excruciating and shocking with zero preparation and guidance. And the way too real storyline that sprouted from him regaining his sense of hearing portrays the harsh reality of victims of war times was so beautifully executed bringing about the bundle of emotions of deep shame, respect for the strength to live, kindness and love of a human, and many more. As the protagonist slowly gets back his body, he also starts to develop a character/personality. And right at the beginning when the protagonist is empty, whatever emotional/ psychological/ social events that happened was just a one-man performance by Dororo, and as the story progresses, the show smoothly transitioned from how the protagonist and Dororo are like 1 entity to them being 2 separate entities. The flashbacks were also timely placed and clearly connects to what is happening in the current time of the storylines, bringing forth the mysteries and suspense to the climax intelligently. The transitions from one event to the next, and then to the past, and to the characters state of mind were done so well and naturally that absorbing the storylines is as smooth and easily as drinking water.
Though I enjoyed the story-telling capability and its evolution, I do find it a bit unsatisfactory when they do not give the fight scenes as much details as they had in the start of the show. I understand not focusing on the demon-slaying work in some storylines, but they could have kept the detailed work even with lesser screen time. I am just too much of a fan of action scenes that this was a tad disappointing~ hahah~

Art (and animation quality)
Art is beautiful, not the best I have seen, but definitely above average. Characters art are very well thought up, with each character having their own distinct look that fits their persona. The demons are also artfully designed with great details and intelligent use of colours and its tones to express their deadly charm. The variety of looks that it can give to its side characters are also impressive, considering is war time era, of course there are plenty of warriors around and poor villagers, yet despite the large cast of mob throughout the show, no details were skimp. The characters were all good, but the backgrounds and scenery were less impressive, they weren't bad, just seemed lesser effort were put into them as compared to the characters.
Animation quality was really good too, at least for the first half of the show, then it became average. For the first half of the show, the fight scenes were animated with such clarity that it feels like I was watching a blockbuster movie. Every slash and cut, spills of blood, and the facial contortions of the characters were deliciously animated out. The re-growing/ regaining of the limbs/organs were also animated with a certain level of details (they were shown briefly only, probably because of its rating, yet I do appreciate the amount of details they tried to put in in that brief time frame). Even though as the story progresses, the focus shift towards the more emotional/psychological/morals side of things, they really could have kept the focus low while still keeping the detailed animation. Some of the fights actually looked sloppy in the later half of the show that I was begining to think that did regaining his body meant loosing out in his skills.... But there were one or two action scenes that have the same good level of animation in the later half that dashed that hypothesis. Seemed like they took advantage of the story plot no longer focusing on the action aspect of things to cut the animation quality. Well, the story-telling was really impressive though, that this drop in animation quality really isn't glaringly bad. Just average.

Sound
The VAs of course did excellently in their part. Especially the protagonist when he regained his speech, that voice acting was really good. The sound effects were really on point, and creates the atmosphere well too. The opening and ending themes were so good that I wouldn't mind if it lasted another minute or so. <Technically this part should be under Art> The visuals are so stylish and cinematic, though different from the anime art, yet still could tell a story on its own. And the music/songs not only complements the opening and ending visuals, it also complements the overall anime vibe.

Character
Character designs are as per my scoring, outstanding. The main protagonist is just outstanding, maybe because he is so empty though. But his lack of characteristics to empathize with and how the morals of the story hinges on this trait just attracts me. Dororo is also a beautiful character. Though Dororo can be annoying at times since, the main protagonist doesn't feel much and can't talk, Dororo's character actually have to fill up the storyline and emotions alone. The backstory of Dororo was also vey well created that added more depth to the character. Dororo, though young, have moments of being a real child, and also many moments of maturity and slyness brought about by the realities of that era and also a harsh past. The main protagonist and Dororo are like 2 different species that comes together and complement each other. The main protagonist of age 16 or so who did not have anything (family, body, humanity), meets a young child of 6-7(?) who had a family, have body (feelings and senses), and is at least 6-7 years a senpai in being a human. They both complement each other in that they both provided each other with companionship in a world that is too cruel to too many people. The character development is slight yet impactful at its ending. Very outstanding main characters this story have. The supporting characters though started out with a less outstanding persona than the main characters, actually have a more dynamic character development than the 2 main characters combined. This contrast is part of what makes the story so dynamic too. The support characters, helped moved the story on, since the main characters are just an empty person and a young child anyway. The support characters helped the main characters shine, and I do love that the characters are so true to themselves even after they developed. The antagonists are still the antagonists all the way to the end, no cringe-worthy redemption cliché like a lot of the shounen troupes. Despite the fantasy setting, the characters are very real.

This review ended up really long~ oops~ Hahaha~
Even though not many people will see this review since there are plenty of reviews for this show, I just wanted to pen down my admiration for this show~ HAHahha~
Though maybe is because of my personal experience and volunteering past, I may have been too easily impressed with the portrayal of the various handicaps and regaining of senses that I review this show with such praises.
Thanks for reading all the way through that drag~