Review of Dorohedoro

There will always be a special place in my heart for an anime like Dorohedoro, which reminds me of the crazy and relentless convoluted mess of the likes of Durarara!! and Kekkai Sensen (both among my personal top faves). Dorohedoro is a slow burner as a world builder (which can be understandably frustrating for a short anime). I’m only an anime viewer and know nothing about the source material. Short as it was, this anime is damn packed with very good things, with a lot of promise for a new season or two! Overall thoughts (10/10): slow burner at the start but quick-witted soon after (ep5-ish). Solidhumor (sold by a naturally great voice cast), amazingly fun characters, competent and refreshing worldbuilding.

Story/Setting (10/10):
I was impressed to see such a world fleshed out! It's quite a refreshing concept for anime, mostly due to the contrast of 'normal people' and the sorcerers in the worlds. As I have said, the anime had a slow start, which almost had me postpone watching the show. But all of it was necessary, and it made the pulloff much more satisfying. There's a lot more of those pulloffs too and cleverly executed twists, that made for a wonderful transition to a faster paced-setting.

Character (10/10):
I feel like this should be praised more, especially with the two main characters. Not only do they have a wonderful dynamic, they themselves as characters are interesting and unique. One lizard man and a girl who isn't hypersexualized. Perhaps it also works tremendously well because of the world built, but the characters were distinct and enjoyable. Even side characters became engaging. The pacing of developments enhances the vibe of the weird craze. Some tropes are apparent, but the characterization is intact and nothing dragged on for either fetishizing or aggrandizing their identity. This also worked in part due to the juxtaposition of numerous perspectives, which was done nicely and carefully.

Sound Design (9/10):
There is one OP and multiple EDs for a 12-episode anime that are quite charismatic. It's like a small representation of the overarching elements of the anime, both crazy humor and action. I also feel like the atmosphere of the anime improved greatly at the latter parts because of the OST, or maybe because I have had time to digest the contents.

Art (9/10):
Not the most outstanding definitely, but it served well to give off that distinct atmosphere of the anime. The CGI also worked well for me. I'm happy to see CGI in anime to be way past its atrocious years.
I personally would have preferred darker strokes or outlines (like Hanako's design), but the frames receive great highlights whenever action (particularly gore) comes up. At that point, the art style has become endearing. This also mixes very well with the quirky features of almost any character, and the experience gives off so much crazy fun.

Other Notes:
Dorohedoro probably brought me the biggest hype for what comes next (this absolutely deserved more than 12!). I dearly hope the material gets more adaptation, with this same amazing and distinct quality!