From the Godfather of manga

I was avoiding this genre of anime for a long time. Attack on Titan did its number on me. So I was totally keeping away from dark anime genre.

But then, one day, I picked this up. And this helped me see the dark genre anime in a new light. Dororo

Into the details now....

Dororo is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist Osamu Tezuka. For context, Tezuka is considered the "godfather of manga" for his pioneering techniques and innovative redefinitions of genres. Additionally, he is often considered the Japanese equivalent of Walt Disney. Now please don't ask who Walt Disney is...

So, in short words, Dororo is a manga series by one of the greatest artists to have ever lived. No wonder I felt like taking up this genre once again.

In 1969, the manga series was adapted into an anime that consisted of 26 episodes. In 2019, nearly 50 years later, the manga series was re-adapted into another anime series with 24 episodes. I'm going to talk about the 2019 version of Dororo.

So we have Hyakkimaru as the protagonist. Wait wait. Then Dororo? Not every anime is named after the main character. Let me get to that.

It is the Sengoku period in Japan. A time of constant civil wars and social upheavals. Utter chaos, death, and destruction. The land is in dire status. And then, to top it all off, a drought started.

Daigo Kagemitsu, the feudal lord, becomes fed up with the situation. The Gods seemed to have abandoned everyone. So what does he do? He turns to the demons. The twelve demon gods.

He sacrifices his newborn son's organs and limbs to the twelve demon gods in exchange for prosperity for his people. What a noble person, right? All for the sake of his people. But was it really, though? He mainly goes through with this to gain power and fame and rise above all other feudal Lords. Doesn't seem much noble now. Does it?

This was the price that was paid for the prosperity of the land...

This unfortunate child has only his life left. The demons consumed everything else. And then, he is abandoned and left to die. But as fate would have it, Jukai finds him. Jukai is a doctor who specializes in giving people prosthetic limbs. Ongoing wars made sure that he was always busy.

Jukai provides the child with prosthetic limbs and names him Hyakkimaru. The child miraculously grows up despite having no senses. He cannot see, hear, smell, or talk. Nor does he feel pain.

And one day, he gets attacked by a demon. He develops the ability to see their silhouette and fight back. He was trained in fighting by Juaki. (How does a doctor know how to fight? Well, well, well....) And, of course, Hyakkimaru wins. Because he is the protagonist!

Then something happens. His left leg grows back. Jukai and Hyakkimaru then understand the true nature of Hyakkimaru's condition. Each demon took a specific body part from him. Killing a demon would help Hyakkimaru regain it. So Jukai sends him off on a journey to regain his body.

Along the way, Hyakkimaru meets a child named Dororo. A young orphan that decides to follow him around after seeing him take down a demon. (Yes. Enter Dororo).

Dororo is chipper and like a ball of sunshine to the moon-like melancholy and cold nature of Hyakkimaru. They influence each other. Hyakkimaru holds on to humanity because of Dororo.

Together they travel across the war-torn land. Slaying demons where they go. Will they come face-to-face with Daigo? Will Hyakkimaru get all his body parts back? Does killing off demons turn him into a demon itself? How did Dororo end up an orphan? So many questions to find answers to.

Spoiler - It does have a happy ending. So you can watch knowing that all will end well. After all, it is just 24 episodes.

This anime focuses on the tragedy of war and men's devotion to religion. It gets philosophical too. Who gets to survive, and on what grounds? Is it just to leave one man suffering for the sake of many? Especially when that suffering was forced upon him. Yup. This will make you think. But don't worry. It is action-packed as well.

No wonder Dororo was listed as one of the best anime of 2019. In the 4th Crunchyroll Anime Awards, Hyakkimaru was voted as one of the best protagonists and boy of the year. Forbes also listed Dororo as one of the best series from its decade. (I think this is enough hype for now)

So do check out the show on Amazon Prime

That's it for this week. See you later.Itadakimasu!!