History Manga / Dororo

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Dororo is a sexy teenage girl in the movies, the crossover with ''Manga/DororonEnmaKun'', [[spoiler:and the finale of ''Blood Will Tell'']] instead of a ratty little orphan kid.
* AfterTheEnd: As a pacifist in the humanistic sense, Tezuka did his best to depict how hellish the [[UsefulNotes/SengokuPeriod "Warring States" period]] would realistically be... and wow does this trope ever apply.
** In short, it doesn't take much dressing up for the world of the original ''Dororo'' manga to look like a post-nuclear wasteland (to the point that you could probably fool a new reader into thinking that that was the case). At the end of the day, whether the weapons of choice are swords and spears or atomic bombs, war... war never changes.

* [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Hoist by Her Own Petard]]: Manami-Onba burned down the home of a nun who took care of orphans using a special oil before attempting to sully her reputation. She is burned to death by the same type of oil.

* [[LittleMissBadass Little Mister Badass]]: Originally just TheLoad to Hyakkimaru, Dororo eventually proves to be a resourceful and clever fighter on his own. In "The Two Sharks" chapter, oarsman Shiranui rows the bandit and his men (along with Dororo, whom they kidnapped to locate a treasure) in the middle of the water so they will become food to his two pet sharks. Dororo alone rallies up the bandit and his remaining men and chooses to dive into the water. Luring one of the sharks as bait, while jumping out of the water Dororo JUMPS ON TOP OF ITS HEAD AS THE BANDIT AND HIS MEN THRUST SWORDS INTO ITS STOMACH. Pure. bad. ass.
** And then there's Dororo in the game, where he is a sidekick fighter and is frankly quite effective, mostly due to his infinite amount of thrown rocks.

!!Tropes featured in ''Dororo'' include:

[[folder:Tropes for the Manga and 1969 Anime ''Dororo to Hyakkimaru'']]

[[folder:Tropes for ''Blood Will Tell'']]

[[folder:Tropes for 2007 live-action ''Dororo'']]

[[folder:Tropes for 2019 manga ''The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru'']]

* AfterTheEnd: The setting to a dystopian future does make Hyakkimaru's artificial limbs somewhat more plausible.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dororo_ps2.png]]

* AnachronismStew: Hyakkimaru's arm is outfitted with a ''machine gun''

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dororo_liveaction.jpg]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dororo_to_hyakkimaru_den_cover.jpg]]

[[quoteright:236:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dororo_w_sho_sunday.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:236:''Weekly Shonen Sunday'']]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dororo_eng_manga.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350: Dororo Volume 1, English]]

In late 2018, the story was remade by Satoshi Shiki (of ''Anime/RuneSoldierLouie'' and ''Manga/XBlade'' fame) as ''The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru''. An [[Anime/Dororo2019 anime retelling]] by Creator/{{MAPPA}} and [[Creator/MushiProductions Tezuka Productions]] premiered on Creator/PrimeVideo in January 2019, just 3 months shy of the 1969 anime's 50th anniversary. See [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wPl0zCDpSc here]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fuph-DDesSA here]] for its respective teaser and trailer. A stage play followed suit the same year, based off of the aforementioned anime.

[[folder:Tropes for 2007 live action ''Dororo'']]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dororo_liveaction.jpg]]

[[folder: Tropes for 2007 live action ''Dororo'']]

[[folder: Tropes for 2019 anime ''Dororo'']]
[[quoteright:182:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dororo_2019_anime.jpg]]
* AdaptationDistillation: Rather than 48 demons, Hyakkimaru only has to fight 12.
* AdaptationExpansion: We see a lot more of Jukai's backstory.
* AdaptationInspiration: While the premise, setting, and characters are the same, the events, details, tone, and visual presentation are very different.
* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Hyakkimaru, while not bad-looking to begin with, is a {{Bishonen}}. Tahomaru is one as well when compared to his original manga counterpart.
* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: Biwa-hoshi and Tahomaru are introduced right off the bat in the first episode.
* AdaptationalMundanity: All the demons and ghouls remain, but the anime chooses to excise the manga's [[AnachronismStew comedic anachronisms]] and some of Hyakkimaru's more [[SchizoTech out-there sci-fi abilities]], choosing instead play out as a more grounded [[HistoricalFantasy Historical]] LowFantasy.
* AdaptationalNiceGuy:
** Daigo doesn't deliberately sacrifice his son for the deal; he merely says he'll give the demons anything, resulting in them targeting the newest addition to his family. His reasoning is also toned down, instead being an eleventh-hour method of bolstering power to stave off his land's decline.
** Dororo himself's lightened up a bit, even staying with Hyakkimaru out of curiosity rather than trying to take his sword. Also, he is far more level-headed and worldly than his original manga-self with most of BrattyHalfPint tendencies removed.
** Although we don't see much of Tahomaru in the original manga, he's shown ordering the execution of civilians and wants to kill Hyakkimaru just for annoying him. In the anime, the execution is omitted, Tahomaru is shown to care deeply for the wellbeing of his people, and [[spoiler:he only decides to kill Hyakkimaru after learning that doing so would ensure the continued survival and prosperity of his land.]]
* AdaptationalVillainy: In this version, [[spoiler:the soldiers have no qualms killing Mio and her kids]], where they at least had the decency to question their boss's orders in the manga before carrying out the duty.
* AluminumChristmasTrees: Episode 9 features what appears to be a Catholic nun offering her prayers to the Buddha rather than the Christian God. This isn't a failure in research, however. When Christianity was first introduced to Japan, [[https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2002/03/31/general/in-the-beginning-was-confusion/#.XIsiWcBKiUk Jesuits mistakenly assumed that many Buddhist terms were direct equivalents of Christian ones]] and used them as such. One of these terms was ''hotoke'', which is the term the nun in the anime uses for "Buddha" (or for God, rather).
* ArtShiftedSequel: This anime doesn't particularly follow Tezuka's style, instead using a more realistic look courtesy of ''Manga/LetterBee'''s Hiroyuki Asada.
* BlatantLies: Everyone in Daigo's land thinks he defeated the demons instead of making a deal with them.
* BloodierAndGorier[=/=]DarkerAndEdgier: The bleak tone, graphic violence and visual style of the 2019 anime is comparable to works such as the ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' OVA ''Tsuiokuhen''. [[note]]Fittingly enough, the director of the 2019 anime is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazuhiro_Furuhashi Kazuhiro Furuhashi]], who had directed the Ruroken OVA ''Tsuiokuhen''.[[/note]] Despite some calm moments between the carnage and character designs closely resembling Tezuka's, this is one of the darkest adaptations of any of his manga.
* BreatherEpisode: After [[spoiler:Mio's death and Hyakkimaru's RoaringRampageOfRevenge]], we're treated to an episode about a human and a monster falling in love, where no one dies and Hyakkimaru laughs his first laugh.
* BringMeMyBrownPants: The samurai who survived Hyakkimaru's RoaringRampageOfRevenge soils himself when the two see each other again.
* BrokenPedestal: Jukai once had a young boy named Kaname as his apprentice but after he found out about Jukai's involvement in the war, he no longer looked up to the doctor as he used to and threw away the prosthetic Jukai gave.
* CooldownHug: [[spoiler: Dororo does this to Hyakkimaru in Episode 6 after Hyakkimaru slaughters the soldiers who killed Mio. And again in Episode 12, when they cross paths with the lone survivor.]]
* DiscardAndDraw: The demon that Hyakkimaru fights in episode 5 does this. [[spoiler:Hyakkimaru was able to get his voice back but the demon was able to get Hyakkimaru's right foot. In episode 6 after Hyakkimaru kills the demon for good, he also gets his foot back.]]
* EvolvingCredits: The second half's ending sequence is presumably in Hyakkimaru's perspective, with the last image, a taller and slightly older looking Dororo, blurry but distinguishable. As of Episode 19, that final still image is completely visible.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Nui's attempt to shoulder Hyakkimaru's burden [[spoiler:and failing at appeasing the demons. When Mutsu attempts to fulfill a pact with herself as the sacrifice, it is revealed by Asura that only after the completion of the original pact between Daigo and the demons can the still imprisoned Asura initiate a new one, and that no other person except Hyakkimaru can serve as said sacrifice..]]
* GoMadFromTheRevelation: One of the midwives present at Hyakkimaru's birth utterly snapped at the sight of the "demon child" to the point where she, in the present day, gained a reputation as the local madwoman singing nightmarish lullabies to a bloodied rock wrapped up akin of a baby.
* GreyAndGreyMorality: Often played straight, but also played with on occasion.
** While it can be argued that Hibukuro and his men were fighting for the freedom of the common man by killing samurai, their actions were no different than that of the other side. Hibukuro created more enemies in the process, including a vengeful samurai who recognized him, eventually causing his own death through karma.
** Downplayed with Daigo's deal with the demons. However horrendous it turned out, it has ultimately let his territory and people prosper, while Hyakkimaru's quest to regain his parts from the demons, however justified, will eventually send the land back into its ravaged, suffering state. Ultimately, though, this is simply Daigo's karma coming back to bite him - a man who gains power and prestige by secretly letting demons roam his land would lose it, sooner or later. The fact that many of the demons were terrorizing people outside of Daigo's kingdom also adds more justification for Hyakkimaru going after them
** Despite the terrible things happening to Hyakkimaru, both his mother and brother believe he did not deserve such a fate, however, both agree he must shoulder the burden because [[TheNeedsOfTheMany the people need the prosperity to live]]. In the case of his mother [[spoiler:she attempts to shoulder the burden and offer part of her life so he doesn't bear it alone, while Tahomaru has decided he must kill Hyakkimaru before the people's suffering gets worse, and truly has the peoples interest at heart]]. Dororo likewise felt conflicted when the boy they befriended was only able to reunite with his mother due to the demons protecting Daigo's land, and without them both would likely have met a worse fate.
* KarmicThief: The bandits led by Hibukuro in episode 9 are a rare anime example of the noble thief archetype since they attack and kill samurai, whom they believe are the reasons for the suffering of their countrymen. Things get complicated when [[spoiler:[[NumberTwo right-hand man]] Itachi]] betrays Hibukuro and his wife Ojiya by joining forces with the samurai, justifying his actions by explaining that he'd rather be on the winning side and that Hibukuro should embrace the new era of the samurai. He even gives a younger Dororo some advice to leave behind their old ways and become a better person.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: The series this time around reveals [[spoiler:Dororo being female]] a bit earlier than it normally would, as a nun casually tells Hyakkimaru the fact in episode 9 rather than Hyakkimaru finding out himself.
* MythologyGag:
** The opening recreates some of the cut scenes from the manga and the original anime adaptation, complete with Tezuka-styled ArtShift.
** Dororo meets a dog that looks suspiciously Tezuka-like in episode 1, calling back to the dog he and Hyakkimaru traveled within the 1969 anime.
** While the rest of the characters are drawn rather realistically, their feet are usually done in a very simple fashion, with only the big toe looking separate from the rest. This is how Tezuka himself drew feet, most of the time.
* OffModel: Episode 15 has built a reputation for its awful quality. If the off-putting art direction of the episode seemed familiar, you'd be right in believing it was directed by Osamu Kobayashi (who also directed episodes 5, 6 and 12, and the first ending, which all had fewer overall animation issues). He's infamous to this day for directing episode 4 of ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' and it ''shows''. The highlight of the episode is Hyakkimaru following Sabame up a hill in the woods and it seems [[https://i.redd.it/ddtnr49tj4u21.gif like he's teleporting while running]]. In a more general sense, the episodes switching between Tezuka Pro and MAPPA can invoke this as well.
* OhCrap: Daigo gives off a horrified facial expression when one of his spies reports that his first child was cast off into the river and a 'man with prosthetic limbs' was spotted in the land.
* PoweredByAForsakenChild: Rather than straight-up power, Daigo in this version sells his son to demons to bring stability to his fiefdom and keep the constant famine and warfare plaguing the rest of Japan from touching it. And every time Hyakkimaru slays one of the demons in question, [[NoOntologicalInertia a bit of that protection disappears]].
* RealityEnsues:
** Hyakkimaru's missing body parts really show in this adaptation. Not only is he now [[TheSpeechless incapable of speech]], his prosthetics give him an eerie doll-like appearance that he's not able to shake until he got his face back. Without psychic powers that the original had, he is more or less incapable of communicating properly with other people and even those who travel with him like Dororo and Biwa-Hoshi have trouble understanding him. Even after obtaining the body parts required for communication, he still struggles to get the point across due to his inexperience with them.
** And when he finally ''does'' get his hearing and voice back, [[spoiler:he still can't speak, as he hadn't gone through language acquisition as a child]].
** Getting human parts does make Hyakkimaru more susceptible to human follies, i.e. [[spoiler:his very fleshy foot can be taken off just as easily as he got it.]]
** Also, taking back human parts he never had before means he has to take time to get used to them, which leaves him incredibly vulnerable. [[spoiler:For example, after getting back ears and sense of hearing, he has to wrap cloth around his ears for some time in order to block out all sort of sounds he is not familiar with, which ended up affecting his performance in battle against the demon bird and requiring Biwa-Hoshi to lend a helping hand.]]
** In episode 12, Tahomaru makes an impassioned speech to Hyakkimaru about protecting his home and charges into battle against him, then gets [[CurbStompBattle quickly beaten down and has his face scarred]] as despite his training, Tahomaru was very sheltered and has little real combat experience while Hyakkimaru has been fighting and killing demons since childhood. Even in future fights between to two Tahomaru only gets the upper hand when he has others backing him up.
* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler:The last demon in the deal was supposed to take Hyakkimaru's head, which would have killed him. Nui believes that the goddess she prays to gave up her own head to save Hyakkimaru's head, which allowed him to survive.]]
* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler:Sukeroku, his family, and Tahomaru all survive the Story of Banmon.]]
* SuddenlyVoiced: Hyakkimaru lacks a voice until the end of episode 5. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, it is not a pleasant scene. Hyakkimaru is writhing and screaming in pain because the demon he fought bit off his real foot.]]
* SuicidalSadisticChoice: [[spoiler: The samurai Tanosuke]] refused his lord's order to kill a man, and was told to either kill him or suicide.
* ThirdEye: In episode 22, there's a creepy sequence where [[spoiler:Tahomaru acquires Hyakkimaru's eyes alongside his own remaining one. The eye takes up the place of the additional scar that Hyakkimaru gave him in the previous episode.]]
* WarIsHell: When it comes to the horrors of war, the 2019 anime has an advantage over the manga and 1969 anime with its gorier violence and [[GreyAndGreyMorality more realistic motivations]] for its characters. This is more evident when the manga [[MoodWhiplash constantly shifts between slapstick comedy and bloody violence]], all rendered in Tezuka's [[ArtStyleDissonance trademark cartoon art style]].
* "WhamEpisode: Episode 22, has [[spoiler:Tahomaru revealed to have ''both'' of Hyakkimaru's eyes in addition to his remaining eye, while Hyogo and Mutsu each have one of Hyakkimaru's arms.]]
* WholeEpisodeFlashback:
** Episode 3 is devoted to showing the audience how Hyakkimaru got his prosthetics and his childhood development, along with explaining Jukai's involvement in his life.
** Episode 9 tells us about Dororo's parents and how they died.
* WholePlotReference: The anime adds an overarching MythArc heavily based on the short story ''"Literature/TheOnesWhoWalkAwayFromOmelas"'', with Hyakkimaru taking place of the forsaken child.
[[/folder]]

** In ''Blood Will Tell'', Hyakkimaru has a machine gun in his right arm.

* HeelFaceTurn: In the movie's climax, Tahomaru fights Hyakkimaru out of jealously over their mother's affection, but once he witnesses the horror of their father Kagetmitsu becoming a demon to bring him back to life, he lets go of all negative feelings and accepts Hyakkimaru as his older brother, willing to watch over his rightful place until he comes back from his journey.

[[folder:Tropes for 2019 manga''The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru'']]

* AfterTheEnd: The movies. Admittedly, changing the setting to the future does make Hyakkimaru's artificial limbs somewhat more plausible.
** Applies just as well to the manga and anime, really. As a pacifist in the humanistic sense, Tezuka did his best to depict how hellish the [[UsefulNotes/SengokuPeriod "Warring States" period]] would realistically be... and wow does this trope ever apply.

* AmbiguousGenderIdentity:
** The end of the manga reveals that [[spoiler:Dororo is a girl raised as a boy. Dororo seems to genuinely identify as a boy, but seemingly more out of ignorance rather than anything else]].
** The 2007 film adaptation is even more ambiguous despite [[spoiler:Dororo's]] sex being much more apparent. He seems to reject the idea of being a girl, though whether it's a practical rejection of the cultural baggage assigned to the gender or whether it's an issue of identification is not explored.

* SingleStrokeBattle: The first encounter with . Funny thing is, it's both a parody and subversion. It's a parody because Dororo comes running up to Hyakkimaru and asks him ''why he's still standing there'' 10 seconds after the fact, and a subversion because the actual 'stroke' wasn't with swords but their ''will'' (the other guy's still standing because he's unconscious and physically locked in place).

** ''Blood Will Tell'' has some characters wrap their feet with cloth.

* TheChosenOne: Not in the original manga, but in subsequent iterations of the story such as the video game, Hyakkimaru was said to be a messiah chosen by the gods and given supernatural powers to defeat the 48 Majin, which not only explains why the Majin chose to cut a deal with his father, but also how Hyakkimaru can survive with most of his organs missing.

* DealWithTheDevil: 48 demons, but they add up to the same.
* DeliberatelyMonochrome: It suits Tezuka's style and the setting so well that you'd be forgiven for not remembering that shows ''were'' being produced in color by 1969. The pilot animation was produced in color, but apparently the sponsor thought that there was too much blood, so the black-and-white was something of a compromise.
** The game starts this way, in what's almost certainly a ShoutOut.

* SingleStrokeBattle: There's one in episode 7 of the anime. Funny thing is, it's both a parody and subversion. It's a parody because Dororo comes running up to Hyakkimaru and asks him ''why he's still standing there'' 10 seconds after the fact, and a subversion because the actual 'stroke' wasn't with swords but their ''will'' (the other guy's still standing because he's unconscious and physically locked in place).

* LawOfOneHundred: While collecting 100 of the common items (Jyukai's Medicine) gives you a "1up" (the game calls it this), it's really just an extra life bar.

[[folder:Tropes for the Manga,1969 Anime, and Live-Action Movie]]

[[folder:Tropes for ''The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru'']]

In late 2018, the story was remade by Satoshi Shiki (of ''Anime/RuneSoldierLouie'' and ''Manga/XBlade'' fame) as ''The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru''. An anime retelling by Creator/{{MAPPA}} and [[Creator/MushiProductions Tezuka Productions]] premiered on Creator/PrimeVideo in January 2019, just 3 months shy of the 1969 anime's 50th anniversary. See [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wPl0zCDpSc here]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fuph-DDesSA here]] for its respective teaser and trailer. A stage play followed suit the same year, based off of the aforementioned anime.

[[folder:Tropes for the 2019 anime]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dororo_2019.png]]
* AdaptationDistillation: Rather than 48 demons, Hyakkimaru only has to fight 12.
* AdaptationExpansion: We see a lot more of Jukai's backstory.
* AdaptationInspiration: While the premise, setting, and characters are the same, the events, details, tone, and visual presentation are very different.
* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Hyakkimaru, while not bad-looking to begin with, is a {{Bishonen}}. Tahomaru is one as well when compared to his original manga counterpart.
* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: Biwa-hoshi and Tahomaru are introduced right off the bat in the first episode.
* AdaptationalMundanity: All the demons and ghouls remain, but the anime chooses to excise the manga's [[AnachronismStew comedic anachronisms]] and some of Hyakkimaru's more [[SchizoTech out-there sci-fi abilities]], choosing instead play out as a more grounded [[HistoricalFantasy Historical]] LowFantasy.
* AdaptationalNiceGuy:
** Daigo doesn't deliberately sacrifice his son for the deal; he merely says he'll give the demons anything, resulting in them targeting the newest addition to his family. His reasoning is also toned down, instead being an eleventh-hour method of bolstering power to stave off his land's decline.
** Dororo himself's lightened up a bit, even staying with Hyakkimaru out of curiosity rather than trying to take his sword. Also, he is far more level-headed and worldly than his original manga-self with most of BrattyHalfPint tendencies removed.
** Although we don't see much of Tahomaru in the original manga, he's shown ordering the execution of civilians and wants to kill Hyakkimaru just for annoying him. In the anime, the execution is omitted, Tahomaru is shown to care deeply for the wellbeing of his people, and [[spoiler:he only decides to kill Hyakkimaru after learning that doing so would ensure the continued survival and prosperity of his land.]]
* AdaptationalVillainy: In this version, [[spoiler:the soldiers have no qualms killing Mio and her kids]], where they at least had the decency to question their boss's orders in the manga before carrying out the duty.
* AluminumChristmasTrees: Episode 9 features what appears to be a Catholic nun offering her prayers to the Buddha rather than the Christian God. This isn't a failure in research, however. When Christianity was first introduced to Japan, [[https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2002/03/31/general/in-the-beginning-was-confusion/#.XIsiWcBKiUk Jesuits mistakenly assumed that many Buddhist terms were direct equivalents of Christian ones]] and used them as such. One of these terms was ''hotoke'', which is the term the nun in the anime uses for "Buddha" (or for God, rather).
* ArtShiftedSequel: This anime doesn't particularly follow Tezuka's style, instead using a more realistic look courtesy of ''Manga/LetterBee'''s Hiroyuki Asada.
* BlatantLies: Everyone in Daigo's land thinks he defeated the demons instead of making a deal with them.
* BloodierAndGorier[=/=]DarkerAndEdgier: The bleak tone, graphic violence and visual style of the 2019 anime is comparable to works such as the ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' OVA ''Tsuiokuhen''. [[note]]Fittingly enough, the director of the 2019 anime is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazuhiro_Furuhashi Kazuhiro Furuhashi]], who had directed the Ruroken OVA ''Tsuiokuhen''.[[/note]] Despite some calm moments between the carnage and character designs closely resembling Tezuka's, this is one of the darkest adaptations of any of his manga.
* BreatherEpisode: After [[spoiler:Mio's death and Hyakkimaru's RoaringRampageOfRevenge]], we're treated to an episode about a human and a monster falling in love, where no one dies and Hyakkimaru laughs his first laugh.
* BringMeMyBrownPants: The samurai who survived Hyakkimaru's RoaringRampageOfRevenge soils himself when the two see each other again.
* BrokenPedestal: Jukai once had a young boy named Kaname as his apprentice but after he found out about Jukai's involvement in the war, he no longer looked up to the doctor as he used to and threw away the prosthetic Jukai gave.
* CooldownHug: [[spoiler: Dororo does this to Hyakkimaru in Episode 6 after Hyakkimaru slaughters the soldiers who killed Mio. And again in Episode 12, when they cross paths with the lone survivor.]]
* DiscardAndDraw: The demon that Hyakkimaru fights in episode 5 does this. [[spoiler:Hyakkimaru was able to get his voice back but the demon was able to get Hyakkimaru's right foot. In episode 6 after Hyakkimaru kills the demon for good, he also gets his foot back.]]
* EvolvingCredits: The second half's ending sequence is presumably in Hyakkimaru's perspective, with the last image, a taller and slightly older looking Dororo, blurry but distinguishable. As of Episode 19, that final still image is completely visible.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Nui's attempt to shoulder Hyakkimaru's burden [[spoiler:and failing at appeasing the demons. When Mutsu attempts to fulfill a pact with herself as the sacrifice, it is revealed by Asura that only after the completion of the original pact between Daigo and the demons can the still imprisoned Asura initiate a new one, and that no other person except Hyakkimaru can serve as said sacrifice..]]
* GoMadFromTheRevelation: One of the midwives present at Hyakkimaru's birth utterly snapped at the sight of the "demon child" to the point where she, in the present day, gained a reputation as the local madwoman singing nightmarish lullabies to a bloodied rock wrapped up akin of a baby.
* GreyAndGreyMorality: Often played straight, but also played with on occasion.
** While it can be argued that Hibukuro and his men were fighting for the freedom of the common man by killing samurai, their actions were no different than that of the other side. Hibukuro created more enemies in the process, including a vengeful samurai who recognized him, eventually causing his own death through karma.
** Downplayed with Daigo's deal with the demons. However horrendous it turned out, it has ultimately let his territory and people prosper, while Hyakkimaru's quest to regain his parts from the demons, however justified, will eventually send the land back into its ravaged, suffering state. Ultimately, though, this is simply Daigo's karma coming back to bite him - a man who gains power and prestige by secretly letting demons roam his land would lose it, sooner or later. The fact that many of the demons were terrorizing people outside of Daigo's kingdom also adds more justification for Hyakkimaru going after them
** Despite the terrible things happening to Hyakkimaru, both his mother and brother believe he did not deserve such a fate, however, both agree he must shoulder the burden because [[TheNeedsOfTheMany the people need the prosperity to live]]. In the case of his mother [[spoiler:she attempts to shoulder the burden and offer part of her life so he doesn't bear it alone, while Tahomaru has decided he must kill Hyakkimaru before the people's suffering gets worse, and truly has the peoples interest at heart]]. Dororo likewise felt conflicted when the boy they befriended was only able to reunite with his mother due to the demons protecting Daigo's land, and without them both would likely have met a worse fate.
* KarmicThief: The bandits led by Hibukuro in episode 9 are a rare anime example of the noble thief archetype since they attack and kill samurai, whom they believe are the reasons for the suffering of their countrymen. Things get complicated when [[spoiler:[[NumberTwo right-hand man]] Itachi]] betrays Hibukuro and his wife Ojiya by joining forces with the samurai, justifying his actions by explaining that he'd rather be on the winning side and that Hibukuro should embrace the new era of the samurai. He even gives a younger Dororo some advice to leave behind their old ways and become a better person.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: The series this time around reveals [[spoiler:Dororo being female]] a bit earlier than it normally would, as a nun casually tells Hyakkimaru the fact in episode 9 rather than Hyakkimaru finding out himself.
* MythologyGag:
** The opening recreates some of the cut scenes from the manga and the original anime adaptation, complete with Tezuka-styled ArtShift.
** Dororo meets a dog that looks suspiciously Tezuka-like in episode 1, calling back to the dog he and Hyakkimaru traveled within the 1969 anime.
** While the rest of the characters are drawn rather realistically, their feet are usually done in a very simple fashion, with only the big toe looking separate from the rest. This is how Tezuka himself drew feet, most of the time.
* OffModel: Episode 15 has built a reputation for its awful quality. If the off-putting art direction of the episode seemed familiar, you'd be right in believing it was directed by Osamu Kobayashi (who also directed episodes 5, 6 and 12, and the first ending, which all had fewer overall animation issues). He's infamous to this day for directing episode 4 of ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' and it ''shows''. The highlight of the episode is Hyakkimaru following Sabame up a hill in the woods and it seems [[https://i.redd.it/ddtnr49tj4u21.gif like he's teleporting while running]]. In a more general sense, the episodes switching between Tezuka Pro and MAPPA can invoke this as well.
* OhCrap: Daigo gives off a horrified facial expression when one of his spies reports that his first child was cast off into the river and a 'man with prosthetic limbs' was spotted in the land.
* PoweredByAForsakenChild: Rather than straight-up power, Daigo in this version sells his son to demons to bring stability to his fiefdom and keep the constant famine and warfare plaguing the rest of Japan from touching it. And every time Hyakkimaru slays one of the demons in question, [[NoOntologicalInertia a bit of that protection disappears]].
* RealityEnsues:
** Hyakkimaru's missing body parts really show in this adaptation. Not only is he now [[TheSpeechless incapable of speech]], his prosthetics give him an eerie doll-like appearance that he's not able to shake until he got his face back. Without psychic powers that the original had, he is more or less incapable of communicating properly with other people and even those who travel with him like Dororo and Biwa-Hoshi have trouble understanding him. Even after obtaining the body parts required for communication, he still struggles to get the point across due to his inexperience with them.
** And when he finally ''does'' get his hearing and voice back, [[spoiler:he still can't speak, as he hadn't gone through language acquisition as a child]].
** Getting human parts does make Hyakkimaru more susceptible to human follies, i.e. [[spoiler:his very fleshy foot can be taken off just as easily as he got it.]]
** Also, taking back human parts he never had before means he has to take time to get used to them, which leaves him incredibly vulnerable. [[spoiler:For example, after getting back ears and sense of hearing, he has to wrap cloth around his ears for some time in order to block out all sort of sounds he is not familiar with, which ended up affecting his performance in battle against the demon bird and requiring Biwa-Hoshi to lend a helping hand.]]
** In episode 12, Tahomaru makes an impassioned speech to Hyakkimaru about protecting his home and charges into battle against him, then gets [[CurbStompBattle quickly beaten down and has his face scarred]] as despite his training, Tahomaru was very sheltered and has little real combat experience while Hyakkimaru has been fighting and killing demons since childhood. Even in future fights between to two Tahomaru only gets the upper hand when he has others backing him up.
* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler:The last demon in the deal was supposed to take Hyakkimaru's head, which would have killed him. Nui believes that the goddess she prays to gave up her own head to save Hyakkimaru's head, which allowed him to survive.]]
* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler:Sukeroku, his family, and Tahomaru all survive the Story of Banmon.]]
* SuddenlyVoiced: Hyakkimaru lacks a voice until the end of episode 5. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, it is not a pleasant scene. Hyakkimaru is writhing and screaming in pain because the demon he fought bit off his real foot.]]
* SuicidalSadisticChoice: [[spoiler: The samurai Tanosuke]] refused his lord's order to kill a man, and was told to either kill him or suicide.
* ThirdEye: In episode 22, there's a creepy sequence where [[spoiler:Tahomaru acquires Hyakkimaru's eyes alongside his own remaining one. The eye takes up the place of the additional scar that Hyakkimaru gave him in the previous episode.]]
* WarIsHell: When it comes to the horrors of war, the 2019 anime has an advantage over the manga and 1969 anime with its gorier violence and [[GreyAndGreyMorality more realistic motivations]] for its characters. This is more evident when the manga [[MoodWhiplash constantly shifts between slapstick comedy and bloody violence]], all rendered in Tezuka's [[ArtStyleDissonance trademark cartoon art style]].
* "WhamEpisode: Episode 22, has [[spoiler:Tahomaru revealed to have ''both'' of Hyakkimaru's eyes in addition to his remaining eye, while Hyogo and Mutsu each have one of Hyakkimaru's arms.]]
* WholeEpisodeFlashback:
** Episode 3 is devoted to showing the audience how Hyakkimaru got his prosthetics and his childhood development, along with explaining Jukai's involvement in his life.
** Episode 9 tells us about Dororo's parents and how they died.
* WholePlotReference: The anime adds an overarching MythArc heavily based on the short story ''"Literature/TheOnesWhoWalkAwayFromOmelas"'', with Hyakkimaru taking place of the forsaken child.

[[/folder]]

* GreyAndGreyMorality: While it can be argued that Hibukuro and his men were fighting for the freedom of the common man by killing samurai, their actions were no different than that of the other side. Hibukuro created more enemies in the process, including a vengeful samurai who recognized him, eventually causing his own death through karma.
** Daigo's deal with the demons, however horrendous, has ultimately let his territory and people prosper, while Hyakkimaru's quest to regain his parts from the demons, however justified, will eventually send the land back into its ravaged, suffering state. Ultimately, though, this is simply Daigo's karma coming back to bite him - a man who gains power and prestige by secretly letting demons roam his land would lose it, sooner or later.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Nui's attempt to shoulder Hyakkimaru's burden [[spoiler:and failing at appeasing the demons. When Mutsu attempts to fulfill a pact with herself as the sacrifice, it is revealed by Asura that only the completion of the original pact between Daigo and the demons can the still imprisoned Asura initiate a new one, and that no other person except Hyakkimaru can serve as said sacrifice..]]

* ThirdEye: In episode 22, there's a creepy sequence where [[spoiler:Tahomaru acquires Hyakkimaru's eyes alongside his own remaining one. The eye takes up the place of the additional scar that Hyakkimaru gave him in the previous episode.]] WarIsHell: When it comes to the horrors of war, the 2019 anime has an advantage over the manga and 1969 anime with its gorier violence and [[GreyAndGreyMorality more realistic motivations]] for its characters. This is more evident when the manga [[MoodWhiplash constantly shifts between slapstick comedy and bloody violence]], all rendered in Tezuka's [[ArtStyleDissonance trademark cartoon art style]].

* ThirdEye: In episode 22, there's a creepy sequence where [[spoiler:Tahomaru acquires Hyakkimaru's eyes alongside his own remaining one. The eye takes up the place of the additional scar that Hyakkimaru gave him in the previous episode.]]

* WarIsHell: When it comes to the horrors of war, the 2019 anime has an advantage over the manga and 1969 anime with its gorier violence and [[GreyAndGreyMorality more realistic motivations]] for its characters. This is more evident when the manga [[MoodWhiplash constantly shifts between slapstick comedy and bloody violence]], all rendered in Tezuka's [[ArtStyleDissonance trademark cartoon art style]].

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Nui's attempt to shoulder Hyakkimaru's burden [[spoiler:and failing at appeasing the demons. When Mutsu attempts to fulfill a pact with herself as the sacrifice, it is revealed by Asura that only the by completing the original pact between Daigo and the demons can the still imprisoned Asura initiate a new one.]]

* "WhamEpisode: Episode 22, has [[spoiler:Tahomaru revealed to have ''both'' of Hyakkimaru's eyes, while Hyogo and Mutsu each have one of his arms.]]

** Despite the terrible things happening to Hyakkimaru, both his mother and brother believe he did not deserve such a fate, however, both agree he must shoulder the burden because [[TheNeedsOfTheMany the people need the prosperity to live]]. Innthe case of his mother [[spoiler:she attempts to shoulder the burden and offer part of her life so he doesn't bear it alone, while Tahomaru has decided he must kill Hyakkimaru before the people's suffering gets worse, and truly has the peoples interest at heart]]. Dororo likewise felt conflicted when the boy they befriended was only able to reunite with his mother due to the demons protecting Daigo's land, and without them both would likely have met a worse fate.