Dororo (2019)

There is some difference between "demons" and just regular monsters it seems, the former made up the group of 12 who stole Hyakki's body-parts, and the latter being just dangerous creatures who roam freely. The animals who attacked young Hyakkimaru, the spider-lady, the bird from a few episodes ago and now the crab (identified as "monster crab" in the end screen) are in the latter category, so no organs for our hero this time.

Yeah, the Twelve Demons who made the pact with Daigo seem to be a specific group of particularly powerful demons.

And it makes total sense that killing the Demons takes away the prosperity Daigo gained from their deal. That prosperity is likely due to the Demons themselves regularly fueling it with their magic — with each Demon slain, there's less magic to fuel it.

Watched the Tahomaru episode yesterday and really liked it. I really like what this anime did to Tahomaru's character.

I wonder if the writers will have Tahomaru attack Hyakkimaru in an attempt to stop Hyakkimaru from killing more fiends and bringing more ruin to the land. Would certainly be a more sympathetic reason for trying to kill him than the manga version.

Also (manga spoilers ahead), I wonder if the final fiend will be the Nue, like the final fiend Hyakkimaru fights in the manga.

A proffesional shitbag's take on the newest incarnation of Dororo, comparing old manga and new anime:

Why do Dororo's feet have only one toe each in the manga…?

(Yes, that's the main thing that caught my attention )

Late reply, but I think that was just Tezuka's art style.

Just saw this week's episode, and it's the beginning of the Wall of Banmon. I'm really interested in seeing how the meeting between Daigo and Hyakkimaru goes.

Oh… I didn't think Daigô would find him so soon. It almost feels like a climax already…

For those who didn't already know, Banmon's story is meant to evoke the Berlin Wall.

This show does not struggle to stay as my favorite of the season.

Sad!Mom, nooo!

It really is a screwed-up situation… Oku and Tahômaru can blame themselves or Kagemitsu all they want, there's really nothing they can do. I'd have second thoughts too if letting him live meant certain ruin for my people.

I wonder what's the deal with the headless Buddha, though. Is it a demon repellent or something?

PS: I just realized that Oku was voiced by Chie Nakamura! It's the first time I hear her in another role than Sakura. Speaking of which… in the credits the wife is called "Nuinokata", but in the episode Kagemitsu calls her "Oku". Now "oku" can mean "wife", but "Nuinokata" does not sound like a name at all. So what the heck?

Edited by Lyendith on Mar 25th 2019 at 10:51:30 AM

Wow, Sukeroku definitely got a much better ending in this anime. Got to reunite with his mother, while the original manga had him killed shortly after finding out his mother was dead.

On the other hand, I'm really surprised that Hyakkimaru's mother dies in this adaptation, considering she survived till the end of the manga. Really interested in seeing how the story develops from here.

@Lyendith: It's not a name, it's a title. Nui-no-Kata means 'the sewing lady'; this is often how court ladies were referred to in olden times. Kita-no-Kata ('the north lady') is a similar title and refers to how the lord of a manor's primary wife often lived in the outbuilding to the north of the main hall.

It's a bad situation all around. But ultimately, the prosperity brought by the deal was never going to last. Because it relied on a bunch of fucking demons. And barring an occasional few, most demons aren't altruists. Nor would they go that far just to be able to munch on baby parts, regardless of how delicious human babies are.

In the game at least, the Fiends' goals were two-fold: they wanted to cripple Hyakkimaru because he was The Chosen One destined to kill them and they planned to possess Daigo so they could Japan rule through him.

Edited by M84 on Mar 27th 2019 at 12:54:50 AM

Oku isn't dead though, they stopped her suicide.

Ah, thought so.

I mean, we haven't seen any signs of the Demon directly reneging on their deal. Of course, without understanding their goals, it's hard for us to know exactly how long they'd keep it up- maybe just until Daigo's death- But I don't they're gonna just arbitrarily break it.

But let's not forget that the deal does absolutely nothing to stop them from hurting people outside of Daigo's territory, and that Hyakkimaru has been directly saving people terrorized by them everywhere else.

And there is, in fact, a third option for Daigo. He could surrender to one of his neighbours. See, the Sengoku period was caused by the collapse of Japan's centralized government, and one of the advantages of a centralized government is that you're not left entirely on your own when hit by famine or disease; you can always petition somebody higher up for aid. So if Daigo agreed to serve one of the more powerful clans- one that has enough territory to avoid getting wiped out by a drought, and enough influence to discourage his other neighbours- he could avoid the worst of the consequences of breaking the deal.

But, of course, if he was psychological capable of giving up on his ambitions like that, he would've done that in the first place, instead of making the deal.

Huh, I could've sworn that her death was what caused the headless Kanzeon statue to appear and collapse the wall, but looking at the episode a second time, it's true that she isn't shown to be dead. My bad.

Edited by dragonfire5000 on Mar 26th 2019 at 11:34:46 AM

When red souls are bad, orange are demons who slowly get better, white are pure souls and yellow is something important what are green souls?

Trailer for the second cour, which starts on April 8.

Boy they could not have picked a more generic song for the opening. >.>

You ragging on Asian Kung-Fu Generation? Sacrilege!

The new opening for the second cour:

I just don't think they have aged very well. =[

That's some delightfully creepy imagery at the beginning…

Ooh, I recognize Shark Boy (can't remember his name right now) in that opening.

Man, the monsters and baddies really have the shittiest luck.

"Haha, I am going to take the form of a loved one, the woman you think is the most beautiful you have seen!"

And then meet a blind swordsman.

It may not just be luck. My is that Hyakkimaru is somehow drawn to the supernatural.

Wasn't the opposite more or less confirmed in episode 3, that he attracts spirits to him?

Still shit luck for them though.