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EP. REVIEW: Dororo


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ErikaD.D



Joined: 09 Jun 2019
Posts: 658
PostPosted: Wed Jun 26, 2019 12:13 am Reply with quote
Covnam wrote:
Quote:
(It's a shame these two had to die, but I can't deny they've both had a series-long deathwish.)


Especially because you could see it coming from a mile away. When they avoided the trope of one of them dying to protect Hyakkimaru by having Jukai block the falling debris I thought they might actually make it out, but I guess that trope was to hard to resist.

Too bad that his "mamas" are gone but evil father is alive. As usual.Just shows that dead mom/alive dad(mostly absent or abused) trope is becoming widespread nowadays. That's so cliché.
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Merida



Joined: 21 Feb 2012
Posts: 1945
PostPosted: Wed Jun 26, 2019 1:07 am Reply with quote
When Hyakkimaru realized that, despite "having everything", in the end Tahoumaru was the same as him - a human being who lacked something, i was hoping they would both survive...but well, i can't say that the ending wasn't fitting for this anime which has always been distinctively bittersweet.

As for Hyakkimaru's and Dororo's parting, it made sense to me? They both had their own stuff to take care of and as much as i would have liked to see more of their reunion, i was content with the ending overall.
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Kirki



Joined: 11 Jun 2019
Posts: 296
PostPosted: Wed Jun 26, 2019 3:51 am Reply with quote
I too wanted to see more about Hyakkimaru's and Dororo's relationship. They barely talked in this last episode!

Also I don't see where's the harm in Dororo's gender. To me it was obvious from the start that she's a girl, she really looked like her mom. The series was just trying to make a different kind of commentary; there are tons of stories where the girl is raised as a boy, (Oscar in Rose of Versailles) or hides her gender for protection (Mutsuki and Karen in Tokyo Ghoul) or because it's easier for her and gives her more freedom. This is social commentary on its own; combine this and finding parallels with Mio's story now makes sense. Dororo saw a possibility of what could have happened to herself in Mio, if she was ever forced to make Mio's choice in order to survive. Living in this era sucked, but being a girl in this era sucked even more. Her parents raised her and presented her as a boy so that she would be safer and earn the respect of their fellow bandits more easily. But in end, Dororo was able to embrace herself without feeling afraid and face the world as she was.

It would have been much better if we had seen more than one frame about her in the future though.
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MarshalBanana



Joined: 31 Aug 2014
Posts: 5296
PostPosted: Wed Jun 26, 2019 4:49 am Reply with quote
Going on from the previews episode, the subject of Hyakkimarus redemption... No it still doesn't feel right and this episode worsened the subject. There has been countless episodes, meaning long parts of their travels where Hyakkimaru has not ended a single persons life, and those he has have either been evil, were trying to kill or stopping him from regaining his body. And even if you are of the opinion that he has done wrong, surely sparing both his brother and father is enough. Yet the narration at the end tells us that he must now go on a journey to become human Rolling Eyes

But you know what, in the grand scheme of things, it's a minor complaint, I really liked this episode, even their separation, while unnecessary, felt natural. And the climatic battle between Hyakkimaru and Tahomaru is a highlight, considering the somewhat limited screen time he has, I'm sure he is in less than half the show, Tahomaru is very fleshed out.
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John Thacker



Joined: 28 Oct 2013
Posts: 1006
PostPosted: Wed Jun 26, 2019 7:16 am Reply with quote
Quote:
It's the same way that I hypothesized early on that 2019's Dororo might have something to say about disability, and that simply reclaiming body parts wouldn't make Hyakki whole again.


They could have, in the process strengthening the possible anti-abortion interpretation.

Dad pressures Mom into having sketchy demonic abortion, because the family finances aren't good enough.
Mom reluctantly goes with it, later feels guilt and turns to religion, praying incessantly.
Abortion is botched, Hyakkimaru born alive but significantly disabled due to complications from the botched abortion.
Dad wants to let the newborn die to end suffering, or assist if necessary, since it's life will be terrible.
Midwife decides to implement her own Born Alive Protection Act and gives the disabled child to an adoptive family.
Mom and Dad later have another child when they're much better off and can afford to give him everything.
Disabled child who survived comes back and sues parents for everything they have, bankrupting them in order to pay the costs of treating his disabled condition.
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Brack



Joined: 15 Oct 2005
Posts: 281
Location: UK
PostPosted: Wed Jun 26, 2019 10:00 am Reply with quote
jenthehen wrote:
I don't think the reviews of this show have given Dororo credit for being one of the most coherent anime series we've had in a long time. This would be a perfect show to introduce a newcomer to anime.

I'll admit the finale was a bit rushed, but I didn't have a problem with how things turned out. The title "Hyakkimaru and Dororo" could just refer to them going their own ways for a time and NOT needing to rely on each other. I didn't mind the open ending.

It seems many folks were really hung up on the idea of Dororo being some great trans icon, when that was never going to be the case in an anime of a 1960's manga. She clearly just wants to hide being female since it's safer during that time period. It was just a convenient and easy disguise considering her parents' positions and then being on her own after.


The comic Dororo declares himself male to the very end, in the face of Hyakkimaru's gendering them as female (manga Hyakkimaru is talkative jerk from the start - only for Tezuka to decide later that this talking was actually telepathy...).

I think this anime works better as a complete story, but I think some story beats in the comic are better, particularly when it comes to Oku and Daigo, who aren't the pervasive presence they are here.
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BangHanma



Joined: 17 Jan 2017
Posts: 4
PostPosted: Wed Jun 26, 2019 10:04 am Reply with quote
Why are the reviewers so insufferable in this site? Seriously ? This show was a masterpiece and your reason for the less than stellar reviews were because of the lack of political commentary? You're watching an Anime from Japan!! They don't give a shit about our politics and none of the issues concerns whats going on in Japan. That's what happens when you let a bunch of snowflakes write shit pieces in this site.
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tintor2



Joined: 11 Aug 2010
Posts: 1804
PostPosted: Wed Jun 26, 2019 10:30 am Reply with quote
I loved the series. I liked this new take of Hyakkimaru as he is more of the center because he is the character growing up across the story thanks to Dororo. Dororo was also quite appealing whenever she/he did something even without Hyakkimaru. Wouldn't mind to see an OVA or something that explains Hyakki's journey or an epilogue but it already gave me a lot to appreciate.
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Ajc228



Joined: 29 Dec 2015
Posts: 264
PostPosted: Wed Jun 26, 2019 11:06 am Reply with quote
BangHanma wrote:
Why are the reviewers so insufferable in this site? Seriously ? This show was a masterpiece and your reason for the less than stellar reviews were because of the lack of political commentary? You're watching an Anime from Japan!! They don't give a shit about our politics and none of the issues concerns whats going on in Japan. That's what happens when you let a bunch of snowflakes write shit pieces in this site.

Dude...chill. It does seem that sometimes reviewers project their desires for social/political commentary onto specific elements of shows.( I don’t think Dororo was meant to be a representation of non-binary people. I don’t think it was a thematic point. It seems more practical that it was a little girl who was somewhat tomboyish and affected a masculine persona because it afforded more freedom in the time period. However, I’m not gonna say that art is devoid of social/political commentary. People are political and art is political to varying degrees. Some of it is what is inherently there, other times art takes on a life of its own and messages/themes can supplant creators original intentions. From what I’ve read, Dororo is primarily concerned with Buddhist philosophy thematically. Also the fights are pretty dope.
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ZiharkXVI



Joined: 29 Jan 2009
Posts: 348
PostPosted: Wed Jun 26, 2019 11:35 am Reply with quote
I am a little annoyed that we are even bothering to discuss modern politics in this show, which on the whole I thoroughly enjoyed. Stop trying to perceive whatever message you wish the show addressed and focus on what the show was actually trying to get across.

That said, I agreed with reviewer that an epilogue would be fantastic, and it does sort of leave you hanging in the end - wishing for a bit more of the interaction.

But this is a minor complaint. The show itself was great. One of the best this year, easily.
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15434
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Wed Jun 26, 2019 9:43 pm Reply with quote
I gave my thoughts in the anime series discussion forum area, but I will write a bit here. It is kind of frustrating that it does not feel like we got a final answer to the Dororo gender thing, with a final flash that seems to show them looking more feminine, and I think that it is ultimately just a case of not enough info. It is frustrating in not being sure what the journey for Dororo was meant to be, since we don't really have an answer other than Dororo's parents had made a decision, and I think something extra should be done to see how it gets there. I have a theory about it maybe could mean based off if a feminine identity may be in the cards.

It could be that the choice of Dororo's father and mother to dress their daughter and raise him like a boy, was that they were perhaps afraid that she would come across as weaker and more in danger as a girl among bandits, than as a boy. Could be that Dororo's whole identity as a boy has been from the fear of a woman being weak, needing to be protected, and an extra lack of power in the time period. Dororo's own journey in the series seemed to be in able to get a group of people to buck off social norms, where they would forgoe the power of samurai for that of commerce, perhaps this will be something built up later until the two meet again. Looking back at Dororo journey through the series, I think that there might be something to say about meeting 'powerful' women, such as Hyakkimaru's mother, who perhaps gave up more power than she should have, but still made active decisions in the end where she escaped with Dororo, helped the injured, and then made her way to her sons. It may be that Dororo's journey leads to her not being afraid of her femininity as being weak, and will be able to do something like lead all the men in a system that does not value physical strength, but other attributes.

But again, at this point it just feels unfinished if that is the journey that was meant to happen, and feels like misgendering to call Dororo a "she" when they spent the whole show claiming to be a boy. The fault lies in never being given a proper reason, since it was not just their decision.
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Iron Maw



Joined: 29 May 2008
Posts: 482
PostPosted: Thu Jun 27, 2019 6:31 am Reply with quote
MarshalBanana wrote:
Going on from the previews episode, the subject of Hyakkimarus redemption... No it still doesn't feel right and this episode worsened the subject. There has been countless episodes, meaning long parts of their travels where Hyakkimaru has not ended a single persons life, and those he has have either been evil, were trying to kill or stopping him from regaining his body. And even if you are of the opinion that he has done wrong, surely sparing both his brother and father is enough. Yet the narration at the end tells us that he must now go on a journey to become human Rolling Eyes


Dude the soldiers that eh killed in last 2 episode were nether the ones who butchered the children in Mio's story or the ones who took Dororo away from him. Just conscripts form poor diseased ridden villages who got caught in the crossfire. He's righteous angry is of little relevance. I'm Hyakki's said too be the show isn't make an excuse for everything he did, it's not black and while. His hands are stained too, but he can accept the consequence of his actions for achieving his goal.
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Agent355



Joined: 12 Dec 2008
Posts: 5113
Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready...
PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 6:25 pm Reply with quote
I posted this in the Last Week in Anime thread, but I wanted to post it here too:

The ending was so incredibly frustrating! It was *this close* to being nearly perfect. I loved the final battle with Tahomaru. I loved that Tahomaru survived it! But then...he’s killed anyway?! Because he, Nui and Hyakkimaru’s mama *CHOOSE* to die in the fire?! Oh, come on! They all got their redemption; they could’ve survived to build the new world! In fact, Tahomaru would’ve been a great leader in the new world order built on peace and honest manpower. But, no, who gets to live: the unredeemable world’s worst dad Daigo (who should’ve at least considered suicide once he realized how his actions caused his whole family’s downfall)!

And if that wasn’t bad enough, then Hyakkimaru just takes off on his own without saying anything. Sure, going off on a lone journey of redemption is a trope, but — the whole show was about his journey, and how having Dororo at his side brought out the best in both of them. Why does he have to go off alone? What lessons can he only learn alone? The show doesn’t tell us. And now that he can talk, why can’t he communicate his need to be on his own to Dororo? Nothing. Ugh!

*Sigh* but my complaints aside, it was a good show overall. That Demon Mama horse was awesome! And the first OP, despite having the least appropriate lyrics, was lit. Just wish it handled a few characters better at the end, is all.
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