The Spring 2026 Anime Preview Guide

Dorohedoro Season 2

In the lawless district known as Hole, sorcerers from another world use its residents as guinea pigs for their twisted magic. Caiman is one of those victims—left with a lizard head and no memory of his past, he's now on a brutal quest for answers. To reclaim his true face and forgotten past, he and his partner Nikaido hunt sorcerers, hoping to uncover the truth behind his transformation.

Dorohedoro Season 2 is based on the manga series by Q Hayashida. The anime series is streaming on Netflix and Crunchyroll on Wednesdays.

As a general rule of thumb, I think that if it's been less than two years since the last season of whatever show it is you're watching has aired, recaps are nice, but not strictly necessary. Two-to-four years, it's probably a good idea—doubly so if it's a more story-heavy show. But if it's been more than four years, recaps—even if only short ones—should, in my opinion, be required. And Dorohedoro season 2, which is airing a full six years after the first season, is exemplary in why I think that's the case. For better or for worse, this show has a lot of moving parts, and gives you a lot to chew on (cue imagery of Caiman sticking more heads in his mouth). There are, in other words, a lot of important things you could forget—even if unintentionally—just due to the sheer volume of important things there are. So the fact that a show with as much going on in it as this one just sort of jumps in as though it's only been a few months not only takes one off-guard, but also, all but guarantees you'll find yourself thinking something along the lines of, “Is this a new character, or am I just forgetting this guy?” or, “Wait, why is so-and-so here?” at least once between these three episodes. Not my favorite way to kick off a series as cool as Dorohedoro, but whatever. Disgruntled as I am, moving on.

And speaking of there already being three episodes at the ready—frankly, I have mixed feelings on extended premieres. On one hand, I've seen some that've helped to launch their series in a great way, only allowed by having more time (Oshi no Ko springs to mind). But then, on the other end of the spectrum, that can also be a curse at times. If you leave the premiere feeling like there was no reason for it to be extended, it's easy to get a feeling like this wasn't earned, that might leave a bitter taste in your mouth. Moreover, if the premiere is too long, it's easy to lose motivation to watch something you might've otherwise have checked out.

So where does that leave Dorohedoro season 2? Do I think an extended premiere works here? Well, not to sound like a broken record, but it would've worked a lot better with a recap. On one hand, it's very obvious why it's kicking off with three episodes: So much has changed since the first season, and that first episode doesn't give us any Caiman or Nikaido. So by giving us three episodes, we can see what's going on with all three of our main groups, and it's a great way to get excited about what everyone's doing. That being said, you know what else might help people feel excited about what everyone's doing? Having a fresher memory of it. Even if that first episode only gave us three minutes of recap, I think it would've done so much to enhance these episodes. I'll never stop being annoyed by this, since it feels like it should've been so obvious given how long it's been, and how rich the story of Dorohedoro is.

This might be why, at least partially, the third episode is so much better than the other two—so much of it is spent either in lucid dream or flashback, that it feels a bit easier on the brain. Although, I wouldn't dare to shortchange it by not also mentioning that the scene where Caiman started remembering things was excellent (that eerie scream, with the weird pitch stuff going on—loved it), it gave us some great comedic moments, and also let us learn a lot about the beautifully illustrated Kowloon Walled City-esque world our characters live in. Up until now, I had never really considered what a school would look like in the context of this show.

And speaking of the things I like—nay, love—about this premiere: As always, Dorohedoro doesn't hold back when it comes to gore and hyperviolence. When Noi kicked that one guy's head and it started bouncing around like a basketball? Perfection. That starting animation of Caiman's body ripping in two, where we can see all his bones and organs? Delightfully over-detailed. I love it. I'm a simple person: I see buckets upon buckets of blood, especially if it's being splattered around in cartoonish ways, I clap. The more it reminds me of Final Destination or Another, the better. Absolute cinema. And in 2026, nobody's doing blood and guts like Dorohedoro, and I absolutely adore that about this series. So while it's obviously been taking me a moment to ease back into the story—and I'm sure, with time, I'll find myself caring more about it—if nothing else, the gore is keeping me going.

Six years ago, the first season of Dorohedoro aired. For whatever reason, MAPPA made the decision to use CG animation for Q Hayashida's gritty, grimy world where sorcerers preyed on humans in the world of Hole. The result was a fun show to watch by virtue of Hayashida's brilliant source material, but hampered by stiff animation.

Turns out, 3DCG anime has come a long way since then, and Dorohedoro looks better than… well, not “ever,” because the manga's art is fantastic and detailed in a way that animation was never going to capture. But gone are the flaws that hampered the first season. No more doughy potato faces, no more unnatural-moving rigs doing kung-fu with roughly five points of articulation, no more jarring transitions between hand-drawn cuts and CG. The second season of Dorohedoro is positively gorgeous. And by “gorgeous,” I mean grimy and gory and gross.

The season picks up right where the last one left off, sparing no time for recapping or summarizing what came before. We have a mystery to solve, people! Chop chop! So we jump right in with Shin and Noi confronting the Cross Eyes gang, Risu confronting a different branch of the Cross Eyes gang, all of the human characters stranded in the world of sorcerers after Blue Night. The resulting action scenes positively explode with kineticism, grim weight, and gore. And I do mean “explode” literally, as viscera explodes across the filthy rooms where most of the story is set. I'm intrigued enough with the show's mysteries, themes, and characters to endure gore well beyond what I would normally tolerate, but it's rough going if you're even a little bit squeamish.

One thing I do take issue with is the decision to release three episodes to start the season. Sometimes this choice is justified, if annoying, but I don't think there's anything here that was gained by throwing all of this at us at once. There are four concurrently running plot threads right now, with a slew of new characters. While the end of the third episode does offer some tantalizing clues as to what Caiman's whole deal is, it's not so game-changing a revelation that I couldn't have waited two more weeks to learn it.

Sitting through a whole 75 minutes of blood-soaked action is exhausting, even if one of Dorohedoro's greatest strengths is balancing that with character, humor, and plot building. And despite that, I can't wait for next week.

Normally I'm pretty good at remembering details of plot and characters between anime seasons, and I rarely need to revisit prior installments to keep up with new episodes. In Dorohedoro's case, however, given the six year gap between first and second seasons, it seems I've now identified the limits of my anime-related recall. The first episode of the second season gives absolutely no leeway to anyone without a freakishly eidetic memory or who has thoughtfully, and recently, revisited the required material. It also doesn't help that nominal lead characters Caiman and Nikaido don't even appear, with the plot instead following a bunch of characters whose names and identities I could barely even recall.

Look, I remember Mushroom Boss guy En and his two main enforcers, heart mask-wearing Shin and woman-mountain Noi. They're fun characters with lots of personality. Everyone else… um… I vaguely remember the cockroach dude. But Risu? Just another guy with cross tattoos over his eyes who I vaguely recall has some kind of link to Caiman. We follow him as he investigates his own death. (Obviously, it didn't stick. Mortality is not necessarily an impediment to career progression in this world, it seems.) This leads him to a bunch of other guys with crosses over their eyes that I can't remember if we ever met before or not.

The secondary plot focuses on Dr Kusakabe, who despite looking like a young man, is actually meant to be pretty mature. I don't remember him at all. This is probably a “me” problem, but is it too much to ask for at least the briefest of recaps? Anyway, Kusakabe's looking for his wife who he hasn't seen in years, and instead comes up against a group of scabby, zombie-like fellas who are specially trained to dispatch sorcerers. This isn't great news for Shin and Noi who turn up to get the crap beaten out of them.

What saves this confusing mess is the spectacularly bloody violence, with decapitations, dismemberments and bisections galore, all accompanied by vigorous fountains of gushing blood. Dorohedoro is as grody and grungy as it ever was. It's like it's never been away. Much of the character animation is CG, which can be a big red flag in most anime, but here it's done pretty well, and I think it's even improved quite a bit since the first season. It doesn't matter if there's some of that CG uncanny valley-ness, because Dorohedoro's world is damned uncanny and freaky at the best of times.

Thankfully things improve in the second and especially third episode, as Caiman and Nikaido return to the spotlight, plus we spend a hilarious few moments in a mushroom-enhanced shared dream in episode three's opening sequence that may be the funniest anime scene I've witnessed so far this year. En's attempt to use his minions as test subjects for his new psychedelic product goes so predictably wrong, while laying bare the darkest aspects of each character's psyche. It's this kind of madness that reminds me why I loved Dorohedoro in the first place.

Episode three's trip to the Zagan Magic Training school, where Caiman apparently studied, dangles so many tantalizing answers to questions about the lizard man's identity that have been posed since the very beginning. Just what is his link to Risu? It seems like we'll learn the details very soon. Also, Risu's interactions with the crossed eye guys becomes a bit more interesting by the end of episode three, especially the unexpected and sudden conclusion to their landlady problems. Paying for rent by selling your body is a sign of an abusive power imbalance, regardless of sex and gender…

Despite my initial bafflement mostly melting away by the conclusion of this bumper three-episode reintroduction, I do wish more consideration had been made for the average viewer returning to the series after such a lengthy hiatus. Dorohedoro can be an obtuse and disorienting show to follow on a good day, though that's also what keeps me watching.

After serving his time in the Attack on Titan mines, Yuichiro Hayashi and his team at MAPPA have finally returned to the grungy world of Dorohedoro, and it's like the show never left… literally. This new season kicks off pretty much exactly where the first one ended without any kind of recap, and while that wouldn't have been too much of an inconvenience had we only waited a few months or maybe even one or two years between seasons, considering it's been a whole six years, it creates an unnecessary problem for anyone who hasn't had time to refresh themselves on the series. Being one such person, it took most of the first episode to recall all of the ongoing mysteries surrounding the Cross Eyes as well as the current fate of Caiman and Nikaido who were completely absent from it. While that didn't outright ruin the experience for me, I do think the new season would have benefitted from kind of minor re-introduction considering how much it's juggling.

Of course, if you've gotten this far into the series, it's clear that despite its technical status as a mystery, Dorehedoro has always been more about its atmosphere, and surprisingly charming cast of characters than its plot, which these first three episodes still largely manage to deliver in spades. While the lack of our main duo in the first episode of doesn't help with how disorienting it is do delve right back into the thick of this show, it's still nice to catch up with their buddies from the hole as well Shin and Noi, whose chemistry remains as strong as ever, even when it involves one of them brutalizing anyone who dares to harm the other. It's also pretty funny to check back in with En's crew and learning that he somehow has not managed to catch onto to the whole body double switch that happened between Nikaido and Chota, which somehow remains unchanged even by the end of episode three, despite all the mounting evidence that something is off about “Nikaido”. Still as great as Dorohedoro's supporting cast is, the real heart and soul of this series is the buddy duo of Caiman and Nikaido, whose friendship remains wonderfully sincere, even in midst of this show's constant chaos. So it's nice to check in on them in the second episode. We even get to see them add a third member to their party when they end up stumbling into a fresh-faced Cross Eyes recruit named Natsuki who mistakes them for senior members. While she doesn't have too much going on besides attaching to these two like a most puppet, she seems harmless enough. I can only pray that she doesn't end up falling victim to the meat grinder that is Dorehedoro's world.

While neither Caiman's group or En's make a ton of headway in learning more about the Cross Eyes in these episodes, we do at least get to see Risu gradually continuing his own investigation of them. In true Dorohedoro fashion, the members he does come across are mostly down on their luck guys trying not to spend too much on their electricity bill or get sold off to their landlady for failing to pay rent. It's all delivered with Dorohedoro's trademark dark humor, which is present even Risu's backstory at sorcerer school, but it makes the twist at the end of the third epispde all the stronger as we finally get a solid idea of who Caiman's true identity really is. With that many moving parts to shift through, it's nice to see that Yuichiro Hayashi's direction still strikes the right balance between a good sense of mystery and making all its massive ensemble of characters feel effortlessly compelling no matter how strange or unhinged they are. This all works to keep this show charming in spite (or often because) of how bizarre its setups can get. I'm also glad to see that the show's production has not only managed to stay on par with the first season but seems like it may actually surpass it. The first season swapped between 2D and 3DCG animation in its efforts to translate Q Hayashida's grimy art into animation, and while there's still some notable 3DCG usage, the second season does seem to be leaning a bit more towards the 2D side of this balancing act and the action scenes here are bit more fluid this time around. Though the beginning does throw audiences into the deep end, Dorohedoro's second season is otherwise off to a solid start, and between its excellent dark humor and equally great sense of atmosphere, I'm down for whatever strange new adventures await Caiman and friends.