Dorohedoro Season 2

Episode 10

Dorohedoro is a study in contrasts. Look at the first chapter of this week's episode. Kikurage is cute, yet Chota looks like Death warmed over. Dokuga continues his running gag of confusing Kikurage's name with other mushrooms despite the seriousness of his revelations last week. The forest is full of rainbow-colored fiddleheads that look beautiful when Natsuki's arm flies off in a fountain of blood. Ebisu's small frame transforms into a giant lizard monster, while Natsuki's magic counters with a Michelin Man bodysuit. Comedy, horror, and found family all intertwine.

I debated whether it would be funnier to just not acknowledge Sho's presence in these reviews, but I think it's more important to use him as a gateway into Dorohedoro's themes. While Sho is hardly the first character to exemplify this, his case is particularly blatant when we think about magic powers as extensions of sorcerers' personalities and quirks. In Sho's case, his literal invisibility is intertwined with his figurative invisibility within En's faction. I don't think this is as simple as cause and effect, either—i.e., that turning invisible all the time resulted in people forgetting who he was. Rather, it's more thematically interesting to look at his magic as a manifestation of a quintessence within him. We see that Sho is helpful, quiet, deferential, and self-deprecating, and that's exactly the kind of person who tends to fade into the background in other people's minds. Therefore, perhaps we can think of his magic as a subconscious means of weaponizing or utilizing this part of him. We might even call it a psychological defense mechanism.

An abstract reading of Dorohedoro's magic reveals layers to other characters as well. Ebisu is small and grew up in a privileged household, which came with its benefits, but also stifled her growth. With the hairpin piercing through the last of her inhibitions, Ebisu's magic turns her into a rampaging beast no longer weighed down by the duties and propriety of an aristocratic heir. By contrast, Natsuki has survived a much tougher life on the streets without any of Ebisu's advantages. When her smoke comes out, it envelops her in a thick layer of goo that shields her from all of life's slings and arrows. She's had enough of a difficult time, so her mind chooses something that negates those harms.

You can apply this logic to most, if not every character in Dorohedoro. En's mushrooms symbolize his tenacity, desire for longevity, and preoccupation with death. Shin's dismemberment powers reflect the trauma he withstood to gain them. Noi heals the people she cares about in order to protect them, which is the same reason she has the physique of a pro wrestler. Risu's Curse is the darkness of his soul made manifest, and that's made very clear in his rooftop confrontation with Aikawa. Risu, for the most part, is kind and easygoing, and he loves Aikawa deeply. That's why this suspicion of betrayal hurts so much and transforms him into a terrifying monster. It's the contrast.

Nikaido, too, is kind and cares about the people close to her, so she cannot abide when bad things happen to those same people. Time travel, therefore, is her mind's way of fixing those harms, even/especially the ones she causes. This motivation is a staple of time travel fiction, as are the consequences that spiral out of control, because in reality, we cannot change the past. Even if Nikaido learns how to perfectly harness her powers, she will not be able to repair everything. But she wants to, and that's her main character flaw.

We have to imagine where Devil transformations fit into this picture. If sorcery is people's way of tapping into inhuman powers to compensate for what they might lack (or believe they lack), then becoming a Devil is a far more extreme version of the same idea. Abandoning her humanity grants Haru a powerful protective shell (and Nikaido's training reminds us that the Devil Exam literally involves wearing a heavy set of armor). It's a freeing prospect, but at the same time, Haru shows us that this has limits as well. Despite being a carefree devil that no sorcerer would ever mess with, she figures out a way to step out of that costume and assume her human form, and she does so mainly to bond with Kasukabe, her husband. While we could interpret this as another Devilish whim, I think it's her way of retaining a sliver of vulnerability, because that vulnerability is what enables love in the first place. Again, it's an interesting dichotomy.

Back to the plot, this episode arranges the pieces for another chaotic confrontation at En's place, except this time, En will be participating as a hollowed-out skull. I wouldn't worry. Dorohedoro characters have bounced back from worse. I also admire Q Hayashida's ability and moxie when it comes to juggling all of these characters and storylines. While you can never safely guess where the narrative will take you, it tends to be easy to keep up with. Here, the Cross-Eyes will be playing defense. En's cronies will be trying to extract his Devil tumor from Kai's head. Risu wants proof that Aikawa betrayed him. Aikawa will probably follow him. And Nikaido disguises herself as a Cross-Eye alongside Asu to sneak in and find that book. Clearly, nobody is going to have a good time.

On a final note, in a world filled with all kinds of magic and sorcery, there are any number of ways that Hayashida could have disguised Nikaido and Asu for this arc. We've seen a bunch of them already! Instead, she invents a heretofore-unseen machine that showers its nude customers in smoke like a sterilization chamber. She did not need to do that, but it looks cool, and it allows Hayashida another opportunity to draw Nikaido sans clothing. As a bonus, we then get to ogle an apparently male Nikaido, who is just as nude and posed Terminator-style on the floor. That's why we love her.

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