Dorohedoro Season 2

Episode 11

First things first—or last things first, rather—I do not believe they could have picked a crueller spot for the season's cliffhanger. Dorohedoro can rip your heart out when it wants to, and it will be sure to grab a mittful of your entrails while it's in there. Mercifully, the immediate announcement of the third season soothes some of that pain, and that also makes me optimistic we won't have to wait another six years for it. To me, this signals the producers' intent to finish the adaptation. We've just wrapped up the 13th volume of 23, but chapter-wise we're about halfway through the story. And if you're going to make a third season, you might as well finish the job with the fourth. My fingers are crossed.

Regardless, as far as season finales go, this one is low-key (when weighed against Dorohedoro's admittedly wonky scale). It's a good showcase of what the series and this adaptation do well. The Cross-Eye flunkies partake in endearing family time, as most of them praise Natsuki's newfound magic while Dokuga and Tetsujo formulate a plan to protect her. Their current home base draws our attention to the fact that there's probably more camaraderie between the Cross-Eyes than there ever was between En's whole posse. Shin and Noi form an unbreakable pair, as do Fujita and Ebisu, but there's a lot more animosity spread across the mansion's former denizens. The ironic part is that En seemed to care (in his own weird way) about all of his underlings, while Kai closes the episode proving the precise opposite.

The world of Dorohedoro also keeps getting bigger and stranger. Nikaido's and Asu's transformations provide a window into industrialized sex-change magic, because of course that exists—but I guess I already gave the game away when I revealed that Turkey is trans. Asu actually goes into a little more detail in the manga, as he explains that he mixed the smoke in such a way that it will only last four hours, implying that it could last longer or shorter depending on the application. I'm glad sorcerers have an easy way to explore their identity (but HRT is great too for those of us stuck in the Hole). And I'll say it: boy Nikaido is cute. Q Hayashida has the vision, and she will always have the vision.

The episode's action centerpiece is strong, supported by the eerie aquarium vibes and the monstrous jellyfish in the background. Nikaido versus Tetsujo is a short and sweet exhibition of swordplay against martial arts, with creative maneuvering from both parties. And with the caveat that I don't know what I'm talking about, I've really liked all of the fight choreography and direction this season. The action is easy to follow, the pacing is dynamic, and it blends the foley work and animation to give the impacts that extra oomph. Dokuga's part of the fight also feels distinct from Tetsujo's, with Nikaido switching up her style to accommodate. And Curse's reentrance and brief scrap against Natsuki are suffused with spookiness appropriate for his Reaper-like appearance. Speaking as a longtime fan of the manga, I had hoped Dorohedoro's translation into anime would preserve the momentum and mood of Hayashida's drawings, so I'm glad it's been delivering.

But this is Dorohedoro, and for every no-nonsense fight, there are a dozen goofy moments and bits of minutiae. Heck, even Dokuga's part of the fight comes to a painfully slapstick conclusion with blood spurting out of his head like he's a cartoon character who got hit with an anvil. A statue's tongue turns out to be the key to a secret treasure room. We see plenty of more evidence that En was a sap for chintzy memorabilia. Aikawa and Nikaido flirt yet again, and their encounter ends with the genuinely touching moment of Aikawa leaving one of his partners in the care of another partner. Nikaido doesn't understand everything that's going on, but she trusts Aikawa all the same. She just wants to have gyoza with her friend again, no matter who he might “truly” be.

Sadly, that gyoza date will have to wait. The season climax arrives with the revelation that Kai and Aikawa share the same body. Now, there were plenty of clues that hinted towards this: their identical appearances, Kai disappearing when Aikawa was around, and Aikawa's many cryptic nightmares about blood, sludge, and headless figures. But I'd be surprised if many anime-only viewers guessed the exact nature of their connection, or the mechanism through which it occurs. Which is to say, this part of the manga knocked my socks off. It's not that it was surprising. It's that it was so extreme, visceral, and violent. The adaptation, for its part, goes above and beyond dredging up the grossest squelching sounds it can as Kai's head forcibly ejects Aikawa's spinal column and entrails out of his body. I'm almost gagging just writing about it. That's how you know it's good. Q Hayashida is a bona fide freak, and that is yet another reason why I love her dearly.

Unfortunately, the body horror of Kai's reemergence pales in comparison to the sadness of Natsuki's end. Natsuki, ever the perfect cinnamon roll too good for this world, is so excited for her bogus solo mission, and she's so unlucky to be in the exact wrong place at the exact wrong time. Kai frames his desire as sexual and possessive, but as is often the case, this is a front for violent possessiveness. Hayashida, notably, doesn't cross a line here. The camera doesn't leer in an exploitative way. It just feels gross to see Natsuki's good intentions crash against Kai's heartless megalomania. If there was ever any doubt about his intentions, it's gone now.

In conclusion, what a bummer way to conclude the season. But it's good, because I'm already looking forward to the next. There's plenty of Doroheodoro left to devour, and we're nowhere near putting the finishing touches on its exquisite corpse.

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Sylvia is on Bluesky for all of your posting needs. She loves Hole. You can also catch her chatting about trash and treasure alike on This Week in Anime.