Hole—a dark, decrepit, and disorderly district where the strong prey on the weak and death is an ordinary occurrence—is all but befitting of the name given to it. A realm separated from law and ethics, it is a testing ground to the magic users who dominate it. As a race occupying the highest rungs of their society, the magic users think of the denizens of Hole as no more than insects. Murdered, mutilated, and made experiments without a second thought, the powerless Hole dwellers litter the halls of Hole's hospital on a daily basis.
Possessing free access to and from the cesspool, and with little challenge to their authority, the magic users appear indomitable to most—aside for a few. Caiman, more reptile than man, is one such individual. He hunts them on a heedless quest for answers with only a trusted pair of bayonets and his immunity to magic. Cursed by his appearance and tormented by nightmares, magic users are his only clue to restoring his life to normal. With his biggest obstacle being his stomach, his female companion Nikaidou, who runs the restaurant Hungry Bug, is his greatest ally.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Draculoid
SHOCKING! Despite early concerns of a crappy CGI adaptation of Q Hayashida’s legendary comic, we’ve been blessed with a fantastic adaptation full of heart and passion from the staff involved. If you can wrap your head around the at-times dizzying pace and make peace with the (quite well done in my opinion) CGI main character models, you’re in for chaotic, bloody and quirky trip through the gloriously dingy Hole and a devilishly fantastical world of Sorcerers. This is a series that oozes with style and original ideas, that feels as if Shin himself is taking a hammer to the templeof the current anime landscape. It’s got grit, it’s got heart and it’s got some dang beautiful art. If you’re willing to indulge me in a rather lengthy and extensive review of this fantastic new series by studio Mappa, please read ahead!
Dorohedoro, based on the manga penned by Q Hayashida, for years has constantly been hailed as an example of “a manga that could never be adapted into an anime” in numerous lists/articles and threads online. Her sketchy, densely detailed art style has been compared to manga like Tsutomu Nihei’s Blame! and while less refined than works like Kentaro Miura’s Berserk, falls into a similar category of manga so detailed, some feel it would be impossible to accurately portray frame for frame in animation. Interestingly, both of these properties have received anime adaptations, In Berserks case multiple. Disregarding the Berserk 1997 anime series, both Berserk and Blame’s more recent anime outings were made possible through the use of CGI character models...to varying degrees of success. So why am I going into this long winded break down of two completely different anime in a Dorohedoro review? Well, I think it’s obvious what everyone’s “hot takes” and opinions on this series are inevitably going to bring up the CGI models for the main characters, so I might as well get it out of the way at the top and bring up some cases for you to think about and compare.
There will be people who will go on and on about their disdain for CGI use in anime and that if a show uses it, it’s automatically terrible, makes their eyes bleed and is sending the industry backwards. So, a quick question and answer
Would I have preferred if the main character models were 2D? Yes certainly, of course.
How do the CGI models stack up to other series using them? Definitely above average, and their skill using the CG tools drastically improves as the series progresses. I only might put the CG work below something like an Orange production like Beastars or Houseki no Kuni, but those series benefit from having some entire shots and environments rendered in CG, allowing things to blend more easily. Dorohedoro on the other hand does a great job of blending the CG models with beautiful 2D art and backgrounds on a level I haven’t seen in a Tv anime, and only improves as the series continues.
Last question...Am I happy to get to enjoy an adaptation of the manga that has this level of passion and dedication to the direction, music, sound and art regardless of the sometimes iffy CGI models? ABSOLUTELY! I understand the hate and vitriol aimed at works using CGI, but it’s annoying and disheartening to see so many people completely shut down at the sight of it and make no attempt to judge a work on its other merits or actual use of the CGI. Besides that, I’m just honestly thankful to be able to see a manga I truly love come to life in an actually well executed and competent adaptation and have others be able to learn about and enjoy it.
So, now that THAT’s out of the way (at least for now) let’s get into what makes this series special in its story and characters, and what has been most noticeable as far as the production is concerned.
This story stands out for a lot of reasons and isn’t something I think most anime viewers are used to seeing. This is achieved through a bizarre yet strangely straight forward set-up, set in a very detailed and intriguing world constantly doling out more information. The basic premise is this, ‘A man has had his head turned into a lizard head by a magic user, he wants to find out who did it with the help of his friend.’ Bizarre enough as it stands but how does this man and his friend hope to solve their conundrum? Well, after detaining a potential culprit, he bites down on their head. They then enter a sort of parallel world where they meet another man inside of his head who tells them “you’re not the one”. Once our protagonist asks what the man inside his head says and gets his answer, they precede to mercilessly kill them, usually by slashing them to pieces. This is the opening scene of the show, and perfectly encapsulates what Dorohedoro is all about, both in the types of scenarios and violence to be encountered and also the very carefree attitude at which characters in this series meet these situations.
This is Dorohedoro’s tone, and it’s one of its greatest strength. While many anime series that use this level of violence and gore would simply come off as edgy and shocking for the sake of it, the creativity in the violence the author paints and the lackadaisical attitude most characters take to it pushes Dorohedoro into a sort of campy and fun dark comedy, while also remaining genuinely disturbing. If I could describe Dorohedoro in two words, it would probably be joyfully sinister. The characters constantly joke around and banter with each other, they love talking about eating food (mainly gyoza for Kaiman, our protagonist) and drinking beer, this applies even more so to the “antagonists” of the series. On the flip side they also love slashing people to bits, bashing heads in and murdering others in very graphic and morbid ways, but this also applies to our protagonists! It makes for some very interesting characters that you still root for because it isn’t that they’re “evil people” necessarily. It’s that everyone in this brutal and metal-as-hell world (well two worlds actually) just lives by the status quo which happens to completely revolve around the authors love and celebration of all things horror. These violent yet joyful characters are at the heart of what makes Dorohedoro so enjoyable. All of their designs are distinct and striking with many often wearing creative and freaky masks. Dorohedoro also features a bevy of well realized females, not only in their characterization but also in their more varied than body types than we see to be the norm of most anime.
For a little bit more of an elaboration on the “two worlds” comment and general trajectory of the story, Dorohedoro is mainly concerned with two major groups of characters that resides in said worlds. The world of Hole is a “shit hole” comprised of unfortunate citizens who’ve drawn the short straw in life. It’s a kind of urban/industrial post-apocalyptic setting, filled with an endless number of ruined buildings and factories. Here, people are constantly struggling to get by and also to survive attacks from denizens of the other world...the World of Magic Users. The World of Magic Users is where people who have the ability to produce magical black smoke live. This world is considerably more vibrant and the magic users tend to have it quite a bit better off. This smoke power they use can have any number of interesting effects and properties but many of them transform the target into something. Magic users can also produce doors with their magic that lead to Hole and many of them use these doors to experiment on and torment the citizens of Hole. The first of two groups the bulk of our story revolves around are the previously mentioned Kaiman (who had his head turned into a lizard by a magic user) his best friend Nikaido and a rag tag group of Hole dwellers. They are hunting magic users to find the one who changed Kaiman’s head and quickly find themselves caught up in the business of the second group, the most powerful magic user En and his family of hitmen. From then on, all sorts of chaos and shenanigans ensue. While the story can certainly move at a fast clip at times I also love its ability to slow down and meander at others, building up and showing us various aspects of Hole and The Magic Users World as well as taking time to show us more intimate moments with both the sets of characters. This balance of both forward momentum and relaxed character development and world building is something I think many people find a very endearing aspect of the show.
Compared to the manga, however, while we do have a lot of fun and relaxed moments with characters...some character development and world building is sacrificed in favor of a faster pace, something I have to grin and bear as a viewer but obviously something I DO have to bring up and hold against the adaptation. This first season received a 12 episode run and it seemed obvious heading into the last half/third in and around where they were planning on ending the season. Working on a time constraint and not knowing for sure if you will received a second season unless sales are good certainly leads a director to create what they feel is the most appealing version of a story they can fit into the time they have been granted. As a viewer who has read the manga, I’m left simply thinking to myself as I watch “oh, they made this a bit harder to understand” or “ah they skipped this line of dialogue”. While some of these things might go completely unnoticed by a newcomer, some certainly stood out as odd directorial decisions and some were more egregious cuts we could all agree the show would benefit from having in. An example I can think of for the former was when a certain character is visited in jail. When he explains why he is being sentenced to death he says it was because he was selling Devil Manjuu and is called an idiot. Unfortunately, unlike the manga we are giving no way of understanding why this would be considered a crime and only given a “Devil Manjuu can get you killed” from the “What we learned”. An example of the latter would be during the baseball episode, where Fujita and Ebisu share a moment alone. In this scene Fujita saying how no one cares about his plight of avenging Matsumura, breaking down in tears. We are then shown a somber looking Ebisu looking up at him telling him that she cares. It’s a small scene, but an important one that does a lot for Ebisu’s character (as she’s almost entirely used as comic relief) and also for her and Fujita’s relationship leading up to an arc that begins next episode. Besides cut content, the anime moves at a blistering pace that puts the already fast paced manga to shame. This was something I noticed brought up numerous times in discussions on the series as it aired, and while I can’t necessarily attest to it making the show harder to comprehend, you do have to pay quite a bit of attention to gather all of the information thus far and put it together in your head. Compared to the more relaxed paced manga you can read and flip at your own leisure, with more accompanying notes and explanations to reiterate things already explained in the chapters/volume (the anime does this somewhat with the “what did we learn segments at the end of each episode) It definitely can be difficult to digest at times.
When talking about how it would be near impossible to adapt the extremely detailed art style of Q Hayashida, that might have been true if we were talking about your average anime production and staff. This is where Shinji Kimura comes in as Art Director and we all gasp and say, “Well ... I guess it would be unadaptable WITHOUT someone like him”. There is so much gorgeous background art in this series it could make your head spin, and Kimura san is definitely who we have to thank and who has really put his heart into this project. If you are unaware of who he is, he drew background art for Akira, My Neighbor Totoro, Angel’s Egg, Blood Blockade Battlefront, Tekkonkinkreet and many, many others. He’s one of the best background artist/at directors in the business and has now blessed us by working on Dorohedoro and allowing the shows artistic merits as a whole to totally outweigh the questionable CGI main character models. Whether it’s portraying the ruined cityscapes, dingy alleyways and smog billowing industrial shots or the extremely colourful take on the World of Sorcerers with its crazily detailed gothic architecture, you’re in for wallpaper worthy background shot after wallpaper worthy background shot. Reverence to the creator and many inspirations to the original work can be found hidden throughout various shots and again shows that not only do the staff respect the work, but also that they aree having fun fitting these Easter eggs into the show. Many shots will feature “9”s painted on the walls (a reference to the author, Q Hayashida). A shopping trip reveals Ebisu looking at the original Dorohedoro OST and even reading off track names. Another quick shot during a baseball game features some figures strung up that look suspiciously like a 90s metal band Hayashida references numerous times throughout her series. It’s these sorts of nods that tip this series over-the-top in terms of fan service, creating original shots and scenarios not even seen in the manga that will have any Doroheads head spinning.
You may also be wondering why I keep specifying “main character models” and that’s because there is still also a ton of 2D character art and animation throughout the series. If a character is only appearing in an episode or two they tend to be animated completely in 2D including Asu, Chidamura, Asuka and all of the various 1 off characters. Additionally, flashback scenes which feature characters in different costumes or a slightly different appearance are animated entirely in 2D such as flashbacks of Shin, Noi and En which sometimes take half an episode. Point being, for all the moaning about CG in this series, there is actually a SHOCKING! amount of great 2D material as well, even outside the backgrounds.
In addition Yuichiro Hayashi’s directing does a great job of adapting the original work and many of its more surreal moments that I assumed would be difficult to pull off (such as Kaimans memories or inside his mouth). His shot composition, use of 3D space and even first person perspective shots give the show a very lively feel and show he’s really not half-assing it. A major worry going into this series was if Hayashi would be able to maintain the level of graphic violence and gore the manga is known for and he gets away with a surprising amount. While it’s obviously not on the same level as the comic, he does a commendable job to the point I don’t really see a need for any uncensoring or scene changes come the blu-ray (besides an oddly blacked out brain in episode 2). Between Hayashi’s directing, Kimura’s art and Nomoto’s CGI directing (more on that next paragraph) the series really comes to life and shows what a passionate staff can accomplish, making almost every frame a quality one and every shot competently rendered.
While the choice of CGI models for the main characters is certainly mystifying and a knock against the show I certainly can’t ignore (I mean, I went into pretty great detail off the top of the review) allow me to elaborate a bit further here. Firstly, coming off my extreme praise of the background and 2D art, they certainly clash with them (sometimes more so than others) but they put in a commendable effort to draw over them and try to blend them into the environment. Kaiman in particular is a bit problematic for me, as the sameness in colour of his lizard face definitely makes him look less rugged and gritty than the manga and a little too smooth. I also felt the flap of his mouth when talking really stood out due to the CG (not that I exactly know how they could do it better). On the flip side other shots look surprisingly well good and really stand out as examples of CGI models that have then been coloured over and almost tricked me into thinking I was watching 2D animation. A particular scene of Noi removing her outfit/mask really stood out as some great CG work. They obviously use these CGI models during many of the action scene which can be a bit of a mixed bag. Kaiman’s and Nikaido’s detaining of Ebisu and Kaiman’s short encounter with Shin, for example, seem especially fluid and the camera work is quite good. On the other hand, while passable, scenes like Nikaido’s fight with Noi seem more janky and the use of slow-mo used to convey a “dynamic feeling” not easily conveyed compared to 2D animation sometimes works against it. It’s a mixed bag, but one where I genuinely feel the staff improved their technique with using the models as the series progressed. Just compare that Noi and Nikaido fight with Kaiman and Nikaido's fight in episode 12, it's like night and day! Another less action focused example is a close of shot of Shin’s face in episode 11, leaning in to give an intimidating look to Haze. The way the CGI modeler uses shadow in this shot combined with his vivid and changing facial expression showed a level of skill with the CG tools to create a level of menace not seen earlier in the series. While I don’t want this to come off as some kind of Stockholm syndrome, I actually really started to feel as though the models worked quite well and became accustomed to them fusing with the “style” of the series. While the CGI models are definitely one of the weaker aspects of the series, I can’t help but emphasize one last time how commendable a job the staff working on integrating them into the environments and aesthetic of the show did and how the fact that said environments and aesthetic are so stunning, it sort of “cover-ups” some of the weaker artistic aspects.
While we’re still fairly early in the story and the characters haven’t necessarily had to perform a large breadth of acting quite yet, they’ve all done a commendable job thus far. Wataru Takagi as lovable dopy/whiny Kaiman has been great (I especially loved his girly voice as Pie-man) and relative newcomer Reina Konda has done well realizing the lovable Nikaido. Episode 12 was likely their greatest challenge from an emotional standpoint and they did a great job pulling off their tender scenes together. Some other stand outs are the boisterous Noi, performed by Yu Kobayashi and the always hilarious and ridiculous Ebisu performed by Miyu Tomita. From reading the manga I think Kaiman and Ebisu were two characters that people were going to be watching if they got right and I believe they’ve nailed both. Besides them, En is his stern and powerful self, Shin is wild and intimidating. One character who I imagined a bit different in my head is Chota. While his voice is growing on me I always imagined him coming off a bit more aggressive and yelling more. It will take further story progression and events to see how well these actors perform more serious and emotionally charged scenes, but only time will tell. For now they’ve all been performing their characters to great effect.
Finally I’ll briefly touch on the music which is....what do you know.... also great! The manga of Dorohedoro actually had a companion OST commissioned by Hayashida, featuring various artists from six different countries. It’s very dark, industrial and grungy, and the perfect fit for Dorohedoro. The TV animes soundtrack doesn’t use these tracks, but almost all of the songs on that OST seem to be emulated in some shape or form in th TV anime OST. Standouts include the Drum and Bass tracks similar in style to VOODOOMs track from the manga OST and a song extremely reminiscent of Candie Hank’s Zombie Slushie that plays during an action sequence when Chidamura is introduced. Others like the horrifying track that plays when entering Kaiman’s mouth and confronting the man inside with terrifying screeches and squeals was a particular stand out along with the awesome call out to the song Transformations (Im sorry my ability to critique music isn’t great so I’ll save you me trying to make up words to describe them). The lighter tracks that play during the more comedic moments with En and the family perfectly encapsulate the goofy carefree vibe of the room and seemed like the most original to the Tv anime, not reminding me of anything off of the manga OST but still working as great additions. On top of the OST, the opening and multiple ending tracks are all great, and the accompanying animation for the OP of Nikaido cooking gyoza as opposed to your usual anime opening of character shots and story scenes is very refreshing. It shows the staff knows how to convey the unique vibe of the series as well as how important gyoza are to our main duo! They even manage to squeeze in a little anime original Jonson backstory which is a cute and welcome touch. The fact we received a new ending song and animation almost every 2 episodes was an unexpected and welcome treat. While some were weaker than others (such as Seconds Fly) the variety and fact we had a nice surprise to look forward to every 2 weeks was great.
All in all, Dorohedoro is about as enjoyable an adaptation anyone could have asked for. When the anime project was initially reveal, I think almost all fans tightened up with a fear of what was to come. When the early PVs were showcased revealing the CGI models for the main characters, many were disappointed, but at the same time, most expected as much. For those being attentive to the PVs however, they likely noticed the beautiful art and 2D animation and were then holding their breath in hope that the project didn’t drop the ball. I think with the shows release, all but the most cynical fans and 2D-animation-only purists were pleasantly surprised with the product we ended up receiving. Hayashida’s world is so unique in its rich lore, character and setting and the staff involved have given the tender loving care to take this “unadaptable manga series” and given a *GASP* commendable and well realized adaptation complete with actually well realized and ever improving CGI. Now, if you’re a fan, let’s try to support this series the best we can and get more seasons!! So......
What did we learn this time??
1. Don’t always base a book by it’s cover! When done right, you can actually become accustomed to even liberal uses of CGI.
2. Shinji Kimura is a godly artist.
3. Dorohedoro has single handedly reinvigorated my passion for anime and of buying tons of merch.
What will we from season 2? That is still a mystery
That is...
DOROHEDORO
Mad_King_Aerys
Dorohedoro is a one of a kind show and is perfect for people that want a gritty (and very violent) anime. I first got into anime watching the older, more unconventional anime and recently the trend has been towards more toned down anime. Which is expected as anime has really expanded its viewer-base. However, Dorohedoro is a throwback to the old days of more unconventional anime while still bringing a totally unique and engaging story to the table. I cannot stress enough just how unique this show is and it does it in a way that is totally earned. Nothing about this show is cheap.Story 10/10
So this adaptation only covers part of the manga and so far the story has been engaging, unpredictable, totally crazy and entertaining. You cannot ask for more. The best thing is, as somebody that has read the manga, it will only get better.
Art 9/10
The CGI is hardly noticeable and the backgrounds are phenomenal. I repeat the backgrounds are phenomenal and really establish the atmosphere of the world of Dorohedoro. The only (very minor) issue is that the CGI takes a bit of getting used to simply because it is not standard in anime.
Sound 10/10
The voice actors are all brilliant in acting out the larger than life characters they portray. The music is great. The OP and EDs (of which there are SIX!!!, with a twist on one of them) are great. Overall they knocked it out the park in this department.
Characters 10/10
Along with the story, the characters are the best part of Dorohedoro. There is no character that can be pigeon holed. There is no clear distinction between the good guys or the bad guys. The characters themselves have great dynamics and every character, including minor characters, brings something to the show. Along with the story, the best thing about Dorohedoro.
enjoyment 10/10 and overall 10/10
This is a one of a kind show that everybody should watch as soon as they get the chance. It truly deserves a sequel to cap off a brilliant first season.
Isvi_Berserk
-Note: English is not my native language, I apologize for possible mistakes. (This review does not contain spoilers) The world of Dorohedoro is one of the rarest and most original I have ever seen, it's violent, dark, confusing, with many strange things in it, without falling into the typical. All accompanied by a surreal and unpolished artistic style that gives you the feeling of being dirty and visceral, using elements such as magic, demons, curses, accompanied by comedy and dark humor, all with a steampunk aesthetic and that some might define like gothic-cyberpunk. The concern of many fans to know that the manga would receive an adaptation,was if the studio in charge could do a good job trying to adapt Dorohedoro's style, setting of the manga, possible censorship and in general to catch the atmosphere of the manga.
Luckily for everyone, MAPPA has managed to bring the atmosphere of the manga, with a very good direction that is perfect, achieving an authentic madness along with a rhythm that feels fast and being faithful almost completely with the story and a scenario very well accomplished. Clearly it's not the same, since adapting the previously mentioned artistic style of Dorohedoro is a very difficult task, in addition the 3D animation or CGI is deficient in many moments, sometimes it manages to integrate very well into the scene and others not so much, but in general this happens unnoticed and it turns out to be a very decent CGI, which manages to look good in most of the moments.
Background art is one of the first things you can highlight, it captures that surreal atmosphere very well. On the sound/OST side the opening and the endings are incredible (moved, fun and colorful) The series has many Eds that change every 2-3 episodes, which seems incredible to me, each one of them turned out to be fun and very good.
The characters are the best thing of the show, each with their own goals or motives that move them: tough, strong, each different and all have an incredible charisma. The best thing about Dorohedoro is that there are no good or bad, there are no villains or heroes, rather they are groups with different objectives that end up crossing each other, it's not a black or white world, everything is gray. It's a gray world full of chaos and strange things everywhere, the two groups of protagonists (group of En and Kaiman) are interesting and with excellent chemistry, in the end you do not know who to support.
In conclusion, Dorohedoro is a bizarre and fun, super nice from start to finish with a plot of mystery and madness that makes you ask at all times "What the hell is going on?" along with a cast of wonderful and super nice characters that drive the story at all times.
Art and history manage to stay as faithful as possible to the original material. The series cut a few non-relevant things, but overall it did an acceptable job animating each page, the animation probably would have been much better if they had kept a full 2D animation, although the CGI fails at times, the emotion is similar to the manga created by Q Hayashida, so I think there is a lot of merit in this adaptation that, despite not being perfect, there is no denying the amount of effort and respect for the source material.
I hope MAPPA confirms a new season and can manage adapt the whole story, they done a great job bringing this world to anime.
History: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Characters: 9/10
Art: 8/10
Enjoyment: 9/10
Overall: 8.5 / 10
Dorohedoro may not be for everyone as it's a somewhat simple, grotesque, confusing and violent story, but it's a fun story that I could easily recommend to anyone who enjoys the anime world.
almeidaalajoel
Eh. This anime wasn't actually bad, but I really didn't enjoy it at all. Objectively, the story was OK, animation was solid, and overall universe was kind of neat. However, a couple of glaring issues combined with personal taste made it hard to finish for me. My main problem was the complete lack of any consequences for anything in the show. Someone dies or is on the edge of death? Doesn't matter, Noi or Kikurage will just heal/resurrect them. Literally, probably half or more of the main characters at some point die or are mortally wounded, only to be instantly fine within minutes. Why evenbother?
Another issue I had was the characters. Who is Nikaido? Well, she makes good gyoza and she likes Caiman, I guess. Also she can skateboard. But she has no personality of her own. Caiman is better, he's funny at times. I really hated Noi and Shin, mostly because they're just OP and constantly should die but never do because plot armor.
Lastly, what has changed by the end of season one? We're basically no closer to knowing anything about caiman other than the whole mushroom exposition video and Risu. But we're basically back to square one - Caiman and Nikaido are hanging out again, no one important died, and the En group is after them.
I don't really like the whole surreal dystopia genre with people just dying left and right, especially when the main characters are all plot immune to said danger. So that probably colored my enjoyment. I could see liking this show, it was fairly decently done (I even recommended it to a friend of mine who I think tends to like this genre) but for me it wasn't good.
2life
Dorohedoro is an awesome story. A great anime which I effortlessly binged in two days. A story and world so captivating it kept me hooked till the last minute. This is a ruthless story about lighthearted revenge, identity and friendship. ∞∞∞ Art ∞∞∞ The op is totally on crack. Just watching the op is enough to get high, the dynamic color palette, the absolute crazy cooking scene, they are itch a certain vibe within me. It really feels like the animators wanted to challenge themselves and tried to capture the creativity into those 90 seconds. Dorohedoro is an anime which is mostly made by CG. This put meoff at first glance, but I’m glad I still stayed, because the CG isn’t bad at all. It just took me a few episodes to get used to the style. The best thing is that the CG doesn’t feel alienated from the drawn background, and that is important in anime immersion.
The level of detail and colors used is also done splendid. The story taking place in a hole, it is in general all gray and muddy. However the background kept it interesting to keep watching. The opposite of the gloomy hole is the sorcerer world and is painted as a happier place with vibrant colors and attractive costumes. The art is really good tailored with the story and personalities.
I would say that some gore isn’t for all people out here. It can get creepy and bloody sometimes, but it isn’t overdone. Personally I liked the amount of action and sometimes I went “ouch, that must have hurt”. A job well done for this kind of CG.
∞∞∞ Sound ∞∞∞
The op and ed songs are so good. I sometimes listen to them because they are catchy and funky, setting the right tone for the madness of Dorohedoro. The soundtrack gives off the right vibe, making your journey trough the story pleasant and lively.
My only complaint is the voice acting of Caiman. Sometimes he sounds like a man and other times like a man kicked in his nuts. I guess that is part of his personality. The other characters are also done very well and convincing. Their VA sounds a bit more relaxed and low-energy in contrast to Caiman and that makes them a bit more pleasant to listen to.
∞∞∞ Characters ∞∞∞
The characters are what makes me absolutely adore this show. They are painted as people who are trying to survive and live. And honestly for a comedy like show this feels like a breather without all those cliché personalities. The main character isn’t a saint, the antagonist isn’t “just” a bad guy and that makes it so watchable. The side character gets enough time to show they aren’t hollow either but they don’t steal the light of the mc. Ive got to say that Ebisu is so lovely and if I would be a sorcerer, I want to be her partner. Im glad that the character design isn’t unrealistic. Strong characters means muscles, thus adding some brickness to the waifus.
Caiman is first presented as a victim in the start of the anime, which he “unfortunately” is. But soon we learn that he isn’t victim like at all. While he struggles with his identity he isn’t put off by it. We got a strong character which presented himself badass, thus slaughtering all that is and isn’t in his way.
En, the mafia boss, is absolute kick-ass. He loves mushrooms and loves to eat his opponents. He is a feared name in the magic world and for good reason. Not because of plot armor, but because he is not only strong and charming, he is almost a main character on itself. What Dorohedoro did right is not to make him edgy or cliché like. Caiman is his is obstacle and he is an obstacle for Caiman. It was so interesting to see how they dealt with each other.
∞∞∞ Story ∞∞∞
The story is another one of its strong suits. While we know that Caiman is on some sort of quest he isn’t to fixated on it. It comes like a natural flow of events. We get to see him in action and other times we get to see a bit of his thoughts. What is done really well is that I’m convinced that he lives IN a world with problems and tries to battle them. It feels like the world has more to offer and that there is more lore and things to discover with each new episode, like that all sorcerers wear masks. The anime conveniently explains the in and outs of the world without making Caiman look like an ignorant fool (something done in surprising many anime).
The way sorcerers work and their world is also done convincing. While not giving away all their information they show us bit by bit how that “other” world is built up from and how we slowly getting a perspective shift to En (the antagonist).
The story isn’t to serious and neither is Caiman. It feels really relaxed to watch this and since no episode ends in a cliff hanger or tries to climax, the story plays out like a calm river.
Another big plus is that there are no ass-pulls. Those are moves, which are convenient to present an easy plot. Dorohedoro took the hard road and showed us how brutal and powerful story telling really can be.
∞∞∞ Enjoyment ∞∞∞
I really enjoyed watching Dorohedoro. It is so funky and lively to watch making it easy to finish it in two days. If you love story rich anime with lots of crazy action packed characters and a touch of madness I highly recommend to watch this. If Dorohedoro is one thing I would call it unique.
gonejellyfishin
Read the manga instead. Japanese animation studios have recently become fascinated with using CG in their work flow. I have no idea why. It looks terrible. As a master once said: “Whoever creates this stuff has no idea what pain is whatsoever. I am utterly disgusted. If you really want to make creepy stuff, you can go ahead and do it. I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all. I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself.” "I Believe the Tool of an Animator Is the Pencil" - Hayao Miyazaki I find it offensive particularly because the art in the mangais so good. There's a few exceptions like the background art is fantastically recreated (by Shinji Kimura who also worked on the art direction of Akira, Steamboy and Angel's Egg) and the VAs do a good job, but otherwise, Q Hayashida's talent is not translated faithfully.
Snapshot426
Out of all of the shows that aired this season, there was none that managed to make me go “what the f**k am I watching” quite like Dorohedoro. Trying to make sense of this show has been a challenge as it’s not like it is a show where there is a mystery to make sense of. Instead, it’s trying to make sense of the tone and atmosphere that this show is showcasing to us. In simple terms, this show is very unconventional and surreal. But despite that, what we have here is without a doubt one of the most entertaining anime this season. Why? WellI’ll tell you.
Sit back relax and bite on someone head to see if they are the one for you as I present to you the anime review for Dorohedoro. Let’s begin.
Story: 9/10
Hole. A dark and decrepit place where death is a common occurrence. It’s a testing ground for magic users to use their magic on the citizens of Hole. Merely playthings to them. However, one person is immune to magic which is our main protagonist Caiman. He is searching, encountering and killing every magic user in his way to find the magic user that turned his head into that of a lizard. Along with his friend Nikaido, they search for the that magic user; hoping to return Caiman back to normal.
For an anime as bizarre as this, the plot plays it pretty safe and straightforward. There aren’t any complicated plot threads or mysteries, it’s a simple revenge story. It honestly plays perfectly to the bizarre nature of Dorohedoro because with how the show is presented, a more complicated plot would only confuse the viewer because of the weird tone clashing with the complicated plot. It wouldn’t gel well so a much simpler plot allows us to get to grips with the tone and world much better with an easy to understand plot.
Speaking of the tone, it’s a unique blend of horror, action and comedy with a touch of fantasy to it. Now normally, such a blend would leave a total mess in tone. But somehow, Dorohedoro makes it work because if there is one thing that covers the entire show, is that it never takes itself too seriously. That I think makes it work because it would have been jarring and confusing otherwise if it took itself seriously. Dorohedoro is having fun front and foremost. It’s having fun with its gruesome kills, the banter between our characters and the world that our characters are in. Speaking of which, the world that Caiman lives and the wolrd that magic users live is very interesting. You can tell how bad things have gotten since the magic user’s arrival with how Hole has accepted it and how the magic user’s world looks and operates. It’s all genuinely fascinating and how both worlds are portrayed as polar opposites. But I do have one small gripe with this show and that the pacing is rather janky. Now it ain’t all bad as the majority of the show’s pacing is really good and the episode goes along smoothly. But sometimes the pacing can just feel off at times and it feels like we are speeding up to get from one place to the next. It wasn’t to the point of annoyance but it was noticeable when it happened.
Now, this all one thing, but the glue that holds this show’s plot and world together is without a doubt, it’s characters.
Characters: 10/10
So yeah, I love every character in this series. They all have a personality that makes them charming despite their murderous tendencies. Each of their personalities are easily distinct from one another. Whether it be Caiman’s loud voice and how he gets easily excited or Shin’s real lack of f**ks given, it works well with the shows quirkiness to help define each character and what makes them so enjoyable. Like, I didn’t expect En, the show’s main “antagonist,” to have a personality that differs from the type of character this show initially presents. Even Johnson, who is literally a giant, bipedal cockroach who only says one word, “Shocking!” has a personality that makes him unique from the rest of the cast. Of course, that’s even if you consider En to be an antagonist because there is no good guy in Dorohedoro, just lesser evils. Despite the people of Hole and the World of Sorcerers are generally trying to live in a nice society, they would love nothing but to cut each other up into pieces if you p*ss them off. So the show does a nice balancing act of making the cast likeable without hiding their murderous intentions.
But that is just one element that makes them enjoyable, the other is their chemistry. Having great personalities and charm is one thing, but if they can’t either clash or mesh together, then it has an empty ring to it. Dorohedoro does both very well. Whether it would be the chemistry between Caiman and Nikaido or Shin and Noi, their interactions with one another help make the show’s best moments more vibrant as their personality's mix well together to make for some intense moments, or some very funny banter between one another. It helps make the show’s entire cast more enjoyable, and it easily makes its characters the highlight of the show.
Animation: 9/10
I was coming off Beastars when I started watching this show, so the cgi was difficult to get used to but I got used to it after two episodes and I can say it does look good. Sure, it’s not studio Orange level of quality cgi, but it still looks much better than the majority of shows that use cgi animation. This is because the characters are still expressive and they have a gritty detail to their designs, matching the grittiness of the show’s world. In fact, the character designs just look great in general as they have plenty of features that make them unique. The magic users especially do with their masks but also how they look in general. They are easily recognisable.
But what sold the animation for me was the background art. It looks f***ing gorgeous. Whether it would be Hole or the World of Sorcerers, the world just looks great with plenty of detail and finesse to it to really make the world of Dorohedoro gritty, dark and something that looks interesting to explore. It really does help set the stage of the world of Dorohedoro. Whether it would be in Hole or the World of Sorcerers, it really seals the deal that the animation in Dorohedoro is much better than I was expecting, even with the cgi animation.
Sound: 9.5/10
It’s fair to say the ost of this series always seemed to match the tone of the scene. Whether it would be a more comedic scene or a more horror themed scene, there is an ost that perfectly matches the show. I would say though that the horror part of the ost was more memorable due to the heavy metal vibe really matching the tone of the world, especially with Hole. That’s not to say the comedic side of the ost isn’t forgettable because it certainly is not and it matches well with some of shows more comedic moments.
But the sound section wouldn’t be complete for me without what is probably my favourite opening this season, "Welcome to Chaos" by (K) NoW_NAME, because this has to be what it feels like to be on psychedelic drugs. But it’s not only that, it is also a good opening for spoiling and not spoiling what is to come in the show. When you first watch it you are like, “what the f**k is this?” Then once you watch the show more, it actually starts to make sense and it’s just symbolic of what is to come in the show. It perfectly matches Dorohedoro as it is surreal but you like it in a weird way to make it rather captivating.
Now the ending sequences. This was a case of quantity over quality except not really because the endings are rather good. I would go on about each of them but that would drag this out too long, but they all retain the quality art style and bizzare tone throughout. My favourite one is the third one, “D.D.D.D” by (K) NoW_NAME because it is just one big DOOM reference and as a hardcore gamer, I’m a sucker for that.
Conclusion:
Dorohedoro is something that shouldn’t work but does in an unconventional way. It’s gritty and psychotic sure, but with a sense of irony to it that gives it a comedic edge. For those who were expecting a pure, gritty horror show, this ain’t it. It’s more in the vain of a horror comedy that somehow works considering the world and setting. Its world building is great, characters are fantastic, animation was much better than I thought it was going to be and the ost is a great tone setter. Sure, it’s not what I look for in a horror anime, but I am also open to pleasant surprises and that’s exactly what Dorohedoro is, a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed this way more than I thought I was going to and has become my favourite anime this season easily.
If you have not watched this yet, I highly recommend this series as it a fantastic horror comedy with plenty of grittiness and gore to it to satisfy your bloodlust and plenty of comedic moments to make you laugh.
My Personal Enjoyment: 10/10
Overall Score: 9.5/10 Recommendation: Go f***ing watch it
ploopploop
Let me start by saying that one of the things that weighted in my grading for this show was the overall refreshment and unique feeling of this show compared to your generic standard shows that are there for 12 episodes of fan service or shows that have continued for far too long. While I am not a fan of the art style... I must be honest, they pulled off an extremely good job with it! This show contains gore, great visuals funky characters and an extremely interesting plot. Let's start with the story. Our duo Nikaido and Caiman live in a place called the Hole.In their are all the people without magic. They are pretty much used for those who do posses magic and are used as guinea pigs. As the obviously don't accept this they have a lot of strong people that physically fight and kill against those with magic and vice versa.
The city of magic is... quite an interesting place, it contains demons that are capable of many things, including trades. Most of the demons are friends of the individual called En. He and his party pretty much rule over the magic domain. He is also the enemy of the duo.
Now let me get one thing straight, in this show... everyone is a villain. There is no good. There is only bad and worse. People get murdered left and right. People kill others for some pocket change or just a bad argument or hell it can be a festivity.
This is actually quite good for this show, why? Because every character is lovable and gets his/her own fair time in the show including background story and character development. For example in an anime that puts heroes in the spotlight it would be very weird to like the villains more than the main cast, but in here it's normal if you like the odd characters, because they all are worked out properly. They all have their own unique charm, including the side and potentially background characters.
This show has one of the catchiest openings. I have never skipped it, same thing applies to all the ending variations. There are quite a few and each is not exactly original but very unique. When the opening starts you know that you are in for one hell of a weird adventure and every single episode will keep you entertained.
This show contains very muscular folks, including the women. They are extremely good at combat too! So if you are here for the ecchi slim girl show you are at the wrong place.
Due to its unique charm, funky characters and great sense of humor this show was extremely enjoyable for me. I have not watched as much anime this season as I did in the past, that is because everything is starting to become the same well selling plot, the same kind of animations, the same kind of fights, just a slightly different story.
Dorohedoro was the refreshment I was looking for and the one you perhaps need as well!
Raggadish
Thank you, MAPPA! Once again do you bring hope to modern anime with this adaptation. Dorohedoro was just what I needed. It´s gruesome, it´s gory, it´s violent, it´s absurd, it´s cool, it´s funny in a very sick and dark way, and absolutely freaking enjoyable. Fair warning dear new watchers do under any circumstances eat mushrooms before or during this watch. End warning. So, let me take you on a fangirl rant of this awesomeness called Dorohedoro! It´s been a while since I wholeheartedly enjoyed a seasonal anime this much. In an ocean of trashy Isekai and cute anime girls doing cute things for no reason, Dorohedororises like a paradise island. It has everything that the ocean has not; substances, solidity, interesting and weird mammals, and let´s not forget mushrooms.
Hayashida (author and artist of the manga) has some sick and brilliant imagination. He has created a completely unique setting and characters. Sorcerers with creepy masks and magic in the form of smoke, magical experiments, hierarchy systems, gangs, two sided conflict, a lizardman with amnesia, gloriously fished up characters, violence so explicit that Hellsing looks like it´s Dorohedoro´s cute little sister and lots and lots of mushrooms *shivers*.
It´s no good and evil, it´s just survival and loyalty to the yours and mine. It´s no deep messages of society’s problems, just an insane portrayal of something like it. Sorcerers with creepy power that uses non-sorcerers as giny pigs for social climbing. A dude with a lizard head looking for the sorcerer motherf*cker that messed him up by kicking their ass and letting the guy living in his mouth take a look at them, and finally transform them to shish kebab together with his awesome friend Nikaido. Oh, Nikaido. You are as welcomed as a female lead as spring after winter, a cold beer after a day´s hard work, and a warm cosy bed a cold night. Especially after suffering through 7 whole episodes of Plunderer*shudders*. She is badass, super cool and can cook the best goyza´s. She is the best girl of the year, no contest. She and Caiman (lizard dude) are the best tag team ever. Creepy wizard in the Hole, stay clear or you will have a triple bad day ending in tiny bloody slices.
And guess what? The supposedly bad sorcerers gang members are also super cool and fished up! Except En,He is just super-duper creepy freaky. I just say mushrooms *shudders again*. But hands up for the tag team Noi and Shin! Noi is so far away from any female stereotype that she creates a whole new category. Shin is also a crazy badass which you can´t help but love, the dude has suffered and raised a top. I actually adore Noi´s and Shin´s partnership, they have each other’s back, everyone should have that kind of a friend! And #shipping and stuff.
MAPPA has done excellent work (once again I might add). The art is faithful to the artist, the animation spot on. I might have mentioned that Dorohedoro is slightly violent? Well, violence and gore fall flat without great animation. MAPPA has cut no corners. The action scenes are totally awesome, no censoring the gore and violent story, and the amount of detail in the backgrounds are staggering. Cuddos cuddos cuddos! Truly talented people <3
The voice actors are awesome, they play their mental characters brilliantly, and brings it all to life. Arigato!
Dorohedoro made me excited, happy and slightly disgusted, just like I like it! Every episode was an insane, ludacris, slightly nauseating ride which I looked forward to every week. And in all this insanity it was – wait for it – a red thread! Or threads, neatly woven together which created a solid platform for this violent mushroom trip. Recommend to all that was vomiting on all washed out contributions these past seasons and has a solid stomach. And remember, eating mushroom during the watch is not recommended (even if I highly suspect that Hayashida may have popped a couple of magic ones when creating his work).
bergars
It's the fun you don't get everywhere. Like a cold beer at the end of a long day, or the first bite of a pizza after a long while without eating. “God, I needed that”. A series that entertains, that makes me care for the cast without constant suffering. A world that doesn't shove its rules down my throat, floating, carefree in an interesting narrative that doesn't lose track of what matters. I've wanted such a series for a long time, even if it wasn't that easy getting into it. A reptile, Caiman, searches for the mage that turned his head into a reptile, anderased his memories. That's just the protagonist. The world seemed a little too crazy, and I've been to other stories where they always vomit out information about themselves. It tires you, it batters you with information, and it gets to the good stuff way later on. None of that.
“Dorohedoro” lets you go inside its world. No hand-holding, no over-explanations. If there's need, some sentences, and that's it. The characters expertly explore the world, and do their thing. You learn how hard it is to die, to get a job, to fight, to survive, or to deal with a restaurant in this world. The magic slowly explains itself, and as you get more clues about how it all works, the mystery builds itself with enough questions to naturally attract me. I required answers, but I enjoyed the world, and the people living inside that world, all the same. Good people, bad people, I don't think that's how you categorize here. Dark slice of life isn't something I thought I'd encounter with as much gore, action, and insanity as here. Like a combination of “Beastars”, and “Chainsaw-Man”, it's about an insane world with out-of-this-world designs.
Now with the real sauce.
Came into this one only knowing how insane the storytelling can be, and to watch all of Mappa's stuff, specially when it's as controversial. Of course, it's the CG animation. Point of contention with all anime, the element that makes or breaks stories for so many people, and I'll come out and slightly agree, but mostly disagree with the criticisms. I don't agree with the consensus that CG animation belongs in the deepest corner of hell, I'm a defender. I'll always give a fair shot to every kind of anime, regardless of the CG quality. Complete honesty, 50/50 on this one.
Consider this: The world revolves around a reptile headed dude, with magical immunity, looking for a cure, and his best friend, an all powerful girl with kicks that can actually split you in half. The designs, the world, the ambience, and every location around it can only be described with “batshit insane” as the main adjective. It's a world like none other, refreshing in every sense, and the art style reflects the insanity better than anything else could. Instead of telling you how “gorgeous” the 2D segments were, I'm here to blame those for the inconsistency in “Dorohedoro”. I wished it ran the mile, and did everything in 3D. It needed to embrace that insanity, and truly focus on that vision entirely. I didn't like it, not because it wasn't on 2D, but because it tried too many times to be.
Art style aside, the other negative's the ending. Not bad, but incomplete. I expect seasons to have a complete package of a story, and it just feels like a cut-off point to go read the manga. Unfulfilling, inconclusive, with the promise of a next season. I'll probably hop into the manga, since the many inconsistencies with the development, art direction, and writing cut-off points don't seem that worth it when the story is complete, and with great, consistent art somewhere else.
7.4/10. It's a great anime that doesn't reach its full adaptation potential from the staff decisions. However, muscle girls for the win, holy molly.
RaysAnime
Yes. It's entirely cgi (at least for character models). No, it doesn't look like RWBY or some other garbage. I need a minute so let's talk about how this anime is probably going to take the top spot on Mappa's trophy shelf. This artstyle is the most experimental thing I've seen... probably ever in an anime. Using beautifully hand drawn backgrounds that show there isn't a lack of budget or talent, cgi models that move well and don't feel like a rubber doll flopping around, amazing hand drawn skins over those models that feel almost borderlands-esque, and of course the occasional still image thrown in for sightgags as if you're watching an episode of Flap Jack or something.
Off the art style alone I'd give this a 10, because Dorohedoro already has a following because of the source material being amazing. I haven't read the source material, but I can still tell that it translates well into this. I'm a bit of a Mappa fanboy but it's because they've consistently put out amazing adaptations such as this in the past few years.
So, story:
I want to spoil absolutely nothing here for you dudes so let's talk about how this story FEELS. It's a roller coaster, it's confusing and awkward at times, and everyone's already said this. It's pretty fucking engaging and can swing from serious shit into what feels like a filler episode which is actually still effecting the plot while having fun. Don't read reviews to figure out the story on this one, it's out, enjoy it.
Art:
Already said it. 10/10. It's incredible, it's risky, it's incredibly well thought-out and skillfully created. It's off-putting for the first episode because I thought I'd been slipped some drugs while enjoying the hell out of it. Not as trippy as something like mob-psycho but definitely more artsy in it's own way.
Sound:
Music's solid. Some of the music is great. None of the sounds were off-putting as far as normal sound-effects go so I'm saying 10. Idk, I'm a music guy not a sound-effect guy.
Characters:
Same as the story, watch it. None of the characters really seem boring in this. Some are predictable, but they're all still very fleshed out and you WILL be given perspectives, backstory, and all that jazz for every important character.
Enjoyment:
See everything above.
ajbutterfly
Let me the voice of dissent and declare that Dorohedoro is crap! I mean it. Every episode is filled with stupid "comic relief" and absolutely unessential character interactions which do not help the series at all. About half the things that go on in the show has no connection to the main plot. No story whatsoever, only glimpses of a promised plot that never really makes it into the show. I don't know if the studio was having money problems or not but I think they forgot to hire a character designer. None of the characters have any real motivation and their choices are plain irrational.Terrible world-building, if there is any world-building at all. As for the plot it started out original, then got stale from the 3rd episode, and by the 8th episode was all over the place which is how it stayed till the end with some new info crammed into the last episode so we tune in for Season 2. I'll pass.
About the violence and gore and stuff it is just for show and only skims the surface. Watch some 70's anime if you want violence and gore. Despite its hype I failed to notice any original or dark themes. "Ohhh some evil people are killing us and we have to fight to survive, while figuring out what is going on"- is almost every anime ever.
People going on about how good the animation is has no clue about animation. They just saw an unique look and feel and went Woaahhhhh! The fight scenes are plain disgusting. Btw similar visual tones can be found in so many older anime- check out Paprika, Devilman, Blood+, Kagewani etc.
SugarHead
In short a really fun anime with amusing likable characters with a morbid and dark story with great world building with such detailed and beautiful backgrounds, hats off to studio they really poured a lot effort and it is visible. and the best part is suspense which makes you always sit at the edge of your seat. Every episode harboring a new curse and what's next is DOROHEDORO. The only thing which disappoints is its 12 ep length... I mean why not 24. I hope next season comes early A perfect 9/10 from my side. Watch it for Ebisu, Johnson the cockroach and of course Kikurage. Who doesn'tlike Kikurage?
EXPee
At the time of writing this review, there hasn’t been confirmation that Dorohedoro is going to be renewed for a second season, which is dependent on the success of the first season. This series deserves a continuation, and it’s disheartening that I feel this series is heavily slept upon by the community by certain circumstances. Dorohedoro has the potential to be one of the top anime of 2020, and I hope I will persuade you guys to give this series a try. Before reviewing Dorohedoro, let’s take a quick detour of setting the stage of what the series is about. In a nutshell, Dorohedoro feels likeif J.K Rowling, (the writer of the Harry Potter franchise) has written a massive magic lore, that expands to the heights of Star Wars, or Lord of the Rings while smoking weed with Happy Tree Friends’ grotesque gore in her tv on. These amalgamation of ideas and aspects, resulted in Dorohedoro having a very unique handling of world building and unique storytelling that makes the audience scratching their heads (in a good way) Now the positives.
1). World building
This is the first positives that I want to highlight, because it is truly the star of the show for me. With the aforementioned vast lore of the manga l, the series impressively remained faithful to the source material and how it approaches making an interesting, and dark fantasy world. Unlike any other fantasy world of having excessive exposition to flesh out the world, Dorohedoro does not hold the viewers’ hands on what the hell is going on. Instead treats us smartly and feeding us with bits and pieces of lore throughout each episodes, and trusts the viewers to piece together on how the world works. This is why I mentioned that the viewers will scratch their heads from time to time (I certainly did), but this type of world building is certainly refreshing and makes the world of Dorohedoro alive and it’s own beast. Certainly the world is miss fire, if the characters are not interesting and compelling, however the series does not disappoint.
2). Characters
As the world of Dorohedoro being a war between the sorcerers and humans, the characters complement the setting and each have their own conflicts and arcs. Almost all the characters are well-written, that I don’t have anyone that I feel is a bad character. The two protagonists that we mainly follow are Kaiman and Nikaidou, both are very entertaining, and to watch their relationship grow and solve the mysteries of Kaiman’s head.
Even characters that us as viewers at first glance, thought that is a one-off character, that is only there to serve the story, subverts our expectations and became mainstays and personal favorites of the fandom, is really impressive. The quote on quote “villains,” which are: En, Shin, Noi, Ebisu, and Fujita are one of the most memorable and lovable characters that I have watched for a while. They are not even villains to be honest, they are just sorcerers that directly conflict the mc. The series flushes out each and everyone’s backstories, leaving no one behind. Why do they do what they do, their motivations for being this way, and making us genuinely care about them. Personally, I love these characters more than the mc, due to how well and memorable these characters interact. How does Johnson, a giant cockroach that is artificially controlled who was only one line, make me care and laugh, is impressive.
3).Fast Pacing/Themes
Now this part is weird to put into the positives of a series, but let me explain. Due to the nature of this series being confusing and heavily focused on fleshing out the world, the characters, and the story all in a span of 12 episodes, each episodes feel like a breeze on how the pacing is so fast because it has too much to explore. These are one of the things that people may notice as a negative, because it contributes to the confusing and information overload of the viewers. However I argue that this is directly intentional of the themes and overall style of the series. It wants to make the viewers feel the randomness, and confusion, and openly acknowledges it.
Few examples that highlights the randomness of the series, in each ending of the episode, there are some what call backs to information on the episode like “Kaiman is great at playing cards,” and so on. Some are relevant to the story, and some are just for giggles and laughs.
Another is the multiple EDs, scattered throughout the series. There are multiple songs that are very fun and banger of a songs. My personal favorite is D.D.D.D. an homage to the classic FPS Doom. Does this make sense narratively? Does En play Doom? I guess not, but it fits well with the random and confusing nature of the series as a whole.
4). The Soundtrack
Speaking of songs and osts, the songs are highlights. There isn’t a song that feels weak. It is very punk rock inspired, and are also vastly different tone wise. This is somehow a negative because the score has no cohesion to it, unlike Beastars it has cohesion to the score, but again I argue it’s due to the random theme that Dorohedoro has.
Unfortunately, there are flaws to the series that brings this back. And I elaborate I am not a professional writer or animator in the anime industry, I am just one weeb’s opinion that loves the medium. I respect every person working to make this show for us to enjoy. I only give criticisms because I want anime to be the best as it possibly can. Now, going back.
1). The Animation
Getting CGI to look this good is an accomplishment in its own right, however just like Beastars, the fight scenes feel clunky at best. That are very obvious.
2). Prioritizing the mc
This is sort of a nitpick and does not affect the series as a whole, but because of how lovable the villains are in this series, It felt like the spotlight of the mc had been stolen in a good portion of the run time. Which is a double-edged sword to the quality of character development of the author.
Other than that, this is genuinely a great anime that I hope gets renewed to have a second season.
sagafox
Don't be put off by it CGI or weird look I watched the show on a whim and was blown away by just how much it had to offer despite it unique setting and general bizarreness at times I never felt confused or lost at any point of the show> i would recommend the anime to people looking for a cool well done story with unique visuals a unique setting and a Top tier cast of Characters especially one of the antagonist En he is one of my favorite antagonist of all time nay one of my favorite characters of all times
Thtspt
From the second it started it was wierd and I knew I was in for something kinda different. Its grimy, trippy and fun, violent and sorta light hearted. The way the characters look is a little unsettling yet they all maintain a relatable personality. It's a very stylish anime, with the architecture and decor of this world being very detailed. The mushrooms are a stand out. I think the cgi works very well, adding visual dimension to a very dimensional world. I also cant help but gush a bit at the fact this anime includes 2 buff women that arent overly sexualized. Plot wise ittakes a good second to grasp what's happening and what the motivations of all these characters are, but once you do you're IN IT. (Took me till half way through). I'm left with so many questions that I want answered and after each episode in the latter half of the season you get a little bit of information that intrigues you and makes you excited thinking about all the places this could go and how its gonna tie in later etc. Anyways I cant wait for the next season, I had a blast with this.
Oh and that opening though❤
itz_yo_boi_andre
I'm honestly lost for words. The amount of sheer passion and effort that was put in by the people who made this anime possible is incredible. Its everything you could ask for. I loved this anime so much that I wanted to write my first review on MAL for this anime. I'm going to try my best to write a simple yet thoughtful review. Story: The story is so interesting and unique. It's so unpredictable and mysterious. It keeps you guessing on what could happen next and wanting more. Then it slowly connects the dots for you and unravels itself to you in a very interesting way.The story manages to have a nice balance of dark, goofy, and wholesome at the same time.
Art: I was a bit uncertain if the art style would work or look good when I heard it had CGI. But to my surprised, the CGI models worked really well and looked good. The background art is very unique. From the dark/gritty industrial Hole; to the colorful fantasy land the world of sorcerers. All of it is gorgeous.
Sound: The sound design is good. The anime has a wide range of soundtracks that work so well. The soundtracks bring so much life and joy to the dark and cool industrial setting which is genius because it kind of reflects on the colorful characters.
Characters: Every character is interesting, amusing, and unique in their own way. There's not a single character that you can not like. Every character is loveable. It's amazing how they manage to make you root for every character in the anime no matter which side they are on.
Enjoyment: This anime has cool, exciting, and gruesome action scenes. They are pretty solid. The tone/mood keeps changing to keep the anime interesting instead of sticking to one. It has its dark, goofy, wholesome, and exciting moments.
Overall, You can really tell just how much passion went into this anime. It's such an amazing anime. Its everything you could ask for. It has an unpredictable story, solid action scenes, beautiful background art, very interesting, amusing, and unique characters. A wide range of soundtracks that work so well.
PentagramShogoki
MAPPA 2019: Dororo. MAPPA 2020: Dorohedoro. Seinen manga is one of the most difficult to adapt into anime, mostly because of his (not always) superior drawing and dense character creation and storytelling. Last years, we saw how Berserk post Golden Age arcs were butchered with some cheap product, but we also were blessed with a great Houseki no Kuni adaptation, exploiting 3D animation to the maximum level. Now, Mappa contributes to the medium giving us, again, another great adaptation of a seinen manga (1st was Inuyashiki) that stands out. Dorohedoro is known as one of the most gore, bizarre and absurd mangas out there, but her author, mostlyknown as Hayashida Q, managed herself to create a unique universe and a dense environment that could drag you to hell (or in this case, Hole), instantly. Now, Mappa had a difficult task: to adapt the cold classic into a great anime, and for sure they were successful.
Story follows Kaiman, a man that was used as a test subject for magicians and now has the head of a great lizard, probably resembling a caiman. He and his fellow partner Nikaido hunt the magicians in Hole, trying to find the one that transformed Kaiman into a lizard.
The greatest thing about Dorohedoro is how simple the story looks, but how dense the universe really is, and how you can't simply understand, at first, how far you will be dragged; humans, magicians, demons. Among them, factions, friends, foes, Johnson... You can't really tell how Dorohedoro will surprise you in the next chapter, yet it still make it!
This show is not only about gore, decrepit looks, but is also a great comedy that stands out as one of the most bizarre in manga history. The virgin Konosuba, the chad Dorohedoro!
Art is great. Again, Mappa mixed 3D animation in characters with 2D landscapes and created the atmosphere for sure Q was trying to draw in her manga.
Music is really good, too. The opening greets you with an absurdly good song about Gyozas and sound effects are great. The voices are cool and every character suits perfectly. Wataru Takagi is great as Kaiman (even if I can only hear OI JOSUKE), and Reina Kondou has done such a great job as Nikaidou; hope she gets more roles in the near future.
If the story and visuals are the heart of this show, characters are for sure the brain. Complex pasts, cool personalities, great designs and human behavior! Kaiman looks like a thug, a badass motherfucker, but in reality he is such a normal guy, always joking and eating Nikaido's food. He is cheerful and dumb when normal, but if you anger him, you'll remember him.
Nikaido is the other half of the main couple that stands out. She is the owner of a restaurant in Hole and the one that found Kaiman after he lost his head. Again, killing magicians made her no assassin and didn't darken her personality.
In Dorohedoro, you have a good amount of "evil" characters as well. The main gang is formed by Noi, Shin, Fujita, Ebisu and the boss, En. They have distinct personalities and more than evil they work as antagonists but not as enemies. They have their personal stories and are interesting and funny.
I enjoyed Dorohedoro really much, to the point that I think it stole the winter season totally, not having a show that could match its uniqueness.
So, watch Dorohedoro and then read the manga (or wait for a second season), you won't be disappointed.
ktulu007
Okay, we're finally into our horror anime month reviews. I went through my list of requests and I did find some horror genre stuff. Starting with Dorohedoro. This one was handled by MAPPA and based off of a manga by Hayashida Q. I don't know the manga writer but I do know that MAPPA has been involved with more anime I'd consider sub-par or worse, like Banana Fish, Garo or Kakegurui than it has anime I've actually liked. The only anime they were involved in that I watched and liked was Dororo. So, I'd like to see something good here, but I don't expect it.Let's dive in.
Story:
Our protagonist is Kaiman, a lizardman living in Hole. A wretched hive of scum and villainy where sorcerers come to test their spells. He's looking for the sorcerer who gave him a lizard head so that they can fix him. Even though he kills sorcerers regardless and their spells wear off when they die, so you'd think the checking part wouldn't be needed. He's working with his friend, a young woman named Nikaidou. Little does he realise, that she has a dark secret that could threaten their friendship.
The big issue with the series is that it doesn't always seem like they thought things through. Kaiman opening his mouth and having sorcerers talk to the man inside is a great example. It's established pretty early on that he kills sorcerers regardless. It's also established that their spells wear off when they die. So, as a rule, there's no reason for him to check. He could just kill them and, if he still has a lizard head, he would know that wasn't the right one. Especially since he plans on killing them any way. I think there are two times in the series when he puts someone's head in his mouth and decides not to kill them. And a couple cases where he tries to get the kill but fails. The world building is another aspect where that shines through. It doesn't feel like there was a defined concept for the world to begin with. It feels like the world building is being made up as the series progresses.
The comedy varies. There are definite gross out jokes that rely on the audience finding vomit or human waste or some such thing funny to work. I will say, to the series' credit, those jokes are in the minority. Most of the humour relies on you having a dark, macabre sensibility. And that actually works quite well for me. I like macabre comedy. I can also appreciate that a lot of effort went into balancing the dark humour with some actual creepy content that could work in a straight up horror work. It's not an easy aesthetic to pull off, but I think Dorohedoro mostly manages it well. I also do think they end it on a strong point where they're clearly going for more but they give you a solid climax for something that happens within the series. I do also think that the series does a good job of staying compelling throughout. There's always some source of tension that still needs explored.
Characters:
The characters are pretty interesting. They have a good balance of quirky and complex. At least with the main characters. There are some side characters that are a bit one note but it's mostly characters who don't get much screen time which is kind of understandable. I do also quite like the character dynamics. The friendship betwixt the two leads is pretty nice and I do think it develops really well throughout the series.
Art:
The series uses this weird, Cel-shaded style that actually winds up working quite well given the weird horror comedy aesthetic. It wouldn't work that well if this were pue horror, but it works very nicely for a horror comedy.
Sound:
MAPPA got some strong acting for this one. Takagi Wataru, Kondou Reina, Kobayashi Yuu and Hosoya Yoshimasa all give strong performances. If there's a weakness, it's Tomita Miyu. And it's not anything that's her fault. Her character is just the one that does the comedy that gets slightly annoying in how over the top it is. The music works quite well. Know Name did a good job. They also did the music in Fairy Gone which wasn't quite as strong.
Ho-yay:
There's a blatantly gay sorcerer who's interested in the main antagonist. That's all you really get for ho-yay.
Areas of Improvement:
1. Dial back the gross out jokes. They're the biggest weakness of the comedy by far.
2. Play Ebisu with more subtlety.
3. Think your world through more cohesively.
Final Thoughts:
This is definitely the second best anime I've seen from MAPPA. I know, it's not exactly stiff competition, but this is a solid series with a lot of strong elements. If you have a penchant for macabre humour, I would say give it a watch. For me, I'm giving it a solid 7/10.
