Category: Dororo

Welcome one and all to the Dororo finale! It’s a difficult one, as parts of it are fantastic, while others just leave me confused. But all in all, I think I enjoyed it, and I definitely don’t regret my time with the series. So, all that said, let’s dive in.

Starting off, I think Dororo visually ended on a high note. There were definitely issues of course, it wouldn’t be Dororo without some. For example, in a lot of the wide shots, the fire just looked pasted on in Aftereffects. It wasn’t even from the same show, it didn’t feel real. A lot more care was seemingly put into the closeup shots around Hyakkimaru and Tahomaru, as that looks much better. Or perhaps its just sheer volume that makes it seem less out of place. Regardless, what this means is that just like last week, the brothers were the visual high point of the episode. Dancing around the scene, fighting and conversing. There was a lot to like here, both in terms of symbolism and just straight up fight animation. As far as the actual ending though… I am conflicted, and let me tell you why.

Continue reading “Dororo – 24 [Dororo and Hyakkimaru]” →

Welcome one and all to the penultimate episode of Dororo. We have brutality, we have drama, and we have a boatload of philosophy. Its everyone Game of Thrones Season 8 said it would be, but wasn’t. Is it too late to make that joke? Regardless, this was a good week for Dororo, so let’s jump in.

Starting off, I was iffy on the production this week at first. Some of the opening scenes were… off, like Hyakki’s horse just panning down the screen. But as the episode went on this became less and less of an issue. With Hyakkimaru and Tahomaru just dominating the screen. This is everything I wanted from their final showdown. Sure, the road was long and meandering to get here, but visually it was a treat spanning 4 different scenes. From the fields, to the riverbanks, up to the castle to the current finale. I loved it all. Sure, the other side scenes weren’t fantastic from a production standpoint, but they had a lot of story value. Acting as a sort of break between sections of the fight, so we don’t get tired of swords clashing over and over. Simply put, Dororo looked great this week, the story striking to as well.

Continue reading “Dororo – 23 [The Story of the Demons]” →

Another week, another episode of Dororo. This time we follow up with Nui, the mother, Hyakki falls off the deep-end and Tahomaru gets one up on his brother. Lets dive in!

Starting off, recently I have been skipping the production portion of these posts. 22 episodes in, you know what your getting at this point. However, recognition where its due, Dororo looked good this week. Outside the battles everything was a standard, acceptable quality. Nothing worth really getting hung up on. However I found Hyakkimaru’s scenes to be a treat. The fire and depiction of the flaming horse looked great. Everything was stylized and in general I found it a joy to look at. Someone clearly had a lot of fun with the almost liquid fire effects we saw, the wind, and the motion of Hyakki atop the horse. It makes it clear that, when MAPPA wants to, Dororo can standout and look good. It’s just not often that Dororo does so, nor is it particularly consistent. Now though, onto the story.

Continue reading “Dororo – 22 [The Story of Nui]” →

Welcome all to what is the beginning of the end for Dororo. Tahomaru and Hyakki meet once more, war begins and things start to get complicated. Let’s dive in!

Starting off, production felt very lazy for the most part this week. The last 5-6 minutes or so was great. The fight was a lot of fun to look at. So much so that it almost seems to me that Tahomaru is the sign for good animation. Other than that though Dororo was just… boring. There were a lot of still pans and cutaways. Reused footage from previous episodes and odd framing. Similar to OPM Season 2 really, where faces would be cut off by the top of the screen. The only movement being the occasional hand gesture on a still screen. Had the last 5-6 minutes not happened, this episode would be a wash. As is, the only part really worth watching is that section. As everything else is setup that, really, we were already were aware of. Enough ribbing though, let’s get into the meat.

Continue reading “Dororo – 21 [The story of breaking the cycle of suffering]” →

Welcome one and all to the beginning of the end for Dororo. It’s a contentious week for me, as a weak villain goes from terrible to interesting, Hyakki gets angry and the Dororo gets plot armor. Let’s dive in!

Starting off, let’s talk production, as I actually felt good about Dororo this week. Animation wasn’t anything to special, but that has rarely been Dororo’s strong point. Instead it was the Direction that really stood out to me this week. Whether it be how Hyakkimaru was framed at the end of the episode, backlit by the sun, or the overlap between Hyakki and Saburota. The episodes message got across very well and lead to some pretty nice scenes, as you can see. Its a real step up from the mostly disappointing 2nd Cour. Like MAPPA is really stepping up and trying to finish strong. Story wise though, thats where I get conflicted about Dororo this week. As no matter how strong the visuals might be, if there isn’t any content behind it, it will just feel hollow. So that said, spoilers below.

Continue reading “Dororo – 20 [The story of the Nue]” →

Hello all and welcome to a week of essentially filler for Dororo! We repeat plot points, Hyakki gets engaged and Dororo gets some funny faces. Let’s dive in!

Starting off, I normally do production here, but with the contents of this episode that seems ridiculous. Instead, I wanna ask why this episode exists, because this week is effectively filler. And not even good filler. Just filler that retreads what was already covered last week. I understand it was all a metaphor, that Hyakki’s reforged swords were all an allegory for Hyakki himself. Him and Dororo were realizing their true feelings, because they can only speak lies. Blah blah, whatever. My question is, did we need any of this? Did Dororo not establish the familial relationship between our two leads last episode? Was that not the whole head-rubbing thing and such? It just all feels pointless to me, like Dororo is treading water, when there is an actual plot sitting right in front of it. It’s disappointing.

Continue reading “Dororo – 19 [The Story of the Amanojaku]” →

Welcome one and all to Dororo’s redemption, the episode that takes us back to first cour quality. We have demons, sword fights, and poignant character moments. Maybe, just maybe, I won’t be disappointed in 2 months. Lets jump in!

First up, thank you MAPPA, for getting production right this week. Every aspect was, at the least, decent. There are still small nitpicks that could be made, but they are just that. Nitpicks. The actual big picture is that this episode felt like one from the first cour. Sure, the demon shark fight was rather fast, but that wasn’t the focus of the episode. That was Hyakki vs Tahomaru and co, and I enjoyed this. It was animated much better than previous episodes, really moving the “camera” around and giving us full body shots. Yes some detail goes away at points, but in its place we get a much more movement. To top it all off, the music was great and there were lots of picturesque shots that adored. It’s entirely possible my standards have fallen, but I am just glad Dororo is actually animated this week.

Continue reading “Dororo – 18 [The Story of the Cape of No Mercy]” →

Welcome one and all to the best episode of Dororo this cour! The animation is still disappointing, but the story is returning to form. Lets jump in!

Starting off, I have to say, it’s good to see Dororo getting back in form. Not production wise of course, no it’s a mess on that front. With delayed blood sprays and reused clips. It gets even worse when compared to the flashback clips shown in this very episode. No no, I am talking about the story, because this week we finally get back to the family drama. For the first time since the 2nd cour started up, Dororo has returned to its primary plot. Focusing not on combat or side stories, however they might connect into the story, but on the characters and what has happened to them. Suffice to say, this made me really happy, however bad it looked. So that said, spoilers after the break, and let’s go.

Continue reading “Dororo – 17 [The Story of Questions and Answers]” →

Welcome all to another week of Dororo! This time Hyakki takes a break, Dororo hangs out with an old friend, and we meet a cannibal. Good times. Lets jump in!

Starting off, after the travesty that was episode 15, let’s talk production. While it’s still nothing stunning, Dororo has returned to its usually mostly acceptable with blips of good quality. I say mostly acceptable because there wasn’t much actual action this week. Consisting mostly of pans and stills, Dororo still has yet to match its first cour. The best we have gotten so far was Saburomaru, the shark, diving out of the ocean. Yet I could almost have been fooled into thinking it was just sliding up the screen. It’s a disappointing that, were the direction still not strong, would have Dororo losing me. As it is, visually I am only really hanging in there for Dororo’s interesting direction. Such as our return to the flashback and its bright red flowers against a field of shades of grey. Story wise though, Dororo remains strong.

Continue reading “Dororo – 16 [The Story of Shiranui]” →