Category: Dororo

This week Dororo returns to its episode demon slaying, as our intrepid duo combat a cursed blade! We have flashbacks, family issues and regained body parts galore! And you know what? I loved it all, so lets jump right in.

Now, last week I was a bit nervous about Dororo. I found some of the washed out visuals and scrappy animation to be a let down. This week, while it hasn’t gotten rid of those issues, Dororo made me realize that they won’t be as prevalent as I had feared. The chosen color palette has its uses, the limited animation will be… limited, and the however episodic it might be, everything will come together. I will, of course, hit on each of these as we go, but before we get out of technical aspects, I want to say I enjoyed the layout of this episode. Dororo started and ended on the same note, Hyakkimaru standing in the rain, yet the context of each was completely different. Its hard to say he is the same person as he was at the start, because he grows over the episode. I loved it.

Continue reading “Dororo – 4 [The Story of the Cursed Sword]” →

Airing at the same time as Mob Psycho, completely independently, Dororo also managed a somber, character driven episode. This week we learn more about Junkai the prosthetic doctor, Hyakkimaru’s past, and the world at large. Let’s dive in!

Dororo started off in a very dark place this episode, which contrasted oddly with the beautiful sunset behind it. Before I get into the story aspect of that darkness though, I want to talk about the visuals. A large portion of this episode was in grey scale, or with lots of browns. As effective as it was in some scenes, I was largely not a fan of it. It made multiple parts of the episode visually dull, and this is a visual medium. Especially when compared to the striking reds and oranges that Dororo opened with or we sometimes saw in the middle. Could it be argued the grey scale is what helped those scenes stand out more? That helped the important parts rise higher? Yes, easily. Its a strong argument. I just don’t know if the across the board grey scale was worth how much it provided those scenes.

Continue reading “Dororo – 3 [The Story of Jukai]” →

Hello and welcome to show number two for me of the new season! Dororo is an interesting one, based on a 1960’s manga, with this being its second adaptation. This week we meet another demon, learn our leads name and that not all spirits are bad. Let’s dive in!

Visually, Dororo is sort of a mixed bag for me. One on hand, I love the older style it has going for it, and much of the lack of detail allows the animators to have some fun. On the other hand though, the feet are blobs, and everything is a green/brown. I also noticed some rather static scenes that, compared to the first episode, left me wanting. Overall though I think Dororo is good. We know from the first episode that when it wants to, it can look gorgeous. It’s just that this week was rather subdued, as our first intro to what the day to day for the series will be. With that done, now I can get to the actual meat of the episode.

Continue reading “Dororo – 2 [The Story of Bandai]” →