In late December of last year, I labeled Dorohedoro one of my most anticipated series of winter 2020. Honestly, that was a poser move. I’m not a manga reader, so my high expectations were based largely on secondhand praise, plus the potential for bloody irreverence promised by the PV and synopsis. There was one element of the show’s production, though, that I was confident would give it a unique appeal: the involvement of Shinji Kimura, background artist for such films as My Neighbor Totoro and Akira. He’s done plenty of great work as an art director, too, which was his role on this project. Sure enough, Dorohedoro’s grimy cityscapes and ramshackle interiors were uncommonly polished for a TV production – but the show had much more going for it than detailed backgrounds. A potpourri of violence, mystery, and a strangely loveable cast, Dorohedoro proved itself as one of this season’s strongest offerings, despite its task of adapting an unadaptable story.
