Anime – Dorohedoro [BD]

Anime Jun 21, 2023

Overview:

Lizardman with a naked man popping up when lizard gives head? Well that’s pretty much what this is. The mystery aspect that is somewhat answered by the end is who the man is inside of him and who caiman used to be before the lizard incident.

Story is there, while at the same time not really there. Things happen, stuff progresses yet nothing happens at the same time. It is a very strange story with progression yet no progression by the end. The viewer is left in the same position they were when they first started the show. Sort of contrasts well with the world that has been built up and the craziness of the show itself.

Basic premise and mystery is that our boi Caiman got his head turned into a lizard. How [?], one might ask. Well in this world there is a place called `The Hole`. The Hole is a city, or I guess place that certain sorcerers go to. When they go, they go to fuck around with the people by casting their magic on them. They are the test subjects for their own pleasure or experiments. Once they are done, they simply go back to their world. Caiman is one of the victims, or at least is assumed to be one of the victims from his point of view. He does not know quite what happened and its heavily inferred in this season to be the case.

Simple overview of Caimans past is he was minding his own business and then bam, man in ally, Caimon headless, Caiman wake up, Caiman not headless no more, Caiman lizard head unlocked, Caiman immune to magic now. Nikaido finds Caiman, Nikaido brings Caiman to doc. Nikaido also cooks dumplings, Caiman like dumpling. Caiman not original name and was given this name by Nikaido. Nikaido and Caiman friends. As eps progress, they not friends but still friends in the end.

Nikaido without spoiling is a loose love interest, it’s a bit strange and weird. She has a dark past that isn’t too well explored in this season. Still so many questions. This overview is really all over the place and wont make too much sense until after viewing everything lol.

Anyways, a man named En is from the other world, the world that is not The Hole. En is king tut type of person and is searching for a partner. A partner that can control time so that he can attempt to fix a mistake/wrong that occurred in the past. He is a revenge story and main antagonistish. There are clear both sides and depending on the side taken either position is easily defended as the righteous ones.

With these 2 groups, Caiman and Ens, they are both trying to solve a problem they have. With both problems shown to be heavily linked to one anothers past. En is head of the sorcerers that go to The Hole. En keeps sending more sorcerers to try and kill Caiman since Caiman has been going around killing all of the sorcerers sent into the city. Caiman, has 2 paths of reversing the lizard head magic. One being kill the sorcerer that cast it on him, hence why he has been on a killing frenzy to hopefully kill the right one and poof he is *fixed*. Other option being that he finds out information of who the person is that did this to him and have them reverse it. However, with sorcerers in caimans world being the main killers and ones that torment his people… that is not a likely solution and one he could care less about. Moreso since he is amnesia struck after the incident that made him like he is now.

Rest of the details would be in regards to world building and such that happens episode to episode. Really not a lot that happens. First half is exploring The Hole, while the second half is exploring the sorcerers world. Both parts have their sub characters for each side. These characters are fleshed out enough to be cared about while not being pushed to be too important.

Visuals/Music:

Visuals are quite different. It is MAPPA however, and MAPPA knows anime. While it is CGI based, it is a very well done mix between the backgrounds and foregrounds. After the first episode, the viewer should be used to it. Animation of characters is still eh… mainly due to the CGI and how it works. It flows nicely with the aesthetic of the show though by not looking out of place too much. The fight scenes are not shy to show blood, guts and gore, sort of a MAPPA signature of not backing down from the intense moments. It is not over the top, and is also done in a way that is good enough to match with the rest of the show while keeping immersion. There was not a point where immersion should be broken due to CGI related problems. Pausing on most scenes with backgrounds is pleasing. Backgrounds being in the instances of Caiman in bed waking up and the room itself holding a lot of detail, pausing when they are in an alleyway and observing how the walls are architected or even the panning landscapes of the city itself. With better CGI implementation to get rid of the jankiness of the movements feeling wrong or off at times being the main complaint and main reason it wouldn’t be perfect visuals for what the show is.

All the music and OSTs are very nice too. They are not amazing yet do not need to be. They are good for the scenes, keep the viewer immersed while not seeming out of place. Sound effects and OST’s are done right. Topping off with multiple ending songs, 6 to be exact. Each with their own feeling that goes with the episode. It is pretty crazy to have this many for such a short show. Only one opening but that honestly doesn’t matter too much since every ending song is on par with the openings quality. Very easy to listen through the ending before the next ep and realize the ending is already over. The visuals for the second endings first few seconds are probably my favorite. The forth are a close second. Both very simplistic where one is Caiman walking and the other is a *family pet*of En looking around. Can go either way with all of them though, all great songs.

Final Thoughts:

Dorohedoro is a strange one. It is an easy recommendation to most people though. There is a lot of craziness that happens and the characters from both Ens side and Caimans side offer a pleasant contrast with eachother. Especially when they interact. The baseball game episode was one of the standout funny moments.

The show itself could easily be a lot better or pop off so to speak. There is a lot of potential with all the world building that had been done. If the main casts characters would be fleshed out more with a better story progression it would easily go up in ranks. Main turnoff will be the CGI for most. Although I would say that the CGI here is quite easy to get used to and overlook due to the experience and ride this anime will bring. It really does have a cult classic feeling to it even though it is not a classic yet.

Final thing is that all of the personas and how easygoing really sheds off onto the viewer with every ep. Especially with how smooth Caiman is with things that happen, namely his new job interaction that happens mid series when he goes to the sorcerers world lol.

Characters (main) – 3/5

Characters (sub) – 3/5

Enjoyment – 3/5

Visuals – 4/5

Music – 4/5

Story – 3/5