Dororo – Review

Lord Daigo Kagemitsu is wounded, cornered, and about to lose his power and kingdom. He took refuge in a temple and there he discovered 48 sealed demons. With nothing to lose, he asked them to help him regain what he lost and conquer the world. They happily agree, but on one condition: he must give each of them an organ from his unborn son which will allow them roam the earthly world. Choosing power over the son he has yet to meet, Kagemitsu agreed and the deed is done. His first son is born limbless, without facial features, and missing several organs. Yet there is still life in him, and the baby’s mother set him adrift down a river letting chance saves her son or kills him. He grows up to be called Hyakkimaru and journeys across Japan in search of the 48 demons who stole his chance at a normal life. On his travel, he meets and befriends a nameless thief who he names as Dororo.

Satoshi Tsumabuki (Hyakkimaru) and Kou Shibasaki (Dororo) are the main leads in this magical, fantastic adventure. Having known them from a drama I saw from way back (Orange Days), I can tell their chemistry hasn’t changed and the pair acts very natural around each other. The duo is the classic ancient hero archetype with the quiet, brooding fighter and the comic relief whose careless actions usually result in a life-saving maneuver somehow. Hyakkimaru, as mentioned above, is born practically devoid of any human resemblance. His life was saved thanks to Dr. Honma, a mystic doctor, who created various artificial limps and a face for him. He, however, could not see, hear, smell, talk, or feel through his “body.” He could only regains a body part upon defeating the demon and as such remains quiet until about half-way through the movie when he finally gets his voice-box. Dororo, on the other hand, is always talking about something and the two compliments each other perfectly.

Aside from the sword-swinging, flying among treetops, and martial arts, Dororo also pacts a solid storyline with a clear focus for all the characters. Hyakkimaru’s quest to be normal is equally contrasted by Dororo who is born as a female but raised as a male. Set during the turbulent Warring States period of Japan, Dororo’s father was killed by none other than Lord Daigo Kagemitsu and was raised by her mom as a male so that she would not be perceived as weak. While Hyakkimaru seeks out demons, Dororo seeks revenge for her family. Something noteworthy to add is the high-quality CGI in this movie for all the various demons Hyakkimaru encounters on his quest. I’m usually very disappointed with CGI in most dramas or movies about the ancient world because everything just look so fake. However, the budget must be good because everything looked great!

I haven’t seen very many movies about the ancient world these days because they usually follow a very predictable pattern of events. I have my fill growing up with them, but Dororo is a tad different which I like. While it does somewhat follows the classic storyline of greed>find ways to get revenge>attain revenge>climax>resolution, the seeking revenge part is not really present in this movie. Unbeknownst to Hyakkimaru of his father’s pact with the demons, he only seek to destroy the demons to be completely human again. However, with a father who’s willing to do that to his own son, is humanity really something to look forward to? This underlining struggle really draws me into the movie to see how Hyakkimaru would solve this question for himself once he knew the truth. A reasonably action-packed movie with beautiful scenery, realistic computer graphics, and quite an interesting storyline, this is a great movie for fans of InuYasha or 13 Assassins.