Sohini Sarkar

There are very few anime which move me from inside and make me write a review. Dororo is one of them. Apparently it is a dark fantasy based on feudal Japan. There is action, blood shed, demons which makes the plot darker at every step. But, as the darkness deepens the light of human souls seems brighter and all the fantasy look like a metaphor. Kagemitsu Daigo, a samurai made a pact with 12 demons to bring prosperity in his land in exchange of the body of his own child. As a result no sooner the child had born than the demons devoured his eyes, ears, nose, limbs and skin. Daigo ordered a midwife to dump the 'half-born' child into river to ascertain its death. But, the midwife instead of following the Lord's order keeps the child in a boat and sets it away in river submitting the baby to its destiny. A man who made living by making prosthetic body parts found the baby and raised him under own care. He was the man who named the boy Hyakkimaru. As Hyakkimaru grows he realises that if he slays a demon he gets back one of his body parts. So, he sets a journey to get his whole body back by defeating demons. One day while encountering a monster he saves a child named Dororo. Dororo being an orphan and having nowhere to go accompanies Hyakkimaru in his journey. Initially their union may seem a sudden act of fate. But, as they go ahead in their journey it seems like their meeting was an inevitability to bring together two persons who never give up. It was their strong will to survive and experience life which brought the two together and made one complement to the other. The development of their characters and their bonding have been shown so beautifully that you can't help loving those two.Through their thrilling adventure the story introduces many side characters and this anime proves it's excellence in exploring the depth of each of these characters. Besides, this anime depicts the dreadful outcome of war, the dark reality of feudal system and the extremity of poverty with so perfection that one can't help feeling the pain and sorrow. It delivers a message or lesson for life in every single episode. The action scenes are another attraction of this anime. The animation quality is also very good and the sound track is very much congruous with the storyline. At the end I will say that there are anime that people love but Dororo is something that you will miss after it ends. It is a must watch for anime lovers!