A modern remake of Osamu Tezuka’s legendary samurai tale about reclaiming stolen humanity–and don’t miss the stunning 2019 anime! A young swordsman travels alone through war-torn Japan, hunting demons wherever they might hide. His Hyakkimaru. Soon he crosses paths with Dororo, an orphan who steals to survive. Dororo can’t help but Who is this demon hunter with skin as cold as ice, and blades hidden inside his own arms...?
If you're expecting this to me like the 2019 anime adaptation, you'll be disappointed. Why they thought having Hyakimaru talk is beyond me. He also seems to have his eyesight already, and his personality is more cold. It's lost the magic the anime had.
Had I not seen the anime, I might have liked this, but I won't be buying the rest.
3.5⭐️ As a huge fan of the anime, I was a little hesitant to start the manga cuz there’s a big part of Hyakkimaru’s character that I wasn’t sure how they would express in written form but I thought this was a decent start. There are some components that take longer to develop in the anime but overall, I will be continuing on with the manga to see how much it differs and well as seeing how the story progresses.
Getting this out of the way, I haven't seen the anime yet. I've heard that this manga takes a lot of liberties, and isn't as good as the anime is based on, which is why I'm starting with the manga so I can review it unbiasedly.
That being said, this was a good first volume. The pacing is a little fast, with each chapter having very little connective tissue to the next, and the translation can be a little goofy at times, but the art is great, and I like the characters.
Rep: disabled main character with prostheses; gender non-conforming main character
Warnings: body horror; poor social conditions like starvation, oppression, and war
I liked the 2019 anime series Dororo, so of course, I was interested in reading the manga. I must say, though, that my reading of the manga is very much influenced by all the information I had from the anime; a newbie to the series would honestly be confused as to what is going on because this manga doesn't really do much in the way of establishing anything. It jumps straight into the action, with Hyakkimaru arriving to inadvertently save Dororo, and the latter follows him thereafter, and the story moves into the Bandai arc. Why and what is Hyakkimaru is not even touched upon, with the old man telling Dororo to ask him directly what his story was. The artwork is decent enough, though the style looks a bit dated (more like 90s style that modern shonen); I don't know how it was in the original manga series, but the character of Hyakkimaru in this manga is much more gruff and aggressive compared to the anime, which changes the dynamic between them substantially. Overall, I think, if you want to read this manga, it would be better to watch at least the first few episodes of the anime beforehand; of course, this lowers the story-telling quality of the book itself if you need to refer to another media just to understand it. I'm hoping the next volume provides the necessary exposition.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Seven Seas, via Edelweiss.
4.5/5 Maybe I'm holding too much sentimental value with the (remake) anime but Hyakkimaru being able to talk still throwing me off. ALSO he gets his eyes back first???? I may have forgotten because I haven't seen the anime in awhile but I swear that was the last thing he got back. But hey it could be interesting? I mean they never talk about the fact that he sees the hues of things so I guess it still works.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I disegni sono ottimi e la storia è interessante, non avendo letto l'originale non so se sia un adattamento ben fatto o meno ma come prodotto mi è piaciuto. Unico lato negativo il rapporto prezzo-lunghezza. Veramente molto breve per costare 7€ a volume.
Seeing as how this is not Dororo the anime at all, there are no manga spoilers, but I did mention a few very minor spoilers from the anime.
I’m so terribly disappointed. Hyakkimaru is a completely different character. Dororo is somewhat the same, but not really. Neither of them ever had any ill will towards each other in the anime, but here they egotistically bicker back and forth. The whole Dororo following Hyakkimaru to steal his blades is so opposite of how their dynamic started in the anime. Dororo was in awe of him. It was indeed magical, and what made it so unique is that the plot was backwards from typical shonen anime. Usually the character starts out weak and becomes strong. Hyakkimaru started out strong, but by gaining his senses, he actually becomes weaker before he can become acclimated to them. The uniqueness is completely lost in this manga. It reads like any run of the mill manga.
I feel like it should have been more clearly explained that this was a non-canon experience. Honestly, all that remains from the anime is the character art design and exterior elements of the story, like fight scenes. It’s as if they stole Hyakkimaru and Dororo’s images and names and put them in a different story with different personalities. I thought it was going to be Shiki (after getting permission from Tezuka) basically recreating the original work with art based off the anime, with a slight change in the dialogue to avoid outright plagiarism. I guess I should have done more research.
What a blatant swing and a miss. I was so excited that there was a manga in the new art style, as I’m not a fan of the art from the original at all. Looks like Dororo will be an anime-only experience for me. I would have even been okay with additional side adventures that take place in between the events of the original. As long as the characters remained true, I would have enjoyed it.
Why in the FUCK is Hyakkimaru talking? The second I saw that he had blades for arms AND eyes at the same time, I knew something was horribly wrong. Before making that quick connection, I thought maybe they switched it around and made it kinda like Berserk. Where it starts off with a flash forward for a quick chapter. Bummer.
I started reading this after the 2019 Dororo anime came out. This is vastly different from the anime so I’m a bit on the fence about its rating. I don’t hate or dislike this first volume but I also don’t necessarily like it a lot either. I’ll read the next volume to see if I’ll continue reading or just stick to the anime.
Jakie to było świetne. Jest to definitywnie jedna z lepszych mang jakie czytałem, pod względem fabularnym.
Kreska jaką jest rysowana ta manga to jest coś pięknego. Naprawdę cieszy oko widok tak ślicznych rysunków.
Akcja jest dosyć dynamiczna, ale jest to rzecz, którą bardzo szanuje w mangach. Zamysł na fabułę jest niesamowity i bardzo ale to bardzo dopracowany. To jakich rzeczy się tutaj dowiadujemy w trakcie czytania są totalnie niespodziewane, dosłownie znajdujemy tutaj płot twist za plot twistem.
Bohaterowie są świetni, a w szczególności Hyakkimaru. Może widok jego jako niemowlaka bez połowy swojego ciała nie był czymś czego oczekiwałem, ale jego historia była bardzo poruszającą i ciekawa. O Dororo od samego początku myślałem jak o kobiecie, nie jestem w stanie stwierdzić dlaczego, ale bardzo pasował mi do żeńskiej postaci.
Uwielbiam tematykę nadprzyrodzoną, demony, wampiry i wszystkie stworzenia nocy to jest mój klimat. W tych mangach tematyka Demonów została przedstawiona w świetny sposób. Z każdą kolejną stroną wciągnąłem się coraz bardziej i bardziej. Jest to seria, która pochłonie was na dobre i już nigdy o niej nie zapomnicie. Osobiście definitywnie sięgnie po resztę tomów i definitywnie obejrzę Anime.
I have read the original manga by Osamu Tezuka as well as watched the 2019 anime so my reaction to this manga version is impacted by those. I found it very frustrating - it did follow the original manga more closely than the anime but the things it did change did not make sense and it messed with the flow as well as, to so,e degree, the characters. For example this manga did not have the prologue which lays down the basic background, it did not have the backstory you get before they get to the village and for so,e inexplicable reason they stick Dororo in a kimono at random. The pacing was choppy, the action scenes very hard to follow and the storyline as presented would be very confusing if you were not already aware of the plot, I was really looking forward to a reboot as the original was very rushed, especially at the end, and I prefer more modern style artwork (the style in the anime was great) but this was a big miss so far. I will probably try another volume but I am not holding my breath that I will not be irritated reading that one also.
I did not watch the 2019 manga, so my take on this series is a little different from those who did. In my opinion, based only on a slight familiarity with the original Tezuka version, this is an interesting version of the story. I think that having Hyakkimaru able to speak from the beginning of the story helps convey information needed by the reader, and sets up things that happen during the overall story. That said, it's still a really weird story, and the setup of Dororo's various secrets is pretty good, and very believable. The potential for lots of demon battles is good, and even though the artwork is nothing amazing, it works well in this story. I'm still not sure about the way Hyakkimaru's sword blades work...the leverage seems wrong for slicing strikes, but they're more dramatic that way, I guess.
Manga jest dość prostą i krótką historią. Może nawet za krótką, bo z chęcią bym rozwinęła niektóre wątki. Wędrujący ronin, który poluje na demony, napotyka na swojej drodze godnego siebie przeciwnika. Co nieco o nim zdradziłam już wyżej. Okazuje się jednak, że świetnie władający mieczem Tahomaru to wysoko postawiona szycha. Posiada on ogromną moc, jednak ma to swój mroczny sekret. Tahomaru musiał wiele samego siebie poświęcić, by stać się tym, kim jest dziś. Hyakkimaru nie podejrzewa jednak, że są oni bardziej podobni do siebie niż to na pierwszy rzut oka widać.
Take four on the story of Dororo and Hyakkimaru :)
I won't say too much because most people coming here are probably reading this for one reason. And no, it's not really based on the anime. It hews much closer to the original manga, including some things that didn't make much sense in the first place. I think it lacks the charming art of the original and the tension and horror notes of the anime, but it's a fine telling of the story in its own right. Not sure I'll continue with it -- will have to see how things go.
Pretty solid, Great artwork although I would get a lost when there was an action sequence. Not a one for one remake of the original story I think the tweaks make sense for a modern sensibility such as having a dialogue/back and forth between Dororo and Hyakkimaru. Where is the original it’s a silent back-and-forth between the two leads. Their hints of an overarching arc but that’s mostly foreshadowing for future volumes.
Premetto che non ho mai letto la storia originale di Tezuka, ma questo volume mi ha conquistata sotto ogni aspetto. I disegni sono strepitosi e credo si possa già intuire dalle copertine dei volumi. La storia mi ha cattura da subito, lasciando qualche briciola qua e là ti tiene incollato alle pagine e la voglia di leggere il volume successivo non manca di certo.
I loved the original story that this is based on. I also really really REALLY love the anime adaptation. This was just bizarre to me. It lost all the original touches to it. There is no back story. They reveal the weirdest parts early on but like why is Hyakkimaru talking? Why is he a jerk? Like it is as if Sasuke Uchiha is cosplaying as Haykkimaru... Cringy and just weird I did not enjoy it.
Didn't go into this having watched the anime and i really enjoyed it, granted the swords for arms looked a bit silly but that doesnt really take away from it for me. I like the story and the character design (bar the sword arms).
I loved the anime when I watched it last year and I was feeling nostalgic so I decided to start this but the vibes are not the same. The art is pretty but Dororo and Hyakkimaru’s personalities are so different and I didn’t like that. Meh, I’ll just rewatch the animated version 😌
Watched the show based on this series a few years ago and loved it. This is a remastered version of the original series, Dororo, published in like the 70s? 10/10, deeply hoping my library buys the remaining 9 volumes.
This volume managed to pack quite a bit of content in just one volume. You are introduced to the main characters who had no previous knowledge of each other. Gives you a good understanding of both their personalities, as well as build some chemistry between Dororo and Hyakkimaru, even though Hyakkimaru is a bit stand offish at first. They meet some unique and interesting characters, be it humans, demons or spirits. The supporting characters don't feel flat as they all have a backstory and a purpose. There are even some turns that I didn't see coming. You even get a good glimpse at what this world is all about and it wraps up nicely. Very good for an introduction in to the series. Looking forward to reading more.
this book is rather fast paced and throws you right into the story without much development, but it is still quite good. i loved the interaction between the 3 main characters and it’s a very fun and easy read.