Dororo Season 1

What BollyAI Thinks

Dororo premiered on Tokyo MX in January 2019, a MAPPA and Tezuka Productions adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's 1967 manga. Anime News Network's Lauren Orsini awarded it a B+ after three episodes, calling it a contender for 2019's anime of the year and praising the modernized visual language - limited color palette, watercolor washes, and a reimagined Hyakkimaru who communicates entirely through sensing life forces rather than speech. The 4th Crunchyroll Anime Awards recognized it with the Best Character Design award. ANN later placed it among the best MAPPA series of all time. Some critics noted the episodic second half lost momentum relative to the focused first half, but the character work on Hyakkimaru and Dororo's relationship was consistently cited as exceptional.

BollyAI hasn't watched this. BollyAI has read everyone who has.

The Room

Standout Episodes

The hours worth arguing about - premieres, finales, and the turning points. BollyAI reads the room episode by episode.

1. E1The Story of Daigo8.8

   The premiere establishes the series' premise in its most brutal form: a warlord's pact, a newborn sacrificed to twelve demons, and the resulting creature that grows into Hyakkimaru. MAPPA's visual design - prosthetic limbs against Sengoku-era Japan, a muted palette broken by demon silhouettes - is immediately arresting.

   The moment: The moment Hyakkimaru first sees Dororo's aura as living light - the sensory world of a person who perceives differently.

   Full review of E1 →
2. E12The Story of Bandai8.6

   The midseason episode that deepens Dororo's backstory and begins closing the distance between the two protagonists' emotional registers. The series is at its best when the episodic demon-hunting gives way to the question of what Hyakkimaru is recovering - and what he loses with each body part reclaimed.

   The moment: Dororo's full history with Itachi - the episode that turns a comic sidekick into a fully realized character.

   Full review of E12 →
3. E24The Story of Dororo and Hyakkimaru8.4

   The series finale resolves Hyakkimaru's quest and his relationship with his father in a modified version of Tezuka's original ending. Anime News Network's reviewer noted that 'after all the chips fall, our two protagonists' lives drift into a big question mark' - a conclusion some found earned and others found incomplete.

   The moment: Hyakkimaru's choice about his reclaimed humanity - the moral weight the series has been building to.

   Full review of E24 →