Dororo - An example of a Masterpiece

Many know Osamu Tezuka as the author of Astro Boy and a few more works and that's it. As logic, that's ignorance. Dororo is one of the most famous works of the author and at the same time, one of the darkest. In English, this work was published by Vertical in three volumes, including a new cover design showing human flesh in some panels of manga, showing how dark it is inside.

Dororo tells the tale of a samurai lord (Hyakkimaru) that has bartered away his newborn son's organs to forty-eight demons in exchange for dominance on the battlefield. Yet, the abandoned infant survives thanks to a medicine man who equips him with primitive prosthetics—lethal ones with which the wronged son will use to hunt down the multitude of demons to reclaim his body one piece at a time, before confronting his father. On his journeys, the young hero encounters an orphan (Dororo) who claims to be the greatest thief in Japan. When reading, the art gives you that 60's look: well-designed monsters, humans are impressive and all the action is very detailed being an old work, making it an interesting atmosphere as a whole.

I find the characters of this manga very alike other works of the author but that's not really a bad thing, the reader must comprehend that when reading. As for Dororo, it is really a fantastic character, bringing all readers to curiosity when they change to the next page continuously until they finish reading. Dororo can be a cute character, a really badass or both, it depends on the person and what's that person thinks of the characters itself. It's just a shame that Hyakkimaru was not as a deep character as Dororo but that's not the main concern when reading, despite the fact that Hyakkimaru’s father made a pact with 48 demons that he’d offer each demon a part of the yet-to-be-born Hyakkimaru’s body in exchange for the fulfillment of his wish.

To conclude, Dororo it's a very paced, complex yet fun story, full of action and twisted plot points to keep the reader interested in this kind of manga. Dororo is still episodic, so that's a plus. I know people won't give a chance to this kind of stories but that's even better for those who like it because these people feel more comfortable, within their own taste and that's a good thing. I really believe that Dororo is worth investing even though there's a lot samurai vs monster/youkai manga out there. Again, I'm not saying those people are forced to like it but they should at least try a classic version of that specific stereotype. If you are European, you can compare this Dororo to Hattori-kun from the "Ninja Hattori-kun" anime, since both of them are called ninjas/assassins (even though Hattori-kun is more turned to comedy).

Story: 10 | Art: 10 | Character: 9 | Enjoyment: 9
Score: 10

Personal Note: One of my favorite manga since the creation of manga itself.