Dorohedoro

(This review is free from other spoilers than a bit of the very first chapter) Dorohedoro is a manga unlike anything else. It's something you get only once in a genre, or in this case, once in a medium. It's the same as say Death Grips is to rap/hip hop music or Philip K. Dick was to sci fi. It's something breaking all the stupid rules, crossing all boundaries. It's a rare and unique experience. A thrilling and grim world, born from the imagination of Q Hayashida. So what makes Dorohedoro so special? By looking at the art, it may seem like it's goingto be similar to many other art manga, like Nihei's Blame!. But the raw art style isn't all in Dorohedoro. The world, it's something else. It's quite hard, even impossible to categorize Dorohedoro or any of Q Hayashida's works into a genre. I myself call it cybermagic, since he takes large influences from cyberpunk works like Akira and Nihei's mangas as well as dark fantasy and horror like Berserk or even Lovecraft's stories. It's extremely hard to create almost completely unique and original world and style, but Q Hayashida has managed to do that more than well. The art perfectly fits the world and story. It's rough and vivid. Q Hayashida uses strong yet detailed lines that bring life to the post-apocalyptic and surreal world. The story is very raw and violent, in a perfect symbiosis with the art style. I don't think there is about any story that is as literally in-your-face as Dorohedoro (maybe with the exceptionof Berserk). It starts right from the violence and gore. You see our lizard-headed protagonist Kaiman eat a weird masked guy. He doesn't do it just for fun or hunger, but because he must find someone. That guy is not the right one. Kaiman let's that masked guy go, but he and his partner Nikaido need to fight and kill them. Those guys were not humans, but sorcerers, from the Sorcerer's world (I like to call it the Sorcerer's home, even if it's not the official translation). The world of Dorohedoro is two-pieced. One is the Hole, a gloomy and dystopian city where humans reside. The other is the Sorcerer's home, a somewhat similar, but much more lively and surreal place. The only way to traverse between those two worlds is through magical doors that only sorcerers can place. The winding, complex and puzzling Dorohedoro covers both worlds in a way nobody else than Q Hayashida could. Since this review is spoiler-less, I can't really talk much about the characters or the story. Not even much of the world itself. But what I can tell, is that Kaiman is on a deeply personal crusade to find out what he really is. But he won't be let alone on that journey, as Nikaido and many others will support the seemingly desperate search for a mysterious character. Kaiman's character may remind some of Guts from Berserk, but I bet there isn't a single dark hero/anti-hero in modern animanga that hasn't been influenced by him. The magic system in Dorohedoro is very unique and cool too. I can't tell much else other than that it kind of works through the masks that the sorcerers wear. If you want to start this manga, be sure to have an open mind, since it's probably very different from anything you've ever experienced. Close your seat belts and hold tight to your seats as you will dive deep into the grim and overwhelming world of Dorohedoro, a masterpiece of manga.

The first Manga i ever read was Dorohedoro and i'm grateful that it was. The excitement of waiting for a book to be released and checking them out at my library 4 books at a time, the anxiety of having to return them and not be able to go back and admire the art and worrying that i was reading them too fast. I never want to forget the amazing experience that Dorohedoro was. It introduced me to a new idea of what manga is and what it can be, that the most complicated of stories can still be simple and heart warming even ina swarm of guts and gore. Regardless of who i show this manga to, the first thing they are captured by is the art, rough lines and sketchy characters, detailed settings and apocalyptic-grunge clothing with nikes. The world of Dorohedoro draws you in visually first before enchanting you with a plot constantly leaving you wanting more and romance that will have you ripping your hair out in anticipation (and always will (: ) humor that builds and eventually requires the 23 volumes of knowledge to really get, never ending action, information and plot twists. And of course, everyone's favorite- little gyoza fairy Dorohedoro NEVER had me wanting to drop or put this on-hold, in fact I'd have to pace myself as to not read too much. Q Hayashida really created an entire world like you've never seen it and does a spectacular job at being able to create a diverse cast of unique people and animals. each story is choreographed perfectly with the personalities of each character. It accomplishes what a lot of manga doesn't care as much to touch on- architecture and the nuances of the world and environment. I'm not the best at conveying why i enjoy things objectively but if anything I urge you to read a story that will always give you enjoyment!

The world of Dorohedoro is one of the rarest and most original that I have seen in a manga: it is violent, dark and visceral, without falling into the common topics of this kind of stories. Personally I think that would be its main characteristic: Dorohedoro can use elements such as magic, satanism with demons or steam-punk aesthetics, but in such a way that when using them as material to build their history and lore, they end up Feeling fresh and differents. In short, the author Q Hayashida has a gift for making the grotesque and bloody something fascinating, enjoyable and interesting. For that reason, Dorohedoro isa very good story, which I could easily recommend to anyone who enjoys this world. PD: I want to eat Gyozas!!!

SPOILER FREE REVIEW There are two types of absurd but well-told storytelling. You get anime such as Gurren Lagann or Redline where the interest is piqued because of its spectacle and over-the-top visuals and characters. Or you get anything made by Masaaki Yuasa where the presentation is wacky and strange but underneath the surface, there lies a lot of character analysis, social critique, and philosophy that a majority of his audience can find relatable. Dorohedoro had the potential to be a well-thought out mystery containing dark humor and sick action. But unfortunately it built-up something so huge that the climax was below underwhelming.Don't get me wrong. I'm fine with the story being absurd and weird since it was not very aspiring to be something more or grand like what Masaaki Yuasa makes. But it brings upon so many subplots and crucial details in the middle that the audience will begin to lose track of coherence and what is even supposed to matter. Story: There is only one word that can fully described the plot of Dorohedoro: CONVOLUTED! While the setting and premise I do say is quite fascinating, it takes a more mysterious turn in the middle and the amount of mysteries keep piling up and will leave you lost. The world of the humans and sorcerers was interesting and the history behind some of the past events does make you invested. But it will more depend on what you are looking for. If you don't care too much about the plot and just want to enjoy a silly story of sorcerers and humans murdering the shit out of one another, then don't let my criticisms stop you from checking it out. But if you are looking for (at the very least) some sense for the amount of plot points it tries to put together, then you are going to be disappointed. I stopped caring around the final 3rd of the series but was still curious enough to see it all the way through. In short, vol. 1-4 = slow / vol. 5-13 = very interesting / vol. 14-23 = I'm lost. Characters: If I'm completely honest, the story would not have had a huge impact on my distaste for this series had the characters held the story well. And for the first half of it, they did and they were pretty tremendous. Caiman and Nikaidou were very likeable characters and their friendship was very believable. My personal favorites were the villains: En, Shin, and Noi. They were hilarious and they give the audience a perfect reason to not take Dorohedoro all too seriously. When comparing the humans (and Caiman), En's family, and the Cross Eyes, En's family had the most consistent character state and their relationship expressed their truest characters best out of all of the main groups in the story. Unfortunately, where things went wrong was that at the half way point, some crucial characters are not able to fulfill all of their potential and move away from the story (I will not spoil, just figure out why yourself). And some characters (Nikaidou and Ebisu), while still likeable (more in the first half than the second), change for very annoying reasons and the plot ruined them when I previously loved them. There also isn't much character development. Some characters never needed it because they were great the way they were and were even fleshed out further into the plot. But I feel the only characters that change from beginning to end are Fujita and Risu. Everybody else either never changes and feels like their character is just being dragged by the complicated plot and not entirely being themselves or they go through realizations which have a minor impact on their final character change. Art: It is different in a good way and it suits the atmosphere it is trying to present. It fits the gritty violence and over-the-top designs of the characters. While some of the backgrounds did lack a little too much detail for me, I'd say the art is the best part of the series. Final Thoughts: In the beginning, this manga had practically everything to be something awesome. But with poor plot decisions, the story just drags and will leave you lost on what the point of really anything is. You can enjoy the absurd humor and the gritty action but nothing makes sense. If it was all absurd humor and gritty action, it would come across more consistent than when it builds up something so crucial for the overall story just to forget about what to do with it and make an underwhelming conclusion. It's still worth the check out if it really interests you. I give Dorohedoro a not bad, but disappointing 5/10.