is a Japanese

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

series written and illustrated by the

manga artist A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist bef ...

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu''; – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such ...

. Tezuka's childhood memory of his friends pronouncing as ''dororo'' inspired the title of the series. ''Dororo'' was first serialized in

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics ( manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the ...

's ''

Weekly Shōnen Sunday is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title, ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' issues are released on Wednesdays. ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' has sold over 1.8billion copies since 1986, ...

'' between August 1967 and July 1968, before being cancelled. The manga was then concluded in

Akita Shoten is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Teio Akita on 10 August 1948. As of 2020, the company's president is Shigeru Higuchi. Magazines Male-oriented manga magazines ''Shōnen'' magazines * – Bimo ...

's ''Bōken'ō'' magazine in 1969. A 26-episode

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

adaptation by Mushi Productions aired in 1969. The anime series bears the distinction of being the first entry in what is now known as the ''

World Masterpiece Theater was a Japanese TV anime staple that showcased an animated version of a different classical book or story each year from 19:30 to 20:00 on Sunday on Fuji TV. It originally aired from 1969 to 1997 and from 2007 to 2009. Commonly abbreviated to ...

'' series (''Calpis Comic Theater'' at the time). ''Dororo'' was also made into a

live-action film Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...

in 2007. A 24-episode second anime television series adaptation by

MAPPA is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Suginami, Tokyo. Founded in 2011 by Madhouse co-founder and producer Masao Maruyama, it has produced anime works including ''Terror in Resonance'', '' Yuri!!! on Ice'', '' In This Corner of th ...

and

Tezuka Productions is a Japanese animation studio founded by Osamu Tezuka in 1968. It is known for animating notable works such as ''Marvelous Melmo'', the 1980 and 2003 ''Astro Boy'' series, and '' Black Jack''. It is also the holder of the intellectual property ...

aired from January to June 2019.

Plot

''Dororo'' revolves around a ''

rōnin A ''rōnin'' ( ; ja, 浪人, , meaning 'drifter' or 'wanderer') was a samurai without a lord or master during the feudal period of Japan (1185–1868). A samurai became masterless upon the death of his master or after the loss of his master' ...

'' named and young orphaned thief named during the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

. The rōnin was born malformed, limbless and without facial features or internal organs. This was the result of his birth father ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominall ...

'' Kagemitsu Daigō forging a pact with 48 sealed

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in Media (communication), media such as comics, video ...

s so that he might rule the land and increase its wealth and prosperity. In return, he promised the demons anything that they wanted which belonged to him. This enabled them to roam free and commit atrocities along the countryside. After his mother Nui no Kata was forced to set him adrift on the river, lest he be killed by his father, the infant was subsequently found and raised by Jukai, a medicine man who used healing magic and alchemist methods to give the child

prostheses In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...

crafted from the remains of children who had died in the war. The boy became nearly invincible against any mortal blow as a result of the prostheses and healing magic. Grafted into his left arm was a very special blade that a traveling storyteller presented to Jukai, believing it was fated to be within his possession given that ever since the boy had been discovered, the doctor had been visited by

goblin A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on ...

s. As revealed in a short tale about the blade's origin, the blade had been forged out of vengeance to kill goblins as well as other supernatural entities. After the sensei was forced to send him on his way because he was attracting demons, the young man learned from a ghostly voice of the curse that had been set upon him at birth and that by killing the demons responsible he could reclaim the stolen pieces of his body and thus regain his humanity. Across his travels, he earned the name among other names for his inhuman nature. On one such hunt of a demon, Hyakkimaru came across a young orphan thief named Dororo who thereafter travels by his side through the war-torn countryside. When Hyakkimaru met Dororo, he had already killed 15 demons. Throughout their journey, Hyakkimaru killed six more demons, bringing the total to 21. Along the way, Hyakkimaru learns that Dororo was hiding a big secret. Dororo's father, Bandit Hibukuro, hid money he saved up on his raids on Bone Cape to later be distributed to the people squeezed dry by the samurai. Itachi, a bandit who betrayed Hibukuro and sided with the authorities, crippled Hibukuro. Hibukuro escaped with limping legs, along with his wife and young child. Hibukuro dies trying to let his remaining family escape. Fearing that she, too, will die, Ojyui had prayed to

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

and, with her blood, drew the map that will lead him to Bone Cape. Three days later, she froze to death. Itachi kidnapped Dororo and used the map on "his" back to lead them to Bone Cape. A mysterious boatman ferried them to the Cape but he had two demon

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachi ...

s with him. One of the sharks ate half of Itachi's bandits while the other shark left with the boatman. However, Dororo and the remaining bandits managed to kill the shark. When the boatman and the second shark returned, Dororo was able to separate the boatman and the shark. Hyakkimaru arrived to stab the shark in one of its eyes, but It escaped. They held the boatman prisoner and then they landed on Bone Cape. The boatman told the thirsty bandits of a spring not too far from their camp, and they went to drink, leaving Itachi, Dororo, the boatman and Hyakkimaru. Dororo later found their corpses and blood leading to the half-blind shark. Hyakkimaru killed the shark and the boatman, then recovered his real voice. Itachi went to search for the money but only found a letter from Hibukuro saying that he hid it somewhere else. The

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

arrived under the pretense of getting rid of the bandits but actually came for the treasure. Hyakkimaru, Dororo, and Itachi kill them, but Itachi was left for dead. Hyakkimaru and Dororo continued on their journey. Sometime later Hyakkimaru learns that his father, Kagemitsu Daigo, was possessed by the 48 demons, and went to slay him. Things were going badly on the Daigo clan's land, and the citizens were forced to build a

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

for him. The slaves were planning a rebellion, but one of the slaves told Kagemitsu of their plans, and he was prepared. His

archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

s shot and killed many slaves and the remainder hid in a tunnel they had built under the fort. Hyakkimaru left Dororo and ran into the fort. Dororo joined the slaves in their ambush, but Kagemitsu Daigo's soldiers caught Dororo. To prove his loyalty, Kagemitsu told Hyakkimaru to kill Dororo. Hyakkimaru acted as if he was about to kill Dororo but turned around and threw his sword into the dark stabbing the physical manifestation of the 48 demons, however, some of them managed to escape. The slaves charged through the tunnel and attacked Kagemitsu's soldiers. Kagemitsu, weak because of the slain demons, escaped with his wife Nui. After he regained his eyes, Hyakkimaru figured out that Dororo is female, though Dororo rejects the notion and refers to himself as a boy despite Hyakkimaru's insistence to act more feminine. This is in part due to Dororo being raised as a boy by his parents in order to be tough. Hyakkimaru also wanted Dororo to fight with the farmers against those in power because Dororo's father was a farmer. Hyakkimaru gave his sword to Dororo, the one that he had desired throughout the series. Hyakkimaru planned to continue his journey alone, agreeing to meet Dororo again when Hyakkimaru's body was whole. They parted with Dororo crying at the doors. It was not until 20 years later that the last of the 48 demons was slain, and he reunited with the full-grown Dororo.

Characters

Characters and voice actors appearing in the anime and video game. ; : : (video game) :Hyakkimaru is a ''

'' during the

and the eldest son of Lord Kagemitsu Daigo and Lady Nui no Kata. Due to a pact forged by his father with 48 sealed demons, the unnamed baby was born malformed, limbless and without facial features or internal organs. The infant was set adrift in the river and was subsequently found and raised by Dr. Jukai who gave the mute child prostheses including special blades grafted into his hard-clay arms forged out of vengeance to kill supernatural entities and regain his true human body. The boy became nearly invincible as a result of the prostheses and nearly heightened senses as he regains each part of his body. During his travels, he earned the name "Hyakkimaru" among other names for his inhuman nature, such as "Dororo" whom he had given to the orphan "boy" he befriends and journeys with to fulfill his quest in rightfully becoming whole. ; : : (video game) :Dororo is a young thief who joins Hyakkimaru in his travels and adventures. In the original manga and 1969 anime adaptation, Hyakkimaru learns that Dororo is physically female with the latter continuously insisting he is a boy, though this is because his parents raised him as one (in the 2019 anime it is revealed earlier, though Hyakkimaru makes no note of it). Dororo's bandit father Hibukuro was wounded by a samurai official and later died. His mother froze to death while fleeing in the snow, but before she died she drew a map on Dororo's back to locate money hidden by "his" brigand father at Bone Cape. Years later, she reunites with a fully human Hyakkimaru as a lovely young woman. ; : : (video game) :Hyakkimaru's father and Samurai in the Muromachi period, Lord of Ishikawa and vassal to the governor of

Kaga Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the south and western portion of Ishikawa Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Kaga bordered on Echizen, Etchū, Hida, and Noto Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abb ...

. So that he might rule the land and protect it from the repeated famines, epidemics, droughts and disasters that plagued neighboring domains, he forged a pact with 48 sealed demons where each could obtain a piece of his newborn child's body. ; : : (video game) : Younger brother of Hyakkimaru and the second son of Kagemitsu Daigo. Born after Hyakkimaru was abandoned. ; : : (video game) :A skilled doctor and surgeon who used healing magic and alchemical methods to create prostheses for the child who became Hyakkimaru. ; : :An unnamed blind travelling monk and a

biwa hōshi , also known as "lute priests", were travelling performers in the era of Japanese history preceding the Meiji period. They earned their income by reciting vocal literature to the accompaniment of music. were mostly blind, and adopted the shaved ...

(lute priest). He is an excellent swordsman who carries a sword inside his

biwa The is a Japanese short-necked wooden lute traditionally used in narrative storytelling. The is a plucked string instrument that first gained popularity in China before spreading throughout East Asia, eventually reaching Japan sometime duri ...

. ; : : (video game) :Hyakkimaru's first love, a beautiful prostitute who took care of orphaned children. She died protecting the other children from a raid ordered by Kagemitsu. In the manga and first anime she dies before the action starts and therefore is seen only in flashbacks, but in the 2019 anime she shows up in the present. ; : :A bandit who betrayed Dororo's father Hibukuro and sided with the authorities. He later kidnapped Dororo to get the map to find the money hidden by Hibukuro. ; :A puppy wearing a hat that travels with Hyakkimaru. Original anime character only and does not appear in the manga. Makes a cameo appearance in the first episode of the 2019 anime.

Media

Manga

''Dororo'' was first serialized in ''

'' between August 27, 1967, and July 22, 1968, before being cancelled. Parallel to the anime broadcast, the manga was then moved and concluded in

's ''

Bōken Ō ''Bōken Ō'' (冒険王, "Adventure King") was a monthly magazine for youth published by Akita Shoten between 1949 and 1983. It was among the first generation of children's comic magazines after World War II and was initially focused on publish ...

'' magazine from May to October 1969. Akita Shoten published the manga in four ''

tankōbon is the Japanese term for a book that is not part of an anthology or corpus. In modern Japanese, the term is most often used in reference to individual volumes of a manga series: most series first appear as individual chapters in a weekly or ...

'' volumes between August 12, 1971, and May 20, 1972. As part of its Osamu Tezuka Manga Complete Works edition,

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', '' Afternoon'', '' Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' ...

compiled the manga into four volumes published between March 12 and June 12, 1981. Akita Shoten republished the manga in a three-volume deluxe edition between August 23 and October 18, 1990, and a new three-volume ''

bunkobon In Japan, are small-format paperback books, designed to be affordable and space saving. The great majority of ''bunkobon'' are A6 (105×148mm or 4.1"×5.8") in size. They are sometimes illustrated and like other Japanese paperbacks usually ...

'' edition under its Akita Bunko imprint on March 28, 1994. On November 11, 2009, Kodansha published the series in a two-volume edition. In 2008,

Vertical Inc. Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC is a publishing company based in New York, USA, and a subsidiary of Japan's largest publishing company Kodansha. Established in July 2008, Kodansha USA publishes books relating to Japan, Japanese culture, and manga ...

released an English translation of ''Dororo'' in three volumes, published between April 29 and August 26. In 2009, it won the

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are List of Eisner Award winners, prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Acad ...

in the " Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Japan" division. In 2012, Vertical republished the manga in a single volume edition on March 20. A remake manga illustrated by Satoshi Shiki, titled , started in Akita Shoten's ''

Champion Red is a monthly Japanese ''seinen'' manga magazine, published on the 19th each month by Akita Shoten since August 19, 2002 (cover date October 2002), initially published as a ''shōnen'' magazine. Since 2015, the magazine slogan is . was a sp ...

'' on October 19, 2018. In May 2021, it was announced that the series entered its last arc. The first ''tankōbon'' volume was published on April 19, 2019. As of February 18, 2022, six volumes have been released. In North America, the manga has been licensed by

Seven Seas Entertainment Seven Seas Entertainment is an American publishing company located in Los Angeles, California. It was originally dedicated to the publication of original English-language manga, but now publishes licensed manga and light novels from Japan, as w ...

, and the first volume was released on June 9, 2020.

Novels

A novel written by

Masaki Tsuji is a Japanese anime screenwriter, mystery writer, manga author, travel critic, essayist, professor as well as mystery fiction novels writer. Tsuji was most active in the business from the 1960s through the 1980s, and worked as a script writer on ...

and illustrated by Hideki Kitano was published by

Asahi Sonorama is the publishing arm of The Asahi Shimbun Company, publishing books, magazines, and manga. It replaced on 1 April 2008 just after it went bankrupt. History Asahi Sonorama was created as a division of Asahi Shimbunsha on September 9, 1959 ...

in September 1978; it was later reprinted in January 2007. A three-volume series, written by

Jinzō Toriumi was a Japanese screenwriter who first began his career during the "revolutionary era" of Japanese animation on ''Mach GoGoGo'' (''Speed Racer''), ''Science Ninja Team Gatchaman'' (''Battle of the Planets/G-Force''), and ''Yatterman''. Toriumi w ...

, were published by in 2001; was released in July; was released in September; and was released in November. A two-volume novelization of the

, written by , was released by

The Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...

on December 7, 2006.

Film

A live action film directed by

Akihiko Shiota (born 11 September 1961, Maizuru, Kyoto) is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Career Shiota attended Rikkyo University, where he was in a film club with other students such as Makoto Shinozaki and Shinji Aoyama and began making 8mm f ...

was released in 2007.

Anime

The first anime series was broadcast between April and September 1969. Unlike the manga, the anime version has a conclusive ending. In 2008, Anime Sols began a crowd-funding project for official streaming of the show. Funding for the first half of the show reached its goal, and the funding continued for the second half. However, Anime Sols folded, and

Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...

picked up the project and released it on DVD in 2016, including the show's color pilot in the set. A 24-episode second anime television series adaptation by

and

was announced in March 2018. The series aired from January 7 to June 24, 2019 through

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

. The anime aired on

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV, branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city. It competes with Nippon TV, TV Asahi, NH ...

, BS11, and Jidaigeki Senmon Channel. Kazuhiro Furuhashi directs the series, with

Yasuko Kobayashi is a Japanese anime and tokusatsu drama screenwriter who has been involved in various television shows throughout her career, beginning in 1993 with ''Tokusou Robo Janperson''. In September 2022, Kobayashi launched a new manga series with illus ...

handling series composition, Satoshi Iwataki handling character designs, and Yoshihiro Ike composing the music. Twin Engine produces the series. The first opening theme is performed by

Queen Bee A queen bee is typically an adult, mated female ( gyne) that lives in a colony or hive of honey bees. With fully developed reproductive organs, the queen is usually the mother of most, if not all, of the bees in the beehive. Queens are developed ...

, while the first ending theme is performed by Amazarashi. The second opening is performed by

Asian Kung-Fu Generation (stylized as ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION) is a Japanese alternative rock band formed in Yokohama in 1996. For its entire career, the band has consisted of vocalist Masafumi Gotoh, guitarist Kensuke Kita, bassist Takahiro Yamada, and drummer Kiyo ...

and the second ending theme is performed by Eve. On March 31, 2021, it was announced

Sentai Filmworks Sentai Filmworks, LLC or just Sentai, is an American entertainment company owned by AMC Networks. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is S ...

has licensed the anime for home video release and will produce an English dub for the series.

Video game

Developer

Sega is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...

made a ''Dororo''-based video game for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on ...

console in 2004. It was released in the United States and Europe under the title '' Blood Will Tell''. The game's artwork was done by renowned manga artist Hiroaki Samura. ''Dororo'' was not very successful commercially or critically, scoring a 69% average at

GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...

Spin-offs

On November 2, 2012, a manga crossover one-shot was published featuring Dororo and ''

Dororon Enma-kun , also known as ''Satanikus!'', is a Japanese horror-comedy anime and manga series created by Go Nagai. It's one of Nagai's most famous works in Japan, although not very well known in the rest of the world. In 2006, it would ge ...

s Emma. In 2013, it was expanded into a full series, published till February 21, 2014 and collected in two volumes. From 2018 to 2020, a manga reinterpretation of ''Dororo'', illustrated by Atsushi Kaneko, set in a futuristic, apocalyptic world with the main characters gender-swapped, titled ''Search and Destroy'', was published by Micro Magazine's ''TezuComi''. Its chapters were collected in three volumes.

References

External links

''Dororo'' at Tezuka Osamu @ World
— Official site for Tezuka Osamu's works

TVアニメ「どろろ」公式サイト
(Japanese) Official ''Dororo'' Anime 2019 Page * * {{Champion Red 1967 manga 2018 manga Action anime and manga Akita Shoten manga Dark fantasy anime and manga Demons in anime and manga Eisner Award winners Fiction about curses Historical fantasy anime and manga Manga adapted into films Osamu Tezuka manga Seven Seas Entertainment titles Shogakukan manga Shōnen manga Vertical (publisher) titles Yōkai in anime and manga