Anime Review: Dorohedoro

Overall: Strong Recommend!

Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Writing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | World Building: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Story: ⭐⭐⭐ | Fan Service: 😁

Content Watched: Season 1

Summary:

Dorohedoro tells the story of the amnesiac reptilian-headed Caiman, working together with his friend Nikaido to recover his memories and survive in a strange and violent world.

Review:

A Japanese, Alice in Wonderland magical and violent adventure! It’s rock-n-roll. It’s manic. But more than anything, it’s dirty. The world has delightful grunge. Everything and everyone are dirty. Even the spaces of wealth are ridden with harsh and jagged people. Each backdrop is rigorously detailed reminding me of 2000s video game textures. All of which look like misery to live in. Yet, the world never feels oppressive because of the wacky, endearing characters that bring it to life.

These characters are excellent. Some of the best all around in anime. They don’t shy away from the weird, and not in a questionable sexual trope way. The writing is distinct and the character actions are unpredictable and unconventional. Also, their design aesthetics also add a unique extra layer on top of it all. Why does a full grown man wear a suit with sneakers every day? Why is every woman inexplicably buff? Who knows and who would complain?!

I don’t particularly like any of the characters, which is why it isn’t a 5-star, perfect anime for me. The one exception is my favorite character: Ebisu. She’s wild and irreverent and such a child in a fucked up world. Given the stakes of the world, the characters affect play to the world in an immersive way. The casual way a doctor talks about reanimating a corpse or are perfectly at peace having tea with a massive cockroach monster. It’s almost akin to a Cyberpunk sensibility around violence, body-mod, and the humor of a world overrun with monopolized power. Yet, you have profoundly mundane, human moments too. There is a lot of love underneath the murder and mayhem.

Thankfully even with the violent and grotesque themes, the show doesn’t shy away from humor. It cuts the tension and makes the reality, and complexity, of the world become realized. I’m never bored and there is never a dull moment, such a refreshing anime is a shonen/isekai-obsessed world.