Dororo Episode 10 Review: The Story of Tahomaru

The story of Tahomaru painted a different a picture of the younger Kagemitsu brother, a much favorable one that will make his reuniting with his brother all the more interesting.

Plot

I must be honest. The way the series treated Tahomaru thus far gave me a false impression of the boy. I thought that Tahomaru was a spoiled noble whose only concern was to earn his father’s admiration and his mother’s love. Tahomaru still wants both but he managed to wash the ‘spoiled’ tag off of him with his actions. A nearby village is terrorized by one of the monsters roaming the Daigo land. It is a huge crab-like abomination that targets boats and eats the people in them. After a confrontation with his father, Tahomaru and his two loyal friends and servants, Mutsu and Hyogo, help the villagers defeat the monster and save their land. While Hyakkimaru makes a last-minute appearance to save one of the two servants and finish the monster, his appearance is not at all instrumental to the episode. His cameo only serves as a way for Tahomaru to see his brother for the first time without really knowing who he is. The focus of this episode is on Tahomaru himself.

Annoyed by his father’s insistence to keep the truth from him (and his mother’s secretive nature regarding the headless statue), Tahomaru may have had all the right in the world to feel bitter and resentful. That is not the case however. Tahomaru is an excellent swordsman and an inspiring leader. He is loyal to the people who are loyal to him and displays great leadership qualities by tending to his subjects. He is also proud of the land his father rules over, and even though he doesn’t know why it is fertile, he praises the fertile land that allows their villages to flourish. He is a natural-born leader with a strong body and a sharp mind. That dam plan was brilliant and it allowed the three to inflict enough damage to the monster to send it running. It may have been Hyakkimaru who dealt the finishing blow but it is Tahomaru who was instilled in the people’s mind as the leader who headed their needs.

Episode Highlights

A vision from smoke: I guess that’s their version of a crystal ball. These demons have funny ways of communicating with the mortals. ‘Here, we actually took a video of Hyakkimaru’s life until now. Let us show you.’ Bring the SmokeTV!

Blood Everywhere: Poor Dororo. How many times have you washed Hyakkimaru’s clothes?

A dam: They built a fracking dam to defeat the monster. Imagine what they could have accomplished for their village if they worked that way every single day.

Sharp: What the frak is Tahomaru’s blade made of? It cut right through that monster. He is an excellent swordsman, however. I wonder if we’ll have a brothers’ duel in the future.

Comments

Great episode. I wasn’t expecting one of Tahomaru so soon but I am glad we got one. He is a very interesting character and the Daigo family dynamics will play an important role in future episodes. I am curious to know, however: does Hyakkimaru’s demon killing the reason of the drought? Are the demons punishing Daigo for not keeping his end of the deal?

Now for the Mother

Maybe we need an episode or two more to learn more about Tahomaru’s past, but I am wondering if we’ll get an episode about the mother, soon. Maybe she knows more than she shows.