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MANGA.TOKYO > Anime Reviews > Winter 2019 > Dororo Episode 12 Review: The Story of Banmon, Part 2

Dororo Episode 12 Review: The Story of Banmon, Part 2

by Thanasis Karavasilis

11 months ago

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The narrator at the beginning marked the end of the first cour for Dororo. We still have a whole season of episodes, and I couldn’t be more excited.

‘Who are you?’

Plot

Much drama in this week’s episode. Father cares little about anything else than his ambitions; Mother tries to commit suicide out of guilt and somehow imbues her little headless Goddess of Mercy with life; Sukeroku is a lucky son-of-a-bitch and his mother is a one-scene stalker; the old man is happy that he is alive to witness such a drama unfolding in front of his ‘eyes’. Probably better than watching Amazon Prime (that’s where I watch Dororo); Dororo has momentary doubts about his relationship with Hyakkimaru and if it serves a greater purpose but quickly comes around. They are family after all; Tahomaru is torn between what seems and what feels right. He knows that what was done to Hyakkimaru was wrong but his father’s rant makes him denounce his morality for the greater good; Hyakkimaru is in the most tragic situation. His father tries to kill him. Then his brother denounces him and Hyakkimaru takes one eye during their fight. His mother tries to commit suicide. Dororo almost questions his ‘brother’s’ right to live. And he still has to kill so many demons if he wants to get his body back. We are going to have an interesting second cour.

Episode Highlights

Shit, I am in trouble: That guy literally soiled himself out of fear. That’s what you get for being an asshole. I am glad though that Hyakkimaru didn’t soil his soul further by killing that worthless piece of shit.

Mom?: Hyakkimaru’s smile when he realised that he found his family was sweet. It made the last scene even more tragic.

Stormtroopers: Sukeroku was just lucky or did the soldiers missed on purpose? I am kidding. It was just bad writing.

One-eyed brother: You need a scar if you’re going to hold a grudge against your brother, right?

Comments

Great last episode for this cour. It sacrificed a lot in pacing to get the message across and yet the psychological impact was so great that the audience could turn an eye away of the plot holes. Sukeroku’s mother arriving at just the right time, Dororo knowing that Sukeroku was about to be murdered on the wall, Hyakkimaru’s inflitration of Daigo’s estate: Many events just happened and I can’t shake the feeling that the episode would have been more impactful if it was split in two. I now need to read the manga. I guess.

On the Run

Now that Hyakkimaru is official an enemy of the state (of Daigo) he needs to go on the run. His only hope of staying alive is to kill all the demons, get his body back, and maybe take his father’s place? A bit of a stretch. Maybe his brother will turn around and become a better leader than his father ever was or hoped to be.

Did you like Episode 12 of Dororo? See you in Spring 2019 and don’t forget to check the rest of our final reviews for Winter 2019.