Dororo Episode 20 Review: The Story of the Nue

Hyakkimaru is not the only one who hunts demons. We have already met the old man, but now it is time to meet Saburota. What will happen in Dororo‘s Episode 20?

Plot

Surprised? I am sure you saw that Saburota was just another crazy guy with mommy issues from miles away. To be fair to him, however, Saburota really wanted to become a samurai. Unlike other wannabes who are too drunk to their own ambitions that they forget to put in the work. And, contrary to popular belief, you do get out what you put in. Saburota put in the training of the body but neglected the training of the mind. He could use the sword but when he encountered the Chimera, his fear was stronger and mightier than his sword skills. He could have tried to escape with his mother, or better yet he could have tried to defend her, but in a scene straight out of a horror movie, he decided to cut her pleading hand off his shirt and run to his safety. That’s enough to drive loco anyone. His version of madness had him fill the hole in his heart by feeding the monster people who reminded him of his own cowardice. People screamed and begged and run and Saburota felt better because everyone was the same. They were all cowards. He was not the only one. Maybe he wasn’t at fault.

Revenge gives purpose, yet it doesn’t specify if that purpose is worth living for. Saburota’s purpose was to get revenge not for his mother’s death but for his own cowardice. Each time he fed the creature, he was taking revenge from his own self, determined to fill that hole in his heart by making it bigger. The Chimera, the mindless beast it is, didn’t care as long as it got food (all demons are pretty simple-minded in Dororo except for those who can transform into women… hmmm….). He uses the wannabe samurai as his personal waiter, as Saburota was determined in finding food for the frankedemon. His madness run so deep that not even Hyakkimaru’s bravery was enough to bring him closure. He was devoured by the beast who made him part of his animal palette and eventually died by one of Hyakkimaru’s blades. To be honest, I am sure there were many readings in that final scene, but I must have missed them.

In the final scenes, and after the old man (who has become a deus ex machina) saves Dororo from certain drowing, Hyakkimaru takes his little sister and head for Daigo’s land. First, Hyakkimaru realizes that he can’t kill all the demons in the world to get his body back, and second, we only have a few episodes left; we need to speed the body-reclamation process.

Episode Highlights

Seasons 101: Dororo and Hyakkimaru’s relationship is the real theme of the anime. Give me 24 minutes of their shenanigans and I could live without the fights.

Comments

I am not looking forward to Dororo’s finale. It is a good story, but what I was expecting from the series has already happened. I wanted to see how a broken spirit bent on revenge and a small girl in need of a family would find each other and bond. Episode 19 was for me a great ending to a good series and I am not interested in finding out how Hyakkimaru’s family feud is going to play out. Dororo had a good run, but I think a movie or a long-running series with one or two-episode stories that could stand on their own would have suited the series better.

Fate

It feels like we are heading for the finale of the series. A bit abruptly I’d say but I haven’t read the manga so this must do. Let’s see what the final confrontation at Daigo’s will be life.

Did you like Episode 20 of anime Dororo? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to check the rest of our Spring 2019 reviews.