Dororo Episode 9 Review: The Story of the Mercilessness

Like a curious child, Hyakkimaru experiments with his newfound senses and is still unsure how they work. When Dororo falls ill, Hyakkimaru finds himself in an unprecedented situation and Dororo reminishes the past.

Major Spoiler Ahead: I hope you’ve seen the episode before reading this review. There was a WTF moment near the end.

Plot

Before I start writing this brief plot, I feel I need to apologize to this cure fictional character called Dororo. Who would have thought? To the plot:

Dororo’s past remained a mystery for 8 episodes and I was dying to see what was the deal with her. Why was she alone? Where were her parents? The flu, a beautiful red flower, land an inquisitive Japanese nun took us for a trip to the recent past, when Dororo was but a little girl and her parents were very much alive.

Dororo, daughter of Hibukuro and Ojiya, lived with a brigand (as the friendly narrator said, a band of outlaws) led by her father. Unlike other brigands, the Hibukuro merry band of thieves targeted only samurai, making them like the Robin Hood of their time, but not quite (I don’t think they went around giving the samurai gold to the poor). As it happens with all merry bands with tragic ends, Hibukuro made the mistake of debating with his first in command who had a very different approach when it came to what they should do in the future. Itachi believed that they should monetize their experience as warriors to join the ranks of a new lord. Hibikuro hated the ruling class who destroyed their village and killed their friends and family and made sure to beat Itachi into submission. Grave mistake. Itachi betrays the band and the Hibikuro family pays the price. The father is killed by samurai and the mother dies from exhaustion. Dororo takes her mother’s last words at heart and pushes on. She needs to see the end of this war.

Is this what hell is like?

Episode Highlights

wait… WHAT? Here is the WTF moment I mentioned in the beginning. Dororo is a girl. Not that it changes much but I was certain he was a boy. Guess I was wrong. Time for a pronoun change.

What did he say? I hate inaudible last words. They are like a hook the storyteller throws to keep you invested in the story. What were Dororo’s father’s last words to her?

Practice: Now it makes sense why Dororo is such a good marksman. She’s had years of practice.

Small steps: Hyakkimaru is slowly learning new words. I can’t wait for his first sentence.

Themes & Trivia

Manjushage: Known in English as Red spider lily, this blood-red plant in the amaryllis family is originally from China, Korea, and Nepal, it was introduced into Japan and from there to the United States and elsewhere. It is considered naturalized in Seychelles and in the Ryukyu Islands.

3-day Fever: A cool name for the flu, I guess.

Comments

I am sure you noticed that the flashback featured only one color: blood red, the color of the flower Dororo hates for good reason. Raised in the middle of a senseless war, the only color that painted her little eyes was that of the red spider lily, of fire, and of death. She saw villages burned, people slaughtered, her family betrayed, her father killed by the samurai, and her mother succumb to her weakness in the middle of a spider lily flower bed. Yet, she’s grown to be (actually I’m not sure how many years have passed since she lost her mother) a fairly strong girl. She has street smarts, can hold her own in combat, and grew a thick skin without losing her kindness. By pushing forward, she managed to keep alive and to find someone she can finally call family.