Dororo (Remake)

[orion]

If Nui survives until the end of the series, she can be a good mother to Dororo. Tahomaru, Hyogo and Mutsu really crossed the line by taking Hyakki's body parts and taunting him with them.

Why couldn't the demons just asked for Tahomaru to give them his body?

[Kinematics]

Looks like, in order to get his arms and eyes back, Hyakkimaru is expected to kill Tahoumaru, Mutsu, and Hyogo. At the same time, I can't see him not becoming a full-fledged demon if he does so. Of course the Taho troupe has fully accepted becoming demons in order to get this power-up, anyway.

Nui is in a bad position. She has reasonable motivations to support her husband, and both of her sons. Unfortunately, those actions are mutually opposed, which means she can't reasonably act. Thus she has chosen not to act, which is about the worst possible choice. At least with her interaction with Dororo, it looks like she's stepped on the path to making her own choice.

Mutsu and Hyogo were kicked while they were down, last episode, with that other retainer scolding them for not doing absolutely everything possible to protect Tahoumaru, rather than let him protect them. Mutsu took that to heart, and now tries to make her own deal with the demons in a last ditch effort to adhere to that samurai ethos. Her efforts are rejected, but it looks like Tahoumaru took advantage of the qualifications the demon presented to gain advantage for both himself and his retainers.

Hyakkimaru has gone all Ghost Rider on the Daigo army. But the little horse is still hanging around, so will probably have some impact on the endgame. I would not be surprised if Hyakkimaru tries to back off from ultimate revenge, Midoro ain't having none o' that, and the new confrontation is only stopped by Dororo bringing back Midoro's child — and thus a little symbolism for parent/child reunions, and the horses wander off with Midoro going orange, like the spider demon. (Except things won't be that easy, so there will probably be some 'noble' sacrifice jammed in.)

Predictions:

Daigo dies. Likely does something to help neutralize the Asakura invasion first, though.

Nui manages to stop Hyakkimaru and Tahoumaru from killing each other, tells them her real feelings, but in the process gets killed.

Hyakkimaru and Tahoumaru live, and decide to rule the land together, using the money Dororo provides from her dad's stash as a starting fund for fixing things for the citizens.

Hyakkimaru regains his body but manages to not kill Mutsu and Hyogo. Those two live on as non-combat retainers to provide reminders about the not-so-great life of peasants. I wouldn't be surprised by a fridge death for Mutsu, though.

[Kanon]

In the ED, Hyakkimaru has his left arm (his finger bleeds when he strokes the blade so it's his real one) but not his right one. So I guess Hyogo will be killed and Mutsu will survive.

[Mad Pierrot]

Is that monk again! He better explain how he comes out of nowhere.

Also, dayumn at Hyakkimaru's savage

[Cao Ni Ma]

See, Dororo's realization and exposition in this episode should have happen AT LEAST 5 episodes ago. But better late than never

e- And then in the end she went and muddled things AGAIN. I swear who ever is writing this is schizophrenic

[zztop]

I think TinyRedLeaf's earlier assessment of Hyakkimaru's character and Dororo's role has never been more accurate.

...the one piece of humanity that would be the most difficult for Hyakkimaru to recover is his conscience, his ability to reflect on the price of his actions. And that is why Dororo is key to the equation: the child is the heart and soul of this moral tale, the only one reflecting on this important question as the story unfolds.
And that is why (s)he is the titular character, not Hyakkimaru.
https://forums.animesuki.com/showpos...&postcount=213

[FlareKnight]

Originally Posted by Cao Ni Ma

See, Dororo's realization and exposition in this episode should have happen AT LEAST 5 episodes ago. But better late than never

e- And then in the end she went and muddled things AGAIN. I swear who ever is writing this is schizophrenic

That's for sure. Dororo was doing nicely there for a while. Starting to gather the will and the desire to create a proud future and starting to chase an ideal chosen by Dororo. And then it gets muddy again at the end. Sorry Dororo, but you just aren't that much better than getting back a full set of body parts . On some level that message does work out. But on another it's just even more selfish than Hyakkimaru's efforts. Gets pissed off at people who even suggest things would be better if Hyakkimaru gave up his body and then ends the monologue with basically saying the exact same thing as them! "It's ok if you lose your body to demons because I'll be there for you." Well that's nice of you really...

I don't even know how this is all going to turn out really. Could see something frustrating where Hyakkimaru just never gets his eyes back and everyone goes their own way. Although part of me doesn't see that since Tahomaru walking around as triple eye man would be creepy as heck.

The episode was overall fun though. That horse owned things . Oh sure it died in the end, but it was probably on borrowed time anyways. Just being held together by its desire for revenge. Also holy smokes no one should call Hyakkimaru a demon when you have Mutsu and Hyogo doing...that crazy stuff. Forget a horse reassembling its blown up body into a fighting force, these two were fighting without limbs and one of them without a head!

[RDNexus]

You missed Dororo's point about being OK for Hyakkimaru to lose his body again.
She simply wants Hyakkimaru to not become a Demon, to remain human. If for that he had to relinquish his body parts again, at least she'd be there for him.
And you even see during the episode that Hyakkimaru questions himself what means to be human. After all the crap he experienced, I guess it's only natural.

[Cao Ni Ma]

Originally Posted by xrick

You missed Dororo's point about being OK for Hyakkimaru to lose his body again.
She simply wants Hyakkimaru to not become a Demon, to remain human. If for that he had to relinquish his body parts again, at least she'd be there for him.
And you even see during the episode that Hyakkimaru questions himself what means to be human. After all the crap he experienced, I guess it's only natural.

I'm saying that the point is wrong specially after she makes the connection that sacrificing Hyakki for the sake of the land is complete bullshit (and everyone agrees with her in the end!)

The story finally acknowledges the parallels of the samurai, the wars, the demons and the damage they are doing to the people, how that wealth is fleeting and that the peasants need to fight and protect whats theirs. And in the end she goes "Its ok for you to not take back what is yours!" it feels like an immediate regression.

I mean, sure its probably because of Tahoumaru and such, if it was just another demon she probably wouldn't mind. But its just awkward.

[grecefar]

I cheer when mutsu and hyogo died, I just need tahomaru to die too, I seriously hate those three.

[Nivek von Beldo]

RIP Hyakimaru Ponyta, this chapter MVP alongside Dororo

Is the doctor an idiot? YES

this is chapter a massive author saving throw? of course.

What an awful adaptation but at least was fun

[Mad Pierrot]

Man, I have kind of mixed thoughts about this episode. While I appreciate the fight between Hyakkimaru and Tahomaru, it sure is taking forever. At least there was more progress in certain scenes like Mutsu and Hyogo meeting their death flags and Hyakkimaru recovering his arms in the worst way ever considering he is not cutting himself.

What bothered me the most is that while the fight is good, we got a lot of time focused on the other characters just talking. At least Dororo found her answer to Hyakkimaru's dilemma about living but I wonder how will they handle the finale.

The thing I absolutely loved about this episode is its portrayal of Hyakkimaru. He is basically the demon of the village. His rage is perfect for the scenario that makes some villagers easy to accept their hatred towards him. He is probably scarier than Tahomaru at this moment.

[Anh_Minh]

Why can't anyone by on Hyakkimaru's side? Why can't they just accept him getting back what's his and damn the assholes getting in his way?

And Tahomaru's just as shameless as ever. Hyakkimaru's limbs and eyes were never his? Fuck you sideways, asshole.

The most acceptable (yes, more than Dororo) are the villagers. They're selfish assholes, but they don't really act on it, and they don't try to dress it up in faux righteousness.

[Kanon]

I hate that nobody ever brings up the fact that Hyakkimaru isn't the only one who has suffered from the deal, tons of innocent people outside of Daigo's domain have been killed by the demons he freed. Perhaps more than the deal saved. That's the reason this whole dilemma they've been trying so hard to set up is such BS.

[Mad Pierrot]

Yeah, in the first half's finale, there was a lot of respect towards Daigo but I think that's because the words came from villagers. The villagers don't care about Hyakkimaru's fate but even Oku has no idea what is the solution. There is also the weird monk but I have no idea whose is he.

The only character who found her answer to all these problems is Dororo as she is the reason why Hyakkimaru decided to reclaim his body when talking with Jukai and has nothing to do with Daigo. As a result, I doubt we might see the siblings ending their battle next week. I have no idea how it will end this conflict considering the changes the staff made though but I hope its different from the other series. Then again, the fact that even Daigo is going to intervene makes the end a mystery.

[Kinematics]

Originally Posted by Kanon

So I guess Hyogo will be killed and Mutsu will survive.

Guess we were both wrong. Definitely didn't expect Hyogo to be killed like that, though.

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

Gets pissed off at people who even suggest things would be better if Hyakkimaru gave up his body and then ends the monologue with basically saying the exact same thing as them! "It's ok if you lose your body to demons because I'll be there for you." Well that's nice of you really...

Eh, nope, that's not quite correct. Dororo wasn't agreeing with the others about sacrificing Hyakkimaru's body for the sake of the country; she was saying that Hyakkimaru mustn't become a demon to achieve his goal (even though the goal itself is still worthy, and striving to achieve it on his own strength is commendable). Failing is not a bad thing, because Dororo will still be there for him.

Which oddly enough reminds me of Maxim 70 from Schlock Mercenary:

• Failure is not an option - it is mandatory. The option is whether or not to let failure be the last thing you do.


Anyway, I just noticed at the end of the fight, in the faceoff in the castle, that Hyakkimaru still has his sword!. It's strapped to his waist! Why is he going around trying to cut his own (newly regrown) fingers off on the raw blades that were in his artificial arms instead of just drawing the blade that he'd been carrying around?

I suspect it'll be a Chekhov's Gun in the next episode, but it's still irritating.

[Wandering Soul]

Originally Posted by Kinematics

Anyway, I just noticed at the end of the fight, in the faceoff in the castle, that Hyakkimaru still has his sword!. It's strapped to his waist! Why is he going around trying to cut his own (newly regrown) fingers off on the raw blades that were in his artificial arms instead of just drawing the blade that he'd been carrying around?

I suspect it'll be a Chekhov's Gun in the next episode, but it's still irritating.

Does Hyakkimaru even know how to use a sword the regular way? Up to this point, his arms have been his blades so I imagine that it would be pretty hard for him to adjust to this method of fighting mid-battle.

[Kinematics]

Originally Posted by Wandering Soul

Does Hyakkimaru even know how to use a sword the regular way? Up to this point, his arms have been his blades so I imagine that it would be pretty hard for him to adjust to this method of fighting mid-battle.

I'm pretty sure he's used the normal sword at some point, though I'm fuzzy on exactly when, and might be misremembering. On the other hand, is there much difference between holding his raw blades in his hands (using wraps that we won't try to figure out how he tied) vs holding a katana with a grip in his hands?

[serenade_beta]

...Okay, there are a lot of problems, but I'm just going to say that
1. This Rapidash is clearly too strong for some "character" that appeared only in this arc, only defeated because that stupid Ponyta appeared. Also, you're just a stupid horse that got blown apart.
2. Apparently it is a spirit horse of sorts, but it spews blood when hurt
3. Mutsu and Hyuugo are cockroaches
4. Mutsu is currently sick with a supposedly contagious disease... which seems to have just disappeared from the story
5. No, don't tell me the sudden "We are all gonna fuse with demons!" plot made 3 and 4 possible without any explanation

Originally Posted by Cao Ni Ma

See, Dororo's realization and exposition in this episode should have happen AT LEAST 5 episodes ago.

Or maybe show the theme through the storytelling instead of having several fairly unrelated characters just stand there lecturing the viewers?
"Now then, class, let us sit down and talk about what 2-cour of my adaption of Dororo is trying to say. Yes, you two guys who I don't even think have a name too."

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Kinematics

Anyway, I just noticed at the end of the fight, in the faceoff in the castle, that Hyakkimaru still has his sword!. It's strapped to his waist! Why is he going around trying to cut his own (newly regrown) fingers off on the raw blades that were in his artificial arms instead of just drawing the blade that he'd been carrying around?

I don't even know why he didn't use the prosthetic arms as handles for the swords. It's got to be better than just holding the blades.