Dororo to Hyakkimaru

To aid his conquest of Japan, the ruthless lord Daigo Kagemitsu offers to sacrifice his soon-to-be-born son to 48 demons. The demons accept, and the next day, the child is born with several missing limbs and is ruthlessly cast down a river.

Fifteen years later, a stubborn young boy named Dororo struggles to survive against hunger and oppressive samurai on the streets of an impoverished and war-torn village. After angering a group of thugs, Dororo is attacked by them, but a mysterious man interrupts them, claiming to hear spirits nearby. Sure enough, a monster emerges from the river, and the man then removes his prosthetic arms, revealing blades hidden underneath, with which he slays the monster before leaving.

That night, as the man walks through the forest, Dororo approaches him and declares that he will accompany him. From this, the man, Hyakkimaru, reveals that many of his body parts were stolen by demons and that though he sought a peaceful life, he couldn't escape their relentless onslaught. Despite the tale, Dororo still insists on tagging along. And thus, Hyakkimaru travels through Japan with his new companion and a puppy named Nota, facing the brutality of both hell and mankind.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Hyakkimaru Main

Nozawa, Nachi Japanese

Dororo Main

Matsushima, Minori Japanese

Mio Supporting

Mutou, Reiko Japanese

Biwamaru Supporting

Takiguchi, Junpei Japanese

Tahoumaru Supporting

Nakamura, Shuusei Japanese

Jukai Supporting

Nuinokata Supporting

Kitahama, Haruko Japanese

Midoro Supporting

Kagemitsu, Daigo Supporting

Naya, Gorou Japanese

Sukeroku Supporting

Miwa, Katsue Japanese

Sugii, Gisaburou Director

Tashiro, Atsumi Sound Director

Tomino, Yoshiyuki Episode Director, Storyboard

Dezaki, Osamu Episode Director, Storyboard, Key Animation

Reviews

May 16, 2024

Inconsistent1

Recommended

Masterpiece of an Anime, to me a 10/10. An Anime series in the 1960s, and for it to still be watchable to me and pretty most people who decided to check out this show, is just unbeliveable. It reminds me of how the highest rated movies on Letterboxd include really old movies (Like Harakiri and Seven Samurai) cause they're still watchable to this day, showing how good they were during their time, and Ashita no Joe and Dororo 1969 are the Anime version of that for me. The 2019 Remake will always be recommended, but the original is amazing too and it's Manga faithful unlike ... a lot of other old Anime adaptions during the 60s and 70s. There's a reason why they had to produce more Dororo.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jun 6, 2021

halimede

Recommended

Wow. Despite being an anime from the 60s, Dororo to Hyakkimaru does not disappoint. The story itself is super interesting, and tugs at the heart in a tragic way. Even though the story definitely has its comedic and cute points (the dog omg), it really shows the traumas of war and poverty and the lengths people go to just to survive. I think the funny thing is this story really should be called "Hyakkimaru to Dororo" because the story's main protagonist is hands down Hyakkimaru, while Dororo is a sidekick (with a twist. I was NOT expecting that at the end. Very cool to throw ... that in there).
Really great to watch! I haven't watched the modern version yet, but I'm starting with this one and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Nov 29, 2022

DigiCat

Mixed Feelings

The original Dororo anime
I initially picked this up to see how it compared to it's remake, and though it is interesting to see the styles of different times telling one story and how anime has evolved over the years, i can't help but feel a vail of disappointment on the route the original adaptation decided to take with it's storytelling

The show went from a very slow start, dragging out each mission into double episodes, then rushed thru one of the most emotional and integral parts of the story, then went back to more side missions, this time changing the formula to slaying demons every episode ... instead of every 2, all culminating in an extreamly rushed ending squished into a single episode

Thing is, the disappointment doesn't come from the story, which has quite a few differences from it's 2019 counterpart, not being good, but rather the opposite, the story is good and has lots of potential, the emotional scenes can make you shed tears, but these moments are rushed by in less than half an episode while exessive screentime is being given to a loop of an axe cutting down a tree

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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	Poll: Dororo to Hyakkimaru Episode 26 Discussion Fronzel - May 20, 2016	14 replies	by johneaston »» Feb 1, 10:24 AM
	Poll: Dororo to Hyakkimaru Episode 15 Discussion Lorezhno - Oct 3, 2017	4 replies	by johneaston »» Jan 29, 8:33 PM
	Poll: Dororo to Hyakkimaru Episode 14 Discussion Lorezhno - Oct 2, 2017	6 replies	by johneaston »» Jan 27, 4:36 PM
	Poll: Dororo to Hyakkimaru Episode 13 Discussion Lorezhno - Oct 2, 2017	5 replies	by johneaston »» Jan 25, 6:20 PM
	Poll: Dororo to Hyakkimaru Episode 11 Discussion Fronzel - Jan 1, 2015	7 replies	by johneaston »» Jan 19, 6:47 PM