Dorohedoro

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One of my favorite mangas, without a doubt!

Dorohedoro initially captivated me with its physical volume covers, which featured a "grungy" style with hints of a demonic world, a mix of cyberpunk and Call of Duty. The manga covers are beautiful; it was because of them that I started buying the physical manga, and today I have the complete collection. I emphasize the covers because the art on them is also of the same caliber as the manga pages—a "grungy" style with a constant sense of doom. The art, because it deviates from the norm, may displease some, but that's how it is, you either love ... it or hate it. I'm one of those who love it.

The story is delightful to follow, full of mysteries, twists, and unexpected connections. The characters appear as if they were just any other character, but they're fleshed out by the end. Dorohedoro has a lot of that; rarely does a character appear without some direct connection to the plot.

Anyway, I won't give any spoilers, but I'll say that the reason I gave it an 8 and not a 9 or 10 is because the ending felt a bit rushed and lost (but I still like it). I recommend it to anyone who wants a different manga reading experience, as this is a unique work.

=================================================================================================================Versão em Português=====================================

Um dos meus mangás favoritos com certeza!

Dorohedoro me cativou inicialmente por suas capas de volumes na sua versão física, nelas tínhamos um traço "sujo" onde havia traços de um mundo demoníaco com uma mistura de cyberpunk e call of dutty. As capas dos mangás são lindas, foi por causa delas que comecei a comprar o mangá físico e hoje tenho a coleção completa, ressalto muito a questão das capas pois a arte que contem nelas tambem é do mesmo nivel nas paginas do mangá, uma arte "suja" com um clima de desgraça no ar o tempo todo. A arte por fugir do padrão pode desagradar algumas pessoas, mas é aquilo né, você ama ou odeia, eu faço parte dos que ama.

A historia é gostosa de acompanhar, cheia de mistérios, reviravoltas e conexões das quais não esperaria ter. Os personagens, eles aparecem como se fossem algum personagem qualquer mas que são trabalhados até o fim da obra, Dorohedoro tem muito disso, raramente algum personagem aparece sem ter alguma relação direta com a trama.

Enfim, não darei spoiler, mas digo que o fato da minha nota ser um 8 e não um 9 ou 10 é pelo fato do final da obra, achei meio rushado e um pouco perdido (mas ainda gosto dele). Recomendo para todos que queiram uma experiência diferente de ler mangá pois aqui temos uma obra unica.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW

There are two types of absurd but well-told storytelling. You get anime such as Gurren Lagann or Redline where the interest is piqued because of its spectacle and over-the-top visuals and characters. Or you get anything made by Masaaki Yuasa where the presentation is wacky and strange but underneath the surface, there lies a lot of character analysis, social critique, and philosophy that a majority of his audience can find relatable.

Dorohedoro had the potential to be a well-thought out mystery containing dark humor and sick action. But unfortunately it built-up something so huge that the climax was below underwhelming. ... Don't get me wrong. I'm fine with the story being absurd and weird since it was not very aspiring to be something more or grand like what Masaaki Yuasa makes. But it brings upon so many subplots and crucial details in the middle that the audience will begin to lose track of coherence and what is even supposed to matter.

Story: There is only one word that can fully described the plot of Dorohedoro: CONVOLUTED! While the setting and premise I do say is quite fascinating, it takes a more mysterious turn in the middle and the amount of mysteries keep piling up and will leave you lost. The world of the humans and sorcerers was interesting and the history behind some of the past events does make you invested. But it will more depend on what you are looking for. If you don't care too much about the plot and just want to enjoy a silly story of sorcerers and humans murdering the shit out of one another, then don't let my criticisms stop you from checking it out. But if you are looking for (at the very least) some sense for the amount of plot points it tries to put together, then you are going to be disappointed. I stopped caring around the final 3rd of the series but was still curious enough to see it all the way through.

In short, vol. 1-4 = slow / vol. 5-13 = very interesting / vol. 14-23 = I'm lost.

Characters: If I'm completely honest, the story would not have had a huge impact on my distaste for this series had the characters held the story well. And for the first half of it, they did and they were pretty tremendous. Caiman and Nikaidou were very likeable characters and their friendship was very believable. My personal favorites were the villains: En, Shin, and Noi. They were hilarious and they give the audience a perfect reason to not take Dorohedoro all too seriously. When comparing the humans (and Caiman), En's family, and the Cross Eyes, En's family had the most consistent character state and their relationship expressed their truest characters best out of all of the main groups in the story.

Unfortunately, where things went wrong was that at the half way point, some crucial characters are not able to fulfill all of their potential and move away from the story (I will not spoil, just figure out why yourself). And some characters (Nikaidou and Ebisu), while still likeable (more in the first half than the second), change for very annoying reasons and the plot ruined them when I previously loved them.

There also isn't much character development. Some characters never needed it because they were great the way they were and were even fleshed out further into the plot. But I feel the only characters that change from beginning to end are Fujita and Risu. Everybody else either never changes and feels like their character is just being dragged by the complicated plot and not entirely being themselves or they go through realizations which have a minor impact on their final character change.

Art: It is different in a good way and it suits the atmosphere it is trying to present. It fits the gritty violence and over-the-top designs of the characters. While some of the backgrounds did lack a little too much detail for me, I'd say the art is the best part of the series.

Final Thoughts: In the beginning, this manga had practically everything to be something awesome. But with poor plot decisions, the story just drags and will leave you lost on what the point of really anything is. You can enjoy the absurd humor and the gritty action but nothing makes sense. If it was all absurd humor and gritty action, it would come across more consistent than when it builds up something so crucial for the overall story just to forget about what to do with it and make an underwhelming conclusion. It's still worth the check out if it really interests you.

I give Dorohedoro a not bad, but disappointing 5/10.

Dorohedoro is a peculiar manga, with characters that are not only strange in their design but also in their behavior, with an unusual realism. In this story, there are no true heroes or villains: everyone is morally ambiguous and acts in their own best interest. Dorohedoro begins with a fairly decent world-building in its early chapters, backed by great art and a terrifying atmosphere.
The introduction to the world of Dorohedoro is decent because everything has a purpose; nothing seems completely random. The story is told in a linear fashion, although it seems fragmented due to the protagonist's mental disability: his amnesia. Racial conflict is well ... explored, which makes you wonder: why is there so much hatred between humans and sorcerers?

The social criticism in Dorohedoro is brilliant because of its direct connection to the characters' magical powers. The more absurd the magical ability, the more wealth and privilege the sorcerer obtains. The world is described as inhospitable and deeply hierarchical. There is even a specific group called the Crossed Eyes, representing a “near-poor middle class”: humans with little magic, led by an anarchist and opposition ideal that fights against inequality. Meanwhile, humans without magic make up the poorest class, living with scarce resources, while demons are practically established as gods. Neither humans nor sorcerers are truly good or evil; they are equally cruel, trapped in an endless cycle of hatred and karma. That karma is embodied in the villain, who represents the cruelty, chaos, and inequality of both worlds. And, like a natural disaster or a bomb, all it takes is a trigger: the protagonist.

The supporting characters are entertaining in the first 60 chapters: funny, eccentric, and with personal reasons for acting violently in such a chaotic world. But my biggest complaint lies with their powers. While some powers serve as metaphors for internal conflicts (trauma, past, identity), many others do not. Instead, several characters act like "walking Doraemons," conjuring solutions out of nowhere. This obscures the perception of real danger, as another character always appears with the power to fix everything. This leads to repetition, convenient resolutions, and diminishes the weight of the world-building. In my opinion, the author shouldn't have created such powerful characters, or at least should have limited their magic to make the danger seem real, especially since the world is supposed to be dangerous and deadly.

The mystery surrounding the protagonist is initially captivating and is gradually revealed. However, the main problem is that it gets lost in the frenetic pace of the manga, which makes the events confusing and aimless. If we analyze the series, the first 60 chapters are solid: a mystery that is slowly revealed, clear objectives, and a steady pace. But as the story progresses, the pace slows down, leading to a terrible ending. Personally, I find the ending terrible: everything is resolved with the “power of friendship,” and the protagonist displays an ability that protects him from the plot to defeat the villain. The climax is anticlimactic and leaves important elements unresolved; for example, the protagonist's face remains the same as at the beginning.

The art, on the other hand, is stunning. The character design is innovative, and one of the author's greatest strengths is how each page draws you into a story full of terror and mystery.

In conclusion, Dorohedoro is a manga with a brilliant world and aesthetic, but with a flawed narrative that ruins the whole.