This show was great for what it was. I definitely like the effort the studio put into adapting such a dated work into a new, re imagined modern work.
The episodic arcs were, of course, the best parts of the show. It managed to not only prove entertaining with each different episode, but also managed to have a great impact on character development, whether it was hyakkimaru or Dororo.
Of course, the thing people had issues with this show, was not the episodic arcs of the show, but rather the ending. I, too, have the same issue with the show.
Hyakkimaru's character development is one of the main focuses of the show along with Dororo's. The other figures in Hyakkimaru's life were his mother and his prosthetic caretaker. And while they do prove to be important parts of his emotional development, in the end, it is Dororo that has the most change onto Hyakkimaru. Screen time on Dororo is very high, while Hyakkimaru's mother and caretaker on put on the backseat. So, it doesn't make sense for Dororo to sideline in the last arc, with his mother and caretaker taking the front seat of Hyakkimaru's moral development. Basically, with all the buildup and episodes building up the relationship between Dororo and Hyakkimaru, the ending excludes all of that, but rather focuses on the last minute character development developed between his mother, caretaker, and his brother as well. If you watched the ending, you would also know that they all die, I guess as a symbolic end as Hyakkimaru's demonifaction and switch to human. Kind of lazy imo. The only thing I found that was well done was his last interaction with his father, which showed Hyakkimaru's nature that was built up throughout the entire story. I also don't mind the sort of melancholic nature of the ending either. That being said, it could have been a lot more well executed in every way.
Lastly, the fact that Hyakkimaru and Dororo go on seperate journey's to find their own path. Isn't that strange. Even if Hyakkimaru needs to "refind himself," the theme of the entire story was that Dororo was the reason why Hyakkimaru was human at all, and was restraining his demonic nature for the entirety of the show. Dororo, after getting close to Hyakkimaru, also thinks it is her duty or promise to also make sure Hyakkimaru is onto that path. Dororo, wanting to start her own sort of community was also kind of rushed, but kind of made sense, I guess. Regardless, they go on seperate paths and Hyakkimaru leaves without much less of a goodbye. Also, another sort of weird thing is Dororo being revealed a girl. I never read the original story, but in this one, it was basically never used other than a gimmick, really. Dororo's masculine sort of look IS explained, but honestly, it is never explored, or revisited. The story would have been the exact same if Dororo was a guy, is what my point is, since Dororo and Hyakkimaru never had a romantic relationship, but rather a sibling or companion type, which WAS built up throughout the entire story.
Conclusion:
The ending is fragmented, lazy wrapup that did have some moments, but did not match up with any of the prior buildup. The last 4-6 episodes were like their own entirely different story that could have been an independent movie. That's all. Definitely, however, worth a watch if you enjoy these types of shows. I thought it was still pretty good, other than the last 3 or so episodes.
