The story is about a boy whos body (or most of it) was sold to demons by his father, in return for a kingdom's protection from wars and natural disasters. The boy then grows up and embarks on a journey to defeat all the demons to get his body back and as he does this, the deal with the demons becomes null. Disregarding the obvious impossible scenario presented (it's fiction you dummy, who cares), the big overarching theme/question presented is the following: Is it morally acceptable to make trades like these and how justified is the sacrificed person to screw everything and put their own interests above those of thousands of people. I personally love questions like these mostly because they have no easy answer and depending on your moral framework, you can get to completely different answers. I'm inclined to say that a society that sacrifices a small portion of the population for the benefit of another is not functional and fundamentally everybody is justified to fight violently for their own freedom and self-determination, but you can easily make an utilitarian argument that sacrificing half a body for the wellbeing of many is totally worth it.
And what is the answer that Dororo arrives at? Well... Kind of like mine...? Maybe...? My main criticism is that Dororo doesn't seem to have an answer at all and jumps from theme to theme in a very unorganized manner. Starting with a great conflict between the 2 solutions that were presented, we jump to "bad things are bad" to "it doesn't matter, as long as you stay human" whatever that f-ing means, to blaming everything on demons and only one line was said that maybe a kingdom built on someone's sacrifice is not a good kingdom. This is honestly very bad and represents the most important reason why I can't give this anime a higher score. Furthermore, it's incredibly annoying how at the same time the main characters are acting in weird ways and change their minds from one second to another. As the characters go in with a goal in mind, at the end literally everyone relevant ends up changing their minds completely.
This is very important to outline, because for an anime that tries to explore some themes more seriously, the conclusion is paramount. It's what everything moves towards and this is where all the impact is. When executed correctly, it makes a masterpiece. And this ain't it. To draw a parallel, I'll talk about Shinsekai Yori, another anime which explores several big moral themes. In that anime, there is a very clear line the author moves you on as you explore ideas. Funny enough, it's similar to a journey every person takes in real life from "the world might not be as it seems" to "there's a lot of unfair stuff happening" to finally culminate with "there's a reason why things are they way they are, as uncool as they are" and "things just aren't easy to fix" and FU, you don't get a good ending, there is no good ending (damn, I love that anime). There aren't any inconsistencies regarding this narrative thread and even with the many different events that happen, the theme persists and is slowly moving towards its natural resolution. This is what Dororo is missing in its final several episodes, despite an excellent buildup.
And ending aside, that buildup is truly amazing. The anime throws Hyakkymaru into tragic situations, which depending on how you argue, might even be his own fault. It makes you, the viewer, see the gravity of the situation and how horrible the consequences of his actions are. Another theme that was explored very well is how Hyakkimaru gains his body parts one by one and starts exploring the newfound world and more importantly - his own emotions, just like a child. The anime is not afraid to paint him in a negative light as he goes into fits of rage or is plainly egoistical, to the point where the one that seems way more mature is the actual kid that's with him. This feeling is constantly reinforced, as characters around him are concerned whatever he'll end up being a force for good or not.
The supporting cast is not bad and contributes nicely to the main themes. The only thing that isn't centered on what I already mentioned, is the story of Dororo, who is the second main character and the evolution of the friendship between these 2 mains. This is also executed well enough and I like the final conclusion that Dororo's subplot arrives at. I can honestly think of a few things that I dislike about this part of the story, but overall it's decent.
I'm also forced to mention the great work that studio Mappa did. The animation quality might not be consistently stellar all the time, but the direction, pacing/flow, timing, music... and just literally everything else you might think about is close to perfect. Go ahead and check how many views on YT the first opening has. It's great.
So in the end... I'm always glad to see anime that actually try something great and fail, instead of your average braindead stuff. This is why you should go and watch Dororo. And if you like this kind of theme exploration and don't mind a slower pacing (and gay stuff), go for Shinsekai Yori as well.
