What do you think?
Rate this book
どろろ [Dororo] #1-3
Dororo
In a time of constant warfare, a samurai lord barters away his newborn son's organs in exchange for victory on the battlefield. Yet the abandoned infant survives, saved by a skilled medicine man who trains him into a formidable warrior. Equipped with lethal prosthesis, Hyakkimaru will have to hunt down the multitude of demons to reclaim his body, one piece at a time.
Joined by mouthy orphan sidekick Dororo, Hyakkimaru's adventures bring him face to face with the greater world: both its miracles and its monsters. Part yokai tale, part travel story, Osamu Tezuka's classic adventure Dororo offers a thoughtful allergory for becoming what one is -- for nobody, is born whole.
Joined by mouthy orphan sidekick Dororo, Hyakkimaru's adventures bring him face to face with the greater world: both its miracles and its monsters. Part yokai tale, part travel story, Osamu Tezuka's classic adventure Dororo offers a thoughtful allergory for becoming what one is -- for nobody, is born whole.
848 pages, Paperback
First published August 27, 1967
89 people are currently reading
753 people want to read
About the author
Osamu Tezuka
2,153 books1,288 followersDr. Osamu Tezuka (手塚治虫) was a Japanese manga artist, animator, producer and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion. He is often credited as the "Father of Anime", and is often considered the Japanese equivalent to Walt Disney, who served as a major inspiration during his formative years. His prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such titles as "the father of manga" and "the God of Manga."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 150 reviews
November 29, 2021
When a young swordsman named Hyakkimaru meets Dororo, self-styled "World's Greatest Thief," they join forces to hunt down the 48 demons that stole parts of Hyakkimaru's body so that his father could gain power...
Osamu Tezuka is the father of manga yet Astroy Boy was the only one of his works I'd read. One of my guys on Twitter recommended this and I eventually picked this up.
Drawn in the same cutesy style as Astro Boy, Dororo is a series of linked tales featuring Hyakkimarui and Dororo. Hyakkimaru's father sacrificed his arms, legs, eyes, nose, internal organs etc. to demons for power, leaving his baby son to die. Hyakkimaru's mother put her son in a river where a doctor found him, raised him, and gave him prosthetics to help him get by. Hyakkimaru has swords for arms, sheathed in prosthetic ones when the tale begins, as well as artificial legs concealing weapons. Now this seems strange but keep in mind Astro Boy has machine guns in his ass.
Dororo is a street kid with a map tattooed on his back that talks tough but it's clear he and Hyakkimaru need each other. While he normally gets the duo into trouble, Dororo also does his share of getting them out.
The art is cutesy but also surprisingly effective at conveying horror, like Hyakkimaru's blind, grublike form trying to survive as an infant, to the copious demons peppered throughout the text. The character designs are great and make me want the Jim Henson company to adapt this using the creepy Dark Crystal style puppets.
While it's mostly an adventure tale, and a good one at that, Dororo also works as a coming of age story. Hyakkimaru becomes more human as he defeats demons and his body is restored and Dororo learns his own lessons.
I'm underselling this but it's pretty fantastic. If I had to gripe about something, it's the ending wasn't as satisfying as I hoped but this is more of a journey book anyway. I'd gladly read another 800 page brick of this stuff.
Dororo: The Omnibus Edition is a cute, creepy action adventure. Five out of five sword hands.
Osamu Tezuka is the father of manga yet Astroy Boy was the only one of his works I'd read. One of my guys on Twitter recommended this and I eventually picked this up.
Drawn in the same cutesy style as Astro Boy, Dororo is a series of linked tales featuring Hyakkimarui and Dororo. Hyakkimaru's father sacrificed his arms, legs, eyes, nose, internal organs etc. to demons for power, leaving his baby son to die. Hyakkimaru's mother put her son in a river where a doctor found him, raised him, and gave him prosthetics to help him get by. Hyakkimaru has swords for arms, sheathed in prosthetic ones when the tale begins, as well as artificial legs concealing weapons. Now this seems strange but keep in mind Astro Boy has machine guns in his ass.
Dororo is a street kid with a map tattooed on his back that talks tough but it's clear he and Hyakkimaru need each other. While he normally gets the duo into trouble, Dororo also does his share of getting them out.
The art is cutesy but also surprisingly effective at conveying horror, like Hyakkimaru's blind, grublike form trying to survive as an infant, to the copious demons peppered throughout the text. The character designs are great and make me want the Jim Henson company to adapt this using the creepy Dark Crystal style puppets.
While it's mostly an adventure tale, and a good one at that, Dororo also works as a coming of age story. Hyakkimaru becomes more human as he defeats demons and his body is restored and Dororo learns his own lessons.
I'm underselling this but it's pretty fantastic. If I had to gripe about something, it's the ending wasn't as satisfying as I hoped but this is more of a journey book anyway. I'd gladly read another 800 page brick of this stuff.
Dororo: The Omnibus Edition is a cute, creepy action adventure. Five out of five sword hands.
January 16, 2022
Este tebeo adolece un poco de parte de los defectos de las historias procedimentales de Tezuka: episodios fantásticos que sacan todo el partido a la premisa se suceden de otros que no funcionan tan bien. Sin embargo, entre que los primeros son mucho más frecuentes que los segundos y el punto de partida es muy atractivo (¡un personaje enfrentándose a yokais para superar una maldición que arrastra desde su nacimiento!), el conjunto se sostiene sin atascos. En la mayoría, además, se respiran las ideas cruciales de sus obras de madurez (esa lucha por acercarse o mantener la humanidad en un paisaje particularmente inhumano) de una manera más ligera que en Fénix o en Buda. El dibujo no brilla tanto como en ellas o en autores coetáneos como Ishinomori, pero Dororo me ha parecido uno de los Tezukas que mejor han soportado el paso del tiempo.
January 16, 2023
Tezuka crea un manga en el que combina acción y terror con sus temas habituales (la inhumanidad de los humanos para con los demás) El final resulta un poco brusco (Tuvo que acabarla antes de lo previsto) pero sigue siendo una historia muy interesante.
Read
August 1, 2024what a unique experience. topics such as identity, redemption, society, and the different ways humankind act were handled so creatively and delicately. so original and beautiful.
January 25, 2019
3.5
"Nobody is born whole"
____________
Dororo is an old fantasy manga released in late 60s by "Osamu Tezuka" whos known as "the father of manga".
It's about a samurai named "Hyakkimaru" who was born with 48 missing body parts. His father the daimyō "Daigo
Kegemitsu" promiess to offer his unborn baby pody parts to 48 demons in exchange to get the control of the whole county.
Troughout his jounery ( Hyakkimaru) to get back his 48 body parts,he met a young orphan thief called "Dororo" and they traveled together .
____________
One of my reading goals in 2018 was to read one of the manga written by "the father of manga", hence i choosed "Black Jack " and "Dororo ".
I started with black jack but stopped at the first chapter (actually from the second page dx). I disliked the drawing , so I went for Dororo. Although the drwaing didn't improve , but this time i forced myself to finish it since Dororo was mentioned in one of the manga I recently finished and admaire.
____________
One of the questions that was on my mind while reading the manga is "why it was named after Dororo but not Hyakkimaru?", since the story was obviously revolved around Hyakkimaru, this confused me at the beginning. I got little bored in the mid of the story as the events were somehow expected but nevertheless i enjoyed the story and I liked how funny dororo is :$.
"Nobody is born whole"
____________
Dororo is an old fantasy manga released in late 60s by "Osamu Tezuka" whos known as "the father of manga".
It's about a samurai named "Hyakkimaru" who was born with 48 missing body parts. His father the daimyō "Daigo
Kegemitsu" promiess to offer his unborn baby pody parts to 48 demons in exchange to get the control of the whole county.
Troughout his jounery ( Hyakkimaru) to get back his 48 body parts,he met a young orphan thief called "Dororo" and they traveled together .
____________
One of my reading goals in 2018 was to read one of the manga written by "the father of manga", hence i choosed "Black Jack " and "Dororo ".
I started with black jack but stopped at the first chapter (actually from the second page dx). I disliked the drawing , so I went for Dororo. Although the drwaing didn't improve , but this time i forced myself to finish it since Dororo was mentioned in one of the manga I recently finished and admaire.
____________
One of the questions that was on my mind while reading the manga is "why it was named after Dororo but not Hyakkimaru?", since the story was obviously revolved around Hyakkimaru, this confused me at the beginning. I got little bored in the mid of the story as the events were somehow expected but nevertheless i enjoyed the story and I liked how funny dororo is :$.
August 11, 2017
3,5 / 5
La obra de Tezuka navega entre la aventura, el drama, el terror y una buena dosis de humor. Nos sitúa para ello en la Era Sengoku, un largo periodo de guerra civil japonesa previa a la unificación llevada a cabo por el shogun Tokugawa. Llevado por su ambición, Kagemitsu Daigo hace un pacto con los demonios a cambio de tener poder para conquistar el mundo. Este pacto consiste en que cada uno de los 48 demonios se llevarán una parte del cuerpo de su hijo. Contra todo pronóstico el bebé sobrevive, pero es abandonado por sus padres. Un médico lo recoge, y gracias a sus conocimientos, consigue fabricarle partes artificiales para su cuerpo mientras lo educa. En su madurez y ya formado como guerrero, decide emprender un viaje de venganza y así recuperar cada parte de su cuerpo. Pero no estará solo, un joven ladronzuelo huérfano llamado Dororo se unirá en su viaje, formando un tándem inquebrantable.
Tezuka nos planta ante nuestras narices una buddy movie en toda regla donde cada capítulo lleva a Hyakkimaru enfrentarse un monstruo tras otro. Una especie de procedimental donde cada semana tenemos un nuevo pueblo y monstruo. Y aunque esperamos que este viaje de venganza tenga culminación tras 850 páginas, no la tiene. El final de Tezuka es súbito, rápido y corriendo, y nunca llega a terminar del todo. El autor esta más interesado en aprovechar cada capítulo para denunciar la pobreza, el desastre que traen consigo las guerras, la injusticia, el abuso infantil o la ingratitud que en darle un final. Toda una plaga de secuencias violentas que vienen rebajadas por una capa de humor.
Algo que impacta al lector es el estilo de dibujo y el diseño de sus personajes. Infantilizados, inocentes, luminosos, con lineas redondeadas y grandes ojos. Todo un contraste con las tramas que se desarrollan plagadas de crueldad, violencia y dureza. Una especie de balanza que Tezuka utiliza muy bien para rebajar su tono. Queda claro según vas leyendo el volumen por que se le considera "Dios del manga". El autor no para de experimentar en su narrativa con viñetas descuadradas, tonos de negro, ruptura de viñetas por parte de personajes o un detallismo extremo. Tezuka planto las bases del manga actual, y eso salta a simple vista.
Creo que Dororo es una buena puerta de entrada al mundo de Tezuka. Aventuras entretenidas pero que tienen un grado de bofetada de realidad que le sienta realmente bien. Aunque su estructura resulta repetitiva cuando llevas más de un par de capítulos seguidos, o ese final nos deja bastante a medias con lo que podríamos esperar, es interesante poder leer en un solo volumen (que para nada incomodo) este premiado manga.
La obra de Tezuka navega entre la aventura, el drama, el terror y una buena dosis de humor. Nos sitúa para ello en la Era Sengoku, un largo periodo de guerra civil japonesa previa a la unificación llevada a cabo por el shogun Tokugawa. Llevado por su ambición, Kagemitsu Daigo hace un pacto con los demonios a cambio de tener poder para conquistar el mundo. Este pacto consiste en que cada uno de los 48 demonios se llevarán una parte del cuerpo de su hijo. Contra todo pronóstico el bebé sobrevive, pero es abandonado por sus padres. Un médico lo recoge, y gracias a sus conocimientos, consigue fabricarle partes artificiales para su cuerpo mientras lo educa. En su madurez y ya formado como guerrero, decide emprender un viaje de venganza y así recuperar cada parte de su cuerpo. Pero no estará solo, un joven ladronzuelo huérfano llamado Dororo se unirá en su viaje, formando un tándem inquebrantable.
Tezuka nos planta ante nuestras narices una buddy movie en toda regla donde cada capítulo lleva a Hyakkimaru enfrentarse un monstruo tras otro. Una especie de procedimental donde cada semana tenemos un nuevo pueblo y monstruo. Y aunque esperamos que este viaje de venganza tenga culminación tras 850 páginas, no la tiene. El final de Tezuka es súbito, rápido y corriendo, y nunca llega a terminar del todo. El autor esta más interesado en aprovechar cada capítulo para denunciar la pobreza, el desastre que traen consigo las guerras, la injusticia, el abuso infantil o la ingratitud que en darle un final. Toda una plaga de secuencias violentas que vienen rebajadas por una capa de humor.
Algo que impacta al lector es el estilo de dibujo y el diseño de sus personajes. Infantilizados, inocentes, luminosos, con lineas redondeadas y grandes ojos. Todo un contraste con las tramas que se desarrollan plagadas de crueldad, violencia y dureza. Una especie de balanza que Tezuka utiliza muy bien para rebajar su tono. Queda claro según vas leyendo el volumen por que se le considera "Dios del manga". El autor no para de experimentar en su narrativa con viñetas descuadradas, tonos de negro, ruptura de viñetas por parte de personajes o un detallismo extremo. Tezuka planto las bases del manga actual, y eso salta a simple vista.
Creo que Dororo es una buena puerta de entrada al mundo de Tezuka. Aventuras entretenidas pero que tienen un grado de bofetada de realidad que le sienta realmente bien. Aunque su estructura resulta repetitiva cuando llevas más de un par de capítulos seguidos, o ese final nos deja bastante a medias con lo que podríamos esperar, es interesante poder leer en un solo volumen (que para nada incomodo) este premiado manga.
August 7, 2025
I recently read and enjoyed Search and Destroy Vol. 1 by Atsushi Kaneko. That series turned out to be a retelling of Osamu Tezuka's Dororo, so I asked my local library to add this omnibus edition so I could check out the source material even though I've never been a big fan of Tezuka's work.
Kaneko's futuristic robotic dystopia is certainly an improvement on this herky-jerky epic of a feudal warrior named Hyakkimaru who is seeking the parts of his body sacrificed to 48 demons by his power-hungry father. A young thief named Dororo tags along, hoping to steal one of the swords Hyakkimaru hides in his prosthetic arms.
The story unfolds in episodic demon-of-the week fashion with digressions to search for buried treasure or to confront Hyakkimaru's family. Plot developments are often random or absurd, which is par for the course for comics created in the 1960s, but Tezuka often belies the silliness with his ruthless killing of secondary characters.
Once again, Tezuka fails to win me over with his storytelling -- I mean, what is up with that big revelation about Dororo that goes absolutely nowhere? -- but I will probably continue to read his work here and there just because it is so influential and iconic.
FOR REFERENCE:
Contains material originally published in single volume form in Japanese as Dororo #1-4 and in an English edition as Dororo #1-3.
Originally serialized in Japanese as Dororo in Shukan Shonen Sunday, Shogakkan, 1967-68 and Boken O, Akita Shoten, 1969.
Contents: The Inception -- Hyakkimaru -- The Monk -- Kanekozo -- Bandai -- The Face Tumor -- The Misery Chronicles -- The Possessed Sword -- Banmon -- The Fair Fudo -- Sabame -- Hell Screen -- The Two Sharks -- Shiranui -- The Cruel Cape -- Midoro -- Donburi Belly -- The Four-turned Bonze -- Nueh
Kaneko's futuristic robotic dystopia is certainly an improvement on this herky-jerky epic of a feudal warrior named Hyakkimaru who is seeking the parts of his body sacrificed to 48 demons by his power-hungry father. A young thief named Dororo tags along, hoping to steal one of the swords Hyakkimaru hides in his prosthetic arms.
The story unfolds in episodic demon-of-the week fashion with digressions to search for buried treasure or to confront Hyakkimaru's family. Plot developments are often random or absurd, which is par for the course for comics created in the 1960s, but Tezuka often belies the silliness with his ruthless killing of secondary characters.
Once again, Tezuka fails to win me over with his storytelling -- I mean, what is up with that big revelation about Dororo that goes absolutely nowhere? -- but I will probably continue to read his work here and there just because it is so influential and iconic.
FOR REFERENCE:
Contains material originally published in single volume form in Japanese as Dororo #1-4 and in an English edition as Dororo #1-3.
Originally serialized in Japanese as Dororo in Shukan Shonen Sunday, Shogakkan, 1967-68 and Boken O, Akita Shoten, 1969.
Contents: The Inception -- Hyakkimaru -- The Monk -- Kanekozo -- Bandai -- The Face Tumor -- The Misery Chronicles -- The Possessed Sword -- Banmon -- The Fair Fudo -- Sabame -- Hell Screen -- The Two Sharks -- Shiranui -- The Cruel Cape -- Midoro -- Donburi Belly -- The Four-turned Bonze -- Nueh
September 4, 2012
The art is spectacular as you would expect for Tezuka, but the story is strong right up until the story quickly wraps up. It felt like there was a lot of momentum quickly packed away in the last 20-30 pages.
February 20, 2019
May I just say that Tezuka has done it again? Yet another amazing series! The artwork is beautiful, the story is fascinating, and the characters are really rich and well-developed. Often when reading Tezuka, it pays to watch the characters in the background for funny faces and weird little quirks. In Dororro, it pays to watch the backgrounds themselves. So many were very detailed, and still others captured this amazing sense of empty expanse and loneliness. There was something so melancholy and beautiful about them. For me, this was not simply a series that I read, but one that I fell into and inhabited for a while. I'm so glad that I finally got around to reading it!
March 18, 2025
the anime has such a special place in my heart, so i’ve of course wanted to read the manga for such a long time. i kinda love the goofiness of the art style and also the dialogue, however the ending really sucked 😭. but this is still a favourite of mine.
July 21, 2025
Cruel, crítico, divertido y fácil de leer, sorprendiendo más veces de lo que se pueda esperar de primeras. No esperaba una lectura así de un comic japonés escrito en 1967.
April 15, 2022
Wer Lust auf Berserk-Feeling ohne die ständigen Vergewaltigungen und Queerfeindlichkeiten hat ist mit Dororo sehr gut bedient. In einem so alten Klassiker so viele Brüche der vierten Wand zu sehen hat mich auch sehr überrascht - und erfreut!
November 2, 2020
It has been a long time since my last review. So many things happened in my life, and then there's this pandemic.
Anyway, so Dororo. This is my first Ozamu Tezuka read. It has an interesting plot that gets you hooked right away.
It isn't great, but it is miles away from being a bad manga. The whole "slay demons" quest is enough for me to keep on going from start to end. And with the edition I read, it is very possible to finish it in one sitting, though I've finished reading it in a span of two weeks.
Each demon and the people/town it torments has just the right amoumt of drama to see it through but not enough to get emotionally invested with the side characters. Dororo and Hyakkimaru's (our protagonists) chemistry on the other hand is a charming one, with a childish affection that made me gravitate towards them.
What I am really surprised is that Doro is a hardcore brutal manga. Like waaaay nore hardcore than it looks. Oh yeah, there are so many goofy deaths, starving and dying children, stabbings, arrow to the body and all the artistically goreless brutality.
All in all, I feel like this is not Ozamu Tezuka's best, although I haven't read his other titles. The ending was very rushed in a sense that it just felt like an ending of an arc. No grand finales, no poignant scenes.
Dororo is still a worthwhile read. It works best as an in-between, a quality time filler before munching the next big book you have in your pull.
Anyway, so Dororo. This is my first Ozamu Tezuka read. It has an interesting plot that gets you hooked right away.
It isn't great, but it is miles away from being a bad manga. The whole "slay demons" quest is enough for me to keep on going from start to end. And with the edition I read, it is very possible to finish it in one sitting, though I've finished reading it in a span of two weeks.
Each demon and the people/town it torments has just the right amoumt of drama to see it through but not enough to get emotionally invested with the side characters. Dororo and Hyakkimaru's (our protagonists) chemistry on the other hand is a charming one, with a childish affection that made me gravitate towards them.
What I am really surprised is that Doro is a hardcore brutal manga. Like waaaay nore hardcore than it looks. Oh yeah, there are so many goofy deaths, starving and dying children, stabbings, arrow to the body and all the artistically goreless brutality.
All in all, I feel like this is not Ozamu Tezuka's best, although I haven't read his other titles. The ending was very rushed in a sense that it just felt like an ending of an arc. No grand finales, no poignant scenes.
Dororo is still a worthwhile read. It works best as an in-between, a quality time filler before munching the next big book you have in your pull.
October 21, 2016
Me ha gustado muchísimo. La pena es que el final es algo abierto y que según he entendido en Internet nunca llegó a escribir segunda parte. En esta edición vienen los dos volúmenes juntos en uno.
Debe haber película pero por las críticas que he leído, hay bastantes diferencias con el manga y se queda simplemente en entretenida.
La historia es lo mejor sin duda. Es un cómic repleto de acción y aventuras que se lee rapidísimo a pesar de su volumen. Un descubrimiento que me ha encantado y que recomiendo sin duda a todos los aficionados al género.
Debe haber película pero por las críticas que he leído, hay bastantes diferencias con el manga y se queda simplemente en entretenida.
La historia es lo mejor sin duda. Es un cómic repleto de acción y aventuras que se lee rapidísimo a pesar de su volumen. Un descubrimiento que me ha encantado y que recomiendo sin duda a todos los aficionados al género.
May 9, 2019
I wanted to read this because of both its notoriety in queer comics and the significance of Tezuka's work in manga history. Definitely memorable, and I'm glad to read that later adaptations handled the queer character less as a "gotcha" moment and more as, you know, an actual person.
March 15, 2022
For some reason I always viewed this book as a "lesser Tezuka", but on reread I've found that it's one of his most visually and narratively satisfying stories (if you don't count the super rushed ending). This book feels extremely theatrical, with Tezuka pulling out some tricks I hadn't seen in his other stuff. There are two pages in here where Tezuka makes everything go dark for no logical reason other than to add drama and emphasis to the scene, and both times I turned into a howler monkey out of excitement. It's a really cool book, definitely in the top ten of Tezuka. Might be impossible to regret reading it.
May 10, 2020
Lo acabé!!! Y mira que me da rabia haber tardado tanto. El manga me ha encantado! El argumento, los personajes, el ritmo... Cuando he llegado al final aún quería seguir un rato más. Me habría gustado seguir leyendo lo que vendría después.
He tardado, pero los ratos que he estado leyendo lo he disfrutado muchísimo... lástima que esta cuarentena me ha hecho no tener ganas de leer.
He tardado, pero los ratos que he estado leyendo lo he disfrutado muchísimo... lástima que esta cuarentena me ha hecho no tener ganas de leer.
October 19, 2023
Honestly, the stories are great and then it just kinda ends which is disappointing. Once again Tezuka's art is fantastic and kinda creepy when he wants it to be. I do think the anime improves on a lot of the material though.
P.S. I'm also disappointed that Hyakkimaru doesn't find and kill the demons holding on to his left and right butt cheek 😞. So sad.
P.S. I'm also disappointed that Hyakkimaru doesn't find and kill the demons holding on to his left and right butt cheek 😞. So sad.
September 23, 2024
Really good manga with beautiful style and drawing. The only thing it lacks is on the ending. It feels like the story is unfinished and ended abruptly. In the last few chapters, there’s a lot of action packed up like they tried to end it quickly. Otherwise it is a good manga and I recommend it in the omnibus version.
July 23, 2025
Vi primero el anime y después he leído el manga, y debo decir que me ha gustado más este último por su tono no tan oscuro y con puntos de humor, a pesar de mostrar unas escenas llenas de crueldad y de injusticia que me han hecho cogerles mucho coraje a los samuráis.
A lo largo de todo el libro se transmite un mensaje claro de crítica social.
Muy recomendable.
A lo largo de todo el libro se transmite un mensaje claro de crítica social.
Muy recomendable.
September 16, 2022
3.5*
Not my favorite Tezuka, but everything he’s ever done is quality and worth reading imo
Not my favorite Tezuka, but everything he’s ever done is quality and worth reading imo
June 4, 2024
now why would he end it like that….
November 24, 2025
Bro. This was 550 pages longer than it needed to be. 2.75 stars.
January 15, 2023
(scratching my head at some elements of the ending but) obsessed w this.
the way he draws horses is so magical
the baby demon was my favourite
the way he draws horses is so magical
the baby demon was my favourite
March 31, 2017
I'm sad this is over :'(
October 7, 2022
Il finale non mi è piaciuto perchè era evidentemente un po' affrettato, inoltre c'erano delle discrepanze di trama ogni tanto, però nel complesso mi è piaciuto. Ci sono delle pagine davvero mozzafiato e Hyakkimaru e Dororo avranno sempre un posticino speciale nel mio cuore ♡
December 11, 2025
I've been meaning to dip my toes into Tezuka's work, and this seemed like a reasonable place to start for me seeing as this book has been staring me in the face at work, and I thought reading the omnibus would beef up my page rating over here. The story follows Hyakkimaru, who was sacrificed to demons at birth, causing him to be born without 48 body parts including his limbs, eyes, ears, and nose. He is traveling around to hunt down all the demons while being outfitted with deadly prosthetics to aide in his fights. The story starts when he meets Dororo, a young thief, who follows him around and becomes his sidekick to help him kill all of the demons.
It's certainly an interesting premise, and I was assuming the whole story would be about Hyakkimaru killing all 48 demons, and even though he certainly killed several of them, the orarching story seemed to focus on Dororo's past as the crux, which I don't think was the way to go. It's not that his past wasn't interesting, but I feel like there was a huge focus on him when Hyakkimaru's quest was arguably more important and more exciting. Although I suppose having "Dororo" as your manga's title rolls off the tongue more than "Hyakkimaru". I suppose fitting 48 demons into a book, even one of this size, would be not only too much but pacing-wise almost impossible, but we did still see a lot which I liked. However, I did really enjoy their dynamic, and it was probably my favorite aspect of the story. Dororo is especially charming, and I love how feral he was the whole time. His insults were creative, to say the least, and I thought the comedic timing of his character was very well done because his funniest quips were always during the most unexpected moments.
I also really enjoyed how he would break the fourth wall throughout the book in the dumbest ways, and it was done sparringly enough that it wasn't overdone and felt fresh each time.
I love fantasy books that incorporate mythology, and it was so cool seeing how different each of the demons we saw were and seeing the different inspirations that Tezuka used to design them. They were all varied in form, abilities, and fighting style, and they all had their own story revolving around the ways they abused the people and land around them. Some were more on the absurd side of things, but even the ones that felt like they were thrown together were at least enjoyable. The fights were fun too, and I liked seeing Hyakkimaru use his sword-arms and various prosthetics in a very James Bond sort of way. Some of the fights did feel very fast and rushed, and I would have liked there to have been a bit more actions before they would get sliced in half or whatever, because it made many of those scenes feel like there were low stakes for Hyakkimaru and Dororo.
My personal favorite part of the story was when Hyakkimaru and Dororo were fighting against those two sharks while simultaneously dealing with the bandits trying to find Dororo's family treasure. I thought that arc was not only the best-written, but the most enjoyable storyline and the stakes for the main characters felt real for once. I was honestly considering giving the books four stars at this point, and if I had been reading the volumes individually it would have gotten a higher rating. I thought the sharks were very fun monsters to fight, and at least one of the sharks didn't die immediately, unlike the other demons. I also really liked that shark kid, and he actually reminds me of a classmate I had in first grade who was obsessed with sharks and had a seemingly infinite supply of shark toys he would bring to school and have confiscated. But I liked this shark guy because all he really wanted to do was take care of his pets.
My biggest issue with this book was the pacing, which wasn't very consistent. I was very engaged by the story so I never felt it was particularly slow, but the story was SO rushed during the times when it really mattered. As I mentioned before, a lot of the face-offs between Hyakkimaru and various foes felt really fast, but the point where this was worst was at the end. For a series that's almost 850 pages long, you would think that the finale wouldn't be glossed over so quickly, but it just kind of abruptly ended when it needed more time to be fleshed out. It just kind of ends quickly and nothing happens to the main villain. Nothing is answered, theres no ending to anyone's story, and then to make it worse, there wasn't even any sort of falling action or conclusion. All we were left with was a vague final blurb about nothing, which was the least rewarding way to end the story. Dororo's story line never goes anywhere, and neither does the "plot twist" which neither made sense nor went anywhere. I also felt like the general worldbuilding was very vague. We're told about this "war", but it's not clear what the sides are. It honestly feels like we run into about 50 different smaller wars all taking place simultaneously. There's just so many shifting parts happening in the background that feels like a propped-up wooden standee on a stage to make you feel like there's a real background.
On top of the pacing being a bit wack, the vibes of what was going on would pinball back and forth even more dramatically. I hadn't expected this story to be as dark and gruesome as it was, but I'm not against how it was protrayed because that is the cold truth of war. But what would happen is that one panel would have something tragic and the next would have some wisecrack that threw the whole thing off. It was hilarious more than anything else, but god did it give me insane whiplash because what the fuck?!
Me after seeing a group of people be massacred in cold blood followed by a zingy one-liner done Marvel style:
For example, there was one point after Dororo and Hyakkimaru buried two children who were brutally executed, and it was all somber and then the next panel is Dororo going "bro I'm hungry what's for lunch" while he skips away. There's also another moment after Hyakkimaru gets his first eye back when he sees this woman grieving over her dead brother. And while this woman is actively distraught instead of being sympatethic he's like "damn she's hot I can't believe this is my first time getting to see a babe."
Of course I'm taking a bit of creative liberties here, but what actually happens is pretty much the same thing. Part of me wonders how much of this is because of the translation, but it still doesn't change the fact that Tezuka WROTE IT THIS WAY.
I feel like this review was very unhinged compared to my other ones, but seeing as this is a whole omnibus, I feel like it's on brand. A lot happened in this book, and I did think it was a really fun read despite the moments where it felt rushed or abrupt. I did really enjoy Tezuka's art and writing style, and I am interested in not only reading more of his work but other manga from this time period. I've been wanting to read AstroBoy because I was a huge fan of the 2009 film (I used to watch it on loop), and I would love to check out the source material. Black Jack also peaked my interest and seems right up my alley, so that will definitely be the next Tezuka work I read.
It's certainly an interesting premise, and I was assuming the whole story would be about Hyakkimaru killing all 48 demons, and even though he certainly killed several of them, the orarching story seemed to focus on Dororo's past as the crux, which I don't think was the way to go. It's not that his past wasn't interesting, but I feel like there was a huge focus on him when Hyakkimaru's quest was arguably more important and more exciting. Although I suppose having "Dororo" as your manga's title rolls off the tongue more than "Hyakkimaru". I suppose fitting 48 demons into a book, even one of this size, would be not only too much but pacing-wise almost impossible, but we did still see a lot which I liked. However, I did really enjoy their dynamic, and it was probably my favorite aspect of the story. Dororo is especially charming, and I love how feral he was the whole time. His insults were creative, to say the least, and I thought the comedic timing of his character was very well done because his funniest quips were always during the most unexpected moments.
I also really enjoyed how he would break the fourth wall throughout the book in the dumbest ways, and it was done sparringly enough that it wasn't overdone and felt fresh each time.
I love fantasy books that incorporate mythology, and it was so cool seeing how different each of the demons we saw were and seeing the different inspirations that Tezuka used to design them. They were all varied in form, abilities, and fighting style, and they all had their own story revolving around the ways they abused the people and land around them. Some were more on the absurd side of things, but even the ones that felt like they were thrown together were at least enjoyable. The fights were fun too, and I liked seeing Hyakkimaru use his sword-arms and various prosthetics in a very James Bond sort of way. Some of the fights did feel very fast and rushed, and I would have liked there to have been a bit more actions before they would get sliced in half or whatever, because it made many of those scenes feel like there were low stakes for Hyakkimaru and Dororo.
My personal favorite part of the story was when Hyakkimaru and Dororo were fighting against those two sharks while simultaneously dealing with the bandits trying to find Dororo's family treasure. I thought that arc was not only the best-written, but the most enjoyable storyline and the stakes for the main characters felt real for once. I was honestly considering giving the books four stars at this point, and if I had been reading the volumes individually it would have gotten a higher rating. I thought the sharks were very fun monsters to fight, and at least one of the sharks didn't die immediately, unlike the other demons. I also really liked that shark kid, and he actually reminds me of a classmate I had in first grade who was obsessed with sharks and had a seemingly infinite supply of shark toys he would bring to school and have confiscated. But I liked this shark guy because all he really wanted to do was take care of his pets.
My biggest issue with this book was the pacing, which wasn't very consistent. I was very engaged by the story so I never felt it was particularly slow, but the story was SO rushed during the times when it really mattered. As I mentioned before, a lot of the face-offs between Hyakkimaru and various foes felt really fast, but the point where this was worst was at the end. For a series that's almost 850 pages long, you would think that the finale wouldn't be glossed over so quickly, but it just kind of abruptly ended when it needed more time to be fleshed out. It just kind of ends quickly and nothing happens to the main villain. Nothing is answered, theres no ending to anyone's story, and then to make it worse, there wasn't even any sort of falling action or conclusion. All we were left with was a vague final blurb about nothing, which was the least rewarding way to end the story. Dororo's story line never goes anywhere, and neither does the "plot twist" which neither made sense nor went anywhere. I also felt like the general worldbuilding was very vague. We're told about this "war", but it's not clear what the sides are. It honestly feels like we run into about 50 different smaller wars all taking place simultaneously. There's just so many shifting parts happening in the background that feels like a propped-up wooden standee on a stage to make you feel like there's a real background.
On top of the pacing being a bit wack, the vibes of what was going on would pinball back and forth even more dramatically. I hadn't expected this story to be as dark and gruesome as it was, but I'm not against how it was protrayed because that is the cold truth of war. But what would happen is that one panel would have something tragic and the next would have some wisecrack that threw the whole thing off. It was hilarious more than anything else, but god did it give me insane whiplash because what the fuck?!
Me after seeing a group of people be massacred in cold blood followed by a zingy one-liner done Marvel style:
For example, there was one point after Dororo and Hyakkimaru buried two children who were brutally executed, and it was all somber and then the next panel is Dororo going "bro I'm hungry what's for lunch" while he skips away. There's also another moment after Hyakkimaru gets his first eye back when he sees this woman grieving over her dead brother. And while this woman is actively distraught instead of being sympatethic he's like "damn she's hot I can't believe this is my first time getting to see a babe."
Of course I'm taking a bit of creative liberties here, but what actually happens is pretty much the same thing. Part of me wonders how much of this is because of the translation, but it still doesn't change the fact that Tezuka WROTE IT THIS WAY.
I feel like this review was very unhinged compared to my other ones, but seeing as this is a whole omnibus, I feel like it's on brand. A lot happened in this book, and I did think it was a really fun read despite the moments where it felt rushed or abrupt. I did really enjoy Tezuka's art and writing style, and I am interested in not only reading more of his work but other manga from this time period. I've been wanting to read AstroBoy because I was a huge fan of the 2009 film (I used to watch it on loop), and I would love to check out the source material. Black Jack also peaked my interest and seems right up my alley, so that will definitely be the next Tezuka work I read.
June 5, 2025
Dororo is a comforting book which is at once about a young swordsman’s nearly thousand pages of exploits, and a book which hints at what it means to be complete: our protagonist, Hyakkimaru, has lost 48 parts of his body—the few that are left are his heart; which he struggles with losing to his own misadventure, and his soul; which becomes increasingly influential to his journey.
As Hyakkimaru travels to find his body, Dororo, the self proclaimed “best thief in all Japan”, comes to travel alongside him. Dororo, though lighthearted and cocky in persona, hides—as Hyakkimaru does—a dark past. As the duo encounter the horror of death, the power of found family, the pitfalls of religion, and the eeriness of recurring icons, it becomes clear that not only is Hyakkimaru’s journey to becoming whole one in which he must slay 48 demons, but one in which everyone—Dororo, the story’s characters, and its readers—must reconcile that those demons were there in the first place: life, for all of us, bears a weight.
As Hyakkimaru travels to find his body, Dororo, the self proclaimed “best thief in all Japan”, comes to travel alongside him. Dororo, though lighthearted and cocky in persona, hides—as Hyakkimaru does—a dark past. As the duo encounter the horror of death, the power of found family, the pitfalls of religion, and the eeriness of recurring icons, it becomes clear that not only is Hyakkimaru’s journey to becoming whole one in which he must slay 48 demons, but one in which everyone—Dororo, the story’s characters, and its readers—must reconcile that those demons were there in the first place: life, for all of us, bears a weight.
May 10, 2013
Another piece of perverted brilliance from the Master of Manga, Osamu Tezuka. The Jap way of reading it from the back page onwards and right to left adds to the trip. Buy it. It's worth it's weight (and it weighs a lot).
September 1, 2021
El mundo necesita leer Dororo
Displaying 1 - 30 of 150 reviews