Dorohedoro, Vol. 17

ドロヘドロ [Dorohedoro] #17

by Q. Hayashida, Gabriel Álvarez Martínez (Translator)

El Día de los Muertos Vivientes se acerca y una gran mole fantasmagórica se eleva en el corazón de Hole. Algo raro y siniestro está sucediendo en el sótano de los grandes almacenes, convertidos a un tiempo en mercadillo y capilla ardiente. Mientras, la Family se prepara para el siguiente paso en su misión por resucitar a En. Chôta se recrea en su nuevo papel de verdugo, Turkey recurre a la despensa del hospital para cocinar uno de sus muñecos y Ebisu sigue desternillándose bajo los efectos del adorno mágico alojado en su cabeza. Un tomo cargado de fango, humo, locura... y gyôzas.

Genres: Manga, Horror, Fantasy, Comics, Seinen, Graphic Novels, Fiction

218 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2012

About the author

Q Hayashida (林田球, Hayashida Kyu) is a manga author from Tokyo.
Hayashida studied oil painting at Tokyo University of the Arts. She has discussed her childhood and artistic inspirations in interviews but maintains a high level of privacy about her personal life, to the point that her true name and face are unknown.
Hayashida's first major manga was Maken X Another (1999-2001), a comic book adaptation of a video game.
Her most famous work is the 23-volumes long Dorohedoro (2000-2018). It was originally serialised in the alternative manga magazine 'Monthly Ikki', but it was later moved to 'Hibana' when Ikki ceased publication, and finally transferred to 'Monthly Shōnen Sunday'. Dorohedoro has been partially adapted into an anime on Netflix in 2018.
Hayashida's most recent manga series Dai Dark began serialisation in 2019 in the pages of Monthly Shōnen Sunday.

Reviews

[Urbon Adamsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

PT Depois de três meses de pausa, decidi voltar a esta série para tentar finalmente terminá-la, até porque já só faltam sete volumes (contando com este).

Continuo, no entanto, sem perceber muito bem para onde a história quer ir. Há já alguns volumes que sinto que a premissa inicial teve, de certa forma, a sua conclusão — e desde então parece que ando a navegar sem rumo.

Seja como for, já deixei de tentar compreender. Agora, limito-me a apreciar a arte e a avançar até ao fim da série.

--

EN After a three-month break, I decided to return to this series and finally try to finish it, especially since there are only seven volumes left (including this one).

However, I still don’t really understand where the story is heading. For several volumes now, it feels like the original premise has already reached its conclusion — and since then, I’ve been drifting without much direction.

That said, I’ve given up trying to make sense of it. At this point, I’m just enjoying the artwork and making my way to the end of the series.

[Caro the Helmet Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

My neighbour is rehearsing with his indie rock band all day. Great timing and I mean it.

[Mon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahora sí puedo decir que ni me dolió sin ser sarcástica.

Me encanta Tetsujo. 💕

[Consuelo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cada vez descubrimos más cosas. Necesito ya el siguiente tomo.

[Boris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chapter 104 😭😭😭

[Iqra M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

( I am currently re-reading the series, my review will be edited later! I enjoyed all of the volumes though! :D)

All of my Dorohedoro reviews are actually a summary of what I've read & some thoughts!
I have the memory of a goldfish.

[RE-READ] SEPTEMBER 2021
TW: Strong language, blood & gore, graphic violence, body horror, dismemberment, substance (drugs : black powder), torture & nudity
Rating: 5 stars

Summarising with bullet points from now onwards so I can get through my re-reads faster

Spell 102: Venture Junction
- The En family gathered once again to discuss their next move
- Sho deduced that something might have happened to the cross-eyes boss with how Dokuga acted and Fujita could be where the boss is. They plan to make a doll (using Turkey's magic ) to find Fujita. Noi is both surprised and annoyed that Sho asked them to leave the boss to him. Turkey mention that they're the family asset and Sho doesn't want to risk putting them in danger
- While Turkey prepares to make a Fujita doll, Chota decided to torture Dokuga once more. Noi is scared that he might kill him so Shin told her to supervise Chota
- The staff gathered instant food as ingredients for Turkey but he wants fresh produce. The shops are all closed so he'll have to make do. It's clear that Ebisu truly misses his friend and unofficial partner. So much happened in just under a year
- Since Turkey used his magic with low-quality ingredients, they couldn't get Fujita's doll out of the cauldron. The doll fell off the roof. Dr Vaux mention them to get food from the central department store since the stores are closed
- Chota forced Dokuga to talk using a diet worm that will eat his entire body

Spell 103: Bug Harassment
-Prof Kasukabe shares to Shin that the Central Department store isn't big in reality. When living dead nears, the "distortion" effect gets stronger making it appear bigger (like a mirage! omg I mentioned this before). It is the only building that's effected because of the location (built on a landfill on the old dump lake where Ai fell )
- Prof shares to Shin about Ai/ the boss
- Noi tries to find Chota. Dokuga seem unfazed by his dismembered body but once the diet bug starts eating his body parts, he feels the pain
- Noi keeps watch and Chota was immediately stopped by Shin as he'd learned an interesting fact about the cross-eyes
- Thirteen came by the hospital and mentioned to Vaux that Nikaido is back at Hole. He took him inside to catch up. Much like Dr Vaux, Thirteen haven't fully warmed up to the sorcerers (hahaha poor boy is still scared about being turned into mushrooms). Sho is happy to learn that Nikaido is alive. Meanwhile, Chota is still bitter towards her. They forced Thirteen to talk. He mentions that Risu and Asu were with her. Haru shares with them about Asu and how he got demoted to a sorcerer
- Haru still kept the store knife that was borrowed by Chidaruma. We learned about this from the bonus chapter in volume 15. It's also the knife that was used by Chidaruma to skin/torture Asu
- It seems like the cross-eyes boss is trying to make himself a devil artificially
- Thirteen mentions that Nikaido is still in Hole selling Gyoza boxes. Dr Vaux said that she could be selling them at the Central Department store. Sho plans to move the family out of the hospital to the central department store

Spell 104 : Silent Reunion
- What's left of the inner circle is still following the black powder trail that leads to an empty warehouse with many numbered doors. While the group wanders other parts of the warehouse, Ton saw more trails of the powder and decided to open a door. Sludge and decapitated heads came out of the room, engulfing him.
- He woke up alone in a mysterious location. As he wanders the place, he saw an arm reaching out of a hole in the ground. He decided to help and it turns out to be Natsuki covered in sludge. He tries reviving her via CPR and succeeded. Unlike the bubbly Natsuki that we know, this version of her lost the ability to talk. The two roam around the place in hopes to find the rest of the gang but they arrive again at the hole. It turns out Ton have died and the reason why he couldn't hear Natsuki was that his ears were severely injured when he opened the door.
- He apologises to Natsuki for not being able to save her. We see their devil's tumour side by side in a vast of nothingness. We see Ton's badly injured corpse (with a head cavity; his tumour was probably stolen too and ended in the same place as Natsuki's)

Spell 105 : Food Court Full-course Meal
- The gang tries to find him but fails. Apparently, the trail leads to the basement of the Central Department Store. They found the boss eating Ton's corpse and growing bigger. They try to stop him. Tetsujo became angry and blurted out about The Boss killing Risu upon learning his magic. Saji and Ushishimada tries to calm Tetsujo mentioning that its still their boss
- The Boss already consumed many elite magic users so only the cross-eyes/low-level sorcerers are left for him to 'eat'? The cross-eyes are nobodies though
- Before Tetsujo was able to harm the monster, it used Natsuki's protection magic which engulfs it in a jelly-like coat

Spell 106: Quagmire
- Fujita reunites with Matsumura and En in a dream. He calls out to them and mentions that he misses them but is not able to do anything. He woke up from his slumber taking the dream as a sign for him to keep pushing forward
- Still invisible, he sees Tetsujo trying to kill the unrecognisable monster. The cross-eyes now learn about Natsuki's demise. Tetsujo got injured but Saji quickly passed healing smoke in which Fujita tries to get ahold off to heal his own injuries
- Both of them healed completely. Fujita was delighted to find En's devil tumour inside of an amputated hand of the cross-eyes on the ground
- Saji and Ushishimada got killed by the boss. Tetsujo cut their heads off in hopes to revive them later. We see the floor starts to crack and sludge spilling out. Before diving into the hole with all the bodies it has consumed, the boss/monster uttered 'sacrifice'

Spell 107 : Sludge Sacrifice
- Tetsujo saw the dead bodies of the cross-eyes with a lot of devil tumours in the back of the monster before it threw itself into the hole. Apparently, the inner circle collected the tumours during their sorcerer hunt
- All of a sudden, the sludge starts spewing out slowly filling up the entire basement. He ran out with Saji and Ushishimada's heads. Before escaping, Fujita caught a glimpse of the hole. More of the mysterious black liquid is coming out of it at an incredibly fast rate and there's a voice coming back from the sludge saying 'HOLE'
- Back at the hospital, we see En's family ready to head out to the central department store. Nobody seems to remember En's corpse except for Chota. Since the magic carpet is too small, some staff were left behind at the hospital. Dr Vaux can rest now the sorcerers are gone (Hahaha)! Dr Vaux plans to show Prof Kasukabe something about Caiman
- We see Shin's dog, Gura-Gura turning into their true devil form. Chidaruma is calling all the devils. We see Haru waiting for him before they leave the hospital
- Nikaido, Kawajiri & Risu arrived at the central department store. Nikaido starts having a series of headaches again so Risu advises them to quickly sell the gyozas and head back to the sorcerers' realm
- Kawajiri saw devils flying overhead (Haru & Gura-Gura). Nikaido started asking Risu about what he saw inside of Caiman. Before he got to answer her, they were distracted upon entering the inside of the department store

Spell 108: Mirage Landmark
- Kawajiri felt cheated because the store is smaller than expected. Nikaido mentions the building being built on reclaimed land. It used to be a dumping lake filled with hole-rain, corpses and more ( I don't like the sound of that). It was built there because the lake got too dangerous. However, the fumes it gives off keeps bubbling out of the ground. As Living Dead Day approaches, the fumes get stronger so the store starts looking bigger than normal
- On the magic carpet, the group shares the things they found on Dokuga (smoke, black powder, devil's coin etc). The most interesting (& probably important thing) they found was these tiny special smoke flasks for devil tumours to hug. This can be implanted but it requires dangerous neurosurgery. Each flask contains a hyper-healing factor fueled by devil magic ( it's like a combination of Judas's ear & Noi's abilities! Wow!). If you can get the tumours to hug the flasks, you can survive anything. Shin mentions that Baku, who tried to kidnap him and Noi for Blue Night must've been using this.
- Sho adds that the devils must've created these flasks to amp up battles during the blue night for their own amusement (damn sadistic). Not a lot of people do it because of how dangerous the surgery is though. Sho thinks Noi should use it as the operation can't kill her due to her healing abilities. It will also help her in combat and increases their chances to win against the boss
- Noi is opposed to the idea. Shin asks Sho for the flasks to safe keep
- Kawajiri realises that the mark of the central department store is the same as one of the symbols of the devil's coin. Risu mentions the symbol looking like the cross-eyes mark (he's not wrong! it does!). Kawajiri quickly told him that there's no way the coin would have a connection with a group of losers. This made Risu angry (as he should!).
- Kawajiri mentions that he saw devils flying overhead and plans to use his clairvoyance to figure out where they're going. Nikaido wonders if it has anything to do with her becoming a devil
- Tetsujo is still running away from the room. He stopped and starts crying. Fujita is empathic learning about the hard lives of low ranked sorcerers but still thinks their fate is well deserved (for what they did to En)
- Fujita remembers that he has some smoke in him meaning that he can conjure a portal door. He grows confident that En's body will finally be resurrected

Spell 109: Seriously Close
- The Hole starts getting windy. The Black House is seen floating in the air (which means the devils have arrived)
- The department store is total chaos because everyone can set up shop there. They each received funeral envelopes (to put money inside). The monks are doing a service for their dead friends that were murdered
- Nikaido stole another restaurant's customers who were queuing up to buy food. She gave them the gyoza to try out for free. Of course, they loved them! Kawajiri sells each bento for 10,000 yen. It's too expensive but they paid for them anyway. Nikaido's personality changed once again
- She fights with the restaurant's owner. Kawajiri and Risu managed to sell all of the bento boxes but the crowd isn't giving up. She shoved an entire bento box into the guy and the trio quickly left
- Tetsujo founds an elevator and got in. Fujita decided to take advantage of the situation and went in with him. Before the elevator door closed, Fujita saw a dark figure and the sludge calling out 'Hole' again
- The power went out in the central department store. En's family arrived but wasn't able to land the magic carpet due to the weather. Sludge starts emitting from the building, distorting it. En's family fell out of the carpet.
the situation
- Shin and Noi safely landed on the roof
- Chota is bleeding and out cold
- Turkey shattered both legs and passed out too
- Sho died
- No sign of Ebisu and Judas's Ear
- Before the volume ends, Sho's magic disappears (because he's dead) so Fujita is no longer invisible. Tetsujo sees him and asks who he is

Sh*t's about to go down, my friends! Ugh. Natsuki and Ton's scene was really sad.

Bonus chapter:
Back at the sorcerer's realm, the sorcerers are all out cold because of the rain. Tanba and Fukuyama wonder why Kirion is okay (I guessed this before but I think she's human, my friends!). Since they're out of food, Tanba decided to head out to find something. He starts feeling weird because of the rain and sees a lot of the dead sorcerers on the ground. He met with Asuka, who shields herself using her angel magic from the rain. She offers him to enter her body (you know how dirty this sounds? lol). Fukuyama went after Tanba and sees the dead bodies too. Fukuyama is scared by Asuka's angel magic (he thought she had eaten Tanba hahaha). She tries catching him and he tried running away from her. Kirion quickly *bonked* Asuka with an umbrella, breaking her magic spell. The two brought Tanba and Asuka back to the restaurant in which he asks Kirion if she invented the rain-defeater a.k.a umbrella (Sorcerers can be cute).

[Svetlana]

What a mess!!!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continua este arco tan retorcido por parte del jefe de los ojicruz y todos los personajes involucrados con este. La verdad es que las muertes cada vez va siendo algo más habitual en Dorohedoro pero la autora siempre nos da pequeñas dosis de humor para suavizar. Me encanta los escenarios y recreaciones de sueños, etc, que hace la mangaka. Tiene un estilo realmente único.

[Ailbhe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ugh ugh ugh ugh im too emotionally attached to this, im crying so much

[Danny™️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is getting so fucked up

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things are cooking

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the grotesque art gets pretty muddled so it's hard to tell what's really happening. That's always been a trait of Hayashida's art, but now that the plot is coming to a head that muddled art makes up more and more of the story

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come! This manga only gets better by the chapter. I'm swamped in uni work but I'm hoping to churn out at least two reviews a week of things I have already read.

[Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

En's family, stuck in The Hole, make a plan to find Fujita and the boss of the Cross-Eyes. The Cross-Eyes run into some strife while tracking down their boss. Nikaido, Asu and Risu attempt to sell some gyoza at the Central Department Store. The three narrative threads of Dorohedoro, Vol. 17 are all great fun and add that little bit more to the overall story direction.

In this volume Hayashida manages to tie The Hole a little more closely to sorcerer ancient history and provide a few more hints about what the boss of the Cross-Eyes is up to. She includes the humour and action we've come to expect of her at her best, while also including some touching moments here and there. The Extra Evil in this volume was also interesting because it gives us a much better idea of Tanba's mysterious employee Kirion.

Two things meant that this volume was less than perfect. First- the surprise inclusion of Haru and Gura-Gura. So far as I remember, Haru had flown off earlier and not returned and Gura-Gura hasn't been seen for some time. Their seemingly instantaneous reappearance without context is clearly necessary to keep us aware of how the devils are involved with the chaotic goings-on, but is jarring to read. I had to keep flicking back to see whether I had missed something in the illustrations, but all that was missing was any hint of these two characters.

Second- the propensity of some characters to self-narrate. This is a bit disappointing because I feel I am being told what is happening too frequently, rather than being shown.

Despite those two criticisms, this was one of the better volumes of the series so far.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hesitate to say a lot of people die in this volume, since there always seems to be some way of bringing them back in this series, but something feels...different, this time around. The situation with the cross-eyes' boss has escalated dramatically, and I think the repercussions are going to be a bit more dire this time around. The exact nature of what's going on is still pretty enigmatic, but there's an undeniable sense of horror that's rapidly coming to the forefront. It really feels like we're on the cusp of a climactic confrontation...but there are six volumes left. I have no idea what twists and turns Hayashida has in store for us, but I can't wait to find out!

[Baal Of · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume takes a more serious turn than the last few volumes, which is not to say there isn't an occasional dose of humor, it's just not quite as frequent. This changes plays towards the strength of this series, especially with a lot of the more gruesome scenes filled with dismembered bodies, and shit loads of gloppy spew coming from the hole. One of my favorite scenes combines the nasty with the humor in which Chota is puking up the centipede like creature and he says "So beautiful. A mommy bird feeding her chick." Hilariously gross.

[Kai Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

fujita is rly out here on some MVP shit! What is gonna happen in the central department store? what is its true sinister purpose? The cross eye elites finally know the truth about their "boss" and finally had the guts to turn on him. Its sad it took them this long just bc so much was kept from them (risus death, natsukis death etc) but they literally enacted genocide before realizing. Ok so obviously Haru is gonna use the knife to kill a demon at some point but who? Chudurama? Ascended Aikawa/ Ai/ Kai? Nikaido? hmmm we shall see

[Aleksandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was more gore than any semblance of plot. I mean there was plot but it was meandering and I got tired reading this volume. I hope it is a little slow moment before the story reaaches its high point.
I like Fujita's scene, I'm proud of the boy. It was heart-breaking to see Natsuki and Ton "reunion".
Also Chota is so gross ugh

Nevertheless, I am super curious to see how these plot threads come together eventually.

[Nickonero · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pesar de que sigue siendo Dorohedoro, parece que ha perdido aquella magia que poseía en sus nueve primeros tomos. Si no aparece Caimán, lamentablemente no hay Dorohedoro. Ya lleva varios tomos que todo consiste en una preparación para futuros acontecimientos y esto podrías haberlo vendido en los noventa, pero no en 2021. Una pena. Lento, aburridito y casi sin avances en la trama. Quiero Dorohedoro antiguo.

[Jucá · Rating 5 out of 5]

Divertido, como de costume.

Curioso para ver qual será a função da faca de store, eles estão mostrando ela há bastante tempo e vejo que já a história já se encaminha para o arco final, aos poucos dando as tão desejadas explicações.

Achei que o traço também estava mais limpo ainda nesse volume. A arte de dorohedoro é muito única. Fico triste pensando no anime babilônico que poderíamos ter se tivessem optado por uma animação tradicional em vez daquele 3d imundo.

[Thomas Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hayashida keeps topping herself on the gore and grime - everything in this world looks like it smells terrible, feels greasy or dusty. A huge indoor market gives her the chance for some more great background details, as well as fanservice shenanigans with Nikaido. Also, more death! More rotting, dismembered bodies, and now a new crisis for En's family. Also a spot-the-difference puzzle? No idea where this is going next.

[Dani Wladdimiro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo que terminé concluyendo en este volumen es que todos van muriendo, reviviendo, volviendo a morir y así en un círculo de conveniencias según lo requiera el guión. Lo más interesante fue ver los personajes en el infierno, alguno de ellos vueltos a la vida por otros compañeros muertos, o reencuentro simplemente de personas muertas. Me hubiera gustado saber un poco más de su funcionamiento.

[Isabel Tapia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Siento que fue un buen tomo.
Creo firmemente que la decisión de que Fujita si alcanzara polvo sanador fue una enorme conveniencia para la trama, porque en el panel de ese momento, te juro que no vi que él tan si quiera lo tocara. Pero bueno, decisiones.
Creo que sigo intentando armar un rompecabezas que claramente no está ahí.
Sigo extrañando a Caimán, pero tengo que soltar.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A volume filled with carnage. The cross eyed boss has become a man eating monster. Ton’s death scene was both touching and brutal. Fujita has a lovely near death scene as well. I’m looking forward to seeing what else will happen at the central department store, now that most of our cast has arrived.

[Hugh Jass · Rating 5 out of 5]

they found a way to even make characters like Chota have their day, this thing even this many volumes in does NOT stop being inventive and unique / world building. sad to know I’m growing closer to the end

[Radwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The relationship between Hole and the magic world are beginning to be revelaed? there's something more to it, and there's something more to the demons in this world.

I'm getting too attached to everyone, and also too anxious each time the different groups seem to be heading for the same place.

[Luke Carlson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artwork is as incredible as ever, but the story has been dragging for a few volumes now. Current enjoyment of the series is only at around a three star level, but I remain optimistic about the final few volumes.

[Joar · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a testament to Q's fantastic artistry how Dorohedoro remains as fascinating as if I just started reading—with its spontaneity and weird revelations and the arbitrariness of it all, in fact it is this randomness that draws me in still. Marvellous

[Marce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Siento que la sita Hayashida está alargando demasiado el chicle, porque claramente estamos en el final mismo de la historia.
Quedan todavía 6 volúmenes, ojalá el ritmo vuelva a agarrar.
Igual sigue siendo una de las mejores historias que he leído en manga.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

8/10

Truly witnessing the horrors here. I love this series’ ability to make me care so much about characters on all sides of the conflict. It makes it especially scary when they’re all about to clash again….