All of my Dorohedoro reviews are actually a summary of what I've read & some thoughts!
I have the memory of a goldfish. ( I am currently re-reading the series, my review will be edited later! I enjoyed all of the volumes though! :D)
[RE-READ] SEPTEMBER 2021
TW: Strong language, blood & gore, graphic violence, body horror, substance (drugs) & nudity
Rating: 5 stars
Spoilers ahead!
All of my Dorohedoro reviews are actually a summary of what I've read & some thoughts!
I have the memory of a goldfish.
Another solid volume.
Volume 3 ended with an injured Nikaido. Caiman conjured a portal back to Hole (thanks to Prof's smoke spray). She is being treated in the central hospital. Doc Vaux and Prof Kasukabe performed the surgery to remove the mushroom from the back of her body.
It has been revealed that both of them knows about Shin. Shin's past is an unfortunate one. Sadly, both parents got killed; his mother when he was just a baby and his father for protecting his sorcerer son. It was mentioned that humans refused to be guinea pigs to sorcerers and fought back in the past. The Neighborhood patrol (NP) was invented. The reason why they succumbed to being magic victims now is all because of Shin. I swear the power this man holds is amazing. Shin originated from Hole and is a hybrid (half-human &sorcerer). His father hid the fact that he was a hybrid until he accidentally injured himself while working and emitted black smoke.
The NP found out about it and decided to kill them both. Shin learned about the death of his father and his personality changed dramatically. That was the start of his violent streak. His list of crimes grew every day. Doc Vaux and Prof Kasukabe found Shin in one of the operating rooms at the hospital while they were on call. He was trying to find his smoke outlet so he cut both arms off. (DAMN, SON. DO U NOT FEEL ANY PAIN?)
SHIN IN THE BEGINNING :/ gets pricked *owww*
ALSO, SHIN: /NO ARMS I'M STILL ALIVE U SURPRISE?
They helped him sew his arms back. While Vaux hesitated a bit, Kasukabe remained calm. I LOVE CHILL CHARACTERS. Ugh, Prof Kasukabe is the best. I guess this is the first time the manga has shown that humans and sorcerers can co-exist??? They just need to help and understand one another, that's all. Anyway, more people got killed (this time, by Shin's magic) and the NP disbanded. Nobody dared to stand up against sorcerers since that day. May I remind you that he did all this when he was just a literal kid? AMAZING.
Again, a sorcerer's weakness regarding the rain was confirmed yet again but this time by Prof. Kasukabe. Caiman is still in denial about Nikaido's true identity. Nikaido ponders upon her conversation with Asu and her magic. Could it be the only way?
While on bed rest, a mysterious man kidnaps her. Caiman went after the man and got led into the sewers. There are a lot of dead bodies in the sea of rainwater and smoke; a sewer graveyard, if you will. Johnson is introduced! He has become of my favourite characters. Apparently, a human went around killing magic victims for their black jewels. It can turn someone into a sorcerer? (Though I highly doubt it). Right before his demise, the guy revealed to Caiman that he was there when he had a human head. He saw Nikaido that day too.
Spell 20 is one of my favourite storylines. While the En family tries to uncover Ebisu's magic (that they found at the smoke shop), Fujita and Ebisu went to Hole to avenge Matsumura. Technically, Ebisu wasn't invited, haha! They got caught up in a game of baseball.
The entire arc is *chef's kiss*!!! Not Caiman being jealous over another man eating Nikaido's gyoza & flirting with her. Your jealousy is so obvious, my man! The entire game scene is the best! I love shark cheerleader +erandboy Ebisu, the stingy old man with tricks up his sleeve (he drugged the opposing team's members & even tried to kill Johnson)! Not to forget, our intelligent Prof. Kasukabe bringing a Franken-Matsumura back to life and also controlling Johnson via remote control. AMAZING!!!! I laughed so hard but I also felt bad about Fujita seeing his old partner's corpse being used this way. The sorcerer pair eventually escaped with Matsumura.
Back at En's place, the family learned about Ebisu's magic! Unfortunately, En's staff accidentally dropped the vial of smoke and it turned Noi into a reptile. Noi went on a killing rampage. Shin had to knock her out. Meanwhile, Fujita and Ebisu arrived at the mansion. Ebisu developed a headache because she drank some of Fujita's smoke booster juice back at the baseball field (which I'm guessing is black powder juice).
So apparently black powder not only increases the volume of smoke but can also cause insanity. Ebisu was revealed to be a loyal consumer of black smoke (my girl's a drug addict at a very young age, hmm). The vial of smoke was mixed with black powder which caused Noi to go amok. En took Shin and Noi to meet with a sorcerer with the power to dispel the magic of others. Chota is introduced.
THINGS TO REMEMBER:
How to dispel magic
1) the sorcerer who cast the magic has to nullify it
2) the sorcerer must die
3) or take advantage of Chota, seem like
Also, how is Shin carrying Noi with his guts out? I mean, I am not surprised but... wow. Not En thinking 'Don't you feel pain?'.
I think En knew that Chota's magic will be useful so he locked him in a tower. Chota's magic is amazing. Of course, it's romantic too! Shin blushing when Noi woke up is so cute! He gave her his coat to cover up. What a gentleman.
Ebisu went berserk due to the black powder juice she consumed. She turned into a lizard and killed Franken-Matsumura. Fujita became devastated yet still hopeful.
After the magic dies down, some of her memories came back. Instead of the usual ' you are not it ', the man inside of Caiman (Risu) told her that ' you are the one who stopped me'.
So did Ebisu turned Caiman's head into a lizard? Was she there when it happened? or did someone used her smoke on Caiman??? In what way did she stop Risu?? Did Risu planned to do something to Caiman?? Let's find out.
Before the volume ends, we get a glimpse of the day Risu got murdered and it was revealed that he had a partner named Aikawa (who is very Caiman-esque). The person who killed him was also a cross-eyes member. BUT WHO? Nothing major has been revealed at this point but the reptile magic, though not rare, is definitely Ebisu's.
Back at Hungry Bug at the hole, Caiman didn't want to include Nikaido anymore in his adventure to discover his real identity. So he left Hole using Prof Kasukabe's portal door. He didn't say goodbye to Nikaido but still hopes to eat her gyoza again someday. That statement gives me hope. I can't wait to read about Caiman's adventure in the sorcerer's realm.