Dororo 3
October 28, 2008
When I started reading this series, I was really shocked to find that there was a recent video game based on it, and it was brought out in the US. This struck me as unlikely enough that I bought and played it, and even more unlikely, the game is actually pretty fantastic, unlike almost every other license-type game I’ve ever played. The plot sticks really close to the manga, close enough that I put off reading the last volume until I had gotten far enough in the game that I hit these stories.
It’s called “Blood Will Tell” for the PS2. The character designs are, oddly enough, by Hiroaki Samura, of Blade of the Immortal and Ohikkoshi fame (Ohikkoshi being the review posted below this one, for later reference when this drops off the front page).
I’m not sure how I felt about this volume. I didn’t like the first story dealing with the bandits from Dororo’s past, and the map on Dororo’s back came into play a little sooner than I thought it would. I was disappointed with the outcome of that story, though it got suitably epic towards the end when Dororo and the leader of the bandits take on an entire army from a mountaintop and a one-legged Hyakkimaru helps them out down below. I also liked the demon-possessed shark duo. That one of the demons was possessing sharks was a pretty awesome plot device.
It was also a little disappointing that Hyakkimaru kept trying to split with Dororo. Two of the stories dealt with Hyakkimaru forcing a parting of ways, then coming to Dororo’s rescue, the latter one dealing with a storming of Daigo’s castle (this was also the final chapter). The demon battles leading up to the final battle were pretty good… one was a gluttony demon and one was some sort of animal demon that had taken over the spirit of a priest. The stories themselves were a little weak, though. We also meet Saburota, a ronin who has some sort of macho battle with Hyakkimaru and then teams up with Daigo since he seems to be the dominant lord in the area. It kind of felt like he was going to be a recurring character, except the series ends a few chapters after he was introduced.
The ultimate ending was pretty disappointing, mostly because it was cut short. We see one more demon battle with a chimera-like monster (that gives out multiple body parts, which struck me as kind of lazy) before Hyakkimaru strikes out on his own, there’s a really random plot point involving Dororo that I would say was tagged on if not for the fact it was vaguely referenced earlier in the volume, and it just wasn’t satisfying. It’s a shame it didn’t have a proper ending, because it was otherwise a great series.
I wound up loving this series. A lot. Even with no ending. Enough so that after I finished this volume, I dove right into Black Jack because I wanted more. Enough that I went out and bought the video game. If you want more of the same from the manga and have a PS2, I highly recommend the video game.
