Dorohedoro 3

Q Hayashida – Viz – 2011 – 15+ volumes

I don’t know what to say. This is far and away my favorite of all the Ikki series I read. Mainly because it deals with three of my favorite themes: humor, violence, and genuine weird.

How weird? At one point, Caiman and Nikaido go into a restaurant. As soon as they walk in, a waiter greets them and assumes they’re there to use the toilet. Caiman is confused, and tells him they are there to eat. Then the waiter explains that theirs is a fire toilet that connects directly to hell. Caiman and Nikaido then sit down to eat. Nothing more is really said, until later we briefly see the fire toilet during a scene where Caiman is almost recovering his memory. The toilet is never spoken of again.

That’s why I love this series.

That, and the ridiculous violence. At one point, Shin and Noi break up a group of bullying sorcerers when Noi chops one directly in half with her hand and splits him in half from head to crotch. Shin, Noi, Nikaido, and Caiman all do a lot of casual killing. At one point, Caiman complains about having to stuff the bodies in a dumpster. Shin and Noi seem less concerned about disposing of those they murdered. It’s so casual, too. Caiman and Nikaido almost have a reason (sorcerers torture them in the hole, one turned Caiman into a lizardman and stole his memories), but Shin, Noi, and En seem to kill people because they don’t like them. In this volume, they also kill a lot of sorcerers tied to the mysterious performance-enhancing black powder.

And that’s the other great thing about Dorohedoro, is that while all this weirdness is going on, there’s still a plot that’s moving forward quite clearly. En is still trying to discover the meaning behind the mysterious head that Shin and Noi cut off of Caiman, and he does everything from trying to resurrect it to giving it a new robot body. Meanwhile, Caiman and Nikaido go on an adventure together that I won’t spoil too much, but I love seeing Caiman exploring a new place and new things. His reactions are often tinged with violence, which suits the mood of the series oh-so-well. We also get to meet a gang of rogue sorcerers that appear to have the same eye markings as Caiman.

We even almost get a little bit of character development! Does Nikaido like Caiman? How does En feel about those he keeps close? Who is that head, is it Caiman?

And the art’s still wonderful. I just can’t get over how much detail there is. There are many, many lines, but they all illustrate something. For instance, in a small illustration of Caiman, you can just make out his eyes squinting in his mask, with the lines that indicate exasperation underneath them. The sorcerer’s masks, their gloves and clothes, and just everything about the environments and objects in this comic is detailed and incredible. And with all the detail, the style is still grungy and dirty, and it suits the series perfectly. I can’t stop looking at it.

This is really, really great stuff. I can see how it might be an acquired taste and too bizarre for some, but I hope it’s finding a niche of readers that love it as much as I do. You can read it on the SigIkki site for free, but I like to torture myself and wait for the graphic novels so that I don’t spoil myself. They come out so slowly, but it’s always worth the wait.