Oh god, how can this season already be over? I feel like I’ve just gotten settled into the world of Caiman, En, and their various compatriots, and now the party’s about to end!? C’mon, at least let me stick around for one more feast, or festival, or something! Obviously this is the fate of all adaptations of continuing manga, but Dorohedoro has established its local schedule as so packed with festivities that I already feel like I’m missing out. Damn you Dorohedoro, how dare you be so entertaining.

Anyway, yes, we’ve arrived. It’s clear we’re still in the early phases of Dorohedoro’s overall narrative; En’s motivation has only just been revealed, and Caiman’s quest isn’t even close to a resolution. But this does at least feel like a reasonable resting point, as the tension of Nikaido’s sorceress nature has also served as one of Dorohedoro’s slow-burning narrative fuses, and it seems like it’s about to blow. Nikaido cares about Caiman, and at this moment, I could see that concern leading her to wound him deeply, in order to ensure he doesn’t return to the world of the sorcerers. But  whatever happens, the one thing I’m certain of is that after this, I’m picking up the goddamn manga. Without further ado, let’s finish off the endearing, intriguing, and vividly realized Dorohedoro!

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Hello folks, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. Are you ready to storm En’s goddamn mansion!? After a season’s worth of Caiman and Nikaido hunting Risu, while En and his enforcers hunted them, Nikaido has at last been captured, and even forced to sign a partnership contract with En. It’s hard to imagine we’ll be veering back into baseball episodes and zombie festivals anytime soon; Nikaido’s capture has made for a major paradigm shift, and until this situation is resolved, all eyes are on En’s compound.

It’s hard for me to imagine how Dorohedoro might return back to its “neutral state” after this arc, but this show has demonstrated an unusual capacity to normalize seemingly impossible narrative shifts. I thought Caiman having his head chopped off would probably shift things up; his head had regrown by the next morning. I thought going into the world of the sorcerers might finally push Caiman and Nikaido’s journey forward; that ended in failure and a hard reset, too. This situation is certainly different, in that we’re now resolving one of the conflicts that has driven Dorohedoro from its beginning, but I could easily believe that after all of this, both En and Caiman’s associates end up happily sharing a meal together. Of course, that would resolve one of the major sources of tension that’s been driving Dorohedoro from the start, so the question then becomes – what replaces that conflict?

To answer that, I think we need to know why En has been so desperate to get his hands on time magic. That’s the puzzle piece I’m hoping for from this episode, but Dorohedoro clearly delights in subverting expectations, so I’m happy to play it by ear. Let’s uncover some new secrets in the world of Dorohedoro!

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Hello everyone, and welcome on back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to dive back into Dorohedoro, even though at this point, I’m well aware that any predictions about our trajectory are destined to be mocked, subverted, and turned into a meat pie. Dorohedoro winds where it wills, and it’s actually part of the story’s strength that it so resolutely avoids any pat, convenient narrative arcs. Just as the world of Hole is a sprawling and unknowable place, where strange rituals and unfamiliar faces lurk around every corner, so is Dorohedoro’s narrative a twisting, undefinable construction. How else could slice of life and horror coexist so casually, without either undercutting the other? Perhaps today you find the villain you’ve long been seeking, or perhaps you simply make a new friend, and enjoy some muffins together. Or perhaps this is the day you die.

Within this labyrinthian sprawl of treasure hunts and mysteries, a few truths are starting to emerge. The person in Caiman’s mouth is Risu, and the sorcerer he seeks most likely Ebisu – though how those two are connected, we’re not quite sure. On the other side, the time-manipulating sorcerer that En seeks is undoubtedly Nikaido, and he’s already making his move. Whether we follow up on any of that, join Fujita and Ebisu for a trip to the park, or check in on Caiman’s part-time labor, I’m sure Dorohedoro will somehow make it a thrilling experience. Let’s get to it!

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So what is it that makes Dorohedoro’s fantastical worldbuilding so special? I was just discussing this with a friend, as in general, I feel like “emphasis on worldbuilding” tends to be one of anime’s greatest narrative weaknesses. Rather than focusing on an emotionally resonant human narrative, many shows focus entirely on scaffolding and set dressing, and yet I never feel genuinely entranced by their worlds. So where does Dorohedoro succeed where all these isekai and trapped-in-a-game shows fail?

Well, first of all, it helps a great deal that Dorohedoro has genuinely unique ideas. Systems of magic and videogame-reminiscent technology only feel fresh and engaging the first couple times; in contrast, Dorohedoro fills its every episode with marvelous incidental concepts like the Hell Toilet, and its worldbuilding never feels strictly derivative of other ideas. I admit that “have a lot of unique ideas” isn’t the most actionable writing advice, but it’s certainly an area where Q Hayashida shines.

But more fundamentally, what Hayashida understands is that great fantasy should stretch our minds and inspire us, not simply flatter our ability to understand mechanical systems. Dorohedoro’s fanciful worldbuilding isn’t designed to make its world understandable – in fact, it’s rather the opposite. Through its inexplicable setpieces and vaguely alluded-to rituals, Dorohedoro constantly pushes back against our ability to categorize and contain it, positing a world that is vaster than our ability to imagine it. Great fantasy offers not just marvelous adventures, but the promise of a world undefined, with dangling, inexplicable threads that capture our imagination, and ideas that remain in view but distant, vast monoliths implying more untold stories. That is what makes great fantasy special, and it’s a quality that Dorohedoro has in endless supply. Let’s delight in its riches once more then, as we bound through one more episode of Dorohedoro!

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Hello all, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re diving back into Dorohedoro, a show which has so far confounded my expectations at every turn; veering into slice of life when I expect narrative progression, accelerating through five key reveals just as soon as I’ve gotten myself comfortable, and then swerving its drama in an entirely new direction.

Instead of the dramatic Nikaido-En confrontation I was expecting, last episode instead offered us Shin’s bloody origin story, and went on to introduce a giant sneakers-clad cockroach named Johnson. The question of resolving Caiman’s curse has only gotten more convoluted over time, with the discovery and revival of the man in his throat introducing a full-on conspiracy involving a gang of cross-eyed ne’er-do-wells.

Meanwhile, the show continues to articulate a fascinating overarching philosophy of ritual and life cycles, frequently presenting death as a celebration, and meals as a kind of worship. All this combined with the gorgeous gutter punk splendor of Dorohedoro’s background art makes for a rich experience whether you’re here for the stories, the ideas, or the dazzling architecture. Let’s not waste any more time, and see where this strange journey leads!

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They’re currently still counting the votes that may herald the end of democracy in my country altogether, so you might say I’m feeling a little tension at the moment. In light of this, I’m going to do what I usually do at times like these: turn to one of my favorite ongoing projects, and bury myself in some productive work for a little while. Today that means Dorohedoro, where Nikaido is currently facing off against Noi in the guts of En’s estate.

Considering its bountiful worldbuilding flourishes and incidental genre digressions, you’d think Dorohedoro would be the kind of story to take its time with its central narrative, and simply luxuriate in its environment while dropping occasional hints about Caiman’s quest. Instead, in just five episodes, we’ve already discovered the identity of the man in Caiman’s throat, tracked down his gang, and twice faced off with En’s loyal enforcers. Dorohedoro is progressing with the pacing of a series that has nothing to lose, seemingly determined to resolve its initial conflict before it even finishes its first season.

This could either mean that we’ve yet to discover the actual magnitude of Caiman’s quest, or that his quest is merely a prelude to Dorohedoro’s true narrative, the story that’s kept it chugging along for two decades now. Given Hayashida’s confident writing so far, I’m not feeling apprehensive about that reveal – I’m simply excited to learn the truth, and discover precisely what kind of epic we’re dealing with here. Without further ado, let’s inch closer to that truth, and enjoy a fresh episode of Dorohedoro!

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Hello everyone, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am delighted to be returning to Dorohedoro, a show which has swiftly established itself as one of 2020’s very best productions. Heck, Dorohedoro would still be a top show even in a year less beset by plague and isekai; from its charming cast and confident worldbuilding to its absolutely gorgeous background design, the show is an embarrassment of riches, with only the unfortunate weak point of its CG character designs holding it down. But it’s a credit to this story’s appeal that even though its actual fight scenes are pretty lousy, it’s still keeping me gripped with its narrative turns.

Dorohedoro is a fusion of many things, but one of my favorite of its combinations is how it transposes old school magical ritual to a gritty urban setting. Magic isn’t a clean or obvious process here; it’s personal and unmanageable and terribly messy, in the way you’d see in an old-school fairy tale (or more recently, something like The Ancient Magus Bride). Dorohedoro has taken that old-school woods magic and recast it as both the symptom and cause of urban decay, the dark energy that runs through the drainage lines beneath Hole’s concrete jungle. It’s a fascinating mix, like a witchier variation on cyberpunk, and I’m eager to see what else Q Hayashida can do with it. Without further rambling, let’s get to Dorohedoro!

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Hello everyone, and welcome once more to Wrong Every Time. Today I come to you in a spirit of contrition, as my motives for this current article could not be more impure. We’re going to be continuing Dorohedoro, largely because I… I… I want to know what happens next.

I know, I know. I’m the one who always says that plot is details, and regularly spends a good third of my articles rambling about layouts, and who generally only addresses narrative events insofar as they’re relevant to character journeys or thematic arguments. But Dorohedoro’s world is just so damn interesting, and pretty much every time it offers an explanation for one of its magic tricks, that explanation blossoms into five new questions demanding an answer. I’m also genuinely invested in the fates of both our humans and our sorcerers, and also simply eager to see more of Hole’s beautiful architecture, as well as Hayashida’s marvelous narrative inventions. Most plots are not so fascinating that they offer much more than a template for genuine craft to shine, but Dorohedoro’s story has me genuinely intrigued, and I’m prepared to follow this alarming instinct where it leads. Let’s check back in with our friends in Dorohedoro!

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Folks, it is absolutely time for more Dorohedoro. Not only am I just generally down for more of this production’s charming shenanigans and gorgeous architecture, but we also happened to leave off on an absolutely intolerable cliffhanger, with Shin and Noi at last on their way to hunt down Caiman and Nikaido. The two major factions within this show’s cast have both proven themselves to be violent yet oddly adorable families, and considering this manga has gone on for eighteen years, I don’t expect them to murder each other quite yet. Then again, this is Dorohedoro, where life is cheap and death hilarious, so there’s really no telling who’s a truly plot-essential character.

Most importantly, Ebisu still needs her dang face back. So let’s not waste any more time, and set off once more on a journey through the magnificent decay of Hole!

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