DORORO: Episode 21 FULL LENGTH Reaction!
Added 2025-03-29 13:00:04 +0000 UTC*FLAMING HEADPHONE WARNINGS*
Remember when we had nice things a few weeks ago? Noooot anymore! Things "fire off" literally as Tahomaru takes charge to track down and kill Hyakkimaru -- meanwhile, Hyakkimaru reveals his resolve to Dororo; it's flashbacks, revelations, and all the pieces are on the board...but what surprises will we have in this last push of the season!?
LINK TO REACTION: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/3krjXUE3TKVhXngx3ThNf8
Thank you for watching with me and for all the support!
Comments
Oohhhh, I didn’t realize they were killing the folks that were leaving because of the sickness – that changes another comment that I had from someone else for this episode so that’s unintentionally hilarious. I’ll have to address that in the episode itself! But that conscription of the young men - that I did recognize from other media. Dororo and Hyakkimaru have made so much progress! I love how Hyakkimaru has grown and is “ride or die” (for the most part) for Dororo. And yeah, Hyakkimaru just wanting his body back…can you blame him? I do agree that Daigo at least fed Mutsu and Hyogo - I mean, of COURSE, he’d have to feed them up to not seem as heartless, but yeah, I get what you mean! :’) But yeah, so many death flags! *nervous laughter* Okay, after you said it, I NEED Lan Wangji to meet Hyakkimaru! I was FLOORED by how gruesome Midoro’s death was! Seriously, WHY?! Nooooo….And yeah, that was so rough and unnecessary! I am SO HAPPY that Dororo was not hurt in all this! But yeah, those screams from Dororo – that hurts! Yeah, it hurts because I see “WHY” so many of these characters do what they do, but you know - Daigo could have just owned up so early on and a lot of this could be avoided. And yes, these apples didn’t fall TOO far from the tree. And yes, I’m actually going to talk about nature vs. nurture in a future episode, so it’s funny you mention that here! I’m sad with Tahomaru’s path in this series and where it could lead him, but I guess we’ll see where it goes! Thank you for the comment and kind words!
Romaniablack
2025-04-03 23:03:44 +0000 UTCIt's a sadly realistic portrayal of the times for what they used to do when epidemics started: close off the village(s) it's at and kill anyone who tries to leave so as to prevent it spreading further. Same for conscription of young men/boys in times of war. I think it's all the more brutal seeing it portrayed like this because there is that hint of realism. Also not showing the faces of the soldiers carrying out their lord's orders or the people being killed or forcibly conscripted adds to the pain. I love the progression Dororo and Hyakkimaru have made in their relationship. Before Hyakkimaru's stubbornness would have won out even with Dororo saying she'd stay behind. But now, with every thing they've been through, it does make Hyakkimaru stop in his tracks. After losing Dororo before and not having her by his side when he reunited with Jukai, Hyakkimaru knows what it's like now to be without her 🥺 But it is hard, as an adult, to say Hyakkimaru's in the wrong for wanting his body back in that moment, nevermind a young child like Dororo. I will say for all that I dislike Daigo and his "parenting" he did feed up Mutsu and Hyogo, and waited until they were healthy again before introducing them to his son instead of handing off two starved and traumatised children as a gift for Tahomaru 😅 So many death flags being raised for Mutsu and Hyogo though. But on my first watch I was not expecting Mutsu's words to then have significance in their fight against Hyakkimaru. Hyakkimaru is attacking his brother for calling him a demon, and the parts he injures on Tahomaru's two comrades are their arms they use to fight for Tahomaru 🥺 Also with rewatching with your reaction all I can think is: Hyakkimaru might get along well with Lan Wangji. Both are somewhat stoic, pretty stubborn, and they like chopping people's arms off 😝 With all that they've shown in the previous episodes you'd think they wouldn't be able to shock you more. But that moment with Midoro and her death (alongside them showing her body in pieces) was so shocking the first time I watched it. The trauma Mappa has inflicted on us with some of the horse animations has been leading us to the introduction of Midoro and the poor suffering she goes through. As if we needed more reasons to hate Daigo's men after his people killed Mio and the kids, now they've also got that poor horse's blood on their hands 😭 I do love, as much as Hyogo and Mutsu are willing to follow Tahomaru on the path of killing Hyakkimaru for the sake of Daigo (the land not the lord), they weren't willing to use Dororo as a means to an end. Dororo is an innocent in all this and so she shouldn't suffer for it. But the spy/soldier is too much like Lord Daigo. And while I want to smack him for Midoro and taking Dororo (which at least she's being carried this time and not bouncing about on the horse's haunches like when Itachi kidnapped Dororo), I do give him credit for not doing the typical anime thing of assuming because a character went over a cliff like that during an explosion that said character is dead. Dororo screaming for her brother, and then Hyakkimaru's first thoughts down in that pit being Dororo just hurts my heart 🥺 Yes, one of the things I adore about Dororo is the characters do make it so hard to choose a side because you can understand from each person's viewpoint (with the exception of Daigo). I also find the characters quite compelling because nearly all of them do things that make it so hard to be a die hard defender of that character. Your comment about Daigo not being willing to own up to the truth, and your comments about Hyakkimaru and Tahomaru's stubbornness, made me realise that this is definitely the biggest trait both his sons received from Daigo. Also somewhat delves into the topic of nature versus nurture in that even though Hyakkimaru was not raised by Daigo and his mother, he does still have similar traits (like his stubbornness) to his parents and his younger brother. In those instances nature won out of the nurture Jukai provided him. Yes, in Japanese Buddhism Asura can sometimes be referred to as "warrior demons". They are basically a supernatural malevolent being who have a very fierce nature. His mother likening to one, in my opinion, shows the path Tahomaru's stubbornness is sending him down. And the need to be this fierce demon is quite removed from who he was before.
Anime Annie
2025-04-03 18:06:17 +0000 UTC
