DORORO: Episode 9 Reaction!
Added 2025-01-04 14:00:04 +0000 UTC*RED-TINTED HEADPHONE WARNINGS*
This episode is my favorite so far in the series -- the IMAGERY. The EMOTION. The FLASHBACK and REVEALS! This episode had it all and then some - our sweet Dororo is sick and Hyakkimaru has to take care of them...easier said than done?!
LINK TO REACTION: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/2UEW1bRwPixVtHL6HLbnUt?
Thank you for watching with me and for all the support!
Comments
Oohhhh, Moriarty the Patriot…THE STAGE PLAY? Oooh, color me intrigued! And yessss, so much of Dororo’s actions make SO much more sense now! I love how this episode lays everything out! Dororo definitely won the genetic lottery! At least the Maru Brothers have a beautiful mother to help balance! ;) I do appreciate the REALISM of the series in terms of how samurai are depicted, like you said. The genuine nature of it is appreciated! And yes, establishing that it’s not just Daigo as a “villain.” Oohh, I can see the connection with the poppy fields as well! The “horrors” of war as it is shown was brutal but done with the appropriate gusto. And the “timeline” is subtly shown as well! So heartbreaking! This nun did NOT know what she did to the plot, haha!! The flashbacks and “style” and use of color were so good in this! The red color pop was such a smart choice! Dororo’s pleas to her mom, though? GUTTED. That’s also a good point about “nerves” with the senses and how far Hyakkimaru has come! I also love that the way that Hyakkimaru and Biwamaru “see” is pretty blind to gender. Dororo being raised by a boss of a mom I think plays into Dororo’s character as well. Also, the differences in how Daigo and Hibukuro treat their wives? *sips tea* That’s pretty cool about your family’s looks - I am definitely my dad’s father with a wig on, haha!! But YES, genetics are so complex and intriguing! Yeah, I am glad they made Itachi a more dynamic and deeper character than he could have been in any other story! I’m okay with characters whispering what we can’t here…as LONG as we finally find out what it is (looking at you JJK) haha!! I love the style and I’m a SUCKER for a flashback episode! 😛Same! I also like that they’re a little mysterious with the timeline, to make us not know EXACTLY when things are going down! Thank you for the comment and VA information!! I’m so excited for the episodes to come!
Romaniablack
2025-01-10 23:40:58 +0000 UTCYessss, what a reveal! I love how the story sets it up and gives us the details, though! And yes, Dororo’s parents were really smart in the sense of wanting to protect their child! And I’m sure the malnutrition has helped to stunt her growth, too. And I love that Hyakkimaru doesn’t really “view” Dororo different because of her gender; she’s still a chatter box to him! Although, that does make me think that Hyakkimaru must have ate *decently* under Jukai to have grown the way he did! The entire episode was SO well done and I couldn’t help but feel for Dororo’s heartbreak at losing her mom! 🙁 Hahaha, the misrepresentation I almost did of Corkus! 😛I feel it’s a young child’s right of passage, regardless of gender, to go through the bowl-cut phase of hair in grade school - and the giant glasses if you needed them! ;) Thank you for the comment and kind words! This episode was sooooo good!
Romaniablack
2025-01-10 23:04:53 +0000 UTCAgree with you about some musical elements to stage plays definitely veer on the side of cheesy. One, that I've sadly only seen clips for, though that does it well is YuuMori/Moriarty the Patriot stage play. Dororo's fear of being left behind by Hyakkimaru hurts all the more when you see that Dororo's parents, due to death, left her on her own too 💔 Yeah, unlike Hyakkimaru and Tahomaru, Dororo lucked out on the genetics lottery with how both Hibukuro and Ojiya look 😂🥰 I really love that this show gives us a more realistic take on life in Japan when samurai were in control. Like many parts of history around the world, this era of Japan tends to be highly idealised and romanticised about. I do still enjoy shows like that, but it is also nice to see a more genuine portrayal of the time period and how life for the everyday person was. I would correct you and say that at the start of the flashback they haven't gone up against Daigo's men, but instead samurai of other lords. Itachi just says that they are now strong enough that they'd be able to go up against Daigo's samurai, which shows that Daigo's land was extremely prosperous and strong at this point (unlike when Hyakkimaru was born). This flashback really helps show that Daigo isn't the only bad lord with samurai at his beck and call. Hibukuro saying about red spider lilies soaking up the blood of the fallen soldiers honestly makes me think of the symbology of the poppy for World War I and World War II (red for the blood shed), and how fields of poppies grew in some of the areas where there had been the worst fighting. I definitely agree that the outcome of war is not shown in a gratuitous manner. They don't flinch away from the horror of it all like with the cannibalism, the starved villagers, the skeleton of a mother and baby, or the brutal manner in which Hibukuro and the samurai died, but those scenes and images aren't just shown for the sake of adding more gore and horror to the anime. It's just a stark and brutal reminder of the cost of war. Just like with showing clothes becoming more threadbare, they do a fantastic job of animating both Hibukuro and Ojiya as becoming more sunken in the face. And Ojiya dry cracked lips showing how she may not have been drinking enough, let alone eating, all to ensure Dororo could get enough food and water so that their child at least could survive 🥺 It's heart-breaking but done so well. Nun just appears, helps tend to Dororo, and drops the bombshell of Dororo's hidden sex 😂 The beauty of this episode does distract you from the emotional pain, similar to how Dororo's parents tried to shield them from seeing their own pain 🥺 I do especially love how this show has chosen to portray flashbacks in a different colour palette/art style. It really helps differentiate the past from present time. And, to me, is reminiscent of past shows and movies being in black and white or sepia tones, and present shows are nearly all full colour. But Dororo crying and saying that they won't complain about being hungry anymore always makes me tear up 😭💔 Smell being linked to taste can also correlate with why Hyakkimaru was fine just eating his fish raw when he first met Dororo. His lack of nerves at the time could have also prevented him from being able to understand the difference in texture between raw and cooked fish. I think that Hyakkimaru and Biwamaru's way of seeing that doesn't distinguish a person's sex further perpetuates the idea that Dororo's sex is not a relevant part of who they are as a person. Yes there is meaning behind a girl passing herself off as a boy in those kinds of times, but the colour of Dororo's soul is what matters most. Ojiya's presence amongst the group I feel is another mirror for Hyakkimaru's mother. As you said Ojiya is there with all the men and not being relegated to some tent and made to do the cooking and cleaning. She is their Boss' wife so she has position and power within that role. Hyakkimaru's mother is the lord's wife but she was brushed off by Daigo when she commented on the update of their land, and she's only been shown staying within the home and her room. The difference can be explained by Daigo's wife being a 'noble lady' whereas Ojiya was just from a simple village that was destroyed by samurai. But like you said I do think the men around both women has an effect on how they're treated/seen. Hibukuro is more willing to lean on his wife and seemed to see her as an equal partner (if not the one who could make the decisions, at least when it came to Dororo), whereas Daigo seems to see his wife more as an accessory to his power and his way of getting an heir. My brother and my make-up is kind of strange. People would see my brother and say that he definitely took more after my Dad's side, and that I'm the spit of my Mum. But at the same time my brother and I look *very* alike (to the point that Snapchat filter to see yourself as a man or woman made my brother look like me and I ended up looking like my brother). Genes are such a fun and complicated thing 😅 Yes Itachi is a jerk, but he isn't a d*ck so he definitely gets a point for neither trying to encroach on Ojiya in a sexual way. His words to her definitely feel, to me, like he's trying to feel vindicated for the choice he made when he betrayed Hibukuro. He sees the dire straits both Ojiya and Dororo are in, and that Hibukuro has died, whilst he has food, clothing, and shelter thanks to the lord he chose to serve instead. The trope of a character saying something but we don't get to hear it always frustrates me, but in a good way. It makes me want to scream from wanting to know what they said, but I know that the show will typically come back around to it at some point and then I'll know. But with Dororo I think it frustrated me all the more because they used it when it's Hibukuro's dying words! 😣 Stylistically this one is probably my favourite too! And I'm always a sucker for a flashback, especially when portrayed like this. Yes timeline-wise having that scene with Daigo is a little confusing, but I do believe it's happening before everything that happened at least in this episode, if not before the previous episode as well. It might have made more sense, chronologically, to put that whole scene at the beginning of this episode, but I do love a flair for the dramatics and what's more dramatic than lightning as Tahomaru learns a few more clues. Definitely a good way to end an episode and leave viewers wanting more. Seiyuu for this episode: Hibukuro is voiced by Miyake Kenta, who has also voiced Zodd from Berserk; Hiromi/Shadow from SK8; Ryuuzaki from Saezuru/Twittering Birds; Cain from Banana Fish; All Might from Boku no Hero; Mike from Shingeki no Kyojin; Scar from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood; Shibata from Mob Psycho; and Jiroubou from Naruto. Ojiya is voiced by Fujimura Ayumi, who is also the seiyuu for Katen Kyoukotsu (the older one of Kyouraku's zanpakuto spirits) and Tobiume (Hinamori's zanpakuto spirit) in the Zanpakuto Rebellion Arc from Bleach; young Natsume from Natsume's Book of Friends; and Mezato Ichi from Mob Psycho.
Anime Annie
2025-01-05 18:22:43 +0000 UTCThe big reveal that Dororo is a girl. I totally agree that it doesn’t really matter to the story as a whole. I totally agree with you that the reason her parents tried to hide the sex of Dororo is because, well, sexual assault of females in times of war is rampant. When this episode came out, I remember the surprise. Those familiar with the story were not surprised. I think you got her age right as well. I’d say she’s 10 or 11. Dororo is small. She probably has suffered from malnutrition and this does cause stunted growth. In countries that have suffered war and famine, the children tend to be a lot smaller than previous generations that did not starve. So, I’d say that there is a 4 to 5 yr difference between Hyakimaru and Dororo. Yes, Hyakimaru now has a little chatter box of a sister! Yeah when Dororo was talking to Moi about sex work, this is what was meant. Even though her mom died of starvation and did not subject herself to selling herself in order to not starve, Dororo does not devalue Mio’s vocation because there are so many relying on her for food. Unfortunately this is necessary in order to survive another day. I can’t help but feel that Dororo is thinking “if only….. maybe mama would be here….” I find that very sad and also very real. I was definitely the tomboy when I was a kid! It was the 70’s and I don’t remember such a segregation of being girly or being a tough boy. Or maybe it just didn’t matter to me. I had that bowl cut as well! Hahahaha! 😭 Yeah, I was going to say, Corkus never sold out anyone. He was just a jerk. I absolutely loved your reaction to this episode! I love the color palette, the small call backs to the 1969 episodes… (the mother and baby skeleton and also being in black and white) I also love Spider Lilies! My mom has irises and a few rogue spider lilies have popped up. I think they are beautiful. Well, we are now set up for the next episode so let’s see how that plays out! Thanks for the reaction, this is such a good episode! Till next week! Take care!
Moominkomet
2025-01-04 16:11:06 +0000 UTC
