Dorohedoro

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Una de las principales fortalezas de su historia es el fantástico conjunto de personajes, porque pese a que podría decirse que Kaiman y Nikaido es la pareja protagónica, conforme avanza la historia, se agregan más y más personajes, cada cuál aportando su punto de vista en diferentes planos narrativos, constituyendo un relato coral.

Si viste la adaptación en 2020 también lo habrás percibido de tal manera, pese a ser los antagonistas, la familia EN son otros protagonistas en vez de ser únicamente adversarios. Conseguido por la entrañabilidad de cada personaje, sea por su marcada personalidad como EN, Shin o el mismo Kaiman, otros en su excentricidad ... en el caso de Ebisu o Kusakabe, por el arco de su historia teniendo a Nikaido y Fujita o porque es una cucaracha respecto al querido Johnson.

Con un elenco de personajes tan variado en personalidades y diseños da la apariencia de una historia caótica, lo cuál corresponde… hasta cierto punto. Una de las sorpresas del desarrollo del manga frente a las impresiones que tuve de su adaptación animada es sobre la regularidad de los elementos “irregulares” dentro de la historia, como el reconocido partido de béisbol, pensaba que la mayoría de su desarrollo estaría sujeto bajo esa impresión y al contrario, la mayoría suceden durante la primera temporada.

Desde cierto punto, todos los eventos estarán relacionados al hilo conductor principal de alguna manera, y no es que pierda su elemento caótico y de extrañeza, sencillamente será reenfocado para propósitos de la historia, es decir, no se dirigirá a una trama tangente intrascendente, siempre estará vinculado al trasfondo de algún personaje o del mundo. No lo considero punto negativo o positivo, simplemente es algo que me sorprendió dada la impresión que tenía y que usualmente leo de otras personas respecto a Dorohedoro.

Y de lo anterior es implícito que aún en la extrañeza e irregularidad del comienzo, hay una historia estructurada desvelándose tras cada nueva sorpresa, que además crece en complejidad y alcance, consiguiendo que en su tramo final, cada capítulo tendrá una inesperada revelación. Es factible perderse en las explicaciones tras ciertos oscuros misterios o inesperadas revelaciones, más lo importante de la situación sigue entendible e interesante.

Tampoco quiero implicar que se embarque en únicamente historia en un tono ominoso y serio, al contrario, conserva esa singularidad de los personajes en todo momento. La obra tiene un sentido del humor sea intencional o inconsciente acerca de los sucesos, que aún en la peor masacre dado lo absurdo y grotesco de lo acontecido, no sea un golpe emocional sino adrenalínico, con ganas de seguir leyendo hacía que ha conllevado el nuevo giro.

Eso sí, aún teniendo ese enfoque acerca de los sucesos tampoco implica un trasfondo hueco, de hecho, considero que la obra tiene implicaciones muy valiosas en la construcción de su mundo y la cadencia de los sucesos para un análisis más detallado en una apropiada relectura.

De todas formas, en la primera lectura disfrutarás de un entretenido viaje donde captamos uno de los mensajes principales, la amistad y camaradería, más allá de las factibles parejas entre personajes (todas ellas muy merecidas) hay una idea general acerca de la amistad, apoyarse cada quién unos con otros porque aún si no comparten sangre, llegan a ser tu familia.

Y es un mensaje muy especial viniendo de una serie reconocida por los altos contenidos de violencia, y precisamente, no podría terminar sin mencionar el espectacular talento de Q en absolutamente todo. Un diseño de personajes muy variados y todos memorables, un detallado de fondos que en varios paneles es casi que inconcebible, las impresionantes portadas, su excelente trazo para las escenas de batalla en un estilo muy reconocible, “sucio” y “oscuro” usualmente le denominan, al leerlo entiendes porque.

De único “pero” calificaría el final, ciertamente las expectativas y entramado que fueron construidos para ese punto podrían haberse resuelto de una forma más memorable para el lector, a la par de otros grandes momentos del manga, pero tampoco considero que sea estropeado o empañado el transcurso.

Dorohedoro es una serie que presentada como caótica, en realidad tiene una historia bastante compleja y planificada, puede que sin una conclusión al nivel de los hechos que le llevaron allí, más no elimina a las partes que le conformaron. Creatividad y brutalidad en escenas con corazón, en un Hole en medio de una eterna lluvia, sigue habiendo la esperanza de un futuro algo mejor.

English (Translated with DeepL.com (free version))

One of the main strengths of its story is the fantastic set of characters, because although it could be said that Kaiman and Nikaido is the main couple, as the story progresses, more and more characters are added, each one contributing their point of view in different narrative planes, constituting a choral story.

If you saw the adaptation in 2020 you will also have perceived it in this way, despite being the antagonists, the EN family are other protagonists instead of being only adversaries. Achieved by the endearment of each character, be it for their marked personality like EN, Shin or Kaiman himself, others in their eccentricity in the case of Ebisu or Kusakabe, for their story arc having Nikaido and Fujita or because he is a cockroach respect to the beloved Johnson.

With a cast of characters so varied in personalities and designs it gives the appearance of a chaotic story, which is fitting... to a certain extent. One of the surprises of the manga's development versus the impressions I had of its animated adaptation is about the regularity of the "irregular" elements within the story, such as the well-known baseball game, I thought most of its development would be subject to that impression and on the contrary, most of it happens during the first season.

From a certain point, all events will be related to the main thread in some way, and it's not that it loses its element of chaos and strangeness, it will simply be refocused for story purposes, that is, it won't go to an inconsequential plot tangent, it will always be linked to the background of some character or the world. I don't consider it a negative or positive point, it's simply something that surprised me given the impression I had and usually read from other people regarding Dorohedoro.

And from the above it is implicit that even in the strangeness and irregularity of the beginning, there is a structured story unraveling after each new surprise, which also grows in complexity and scope, getting that in its final stretch, each chapter will have an unexpected revelation. It is possible to get lost in the explanations behind certain obscure mysteries or unexpected revelations, but the substance of the situation remains understandable and interesting.

Nor do I mean to imply that it embarks on a uniquely ominous and serious story, on the contrary, it retains that uniqueness of the characters throughout. The work has a sense of humor whether intentional or unconscious about the events, that even in the worst massacre given the absurdity and grotesque of what happened, is not an emotional blow but an adrenaline rush, with the desire to continue reading what the new twist has entailed.

That said, even having this approach to the events does not imply a hollow background, in fact, I consider that the work has very valuable implications in the construction of its world and the cadence of the events for a more detailed analysis in a proper re-reading.

Anyway, in the first reading you will enjoy an entertaining journey where we get one of the main messages, friendship and camaraderie, beyond the feasible pairings between characters (all of them very well deserved) there is a general idea about friendship, support each other because even if you don't share blood, you become your family.

And it's a very special message coming from a series known for its high content of violence, and precisely, I couldn't finish without mentioning Q's spectacular talent in absolutely everything. A very varied character design and all memorable, a detailed background that in several panels is almost inconceivable, the impressive covers, his excellent stroke for the battle scenes in a very recognizable style, "dirty" and "dark" usually they call him, when you read it you understand why.

The only "but" would qualify the ending, certainly the expectations and framework that were built for that point could have been resolved in a more memorable way for the reader, on par with other great moments of the manga, but I do not consider that it spoiled or tarnished the course.

Dorohedoro is a series that is presented as chaotic, in reality it has a fairly complex and planned story, perhaps without a conclusion on par with the events that led up to it, but it doesn't eliminate the parts that made it up. Creativity and brutality in scenes with heart, in a Hole in the middle of an eternal rain, there is still hope for a better future.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW

There are two types of absurd but well-told storytelling. You get anime such as Gurren Lagann or Redline where the interest is piqued because of its spectacle and over-the-top visuals and characters. Or you get anything made by Masaaki Yuasa where the presentation is wacky and strange but underneath the surface, there lies a lot of character analysis, social critique, and philosophy that a majority of his audience can find relatable.

Dorohedoro had the potential to be a well-thought out mystery containing dark humor and sick action. But unfortunately it built-up something so huge that the climax was below underwhelming. ... Don't get me wrong. I'm fine with the story being absurd and weird since it was not very aspiring to be something more or grand like what Masaaki Yuasa makes. But it brings upon so many subplots and crucial details in the middle that the audience will begin to lose track of coherence and what is even supposed to matter.

Story: There is only one word that can fully described the plot of Dorohedoro: CONVOLUTED! While the setting and premise I do say is quite fascinating, it takes a more mysterious turn in the middle and the amount of mysteries keep piling up and will leave you lost. The world of the humans and sorcerers was interesting and the history behind some of the past events does make you invested. But it will more depend on what you are looking for. If you don't care too much about the plot and just want to enjoy a silly story of sorcerers and humans murdering the shit out of one another, then don't let my criticisms stop you from checking it out. But if you are looking for (at the very least) some sense for the amount of plot points it tries to put together, then you are going to be disappointed. I stopped caring around the final 3rd of the series but was still curious enough to see it all the way through.

In short, vol. 1-4 = slow / vol. 5-13 = very interesting / vol. 14-23 = I'm lost.

Characters: If I'm completely honest, the story would not have had a huge impact on my distaste for this series had the characters held the story well. And for the first half of it, they did and they were pretty tremendous. Caiman and Nikaidou were very likeable characters and their friendship was very believable. My personal favorites were the villains: En, Shin, and Noi. They were hilarious and they give the audience a perfect reason to not take Dorohedoro all too seriously. When comparing the humans (and Caiman), En's family, and the Cross Eyes, En's family had the most consistent character state and their relationship expressed their truest characters best out of all of the main groups in the story.

Unfortunately, where things went wrong was that at the half way point, some crucial characters are not able to fulfill all of their potential and move away from the story (I will not spoil, just figure out why yourself). And some characters (Nikaidou and Ebisu), while still likeable (more in the first half than the second), change for very annoying reasons and the plot ruined them when I previously loved them.

There also isn't much character development. Some characters never needed it because they were great the way they were and were even fleshed out further into the plot. But I feel the only characters that change from beginning to end are Fujita and Risu. Everybody else either never changes and feels like their character is just being dragged by the complicated plot and not entirely being themselves or they go through realizations which have a minor impact on their final character change.

Art: It is different in a good way and it suits the atmosphere it is trying to present. It fits the gritty violence and over-the-top designs of the characters. While some of the backgrounds did lack a little too much detail for me, I'd say the art is the best part of the series.

Final Thoughts: In the beginning, this manga had practically everything to be something awesome. But with poor plot decisions, the story just drags and will leave you lost on what the point of really anything is. You can enjoy the absurd humor and the gritty action but nothing makes sense. If it was all absurd humor and gritty action, it would come across more consistent than when it builds up something so crucial for the overall story just to forget about what to do with it and make an underwhelming conclusion. It's still worth the check out if it really interests you.

I give Dorohedoro a not bad, but disappointing 5/10.

dorohedoro aims to present a messy, chaotic world that we explore and learn more about with a cast that is just as wild as they world they inhabit. and while seemingly acheiving this it really doesn't go all-in, it seriously squanders it's potential.

the good: general art and character designs. the art is pretty good and the look of characters introduced continues to arouse and hold interest throughout all 23 volumes.

the bad: for this type of story, the story is surprisingly reserved. there's really no thrills. a touch of mystery here and there but no substantive story.

basically, it looks nice. i'll admit it has a ... nice aesthetic but that's really the one thing it succeeds at.