I think at this point, it’s best for me not to take any sides. That way, I won’t be as hurt when we finally reach the finale. I’m absolutely torn and wish for Dororo and Nui to somehow bring some peace, but even I think that won’t go totally well.
Usually I have paragraphs upon paragraphs of things I want to say, but I feel for the first time there isn’t much for me to say that I haven’t said. Hyakkimaru unleashing hell this episode was upsetting to see, even Midoro got her own revenge (which was kind of satisfying on her part). I completely expected Hyakkimaru to let loose. He started losing it when he couldn’t protect Dororo on his own, and their mistake was kidnapping her. It unleashed a beast that we haven’t quite seen before, something even more terrifying and powerful. And this episode’s ending is only going to make that beast much more worse, and I don’t blame him. Not that I’m letting the senseless killing this episode slide, because he didn’t quite have to kill all those samurai (even though Midoro took part in it too). While we’ve been with Hyakkimaru since the start of his journey, growing attached to him and cheering for him when he would get a body part back, it’s a little hard to totally be by his side in all this right now. I never wanted him to be like this, but then I can’t blame him?
That is basically how I feel with this show because they did a great job of not making the world black and white. I’ve felt myself go back and forth from “Hey, that’s not right!” to “No, it’s fine!” There’s so many viewpoints and sometimes you just can’t decide what exactly is right. Everyone has a reason for acting the way they do, and it makes sense why they do. That’s why it’s not fair and it’s painful!
Yes, Hyakkimaru deserves his body. Literally the only two things in his life – Dororo and his body – are taken away from him and he hasn’t had a chance to fully get in tune with his emotions and react in a healthy way, because it hasn’t even been a full year since he’s gotten his body parts, of course he’s going to react the way he is now. It makes sense. But is he in the right with his behavior? While basically all samurai in this show are complete scum, this rampage is not the way to go. It also really goes to show how vital Dororo is in keeping his humanity in check.
I also understand Tahoumaru’s position but man it’s really shitty that he and his retainers took Hyakki’s parts and are using that against him. Better say goodbye to them because they’re as good as dead at this point. If they thought Hyakkimaru was tough before, then they haven’t seen anything. I had also seen theories of Tahoumaru being the final demon and having to die by the hands of his brother and it looks like that’s gonna happen. :/
I do want to talk about Nui. She saves Dororo and leads her out a secret passage from inside. She feels indebted to Dororo for being by her son’s side and decides to help her before joining her. Her interactions with Dororo were probably my favorite parts of this episode, and I’m glad that finally someone has taken the time to learn about Hyakkimaru. And that’s only because she’s the only person that truly loves him and cares enough, while Daigo and Tahou do not. The use of the flashbacks were great in showing us how broken Nui was when Hyakki was taken from her, even going to the same river that the midwife went to, screaming out for him. Even when he was born with literally nothing, she still loved him and thought he was incredibly precious. It’s sad to see Nui so miserable and guilty when she absolutely did nothing wrong. She had no idea Daigo made a pact with the demons, she never took part in it and only found out about it later. And now she has a duty both as a mother and as the lord’s wife, and she probably has the worst position in all this. She’s innocent and yet she feels guilty, and while she said she had no regrets, I feel like she only forced herself to say that. Maybe no regrets as the lord’s wife, but many regrets as a mother. And her going with Dororo, she finally will put her motherly self first. She’s a very kind and caring woman, and Dororo can see that herself. With all the things Nui told her, she wants Nui to tell all that to Hyakkimaru. Hyakkimaru seems to hold some hatred towards his mother, but I don’t think it’s fair. What she did before with the suicide attempt was stupid, but she never showed hatred or disgust towards him. Just guilt, but that guilt came from love. And if Nui and Dororo can find him before he murders Tahoumaru and co. and she can spill all of her emotions and love towards him, then maybe they can turn him around? Hyakki might be hostile towards her, but seeing as how Dororo was saved by her and she’s on her side, then maybe…maybe…
But there’s some death flags around Nui and I don’t like it. Stop killing the innocent characters! Please don’t make Nui the next victim. Please don’t let this show end in a terrible bloodbath.
I feel bad for everyone involved. This is a terrible situation and I don’t see it ending happily. There’s still a chance, just a very tiny tiny chance. Maybe a 5% chance of a happy ending? But with the way things are going, with things slowly getting worse and worse by the second, I can’t see it. I would even take a bittersweet ending, but the bitterness is strong. No one is safe. The ending was a plot twist I didn’t see coming, though I should have, so now I’m even more nervous what these last two episodes will hold. The anime team isn’t playing around.
Anime-original episode, so not much to compare with the source (except the part where the horse got its revenge, thats from the manga.)
On the topic of black and white, I’ve seen bloodthirsty black and white comments on the developments. In summary they support Hyakki 1000% and his payback is much deserved – destroy all that stand in your way! Which speaks volumes about people’s extreme swing in opinions today. (” > __ > )
The “boss battle” with Tahoumaru is similar to the PS2 Dororo game, where you had to fight a demon-possessed Tahoumaru in the final levels. (If you look on Youtube you can find some English language playthroughs).
I’ll probably check for the playthroughs once the anime is over.
Yeahh…I support Hyakkimaru but not when he’s like this. He deserves his body and has a right to get it back, but he’s now just as much as a villain as everyone else now. I don’t hate him or anything, but I’m just sad. Basically, everyone except for Dororo and Nui sucks here.