For as chaotic as this episode gets, it begins in a down-to-earth fashion. Caiman makes himself hungry by counting gyoza when he can’t sleep. The Cross-Eyes scavenge loose change from a vending machine. These are people who possess all of the standard desires and needs of a human existence, regardless of whether they use magic or possess a reptilian noggin. It’s the little moments that keep Dorohedoro grounded and relatable.

The remainder of the runtime is a fever dream. I think one of Dorohedoro‘s defining qualities is the nightmare logic that often connects cause and effect or one scene to another. That’s part of what gives the series its psychedelic unpredictability; you truly never know where the story will go next. At the same time, though, this aspect can be frustrating when you want to follow the narrative in real time from chapter to chapter. Hayashida can usually be trusted to make the big picture work out in the end, but the pacing and momentum can vary wildly. And it’s a thin line that separates a good trip from a bad trip.

For example, Caiman’s apparent transformation into Aikawa seems to come out of basically nowhere. Granted, if you’ve been paying attention to the story, there has been no shortage of clues linking the two figures, and those clues have been appearing more frequently. It makes sense, then, for Dorohedoro to progress to this next step. However, it’s not immediately clear why En’s mushroom magic reverses this curse. It also feels a little dramatically cheap to then separate him from Nikaido (again) to postpone any further resolution or answers to lingering questions. While this is hardly new for the series and not a point that bothers me, I can understand it being the source of some frustration.

Personally, I find it difficult to be too disappointed when Dorohedoro keeps throwing trippy and off-the-wall imagery at its audience, all of which the anime continues to adapt well. En’s smoke-powered flying motorcycle is the definition of badass. The shroom-saturated backgrounds inject plenty of character and color into his confrontation with Caiman and Nikaido. There’s gore aplenty between the chestburster fungus, Ebisu’s exposed brains, and Aikawa’s horrific memory palace. I’m just very happy the anime has not sanded down any of the manga’s grisly edges.

Risu’s excruciating transformation into Curse wins the award for most Dorohedoro thing to happen in this week’s Dorohedoro. The Risu-shaped smoke leaving Aikawa’s body is in itself a cool image, but the real pièce de résistance is how it infects Risu. Speaking as a big fan of body horror, I squirmed delightfully at the sight and sounds of a second set of hands, teeth, and eyes forcing their way through Risu. We don’t need to understand everything going on to understand that this is excellent horror.

Nevertheless, the second half of the episode takes time to delve back into the heart of the narrative. The flashback to the Cross-Eyes’ rescue highlights the inequality and persecution at the center of Sorcerer society, in which magical aptitude sorts people into haves and have-nots. The Cross-Eyes, for all of their shadiness, exist as a response to this prejudice. They’re a reaction to a systemic problem, exemplified in the extreme through En’s power and influence. This class critique feels no less potent today than when the manga was being written.

The contrast between murder and sacrifice also keeps popping up. Asu, acting selflessly, appears to use the last of his powers to rescue Aikawa. Inside Aikawa’s head, however, visions of killing a friend haunt him incessantly. Beheaded figures squish and squelch through the halls of his memory. Nikaido and Risu both seem to trip Aikawa’s sense of guilt. And finally, confronted with this confusing collage of images, Aikawa begs for the release of death. It feels like we’re getting tantalizingly close to having the full picture and answering the questions we’ve had since Caiman first shoved a Sorcerer down his gullet. But there’s no telling with Dorohedoro.

Rating:

Dorohedoro is currently streaming on
Crunchyroll and Netflilx.

Sylvia is on Bluesky for all of your posting needs. She loves Hole. You can also catch her chatting about trash and treasure alike on This Week in Anime.