Dororo

I do not usually comment movies regardless of how good or bad I feel about other comments on it, but I think this piece deserves my time. Dororo might not be the greatest fantasy movie of all time, but it's story telling, visuals and wonderful acting deserve their place amongst the best. I have never seen the original comics it is based upon and I am not going to compare it to other popular fantasy titles either. It is a movie that stands on its own, represents perfectly Japanese style of cinematography and gives the western audience an opportunity to have a good look on eastern mythology themes. If you can close one eye over few lower cost effects, there is absolutely nothing you will find lacking except the next two episodes to be available much sooner :)

Pretty please, if you can not find a good word for anything that is not made in US, then do not watch. This movie does not deserve you and you do not deserve it.

P.S.: I would like to send the best regards to the reviewer who turned the movie down while admitting he did not understand a word from it. I might next try to watch movie ala Forrest Gump with muted sound and rate it as bad comedy. But perhaps it would be better if you stick to rating Japanese porn movies. I believe there should not be much problem if you do not get what they are talking about ;)

I love the visual imagery in this movie it is so WEIRD! Dororo is a story that I can't really tell you too many details about without blowing the plot and the surprises but suffice it to say if you like to see Japanese demons represented on screen you should WATCH THIS! It's super cool. Lots of good kung fu which is rare for most Japanese films that have a fantasy tilt to them lots of awesome monsters for our hero to fight, and an excellent character foil in the form of a female thief sidekick for comic relief. This movie reminded me of a real-actor version of Ninja Scroll the epic anime that will go down in history as one of the coolest visual candy anime's for it's time.

This uses real life actors and a combination of costumes and cgi for the demons. Occasionally the special effects are rubber suits but it's still good enough to tell the story. With a bigger budget they could have really gone over the top with the special effects but oh well... this still kicks ass as a script and a story and the visuals are still awesome.

If you are in the mood to lose your mind, eat some mushrooms and watch this movie... it'll freak you out with all the weird fantasy creatures in it.

Plot - a demon killer hunts down the meaning of his existence while trying to purge himself of his own demon status and become human. His sidekick is a female thief with a big mouth and he is the typical quiet swordsman that can tear apart a room if need be. they travel on the road by foot and meet several demons on the way.

Awesome.

I was really pained to see such negative comments about this movie.. by someone from japan itself.

We don't have to feed on eve dished out by the Hollywood.. and we certainly don't have to compare our movies to Hollywood. Sure Hollywood produces top quality movies but then eve doesn't have to be Hollywood style...

Having said that I think Dororo is no less entertaining than any action flick. Sure there r glitches here and there but who cares...

I thought Kou Shibasaki as a wicked crook was both hilarious and brilliant .. Her language [ A local dialect of Japanese ? ] increased my fascination for the Japanese language even more..

Dororo for me represents another aspect of the Japanese culture which I have come to love and respect.

I request to the people who know ... to comment, having a broader perspective in mind ... because for many, this place is the primary contact for information on movies..

Can't wait to for Part 2 & 3 ...

The previous poster surely was unaware of the history behind this grand movie. Dororo is based on the manga author of Osamu Tezuka which is one of his many manga titles (Atom Boy, Black Jack, etc.). The original story takes places during the warring states of Japan. However, the movie changes that as well as some minor parts here and there.

The main plot of the story is that a general pledges his soul to demons in exchange for power to destroy other warring clans. In exchange for this power, the demons (all 48 of them) want to have his first born son. The general agrees and he is granted his power. However, when his first son is born, the baby is without arms, legs, and other various body parts. (It looks more of a body with a head and a small mouth.) Disgusted by this, the general places him in a basket and sends his son downstream. The son is later retrieved by a man who was passing by. The man turns out to be a scientist who then makes body parts for the general's son (48 parts). A blind traveler appears and informs the scientist of how the general's son became that way. The traveler hands the scientist a sword that helps defeat monsters and demons. This sword is then attached to the boy, Hyakimaru. When Hyakimaru becomes older he learns of his fate and sets out to avenge his father and the 48 demons who took his body. Each demon he defeats with his sword gives him back a piece of his body.

Even though the title of the movie is called 'Dororo', it has little to do with the character other than that she (thinks she's a he) is Hyakimaru's sidekick. Her main reason for tagging along with him is for his sword and for an adventure. She provides some of the comedic relief from the one-dimensional character that Hyakimaru is.

I was timid about seeing this movie, but was quite pleased with how it turned out. I throughly enjoyed the music and soundtrack as well as the parts of New Zealand where it was filmed. If you have read the manga, anime, or know about the story itself, it is worth looking into. Also, if your Japanese is good (maybe about level 2 on the JLPT), then you can pick up on some of the minor jokes here and there. I'm glad that it won some awards and was acknowledged. I eagerly look forward to the sequel....

Dororo is a great genre film. It's an adventure movie kind of akin to a live action 'Ninja Scroll'. In fact, by keeping a simple, straightforward plot (boy's father pledges a number of his unborn son's body parts to demons in exchange for power - years later the boy is a man, and back for revenge) it elevates itself head-and-shoulders above most films of it's kind, as well as the manga and anime equivalents, which tend toward overly complicated and downright convoluted, soap opera-ish plots.

On the other hand, it falls prey to many of the problems of those genres - perpetuating the trend. Problems that include science defying scenes (a little in a fantasy film is O.K., but it gets to a point where... well, suspension of disbelief becomes impossible... no one, let alone an infant is going to survive even a minute without a heart) of which ludicrously over-the-top wire work is just one small part.

To be fair, action movies have been getting dumber, and with more "gimme-a-break" moments worldwide (any British action film starring Jason Statham, or recent Hollywood efforts such as 'Wanted'), still, it leaves one asking do we really need another film in this vein? Movies like Dororo', and 'Hero', are a far cry from the believable samurai pictures of a master like Kurusawa and Mizoguchi.

Still, it's pacing is far better than most, resisting the temptation to have non-stop fight scenes, and a dash of restrained humor thrown in for good measure. And it's fun to catch all the little homages to other films - everything from 'Edward Scissorhands' to 'A Fistful of Dollars'.

If you love the genre, you will love 'Dororo'. If you even like the genre, you will probably really like 'Dororo'. If you don't, it's definitely not going to convert you, and despite it's superiority within the genre, is unlikely to impress you favorably.