Saturday movie platforms - Ivan Garcia
After a convincing first season, the anime Dorohedoro depicts a world divided between mages and non-mages, in which injustice reigns towards the latter. Against this backdrop of social criticism, a lizard-man sets out to recover his memory and the man who transformed him. A fascinating story.
His name is Caiman. He has the head of a... caiman and superhuman strength. But this lizard face is not the one he originally had. Caiman was the victim of a curse, cast by a very powerful mage. Since then, he's been immune to magic, he's got that reptilian face and, in his mouth, a guy is hidden who shows up every time he swallows a mage. A subtle way of trying to find the man who transformed him...
In his quest to find the person responsible for his transformation, Caiman works as a duo with his friend Nikaïdo, who runs a restaurant, cooks delicious «gyozas», fights well and... is a mage - but that's something Caiman doesn't know at the start of season 1. Together, they roam the streets of Hole, a huge, dirty and miserable city that serves as a playground for mages from the world of mages, who take advantage of the opportunity to test their magic on the city's inhabitants... By dint of hunting the wizard, they attract the attention of En, the head of the «En Family» who rules the world of mages, and who sets out to do the dirty deed to this duo of mischief-makers...
A dark and violent universe
This first season of Dorohedoro comprises twelve episodes - thirteen if you include a bonus episode - and unfolds before our very eyes a dark, violent universe. Unlike more «classic» anime, Dorohedoro with darker tones and a more aesthetic look. punk with an added touch of the grotesque. There are some rather disproportionate characters, with quite original and flashy looks, such as Turkey, A magician who wears a mask in the shape of a roast turkey, making them easily recognizable to the viewer. The story's original treatment of magic is particularly noteworthy. The magicians« bodies are different from those of normal humans. The former have smoke »veins« that enable them to produce magic »smoke" and endow them with certain powers. Some magicians are so powerful that they even sell their smoke, which is used as a drug and/or doping agent, to less powerful magicians.
Dorohedoro, an anime adaptation of the manga of the same name, is a seinen (editor's note: manga for adults) which doesn't hesitate to show violent scenes, such as when Caiman cuts off the fingers of a young mage, Ebisu, and rips off her face, or when Shin, one of the «cleaners of En», uses his magic and «cuts up» his victims while keeping them alive. In this anime, violence is shown unfiltered, which is appreciable, and it's sometimes drugged with a little ridiculousness, as in episode 3, where the undead of Hole come back to life once a year due to the mages' smoke stagnating over the city, and the inhabitants are tasked with slaughtering them to win prizes.
On the hunt for «Cross-eyes»
At the same time, the story presented here is not lacking in piquancy and spring. Indeed, Caiman's personal quest and En's story seem to be linked. In the first season, we learn that a mysterious group of subordinate mages, «Les Yeux-en-Croix» (The Cross-Eyes), manage the traffic in magical «smoke» and are opposed to En and his group. Upon learning of their existence, we notice that Caiman has... cross-eyes. The trail of his transformation is therefore somehow linked to this group. Especially when we realize that the guy at the back of his mouth is none other than Risu, a member of the «Cross-Eyes» who was eliminated and was... brought back to life by En to help him find the person who transformed Caiman. With this new lease of life, Risu sets out to find out why the «Cross-Eyes» got rid of him in the first place.
The juxtaposition of characters, information and storylines in season 1 makes it difficult to keep track of everything, and most of the information that «connects the dots» between the various elements of the story can be found in episodes 11 and 12. In particular, episode 11 sees Chota, one of En's «partners», show Nikaïdo a film that traces En's life story, from his origins to his (unfinished) struggle against the leader of the «Cross-Eyes», thus clearing up some of the mystery surrounding En and this group.
This first season introduces us to the world of mages and its rules. We learn, among other things, that every four years the Blue Night, An event during which mages seek a partner and must sign a contract in front of... the Devil(s). Another tiny group of extremely powerful demons who seem to be pulling the strings of the mage world... to the point where we wonder if we're not witnessing a «faction war». It's also an opportunity to see to what extent the less powerful humans and mages are regarded as pariahs, abandoned like refuse or abused by the powerful mages. Against a backdrop of fun, the anime also embraces serious themes such as addiction to «smoke», poverty, marginalization...
Dorohedoro is an anime of rare intelligence. Combining underground with a dark and intriguing storyline, this first season is sure to appeal to most viewers. In any case, we can't wait to see what happens next.
Write to the author: ivan.garcia@leregardlibre.com
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