Dororo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dororo | |
|---|---|
 Cover of "Dororo" volume 4 from the Osamu Tezuka Manga Complete Works edition. |
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| どろろ (Dororo) |
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| Genre | Adventure, Historical, Supernatural |
| Manga | |
| Author | Osamu Tezuka |
| Publisher | Shogakukan, Inc. |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Serialized in | Shōnen Sunday |
| Original run | 27 August 1967 – 22 July 1968 |
| Volumes | 4[1] |
| TV anime | |
| Director | Gisaburō Sugii |
| Studio | Mushi Productions |
| Network | Fuji TV |
| Original run | April 6, 1969 – September 28, 1969 |
| Episodes | 26[2] |
Dororo (どろろ Dororo?) is a manga series from the well-known Japanese mangaka Osamu Tezuka in the late 1960s. The anime television series (1969) based on the manga consists of 26 half-hour episodes.
During the late 1960s, manga featuring hobgoblins was popular among kids. Dororo was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday for three years.
Tezuka's childhood memory of his friends pronouncing dorobo (どろぼ lit. thief?) as dororo, inspired the title of this work.[3]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The story takes place in Japan during the Sengoku period, or the Warring States period. Forty-eight major demons, known as majins (lit. demon gods), sense the impending birth of a powerful human, who will grow up to be the vanquisher of demonkind.
"Dororo" is a thriller Manga featuring a boy who has been robbed of 48 of his body parts by the devil. The story depicts his travels to destroy the thief. Daigo Kagemitsu, who works for a Samurai general in Japan's warring-states period, promises to offer 48 body parts of his unborn baby to 48 devils, in exchange for his wish to take over the country. Then a baby boy was born, but since 48 parts of his body are missing, he is immediately thrown into the river. Time goes by and the baby grows into a boy who calls himself Hyaki Maru. Every time Hyakkimaru eliminates a devil, he can retrieve one of his missing body parts. Hyakkimaru meets a boy thief named Dororo and together they travel. Wherever they go, they are attacked by monsters and ghosts again and again.
[edit] Characters
| Character Name | Seiyū (TV Anime) | Seiyū (VG) | Actor (Live Film) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyakkimaru (百鬼丸) | Nachi Nozawa | Tomokazu Sugita | Satoshi Tsumabuki |
| Dororo (どろろ) | Minori Matsushima | Ikue Ohtani | Kou Shibasaki |
| Daigo Kagemitsu (醍醐景光) | Gorō Naya | Akio Ōtsuka | Kiichi Nakai |
| Tahōmaru (多宝丸) | Shūsei Nakamura | Takeshi Kusao | Eita |
| Jukai (寿海) | N/A | Kiyoshi Kobayashi | Yoshio Harada |
[edit] Adaptations
[edit] Video game
Developer Sega made a Dororo-based video game for the PlayStation 2 console in 2004. It was released in the USA and Europe under the title Blood Will Tell. The game's artwork was done by renowned manga artist Hiroaki Samura.
[edit] Live-action film
Dororo has been made into a live-action film starring Kou Shibasaki and Satoshi Tsumabuki. It was filmed in New Zealand and is currently available on DVD in Japan. Two additional films are currently in production, and are scheduled for theatrical release in 2008 and 2009, respectively. The film's storyline has some major differences from that of the manga, most notably Dororo is played by a young woman instead of a little boy, though she does at times act as and refer to herself as a boy.
[edit] English Translation
Vertical Inc. is releasing an English translation of the manga available in April 2008.
[edit] Trivia
- Osamu Tezuka actually never completed the serialization of Dororo. Thus, the manga's plot is incomplete; however, Sega's game offers an hypothetical conclusion of the story.
- The original title of the anime series is Dororo. However, after episode 14, the series was renamed to Dororo and Hyakkimaru.
[edit] References
- ^ Dororo (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia. Accessed on 2007-06-13.
- ^ Dororo (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia. Accessed on 2007-06-13.
- ^ Open Computer Network staff (2008). 巨匠・手塚治虫の世界 日本アニメの黎明期から21世紀に受け継がれる魂 (Japanese). Open Computer Network. Retrieved on 2008-03-10.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Dororo at Tezuka Osamu @ World — Official site for Tezuka Osamu's works
- Dororo.jp — Official site for the Dororo live-action film (Japanese)
- Dororo at the Internet Movie Database
- Dororo in Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
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