Dororo (2007)

Tyrannical warlord Daigo Kagemitsu makes a deal with 48 demons to forsake his first-born son Hyakkimaru for supreme rule of the land. The terms of the deal state that the demons can each take a body part from the baby Hyakkimaru, allowing them to interact and mingle in the real world, and leaving Hyakkimaru a limbless, faceless head and torso. The abandoned Hyakkimaru is rescued, albeit rather conveniently, by a doctor versed in a mystic science, allowing him to create and attach replacement body parts to the limbless Hyakkimaru. He also equips Hyakkimaru with a special blade (in place of his left arm) that can slay demons and begins training his adopted son in swordplay.

Eventually the grown up Hyakkimaru (Satoshi Tsumabuki) sets on a personal quest to defeat the 48 demons and reclaim his original body parts. Along the way he meets a female companion (Kou Shibasaki), the self-proclaimed “worlds greatest thief” who “steals” the nickname Dororo (meaning little monster) from Hyakkimaru. She becomes intrigued by Hyakkimaru and his story after a chance meeting and tags along with him on his adventure, much to his initial reluctance.

To describe Dororo as “Pinocchio with samurai swords” would be somewhat of an oversimplification and not entirely accurate, however if that premise sounds promising then Dororo is probably the closest thing to that since Edward Scissorhands. This movie is the Japanese live-action version of the original 1960s manga series by Osamu Tezuka, and is directed here by Akihiko Shiota.

Dororo is pure fantasy, if you hadn’t already guessed, and as such it clearly takes full advantage of this artistic license to push the boundaries of credulity, playing like a very dark and violent fairy tale/ghost story. Unless I missed something the film does not fully explain how Hyakkimaru is able to survive without his missing organs and body parts or quite how his adopted father is able to attach them and make them work, all that is a little vague. The catchall answer is basically magic, and as long as the specific details like that don’t niggle you too much, then such things can be overlooked and need not detract from the film.

Dororo begins with the deal made by Daigo and the 48 demons before jumping forward to present events. After that the film occasionally uses semi-narrated flashback sequences to tell the stories describing Hyakkimaru and Dororo’s origin, which work very well. Overall the tone of the film fairly serious but Dororo provides some sassy personality (as Hyakkimaru is initially very introverted and stoic) and comic relief, featuring a running gag where she is constantly splattered with slain demon blood.

Hyakkimaru and Dororo’s demon hunting naturally serves to depict many extravagant martial arts sequences choreographed here by legendary action director Ching Siu-tung. I liked the action sequences in Dororo and there is quite a bit of variety, there are several grounded samurai sword duals as well as slightly toned down examples of Ching’s hallmark whirlwind aerial swordplay. The action relatively easy to follow here compared to some of Ching’s other over-the-top work. Often with Ching’s choreography you are aware that something fantastic is going on but not quite sure exactly what, but that is not the case this time. Perhaps Ching’s greatest achievement here is the meshing the real live action with the frequent CGI elements that are used almost exclusively to depict the demons that Hyakkimaru faces.

However as good and plentiful as the action scenes are, for me there were no standout scenes. I wasn’t really tempted to re-watch any particular action scenes again after the film had ended like a really good martial arts film often does. My guess is that this was largely because Ching Siu-tung had no recognized martial arts actors to work with and that he also had the CGI to work around. I can’t say the action was bad, far from it, but given Ching’s deserved billing as one of the worlds best at martial arts choreography I was slightly disappointed. On a positive note I can say that the film is not overshadowed by its action scenes and as a result avoids being defined by them and stereotyped as a dumb action flick, which can often be the case. While watching I never felt the temptation to want to skip to the next action scene as the film does have a lot more going for it than just spectacular action and visuals.

Beyond the traditional and trademark theme of revenge, Dororo is evidently a story about self-discovery also. Having come to terms with the label of outcast and freak Hyakkimaru embarks on a quest to become his natural self and discover who he really is, which ultimately leads him to his natural parents. There is also a hint of Shakespearian drama with Freudian undertones when Hyakkimaru confronts his authoritarian father and his mother is torn between the two. While Hyakkimaru is not the most charismatic character his story is quite compelling, and once he finally wins back his voice he really begins to express himself a lot more and his joyous reaction to discovering his true voice is quite endearing.

For the most part Dororo has a bleached tint to the photography creating a bleak look to the landscape and scenery, made up of khaki browns and greens, effectively complementing the harsh, and violent society. The CGI however is a mixed bag. It does provide some very interesting visuals and I thought the spider demon at the beginning of the film looked quite good, however there is a little inconsistency in GCI quality as the film progresses. Generally the CGI is quite obvious and I thought it was frequently a little too bright, over-colourful and out of sync compared to the films more subdued visual tone. Also the actors interacting with the CGI demons looked a little hokey at times as well. Without CGI Dororo would be a very different film and perhaps the manga and anime source material couldn’t be done justice without it, however it still could have been better as sub-par CGI can obviously take you out of the film. As a result less forgiving viewers may well lament the use of CGI over more organic special effects. That said one strong technical aspect was the music of the film, which actually stood out in a positive way and is perhaps one of the films strongest points.

Dororo is pure entertainment and surprisingly engaging for a film over two hours long. While the concept is not entirely original the film does put a unique twist on a few familiar ideas, and Hyakkimaru is a fairly fresh kind of martial arts hero perhaps not seen since the One Armed Swordsman movies. Dororo does hint strongly at the prospect of a sequel however this is not at the expense of this film, which I think did provide ample closure. While I would welcome a sequel, should one not materialize it would not hurt this film, as it would still stand alone very well by itself. With a few minor faults and disappointments it may not be a classic but Dororo is not a film the viewer will forget easily. Anyone who enjoys martial arts movies that lean toward the supernatural and the fantastic would probably do well to check this out.