Dororo (2007) User Reviews

The Demon Slayer and the Female Thief

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 4 April 2009]

In the year 3048, the wounded Lord Kagemitsu Daigo (Kiichi Nakai) proposes a deal to rule the whole world to forty-eight demons in their sealed temple. In return, the demons ask forty-eight parts of the body of his unborn son. When the mutilated baby is born, his mother puts him in a basket in the river flow to save his life. The baby survives and becomes the demon slayer Hyakkimaru (Satoshi Tsumabuki) that slash demons to retrieve his body parts. During his journey, he meets the female thief Dororo (Kou Shibasaki), who was raised as a boy after the death of her parents by the evil Lord Daigo, in a small town and she befriends Hyakkimaru and joins him in his quest seeking revenge against the Daigo's clan.

I saw the trailer of "Dororo" and I found it very promising. It is a good fantasy, based on a historic moment of Japan, with reasonable special effects and developed in a slow pace. The story could be a little shorter; Satoshi Tsumabuki and Kou Shibasaki show a great chemistry; but the character Dororo is silly and annoying in many moments. Nevertheless it is an entertaining movie and I will certainly watch the possible sequel, since it still has twenty-four demons to be slashed. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Dororo"

Good for what it is, but...

[revere-7 · 7/10 · 18 July 2009]

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.

Mixed Feelings

[mmushrm · 6/10 · 23 February 2011]

Just finished watching Dororo and I have mixed feelings. Do I like or dislike this movie...

The opening sequence was great, in fact the first 1/3 of the movie was really good. Good fights with CG. Also some humour. The lead is as stiff as a freaking rock but then again that could be due to his character...a man with no heart plus another 47 missing body parts so the chemistry between the stoic hero and the energetic Dororo isn't all there.

There are also parts with some slapstick action/comedy with monsters in rubbers suits, quite amusing even if it seemed to drag a little too long.

I think thats the issue I had with this movie, the middle part seemed to drag on, it was IMO rather boring. The ending .... well I expected more, for me the "pay off" in the end did not come up to the promise set by the beginning of the movie. However since the guy is still missing a lot of body parts there will be a part 2 (hence the ending).

While I would say its not a bad movie, its not one I will watch again.

Just another Jap Samurai Movie..

[Tanhausser_Gates · 7/10 · 17 October 2007]

It's not a bad movie but it's all too predictable.. The character's roles are over-exploited and basically the story is explained in 10 minutes of the beginning of the movie.. The rest of it are just battles.

They even make fun of themselves in a few of those battles were they purposefully just keep dropping the level of the special effects until it becomes a parody of itself.

If you want a film for the whole family this is it, the kids will enjoy it and there is something to make everybody laugh.. But do not expect anything else out of it that another Japanese samurai film of the bunch.

I'm sorry for those passionate defenders of this film.. No matter how much history there is behind it this is not a great addition to the arts, it will become obsolete in a few months only to be remembered by hard fans.

Just saw it at Sitges International Film Festival.

'Dororo' a tale of lost opportunity (and body parts)

[andrez_iffy · 4/10 · 26 January 2007]

'Dororo' a tale of lost opportunity (and body parts).

By Andrez Bergen (Daily Yomiuri/de-VICE).

Directed by Akihiko Shiota. Cast: Ko Shibasaki, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Kiichi Nakai, Mieko Harada, Kumiko Aso.

There are so many reasons why Dororo, touted by Toho as a supernatural samurai action flick, ought to succeed in such a cross-genre context.

One: Its fight sequences are supervised by Ching Siu-tung - the man who choreographed the giddy brawls in Zhang Yimou's martial art romps House of Flying Daggers (2004) and Hero (2002), and previously directed the hilarious Jet Lee/Takeshi Kaneshiro action spoof, Dr. Wai and the Scripture Without Words (1996).

Next: There's the pivotal acting triumvirate of Ko Shibasaki, who was a revelation as the ruthless Mitsuko in Batoru Rowaiaru (aka Battle Royale, 2000), along with Satoshi Tsumabuki (Waterboys), and Kiichi Nakai.

Nakai was as eloquently dramatic in Mibu Gishi Den (When the Last Sword is Drawn, 2003) as he was effortlessly funny in the "Samurai Cellular" segment of filmic anthology Yo nimo Kimyo na Monogatari: Eiga no Tokubetsuhen (Tales of the Unusual, 2000).

Lastly, the story: originally a manga series penned in the late '60s by the late Osamu Tezuka - he who also created the legendary Tetsuwan Atomu (Astro Boy) and Janguru Taitei (Kimba the White Lion).

Yet, in spite of all these positives, director Akihiko Shiota conspires to produce a live-action movie lacking in ingredients essential for any genre: a decent plot, solid acting, or believable special effects.

For starters, Shibasaki is just too old (at 25) to kid around playing the wild, street-smart child thief of the title, and Tsumabuki lacks the charismatic stamina to retain the focus as the film's lead.

Nakai, our hero's misguided father, summons up a surprisingly lackluster performance; he's merely nonplussed even about having five arrows stuck in his back while conjuring up a host of evil demons.

These actors, along with the criminally underused Mieko Harada (an Akira Kurosawa veteran), suffer at the hands of Shiota, who previously helmed irresolute outings like Kanaria (2005) and Yomigaeri (2002).

More pertinently, Tezuka's original source material borders upon the macabre, which in this context undermines what really aspires to be a light-hearted buddy movie.

Perhaps the scribe's expert knowledge as the holder of a medical degree accounts for this uncomfortable focus, and the way in which the yarn offers a strenuous nod in the direction of Frankenstein's monster.

It goes like this: Hyakkimaru (Tsumabuki) is born without 48 body parts, because they were filched from him in a prenatal deal initialed by his samurai dad (Nakai) with those aforementioned demons.

The baby, which brings to mind Eraserhead, is lobbed into a casket and launched down a river, all Moses-like, then chances to be rescued by an alchemist who has the ability to fashion replacement parts - just so Hyakkimaru can head out, team up with the boisterous Dororo (Shibasaki), slay the demons, and retrieve his real bits and pieces.

Different scenes suggest a diverse array of influences. One tavern scene looks like it came straight from Conan the Barbarian, while some talking rats seem to be accessories from The Goodies.

It's all too clear that Shiota - like Tezuka before him - isn't quite sure whether to pursue the supernatural, the bawdy, a good laugh, or full-on action - and instead confuses the whole caboodle.

The movie opens today. (Jan. 27, 2007)

What is wrong with you people?

[bor-7 · 8/10 · 5 August 2007]

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 ;)

Strange movie to an average viewer

[Cdickmeyer · 6/10 · 16 May 2012]

I really did enjoy this movie, but i got bored at many parts and the subtitles were difficult to read. I understand there are a lot of themes following Japanese culture but it all went over my head as an average American viewer. I really enjoyed the fight scenes but i feel there should have been more. He's supposed to fight 48 demons but we see under 10. The movie seems to awkwardly transition what its primarily following a lot. I felt that the first and second half of the film were two different movies. For how long this title was there should have been many more fight scenes and less dialogue. Lastly, i hate CGI but the way this film used it was pretty good, there were some scenes in which it was downright pathetic, like the red and blue dog. But some scenes it was magnificent, the flower monster was crazy. I liked how crazy and over-the-top the movie was, i really enjoyed most of the fights. But i hated the drawn out scenes and lack of battles. It was just okay to me.

A Diamond in the Ruff of Japanese movies

[talkingbubba · 10/10 · 29 May 2007]

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....

Overall a great atmospheric fantasy epic with a couple of unnecessary flaws

[kluseba · 7/10 · 3 July 2012]

"Dororo" is an epic Japanese fantasy movie adapted from a manga series. The story features a male orphan whose body parts have been given to forty-eight demons by his vindictive father and who grows up with an old farmer who puts an artificial body with parts of dead babies together for the poor child. After the death of his adoptive father, the young man without a name, a soul and an own body, crosses the country to get back all parts of his body and discover his identity. To do so, he must find all forty-eight demons and kill them one by one. In a poor village, her crosses a young female thief with a lot of energy. She witnesses his fight with a demon and decides to give up her desperate life to follow the cold and mysterious warrior. Together they cross the country, fight many demons and finally find out that their tragic fates are somewhat connected and lead to a powerful tyrant who fails to unite a shattered Japanese country by taking too many radical decisions.

This movie kicks off very promising. The legendary story around the nameless warrior is very creative. The scenes set in the cabin of the old farmer, the stunning Japanese landscapes and the poor village have a somewhat fantastic feeling and great atmosphere. Both characters are introduced very well.

After a while, the movie starts to get a little bit disappointing. The two main characters are quite opposite from each other and have no gripping connection between them. Their dialogues always turn around the same things and are interrupted as soon as they may start to get interesting. Only in the end, the character development improves a little bit. Of course, it's normal that a soulless warrior who seems to have the whole world against him won't be very emotional and I didn't expect a passionate love story or anything but the whole thing feels simply too emotionless and the movie contains a couple of lengths from this point of view.

The next problem really are the embarrassing slapstick comedy moments. I know that this kind of influence probably comes from the original manga but the gripping story and the slowly built up atmosphere in the beginning really gets some serious cracks at that point. While the female character of Dororo is overall charming and well portrayed, the moments when she seems to be a little bit hyperactive, naive and silly are too present and should have been skipped to make this movie more mature.

It's probably due to financial issues that many just turn out to be ridiculous. Instead of being mysterious as they should be, their appearances are quite silly. The special effects of this quite recent flick are definitely mediocre. It reminds me of the aged stop motion techniques that can be witnessed in old Gamera, Gojira and King Kong flicks. This kind of costumes and effects had a certain charm four or five decades ago but they just are somewhat embarrassing today.

This all sounds rather negative but the great beginning of the movie and a couple of atmospheric scenes throughout the movie, for example the secret of the ugly worm demons that took the lives of twenty young orphans or the moment when the warrior finds out the truth about his existence, pardon for the mentioned flaws. The ending seems to indicate that at least one sequel might follow this flick and I really would like to see them happen and watch them. I would recommend this movie to any fan of fantastic mangas or Japanese legends who doesn't care too much about too old fashioned special effects and a couple of minor lengths.

Forget your Ring...

[grandmastersik · 8/10 · 9 August 2007]

...Dororo kicks arse and has much nicer, more natural scenery for its walkabouts.

Okay, so some SFX would be at place in an episode of Power Rangers, thus inevitably costing it a huge amount of would-be fans, but with its tongue-in-cheek tale to suit its SFX - in parts making their badness seem deliberate - who cares? Not all films are for everyone, but for those Dororo IS for, it satisfies totally!

Dororo follows a young Pinocchio-type man as he saunters Japan, killing demons to regain his lost body, and with it his humanity. Joining him on his quest is the troubled nameless thief he dubs "Dororo"; her own motives are unclear at first, but when revealed, aid the plot rather well.

Filled with action, slapstick antics and being the fruit of a script which can successfully carry a viewer on a high from start-to-finish, Dororo offers 2hours and 18 minutes that you won't want given back, instead, you'll gladly accept the exchange of time for watching this great flick.

Even though the film seems complete in itself, its story does insinuate that other adventures (i.e. "sequels") could very well stem from it.

I've seen that parts 2 and 3 are set to be made - for once, these will be sequels that I'll be looking forward to.

A great movie ... regardless

[ateeqimran · 10/10 · 1 September 2007]

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 ...

will keep you on seat

[abdullahxyy · 30 September 2007]

although its effects are not satisfying, the scenario is well written and the actors (and actresses)are all (even the ones at the background)playing with everything they have in the movie. So this make the film going without loosing anything of its interesting tale and making the audience kept on their seats.

When we thing there are lots of movies with expensive effects but really have nothing to watch and extremely boring, maashallah dororo having cheaper effects has done no damage in the entertainment.

I congratulate all players especially the leading actor and the actress.

Waiting for next episodes.

This film is awesome.

[beowulf158 · 10/10 · 2 May 2010]

Dororo has a wonderful story and great acting. Unlike some people, I have the ability to enjoy a well written, well acted story and can easily forgive issues that I am sure budget constraints had a hand in.

I understand that there are some scenes that are beyond the budget, but in my opinion they were handled very well.

The protagonist and his companion were easy to like and understand. The story had some nice twist. The story was so well told that I had my Wife watch it and she hates this genre. Well she does not get it sometimes. She really loved the film! It is not too gory and as far as gravity defying stunts, well it is a fantasy tale and there really were not a lot of them. And they were no where near as physics defying as any of the Transporter films. This is a very good film.

AWESOME this is a very STRANGE movie that references lots of Japanese demons and magick.

[dilbertsuperman · 8/10 · 31 July 2008]

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.

dororo review

[leiladel · 10/10 · 3 August 2012]

This movie is a lot better than what most say. Its got action, humor, and a good plot. A downside is the violence though most of it is very cartoonish, like people practically flying through the air, and others being sliced completely in half with no blood, when there is blood there is usually humor that follows. The demons in the movie can look somewhat frightening at times, but that is the extent of the scariness factor.

Since this movie doesn't have a rating I would give it a pg-13. There is a large amount of violence throughout the movie. There is also a scene in the beginning where there are "dancers" but they are wearing bras and skimpy skirts while dancing a routine that is pretty pg Personally I enjoyed this movie very much and highly recommend it.

Solid fantasy with a tokusatsu blend of engaging story dynamics.

[ericjcant-1 · 8/10 · 5 July 2022]

Dororo surprised me. It was more engaging than I had it set in my mind that it would be. Dororo is an effective supernatural fantasy, with a cool portrayal of trippy supernatural stuff, and pretty cool characters and acting. The tokusatsu elements give it some quirkiness of a b-movie, but even when these budget production issues stick out, it doesn't detract too much in how it spins with the rest of the production.

The premise of the story outlined in the introduction is that a warlord sells his unborn son's organs to demons in exchange for power. The movie takes place in a medieval samurai setting, and the story centers around the son that is born after this macabre exchange takes place The supernatural elements balance surprisingly well with the tone and character dynamics. The maturity level varies, but it doesn't get too far out of story focus as it skips around various young adult type of themes and emotional moments.

Dororo has a lot of charm, but certainly falls in the b-movie side of the field. The story is interesting, and actors are quite good. Ko Shibasaki portrays a rough natural beauty with surprising emotional effectiveness, and as others have noted, the chemistry between her and Satoshi Tsumabuki is great.