Dororo (2007)

67% of users liked it
(2,752 ratings)

A fierce woman warrior joins a wandering demon hunter on his quest to recover the missing body parts and regain his natural form in director Akihiko Shiota's adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's popular manga of the same name. Years ago, malevolent ruler Daigo Kagemitsu promised to deliver his unborn son to… More A fierce woman warrior joins a wandering demon hunter on his quest to recover the missing body parts and regain his natural form in director Akihiko Shiota's adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's popular manga of the same name. Years ago, malevolent ruler Daigo Kagemitsu promised to deliver his unborn son to the forty-eight devils of the underworld in exchange for the power to conquer his country. When his son was born with forty-eight body parts missing, Daigo knew he had gotten his wish and cast the infant child into the river. Rescued from certain death and given the name Hyakkimaru (Satoshi Tsumabuki) by a poor herb doctor, the boy was outfitted with a glass eye, fitted with artificial limbs, and raised amidst the confusion of war. Now, every time Hyakkimaru slays a demon, he regains another one of his missing body parts. One day, as Hyakkimaru does battle with a particularly fierce spider demon, a scrappy female thief named Dororo (Kou Shibasaki) takes notice and comes to his aid. Fascinated by the strange sword affixed to Hyakkimaru's artificial arm and awestruck by the fact that he somehow managed to grow a new leg after defeating the giant spider, Dororo agrees to follow Hyakkimaru on his journey after learning of his story from an ageing minstrel. But while Dororo is a fearless ally indeed, she has a troublesome habit of getting into mischief at the most awkward times. Later, as Hyakkimaru prepares to face off against his powerful father - he leaves his new friend behind in order to face his fate alone. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 2 hr. 19 min.
Directed By: Akihiko Shiota
Genres: Action & Adventure, Horror, Art House & International, Science Fiction & Fantasy

In Theaters: Mar 15, 2007 Wide
On DVD: Sep 23, 2008
Studio: Universal Pictures

No Critic Reviews Found…

Featured Audience Ratings

EightThirty .

Pretty cool... I wonder if they're going to continue... it didn't quite finish?? otherwise pretty weird, that's cool with me ha ha ha ^_^
Jani H

Starts out in an interesting way, mixing samurai and fantasy elements. But after we've been introduced to the main characters the film loses its appeal. The story still remains interesting but the fact that the acting and SFX are poorly done, disturbes me too much for me to… More
Starts out in an interesting way, mixing samurai and fantasy elements. But after we've been introduced to the main characters the film loses its appeal. The story still remains interesting but the fact that the acting and SFX are poorly done, disturbes me too much for me to enjoy this movie. Leaves the story open for a sequel... Would've worked better as a miniseries on TV but as a feature film it fails.
Justin Y

YES! This is the movie that I have been waiting for. A great wuxia/sci-fi/fantasy film all rolled into one. This is the first true answer that I've seen to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is a superb start to a hopefully great trilogy.The story… More
YES! This is the movie that I have been waiting for. A great wuxia/sci-fi/fantasy film all rolled into one. This is the first true answer that I've seen to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is a superb start to a hopefully great trilogy.The story is great. Really more of a sci-fi/fantasy, rather than a wuxia tale, although it is a wuxia setting. The film is near the 2 and 1/2 hour mark but it did not feel that way at all. The film does move at a moderately slow pace, but the good story, cinematography, and great acting keep this thing livened up.As previously mentioned, the acting is well done. Kou Shibasaki, of Battle Royale fame, literally steals the show as Dororo and makes me wonder if she could have pulled off the Azumi character better than Aya Ueto did. She really has shown her maturity since her Battle Royale days. It is her acting alone that keeps the movie entertaining. I was also happy to see an appearance from Anna Tsuchiya, from the great Kamikaze Girls. I only wished that she had a bigger part.There is quite a bit of action in here and it is great to watch, but it is not the greatest swordplay out there. Yet, it doesn't have to be. I love great swordplay as much as the next guy, but this movie isn't driven by the action.The CG isn't too bad. Personally, I think it could have been a little better, but once again it works. The demons in this film come in the forms of all different fantasy types of creatures and they really go all out on the variety that appear.This film should be a great watch to a variety of people since it covers quite a few genres nicely. Action adventure, drama, science fiction, and fantasy. Pick your poison and give this film a peek.
Jason R

Completely unique and original Dororo is one of the best fantasy films I have ever seen and is a really fun movie to watch, so many great fight sequences and odd ball characters and creatures, this was a very enjoyable film to watch.