Dororo Episode 21: A familiar flaming horse
Published on June 4, 2019
The hard times are not getting any easier. This series has an interesting sense of subdued drama to it. Normally, you'd expect to see heavy, over-the-top screaming in these fights, but the main encounter goes along at a reasonable pace. It's definitely hard to see Hyakkimaru falling deeper and deeper towards a more feral side, given how much we've seen him grow. It makes me wonder if we're just headed towards more tragedy at this point.
I suppose this is the weekly reminder that Daigo's land is suffering. I'm curious to see how they'll resolve this, but this certainly has been the main moral dilemma of the series. Daigo cruelly cuts off the villages that are infected by the epidemic, and it's not like any of those villagers played a part in his decision. Or did they?
I understand why Dororo pushes to stop Hyakkimaru from fighting his family, but it's still kind of a hard choice. I can't fault Hyakkimaru for wanting a normal body. That being said, Dororo watched her parents die, so it's reasonable for her to not want Hyakkimaru to go through that. Also, it's clear at this point that Hyakkimaru is losing his way, so she surely want to help him.
This was an odd scene for me. It's reasonable for Hyakkimaru's mother to worry about her sons and curse her own powerlessness in the matter. However, this seems to be the first time I recall seeing her act genuinely concerned for Tahoumaru. Where was this before?
Showing Hyogo and Mutsu's past in this episode doesn't bode well for their futures. They seem to have gotten out of this fight with their lives, but Mutsu is looking pretty dim in this scene. Is this just a function of their relative resolve to fight Hyakkimaru? Or is Mutsu facing another problem entirely?
To be completely honest, I liked the last fight between Tahoumaru and Hyakkimaru more than this one. That being said, this fight was still pretty impressive. The camera largely centers on the two as they face off, and there's a clear progression of moves in the fight itself.
The random intervention at the end seemed a bit overboard, though. I get that Daigo instructs that guy to watch over Tahoumaru, but the character itself seems to come out of nowhere. Anyway, I look forward to seeing Hyakkimaru ride in on a flaming horse next week. If he does it, that certainly won't be a good sign, since he typically kills demons without prejudice.
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Dinadan
June 4, 2019, 5:06 p.m.Earlier in the episode, Mutsu was hiding spots on his neck - spots associated with the epidemic that is ravaging the land. This is why his life force appears dimmer to Hyakkimaru - he's ill.
