Price: 13.95 USD 

The summer of Dororo continues with the dark second act of this three volume adventure. It is hard to believe this stylistic yet gritty tale was first published in Japan 40 years ago. The universal and timeless nature of the godfather of manga's Dororo is surprisingly fresh and universal. Osamu Tezuka is revered as a deity for a reason, and Dororo is another example of why these precious works belong in hip but careful hands of the folks at Vertical. There is a passionate readership for these high-quality (and slightly more expensive) releases. "Mature" or "Adult" readers like myself (why does being older have to sound so pornographic?) truly appreciate the attention for what is sadly but surely a niche market. In my defense, I may be older but I am a more consistent audience than the average 'tween. On the other hand, Vertical's marketing may put these archival quality manga in the hands of readers that may not now what a shoujo or otaku is, and that is more than OK.

Just like last time, the rating I will give to the second volume of Dororo is more of a Tezuka body-of-work comparison, rather than how the book compares to every other manga released in English today.

Set in samurai-era Japan our hero, Hyakkimaru had 48 body parts sacrificed to the 48 Devil Gods before he was even born, thanks to his power-hungry father. Raised by his adoptive country doctor dad, Hyakkimaru is trained to make up for missing pieces and his new father constructs appendages to make him as human as possible (with a few hidden blades here and there). However, Hyakkimaru has one life mission: kill the Devil Gods and get his body parts back. In the first volume he rescues the self-proclaimed master child-thief, Dororo from an evil spirit, and the two of them make an Edo-era Odd Couple that bicker between each other as much they fight the baddies.

Like a classic play (or the original Star Wars trilogy) this second act starts dark and gets darker. Hyakkimaru and Dororo are tired and hungry in the wind-blasted middle of nowhere when they run across a free-standing wooden wall. Much of this second volume is dedicated to deciphering the meaning and signifigance of the tall and narrow wall, and how it is used is disturbing. Fans of kid-friendly Tezuka might be surprised but readers of his English releases of MW or Ode to Kirihito know that Tezuka's distinctive and cartoonish style doesn't mean the contents are light or for uninitiated. The inevitable controntation with his evil father comes in this second volume and the results are as surprsing as Hyakkimaru's reaction to some shocking news.

In many ways the central stories of this second volume plays out like an Akira Kurosawa movie. Hyakkimaru has nothing but noble intentions (unlike his ward, Dororo) but the simple-minded villagers where a good part of the second half take place are much like the farmers from "Seven Samurai". They don't mind having evil expelled from their village, but once the danger is gone the freakishness of Hyakkimaru trumps the gratitude they feel. 

As I stated earlier, Dororo is a three-volume series, and all three volumes are released this summer (Vol. 3 in August). If you read the first one then you know you are going to read all three. Dororo may cost a little more, but this one feels more like an investment than impulse buy. I rate this volume at the same level as the first one, and I can't wait to see how the story until now can possibly conclude. 

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