This was excellent, a film about a young man who inherits immortality by his father making a deal with a demon to rule the world. Although his son Kyakkimaru (Satoshi Sumabuki) was abandoned. A lone sorcerer uses his vast powers to give this abandoned young boy new body parts. 48 in all. His father made the deal where the demons would inherit his body parts when he was a baby. This gave him absolute power of his province, but at a high cost. Seeing as his empire was not becoming what it should be, his other son Tahomaru (Eita) would succeed him at the throne. During Kyakkimarus travels to look for his original body parts, a lone wolf woman Dororo (Ko Shibasaki) joins him in the effort to aid his journey. Her belief is that she is a man until the time comes to be a full fledged woman. Besides this, an old music man who ventures into the plains somehow manages to find and hear their sordid tales. And plays his Koto during times of battle between Kyakkimaru and the demons. With the news about his past, he then realizes that revenge is not the way to happiness, and his father Kagemitsu Daigo (Kiichi Nakai) clashes with his abandoned son to settle the matter. Yet during this strange turn of events, his father succumbs to grief and suddenly understands that both of his sons are equally special. With the last blow from Kyakkimaru, he wounds his father when a demon takes over his body. It is the last stage for his journey, at lest on the family side. I thought this was a great movie, about dark magic, swords, apocalyptic times where the gun is not the dominant way of the samurai. There is humour, sadness, family bonds, and above all, a hero that sends back the demons who do not belong here. With his brother Tahomaru finally putting aside the sword for the better changes to happen, he waits until his older brother Kyakkimaru will return to take over the throne. Nice effects, strange looking demons, and all out fun between good and evil. A recommended film who read the Manga series.
Review of Dororo
