As the plot leaves us with a few pieces to mull over such as “what makes us human” and “why does an 8 year old have an insane rash on his back”, we…. wait, what was that second one again?
Dororo apparently has a map on her back that represents 50% of what would lead someone to great riches, riches that were attained by both of her parents who were certain they wanted it to be for their daughter only (I have to keep reminding myself that Dororo is actually a girl, they certainly make it easy to forget). The other half of the map was on her mother. If it weren’t for the old priest I’m not sure anyone would have known what that was on her back, because a map wasn’t the first thing that came to mind for me.
Hyakkimaru continues to be single-minded about his goal of re-attaining his humanity more so than usual after his encounter with his family, especially his father. He has made it clear that he thinks of nothing else. The jury is still out if this is a last ditch attempt to reclaim what makes him human so that his family will accept him, or if it’s simply because he has known no other struggle in his life. This single-mindedness has caused a rift between our two heroes, unfortunately. After that carnage they accidently unleashed on the village that was being most hospitable to them, Dororo wonders whether they even did the right thing and questions how Hyakkimaru could feel no sympathy. For what it’s worth, I’m on Hyakkimaru’s side here – this entire village sacrificed beaten, abused children in an orphanage so they could save themselves. And no, they weren’t just complicit, they actually carried it out themselves. These people didn’t deserve anything other than a ticket for one way admission to going-to-hell.com.
That’s not to say the moral conundrum is lost on me, I just think that it’s a little late to take the moral high-ground after you burned several abused children alive. What is it with orphanages getting burned down in this show anyway?
The end of the episode leaves Dororo temporarily peeved at Hyakkimaru as she storms off in a different direction for a bit, pouting about Hyakki’s latest actions. It isn’t long before Itachi, the man who sold his father out, shows up, exclaiming that he was looking for Dororo for a long time (what he really wanted was the damn map). Considering the amount of trouble Dororo has gotten herself into the last few episodes, I am wondering how she survived so long before meeting Hyakkimaru.
When I first started watching this show, I was pretty sure it was improperly titled. I am starting to see now why I was wrong about that, but damn if they didn’t keep us waiting!
