Will there be a Dororo Season 2 based on the ending?

A haunting scene from Dororo
The fate of Dororo Season 2 is still open-ended based on where studio MAPPA drew inspiration for the first season’s ending. Pic credit: MAPPA

Dororo Season 2 seems like a possibility based on the way animation studio MAPPA handled the ending of the Dororo 2019 anime in Episode 24. There were multiple ways it could have ended, but the new anime’s story is more open-ended like the 1969 source material rather than being conclusive like the 2004 Blood Will Tell: Osamu Tezuka’s Dororo video game.

On the other hand, MAPPA provided a hint about the ending at the beginning of the Dororo 2019 anime. In the original story, Hyakkimaru’s father, Daigo Kagemitsu, sacrificed 48 of his son’s body parts to demons in order to gain power, whereas in the new anime only 12 body parts are missing. With fewer pieces left to recover, the ending of the main quest arrived a lot quicker, but the finale episode seems to foreshadow a somber fate for both Dororo and Hyakkimaru.

The TV show is a two-cour anime, with the second part of the season releasing its finale, Episode 24, on June 24, 2019. The 2019 anime was released as two Dororo Blu-ray box sets containing 24 episodes. Therefore, Dororo Episode 24 might be the final ending, leaving no room for Dororo Season 2 based on the way the source material finished (see the spoilers below for more analysis).

  • Updated June 25, 2019: Changed the analysis based on the ending of Dororo Episode 24.

This article provides everything that is known about Dororo Season 2 and all related news. As such, this article will be updated over time with news, rumors, and analysis. Meanwhile, let’s delve down into what is known for certain.

The history of the Dororo 2019 anime

Dororo 2019 is actually the second anime adaptation of the Dororo manga by Osamu Tezuka. Started in 1968, the original manga was canceled after the serialization had only reached Volume 4.

[Video_One]

The manga was adapted into the Dororo 1969 anime, which ran for 26 episodes. It just so happens that the beginning of Dororo 2019 Part 2 will coincide with the 50th anniversary of the original anime, which began airing on April 6, 1969.

Dororo Manga Characters
The Dororo manga’s character design may have been Disney-esque but even back in 1969, the adult themes were definitely present. Pic credit: Osamu Tezuka

The story was revived for a 2004 Dororo video game that was released on PlayStation 2. The English version was called Blood Will Tell. The game added to the story significantly and provided a huge plot twist for the ending (see below for more details).

In 2007, a live-action Dororo movie was released but it made some notable changes. In this version, Dororo is a girl from the start although she refuses to be a “proper” woman. Both she and Hyakkimaru are significantly older than the manga/anime versions. The setting for the film was also moved from Japan’s Sengoku Era to a similar post-apocalyptic future.

Blood Will Tell Tezuka Osamu's Dororo Video Game PS2 Cover Art
The Dororo video game received mediocre reviews but it provided an interesting take on the ending. Pic credit: SEGA

Dororo manga’s ending compared to the PS2 video game and 1969/2019 anime

Warning: The following contains major spoilers pertaining to the ending of the Dororo 2019 anime and it’s possible some plot elements from the game may be part of Dororo Season 2.

The original Dororo manga was canceled but it still had an ending of a sort. Shortly after Hyakkimaru regained his real eyes, he realized that Dororo is a girl (this revelation came out in Episode 9 of the 2019 anime), although Dororo rejects the notion that she should act more feminine. Hyakkimaru also wants her to join the farmers in a rebellion against the world’s rulers rather than follow him.

Hyakkimaru bequeaths Dororo his sword, which she had been trying to steal throughout the series. He decides to continue the journey alone and leaves a crying Dororo at the door after promising to meet her again once his adventure was complete. But killing all 48 demons takes 50 years.

The Dororo manga originally was supposed to have a twist at the ending. Hyakkimaru realizes that he must kill Dororo in order to get his final body part back, but Hyakkimaru couldn’t kill his friend. It’s unknown why Tezuka scrapped this idea, but the manga’s alternate ending was incorporated into the Dororo video game.

In Blood Will Tell, after Hyakkimaru discovers he must kill Dororo to regain his right arm, he spends five years building up spiritual energy so he can cast the demon out of Dororo. After successfully exorcising this demon in an epic battle, the fully-recovered Hyakkimaru embraces Dororo, who has become a beautiful young woman in his absence.

Dororo 2019 Anime Hyakkimaru
The artwork of the Dororo 2019 anime fits the dark themes. Pic credit: MAPPA

The 1969 anime was similar to the manga’s ending since it had Hyakkimaru and Dororo parting ways. A year later, Hyakkimaru has recovered all but one of the 48 missing body parts while Dororo has fought in the villager’s rebellion.

It turns out the last demon is contained in Hyakkimaru’s father Daigo, who had sold his soul for power. Hyakkimaru kills Diago and the ending has Hyakkimaru and Dororo meeting once again just to say farewell.

If the 2019 anime had followed the original manga’s ending then that epic 50-year journey would have definitely left an opening for Dororo Season 2. However, the ending of the 2019 anime went in a different direction, ignoring the manga’s alternate ending while still modifying many aspects of the 1969 anime.

Why Dororo Season 2 is still possible

As of the last update, MAPPA or any company related to the production of the anime has not officially confirmed the Dororo Season 2 release date. Nor has the production of a sequel been announced.

Once the news is officially confirmed this article will be updated with the relevant information. In the meantime, it’s possible to speculate about when, or if, the Dororo Season 2 premiere date will occur in the future.

The potential for Dororo Season 2 depended on how Episode 24 ended the series. MAPPA might intend for the ending to be self-contained, which means no Dororo sequel, but at the same time, the ending was open-ended since the 2019 anime followed certain elements of the Dororo manga.

The 2019 anime did indeed have Hyakkimaru confronting his brother, Tahoumaru, and his father Daigo but there was no confrontation with a demon-possessed Dororo. Instead, Hyakkimaru has already regained all of his missing body parts and he plans on embarking on “another journey” for a different reason.

“He may have left on another journey,” Biwamaru said in Episode 24. “That boy has just been born. Not because he’s regained his body. I mean his heart and mind. He must leave the path of evil and retrace the path of humanity.”

Even with Daigo talking about sacrificing another human to the demons, or becoming a demon himself in death, Hyakkimaru chooses to embrace his newfound humanity and forgives his father rather than killing him. Daigo’s final words after Hyakkimaru leaves him alive seem to be of repentance, not of revenge. The ending even features a time leap where a grown-up Dororo races to meet up with Hyakkimaru after his journey is completed.

While that happy ending seems to be a solid conclusion, Episode 24 also seems to foreshadow Dororo Season 2 when Biwamaru says he “believes that something more than blood and despair lies ahead for those two young souls.” While that’s probably meant in a positive sense, could the second season have Dororo becoming demonically possessed like in the video game?

Anime fans will just to wait and watch to see whether MAPPA intends for Dororo Season 2 to be possible. Stay tuned!

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

8 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
8
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x