#Did Jukai also die?

[tophthedaydreamer]

I watched Dororo and was kneed in the gut by angst and feels aaaaaa

To compensate, here’s a happy picture of Dororo and Hyakkimaru bein’ siblings

[essegigi]

One nice thing about consuming different adaptations of the same story is you can pick and choose which bits you wanna keep for the ideal mashup that lives in your head.

For example, I love the 2019 Dororo anime but prefer certain details from the end of the 2007 movie, such as: Tahomaru lives and Daigo just...explodes.

I mean, it's what they deserve. 😌

[snowy-weather]

So I’m caught up with Dororo again. 

Allow me to cry hysterically for an hour now. :)

[sharekowa]

Kankandara

When I was in Elementary School I was a naive hick, and fucked around with my buddies A and B a lot. We had a turbulent life.

A and I’s families had given up on us, but B’s mother was always taking care of him.

She was super strict about it, but she still did a lot of stuff for B.

B and his mother had a bad fight sometime in Middle School grade 3. He didn’t tell us what it was about, but apparently he hurt his mother psychologically.

After leaving his mother in ruins, his pops came back.

B’s pops immediately understood what had happened and went up to his wife, ignoring B.

Her clothes and hair were in tatters, and she was spacing out, staring at the floor with eyes like a dead fish. B’s pops looked at her and spoke to B.

B’s Dad: “You little shit, you became the kind of guy who could trample all over someone this much, huh? Why can’t you understand how much your mother cares about you?”

He was holding his wife, and was not looking at B at all.

B: “Shut the fuck up. Should I kill you, motherfucker? Huh!?”

B had no intent of listening to his pops.

But his pops didn’t react to this threat, and apparently kept talking calmly.

B’s Dad: “...You...you think there isn’t anything that can scare you, don’t you?”

B: “Nope. If there is, I’d fuckin’ like to see it!”

His pops was quiet for a bit, and then spoke.

B’s Dad: “You are my son. I know very well how much your mother worries about you. But if you can only hurt her in response, I have an idea.

I speak not as a father, but as a human, a third party.

I’ll be upfront, I only tell you this because you have proven you don’t care if you die. If that’s fine, listen to what I have to say.”

B apparently felt an intense energy from these words, but provoked him anyway saying “Whatever, fucking tell me!”

B’s Dad: “You know that place in the forest that is restricted? Go in there, all the way to the back. You’ll understand the rest when you’re there. Try going crazy like you did just now, if you can.”

The forest B’s pops was talking about is at the base of a small mountain where we live. It’s kind of like a sea of trees (jukai).

You can enter the mountain normally, and the forest as a whole is normal, but if you go in, there’s an area that is restricted partway through.

Specifically, it’s like if you drew a small circle inside a square, and were told not to go in the circle. It’s basically a super small part of the forest.

The restricted area is surrounded by a fence around 2 meters high, with thick chain links and barbed wire. The whole fence is tangled with layered white paper (like a unique shide), with a ton of bells of varying sizes attached.

Shide (paper used to designate sacred areas in Shinto)

It’s so weird that it’s just a small part of the forest. The fence itself is strange. Basically, I can sum it up as being extremely weird.

Also, on specific days, I’ve seen priestesses gathered around the entrance, but I didn’t know what they were doing because those days the whole area would be restricted.

There were lots of rumors flying around, but the most common one was that there was a brainwashing facility for a cult. It’s a pain in the ass to even get there, so I barely heard of people even going that deep into the forest.

B’s pops didn’t wait for B to reply, and took his wife upstairs to the second floor. B immediately left his house and met up with me and A who were waiting for him. That’s when we heard about what his dad told him.

A: “A father saying that much to his son? Must have been bad.”

Me: “It’s rumored to be a cult facility right? I guess he’s telling you to get caught and brainwashed. You could say that’s scary but...what are you gonna do? Are you gonna go?“

B: “Of course I’m gonna go. It’s probably bullshit.“

Me and A  tagged along out of curiosity, so all three of us were going to head there.

We used different tools. I think the time was past 1:00 midnight. We arrived with high spirits, entering the forest and shining the ground before us with the flashlights we had brought.

The path is one you can hike with light equipment. We always wore jikatabi so it was easy for us to walk, but there was almost a 40 minute walk to get to the area in question. However, before even 5 minutes had passed since we entered the forest, something weird happened.

Jikatabi shoes

Around the same time as we got in and started walking, we could hear a sound coming from far away.

The still of the night emphasizes the sound. B was the first to notice it.

B: “Hey, you guys hear something?”

We strained our ears upon these words, and yep, we could hear it.

We definitely could hear it faintly from far away: the sound of dry leaves being dragged, and the sound of branches being snapped.

Since it was from a distance and so faint, we weren’t really scared.

We didn’t think it was a person -- there’s gotta be animals around here. Reassured, we kept going.

I stopped paying attention to it after thinking it was an animal, but after around 20 minutes of walking, B noticed something again and stopped me and A.

B: “A, can you walk ahead a little bit?”

A: “What? Why?”

B: “Just do it, dude.”

A, looking confused, walked ahead and then came back to us.

Seeing this, B developed a thoughtful expression.

A: “Hey, what is it?!”

Me: “Yeah, explain!”

After we said this, B said ��Stay quiet and listen veeeery carefully,” and walked ahead like he had made A do, and came back.

After he did this 2 or 3 times, we finally realized what was happening.

The faint, distant sounds were moving when we did.

When we start walking, the sound starts walking, and when we stop the sound stops too.

It was almost as if it knew what we were doing. I couldn’t help but feel a bit colder. There is no light aside from what we have. The moon is out, but it was almost entirely blocked by the trees.

We have our flashlights on, so it’s not strange that whatever it is knows where we are. But we have to squint to even see each other even though we are walking together.

What are they doing with no light on in this darkness? Why are they moving the same way we were?

B: “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Is someone following us?”

A: “It doesn’t feel like someone’s getting closer. It sounds like they’ve been at the same distance from us as earlier.”

As A said, for the 20 minutes we had been in the forest, the distance between us and the sound hadn’t changed at all.

It wasn’t coming closer or going further. It had maintained the same distance the whole time.

Me: “Are we being watched?”

A: “Seems like it...If it’s a cult or something, then they probably have weird devices and stuff.“

Judging from the sound, it wasn’t multiple people, but just one person following us the whole time.

We stopped to think a while, and decided it was dangerous to try to figure out the source of the sound. Being careful of our surroundings, we decided to keep going.

As we kept going, the sound stuck to us, but I couldn’t care less about a damn sound when we finally were able to see the fence.

...Because the appearance of the fence was even weirder than the sound.

It was the first time seeing it for all three of us, but it exceeded our imaginations.

At the same time, a thought that hadn’t crossed my mind before suddenly occurred to me.

I am a skeptic about ghosts, but even I couldn’t help but think that there is something unreal beyond that fence.

Not just anything either, but something extremely fucked.

Wait, so it’s a place with that kind of legend...?

For the first time since we came into the forest, I started to think we were in a dangerous place.

A: “Are you telling me we have to rip this and go in? No matter how you look at it, this ain’t normal!“

B: “Shut the fuck up man, don’t be pissing yourself over some shit like this!“

B yelled at me and A, who were scared upon seeing the weird fence. B used the tools he had brought and started to destroy it.

The sound of the insane amount of bells ringing was louder than the sound of him tearing it down.

But since we hadn’t imagined it would be like this, the tools we brought were too weak. Or rather, the fence was unnaturally strong. It didn’t even move an inch, so I wondered if it was made with special materials.

In the end, we had to climb it, but because of the chain link that was pretty easy.

But as soon as we got off the fence, I felt strongly that something was wrong.

I guess it was maybe claustrophobia? I felt short of breath, like I was trapped in a coffin.

A and B seemed to be feeling the same, and we all hesitated before moving more. We had already gone past the fence, though, we couldn’t stop now.

As soon as we stepped forward to keep going, all three of us realized something.

The sound that had followed us all this time had stopped as soon as we crossed the fence.

To be honest, it was so freaky that I couldn’t care less, but I was even more freaked out by what A said next.

A: “Hey guys...what if...they were in here the whole time? This fence, at least from here, has no gate...maybe that’s why they couldn’t come closer...?”

B: “Nah, no fuckin’ way man. The place where we first noticed the sound moving can’t even be seen from here. There’s no way they would know what we were doing from the moment we got into the forest.“

In normal circumstances, B would be right. The restricted zone and the entrance to the forest are pretty far part.

I wrote that it’s around a 40 minutes’ walk earlier, but we weren’t walking slowly and the distance itself is pretty long.

But as soon as the thought crossed my mind that it might not be something from reality, I couldn’t deny A’s words.

Unlike me and A who had felt a definite danger since we first saw the fence, B was suddenly very determined.

B: “I don’t know if it’s a spirit or what, but if it’s like you said, doesn’t that mean it can’t leave this fenced area? it’s not much of a big deal then.“

Saying this, we went deeper.

The fence of the opposite side of the restricted area was starting to come into view. We found something strange after we walked 20-30 minutes after crossing the fence.

6 trees were surrounded by a shimenawa, and those 6 trees were enclosed by 6 ropes, making a hexagonal space.

Shimenawa, which are used to designate sacred places in Shinto.

There was official-looking shide, unlike the ones on the fence.

And in the center was something like a money-offering box from a shrine.

As soon as we saw it, all three of us were speechless. Me and A were starting to panic - things were really getting dangerous.

As dumb as we are, we vaguely know where and for what shimenawa are used.

The reason why this area is restricted must be what we are seeing.

We had finally arrived at our destination.

Me: “This has gotta be what your pops was telling you about.“

A: “You can’t go wild here, man. It’s obviously a bad idea.“

But B didn’t lose his determination.

B: “It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s something bad. Let’s try checking out that box! Maybe there’s treasure inside.“

B ducked under the ropes, entering the hexagon and approaching the box.

Me and A were more worried about what B might do than the box, but followed him anyway.

The box was covered in rust, perhaps because it was left outside and got rained on.

The upper part is a lid, with mesh so you can see inside, but there’s a plank under the lid so you actually can’t see anything.

The box also had something wild written on it in chalk. Probably family crests or something, but each side of the box has multiple symbols and they are all different. No two were the same.

Me and A tried our best not to touch it, but B didn’t care and touched it. We cautioned him to be gentle as he investigated the box.

It seemed to be anchored directly into the ground, so even though it wasn’t that heavy, it couldn’t be lifted.

After examining the box closely to try to see how to open it, B realized that the just the back side comes off.

B: “Yo, just this part comes off! We can see inside!”

B removed one side of the box, and me and A peered inside from behind B.

Inside the box, there were four plastic water-bottle shaped jars, with some kind of liquid inside. In the center of the box, toothpick-like sticks around 5 centimeters long with their tips painted red were arranged in a weird shape. ／＼／＼＞

This kinda shape, made of 6 sticks. Just the four places touching are painted red.

Me: “What the hell is that? Toothpicks?”

A: “Yo, the water-bottle things have stuff inside. Gross.“

B: “We came all this way for some water bottles and toothpicks? I don’t get it.“

Me and A had just lightly touched the water-bottle shaped jars, but B took one of them in his hands and started to smell its contents and stuff. Once he put it back, he reached out to touch the ／＼／＼＞.

The toothpick stuck to his fingertip for a second, maybe because he was sweating, and the shape was messed up when he let go.

That moment...

Ring rring! Ring ring!!

The bells were ringing with incredible force from the opposite direction from where we had come -- beyond the hexagon, around where I could barely make out the fence.

At this we all screamed “Aaah!”, scared shitless. We all looked at each other at once.

B: “Who is it, goddamit!? Don’t fuck with me!”

B started running in the direction of the sound.

Me: “Dumbass, don’t go there!”

A: “Yo B! It’s dangerous!“

As we readied ourselves to scramble after him, B stopped in his tracks. He was motionless, with his flashlight still facing in front of him.

“What, are you fucking with us?” As me and A sighed in relief and rushed towards him, B’s body started to tremble.

“H...hey...What’s wrong...?”

As I said this, we both instinctively looked towards where B’s flashlight shone.

B’s flashlight shone around the roots of one of the many trees huddled together.

From its rear, a woman’s face was peering our way.

Showing just half of her face, she seemed to be unbothered by the bright light and was gazing at us.

She was grimacing, showing all of her teeth, and her eyes were hostile.

“AAAAAARGH!!!!!”

I’m not sure who screamed, but at that moment we turned back and ran.

My mind went blank. It felt like my body was making the best decisions it could.

With no time to even look at each other, each of us scrambled desperately towards the fence. As soon as I saw the fence, I jumped it with all my might and climbed it with force. When I got to the top, I jumped off and tried to immediately run for the exit.

A, perhaps confused, is having trouble climbing the fence and isn’t coming.

Me: “A! Hurry up!!”

B: “Yo! Hurry the fuck up!!“

Me and B didn’t know what to do while we waited for A.

Me: “What is that thing!? What the hell is it!?”

B: “I don’t fucking know man, shut up!“

We were completely in panic mode.

Just then...

Rring! Ring ring!

The bells shook deafeningly loud, and the fence started to shake.

What the... Where is it coming from!?

Even as me and B panicked, we checked our surroundings.

It was coming from the opposite of the entrance: from the direction of the mountain. The sound and the shaking of the fence got more and more intense as if it was coming closer.

Me: “Oh shit, oh shit!”

B: “You still haven’t climbed yet!? Hurry up!!”

I knew our words were only confusing A more, but there was no way we couldn’t warn him. A scrambled up the fence with immense concentration.

The moment A was about to reach the top of the fence, me and B were not watching.

I was shaking violently, sweat pouring out all over my body, unable to make a sound.

A noticed and looked at where we were looking.

The thing was on this side of the fence continuing towards the mountain.

I had thought it was just a face, but it was actually a naked torso with six arms.

Using those arms it grabbed the chain link and barbed wire skillfully, its mouth still in a wide grimace. It was coming towards us like a spider crossing its web. Immense fear filled me.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!”

A suddenly jumped from above, crashing onto me and B.

This woke us out of our stupor, and we got A up immediately and booked it for the entrance to the forest.

We can’t look back. I just looked forward and ran and ran with all my strength.

It shouldn’t have taken 30 minutes running at full speed, but it felt like I had run for hours.

As the entrance came into view, I could see people in the distance.

No way...all three of us screeched to a halt, quietly checking out the silhouettes.

We couldn’t tell who it was, but it was multiple people. It wasn’t the thing.

As soon as we confirmed this we started running again, and ran right into the group.

”Hey! They came out!”

“You’ve got to be kidding me...They actually went past the fence!?”

“Heeey! Run and let the wife know!”

The gathered people ran to us, abuzz.

All three of our minds were blank and we were so spaced out that we couldn’t immediately understand what they were saying to us.

Then we were put in a car, and even though it was around 3:00, we were taken to a gathering hall that is used for events.

When we got inside, my mother and big sister, A’s pops, and B’s mother were there.

B’s mother aside, my mother who I hadn’t even had a decent conversation with was crying. A told me later that his pops’ facial expression was one he had never seen before.

B’s mom: “Everyone was okay...! I’m so relieved...!“

Unlike B’s mother, I was hit by my mother and A was hit by his pops. But, we both received kind words unlike any we had heard before. After each of us had spoken to our families, B’s mother came to talk to us.

B’s Mom: “I am very sorry. This is my husband’s fault, and by extension also my fault. I am truly so sorry...! Really...”

She bowed many times.

Even though she’s from another family, a parent acting like that in front of her child was an unpleasant feeling.

A’s Dad: “That’s enough. Everyone was okay, see?“

My Mom: “Yes, exactly. It’s not your fault.”

After this, most of the conversation was between the parents, and we were just spacing out.

Probably because it was late at night, and it felt like a wrap after everyone checked in on each other. At this point, we didn’t get any explanation and went our separate ways home.

Around noon the proceeding day, my big sis violently woke me up.

When I opened my eyes, her face was so tensed that it seemed like a continuation of last night.

Me: “What the fuck is your problem?”

Big sis: “B’s mother called. Shit’s going down.“

When I took the phone and answered, B’s mom was yelling in a way I had never heard her do before.

B’s mom: “B...B is acting strange! What did you do last night, up there !? I thought all you did was go past the fence!?”

It seemed like I wouldn’t be able to have a conversation with her, so I hung up and headed to B’s house.

A had apparently got a similar phone call, and both of us went to talk to B’s mother. Apparently, after B came home last night, he suddenly started screaming that all of his hands and feet hurt. He collapsed with his arms and legs outstretched, maybe because he couldn’t move due to the pain. She told us that he stayed in that pose and thrashed around complaining of pain. Whenever his mother tried to do something to help, all he did was yell “It fuckin’ hurts” and they couldn’t understand each other. She tried her best and was able to carry him to his room, but since he was still in that condition, she wondered how we were doing and had called us.

After hearing this story we immediately went to B’s room, and could hear him screaming all the way from the stairs.

”It hurts, it fuckin’ hurts!” on repeat.

When we got in the room, as expected his arms and legs were outstretched and he was flailing around.

Me: “Hey! What happened!?”

A: “Pull it together, man! What is wrong with you?”

Even when we talked to him, B just yells “It fuckin’ hurts” and didn’t even make eye contact with us.

What’s going on...? Me and A couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

We went back to B’s mother for the moment, and she asked us with a tone strikingly more quiet than earlier.

B’s mom: “Tell me what you did there. That will tell me everything I need to know. Last night, what did you do there?“

I of course knew what she wanted to ask, but I couldn’t answer well because I loathed having to remember what had happened in order to tell her.

Or rather, the fact that I saw that thing was so dominant in my memory that I had completely forgotten to think about what was the cause of it all. B’s mother clarified, asking us “Not what you saw, but what did you do?” She seemed to be indicating it.

After B’s mother told us this, we tried our damnedest to remember last night and search for a possible cause.

If the question is “What did we see?” then we should have been in the same condition as B currently is.

But even if the question is “What did you do?” We took basically the same actions towards that thing.

We touched the box too. We also technically touched the water bottle-shaped things. The only thing left is...the toothpicks....

Both of us realized. It’s the toothpicks. Only B had touched those, and he even moved their shape. He also didn’t put them back. We communicated this to B’s mother.

Then, her expression began to change and she started to shake.

She suddenly took out some paper from a drawer and dialed a phone number while looking at it. Me and A could only look on.

After she spoke to someone on the phone for a while, B’s mother came back to us and spoke with a shaking voice.

B’s mom: “If you boys take the approach of going over to their house, they can see you immediately, so go on home and get ready right now. I will speak to your parents for you, they will prepare you even if you don’t tell them anything. Come here again the day after tomorrow.“

I couldn’t understand what she was saying. We were gonna meet who, where? She ignored us when we asked for an explanation and sent us home immediately.

We both went straight home, confused and doubtful, and were told “You have to go there” without asking us any questions.

Two days later me and A went with B’s mother to a certain location, still completely in the dark on what was going on.

Apparently B was taken there the previous day.

I had thought it might be someplace far, but it was not only a different city, but a different prefecture. We rode the Shinkansen trains for a few hours, and then drove from the station for a few more. We were taken into a picturesque village in the depths of the mountains. We were shown to a mansion on the outskirts of the village. It was old and huge, and even had a separate building and storage house. It was impressive.

When B’s mother rang the doorbell, a middle aged dude and a girl came to greet us.

The middle aged dude looked Yakuza-esque, kind of scary-looking and wore a suit. The girl was a little older than us, wearing white traditional Japanese clothes and a red hakama. Basically, she wsa dressed as a shrine maiden.

As they greeted us, we found out that the middle aged dude was the girl’s uncle. He had a pretty common surname, but the shrine maiden girl had a confusing name that sounded like “aoikanjo” (this is how I heard it, at least).

Though I said they greeted us, it was apparently different from common understandings of a greeting.

I don’t really get it, but basically her family’s true identity is something we are not allowed to know.

In truth, neither of us knew anything about her or her family, but for here to make things easier I’ll call her Aoi.

We were taken to a huge ass traditional Japanese style parlor with tatami floors, and they started talking to us in a super serious tone before I could even understand what was happening.

Uncle: “Your son is currently resting. These kids are the kids who were with him?”

B’s mom: “Yes. It seems like these three went to that place.”

Uncle: “I see. You, can you tell us what happened? Where did you go, what did you do, what did you see, as detailed as possible. Can you do it?” I was surprised at him suddenly asking us a question, but me and A were able to soomehow tell the middle aged dude the events of that night.

However, around the part of the toothpicks, he suddenly said “Hey, what the fuck did you just say?” in a very deep and serious tone. We couldn’t understand what was happening and got even more confused.

A: “Y...yes?“

Uncle: “You motherfuckers, you’re not telling me you moved those things!?“

He yelled at us with such energy that I thought he might grab me. Aoi stopped and started to talk in a voice so quiet and weak it was like a mosquito’s cry.

Aoi: “In the center of the box...small stick-like objects should have been placed in a certain shape. Did you touch them? By touching them, did you change the shape even a little bit?“

Me: “Ah, um...we moved them. I think the shape changed too.”

Aoi: “Do you happen to recall who changed the shape that the toothpicks were in? Not who touched it, but who changed the shape.“

Me and A looked at each other, and told her it was B.

Seeing this, the middle aged dude sat back and sighed, and said to B’s mother: Uncle: “Mother, I’m terribly sorry, but I don’t think your son can be helped. I hadn’t heard in this much detail, but if it’s his symptoms another cause might be possible. I didn’t think he’d had moved the sticks.”

B’s mom: “No..this can’t be...”

She probably had more to say, but B’s mother looked away as if she was swallowing her words.

We couldn’t say it, but we felt the same way too. What does it mean that B can’t be helped? What is he talking about?

Even though I wanted to inquire this, my voice wouldn’t come. Seeing the three of us like this, the middle aged dude started talking, sighing along the way. Finally, we were told something about what we had seen.

Its common name is Narijara or Naridara, but in older times it was called Kankanjara or Kankandara. Apparently there’s a lot of names for it depending on the person’s age or familial background.

Currently, the most common name for it is just “Dara”. Special families like the dude’s call it the Kankandara. It’s a story close to myths or legends.

The villagers of a certain village were plagued by a giant man-eating snake. They requested its removal from a shrine maiden’s family who had hereditary various powers as the children of kami. The family accepted the task and sent a particularly powerful shrine maiden to defeat the giant snake.

The shrine maiden earnestly fought the giant snake, as villagers watched from their hiding places. However, the snake got her in a passing moment and ate the bottom half of her body.

Even then, the shrine maiden used various powers to protect the villagers and fought the giant snake with all her might.

However, the villagers saw that she’d lost half her body and decided she would never win. They proposed to the giant snake that they would like the safety of their village in exchange for the shrine maiden’s life, as a human sacrifice. The giant snake was annoyed by how powerful the shrine maiden was, so it accepted. It made the villagers cut off her arms so she was easier to eat, and consumed the shrine maiden who had become like a Daruma. With this, the villagers got a short period of peace.

Later, it becomes clear that someone from the shrine maiden’s house had came up with this plan. At this time, there were 6 people in her family. The changes occurred suddenly.

The giant snake suddenly disappeared, and people started dying one by one in a village that was supposed to not have any more enemies.

They died in the village, in the mountains, in the forest. Everyone who died was missing either their right or left arm.

18 people died, including the 6 members of the shrine maiden’s family.

There were 4 people who survived.

The middle aged dude and Aoi explained it to us in turns.

Uncle: “I don’t know where or when this story’s from, but that box has been moved locations periodically and appeased ritually.

The person managing it changes each time. There’s a bunch of house crest-like symbols on the box, right? Those are the houses that have contributed places for the appeasing until now.

There’s a gathering of people from families like ours who oversee it, and that’s where it’s decided. There are occasionally idiots who volunteer, though.

Anything about the Kankandara is not shared with people who aren’t in charge of it. Locals are just told it has some negative history attached to it, and the managing people give locals someone to contact in case something happens.”

When we tell people, the contacts, people from families like us, are there, so people understand just from that the nature of the negative history. The current contact isn’t us, but since it’s an emergency we were contacted yesterday.“

Apparently, B’s mother had called somewhere else the day before yesterday, and whoever she talked to took B here and entrusted him to these guys after talking.

B’s mother had already called there while we were in the forest, and had heard some of the details.

Aoi: “Usually, the Kankandara is moved among mountain or forest locations. I think you saw it, but the 6 trees and 6 ropes represent the villagers, the 6 sticks the shrine maiden’s family, and the 4 jars in the corners represent the 4 survivors.

The shape that the 6 sticks create is that of the shrine maiden.

Why this is how it is dealt with, or even just how the box is set up, from when...including my family, I do not think anyone currently knows any more than what legends say.”

However, the most commonly told theory is that the 4 who survived researched all about how to calm an angered spirit at the shrine maiden’s house, and created a unique format as a result.

The bells on the fence were the only part following the formula, and the chain link and such were put by the current manager.

Uncle: “There are a few people from my family who have exorcised the Kankandara in the past, but all of them died within 2, 3 years. Just suddenly, out of the blue.

The person who caused it almost always doesn’t make it out either. That’s how hard it is.“

Even after hearing all of this, us three were still completely behind. All I could do was just sit there blankly.

However, the situation changed again.

Uncle: “Mother, I think you have an idea of what a dangerous thing the Kankandara is. I said it before, but if he had just not moved the sticks he would have been fine. But I think this time, there’s nothing we can do.“

B’s mom: “Please, is there anything you can do? It’s my fault, I beg of you, please.”

B’s mother didn’t back down.

It wasn’t her fault no matter how you looked at, but she made it her responsibility and lowered her head, asking over and over. She wasn’t crying though, she looked like she had made up her mind somehow.

Uncle: “We also want to do something. But if he moved the sticks and saw that thing...

You guys saw it too, right? You saw the shrine maiden who was eaten by the giant snake. You saw her bottom half, right? And you understood the meaning of that shape?“

”...What?”

Me and A couldn’t understand his words. Bottom half? I thought we only saw her upper half.

A: “Um...lower half? I did see her upper half, but...”

Haring this, the dude and Aoi were visibly surprised.

Uncle: “Hey hey hey, what are you saying? You moved that stick, right? Then you should have seen her bottom half.”

Aoi: “The woman who appeared in front of you didn’t have the bottom half of her body? Then, how many arms did she have?“

A and I checked with each other and answered: “She had 6 arms. 3 on each side, but no bottom half of her body.”

Hearing this, the man leaned forward again, putting the pressure on us and getting real close.

Uncle: “You’re sure? You definitely didn’t see the lower half of her body?“

Me: “Y...yes...“

The man turned to B’s mother again and smiled, saying:

“Mother, we might be able to do something for your son.“

At this, B’s mother and us all held our breaths and paid attention. The man and Aoi explained what he had meant.

Aoi: “There are 2 actions that can cause the priestess to become enraged with you.

What you cannot do is change that shape that represents the priestess. What you cannot see is the priestess who is depicted by that shape.”

Uncle: “In truth, moving the sticks means you’re done for, because that means you have to see her. But somehow, for some reason, you guys didn’t see it. It should be visible to everyone, not just the person who moved the shape, so if you guys haven’t seen it, then B must not have either.“

Me: “What do you mean, we didn’t see it? What we saw...” Aoi: “Of course, it still was the priestess herself. However, it wasn’t the kankandara. She must not have had an intent to take your lives. She appeared not as a kankandara but as a priestess, so that night must have been her having fun.” The priestess and kankandara are the same, but also different, apparently.

Uncle: “If the kankandara didn’t show up, then the thing attacking that kid must be doing it for fun, like Aoi said. If you leave it to us, we will probably be able to do something about it in the long term.“

I felt like the tenseness in the air had suddenly dissipated for the first time.

It was enough to just know that B could be saved, and B’s mother’s face at this time was incredible. It was a smile that showed how much she had worried for B over the past few days and how that anxiety had suddenly got off her shoulders. The man and Aoi saw her reaction and the atmosphere became more relaxed, and suddenly they started acting like normal people.

Uncle: “We’ll take that kid in officially. Mom, we’ll explain things later. You two should be purified/exorcised by Aoi and then go home. Try not to be too reckless from now on.“

After this we talked a little bit about stuff related to B. His mom stayed and we got purified and went home.

I don’t know what they did since their family had a tradition where we couldn’t meet B. I don’t know if he was treated as having switched schools or was still in the school system, but I haven’t seen him since then. Apparently he hasn’t died or anything; he completely recovered and is living normally somewhere.

By the way, B’s father never showed his face once throughout the whole ordeal. I don’t know what he is thinking.

Me and A calmed down pretty fast.

There were a lot of reasons, but the biggest was B’s mother’s appearance. There’s a bit of an epilogue. Things were probably the hardest for her.

I felt like I was forced to think about what being a mother is like. And after this, both my and A’s parents started to interact with us bit by bit.

All of this combined, and we stopped doing dumb shit naturally.

In terms of other stuff we were able to figure out, the priestesses who convened on specific days were from the families who gave us advice.

Even though the Kankandara was already seen as dangerous, it is considered something close to kami. A giant snake was the kami of the mountains or the forest, so once a year they dance sacred kagura and offer norito prayers.

Also, we heard sounds after we went into the forest because the Kankandara is basically like, kept in a cage. The hexagon and box thing are like seals for it, so if we hadn’t moved the sticks or changed the hexagon, it would’n’t have shown itself. The place where it is appeased is decided by specific numbers defining the area within a limited part of the mountain and forest. Generally, it can’t leave that area, but if it’s surrounded by a fence, then it can crawl around on the outside of the fence like we saw.

This is all we found out. Apparently it’s been moved from where we live. I don’t ever want to go back there again so I haven’t checked, but after almost a year passed from what happened, people came to remove the fence, so it’s probably somewhere else now.

[sirenalpha]

I’m still thinking about the atla dororo au

the manga was about the same level of goofiness as atla even if it did actually have them kill people and showed blood

but the anime works much better for matching the war torn world setting and Azula is a much better fit with anime Tahomaru and also for the more politics heavy atla fics I’ve been writing anyways

I also think it would be interesting because Zuko unlike Hyakkimaru probably would be the kind of person to actually consider if he wanted to stop getting his body back if it meant some people could live better lives

the problem is more fitting some of the other characters

Ursa and Nui no Kata are basically opposites when it comes to how they treat their eldest son

Iroh basically has the analogous role to Jukai and they work well as parallels in terms of their past and being mentors except for the part where I can’t see Iroh making prosthetics as his atonement or being able to keep Zuko when Ozai’s supposed to think he’s dead and if he found out would try to kill him

do I make Piandao Jukai??? he at least makes things even if it’s just swords, but then what do I do with Iroh

Do I make Toph the old blind monk guy who has super special seeing powers when Toph is blind with super special seeing powers or do I make Aang the monk because he’s a monk and because the monk is kinda the voice of morality/angel on Hyakkimaru’s shoulder in the anime

Toph could work for Dororo best in terms of her relationship to Zuko, she’s not quite as chatty as Dororo but the brashness is the same and Toph’s the one to pull all the scamming which also works in her favor as well as her parents’ protectiveness though it is not the same as Dororo’s parents’ protectiveness, but Dororo having sight kind of matters for describing things Hyakkimaru can’t see so like I guess Aang could fill in for Dororo with the chattiness except he really doesn’t have the same relationship to Zuko because Zuko is his teacher

at least I know for sure Aang and Toph can fit into this

Katara is NOT going to be Mio and is not a personality match anyways and I have no clue for Sokka and Suki

I mean I could just have them be people picked up along the way more like atla than Dororo but that kind of doesn’t really work with Dororo the other characters they come across are very one off and usually die which is definitely a part of the tone in the anime you need people to die if you want the world to actually seem bad and war torn, but also even though it’s less emphasized in the anime no one joins them long term because they’re outcasts and considered bad or monstrous and you kinda lose that a little bit if you grow the cast too big so do I just cut characters out?

I just think it would be good if I could get the logistics to work

[uminohotaru]

Dororo 23: I'm done

I can't fucking take it anymore I'm a weeping mess rn

I was ready for my child Taho to die in this ep BUT NOOO HE MUST LOSE EVERYTHING FIRST, HE MUST SUFFER AND SEE HIS LAND DESTROYED AND TURN INTO A LITERAL DEMON JUST BECAUSE HE WANTED TO FUCKING PROTECT PEOPLE

I was kinda hoping for a non-trivial final but nope, we are totally getting Hyakki selfishly killing and cutting limbs in hundreds justified, have a happy ending with Dororo and establish a new domain of justice and democracy with those money, while Taho who killed how many people? zero? and who went against his principles only to protect people and get nothing for himself pay for everything he never even did. Oh fuck. I'm so frustrated i can't even formulate coherently. And mother, wtf?? How can you stay there and calmly chat while your sons are violently trying to chop each other?? "I can't do anything" HAVE YOU FUCKING TRIED

That fight in the end was epic. 👏👏👏

I can't cheer for Hyakki anymore and don't even argue with me about that, i get that he wants his body, i get that dealing with demons are wrong, but i just can't cheer for a character who is driven by selfish reasons against a character whose motivation is to protect his land and people.

Also, what Jukai is going to do? What is it he carved?

[x0401x]

Did you like Dororo’s ending ? I didn’t understand why did Jukai have to die. Also why is Hyakkimaru suddenly acting like a Sasuke when episodes ago he was like “I need to be with Dororo and that’s that on that”

I did, actually. I was hoping that MAPPA would go with a different ending where Dororo would use her money to save the people and Hyakkimaru would have his own rice fields one day.

Honestly, I also didn’t understand why he died like that. The treatment Jukai’s character got was the only thing that I liked better in the manga than in the anime.

I don’t think Hyakkimaru did a Sasuke on us. The country was in shambles because of him, so it’s not a surprise that he left. Also, rather than needing to be with Dororo, he needed someone to call family. He and Dororo will be sworn siblings no matter how far apart they are, and it’s implied that they meet again in the future, so that’s enough for me. :>

I mean, come on. It was much better than having Hyakkimaru leave for perhaps forever and only fully regain his body 50 years later like in the manga’s ending.

[one-hell-of-otaku-is-here]

My first words addressed to Dororo characters:

Dororo: baby must protect

Hyakkimaru: baby #2 must protect

Tahomaru: trash baby- he cares but not for #2- mixed feelings

Daigo: just die with your demons and pride since you love them so much

Jukai: And best dad award goes to

Mio: *ugly crying* she deserved her field

Hyakki's mother: i feel so sorry for you (so her name is actually Nui no kata and I do not remember ever mentioned)

Dororo's parents: you did well guys *another ugly crying*

Biwamaru (thats that old man ikr i forgot his name too): you wise you ok dude (and he has some time travel powers or whatever since he appares often in Osamu Tezuka's works)

Itachi: from bad to not so bad only to be slighly neutral only to end up not so bad

And to all antagonists consisting mainly of demons: f**k

I have not included minor neutral characters as we onky seen them like once so I am kunxa neurral about them

I am also lazy googling their names lmao

[cultho]

Dororo Epilogue/Post-ending Standalone episode

*WARNING: SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD!!*

So I watched the ending and I had a lot of feelings about it, and I came up with a few ideas for a standalone post-episode to explore some concepts I would like to see from the show. Fyi, the pronouns I use for Dororo vary by situation, with a preference for he/him (my headcanon is Dororo is pretty genderfluid!).

About a year after Hyakkimaru went to find himself, aka end of the series (but before the timeskip where Dororo’s hair is long), the episode opens with opens with Hyakkimaru, feeling more at peace with himself, returning to the village Dororo was developing via dad's Harry Potter level of inheritance.

Dororo, who now basically rules this village despite being a literal 9 year old, hears word from his fellow villagers that a wandering stranger with a sword was spotted helping one of the rice farmers because their horse got caught in a ditch (or anything else of that nature). Of course, Dororo immediately comes running, and barrels straight into Hyakkimaru for the sibling reunion hug we deserve.

Then Dororo punches Hyakki on the arm and gives him a hard time for leaving for a whole year without even a ‘goodbye,’ asks 'So what made you decide to come back after a whole year, huh, punk?’

In response, Hyakki pulls out a small, worn, pouch and Dororo says 'woah - Mio’s rice seeds? I thought you would’ve planted them by now already.’

With a little smile, Hyakki goes 'I thought about doing that, but then I remembered you were close with her too, so you have as much of a right to these seeds… so I decided to wait until we could plant them together.’ 

The rest follows as one expects it to -  Dororo teases him for becoming an even bigger softie, and they set off back to the village to grab some farm tools who Hyakki the place, as the camera pans up until the brilliant blue sky fills the frame. That chapter of their lives ends the same way it began, with Hyakkimaru and Dororo - the latter chatting up a storm while the former quietly appreciates - side by side, wandering where they must. 

Then the camera pans back down, and where before there was bare paddy, the field is now golden and thriving (same as it was in the show's ending). After a half decade timeskip, Dororo is 15-16 to Hyakki’s 21-22, and the rest of the episode follows them dealing with a demon terrorizing their village, who turns out to be Daigo’s butthurt evil spirit. I don’t have a specific plot, but here are concepts that I’d love to see explored.

First, Grown up badass Dororo running her town, being like her own Alexander Hamilton, except not only does this Alexander Hamilton know finances, how to run a sovereign state, how to outsmart any opponent, rouse even the most downtrodden souls to action with just a few words, she also kicks major butt from training with her big bro. Shoutout to that one post that inspired the idea that her dad's Big Boy genes kicked in during puberty so she’s actually like... as tall as Hyakki. Maybe even an inch taller. She says to anyone who asks that her bro can 'die mad about it’ but they both know that he’s just happy she grew up big and strong. 

She totally runs the town and everyone adores/massively respects her; her city takes in the refugees, the poor, the women and children, the diseased, etc, because, in her words, screw samurai and screw their wars. They absorbed Daigo’a old land after offering food, shelter, and jobs to the survivors, thus their town became a pretty respectably sized settlement.

Now, the key to all this - since they don't want to rely on samurai for their power - is the money, right? So Dororo’s power is her knowledge of the treasures secret location (and all the other badass things about her, but I digress). Imagine at some point a small gang of newer villaghers got the bright idea to try and stalk her during one of her mysterious night trips out (she calls them a way to satisfy her wanderlust, but they’re a cover for her sailing to the treasure's location to grab some cash), and they only get as far as spying her enter the docks before their plan goes to heck when they get accosted by Dororo's more loyal villagers who saw them sneaking. ‘Oh sh*t,’ they’re thinking, Dororo sauntering over to them, ‘Oh sh*t, shes got a big sword, oh man oh sh*t this is the end for me - '

But Dororo’s been there before, at the end of her rope and desperate for any edge to survive, she understands how these guys think, and if there’s one thing she’s stubborn to death about it’s that she does NOT run her town like the samurai. Instead, she talks them out of their misdoing and helps them find an honest living, Tales of Ba Sing Se Uncle Iroh style, (except with more volume and verbal threats).

Another concept with Dororo is when Dororo dresses to look like a guy when he and Hyakki take a couple horses and venture into a nearby city (for whatever plot reason), similar to how he did when he was a lot younger.

It’s not fully a secret, but only the older residents of her city know about Dororo’s 'crossdressing' habit, and are accepting of it.

Dororo mentions that while he’s in no way ashamed of presenting female, it often feels more freeing to present male, especially when they're out adventuring - less questions and stares from strangers, etc. Dororo also just likes presenting as male! This way, he identifies with both genders at different times. (It goes without saying Hyakki does his best to use the right pronouns, he never had a strict concept of gender - re: Jukai is the best mom, so it never struck him as odd.)

As for the actual villain of the episode, when she first hears of the Jerk Dad Demon attacking the farms on the outskirts of the village, she only thinks ‘it's just another demon, time to gather the crew and kill this thing-’

It doesn’t go so easily, as the demon’s exceptional strength proves to draw out the confrontation, and it even ends up escaping the first time.

The first to figure it out was Hyakki - he’s most familiar with Daigo’s wrath and the foul creature reeks of the old man. However, everything happened so fast and he sort of… neglected to inform Dororo. When she does find out, they have a short confrontation about it in classic Bickering Siblings Style. It’s understandable that she’s slightly miffed the demonic incarnation of his own awful dad, yes that one, is who they’re fighting and he didn’t bother letting her know.

Hyakki, who, even after a decade of having his voice back, isn't that great at communication/vocalizing his more complex thoughts and working through conflicts with words and thus often comes off as awkward or silently stoic: 'You were busy... and I thought you figured by yourself already?’

Things escalate when the other villagers overhear, and they almost start a riot; angry shouts accusing him of being the reason the demon attacks their settlement from the all the tired men and women, haggard from fending off attacks of not only the demon but also rival bandits and clans who want to take advantage of the city’s time of hardship. Of course, Dororo gets everyone back in lineright before the crowd got to deciding to sacrifice Hyakkimaru, reminding them to focus on the real enemy instead of turning on eachother - but the situation was incredibly bleak. With everyone on edge partially, it was easy to use Hyakki as a scapegoat due to his pacifist tendencies and his stoic nature coming across as almost cowardice.

He taught Dororo how to fight and that's pretty much all the fighting he's done since he came back to plant Mio’s rice, he’s reluctant to pick up the blade again. But the moment a demon shows up he runs off on his own, risking life and limb to confront it head on. Combined with his character’s less than stellar communication skills, it frustrates Dororo in the 'he leaves for a year and doesnt even text me when he's going’ kinda way’ - she's frustrated when he continually refuses to understand that they're family, and at the end of they day theyre kind of all the other has left. So he needs to get it together better and tell her when he’s about to go off and do reckless nonsense. His behavior also presents an interesting dichotomy as Hyakki also struggles with trying to be emotionally detached (lose worldly desires, etc.) and pacifist in the face of attacks from both demon and humans, so he needs to reconcile fighting with the others against attacking clans and risking a redescent into the demon like madness of his teenage years or standing by non violent means of supporting his comrades while facing expectations that he should do more. He wants to atone for his past sins badly and help those who are still living best he can - but how? 

(And also make friends other than literally just Dororo.)

Dororo's arc is about her struggles to do the right thing as a leader - it is a lot, to run a whole city. Recent events have caused more deaths amidst her city than ever before, and moral questions about what to do with captured enemy survivors feed doubt into her mind if one day she’ll turn out as bad as the samurai, and how to continue on after having led people in battles that resulted in their deaths.

P.s. I also entertained the idea of Hyakki’s journey to find himself taking much longer, and so the first time Dororo sees him again ever since he got his eyes back is when she's 20, there's rain pouring from the dark sky as her men are carrying lamps around, accounting for the dead and defeated in a latest skirmish with a small rival band that was trying to access her city the non-peaceful way.

At first her men bring her hyakkimaru, thinking he was with the enemy (he happened to be in the wrong place, wrong time. He simply heard of a group heading to a big place that sounded an awful lot like somewhere he would find Dororo - and followed them).

And from the business end of her sword he's on his knees looking up when she goes 'nah. I know him. This bastard's got hell to answer for, but he's not our enemy.’

Events are more or less the same from there, but filled with way more tension and drama here since Hyakki basically dropped off the face of the earth for 10 ish years and Do’s mad about that because, again, he didn't even say 'bye'. So much has changed, but what hasn't changed is Dororo’s anikki's inability to grasp that if one day he went off without telling her and then died, she would have literally no idea where/when/how that was, she would never know if he was alive or dead, and the idea of living in that limbo would terrify anyone. The story being about them learning to come together again, only at the end do they plant Mio’s rice field together.

I ended up trying to flesh the first idea out more because Do & Hyakki’s relationship is all about the things that don't need to be said; that these two will always be there for the other without needing to be asked. The backbone of their relationship was built up as one that didn’t need explicit affirmation because it was already so ingrained to their characters it would be a disservice to them and a waste of time to contrive an entire plot trying to create unnecessary drama between them.

But then again... drama = satisfying character growth, so perhaps it could go either way! Let me know what you think! 

Thank you for reading all this way :) I also posted second part to this of other thoughts I had while pondering why I felt the need to write a standalone epilogue.

Bonus: these gems I had in the rough draft that unfortunately had to get cut:

“But it’s harder to kill bc jerk dad demon is a jerk”

“Dororo's like 'u mean to tell me ur punk bitch biological male progenitor's demonized soul is attacking our fields??? “

“they take down the big bad dad dude daigo”

“Dororo: - pshffyeahh, ur pissy pissfaced pissbaby dad”

[babblingbranches]

Dororo Finale Thoughts

I am both satisfied and unsatisfied. While I do have more criticisms than compliments, I’m ultimately fine with what I got.

Criticisms first, why the heck did Jukai, Nui, and Tahomaru had to die? Did their deaths serve any purpose? I don’t think so. I can understand Nui and Jukai kicking the bucket since they resolved what troubled them most, but it kinda feels like Tahomaru was killed off before his story was completed. I was getting the impression that they didn’t really know what to do with these characters after the end, so they just killed them off.

Hyakkimaru doing an almost 180 and sparing Tahomaru is a bit weird to me, given that, not even a day ago in-universe, he was leaving a trail of bodies in the wake of his one man charge on Daigo Castle. There’s quite a bit of whiplash from the Hyakkimaru that was chilling out, listening to Dororo’s stories, to the murderous demon Hyakkimaru, to the introspective Hyakkimaru, willing to spare the guy that was trying to kill him. It might’ve worked better if he wasn’t shown going off the deep end, rampaging like Kali going on a blood binge, maybe then, the transition would’ve been a bit smoother.

This one is more my own fault for hyping myself up, but I wanted to see a final battle against the final demon rather than just stabbing a crystal. Bonus points if it had a brother team up between Hyakkimaru and Tahomaru to take it down. I also would’ve liked it if Tahomaru became lord of the land, rebuilding it to it’s former glory, as a way of atoning for believing that the only way to make the land prosper was through sacrificing Hyakkimaru and growing beyond the person Kagematsu is by doing it without bartering with demons. This particular death redemption rings hollow to me.

Speaking of, I think the downfall of Daigo was handled better this way, than if he had just been killed off unceremoniously. He lost everything while the world moves on without him.

Also, as much as I like seeing the intrepid duo together, I find it fitting that they split up for a while. Like Biwamaru said (which side note: His name is actually Biwamaru? Seriously?), Hyakkimaru killed a lot of people the past day. That’s not gonna go away while he goes and lives the idyllic farm life with his little buddy. It’s fitting that he goes on his journey on his own and discover himself for a bit as a human. Though, a bit of a mixed message considering how often it was emphasized that Dororo would always stick by his side, even Nui no Kata mentioning this right before her death, but it was heavily implied that they would reunite in the future.

And finally, they actually did something with the money Dororo’s father hid that went all kinds of nowhere in the manga.

[1apple-fox1]

Demon!Hyakkimaru AU- Final Redux and knuckles

its time!! I didn’t really announce it but i paused my own au to find out the ending of the anime as i wanted to know where the show was going and how it ended before writing my own thing- want my AU to be as close to the source material and as canon as i can!

SO UH HEADS UP ITS GOING TO BE A LOT OF READING-also excuse grammar- i suck at organizing my thoughts forgive me

whats it about: the back story and the episodes are played out in mostly the same way, its established in the anime that because of the deal Hyakkimaru has the potential to become a demon. this au is basically “if that actually happened and there was nothing dororo could do about it”. his soul becoming more and more red until he really is no longer human.

Are you serious? So another monster boy AU?

YO BUT LISTEN!! it is shown time and time again in the anime that any human has the potential to be a demon either coming back as one after death (Okaka), fusing(Saburota and the Nue, and low key Mutsu/Hyogo/Tahoumaru), or just being a real fucked up dude (Or dating?? Sabame is a weird case-) so this is as CANON as it GETS!! (maybe he wouldn’t have been a bird but.... shut up let me live)

So... What happens?

The Mio incident is the turning point, the rage and utter hatred he feels toward humanity is enough to begin the downward spiral to demon hood, though he doesn’t become a full one right away he did transform into the bird form- in said form if he’s still missing a limb, that limb in the bird form is covered in a blue fire (like the intro lol) Dororo is able to calm him down and he regains a human form.... but now its not a matter of ‘if he can become a demon’ its ‘is it possible to reverse this’ as well as- how much of a danger is Hyakkimaru now?

How they travel from here on out differs some what but not much and they still end up hitting most of the same story beats the anime does (the meeting with jukai doesnt go as well- the man blames himself for hyakkis condition- im gonna have to think about this in more detail but yeah.) with them collecting body parts and hoping that fixes something.

Spoiler: It Does Not-

They find out with time the bird thing happens when hes angery- and as long as he doesnt transform into that he doesnt have a craving or a need to eat humans or other demon things.

Bannmon goes horribly and hyakki comes out deeply hecked up emotionally- tahoumaru almost loses a leg, but dororo and nui end up stopping him before shit hits the fan- and after that dororo decides to avoid towns for hyakkimarus sake, he seems more dangerous than ever…

But dororo is a growing boy who needs food so they cant avoid towns forever and the maimai-onba thing goes down- except sabame and onba try to encourage him to eat as well (he doesnt but- angst ok?) he also goes bird again to defeat maimai so theres a giant demon fight

Skip to the end and heres the difference: after hyakki defeats Asura and escapes with Dororo- Tahoumaru, Nui, and Jukai die…. But Tahoumaru, having been tainted by asura is born again as a demon.

His predicament is a little different than hyakki’s and therefore he would be perpetually stuck in a monster like form (i havent drawn this out yet but think but scar riddled hyena with fire powers cause- well… you know….) and the scene with hyakki and daigo is interrupted by tahoumaru and he ends up being the one to kill that fucker (because he deserves it and if hyakki aint gonna do it that tahoumaru will so help me god) 

An endgame? Not all demons r bad???

basically after some brother talks and a lil bit of fighting they make up-- and also inadvertently become the protector of dororos new village- BECAUSE NOT ALL DEMONS ARE BAD EXAMPLE SPIDER LADY-

Other things of note

-mutsu and hyogo are also afected my asura- im not exactly set on which battle- but one of the battles they have with hyakki they become kinda sorta demons- based on two types of japanese dogs (mutsu is an akita- hyogo is a Tosa) sooner or later they become protectors of the burnt down daigo domain (ruthless but otherwise loyal to tahoumaru)

-DORORO IDENTIFIES AS A BOY IN THIS SORRY and also after making the trip back to the treasure with hyakki establish a pretty fine town- dororos kind nature also invites non lethal demons into the town (spider lady and her bf are there) and they are able to live on together pretty well (not to say without conflict entirely tho)

-tahoumaru and hyakki demon brother bonding is a thing and You Cannot Stop Me

There are other things i could write but i like getting asks and getting input from others so thats all ill write about it for now- uhh thanks for reading my sloppy notes!!

[threefeline]

Dororo Ep 24

It wasn’t perfect! But I feel like it was... An okay wrap up to the series, considering how the manga ended. Sad about Jukai, Nui and Tahomaru though. I really feel like they should have done more with those 3, and I wish Hyakkimaru could have lived with them if they escaped the fire :’/ Idk it just feels.... Kinda dumb to me that they were all so willing to die. 

Hyakkimaru’s reaction to seeing Dororo’s face for the first time was really adorable tbh, I’m glad that MAPPA didn’t do anything shippy with them LMFAO

also yes I am upset about the Last Scene(TM) but honestly I’m not surprised! I figured from the beginning that they weren’t gonna do anything with the trans aspect of it and yeah it’s super disappointing, but it’s not gonna change the fact that he loudly announces that he was a boy in the manga, and goes by being a boy in the first part in the series.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Also anyone who was forcibly calling him a girl in the beginning can still choke on my foot lmao

I really wish we could have gotten more of an epilogue, an episode 25 explaining what happened during the years that the siblings were apart, what Dororo did with the money and what Hyakkimaru was doing. There were a lot of loose ends. And it sucks that we never got to see him remembering Mio or anything like t------ WAIT THOSE WERE THE SEEDS SHE GOT!!!!!!!!!! OKAY!!!! THE RICE FIELDS!!!!! ALRIGHT ALRIGHT OKAY 

anyway. Decent, not perfect, and yes i am one of Those People(TM) upset by the whole gender thing blah blah 

[marimostar]

Dororo Au Idea:

What if, instead of letting baby Hyakkimaru drown in the river, Daigo listened to his wife’s request, and let Nui No Kata hold him until he dies?

*This is all based on the concept that Daigo is a kinder man and Nui No Kata could move past her grief.

Except, he doesn’t die. Because he has such a strong will to survive, he manages to survive the first night and the next night. And for some reason, Daigo allows Nui No Kata to raise Hyakkimaru.

Hyakkimaru would have such a different life, where instead of being cast as the demon child, a cursed existence, he would be a martyr, a hero. He would be pampered beyond belief, servants waiting on him constantly, and guards constantly on watch.

Because Hyakkimaru is still a target. The demons still attack him, because after all, Hyakkimaru wasn’t supposed to survive the first night. It was the lute player priest who saved him the first time, and this time around, Daigo was the one who struck the first demon down.

And this is how Daigo knows that you can never trust a deal with demons. He knows that they will betray him at some point, so he raises both sons to be strong warriors. As toddlers they might have guards, but all too soon, they are trained in the sword and has slaughtered more monsters than anyone by the age of 10.

None of the outside world knows of this, because the last thing you want are potential allies and enemies knowing that you signed a deal with demons and that you have sons that are the target of monsters. Neither do the common people know this, because it would all be too easy for Hyakkimaru to be painted as a demon child, cause of all disaster and calamity. (Like can you imagine, walking to the market, and hear monster screams, like, oh, there we go, monster attack #13? No, the drama that would ensue, the court politics to stop the monster attacks, it is better to have a different story.)

Rather the common people hear that Nui No Kata has poor health and is resting in the country side, raising her two sons in peace, away from the court politics. Here only the most trusted and strongest servants watch over them, waiting for the demons to break their deal.

That occurs when Hyakkimaru turns 16, where Daigo dies on his birthday. Oh, they say that it was an accident, that it was bizarre, that Daigo dies on a hunting trip, but the family knows the truth. Figures out that it was demon Nokosaregumo, in how his retainers report that the sun was bright and the sky was clear before a sudden black cloud came and Daigo was zipped away, his horse only remaining.

Nui No Kata returns to the court palace, reigning as the new lord. They have been preparing for this day for years, and while she grieves her husband, she was ready, because she always knew that there was a price to be paid. She handles all court affairs and is ready for the beginning of the disasters that will fall upon her land.

Meanwhile, her two sons are beginning their journey across the lands, reclaiming back Hyakkimaru’s parts and slaying demons. Their identities are hidden as well as possible, because Nui No Kata really does not need neighboring lands to attempt to assassinate her sons at this point. They are accompanied by Mutsu and Hyogo, the two most trusted retainers.

And if they later pick up a cunning but kind child thief? Well, that’s just how life works, and Tahomaru is always welcoming people who can make his brother smile.

What about Jukai? Well, let’s be honest here, Hyakkimaru needs the best prosthetic doctor there is and that is Jukai. And well, if he hangs about their country home a little more than necessary to watch over the two boys, Nui No Kata has no disagreements there. (Because let’s face it, I did enough finagling to even get this to happen, I can’t also make Daigo a good father figure)

But yeah, have this alternate plot bunny instead, because while watching episode 12, it’s like, okay, if you can’t have Hyakkimaru killing demons and getting back his body, at the very least, you could have set it up so he lived a life of luxury instead of deciding to kill him??? So instead, have this, where the brothers can be brothers and Nui No Kata can be a doting mother to both sons, and after defeating all of the demons of the land and bringing peace and prosperity, we can imagine Lord Hyakkimaru of the Sekai Clan.

There would be countless years of peace, as who wants to mess with the man who had his ears, nose, limbs, and even his very skin taken by demons as a newborn but still had the overwhelming desire to live and survive? Who overcame all and defeated those very demons to reclaim his right to live? Who now reigns as Lord?

Like you might think that Hyakkimaru would be inadequate for court politics, but since he was raised by royalty, he would know how to write and read (ish), and he of course has his brother Tohamaru and his loyal retainers to watch his back. We’re set; we’re good. Ishikawa the land basically has years of unprecedented peace. 

[abandonedinthesouth]

Japan's SUICIDE FOREST

At the entrance of the forest, a sign reminds visitors that "life is a precious gift" from their parents.

"Quietly think once more about your parents, siblings or children," the sign says in Japanese. "Please don't suffer alone, and first reach out."

Aokigahara’s reputation as a place of death goes back hundreds of years, as the forest was often associated with legends of Yūrei, aka ghosts of Japanese mythology. According to legend, the spirits of those who were lost or left to die haunt the forest.

The area’s modern association with suicide goes back to the publication of Seichō Matsumoto’s 1960 novel Kuroi Jukai (translated to The Sea of Trees), which featured a pair of young lovers taking their lives in the forest. In the decades since, hundreds of Japanese have killed themselves in the area, drug overdoses and hanging accounting for a majority of the deaths. The area is strewn with the clothing and belongs of those who’ve gone in, never to return.

While exact statistics are hard to come by due to the authority’s sweeping the forest for bodies only once a year, the most recent released numbers – from 2010 – show in that year over 200 people attempted suicide in the Aokigahara Forest, with 54 succeeding.

A Story....

A girl whom was very miserable with her life 23 years old her mother smoked drank did drugs brought random guys home off the street. Her father beat and verbally and physically abuse the girl he left thinking her mother would take care of her and herself he left in the middle of the night without saying goodbye. He left because he thought he wasn't good enough he later killed himself because of his doings to the girl his only daughter. The girl wasn't schooled she dropped out of high school she didn't really pay attention anyway and dropped out due to the bullies had been raped,beaten,moulted,bullied badly,drug addict,cutter. She would do anything for that little piece of metal that made big cuts and scars even if that meant selling her body to anyone for money for pencil sharper and drugs. One day she got tired of her worthless life and planned her suicude she would go to the nearest forest and make a noose of barbed wire and rope. Write a letter and fold it up and using a safety pin pining it to her wrist carefully doing something to her wrist for the blood not to get all over the note. Then grabbing the scissors out of her pocket while the noose is around her skinny pale neck rubbing against her scarred skin before jumping she was cutting something in her face using the blood to wash down the pills she overdosed on. Waiting about 30mins thinking how happy she would be after taking the pills she jumped...as the metal points piercing her neck blood flows down her skin and bones her body she saw a boi across the river and he looked back in fear he cries uncontrollably they have never met before but some how he screams her name and runs and climbs the tree to get her down. Still crying he says "why? Why? I love you.. Just why?" He got her just in time but she was still bleed out and had still overdosed. He didn't get up though so he took her to the nearest hospital. One few days later he visited her and brought her flowers red roses. The doctor came to talk with him and told him "I'm glad you brought her here she would have die if you hadn't". Feeling proud of with he did he was still upset that she wanted to that to herself. He went in her room at her house. He looked at pictures the nicnacs she had Pon & Zi plushies and the one picture she had of her childhood. Of her sitting next to a river of the forest he took the picture and looked alittle bit more he found a box under her broken bed her pillow was covered in black makeup from crying herself to sleep everynight. But in the box was a teddy bear she had forgotten about and hadn't seen in years all tore and sewn up he took that too and left. He went back to the hospital lied the teddy beside her with the picture when she woke she asked "where am I and why is this picture of me here and this bea-" she stopped in shock she was so sure the bear was throw in the river in the picture. "Where did you get this?" He replied "under your bed". She asked "you know where I live?" "Yes I live right beside you. I have for years I used watch you come home getting off the bus always crying but you stopped coming to school and also you're so beautiful why did you cut a smile ear to ear in your beautiful face? it's all sewn up now but it's gonna left a scar" she sat up and she replied "because I wanted to smile for once and forever because I have never had a reason to smile" he smiled "well, now you do". Confused she started to ask "why wou-" surprised she smiled. He kissed her they dated for a few years and he propose "will you marry me with beautiful smile?" She said "*smiled* yes" later after they were married she stopped drugs cutting everything she stopped and later they had twins one boi and one girl she loved them more than anything and she lived happily ever after smiling :)

[ortensia-mizu-seiryuu]

To Tahomaru’s haters

Dear all,

I just want to spend some words about Dororo, putting the main focus on my favorite character of the show: Tahomaru.

Obviously this post will contain spoilers, so you are invited to proceed only if you have already watched the end of the show.

It wouldn’t be necessary if I hadn’t read a lot of unpleasant bullshit on his Wikia and mostly here, on Tumblr.

That said, I think I can start to explain why I dislike (like a lot) all the people who are saying that he, Mutsu and Hyogo deserved death, all the people who are saying without any shame that his death was really nice to watch.

Tahomaru’s pain was clear since the beginning: his mother spent all the time praying and muttering “Bōya” while watching the empty space in front of her; she never considered Tahomaru’s presence and this behavior of her created a young frustrated and loveless boy seeking for any sort of acceptance. It was because of this need of acceptance that Tahomaru decided to join his father and fight against Hyakkimaru, even though he immediately demonstrated his distaste to his parents after knowing about is elder brother’s sacrifice.

He spent his little life (don’t forget that he’s only 15, please) seeking acceptance. Let’s also consider that teenagers are usually more impulsive and are easily manipulated by their feelings without realizing it: that said, you can only imagine how someone who has been ignored by his mother during his whole childhood could be affected by this unpleasant life. He decided to save Daigo rather than help Hyakkimaru to get all his body’s parts back only because he was sure it was the right thing to do, because he was hoping to get a better consideration at least from his father.

But in the end, after his duel with Hyakkimaru, we can see again his real personality, that fragile boy who just wanted to be loved, who was horrified to know his father’s ruthless action, a sensitive and sympathetic person.

But you’re saying he’s just a bad person and he deserved to die since he followed his father’s path for a certain time. Someone said it was pleasing to see him dying or to see him suffering because of Mutsu and Hyogo’s deaths, probably the only two who made him feel loved.

Honestly, I can’t understand how someone could enjoy seeing a character who was dealing with pain and trauma for his whole life dying basically due to that same trauma. The only two who had a highly consideration of him died, then he was left through the flames without any shelter, alone, unwanted and unloved again by Nui. Nui goes to embrace him just to ask him to forgive her, promising she will be forever with him, but basically this is just because they’re about to die, otherwise it’s obvious she would have preferred to go with Hyakkimaru, keeping to ignore Tahomaru like all this crap was his fault.

Nui also precluded the possibility to save both Tahomaru and Hyakkimaru just to embrace the latter for… well, a really long time considering there was a fire spreading. Since there was also Jukai with them, it would be very easy to save Tahomaru as well, but they just decided to ignore him in order to embrace Hyakkimaru, talk to him and save him (this is the reason why I consider BOTH Kagemitsu and Nui negative characters).

What’s the requirement to define Tahomaru an antagonist? Is it just because he’s the protagonist’s opponent? He had a good reason to fight against Hyakkimaru, just like Hyakkimaru had a good reason to fight him. Probably it happened to you too to support a banner rather than another one and to found yourselves against another person, but this doesn’t necessarily entail a dichotomy good/bad.

We’re used to always have an antagonist, to define “bad” the one who’s opposing the protagonist, and usually we all root for the protagonist just because we see the whole story from his perspective.

Well, let’s swap the perspective: Tahomaru is Daigo’s heir, always refused by his mother without knowing why. We can see part of his childhood: his father yelling at him because of his rigid temper and his mother always ignoring him, never playing with him, never caressing him, never consider his kind gestures and smiles towards her. Wishing to find his place in this world, to do the best for his land in order to be finally appreciated, he decides do protect Daigo’s people from his recently discovered elder brother, the truly heir of the land, a bloodthirsty warrior who is returned to Daigo in order to get his body back. During the battle, Hyakkimaru kills Mutsu and Hyogo, Tahomaru’s subordinates, but also his best friends, the ones who filled at least a little bit the big void left by his mother’s indifference. So he loose the ones who love him and he suffered a lot about it. Moreover, if Hyakkimaru will accomplish his goal, the land will be destroyed and Tahomaru will loose his only opportunity to find acceptance, defeating that trauma that’s haunting him for ages.

In this case most of you would probably rooting for Tahomaru, defining Hyakkimaru as the antagonist and enjoying his eventual death despite the fact he had a good reason to return to Daigo.

Summing up: it is a question of perspective and people who are refusing to consider more than one: they are bounded to the protagonist’s point of view, so all the people who opposing him must die and apparently it would be better if they live and die suffering a lot.

I understand if you don’t like a particular character, it’s totally okay to like a character rather than another one, but, please, don’t say it was pleasant or funny to watch him dying. If you don’t like him it’s okay, but you can’t deny he had a good reason to fight Hyakkimaru, that he was a good person… actually he was too good if we consider how sad his short life was. He didn’t deserve to be treated like this, nor to die, especially because he was regretting his actions and showing comprehension towards Hyakkimaru, which is a great sign of wisdom, a typical trait for a good ruler.

I’m serious: surely you can hate him, surely you can decide to root just for Hyakkimaru because his life was extremely painful, but you can’t define Tahomaru just bad as his father and laugh at his death. Who loves him just say that he didn’t deserve to die, without attacking Hyakkimaru who /obviously/ had all the reasons to do all the things he did; a lot of the people rooting for Hyakkimaru are making fun of Tahomaru’s fans, saying both him and his subordinates deserved death. Why, guys? Why you can’t just attempt to understand his point of view? Why you rooted for the “good” if you are enjoying the death of a person who suffered for his whole life? Doesn’t make you bad? Dull? And yet you define him as the antagonist…

[winterune]

If you take a toy from a baby, it’ll get mad and take it back. Same as that. Especially since what they took from him is his own body. He’s calm when he’s listening to that song–the demon flames Hyakkimaru has had since he was a baby. You could say they’re the embers left from when they took his body. You better hope the beast that comes out of the cave isn’t a monster.

– Biwahoushi

So, on a previous post, I tried analyzing this line separately: how Hyakkimaru is still like a baby whose toy was taken from him, in which case was his body by the demons and Mio by the samurai, and so, with no control over his emotions and his self, he got mad and tried to take it back by doing the only thing he knew how to do, which is to kill. A normal baby would probably just throw a tantrum, but Hyakkimaru, though still like a baby emotionally, in the physical sense he was not. It wasn’t just your average blind rage killing spree. It wasn’t just him losing himself in the moment. Sure, there was a crushing feeling in his heart and he did lose himself in his emotions, but whereas a normal baby would just throw tantrums, Hyakkimaru’s tantrum, being someone who could wield a blade, was in the form of killing the beings or people who took things from him. 

The monster was unleashed, as Biwahoushi feared. 

Now, however, I would like to look at it from a different perspective. Probably nothing new to add, but I’d like to see what Biwahoushi said as a whole. 

Every time Biwahoushi looked at him, from the first time he saw him, there was always those red flames around Hyakkimaru’s soul. They are demon flames left from the curse. Biwahoushi had almost killed him back then, but realized that he was nothing more than a baby under a curse, so decided to let him live. 16 years later, Biwahoushi meets Hyakkimaru again and Hyakkimaru was still tainted by those red flames. As someone who can now kill, Biwahoushi feared when Hyakkimaru would lose control. 

He’s calm when he’s listening to that song.

If you follow that scene closely, you’ll realize that when Hyakkimaru was listening to Mio’s song, the flames dissipates. So, I believe that those red flames, other than a symbol of the demon’s curse, also symbolizes the hostility inside Hyakkimaru. 

If you take a toy from a baby, it’ll get mad and take it back. Especially since what they took from him is his own body.

I can only imagine how much frustration Hyakkimaru has held inside him for 16 years. A baby who has almost his entire body and organs taken from him. He may not know what he had lost at first, might have gotten by without thinking about it, but the moment the first demon was killed and he got something back, he realized that he wasn’t complete. That he probably had something that was stolen unjustly from him. And ever since Jukai taught him how to hold a sword, the only thing he wanted was to get back all the things he had lost by killing demons and monsters right and left. 

Hyakkimaru’s mental state, feelings, and inner voice are things I have been intrigued with since I start thinking what it feels like to live like him. Someone who couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, couldn’t speak; someone who didn’t have a body of his own but is alive nonetheless. Does he have an inner voice? What does he feel as he lived like that for years? Living but not entirely living. He has only known darkness, with the frequent colors of other beings’ souls passing him by. What does the concept of being alive mean to him? Does he know that he’s alive? Does he have a concept of “being here”? Does he feel anger, or sadness, or frustration? Does he feel anything at all? 

He seems so eager to kill every demon he meets, no matter what it does to his body. Of course, that was probably because he has only just regained his sense of pain. But still, even when he’s known how painful it is to have your body slashed, stabbed, or even ripped apart, it doesn’t stop him from marching off to the demon once he’s gotten a better grasp of his pain. 

Just like a baby whose toy was taken away, Hyakkimaru is throwing tantrums so the demons would give his body back. The red flames are probably the only indication that he feels some sort of restlessness, frustration, and he wants to get his body back as soon as he could. And the only thing that could calm his tantrums is Mio’s singing. When he hears her song, the red flames dissipates. Just like how a mother would sing to her child whenever her child is crying. 

And now, that calming presence is gone in a heart-wrenching way. I can imagine just what losing Mio did to Hyakkimaru. The red flames that had been held at bay whenever Mio was around probably exploded and clouded his mind, resulting in him basically mutilating those soldiers in cold blood (seriously, what Hyakkimaru did was a bit triggering. He didn’t just kill them. He literally cut them to pieces, just like what he’d do to a demon). And now, though everything ended with Dororo having managed to pull his aniki back to his senses, one could only imagine what that experience would do to the both of them. That raging storm probably would not die that easily. The red flames that had managed to quiet down has been brought alive. And Dororo, having seen what Hyakkimaru was capable of, could be on his guard at any moment. Hyakkimaru probably won’t ever hurt Dororo, but still, it is Dororo’s job now to make sure that the beast that comes out of the cave isn’t a monster. 

Well…he got his work cut out for him.