Dororo, set in the Edo period in Japan, is the tale of the boy, Hyakkimaru, who loses most of his limbs due to his father offering him as a sacrifice to demons to attain power. My opinions are of someone who hasn't read the manga so people stating the manga was better is something I can't relate with. If you like the manga so much, stick with the manga. Whenever an anime will try to stray from its beloved source's plot a substantial amount of people will definitely have an understandable issue with it. But for me, this anime did more than enough for me to fall head over heels for it. And I ask you to view it for what it is, instead of what you expected it to be.

Characters:

Dororo's main cast is filled with fleshed out three dimensional characters that you won't feel only one way about. There are no 'love them or hate them' characters here. It challenges you and makes you think about who's right and who's wrong. Through the characters, the story presents a question of what it means to be on the right path. Should you follow the way of Buddha and live a life where you give everything up? Or should you seek power and risk becoming a demon? Will you conquer pain by going against what makes you suffer? Or should you let go? Or as most people do, live a life fighting these two sides and try to achieve a balance for the rest of your life while running a risk of being devoured by pain? One of the main characters has an answer for the last question: if you have heart then you can win against your demons. What the show does brilliantly is not state which path is the right one. It rather leaves it up to the viewer to decide as it shows Daigo following the path of strength, Biwamaru follow the path of Buddha and Dororo follow the path of balance between two extremes, as the show put it. Honestly the characters are the best part of the anime and what makes me feel hollow as being someone who has finished the show and can't follow his beloved characters on their journey.

Story:

This is the most refreshing aspect of the anime. The story of Dororo is a beautiful one that sets itself apart in the world of anime and doesn't disappoint throughout it's 24 episodes. Each episode feels necessary and acts as limbs to help support the series as it takes us on a journey that ends as it starts, amazingly. But here is the only slightly negative thing that I can say about the show: some aspects of it feel a bit rushed that i feel should have been given a little more time and detail. One thing that sticks out is the realization that Tahomaru comes to in the last fight between him and Hyakkimaru before he gives back Hyakkimaru's eyes. But that's just nitpicking as i fully understand the sacrifice the writers had to make to fit the runtime.

Animation:

Dororo has a beautiful and unique visual tone to it from start to finish and the fight scenes were detailed, thought-out and thrilling. The whole show felt seamless and fluid in terms of quality. The characters designs were very different from the manga to fit the times but I think they did a great job. Also, loved the homage to the original manga that this anime is based on in the second opening which i loved immensely.

Overall, I think this is a masterpiece which has become one of my favorites of all time. I may be speaking too early but that's just how i feel. It brilliantly showed just the perfect story with just the perfect characters to make me cherish it as much as i do my other favorites.