Dorohedoro (ドロヘドロ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Q Hayashida. It was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazines Monthly Ikki (November 2000 to September 2014), Hibana (March 2015 to August 2017), and Monthly Shōnen Sunday (November 2017 to September 2018); its chapters were collected in 23 tankōbon volumes. Dorohedoro tells the story of the amnesiac reptilian-headed Caiman, working together with his friend Nikaido to recover his memories and survive in a strange and violent world.
In North America, the series has been licensed for English-language release by Viz Media in 2009, which began distributing the manga digitally when it launched SigIKKI, the now defunct online English version of Ikki magazine. The 23 volumes were published from 2010 to 2019.
A 12-episode anime television series adaptation produced by MAPPA was broadcast in Japan on Tokyo MX from January to March 2020. It was followed by a worldwide streaming release on Netflix in May 2020. A second season aired from April to May 2026. A third season has been announced.
Contents
Synopsis
Setting
The series takes place in a post-apocalyptic urban setting, spanning three realms: Hole, an ungoverned human favela megacity, heavily polluted from magic waste; the sorcerers' world, an ethereal, Gothic class society, controlled by crime boss En; and Hell, the afterlife of all sorcerers, ruled by demons presided over by Chidaruma.
Despite similar outward appearance, humans and sorcerers are two distinct species; the latter were manufactured by Chidaruma in his realm, whereas the former occurred naturally in another. Sorcerers can also use magic through a circulatory system, which disperses a black smoke that gives them distinct powers. Stronger and rarer powers are highly prized, to the point of directly affecting social status; sorcerers will routinely commit to binding partnerships, resulting in violent competition for the right. Humans are forced to live in the slums of Hole, subject to unprovoked sorcerer violence and overwhelming magical pollution, whereas sorcerers live and travel freely between realms using conjured doorways.
Premise
A man named Caiman is searching for a sorcerer, whose magic erased his memories and gave him a reptilian head. Assisted by his friend Nikaido, a restaurant chef who runs The Hungry Bug, Caiman wanders Hole in search of his curser, hoping to kill them and dispel their magic. Caiman's only lead is the full-size man who lives down his throat: by placing a sorcerer's head inside Caiman's mouth, the man's head will slide up Caiman's throat and verify if they are responsible. Getting a job at a community hospital for magic attack victims, Caiman works with Drs. Vaux and Kasukabe to reach the sorcerer's world and uncover his past.
The news of a lizard-man killing sorcerers, one with cross tattoos and magical resistance, attracts the attention of the de facto ruling sorcerer En. En believes Caiman is tied to the Cross-Eyes Gang, which subjugated humans and lower-class sorcerers, and whose leader almost wiped out En's crime family before disappearing. En sends his cleaners, Shin and Noi, to kill Caiman with two low-ranking sorcerers: Fujita, who seeks revenge as Caiman murdered his partner, and Ebisu, who has amnesia after Caiman accidentally tore her face off.
Characters
Caiman (カイマン, Kaiman)
Voiced by: Wataru Takagi (Japanese); Aleks Le (English)
Caiman is a victim of a magic attack that has left him with the head of a reptile and no memory of his original identity. He works with his friend Nikaido to hunt down Sorcerers who enter Hole, hoping to kill the one who cast the spell on him and nullify it. Caiman's immunity to magic and formidable knife skills make him incredibly skilled at battling Sorcerers. He also has the ability to regenerate his reptilian head, allowing him to survive lethal attacks such as decapitation. When not fighting, Caiman spends most of his time working at a hospital for magic victims and eating gyoza at Nikaido's restaurant, The Hungry Bug.
Nikaido (二階堂, Nikaidō)
Voiced by: Reina Kondō (Japanese); Reba Buhr (English)
Caiman's best friend, and owner and chef of the Hungry Bug, a restaurant in Hole. She found Caiman after his initial transformation and helps him hunt down Sorcerers in the hopes of returning his memories and face. She is secretly a Sorcerer herself, living in hiding due to the desirability of her magic type. She also maintains contact with a devil from her past, named Asu. Nikaido is an incredibly skilled fighter in spite of not using magic, typically utilising hand-to-hand combat and acrobatics to disable foes.
Professor Kasukabe (春日部博士, Kasukabe hakase)
Voiced by: Mitsuhiro Ichiki (Japanese); Griffin Burns (English)
A scientist who has studied Sorcerers intently for decades. He is approached by Caiman and Nikaido to use his artificial door to the Sorcerer's world. Although in his 60s, he looks incredibly young due to magic cast on him by his estranged, Sorcerer wife, Haru. He is frequently seen with his sidekick, a giant humanoid cockroach named Jonson.
Jonson (ジョンソン)
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Q Hayashida, Dorohedoro started in the debut issue of Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Spirits Zōkan Ikki (re-branded as Monthly Ikki in 2003), released on November 30, 2000. Monthly Ikki ceased publication on September 25, 2014, and the series was transferred to the magazine's replacement, Hibana, starting on March 6, 2015. Hibana ceased publication after a two-year run on August 7, 2017, and Dorohedoro was transferred to Shogakukan's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Sunday on November 10 of the same year. The manga finished after 18 years of publication on September 12, 2018, with its 167th chapter. Shogakukan collected its chapters in 23 tankōbon volumes, released from January 30, 2002, to November 12, 2018. A 14-page special one-shot chapter was published 17 months after the series' finale in Monthly Shōnen Sunday on February 12, 2020. Another one-shot chapter was published in Monthly Shōnen Sunday on April 11, 2026.
In North America, Viz Media began distributing the manga digitally in 2009 when it launched its SigIKKI site, the former online English version of Monthly Ikki. Its 23 volumes were released in print from March 16, 2010, to September 17, 2019. The manga was translated by the localization company AltJapan.
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced by Shogakukan's Monthly Shōnen Sunday in November 2018. The series was produced by MAPPA and directed by Yuichiro Hayashi, with series composition by Hiroshi Seko, character designs by Tomohiro Kishi, and music composed by R.O.N of (K)NoW_NAME. It ran for 12 episodes from January 13 to March 30, 2020, on Tokyo MX. A series of six 5-minute-long original video animation (OVA) episodes was bundled with the series' second Blu-ray release on June 17, 2020.
A sequel streaming series was announced on January 9, 2024. The sequel was later revealed to be a second season, which was originally scheduled for 2025, but was later delayed. It streamed for 11 episodes from April 1 to May 27, 2026.
Following the finale of the second season, a third season was announced.
Dorohedoro was released outside of Japan on Netflix on May 28, 2020. The six short episodes were also made available on Netflix on October 15, 2020, as one long singular episode, labeled as episode 13. Crunchyroll added the first season to its catalog in March 2026 and also streamed the second season. Medialink has licensed the second season.
Other media
A concept album, Dorohedoro Original Soundtrack, was released by the label MHz on June 5, 2016. Hayashida commissioned 14 artists from across the world to create the musical companion piece to the manga. A databook, Dorohedoro All-Star Directory Complete Edition (ドロヘドロオールスター名鑑完全版, Dorohedoro Ōru Sutā Meikan Kanzenban), was released by Shogakukan on the occasion of the manga's ending on November 12, 2018. It includes character data and a newly drawn bonus manga story. An artbook, Dorohedoro Illustrations: Mud and Sludge (ドロヘドロ画集 MUD AND SLUDGE, Dorohedoro Gashū Maddo ando Surajji), was released by Shogakukan on February 20, 2020. It was designed by Shin Sobue and features 344 pages. Viz Media licensed Mud and Sludge and it is set to release on September 22, 2026.
Reception
Manga
Joseph Luster of Otaku USA called the series a "weird title", but he said that the story "makes for some prime manga absorption". He called the artwork "rough and sketchy, but painstakingly detailed", comparing it to the art style of Kentaro Miura and Pushead. Bill Sherman of Blogcritics praised Hayashida's writing and her bold artwork with her "in-your-face action and punkish scratchiness". David Brothers of ComicsAlliance praised Hayashida's Dorohedoro for her ability to find the beauty in the grotesque and compared the drawing to the likes of Simon Bisley, Tsutomu Nihei, and Katsuhiro Otomo. Brothers continues, "It's gritty, but it looks great. Flipping through the book just to gaze at the art is almost as rewarding as actually reading it". Deb Aoki of About.com wrote: "Dorohedoro is violent and surreal, but it's also infused with Hayashida's dark and goofy sense of humor. Between their killing sprees, Caiman and Nikaido bicker and flirt like workin' class stiffs who appreciate a laugh and a good meal after a hard day at the office". On the other hand, Carlo Santos from Anime News Network criticized the series, saying that the story "never develops a sense of flow" and that Q Hayashida "cannot draw the human body at all".
Anime
The Dorohedoro anime series was nominated for the 2021 5th Crunchyroll Anime Awards. Lynzee Loveridge from Anime News Network praised the story, animation and characters, saying that "Dorohedoro somehow perfected the balance of mystery, absurd violence, and humor into a single hellishly beautiful package. The background artistry is a major highlight, especially the scenes around En's mansion and Sorcerer's world where highly detailed minutiae create something both beautiful and frightening. Absurdly funny, well-realized characters, a fleshed-out horrific world". Thrillist's Kambole Campbell wrote: "Dorohedoro hooks viewers with a wild premise and a unique, macabre world, but its staying power is in its cast of charming characters, as well as its numerous detours."