The Japanese series, Dorohedoro, is very a thought out and put together rendition of the books in tv show form. It is evident that the books and the official art has more detail and variety than you see in the show, however, the series is full of many intriguing plots involving wonderfully detailed scenes in this animated world.

The author and illustrator, Q. Hayashida, takes you a uniquely vast, somber, “fantasy world” as described by Hayashida. The intricacy put into her work is just incredible and can be seen throughout all her works. She created this world of complex, post-apocalyptic structures, and way of life with a detailed journey into the story of the main character, the main protagonists and the antagonists that really pull you into her world.

The story kicks off in the opening scene, bringing you to a gory fight. The main character, Caiman, is one of the many victims of the magic in their world, “the hole.” His story is played out primarily with his best friend, Nikaido, and the other main protagonists being his boss, Vaux, and his bosses’ friend, Professor Kasukabe. As the magic that was placed on Caiman, changing only his face into the head of a large lizard, brings up the main plot of the show. When Caiman became a victim, resulting in memory loss and the transformation of his head, Caiman’s story continues as the series unfolds of how he plans to regain his past.

Despite such a gloomy setting, the uniqueness and personality of each character is another great element from Hayashida to give more depth to her characters overall.

While there are now books and a tv series, originally, the story was first published in magazines, over the span of 18 years with the help of 2 publishers. The first publisher, lasting 15 years, was Monthly Ikki. (1999-2014). The second publisher being a company called HiBaNa magazine, lasted 2 years. (March 2015-August 2017)

In her work, not only giving such great character to the hole, Q. Hayashida gave a whole new experience when she established a whole new world separate from the hole. This world is the home of the main antagonists and is known as “The Sorcerer’s World.”

More hidden details of the series become increasingly evident as the plot thickens. Hayashida has perfected many instances of foreshadowing for further building character development for the future. As for the readers of the series, the books have long been said to be completed after 23 books. For the people that watch the series, with only the first season of 12 episodes being animated, it is estimated about only 1/3 of the series that has been animated compared to the completed books, making the foreshadowing seen just in the first season so much more interesting for what is to come.

From the world building to character development throughout the series, Hayashida’s work is demonstrates of uniqueness of each of her characters in an artful way. Her work is genuinely beautifully illustrated, and her art style alone captures her readers’ attention into a new fantasy world.

Whether your interests may lie in fantasy, gore and/or simply horror fiction, or you are just looking for a good watch, this series is most definitely worth trying.