The 2019 anime adaptation of the Osamu Tezuka Dororo manga that he created back in 1967 recently found some new distribution. After originally streaming on Amazon Prime, Sentai Filmworks picked up the home video rights and digital sell-through rights for the series back at the end of March 2021. Now, Australian distributor Madman Entertainment has revealed their pickup of the project for release there. The series will be getting released on Blu-ray only on October 6th, 2021. It’ll be a bilingual release spread across three discs for the twenty-four-episode run priced at $79.95. Extras include the Japanese promos, clean opening, and clean closing material.
Check out our review of the series.
Kazuhiro Furuhashi is directing it based on the series composition by Yasuko Kobayashi. Satoshi Iwataki is handling the character designs with MAPPA handling the animation production.
The Japanese cast includes Hiroki Suzuki as Hyakkimaru, Rio Suzuki as Dororo, Mutsumi Sasaki as Biwamaru, Naoya Uchida as Daigo Kagemitsu, Shōya Chiba as Tahōmaru, Akio Ohtsuka as Jukai, Chie Nakamura as Nuinokata, and Mugihito as the narrator.
Vertical Comics released the manga back in 2012. Anime Sols attempted to bring the 1969 series over a few years back via crowdfunding. A Japanese release did hit in 2015.
The dub has Kyle Colby Jones as the ADR director working from the scripts by Marta Bechtol. The English cast includes Chaney Moore as Dororo, Adam Gibbs as Hyakkimaru, Blake Jackson as Tahomaru, James Belcher as Biwamaru, David Wald as Daigo Kagemitsu, Patricia Duran as Nuinokata, Andrew Love as Hyogo, Elissa Cuellar as Mutsu, Ty Mahany as Jukai, Antonio Lasanta as Kaname, Orlanders Tao Jones as Sabu, John Gremillion as Denkichi, Joanne Bonasso as Bandai, Kyle Colby Jones as Kanekozo, Doshu, Gabriel Regojo as Daigo Spy, Avery Smithhart as Osushi, Joe Daniels as Tanosuke, Luci Christian as Mio, Sukeroku, Brittney Karbowski as Take, Rob Mungle as Daigo Commander, Christine Auten as Ohagi, John Swasey as Yajiro, Kira Vincent-Davis as Saru, Heidi Hinkel as Oume, Josh Morrison as Hibukuro, Melissa Engler as Ojiya, Greg Cote as Itachi, Molly Searcy as Okaka, Jay Hickman as Lord Sabame, Kalin Coates as Yokai Kozo, Josh Grelle as Shiranui, Jad Saxton as Okowa, Jason Douglas as Munetsuna, Narrator, Jeremy Gee as Saburota, Sean Patrick Judge as Yahiko, Holly Segarra as Sakichi, Dave Harbold as Lord Asakura, and Adam Noble as Jiheita.
Additional casting includes Julia Oliver-Touchstone, Shelley Calene-Black, Jay Hickman, Maggie Flecknoe, Carl Masterson, Houston Hayes, Shannon Reed, Allison Sumrall, Ned Gayle, Lebraska Washington, Ricardo Contreras, John Gremillion, Stephen Fenley, Joel McCray, Jovan Jackson, Blake Weir, and Christina Kelly.
Check out the official site and Twitter.
Plot Concept: During the Warring States period, the young thief Dororo encounters the enigmatic “Hyakkimaru,” a strange, sightless boy who wields fearsome prosthetics in place of his missing limbs. Parts of Hyakkimaru’s body, skin and organs were traded to a group of 12 demons by Hyakkimaru’s father in exchange for power and prosperity, but thanks to a kindly medicine man, Hyakkimaru survived his horrifying ordeal. Now he wanders the land in search of his missing body parts, and together he and Dororo will fight to survive in a demon-plagued, dangerous and unforgiving world.
