Episode 7 of Dorohedoro gave us a reminder not to take the series too seriously. While this episode still came packed with plot intrigue, with the central premise being a game of baseball we got a look at some more of the ironic grunge that makes up the core of Dorohedoro.
Play Ball
In this episode, we get a look into more of the Hole’s time old traditions. This time it’s a baseball game between hospital wards. After Fujita vows to exact revenge on Caiman for his fallen comrade Matsumura, he sneaks out into the Hole through a door closely followed by Ebisu. It is then that the two notice that their scaley fugitive has a baseball game coming up. Not only that but his opposition is actively looking for new players to fill their roster. Looks like the Sharks have an aging player base issue.
In spite of their player issues, the Sharks choose to take Ebisu on as their mascot, gearing her up in a Shark suit. Prancing around the field, she gives off power vibes but unfortunately, only the viewer is there to receive them.
‘Hole lot of War Crimes
In line with drawing parallels between the Hole and the sorcerer world, we get to see some of the war crimes committed by the home team. Doctor Kasekabe has no remorse in stitching together Matsumura and fielding him in his zombified state. The once human sorcerer-altered cockroach Jonson with the assistance of some electroshock therapy. Despite being on the lower end of the social rung, some of the Hole denizens have no hassles suspending their empathy for those not belonging in the same social class.
The baseball field itself is sanctified by four impaled sorcerer bodies luring above the stands. In typical Hole fashion, the arena is run down and includes hazards such as a bottomless pit. Nevertheless, the teams bat it out and, despite some cheating by Fujita dazzling the ball with some of his dust, is a landslide for the Worms.
A Dusty Home
On the other end of the door, En hears of the dust-collecters passing and is able to source some of Ebisu’s dust. Previously being thought of as unable to use any magic, such a collector possessing Ebisu’s dust is an indicator of some degree of potency. All goes wrong when the lab worker drops the vial of dust on the way to report to En. Following a hint dropped during episode 2, Ebisu’s dust does, in fact, turn people into lizards, with Noi being the unfortunate victim in this case.
Bring out the Gimp
Rampaging through the castle, Noi’s primal anger is only severed with a blow from Shin’s hammer. Prepared for almost any situation, En leads them up an ominous elevator to a man who can dispell any magic. Living in a birdcage, the flamboyant gimped-up Chota is quick to refer to En as his partner. Whether or not it’s true, it does give some insight into how En treats even his so-called “equals”. At the very least, the room was well decorated and given Chota’s personality it may even have been to his preference.
Shin is asked to recall his most fond memory of Noi during the dispelling ritual. Hardpress to find anything in the recesses of the mind, he chooses to reminisce on one of their early assignments in which they had an automobile mishap. While it seems empty on the surface, the way the flashback conveys the scene with warm rays of light and elegant shards of glimmering glass shattering from the car sure make it look beautiful. The vividness of this memory combined with Shin’s adrenaline-seeking lifestyle makes it feel like the memory is fonder than he lets on.
When I grow up I want to be a Velociraptor
The episode is rounded out by Ebisu being confronted by a now-mad Matsumura zombie after their departure from the hole. Combined with the sickening scent of her own dust upon entering En’s mansion, she is driven into releasing her own magic, transforming into the most vicious looking dinosaur yet and making quick work of the previously overpowering zombie.
It’s become endearing to see how well Dorohedoro has been able to balance its a bombastic premise and plot intrigue while maintaining an air of earthiness and fun among the absurd daily lives of both the sorcerers and Hole denizens. Dorohedoro is a series that is consistently getting better as time goes on.