Dororo

Dororo (どろろ) is a Japanese manga series from the critically acclaimed manga creator Osamu Tezuka in the late 1960s. The anime television series (1969) based on the manga consists of 26 half-hour episodes. It was made into a live-action film in 2007.

During the late 1960s, manga featuring demons was popular among kids. Dororo was first serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday between August 27, 1967 and July 22, 1968, before being cancelled. Parallel to the anime broadcast the manga was then concluded in Akita Shoten's Bōken’ō magazine.

Tezuka's childhood memory of his friends pronouncing dorobou (どろぼう, lit. thief) as dororo inspired the title of this work. In the live action movie series, the name is explained to be a southern term for Hyakkimaru, meaning "Little Monster."

The anime series bears the distinction of being the first entry in what is now known as the "World Masterpiece Theater" series.

Story

Dororo is a thriller manga, which revolves around a ronin during the Sengoku period. He was born malformed, limbless and without facial features or internal organs. This was the result of his birth father Daimyo Daigo Kagemitsu forging a pact with 48 sealed demons so that he might rule the world. In return, he promised the demons could each obtain a piece of his unborn child's body. This enabled them to roam free and commit atrocities along the countryside.

Dororo (film)

Dororo is a 2007 Japanese action film based on the 1960s manga series by Osamu Tezuka. It was filmed in New Zealand. Universal Pictures picked up the US rights, while MVM Films have the UK rights. Better Luck Tomorrow producer Ernesto Foronda is allegedly working on a Hollywood version of Dororo.

Plot

The film's storyline has some major differences from that of the manga, most notably Dororo being a young woman, as envisioned in the video game, assuming the identity of a man. In spite of others seeing through her brash and often violent exterior, Dororo rarely concedes to her true emotions and refuses to be a "proper" woman. Hyakkimaru is also younger than his namesake in the manga, and less bitter about his circumstances, as well.

When her father was killed by Daigo when he attempted to call the warlord out, a girl and her mother escaped into the wilderness. At her mother's dying request, in order to carry on her father's insurmountable vendetta against Daigo, the girl takes on a man's identity and grows up without a permanent home or any friends. As a result, she become a thief to make a living. Throughout her life, she'd denied any name, citing that the best thieves never revealed their names as doing so meant they could be hunted and arrested. Only after travelling with Hyakkimaru did she decide to take on the name "Dororo", as that name had been one of many that Hyakkimaru had acquired during his previous travels. Although Hyakkimaru explained it as meaning "Little Monster," she felt that it suited her better while Hyakkimaru suited him.

List of Sgt. Frog characters

The following is a list of various characters in the fictional universe of the anime and manga series Sgt. Frog and related works.

Keroro Platoon

The Keroro Platoon (ケロロ小隊, Keroro Shōtai) is led by Sergeant Keroro. While most platoons contain thirty or forty soldiers, the Keroro Platoon only has a meager five. Its full name is the Gamma Planetary System, the 58th Planet, Space Invasion Army Special Tactics Platoon (ガマ星雲　第58番惑星　宇宙侵攻軍特殊先行工作部隊, Gama Seiun Dai Gojūhachiban Wakusei Uchū Shinkōgun Tokushu Senkō Kōsaku Butai). In the English dub of the anime, the unit is referred to as the Advance Recon Mission Preparatory Invasion Terror Platoon (A.R.M.P.I.T.). Keroro refers to the acronym as being "unfortunate".

The initial operation of the Keroro Platoon was to stealthily survey Earth and relay information to the awaiting Keron Invasion Army. The five members were dispatched throughout Greater Tokyo and surrounding area to assess Earth's weakness and prepare for total military takeover. Having infiltrated the Hinata house, Sergeant Keroro concealed himself in one of the bedrooms, but was accidentally discovered by the Hinata children, a pair of middle school siblings. Shocked by their ability to see him, he was overpowered, captured and temporarily stripped of his weapon, the Kero Ball. With Keroro coming into direct contact with the Earthlings, the invading army lost their element of surprise, deemed the campaign compromised and immediately started withdrawal procedures from Earth's orbit.