If You Love ‘Chainsaw Man,’ You Ought to Learn ‘Dorohedoro’ and ‘Dai Darkish’ Instantly

Chainsaw Man followers have been consuming effectively for a minute now with its weekly manga chapters persevering with to be quick, candy, and impactful; Mappa’s Reze Arc movie being good kino you possibly can watch at residence earlier than that other anime award-nominated film; and season two now in production. However you possibly can’t eat one piece of media perpetually and name it an excellent eating regimen, which is why I’ve been recommending new material to diversify of us’ palates with one thing similar to Tatsuki Fujimoto’s vibe. At present, nevertheless, I’m not gonna suggest not one, however two manga of us ought to learn: Dorohedoro and Dai Darkish. Not as a result of they’re much like Chainsaw Man, however as a result of their creator impressed its entire movement.

I’ve lengthy held the assumption that feminine mangaka, by and huge, have a method higher batting common with dropping licensed basic manga than their male counterparts. Look no additional than Rumiko Takahashi, who’s making works like Inuyasha, Ranma 1/2, and Urusei Yatsura; or Hiromu Arakawa, making Fullmetal Alchemist. Takahashi’s works proceed to affect the trendy panorama of manga, with sequence like Gokurakugai and Dandadan paying homage to the sequence of their very DNA. In the meantime, Arakawa’s FMA remains to be broadly and rightfully thought to be a masterpiece that followers readily suggest to of us at first of their manga and anime journeys, to provide them a style of what the medium has to supply.

However one factor that’s exceedingly uncommon to see is a mangaka who can bridge the chasm that exists between followers of sci-fi and fantasy with works that excel at each. Up to now, nobody is doing that fairly like Q Hayashida along with her darkish fantasy sequence, Dorohedoro, and her sci-fi epic, Dai Dark.

In truth, the previous is what Fujimoto himself jokingly stated Chainsaw Man was a ripoff of (alongside Jujutsu Kaisen) when his sequence was tailored into an anime by Mappa. Whereas the 2 share Mappa as an animation studio, Fujimoto’s joke has loads of fact in it while you have a look at the sequence itself and the way it jumps from being macabre to hilarious on a dime. So, in that spirit, let’s dive into what Dorohedoro is all about first.

Dorohedoro is finest described as a manga with a break up character, veering between ultra-violent darkish fantasy and deadpan comedy. It follows Caiman, a person who wakes up with no reminiscences, an enormous lizard head, and a mysterious particular person dwelling contained in the void of his mouth. Satisfied his present predicament is the work of sorcerers, who’re infamous for crossing by dimensional doorways to the Gap, a dirty, dense metropolis Caiman calls residence, to check on people, he groups up along with his finest good friend Nikaido to seek out each sorcerer they’ll discover.

Their plan: shove a sorcerer’s head into Caiman’s mouth and let the person inside declare whether or not they’re the one who cursed him. Their investigations (if we’ll name them that) put them within the crosshairs of En, a robust sorcerer crime boss whose subordinates hold winding up lifeless. So, En sends his enforcers, Shin and Noi, to eradicate them, kicking off a chaotic cat-and-mouse struggle between two worlds that solely will get stranger, bloodier, and funnier because it unfurls.

Whereas Mappa’s anime adaptation of the sequence is nice, with a singular fusion of 2D and 3D CG animation, a soundtrack that’s an actual bop, and a second season due later this 12 months, there’s truthfully no comparability to the artistry of Hayashida’s manga. Pound for pound, Dorohedoro is leagues extra gnarly a learn than Chainsaw Man relating to the large wipeouts its sorcerers expertise. Like, we’re speaking Mortal Kombat-stage gore. Plus, its panel work is really a marvel to behold, giving sharp readability on each ugly unaliving on par with the late Kentaru Miura’s penmanship on Berserk.

Don’t let the sequence’ grimdark imagery idiot you. Dorohedoro is overflowing with as a lot grotesque physique horror as it’s cutesy, disarming allure. In truth, it could be the closest factor in manga to a bodily embodiment of that razor-thin line between horror and comedy. Simply as usually as both facet of the aisle is thrashing the lights out of one another, they’re additionally taking pictures the shit, cooking gyoza, consuming below the loving heat of a kotatsu, or making motion pictures of their exploits. Its solid is irresistibly cool, from its gentlemanly himbo bruisers, Caiman and Shin, to its statuesque muscle mommies, Noi and Nikaido.

You’re sure to seek out somebody to love in its ensemble (I’m keen on En) as a result of whereas the sequence has loads of spinning plates, it by no means fails to provide everybody play as characters price rooting for and white-knuckling after they inevitably cross one another’s paths. Plus, its dirty world, teeming with sorcerers, bounty hunters, big bugs, and devils, feels so vividly lived-in, with world-building so engrossing that it seems like a miracle to witness it get even higher with each chapter.

🦎Dorohedoro Season 2
Worldwide streaming begins on April 1!
Take a look at the brand-new chaotic and trendy key visible.

Season 1 might be accessible on much more platforms on March 8, so catch up earlier than Season 2 begins!

Keep tuned for extra updates!#Dorohedoro #TOHOanimation pic.twitter.com/m93P8Rhh8T

— TOHO animation EN (@TOHOanimationEN) February 8, 2026

It’s no surprise followers have been dropping their minds for years, begging extra folks to learn it and praying that Mappa places down all of its different tasks and will get again to it as quickly as potential. Fortunately, there’s greater than sufficient time for curious of us to take a look at its manga and watch the primary season of the anime, which’ll quickly depart Netflix jail, by the point season two arrives in April. However should you’re searching for one thing with extra of a sci-fi edge, look no additional than Dai Darkish.

Whereas Dai Darkish‘s cowl gives the look that it’s one other darkish fantasy sequence, this one really takes place in outer house whereas sustaining the profitable high quality of Dorohedoro‘s distinctive artwork model in a distinct story, in a similar way to mangaka Hiro Mashima reusing his “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” character designs from Fairy Tail. Like Dorohedoro, it too follows an adolescent named Zaha Sanko. Solely this time, as an alternative of hounding for solutions to an overarching thriller, Sanko is the one being hunted throughout the galaxy. You see, legend has it Sanka is constructed in another way. Extra particularly, there’s a rumor that’s unfold throughout the galaxy that whoever collects his bones, Dragon Ball-model, may have any want granted to them.

Sanko groups up with Avakian, his sentient skeleton backpack; Shimada Death, the gender-ambiguous bodily embodiment of, effectively, loss of life; and Hajime Damemaru, an immortal man. Collectively, they’re “4 little shits.” They trek throughout the celebrities, battling non secular cultists as they seek out whoever cursed him. Sure, that sounds just about like Dorohedoro‘s premise, however belief me after I say that Dorohedoro in house is as cool a premise as Dorohedoro is by itself.

Whereas Dai Darkish is a contact extra aimless enjoyable than Dorohedoro‘s clearer logline for the place the story goes, the sequence spending a lot time devoted to its misfits’ downtime to goof off is a big a part of its allure. If something, their ignoring the principle quest for sidequest funsies—like making “meapwiches,” arguing over naming a pet spider, or haggling over promoting the bones of their would-be assailants as foreign money to their Resident Evil 4-looking-ass service provider, Misetani Box, as they blast off of their dog-shaped spaceship—has huge Farscape power, wrapped in a scary-cute manga bundle.

The one caveat to Dai Darkish is that it’s nonetheless ongoing (and is currently on hiatus). So when you’ve got any curiosity in getting in on the bottom flooring with a creator Fujimoto has jokingly admitted to “ripping off,” we’d suggest trying out Dorohedoro first, what with it having extra happening, after which switching lanes to take a look at Dai Darkish earlier than hitting hiatusville. Although should you’re extra keen on sci-fi than fantasy, by all means crack open the backbone of Dai Darkish first. The extra folks understand how goated Hayashida is, the higher.

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