You think you have problem? Well Hyakkimaru has 48 problems...literally. This is mostly about a samurai who was born with 48 missing body parts and has to kill 48 demons in order to gain them back. This is also about the title character Dororo who is on a quest to find buried treasure and aid Hyakkimaru as a sidekick. Without giving anything away, keep in mind what the title of this series though, if not you might not like the ending as much if you focus on the wrong person too much.

Overall, this book was a lot of fun to read. I've been reading Tezuka's dark works lately, even though this gets dark, it's very light compared to Ayako or MW. It's almost the same humor and tone as the Buddha series, but without the philosophy. I have also noticed after reading a X amount of Tezuka not one of his stories is the same as the other. You can only compare his stuff with art style and some supporting characters he uses I'm noticing, but he is great at giving these stories a different feel and audience each time. If you didn't like one Tezuka, chances are you'll find something else.

I also enjoy his art in this book more in this book too. It's pretty much like Asto Boy with the cartoonish style. It's also like Buddha though with the beautiful landscapes. Some panels take your breath away with how detailed he got drawing. I loved how he drew the demons in this series though. He spent some time with creativity on this one. At times it remind me of Spirit Away and Princess Mononoke. Wouldn't surprise me if Hayao Miyazaki was inspired by Osamu Tezuka one bit. Made me like this book even more honestly.

One thing I will say is I didn't really like the ending to this book. Still giving the manga a full star review, but the ending is four stars. Depending who you want to focus on with the main character, it ends with you wanting a conclusion. If you focus on Dororo you'll get a full story, but if you focus on Hyakkimaru you will want you know if he ever finishes his quest. This is also the first manga I have read that is not Western friendly, meaning you read it backwards. Yes I only have read Tezuka manga, but it has all been done for westerners, front to back. Dororo for some reason they decided to make it back to front...at least for the Omnibus Edition. Oh well, at least it didn't take me that long to figure it out and was a nice challenge for once.

If you happen to get the Omnibus Edition it's about 850 page long. It's quite think, however, don't let that fool you. This is simple reading compared to the previous Tezuka's I've read and it read pretty quick too. It's a bunch of fun, I couldn't put it down. I doubt this is my last Tezuka I will read, but for a while I think I'll take a break form him (maybe). ( )

my hands still hurt from holding this tome up and keeping it open!

a young boy is born without hands, feet, eyes, ears, nose...and various other body parts. his samurai father has bartered away 48 of his organs to 48 demons in exchange for power to conquer lands. the deformed son is then abandoned afloat a river to die. he lives anyway and grows up to hunt the 48 demons.

only the japanese can take a crazy, borderline-silly idea like this and turn it into a truly compelling epic!

none of us are born whole! ( )