REVIEW: ‘Dorohedoro’ Season 2 Episode 7

Dorohedoro Season 2 Episode 7 follows several threads as characters cross paths. Long-feared confrontations play out, and lives are both saved and lost as the situation at En’s (Ken’yû Horiuchi, Mononoke The Movie Chapter II – The Ashes of Rage) mansion begins to spiral out of control.

The poignant heart of the episode lies with Nikaido (Reina Kondô, Fate/Grand Order)  and Aikawa/Caiman (Subaru Kimura, Jujutsu Kaisen). Despite having been brought back to En’s mansion, she continues to reject his wishes, causing her incredible pain and threatening her life due to their contract. Only a smoke drip from Noi (Yû Kobayashi, Fate/Strange Fake) manages to keep her from transforming into mushrooms. 

Nikaido’s willpower speaks loudly in Dorohedoro Season 2 Episode 7.

The willpower Nikaido continues to exhibit speaks loudly with every appearance she makes in Dorohedoro Season 2 Episode 7, but it shines the brightest when she is visited by Asu, who accidentally brings Aikawa along. When she meets Aikawa and asks if he is Caiman, he says he doesn’t know who she is talking about. 

The pained confrontation in which Nikaido lashes out at Aikawa hits with resounding force. With no clear indication of whether he actually remembers being Caiman or if the name is forgotten, Nikaido’s pain resonates throughout their meeting. She is suffering so much for Caiman, but she can’t entertain the thought that he is lost to her. 

Darkness permeates throughout Dorohedoro Season 2 Episode 7.

Even once Aikawa takes his leave of her, it is clear that Nikaido’s resolve is unshaken, and that she will continue to resist En’s wishes. Forcing herself to fight against a seemingly insurmountable obstacle leaves a lasting impression of Nikaido’s resilience and determination. 

Adding to the darkness that permeates Dorohedoro Season 2 Episode 7 is the Cross-Eyes’ failing state. Despite their best efforts to raise funds to save their injured friends, Dokuga (Kôki Uchiyama, Trigun Stargaze) and the others still standing fail to raise the money. No one hires those who aren’t mages anymore, leaving the group faced with unthinkable options. 

Dokuga’s solution threatens to bring En’s wrath down on them, but there is no other way he’ll entertain. Seeing how ground into dust the young man is and how coldly he executes his solution to their immediate problem screams about the limits he has been pushed to. That everything he does is near emotionless only drives home the point that he cares about no one but his surrogate family. 

The major stumble within Dorohedoro Season 2 Episode 7 comes with Fujita’s side of the story.

The major stumble within Dorohedoro Season 2 Episode 7 comes with Fujita’s side of the story. Having arrived at En’s, he spends much of the episode trying to get Kikurage to restore Ebisu’s life, leading to a bit of a cat-and-mouse chase through the mansion.

This sequence struggles because it can’t decide what it wants to do. The nature of the chase feels comical, but Fujita’s emotional struggles as he desperately tries to bring Ebisu back, along with his mortification at how little anyone else seems to care that she’s dead, make laughing feel inappropriate. Only at the very end does the humor land when the situation solves itself for an incredibly ridiculous, yet believable reason. 

Dorohedoro Season 2 Episode 7 ends on a cliffhanger moment, as En confronts an unexpected visitor to the mansion. Delivering one of the most brutal moments in the show, the assailant wastes no time in attacking the crime boss. The way the animation depicts the foe leaves no place for misunderstanding the nature of the individual or their single-minded purpose. 

Dorohedoro Season 2 Episode 7 hits most of its beats. It delivers a lot of pain and emotion as the characters continue to struggle and adapt to their brutally changing circumstances. 

Dorohedoro Season 2 Episode 7 is streaming now on Netflix and Crunchyroll.

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