I’m going to trust that those weren’t normal sharks, because if they were we have a credibility issue here…

Dororo returns to “normal” mode this week (no toes!) by which I mean, of course, that Kobayashi Osamu was a one-shot as last week’s episode director.  That’s not as big a deal to me as it will be to some, but hopefully it means discussion can return to what’s actually happening in the story rather than debating the merits of a rather misunderstood animator and director (for the record Kobayashi probably works better when an entire series reflects his aesthetic – like Beck – because he’s so unique that his work feels discordant otherwise).

Last week’s cliffhanger left no doubt what the focus of this episode would be, though it certainly took some unexpected turns along the way.  Itachi remains one of the more interesting characters in this story for me, a man who exemplifies the very nuanced nature of ethics and morality in this mythology.  He’s the antithesis of the typical anime villain these days (or hero, for that matter) – he acts in a manner that’s totally consistent with what a man of his nature in his situation would do.  There are no moustache twirls, no random acts of cruelty or heroism – Itachi is simply a smart and ruthless guy trying to get by in a world which was especially cruel to men of his low social standing.

Even the way Itachi frames the matter of Hibukuro’s treasure is rather fascinating.  To Itachi, what he suspected (correctly as it turned out) Hibukuro of doing was stealing, and the fact that what he was stealing had been stolen in the first place was moot.  He never managed to catch Hibukuro in the act but never lost his suspicions, and now that his partnership with the local lord has gone sour (as it was always going to do) he returns to those old suspicions.  Perhaps his digging up Ojiya’s grave and finding half the map on her back was a little too intuitive to be plausible, but I can certainly believe if he thought his old boss had hidden a treasure somewhere, he’d be desperate to find it – not least because he felt as if it was stolen from him.

It appears the map on Ojiya’s back directs the searcher to where the treasure lies in broad terms, and Dororo’s map has the specifics.  The former directs Itachi to an isolated cape, reachable only by boat.  However, the only boats nearby and the village they belonged to are wrecked and deserted, seemingly due to attacks by brigands.  Eventually a one-armed boy (I don’t believe we ever learned his name) shows up and offers to ferry them out to the cape, but his “it’ll cost you” meant something entirely different than Itachi assumed.

As I said, I certainly hope Jiromariu and Saburomaru turn out to be ayakashi (I suspect they will) because if they’re normal sharks what happens here is a bit loopy.  Either way it gives Dororo a chance to show off her grace under pressure and seemingly uncrushable spirit, which is a good thing for Itachi and his group since they seem to pretty well give up after the sharks eat half of their numbers.  Dororo is also proving to be resolutely consistent in her personal philosophy – she’s valuing all life these days, even the shark boy’s.  And Itachi and his men, too, though her plan to escape from the sharks certainly wouldn’t have worked without them.

The matter of Dororo’s gender is crucial to this episode, too, as Itachi was clearly unaware of it.  That means it was Dororo’s parents that decided to raise her as a boy, and not simply Dororo acting out of practical self-preservation after their deaths.  And where is Hyakkimaru in all this?  Not anywhere nearby to offer assistance, as far as I can tell.  He is, however, seemingly on-track to reunite with Jukai in next week’s episode, which would certainly take the story in some potentially interesting directions.  I don’t think Itachi is going to get his hands on Hibukuro’s treasure, but she will eventually, and rather than simply surviving she and Hyakkimaru are going to have to decide how it is they want to live.