History Manga / Dorohedoro

** The [[spoiler: Cross Eyes Occupation]] and Central Department Store arcs take this UpToEleven, with absolutely incredible amounts of gore every few pages. Things like [[spoiler: Kai's room full of magic user heads, the unsettling way in which Kai regenerates, and ''everything'' to do with the artificial Devil suit that Kai manages to create]] are absolutely NightmareFuel.

* PowerCopying: In hopes of becoming a sorceror, Ai takes Little Devil Tumours and implants them in his own brain. [[spoiler:Kai takes the horror UpToEleven [[CannibalismSuperPower by outright devouring his victims whole, ripping out their tumours in the process.]]]]

* KnifeNut:
** Kaiman, Aikawa, Risu, Kai, Dokuga, Ton... [[spoiler: Three of these are actually the same person.]] Kai still takes the grand prize for putting the "nut" in "KnifeNut".
** Most Cross-Eyes use knives because they're easy to hide and precise enough to [[spoiler: stab the smoke generating organs in magic-user's bodies]].

** Fukuyama (Tamba's employee, the guy), was called a waitress, or a little girl, when he's in fact, a young man.
** Kikurage is literally called Judas's Ear and is mistakenly called "he" - it's a "she"
** When Chota is listening to the radio about his horoscope, the radio announcer says the "Taurus" prediction, when in reality, it's a "Capricorn" prediction, En's Capricorn, not Taurus.

** [[TranslationTrainWreck Among many others]].

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Ebisu and her purple hair.

* CreepyCoolCrosses: Upside-down crosses are a common motif in the Magic Users' land, and Magic User gravestones are upside-down crosses on top of large eggs.

* BodyMotifs: Heads seem to be the main focus for most of the series.

* ChekhovsGun: In a bonus chapter, Shin is plagued with a feeling like he's constantly being watched and goes to view his devil friend's concert with the intention of asking for his help afterward. It turns out that he was cursed by a magic user and a devil's song breaks curses. Later, [[spoiler: Risu's Curse is about to attack Kai when Haru unknowingly breaks into song and scares him off, inadvertently saving Kai.]]

* CloudCuckooLander: Ebisu, though it is due to brain damage caused by Kaiman.

* CreepyCoolCrosses - Upside-down crosses are a common motif in the Magic Users' land, and Magic User gravestones are upside-down crosses on top of large eggs.

* IJustWantToBeNormal: Kaiman wants his head back. As in, he wants to look human again.

** IJustWantToBeAbnormal: Ai was a normal human from Hole who wanted to become a magic-user; unfortunately they're a WitchSpecies. [[spoiler: He eventually succeeded and became Aikawa/Kai, and now he wants to become a ''devil'', which the other devils find highly amusing]].

** Devils in general (at least those who used to be Magic Users), going straight from WitchSpecies to BewareTheSuperman.

* WitchSpecies: The series has a very biological approach to magic: Magic Users have a special organ in their abdomen for producing magic smoke, with smoke ducts running along their arms to their fingertips. They also have a tiny devil-shaped tumor in their frontal lobe. [[spoiler: It appears magic users were created by devils, and Chirudama creates a magic user for fun]]

* BelatedBackstory: The earliest backstory we get is Shin's, and that's in volume 4.

* RealityEnsues: The series opens with the protagonist goes on his daily Magic Users hunt routine and kills off a weak, unimportant mob. Turns out killing the henchman of the most powerful mafia family in the Magic Users world makes you their target, kicking off the series of events of the story.

All of this is still... in the most chaotic shambles.

That is... DOROHEDORO.

** Nikaido is almost perpetually broke, to the point where she is eventually forced to enter a prize fight to pay for rent and keep the Hungry Bug in business. Subverted in that it turns out the reason she is broke in the first place is because Kaiman ''never'' actually paid for all the food he's eaten at her restaurant, and that his frequent visits scare off customers. Once Kaiman leaves, business starts booming.

* PowerCopying: In hopes of becoming a sorceror, Ai takes Little Devil Tumours and implants them in his own brain. [[spoiler:Kai takes the horror UpToEleven [[CannibalismSuperPower by outright devouring his victims whole, ripping out their tumours in the process.]]

* DevilButNoGod: The setting has no "benevolent" deity, only devils. [[spoiler:

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Anyone on the receiving end of Shin's vivisection ability. Except it [[Main/SubvertedTrope doesn't actually kill you]].
** It does...after about 2 months of excruciating pain as it begins to slowly wear off, which is why everyone begs frantically to be cured, or at least killed, quickly when he does it to them.

* DeathIsCheap: En has a pet-- er, ''[[InsistentTerminology family member]]'' that can bring Magic users back to life, so long as their Devil Shaped Tumour remains intact. Though this has had surprisingly little use.
* DemonOfHumanOrigin: Devils are Magic Users' that underwent years of training and passed the Devil Exam.

* DevilButNoGod: The setting has no "benevolent" deity, only devils.

** Becomes positively horrifying when, as Kaiman accosts poor little Ebisu, Nikaido stands there with a massive smile on her face

* DrugsAreBad: The Black Powder is basically steroids for Magic Users. And it shows that even if you're a weak magic user, you shouldn't use it.
** FantasticDrug
* {{Dungeonpunk}}: Fits this trope to a T with the entire setting being {{Cyberpunk}} to the max, but replace human enhancements with black magic.

** [[spoiler:En is brainwashed by Shou into forgetting Nikaido, likely as a favor to Kaiman for saving them all, meaning Nikaido will live on without getting forced into a partnership she hates (It turns out later that the spell wears off since En keeps getting triggered into remembering Nikaido, but then Asu informs him that Nikaido can't use magic anymore and En promptly drops her for good to the relief of the family).]]

** [[spoiler: The two remaining Cross Eyes officers are given mercy by Kaiman, who worldlessly gives them a gift of Noi's healing smoke in a gesture that simultaneously fulfills his obligation to them as the Boss and ends his involvement with them, to the betterment of both parties (though he still regularly runs into them later as coworkers for Nikado's Hungry Bug restaurant).]]
** [[spoiler:Chidaruma is forced to live a life as a human as punishment for losing his game [[note]]And [[UncertainDoom maybe]] dies, which arguably is the ideal outcome for everyone else[[/note]]]]

* FantasticCasteSystem: Dr. Kasukabe notes that, as far as weak Magic Users are concerned, the Magic Users' World is little different from [[WretchedHive the Hole]].
* FantasticRacism: Magic-Users and Devils consider humans to be little more than trash only fit for performing experiments on or eating.

* {{Foil}}: Shin's magic can slice people up; Noi's magic can heal them. [[spoiler: Nikaido is a magic-user who lives as a human; Ai/Kai/Aikawa/Kaiman was a human who wanted become a magic user.]]

* HealingFactor: Noi, who can regenerate an entire body given only the head.

** The Cross-Eyes in Berith (Dokuga, Ton, Tetsujou, etc.) live in poverty and try to find whatever jobs they can. For much of the series, their appearances involve keeping the lights out as long as possible, freaking out because they missed recycling, or finding various strange jobs (termite extermination and hot springs workers).

** Essentially anyone in Hole.

* PowerCopying: Ai. In possibly [[CannibalismSuperPower the most horrifying manner imaginable - he just rips off the little devil turmor off sorcerers' heads and implant it in his own brain]].

* PutOnABus: [[spoiler: Kaiman. After getting beaten up by En and losing the lizard head when Ebisu dies, Aikawa's personality becomes dominant.]]
** TheBusCameBack though [[spoiler: when it turns out Devil!Nikaido resurrected Kaiman with his original personality from his [[ChekhovsGun preserved severed head]] from close to the beginning of the manga.]]

* RetGone: What happens to [[spoiler: Nikaido's]] surrogate sister. She also erases ''her entire past.'' [[spoiler: Nikaido manages to make it better though.]]

** Ebisu was kind of more obvious with her extremely skinny body, but unless you're already used to Q Hayashida's style, you don't expect an underage girl under that skull-faced mask.

** [[spoiler: Haru, Nikaido, and an unknown number of female devils on account of their "outer selves" being very masculine.]]

** This only applies to the higher-ups. Fujita (when not at social occasions), wears shorts. And most family members wear some sort of garment that vaguely resembles a radiation suit.

* DevilButNoGod: The setting has no "benevolent" Deity. Only devils.

** [[spoiler:En is brainwashed by Shou into forgetting Nikaido, likely as a favor to Kaiman for saving them all, meaning Nikaido will live on without getting forced into a partnership she hates (It turns out later that the spell wears off since En keeps getting triggered into remembering Nikado, but then Asu informs him that Nikaido can't use magic anymore and En promptly drops her for good to the relief of the family).]]

** [[spoiler: The two remaining Cross Eyes officers are given mercy by Kaiman, who worldlessly gives them a gift of Noi's healing smoke in a gesture that simultaneously fulfills his obligation to them as the Boss and ends his involvement with them, to the betterment of both parties (though he still regularly runs into them later as coworkers for Nikado's Hungry bug).]]

''Dorohedoro'' is a {{Seinen}} series created by Hayashida Q and originally published in ''Monthly Ikki'', a magazine specializing in underground or alternative manga, before moving to ''Hibana'' in 2015 after ''Ikki'' ceased publication. Described by the creator as being like "[[LyricalDissonance a song with really dark lyrics, but a melody that's so happy that you want to dance to it]]," it manages a delicate balance of [[{{Gorn}} gratuitous amounts of gore]], [[FanService a fondness for displaying the random boobie or two]], [[BlackComedy and a stark-black sense of humour]].

First premiering in 2000, it ended in 2018 after almost [[LongRunners 18 years being serialized]], with 23 volumes. It was announced in the last tankoubon that it'll receive an [[https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2018/11/11/bizarre-fantasy-manga-dorohedoro-takes-the-plunge-as-a-tv-anime anime adaptation]] by Creator/{{MAPPA}}, which began airing in January 2020 in Japan, with Creator/{{Netflix}} streaming the series worldwide at a later time.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dorohedoro_anime_copy_2.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"What did the guy inside say to you?"]]

* BodyMotif: Heads seem to be the main focus for most of the series.

As alluded to by the quote from Hayashida Q above, ''Dorohedoro'' is a series best described as "a bunch of nice, friendly characters making the most out of living in a place that is simultaneously a CrapsackWorld and a WorldOfBadass". Despite the grim setting and copious amounts of gore and {{Squick}}, the series never loses its charm and places heavy emphasis on both ThePowerOfFriendship and ThePowerOfLove to great effect. The series is also well known for its notoriously quirky sense of humor. The juxtaposition between the grim setting and the comedic elements of the story creates a very strange but engrossing atmosphere as the world of Hole and the intricacies of its society are revealed to the viewer. The result is a setting of borderline psychopaths living in absolute squalor that nonetheless maintains a positive, if not downright ''cheerful'' atmosphere for most of its run time, and it makes for an unconventional yet fun experience.

** Molloch (the devil) was translated as Moroku.

* ThoseTwoBadGuys: Shin and Noi, but again GrayAndGreyMorality.

* AmazonianBeauty: Under the mask, Noi is a very attractive woman... who stands 6'10" and weighs 273 pounds.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler: Just about everyone who's still alive by the end receives a happy ending.
** En's Family all get revived and make it through the mess with Noi, Shin, Fujita and Ebisu being able to move on with their lives.
** [[spoiler:Shin reassures Noi that he will stay in the sorcerer's world for the rest of his life and the same would go for the two's partnership. ]]

** [[Chidaruma is forced to live a life as a human as punishment for losing his game [[note]]And [[UncertainDoom maybe]] dies, which arguably is the ideal outcome for everyone else[[/note]]]]

** [[spoiler:Professor Katsukabe returns to Hole and reunites with Jonhson, but keeps in touch with his ex-wife Haru]]