Dorohedoro has always been gila in the best way, but Season 2 Episode 7 really reminds us why this series hits different: everyone may look monstrous, powerful, or completely unhinged, but underneath all the masks and magic, they are still painfully human.
This week’s episode leans hard into one of Dorohedoro’s strongest ideas — identity. Caiman’s whole journey is built around the question of who he really is, who changed him, and why there is a man inside his mouth. Episode 7 keeps that mystery boiling, especially with the strange overlap between Caiman, Aikawa, and the Cross-Eyes’ boss. The show still refuses to hand viewers a clean answer, which honestly fits the vibe. Dorohedoro is not the kind of anime that gives you a neat lore dump and calls it a day.
But the episode is not just about Caiman. En gets a surprisingly heavy spotlight too. He is powerful, rich, stylish, and surrounded by his so-called family, but the episode frames him as someone deeply alone. Unlike Shin and Noi, or Caiman and Nikaido, En does not really have an equal partner. His bond with Chota is one-sided, Kikurage feels more like a pet, and his connection to Nikaido is built on control rather than trust.
That loneliness matters because En’s fear has been quietly steering him. His obsession with the Cross-Eyes’ boss is not just villain paranoia; it is the kind of trauma that keeps replaying in your head until it shapes every decision. So when Episode 7 takes him from smug confidence to total panic and destruction, the irony lands hard. Dorohedoro somehow makes you laugh at the chaos while still feeling the weight of it.
And yes, the episode is also extremely funny. The Fujita, Ebisu, and Kikurage material is peak Dorohedoro nonsense — gross, ridiculous, and timed like a proper dark comedy routine. Kikurage finally bringing Ebisu back could have been a straightforward plot beat, but instead the anime turns it into a corpse-chasing farce inside En’s mansion. The detailed animation of Ebisu’s exposed brain, the flies, and the fancy mansion setting makes the whole thing even more absurd. Only Dorohedoro can make something this disgusting feel macam slapstick comedy.
For Malaysian and SEA anime fans, this is exactly why the series has such a loyal following. It is not clean shonen power fantasy. It is messy, violent, funny, and strangely warm — the kind of anime you recommend to friends with a warning: “Bro, just trust me, it gets weirder.”
However, there is one big issue viewers should know about: subtitles. According to Anime News Network’s review, part of Kikurage’s on-screen Japanese “dialogue” was not properly shown in the original subtitle experience when other characters were talking at the same time. The problem appears linked to subtitle limitations around the show’s Netflix simulcast setup, with the same subtitle materials likely being used across services. ANN specifically calls out Crunchyroll for releasing an incomplete subtitle experience.
That matters a lot for SEA viewers. Many of us watch anime through whatever platform has the rights in our country, and subtitles are not a bonus feature — they are the main way people experience the story. If important text is missing, the episode is literally incomplete. It is even worse for hearing-impaired viewers, who may not have a proper way to follow everything if the subtitle track fails.
The English dub reportedly includes the missing Kikurage thoughts for that scene, but that is not a real fix. Fans should not have to switch audio tracks just to understand an episode properly.
Overall, Episode 7 sounds like Dorohedoro doing what it does best: body horror, friendship, identity chaos, mafia weirdness, and comedy that should not work but absolutely does. The story gets darker, En’s role becomes more tragic, and the anime continues to adapt Q Hayashida’s madness with serious style. Just make sure your subtitle track is actually doing its job, lah.
Source: Anime News Network