The Dorohedoro anime airs in just 7 days! Every day until then, I'm gonna list a reason why you should read Dorohedoro! At just 167 chapters, Q Hayashida composes not only one of my favorite seinens, but my favorite manga to date.

1) Art

Hayashida's unorthodox style sets the foundation for its setting. You may feel incredibly dirty when reading this manga (Dorohedoro literally meaning "mud mud"), but that feeling won't stay forever. Even with its violent depictions and grimy style,

-- the characters and overall chemistry of the world and its inhabitants make the tone of Dorohedoro much brighter than expected. I'm sure be it from the start, halfway, or at the end, you'll fall in love with Hayashida's unique style.

2) Characters

As I mentioned above, the characters really make the atmosphere of DRHDR. Regardless of the post apocalyptic world, the hearts and souls of humans are still very much bright, and include every chapter with sarcastic humor to adorable comedy. --

-- but Hayashida keeps a good balance with this humor. She was an assistant to Tsutomu Nihei, mangaka to BLAME!, and you can see inspiration through the crude actions that the characters can commit. Hayashida enjoys writing for "boyish" themes, so all her characters have --

-- a great amount of power. Her female characters in particular are some of the strongest I've read in manga, both physically and mentally. Essentially, Dorohedoro's story is very character driven, and there's a lot of characters to read about! Hope you'll fall in love with them!

3) Story

So by now, you're probably wondering what the fuck it's all about. In a desolate city, magic users, sorcerers, are using their black magic to experiment on non-magic users, leaving the victims to rot and survive against a pressed socioeconomically corrupt world. --

-- Some time ago, Nikaido found her best friend, Caiman, in a dark alley way with no memories of who he is or his past. To fix this, they attack sorcerers invading the Hole, in hopes that whoever stole Caiman's past crosses paths with them. --

-- However, the most powerful sorcerer known as "En", finds out that Caiman and Nikaido are taking down other sorcerers and sends his hitmen, Shin and Noi, to take them down, sparking conflict between the two classes of people. --

-- This allows the story to introduce a large variety of characters, magic users and non-magic users battle in this story to find out how powerful magic is and what lengths it can be stretched to. Who is Caiman? Why is En so interested in Caiman and why does --

-- this world exist in the first place?

4) Themes

The art is gory, and the deaths are quick, and you'd think with how archaic everything is it would be a free-for-all; but this is hardly the case. Hayashida fell in love with shounen tropes and adapted them alongside existentialism into DRHDR. --

-- The recurring "Power of Friendship" trope is usually brought upon by only the good guys, right? In Dorohedoro, bonds mean everything. From our main characters to the antagonists and everything in between, you can see the importance of love in Dorohedoro. --

-- Hayashida pushes the idea that no matter how ruined the world can be, the importance of friends and positive bonds allow us to reach new heights, form goals, and complete them. Along with this important theme, the theme of "discovering self-identity" is continuously present --

-- as we find out who Caiman is. It allows for self reflection on actions, and makes us aware that who we are is a process that can't be rushed. And regardless of who we find ourselves to be, the important part is doing what feels right. --

-- To read about so much love and assurance in a story that makes place surrounded by rust, mud, blood, and steel really does make you feel like everything is going to be okay.

5) World Building

(Yeah, I messed up the dates. Dorohedoro has already aired and I'm only on reason 5. Regardless, I'm going to finish this thread with the full 7 reasons why you oughta read it.)

The world building of Dorohedoro just never ends. --

-- We're always introduced to new areas and factions without ever traveling too far from the central hub of our main characters. We learn about the culture the sorcerer's have and the limitations those without --

-- magic have to struggle with so early on, and emphasized in later chapters. These play along with certain arcs, for instance. Such as the Blue Night arc, The Pie Contest arc, and the Black House arc. With each introduction to location, we meet new characters --

-- and learn small hints that lead us to Caiman's true identity. There's never a dull moment because Hayashida always finds a way to grab our attention by the introduction of a new type of magic, vehicle, event, character, or thematic realization in every corner of "The Hole"

6) How does this differ from other popular seinen?

Compared to the more popular seinen (Berserk, Parasyte, Monster, Vinland Saga, etc), what comparisons and contrasts can I make?

I've mentioned it above just a bit, but dorohedoro themes are going to be a lot more --

-- light hearted than the themes of let's say Berserk or Monster. Here's the deal; the plot is dark, the themes are not. That's where it differs from most seinen. Throughout it all, Dorohedoro's upbeat and almost psychedelic mood is persistent. --

-- Even at times where Caiman is depressed because of a certain event, the focus could shift to whatever En's family is doing, which could be trying on dresses and getting tailored. If En's family is upset, it could switch to Caiman's group playing baseball to progress plot. --

-- Hayashida is able to illustrate the important of relationships without ever bringing in obvious romance. Characters who you believe may be interested in one another aren't awkwardly forced to be physically intimate, and Hayashida even pokes fun of the possibility in

-- her writing and illustrations. All seinen I've read tackle with the theme of love and bonds differently, and Hayashida is able to show her own version through a blend of sketches and wholesome dialogue that makes it feel so much more natural and real than what you'd read in --

-- Parasyte or Vinland Saga. Not to say that other seinen cannot display relationships as feeling real, but Hayashida does it a lot smoother, if that makes sense.

7) Why is it worth your time?

If I haven't already convinced you to pick this series up, I'll do my best in these last couple tweets.

Uniqueness is the strength of Dorohedoro. Nothing is predictable and that's a powerful tool Hayashida used throughout the story. --

-- Yes, the friendship trope is there, but beyond that, you'll never see who's in charge of who in this manga, or guess what the ending of the manga is even halfway through. And Hayashida is able to break expectations without introducing new concepts. --

-- The whole story is laid out in the first 3 volumes, you just have to catch everything about it. At times, it may require a reread for you to understand what happens because despite it's seemingly basic plot, it loops and makes you go "What the fuck?" in the best way. --

-- You're going to fall in love with a character or two and I know you will. If you give this manga a chance, at least one of these characters brimming with personality is going to speak to you on a personal or moral level. --

-- The way Hayashida explains how magic works is unique. Without giving too much away, users can shoot black smoke from their fingertips and the magic they have is seemingly chance. This allows for interesting power combinations that, like I said, aren't predictable --

-- as other seinen/shonen powers would display. Don't take Dorohedoro too seriously, Hayashida didn't intend for that. Hell, the most powerful magic in the series is being able to turn anything into a mushroom. --

-- Take your time with it and if it isn't for you, that's just fine. But if you're enjoying it, I look forward to your thoughts and hopefully, as mine is, one of your favorites. Thanks for reading!