#tahomaru

[seekers-who-are-lovers]

Digging some old art by “Dororo” character designer/mangaka Hiroyuki Asada from his exhibition years ago. (Part 2 is here.)

[iukasylvie]

It's actually wild how often fandoms erase the effects of ideological grooming.

Take Tahomaru from Dororo (2019).

This is a teenage boy raised in a cult-like ideology of false prosperity, taught that:

"Daigo's land cannot exist without Tahomaru."

"Tahomaru cannot exist without Daigo's land."

"Hyakkimaru is cursed. His existence brings famine, disease, and chaos."

"Killing Hyakkimaru is not murder—it's duty, it's nobility, it's sacrifice for the greater good."

That's not just parental pressure. That's indoctrination.

Tahomaru is being fed propaganda his whole life—crafted to make him believe that his only value is in preserving a kingdom built on someone else's suffering. And when he starts to crack under that pressure, the system just tightens its grip.

And yet, a lot of English-speaking fans just write him off as "evil" or "jealous."

They miss:

The tragedy of a child being told his brother's pain is necessary.

The horror of a system so warped it turns a teenager into a self-righteous executioner.

The fact that Tahomaru was loved only conditionally—as long as he upheld the lie.

This is the same pattern we see in:

Gabi Braun (Attack on Titan): indoctrinated to hate her own people in the name of "good Eldians."

N (Pokémon Black and White): groomed by Ghetsis to become the voice of a cult-like liberation movement he didn't fully understand.

Reiner Braun (Attack on Titan): traumatized by the double life forced on him by the Marleyan regime.

Akito Sohma (Fruits Basket): enabled, isolated, and told she was the "God"—but only if she controlled and punished others.

Kurozumi Orochi (One Piece): groomed by Kurozumi Higurashi to seek revenge on Wano and the Kozuki clan in the name of his clan.

Azula (Avatar: The Last Airbender): groomed by Ozai to be a weapon of the Fire Nation.

It's not about excusing harm. It's about understanding how systems create monsters—and victims—in the same breath.

Tahomaru didn't "turn evil."

He was groomed into tragedy.

[bino2306]

[yrayra]

made this for me specifically, posting this here so all the other two dororo fans can enjoy this too 🙏🏼🙏🏼

[louiefertwo]

Tahomaru | Dororo

Three consecutive Dororo fanarts… I really like it, okay?

[emilicorail]

Tiny! 👆

[xjulixred45x]

Tahomaru and Platonic! Odysseus! Reader

Genre: headcanons

Reader: male

Warnings: mentions/alutions of child neglect and depression (Nui), Reader is a father figure for Tahomaru, canon divergent.

• We already know that Tahomaru trained from a young age, so it wouldn't be surprising to think that he had several teachers growing up, some more competent than others. However, Daigo wasn't satisfied with the results. Tahomaru improved physically, yes, but not in other important aspects of combat (strategy, persuasion, cunning, etc.).

• For this reason, Daigo ended up selecting one of his old generals who was still in service, Odysseus! Reader. Not only the best strategist he'd ever had, but also a two-faced man who would be able to fool the twelve demons with his smooth talk.

• Although, let's be honest, Odysseus! Reader probably wasn't too keen on the idea, especially since his wife was with their newborn son when Tahomaru's training began to demand a higher level of toughness. But Odysseus! Reader knew better than to question the lord who made deals with demons, so he reluctantly heeded the call.

• Tahomaru had probably heard stories from his father during the war about Reader, a great warrior, yes, but whose greatest strength lay in his intelligence and cunning. To say that Tahomaru was excited to be trained by one of the "heroes" of his father's stories is an understatement.

• I imagine that the first impression of these two was quite surprising on both sides. Tahomaru, as excited as he was, was expecting an intimidating guy with a similar, if not worse, character than his own father. Only to find himself faced with a seemingly normal-looking soldier, with a few scars here and there, but above all, very... playful? Talkative? Maybe "familiar" was the word. It was as if he were talking to an uncle he hadn't seen in a long time instead of his new mentor.

• Let's just say that seeing Tahomaru so excited and intimidated at the same time made all of Reader's reluctance disappear and his paternal instinct took control of the situation; Whether it was introducing himself to Tahomaru in a friendly way, asking him things about himself, what he liked, what he didn't like, etc.

• The first training sessions, ironically, weren't physical, but rather intellectually based. How? Playing Shogi. Yes, you read that right. Odysseus! Reader would set up a giant improvised board in the yard, using rocks for the "pieces" or, as he called it, "his army," and would play with Tahomaru to correct his "game" tactics and improve his strategies and tactics, so that he would see it as a real battlefield.

• Reader didn't even hold back with Tahomaru; he took every opportunity to beat him at the game and repeat the process. And they wouldn't stop until Tahomaru won, at least once. Let's just say that thanks to this, Tahomaru has a love-hate relationship with board games (and absolutely refuses to play with Reader).

• Okay! Next step: learning to lie. That's how Tahomaru saw it, at least. Reader called it "learning the gab," meaning learning to speak in a way that would get you what you wanted (whether it was true or not). Young Tahomaru had a lot of trouble learning this, especially when his opponent was THE KING OF LIES.

• Reader: My eyes are brown, I'm short, AND I WAS ONCE ALMOST CRUSHED TO DEATH BY A HORSE.

• Tahomaru: Pfft. Isn't this supposed to be difficult?

• Mitsu: ...Young master, his eyes are blue.

• Tahomaru: ...WHAT ONCE WHAT?!

• Ironically, Lector was less particular about Tahomaru's physical abilities. After all, he knew the boy was healthy and strong, but it takes more than that to survive in this world, especially with a father like Daigo of all people.

• It didn't help that the few times Odysseus!reader saw Nui, she was either praying to the statue in her room, completely ignoring her son's existence, or staring off into the distance whenever Tahomaru tried to get her attention in increasingly dangerous ways. The number of times Reader had to climb nearly 10-meter trees just to get Tahomaru out of there is uncountable.

• It was obvious that Tahomaru's parents weren't paying him enough attention; even with his playmates/training partners, it was obvious Tahomaru craved other kinds of attention, which made his parental instincts kick in again.

• Whether it was giving him compliments after a job well done, asking about his day or the things he'd learned from his other teachers, or even bringing him some toys his son no longer wanted to play with Tahomaru (like one of those old-fashioned jojos).

• I like the idea of Odysseus!Reader returning Tahomaru to his room after a long day of training, carrying him on his back, even covering him up before he falls completely asleep :,)

• Tahomaru meeting Reader's family! There's a good chance that Odysseus Reader either 1- took Tahomaru out of the palace under the guise of "field training" or 2- straight-up stole him from his study sessions because the man was missing his wife LIKE CRAZY, but wasn't going to leave the kid alone.

• Either way, Tahomaru is respectful to Reader's wife, maybe too much so, making those exaggerated bows, following her like a waddle wherever she goes while Reader is with their son, etc. Let's just say Reader's wife quickly notices this and asks him for help with some chores around the house (getting her things from the shelves, fetching things for her, etc.). He always receives a thank you and a pat on the head (Tahomaru doesn't know what's happening, but he enjoys it, A LOT).

• Tahomaru and Odysseus's son! Reader end up growing up similar to an older/younger brother :,) Tahomaru still remembers when the boy, still a baby, would get so excited every time he came home with his father, or the first time he was allowed to hold him as a toddler; he was so small and soft!

• Reader is proud of the man Tahomaru has become, but still fears Daigo will use that against him, even more so when the city starts suffering losses due to poor harvests.

• If we're talking about the reader in the story's canon, he probably wouldn't hesitate to take Tahomaru's side, but he wouldn't let Daigo lie about what happened. Reader suspected for so long that he had made a deal with the demons, but he never thought he'd be willing to offer up his own son. Obviously, it's a complicated situation; if Hyakkymaru is killed, everything will go back to normal, but is it really fair? After everything he's been through because of Daigo?

• This would probably cause the biggest fight Tahomaru and Reader have ever had, a pretty big clash of morals. They both want the same thing, yes, but who would be willing to go the furthest?

• Though honestly, they just have to remind Reader that if the earth doesn't improve, his wife and child could die too, and he's ready to kill Hyakkymaru. Sorry, man, Reader has priorities.

• Let's go the canon-divergent route for the sake of my heart, okay? OK :,)

• After the fire, you can bet Reader searched for days, weeks, through the rubble in case he could find Tahomaru's body, driven by anguish and the hope that he was still alive. When he eventually appeared, Reader hugged him so tightly he probably broke a couple more bones. But it's not like Tahomaru was going to hold it against him after seeing him cry so much, crying with relief that he was alive.

• Tahomaru: It's been a few weeks, you can stop following me door to door.

• O!reader: NO.

• Reader becomes slightly paranoid, especially about demons or if Daigo's land curse could worsen/return, but he's still undoubtedly one of the most important generals in Tahomaru's new regime.

• Honestly, there's very little these two can do from now on, but that remains to be seen.

[just-a-pileofslime]

Tahomaru x Reader Arranged Marriage

For @god1s-name

So sorry if he’s OOC, I’ve actually never written for Tahomaru before.

The only way I see Tahomaru in a relationship is if it’s an arranged marriage situation since he’s so arrogant and headstrong, especially when it comes to his duties to his nation. 

Obviously being loyal to one’s country isn’t a bad thing, it just means he isn’t home a lot.

The two of you were engaged basically from birth, you were from a wealthy noble family and Tahomaru is well…the son of Daigo so no one was all that shocked about the arrangement.

You grew up spending a lot of time in the Daigo house, mainly watching Tahomaru train. He never says anything but he’s grateful for your calming presence. 

As he gets older he tries to be nicer to you, especially as he plans to assume the throne soon. Eventually conversations with him get deeper. He never talks battle plans or anything but he does talk about how his mother’s favoritism towards Hyakkimaru affected him more than he’d like to admit. 

You listen of course and play with the tufts of his hair and trace the edges of the scar over his eye.

Quiet moments like this are what he cherishes most, moments where he can truly let his guard down for a bit.

It’s during one of those moments that he realizes he actually loves you; not out of duty or casually at all, truly loves you and he mentally kicks himself for how long it takes him to realize that. 

Once he does, he takes you on a walk near the river and confesses under a large tree. He hesitates for your reaction but when he sees your smiling face he pulls you to him for a rough kiss. 

I hope you enjoyed this little drabble. I find Tahomaru hard to write for so I hope you enjoyed this