Summary

• Search & Destroy reimagines Dororo with a female protagonist on a vengeful quest, resonating with readers worldwide.
• Atsushi Kaneko's Cyberpunk manga captures the dark fantasy spirit of Dororo in a retro-futuristic setting.
• Intense action and social commentary in Search & Destroy offer a fresh take on Tezuka's timeless themes.

Osamu Tezuka is beloved for many of the industry's most iconic manga and anime franchises including Astro Boy, Jungle Emperor Leo, and more. But his work on a reimagined cyberpunk thriller by Atsushi Kaneko, with volume #1 available on July 23, 2024.

Search & Destroy will be available to North American readers courtesy of Fantagraphics and MSX: Mangasplaining Extra. Many of the details of Search & Destroy bear the DNA of Dororo, namely its protagonist, gender-swapped and renamed Hyaku, on a vengeful quest to take back what the world took from her, taking down robotic "creatures" and taking their organs.

But the commentary within Search & Destroy, alongside its homage to Dororo, will resonate with readers in potentially unsettling ways, when the human elite and the creatures serving them are attacked, linking the young orphan Doro to Hyaku in unexpected ways.

Previews Show a Thrilling Retro-Futuristic Take on Dororo

Cyberpunk and Even Atompunk Elements Are Present in Search & Destroy

Search & Destroy quickly asserts itself as a story where its protagonist's rage propels them to ultraviolent acts, resulting in spectacular ing benefiting immensely from a black-and-white manga presentation while still resembling the spirit of Dororo. This includes previews that detail one of the creatures guarding their employer from their cloaked assailant, Hyaku. The aesthetics smack of mid-twentieth-century visuals, including car designs and retrofuturistic weaponry, and glimpses of Doro wearing an ushanka, truly an alternate future post-Cold-War glimpse at Dororo's feudal Japan.

“Kaneko-sensei populates a stunning, high-contrast setting that echoes postwar Cuba as much as Tokyo with an unforgettable cast of scrappy heroes and skin-crawling monsters on a nonstop ride full of action and suspense. This sly retelling updates the rebellious '60s spirit of the original Dororo to the equally tumultuous 2020s to breathe new life into a timeless tale.”

-Eric Reynolds, Fantagraphics

The action and moody atmosphere only get more intense from there, though. Humans are seen almost as a delicacy for their organs, akin to rare or endangered animals. At the same time, Hyaku's anger at her circumstances gives Doro reason to believe she still has humanity. Still, the premise of Dororo being brought into an alternate Cold War setting with a practically unstoppable protagonist can potentially resonate with entirely new readers.

Atsushi Kaneko Brilliantly Reimagines Characters in Search & Destroy

Readers in the West Will Soon See Dororo in a New Light

The prospect of Hyakkimaru not only being reimagined as a female character but having prosthetics resembling a more modern take can resonate with readers in a meaningful way in Search & Destroy. It showcases a complicated and gritty look at humanity's complicated relationship with machines. It is a running theme in Tezuka's works, perhaps most notably in other series like Pluto. Recreations like Search & Destroy allow readers to examine the concepts introduced by Tezuka in a mindset that may engage even longtime fans in different ways from before.

“A mix of action, social commentary, and full-on rage, SEARCH & DESTROY is a timely and fresh take on Tezuka-sensei’s original manga that only Atsushi Kaneko could create. This is the story of a young woman, more machine than human, hunting and stealing body parts from some pretty deplorable beings.

-Christopher Butcher

Search & Destroy is set to be available just in time for San Diego Comic-Con, and its provocative themes, namely its presentation of the consequences of human conflict and those who choose to manipulate it, will strike a chord in the West. For readers craving more of a classic Dororo, there's the recent anime, one of the best adaptations of 2019, and 2018's The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru, a more traditional remake. But Search & Destroy is a dark, atmospheric take on Dororo, not losing sight of Tezuka's vision while showcasing intense writing and brilliant artwork by Atsushi Kaneko.