Warning! Spoilers ahead for Doron Dororon chapter 7!
Doron Dororon has been failing to capture the attention of readers ever since the big twist in its debut chapter, but the Shonen Jump newbie just introduced a new dynamic between the hero Dora and his "katana" that actually transcends the unique relationship between Naruto's Kisame and his sentient sword Samehada.
Dora's katana in Doron Dororon is actually a mononoke named Kusanagi that can take numerous forms. But only as a katana can Dora wield Kusanagi's power, which enables him to become one of his world's heroes known as Samurai. Their relationship is predicated on their shared desire to make the world a kinder place and Kusanagi's willingness to destroy his own kind in the pursuit thereof. But in chapter 7, Kusanagi actually refuses to transform into a katana when he learns that Dora is only obsessed with killing a powerful mononoke because it killed his mother. Kusanagi even holds Dora back when the human tries to jump back into the fray without him. It's an especially poignant moment especially when Kusanagi asks if Dora is only using him as a tool for his revenge before reminding his partner that they must fight together to protect people, not to seek vengeance.
In Naruto, the shinobi Kisame Hoshigaki, who eventually became renowned for his hip in the villainous group Akatsuki, wielded a sentient sword known as Samehada. The blade's bond with Kisame was especially touching in part because Samehada was illustrious for being very particular about who could wield him, and he stayed with Kisame for so long regardless. Even though Samehada, who craved chakra more than anything else eventually betrayed Kisame for another who possessed more chakra than him, the poignancy of their relationship reached its apex when the sword actually mourned his master's death when Kisame later ended himself.
In the end, the effectiveness of both relationships comes down to how the blades communicate and how their wielders react to them. Samehada only "speaks" through cooing sounds that Naruto never translates, minimizing how much readers can connect or empathize with it. This even happens during a particularly intense moment when Samehada refuses to let his master cut the legs off of a chakra-rich opponent. The blade raises itself in such a way that creates the impression that it's confronting Kisame, all while cooing. It's obvious what's happening, but the reader can't get more invested in the altercation without knowing whether Samehada is saying something emotional or just being defiant, for example. The fact that Kisame is more enraged by its betrayal and even kicks Samehada against a tree only prevents readers from feeling anything except sorry for the blade. There are no emotions that compel readers to the relationship. Meanwhile, readers clearly know what Doron Dororon's Kusanagi is saying because he's actually speaking in whatever language the particular manga is translated in.
Even though it was upsetting when Naruto's Samehada mourned Kisame's death, there were not enough human elements between the two that allowed readers to get wholly invested in their relationship. Meanwhile, Doron Dororon presents the interactions between Kusanagi and Dora as plainly as possible, providing readers with a deeper level of understanding about how they feel for each other. Hopefully, Doron Dororon will continue providing more compelling dynamics like this one in the coming chapters or it will risk getting axed like the other failed manga Doron Dororon is haunted by.
