Dorohedoro Mystery: Who Is the “Original Sorcerer” and the Secret of Risu?
If you’ve watched Dorohedoro or read the manga, you already know this isn’t your typical fantasy story. It’s messy, violent, weirdly funny—and underneath all that chaos lies one of the most layered mysteries in anime: who is the “original sorcerer,” and what role does Risu actually play in all of this?
As someone who genuinely loves this series, I think the brilliance of this mystery is that it never has just one answer. It depends on what you mean by “original”—and that’s exactly why fans are still debating it years later.
Risu: Not the Beginning, But the Spark
Let’s start with Risu, because for a long time, he feels like the key to everything.
At first glance, he’s just “the guy inside Kaiman’s mouth.” Creepy? Definitely. But also incredibly important.
- Member of the Cross-Eyes – a group of weak sorcerers scraping by in a brutal hierarchy
- Possessor of Curse Magic – one of the rarest abilities in the entire series
- Victim of betrayal – killed by his own best friend
His magic is what really changes everything. Curse Magic only activates after death, creating a literal embodiment of vengeance that hunts down the killer.
And here’s the twist that hits hard: Risu didn’t just die—his death broke reality around him.
Because when he was killed, his Curse collided with experimental magic, identity fractures, and one very unlucky transformation. That collision is what ultimately leads to Kaiman’s existence.
So no—Risu isn’t the “original sorcerer.” But without him, the story as we know it wouldn’t even exist.
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The Real Puzzle: One Body, Four Identities
To really understand the “original,” you have to look at the most confusing and fascinating character in the series: the one who is somehow four people at once.
| Name | Nature | Role in the Story |
|---|---|---|
| Ai Coleman | Human | The true origin — a boy from the Hole |
| Aikawa | Sorcerer persona | Kind, social, Risu’s best friend |
| Kai | Entity | Leader of Cross-Eyes, pure violence |
| Kaiman | Hybrid | Amnesiac protagonist |
So who is the “original”? If we’re being honest, it’s Ai Coleman.
He’s the starting point—the human who wanted more than his miserable life in the Hole. His decision to dive into that dark sludge, a mass of hatred and death, is what sets everything in motion.
But here’s where it gets disturbing. That sludge wasn’t just power. It was alive.
Kai: When the World Itself Possesses You
From Ai’s transformation comes Kai, and honestly, he might be one of the most underrated villains in anime.
He’s not just evil for the sake of it. He’s the embodiment of the Hole’s hatred.
Think about that for a second. The Hole is where humans are tortured by sorcerers. It absorbs death, pain, and resentment for years. That energy eventually manifests.
Kai isn’t just a person—he’s a system fighting back.
And that’s what makes the story so compelling. There’s no clean “good vs evil.” Even the villain is, in a twisted way, justified.
Kaiman: The Monster Who Doesn’t Want to Be One
Then we get Kaiman—the version most fans fall in love with.
- No memories
- Immunity to magic
- A habit of biting sorcerers’ heads off
But what makes him interesting isn’t his strength—it’s his identity crisis.
Kaiman is the victim, the monster, and the mystery itself.
And once you realize he’s connected to both Ai and Kai, everything becomes tragic instead of just bizarre.
So Who Created Sorcerers in the First Place?
Now here’s where things go from complicated to cosmic.
If by “original sorcerer” you mean the first being who made magic users possible, then the answer is clear: Chidaruma.
This character is chaos incarnate.
- A devil with near-limitless power
- Created sorcerers out of mud
- Built the entire system just for entertainment
That’s the part that always sticks: all the suffering in Dorohedoro exists because someone was bored.
It’s dark, cynical, and perfectly fitting for the tone of the series.
The Final Twist: The Hole Becomes the “Original”
One of the most powerful reveals in the story is that the Hole itself becomes a sentient force.
Over time, it absorbs magic residue, human suffering, and countless deaths. Eventually, it turns into something alive—something that acts through Ai.
So in a way, the “original sorcerer” at the end isn’t even a person.
It’s a living mass of human pain, finally fighting back.
Why This Mystery Still Lives On
Even now, discussions around Dorohedoro are everywhere—forums, YouTube, and fan communities continue to break it apart.
The reason is simple: the story doesn’t spoon-feed answers, identities overlap and contradict each other, and every truth comes with a darker twist.
But more than that, it’s emotional.
Risu wasn’t chasing power—he just wanted a friend. Kaiman isn’t hunting monsters—he’s trying to understand himself. And Ai just wanted to belong somewhere.
Final Take
- Original human: Ai Coleman
- Original creator: Chidaruma
- Emotional core: Risu
And the “original sorcerer” Risu was searching for? It wasn’t some ancient being. It was the darkness hiding inside someone he trusted.
