Daigo Kagemitsu ( 醍醐 景光 ) is one of the Main Antagonists in the 2019 remake of the Classic Osamu Tezuka manga, Dororo, made in celebration of the manga's 55th anniversary. He is the father of Hyakkimaru and Tahomaru and made a deal with the 48 evil demons of the Hall of Hell to grant him the power for his ambitions and the blessing for his land which resulted in Hyakkimaru being born without skin, limbs or senses resulting in the catalyst of the story.
Personality
This incarnation, unlike the original manga and the first Dororo to Hyakkimaru TV series, is presented to be a man who is focused more on the end as opposed to the means. While the original manga's intent was for Daigo to come across as a worse person than the demons, the 2019 anime's Daigo is a man who is desperate to fulfil his lifelong ambitions of greatness and the protection of his land against the ever changing whims of disaster with famine, floods and/or droughts being common in his time period. This caused Daigo to take the rash action of offering the demons anything they desired to take; though he was unaware of the price of the demon's cooperation would be his than-unborn-child, (while in the manga he does this shamelessly and knowingly) and initially being visibly shocked, he was still quick to recover and even laugh at it implying that his ambitions rank high above his family, or that his pact with the demons has robbed him of his empathy. As the price for his deal was great and the reward was the flourish of his land for well over a decade Daigo is shown to be quite content with what has happened and protective of his choice and is becoming increasingly concerned at the deaths of the demons he made a pact with and the potential loss of their blessing, a fear aided by the lack of rain in the current year which seems to be directly connected to Hyakkimaru slaying of at least one of them.
Stories
Story of Daigo
Story of Tahomaru
Story of Banmon
In the Eleventh Episodes after Tahomaru and his retainers unknowingly encounter his long-lost brother Tahomaru's retainers report to their lord the enigmatic "blind-man with prosthetic arms" shocked at this Daigo stares ahead with clear anger while his wife, equally shocked wife weeps at the prospect that her son is alive and well after all of this time. Unfortunately Daigo does not share this enthusiasm and prepares to set out
his wife tries to stop him but Daigo brushes her away reminding her of what may have happened had he not made the bargain to begin with. His wife responds by asking if Daigo's land was truly what had mattered to him or his eventual ambition to take other over other domains and become a Great Lord, but Daigo is unperturbed by this and colds continues on his way unaware that Tahomaru had eavesdropped on what they had said.
Daigo than leaves alone with a small troupe wishing to keep his movements a secret but is spotted by Asakura spies who report back to their superiors who prepare for his arrival at Banmon.
During this story the demons that Daigo made a pact with long ago are shown to have kept their side of the bargain: Daigo's land flourishes aside from a lack of rain, and when compared to the countries that Hyakkimaru and Dororo have already visited, the land itself is bustling and active. The propaganda that Daigo defeated various demons enshrined at the Hall of Hell and that his land is protected by the Goddess of Mercy spreads through word of lip. The Monk Biwamaru opts to take a look at the place where Daigo was said to have defeated the demons and is shocked by the evil aura emitting from the temple which causes him great concern.
As Hyakkimaru does battle with the Kyubi who was attracted to Banmon, archers under Daigo's command fire at it saving Hyakkimaru's life, the two than stare down each other, Hyakkimaru seeing Daigo's soul as similar to his own, an oddly denser than normal blob with streaks of red rising up from his soul; father and son coming face-to-face for the first time in sixteen years, the mysterious headless Buddha statue cracks from the head down at their confrontation.
Creation & Conception
The original manga and black and white anime's version of Daigo is a much different character than the re-imagining of the story that the 55th anniversary anime presents. In the manga Daigo intentionally sells his unborn son to the demons and later tries to recruit him shameless to the fact that he had abandoned and discarded him once before. Daigo in said story is meant to be a just as evil or much more evil character than the demons that Hyakkimaru fights against to add way of people being just as bad as demons.
The first meeting between father and son is also quite different in the manga, with Hyakkimaru already having gotten one of his eyes and being able to see again and sights Daigo and his men at Banmon which gives him a sudden "longing" at the enigmatic man despite having never seen him before.
