Warning: The following contains spoilers for Doron Dororon Chapter 1, "Samurai and Mononoke," by Gen Oosuka, Camellia Nieh and Phil Christie, available in English at Viz Media and Manga Plus.
Doron Dororon, a new manga by Gen Oosuka, has a protagonist that gives off intense Black Clover's Asta vibes. Doron Dororon still only has four chapters currently released, but the manga is showing great promise. It's set in a world plagued by monsters called Mononoke, and only samurai -- qualified humans who can wield supernatural energy -- can deal with them. Similar to Asta, Dora Sasaki is unfortunately not blessed in that department.
Fans of Black Clover knows of Asta's grit. Despite not having a sliver of mana in a world where magic is held in the highest regard, Asta continued to train his body to the limit. He didn't let others' scrutiny or his greatest rival's achievements stop him from doing his utmost to achieve his dream of becoming the Magic Emperor. This all paid off when he received the five-leaf clover grimoire that gave him various kinds of anti-magic swords. Now, another shonen protagonist inherits his great personality.
Doron Dororon is set on an Earth where the existence of monsters known as Mononoke is common knowledge. These monsters are supernatural and can only be defeated using attacks imbued with supernatural energy. Dora Sasaki, the series' main character, aims to become a samurai -- a sword-wielding warrior that deals with the Mononoke -- as he once promised his mother. However, his dream shattered when he found out that his supernatural energy level is zero. His life takes another turn when he met a peace-loving Mononoke trying to save a kid. After learning that the Mononoke can shapeshift, he used it as a sword and eliminated the evil Mononoke.
Similar to Asta, Dora trained his body to the point that a buff man the size of Arnold Schwarzenegger couldn't break free from his grip. The only difference is that Asta persevered even after learning of his handicap, while Dora worked hard in the hopes of increasing his chances of being a samurai. Both their chances at redemption came in the most unexpected manner. Black Clover's main character received his grimoire after everybody else had received theirs, and only after he despaired over his situation. Similarly, the samurai wannabe met Kusanagi at random. Their newfound companions also gave them similar weapons. Asta's grimoire bestowed him multiple anti-magic swords, while Kusanagi could shapeshift into a longsword that Dora could use to eliminate Mononoke.
Even though Doron Dororon's Dora presents similarities with Black Clover's beloved main character, the new manga series is not a clone of the latter. Their world and lore are far too different, and Doron Dororon's plot is more skewed toward something like Jujutsu Kaisen or My Hero Academia. Nevertheless, Dora's perseverance and Kusanagi's sincerity will remind Asta's fans of the reason they fell in love with the muscle-brained character.
