Ushio Aotsuki is a stubborn middle school student and son of an eccentric temple priest who goes about life without care for his father's claims regarding otherworldly monsters known as youkai. However, as he is tending to the temple while his father is away on work, his chores lead him to a shocking discovery: in the basement he finds a menacing youkai impaled by the fabled Beast Spear.
The beast in question is Tora, infamous for his destructive power, who tries to coerce Ushio into releasing him from his five hundred year seal. Ushio puts no trust in his words and refuses to set him free. But when a sudden youkai outbreak puts his friends and home in danger, he is left with no choice but to rely on Tora, his only insurance being the ancient spear if he gets out of hand.
Ushio and Tora's meeting is only the beginning of the unlikely duo's journey into the depths of the spiritual realm. With the legendary Beast Spear in his hands, Ushio will find out just how real and threatening the world of the supernatural can be.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
Stark700
Tons of adjectives can be used to describe a show like Ushio to Tora. Fierce, powerful, and mystical are just a few of them. But for one, Ushio to Tora is a series that most people probably didn’t think would get a revamp again in the modern ages. After all, the series did get an official OVA series that debuted over a decade ago. A television adaptation would obviously expand on what originally started - a world where youkai exists and a young man realizing what destiny has in stored for him. Based on the manga of the same name, Ushio to Tora (also known asUshio and Tora) is essentially a supernatural battle shounen. It also has a sort of old school feeling attached to it that translates into a modern fantasy story. We meet Ushio and Tora in the very first episode. And taking at a first glance, Ushio can be described easily as a typical young boy with a hot-blooded attitude full of energy but also kind at heart. Tora on the other hand is anything but ordinary. He is literally a demon with beast features and a menacing face. The show establishes the idea that Tora (named by Ushio) wants to eat humans including Ushio’s friends. The downside of his plan is that Ushio has control of the Beast Spear, a powerful object that he fears. With no way to accomplish his goal, Tora begins a rather unusual relationship with the young boy.
I have to admit, Ushio to Tora is pretty straightforward as a series in the shounen department. The first few episodes easily sends the message that Ushio’s life can no longer be the same as youkai, demons, and spirits invades his space. Whenever this happens, he is thrown into a life-or-death situation and it’s up to him to stop it and at times, his unlikely partner Tora. Maybe I should requote that and say more of “dependent”. Tora seems always reluctant to lend a hand because the irony is that he wants to devour Ushio himself. Get the picture now? This puts them on an oddball fence as Ushio himself is also in danger everyday being so close to Tora. Nonetheless, the story progresses and we see their bizarre relationship transform into more of loyalty, attachment, and even respect. This idea can really pique viewers’ interests because it shows how a man can get along with a beast. It’s also interesting to see the two learn from one another despite having almost nothing in common. Furthermore, Tora begins to display human behavior throughout the show which is something that can be quite fascinating to explore.
Despite being the core characters of the series, there are also other characters gets that gets involved in the story. Ushio’s friends, Asako and Mayako, are prime examples of what friends really should be. Although their personalities are different, they display courage, trust, and is always willing to lend a hand to their friends when needed. There’s also some subtle romance that can easily be realized from the beginning with them and Ushio. And likewise, the show doesn’t forget to establish their position and role including background stories. These are important to show their connections to the supernatural occurrences that happen throughout the series. While this isn’t a big surprise, it does give more prestige to their role in the story as opposed to them being just an outsider. Of course, the series introduces even more characters with supernatural origins that gets directly involved with the bizarre events. They are diversely introduced ranging from skilled exorcists, Kamaitachi, and spirits. What’s also interesting is how they all grow to accept their roles because of Ushio’s actions. As Ushio learns more about his past, we see how he uses his own ways to help them and in return, they return the favor. Not all of them are like this though as each character in the show has their own motives and reasonings.
Now, the show will take small bits of patience to get used to. Anyone coming into the series completely fresh will question about the structure of the story. The first half of the series has an episodic nature with even bits of slice of life. Each of those episodes introduces the Big Bad while we see how Ushio and Tora solve these problems. Of course, the characters in these episodes have an overall connection to the series’ main premise. What can upset viewers is the pacing as it can quickly become repetitive. Luckily, there are two factors that can spark more interest. First, each of those standalone episodes has some sort of message that also involves interpersonal conflicts. Some of these can be easily relatable such as an overprotective parent, revenge, or self-doubt. In retrospect, the show has a clear way of its purpose each episode. Later on, we see that there’s a central antagonist for the story and we even learn the true visage of the Beast Spear.
Even as a series with a darker premise, it still finds time for comedy. Most of this comes from the character interactions in particular Ushio and Tora. Just seeing them bicker shows how much they are alike and different the same time that turns into comically scenarios. Tora’s lack of common sense such as how a TV works is also quite amusing. In general, the comedy comes from the behavior of the characters rather than the events that occur. As a show that can easily balance between lighthearted comedy and its darker storytelling, it can be quite appreciated.
MAPPA is the official studio for the adaptation and from my experience, the series is exactly how it should be. The art style retains the familiarly from the manga although character designs looks slightly more generic. Nonetheless, the violence is still there and crafted with clear precision. Tora’s wild nature is also accurately made to show what he is capable of. On most parts, the modern setting is depicted well alongside spiritual objects and the prominent Beast Spear. In addition, the action has a smooth choreography and connects with the fighting movements. The most fascinating thing about the artwork is the monster designs. Every supernatural being discovered in the show gives off a bizarre sense of feeling and they are designed to look dangerous. As a testimony of their appearance, we can also see what they capable of that matches with their features. Finally, as I have mentioned before, the show has an old school like feeling that can easily be felt.
On most parts, the soundtrack works well for the show. There are occasional ill-timed choreography with its soundtrack but most of is met with expectations. From the thrilling action to the charismatic OP and ED theme songs, each episode delivers its soundtrack as it should. The character voice mannerism are impressive for most of the non-human creatures in particular Tora and the central antagonist that we meet later. The sinister vibe for any monsters in the series can be recognized by their voice mannerism. On the other hand, Ushio is less distinctive alongside the human character cast. It’s not bad but hardly something to write home about.
Ushio to Tora really is a supernatural battle shounen to take home at heart. The manga has over 300+ chapters and this adaptation covers two parts (2 cour of 26 episodes with an additional 13 episodes to air in Spring 2016). With that being said, there’s a good amount of faith to trust despite some early pacing issues. What we have here is more than just about a boy and a beast co-existing in the same world. It’s more about how they adapt and learn from one another. Through it storytelling with convincing technical features and clever ideas, Ushio to Tora is a unique gem for a revival. Ushio’s adventures takes him to places that he’ll never forget and hopefully, this show will be a part of your memories as well.
Oiimn
SPOILERS I was inclined to write this review because every other review for this show before they started being removed had less than 12 episodes seen, which means it was still in the "monster of the week" formula and it still had the potential to become something interesting. Disclaimer i dropped this show at the end of the first cour (12 episodes) because while it tried to start to have a plot it was still episodic. I should have dropped it for good because the plot that started to appear is nothing special or even creative, the episodic stories about different monsters are far more interesting thanthe main story.
i will give a rundown for the topics:
Story: It started episodic, which is fine but it took to long to start with the bigger story, more than half this show (13 eps) are of monster that we will never see again. But now for the actual story, should i say its "generic", i dont really wanna use that word but you are not getting here anything new or creative, the villain also doesnt have any motivation besides being evil. The villain is also super all powerful and nothing can defeat it except for our special snowflake protagonist with his super secret powerful weapon.
Nothing fascinating about it, it has been done a million times already and much better than it is done here
2
Art and Animation: Really well done and it has a nice 80's/90's feel to it, looks really good. Still nothing super impressive about it like from other shows but it looks nice and it is consistently good
7
Sound: this is the one i have no clue what to give it, i liked the op but i didnt really feel any impact from the soundtrack in itself. I dont really remember anything from the OST, and it didnt really feel impactful during the show but it didnt feel out of place either. So i guess the score of average not good but not bad perfectly describes the sound for Ushio to Tora
5
Characters: At first i loved them, i still love Tora he is the high point of the show but he isnt enough, the side characters are all uninteresting and the biggest problem of the show has become Ushio.
Ok spoilers in this paragraph so i can explain why. The reason i say this is because he hasn't developed one bit, he is still the same exact person he was at the start, his "strategy" to fight any and all youkai is full frontal attack, which not surprisingly always fails. So the show becomes super repetitive because of this, Ushio has to save everyone as is typical of every shounen Mc but the only way he goes about defeating youkai is running at them and trying to poke em with a spear, over and over again. The youkai eventually wins over Ushio and then Tora comes in and saves his ass. EVERY SINGLE TIME. And to someone who as almost died 7+ times during the show you would expect Ushio to develop a bit and start thinking of other ways to go about it, unfortunately he doesnt so it feels like you are in a loop with different youkai to beat in each episode. Even when the story starts to develop he just stays the same.
Villain is just boring, its the same thing we have come to expect from these shows. Pure dark, no motivation for actually doing what he does except for the fact that it is evil. I would talk more about why the villain sucks but it would go into spoiler territory, so ill leave it at its boring.
Tora is the best thing about this show without a doubt, he is entertaining to watch he develops through the show and hes actually interesting. He does have a problem with his power level tho, its all over the place.
Every other character doesn't matter, no really they don't. They aren't even particularly interesting and when one actually is interesting at the start he just becomes a boring one after a few episodes, only there to help Ushio and Tora.
3
Enjoyement: It is clear that i am not enjoying this show, i dropped it once and then caught up to it again, but it was hard to do so because of how uninteresting this show was. If i wasnt watching it while it was airing i wouldnt have given it a second thought (dropping it). This show is something i watch in the evening so that i can focus on other things, because it destroys my desire to watch anime for the rest of the day. Even watching this show sped up like 1.5x the normal speed doesnt help (at least for me), it is a great show to put yourself to sleep with.
I dont know if i should mention that i almost always fall asleep on the second half of the episodes. Because some people will say that the reason i find it uninteresting is because i did sleep through it. Its not like the story is hard to follow, in fact its pretty basic. I did eventually watch the parts i slept through to see if i had missed anything important. This show has the highest score for making me fall asleep which in itself is actually a pretty big deal.
2
Tl;dr:
+ Tora
+ Art style and animation
+ 80's feel
- Ushio and side characters
- Repetitive monster of the week show
- The actual plot latter on
- Villain
- Character development
- Story
This show might work for some people, especially people who havent seen many shounens of this type. It does have some pretty fun first episodes, which made me stick to it. The second half of the show is just boring. I now know the reason why they kept the episodic gig for so long, because the actual plot is uninteresting compared to it.
Ok so after finishing the last 3 episodes i have to say that, the animation of this show + artstyle works really well for it, unfortunately it still has the problems i listed before (it also seemed the relationship of our mains regressed on the last episodes, and again Tora got an amazing random power for no reason at all). I stand by my word, this show should be skipped because it doesnt do anything special.
Meowsorz
Depending on who you are, this show might tickle your fancy. Or it might be that stale TV dinner you've eaten alone in your bedroom at night for the third time this week. For me at least, it accomplished tickling my feet and making me giggle like a schoolgirl only to have an odd desire to kill something with a spear. Straight to the point, this show is a good action series with some insane moments. There's always that hair-raising transformation Ushio goes through and occasional demon-like smile that makes the show what it is. Just some good ol action. If you're willing to giveit a couple of episodes, i'd say this show won't betray you.
The downsides to this show is that it can be a bit repetitive. It kind of recycles similar moments in the show so some encounters seem like deja vu. That and the overly moral nature of the main character can come off as a bit forced and turn you off depending on who you are. This show will just come down to a personal enjoyment factor.
For me, I enjoyed it a lot. It is a hell of a lot better than most recent anime, but it's definitely not an epic everyone will talk about. Just a little above average. For a more fair rating, i'd give it a 7/10. But, because i'm biased for my love of this show, i'll give it an 8/10.
Nervin
Adaptions of older manga works are always a pleasant change to the current ones, as these often have a slightly different execution or narrative to the more modern adaptations: besides, the art style can be an interesting aspect to it as well. In the case of Ushio to Tora, it was a disappointment: although it started with a generic, yet interesting premise, its execution was bad and repetitive , and the characters were uninteresting, as well as underdeveloped. In addition, it was amassed with all shōnen clichés together, the art style being the positive aspect of the anime. ~Story~ The story of Ushio to Tora is generic,centered around Ushio, a teenager whose father plagues him with an ancient story of an ancestor impaling a demon with a legendary Beast Spear. Naturally, the protagonist refuses to believe such nonsense, but to his surprise he encounters the very same impaled demon, releasing the spirits surrounding it; Ushio's friends being targeted by these, he is left with no other option then to retrieve the legendary spear, and with that, the demon itself. What will the consequences be for the young boy? Was it really worth it?
The premise is interesting, making the viewer question what the consequences are for releasing the demon. This is done initially through events of episodic nature, introducing Ushio's life and his surroundings, whilst presenting the hardships dealing with the demon that goes by the name of Tora. There are some comedic elements present as well, which in some cases are amusing, yet was overall rather uninteresting and repetitive. It is also dedicated to introducing the various characters, as well slowly showing audiences with the different types of monsters in the world, essentially making it a "villain of the week" type of show. Nevertheless, these are interesting, which seemingly hints at the bigger events to come linked with both the spear and the demon; which it does, yet this is where all the issues with the anime begin.
First of all, when actual story developments takes place, this is not innovative, and is badly done: it is very generic, and often done better in other anime/manga with similar content, being the progression as well as the pacing inconsistent. This often caused by the characters themselves, but this will be discussed later on. Another issue are the action scenes in the anime: these are throughout the whole story basically the same and tensionless, with Ushio always rushing in head straight and loosing, consequently being saved by someone else. The power levels are very inconsistent as well, characters being stronger or weaker whenever the plot demands it or is convenient for story progression.
~Characters~
The story itself could have worked out well, if it wasn't for the characters: these were basically the main issue with Ushio to Tora, as the story relied heavily on them. The cast of character presented are not huge, yet sufficient for the story: these were in addition varied, ranging from diverse demons, humans, and organizations. The problem was that most of these were uninteresting, generic and one-dimensional, the majority having no convincing motives for their actions, besides of changing in their actions and motives whenever it was convenient for the plot. The fact that characters didn't undergo any development or fleshing out wasn't of any aid either. These issues were very clear when actual story development took place, the episodic ones had actually some interesting characters as well as motives.
Other problem is the main character Ushio; he is the typical shonen protagonist, dumb, and values life and friendship above everything. He tries to solve his problems with shouting and rushes into fights without any thought. He hardly develops throughout the series, and fleshing out is nearly nihil as well: as a character he was hardly likeable at all, at some points even becoming annoying. However, what kept the anime somewhat interesting was Tora, who underwent character development as well as some fleshing out, as opposed to Ushio, albeit not huge either; in fact, I personally would have liked to know more about the demon's past. Tora could be described as one of the biggest Tsundere character in anime, yet with its own personality and motives. These were however rather lackluster as well, and the change in character was a bit too drastic for my likes, which however was a bit unavoidable given the nature of the anime.
The main villain of the story was certainly of interest, yet its motives were lackluster. The background information provided for these were alluring, which could be said for the different demons as well. In fact, I found myself much more interested in the demons and their backgrounds, as well as their motives, which couldn't be said about the humans. The organization to ward against demons was of interest, yet was never really expanded on, which was a drawback personally.
~Animation and sound~
One thing that can be said about Ushio to Tora is that the art style is alluring and very detailed in some cases, especially for the various demon designs - that certainly took quite some work to implement. These were often very interesting, menacing, their design intriguing the viewer for its story. As for the humans, these were somewhat varied but distinguishable, and different of current anime, which was a welcoming change. The backgrounds were well done, being detailed and befitting of the atmosphere it was trying to portray. As for the animation quality, this was well done, with fluid motions; it didn't really shine because the fights were too repetitive.
The soundtrack use in the anime was passable as a whole with some well implemented compositions, yet as a whole forgettable, which could be said about the openings and endings as well. It must be said that the opening theme was suitable for the anime. The voice actor performed their roles well, yet in some cases, because of the one-dimensional characters such as Ushio, could get a bit annoying.
~Enjoyment~
Despite all the problems Ushio to Tora had, I personally enjoyed a bit, especially the beginning of the anime: what however was very disappointing was the remainder of it, being badly written, with uninteresting and generic characters with no real motives. I personally enjoyed the different demons presented, as well as the art style of the anime. It was recently announced that the 2nd season of the series was greenlit, which I sincerely hope will be much better than this one. I really can't recommend Ushio to Tora, unless viewers don't mind the generic characters and story, or have the intention of watching the 2nd season.
Thank you for reading.
GonzyChan
Taking old anime and rebooting them for current anime viewers has not been done before. Many reasons are that the visual quality of the old anime shows, for the most part, has not aged well, especially trying to view a stream of one that is of low quality and bad subtitles. One prominent example is Space Battleship Yamato 2199 in 2013, regarded by many as a suitable remake of the classic space opera from 1974. Here we have Ushio to Tora, a reboot of a 1992 10-episode OVA based on a six year-long manga in 1990. I was not aware of their existence, but thisreboot has piqued my interest in the series.
Right when I watched the first episode, one thing that came to mind was the unique art direction of the characters. It was not something that I often saw in the past few years. Not that it looks completely different from your current art style, it is a mishmash of elements from new types of Japanese animation and old ones as old as the 90s. The faces look rough around the edges to emulate the older aesthetics of character designs and the fluidity of a good enough animation budget that was not present in most cases in that era. It is a welcoming addition to the year 2015, where the art direction in most of the shows that year was nothing unique.
How the show is presented in terms of story is a little hit or miss in many cases. At first, it becomes your classic fight a monster in each episode of anime until it gets into a big climactic arc near the middle and 2nd half. The first arcs are fine to let us get to know our two protagonists, Ushio and Tora. We see how their relationship starts and see it gradually grow and give some good individual stories, the one involving Omamori-sama being the highlight of the bunch. I enjoyed the first big arc involving the girls helping out Ushio from his torments because it gave the supporting cast some humanity to them than just the one character that Ushio saves in that particular episode.
However, the plot lost me afterward with the addition of the time travel plot involving a princess of the ancient times in how they present it in a rushed manner. Had they made it longer to develop them further for me to garner sympathy for the princess character and feel the anguish of one character without spoiling anything, I think it could have been great. It just starts to get stale after a while. The last couple of episodes especially feels out of place in how short-lived and underwhelming it felt with bland villains with cliched intentions. It isn’t something that I would call terrible by any measure, but I feel like, had they slowed the pace a little in the 2nd half, it could have worked better in the long run.
As much as the plot does not live up near the end, Ushio no Tora makes up for this with a great cast of characters. I found Ushio and Tora likable in their charm and chemistry as two opposite personalities working together at odds with their intentions; Ushio’s to save the people he loves from evil and Tora to one day eat him when he doesn’t notice. There are points where it might seem a bit silly, but Ushio no Tora is, by and large, a silly show in some cases. Mostly due to the character of Tora, who often has hilarious animation quirks that morphs him from this terrifying-looking monster to a chibi-looking caricature with big cartoony eyes. Many might find this a bit conflicting, but for the most part, the show does balance out the comedy and serious moments well enough that it doesn’t feel distracting. Again, seeing both of these lovely characters bicker at each other is always a comedic splendor and makes them the best duo of the year.
The supporting cast has its fair share of great characters, and at worst, they are average. As I’ve mentioned before, the female characters have some characterization as far as supporting casts go and do things to further Ushio's character progression than be catalysts for one plot arc and nothing else. The villains, however, are nothing special and forgettable as a result. Either their intentions are predictable or don’t come across as intimidating. Not counting the monsters that Ushio and Tora fight, just the villains harm the protagonists. Especially those in the last arc where they felt like they were ripped straight off of another anime involving bad scientists. Nothing straight-up awful, but nothing that will be looked at with admiration.
A good sleeper hit is what I would describe Ushio no Tora. Though it does not gravitate any higher than your typical shounen anime involving supernatural elements, it didn’t need to. It fits all of the aspects that make shounen anime a good treat to see while you leave it in the background every once in a while after watching it. It aims to please the eyes and ears, and that is how most shounen anime succeed in being good but not great. Life isn’t perfect, as they say.
Grade: B
MagnitudeReviews
Ushio to Tora... Gotta be honest, I have a far different opinion on this series compared to what some other people might say about it. ========================================================== ~Story~ The story of UTT is quite simple, it mostly focuses on our two main characters: Ushio and Tora. It shows the long history of this world: how the spear was made, it shows what Ushio's family history is like, how the world has advanced over time, the history of Tora and all the other monsters in the world. But for the first half of the show it is quite simply an "monster of the week" type series which I personallyam totally fine with, but for the second half of the series most people might have a problem with but personally I enjoyed it even more than the first half... which this second half is where the story actually gets started and talks about the several things that I mentioned above.
~Characters~
The cast of characters in this series is vast and severely underdeveloped and this is where most people have the biggest problem with the show, but the thing that makes me completely fine with it is how this show is a journey where the two main characters travel from town to town. It is with this large amount of traveling that makes me completely fine with it, because the two main characters might end up meeting many different people along the way in which they serve their main role in the episode or two that they star in... and then Ushio and Tora move onto the next town where they end up meeting the next person.
(One other thing about how people complain about the episode where they have girls comb Ushio's hair... it is mostly there in my eyes just to give more screentime to those character whom we have never seen since the episode they starred in.)
As for the main characters: I love them... but of course they are not the most well written characters, but they work well with this world and more important with each other. You can tell throughout the entire series that there is a love hate with one another, they pass jokes around with one another, they make fun of one another, and even fight/argue with each... but in the end they are always willing to get each other out of trouble, no matter the circumstances and over time you can tell how they are growing closer to one another as the episodes go by. Also... Tora is best boy of the year.
~Comedy~
The jokes in this series as I mentioned above, it is mostly just back and forth fighting between our two main characters: Ushio and Tora. And is mostly there for the sake of being comedy relief and in my opinion, it works really well. Every so often it is poorly timed, but it only exists for maybe a quick one liner or so, just long enough for the character to make fun of the situation and then later snaps back into reality and becomes serious about the situation once more. But just remember comedy is entirely subjective, but personally I really enjoyed it.
~Music~
The Soundtrack isn't amazing but it isn't terrible either, but it does work extremely well with the show. The opening is very 90's focused and I feel as if it helps get you in the mood for the type of show that this show is, it isn't the best opening ever but it does work really well with the context. The Ending themes, they are both really well made songs but personally I have a lot of fun with them but... I feel as if I will forget about them by the end of Winter 2016 season.
~Art/Animation~
The art makes me feel as if I am watching an 90's shounen, which is exactly what the show should feel like, because it is an 90's shounen except it is made in the current modern time. The animation itself is solid, it is always consistent, and there are no animation derps or horrible cgi... if there even is any in the first place.
~Dialogue~
It is not anything extremely thought provoking or memorable for the matter of fact, but it works for the type of series that Ushio to Tora is. But if I was to make one critique about it, is how the writers of the show really need to learn about "Show Don't Tell". Here is a screenshot I took that was near the end of this season, but I felt like it needed to be addressed http://i.imgur.com/zK7YmoM.png ... It mostly shows how there is a female character who is upset about an action that was made by another character's actions, but instead of showing the raw emotion that the character is feeling through different facial expressions or body movements or even just make her her yell about what her thoughts are don't just flat out say "I am angry", because by saying that you are telling that you are angry yet on screen you do not appear to be angry at all.
In the long run, I remember seeing this show listed on anichart just before the show aired and I wasn't expecting much, it looked good but I wasn't entirely positive about whether I would love the series or hate it so I went in not expecting much (this also occurred with Rokka no Yuusha & Arslan Senki). In which I ended up being extremely blown away about how much I loved this series, and ended up noticing how I continuously loved the next episode more than the last and this cycle continued throughout the entire series. This series was one of the few where I was counting down the days till the next episode was released. BUT one thing I had to mention is how even tho this show got mixed reviews, I still raved on about how much I loved it and this ended up pissing off a few people because it just ended up being a coincidence about this show got mixed reviews (where this is also the case with Arslan Senki). It isn't my fault about how much I love a series, if I really enjoy something I will talk about it... shouldn't that be common sense?
Anyways, I am really excited to see where this story is heading with the upcoming Season 2 that is going to airing in Spring 2016. But no matter the problems I have with the series the positives far outweigh the negatives. And in this case, I give Ushio to Tora my first 9/10 for any series I've seen that aired this year... and also has earned a spot on my Top 10 favorite series that I have seen to date.
Eren
When I started watching this series, I wasn't that convinced that it would be good. But, the show actually proved me wrong. It was a wonderful story done right. It had it's creepy moments, as well as heart warming moments. The animation was pretty good. The emotion shown by the characters were well animated and looked top notched, to a point where the facial expressions portrayed the character' emotion well. Some expressions were too creepy to a point where it even gave me goosebumps. The only reason I gave it a 9/10 was because of the main character's design. Could have been designed to looka bit better. Bottom line: The show was pretty great and I personally think you should check it out, if you still haven't. The characters are lovable, the emotions were expressed pretty well. Overall, MAPPA studio did a pretty great job.
delzog
Someone else put it best and their comment was the one that incited me to watch this. After the drudgery of anime shows that want you to 'figure' out what the hell is going on "Ushio to Tora," doesn't play into that stupid and annoying trend where you have to watch half the series or more just to know what the hell is going on! The characters are great. Often humorous, but with a serious side that allows the series to continue on in a nice forward progressing dramatic fashion. There's a touch of romance, comedy, drama and even some tragedy that mustbe overcome.
A personal gripe of mine is the 'screaming' and 'wailing' characters. And thought this was evident in this show, it wasn't to the point of wanting me to mute the volume or fast-forward past those annoying moments.
Overall the series kept me enthralled til the end; an excellent job for 39 episodes.
TrollMuncher
In 2006, the term 'Shounen' was widespread as series such as One Piece and Naruto were at the peak of their popularity, with anime of the genre being as popular as they could be. Fast forwarding 10 years, the trend has mostly died down, with on exception which bears its old school Shounen roots proudly: Ushio to Tora. Adapted from a manga originating in the 1990s, Ushio to Tora embodies many of the tropes modern anime fans despise: Friendship speeches, semi-episodic storylines and a rowdy main character. However, Ushio to Tora has a really good selling point in that it has lots of charm to itwhich many anime lack.
Our main character here is Aotsuki Ushio, a 14 year old boy with boisterous energy. Looking typical without attractive facial features, Ushio is pretty much the epitome of an ordinary school kid which keeps things down to earth.The main draw of Ushio to Tora lies with its other main character, Tora. Tora is a large and unfriendly Yokai, he starts out pretty unlikeable when he first meets Ushio but goes through comprehensive character development.
The story of Ushio to Tora seems to start out pretty rote with many episodic sequences, but quite a lot of it is devoted to character development. When the main plot of the series kicks in however, prepare to be enthralled as the intensity of the emotions in the show ramps up. People do die in this series, not as many as I would have liked but more than enough to evoke a sense of hate for the villain.
The art of Ushio to Tora is excellent, a masterclass of how to make a series look good despite having not much animation at its low-ish budget. The Youkai in this show are all really well designed, evoking a sense of ancient creepiness. The facial expressions in this show are particularly intense, whether its the protagonist struggling for help or the villain compressing its face into a terrifying glare.
Despite the soundtrack not having a single track that stands out for me, it works really well as a mood setter. Its somber when it needs to be, which has in turn created some of the most memorable scenes for a long time, especially scenes which showcase the main villain's ferocity. The voice acting of the series is on point, Ushio's shouts and screams can be felt with genuine emotion and Koyama Rikiya's depiction of Tora is amazing despite being a radical departure from the characters he normally voices. The voice of the main villain of the series is a real standout for me, unique yet portraying a real sense of menace.
As it stands, the first season of Ushio to Tora is a worthy addition to the vast library of action anime available. It knows how to use the resources it has at its disposal to create an attention-holding experience, despite having a bit of a slow start. Its been a great 26 episodes of Ushio to Tora, and I look forward to seeing more.
EP1
My way of describing Ushio to Tora is like playing a musical piece. It started out slow and eventually increased in its tempo. Occasionally, it may drop the tempo a bit but unlike any other anime, a small drop of tempo eventually increased exponentially fast. Until it peaked on its finale on the second season which, I would consider, the top 10 shounen series in anime history. Ushio to Tora is the kind of anime that has a gradual progression plot like any 90's manga or anime. It requires some patience watching in the beginning but it will eventually pay off asa real classic cult of its own.
After reading entire 300+ chapters manga and watching the complete season 1 and 2 of this anime. Is Ushio to Tora worth the watch? Absolutely, yes.
First 10 episodes of this season may seem like repetitive, monster of the week plot but it had some comedic moments happening between the two main characters. The introduction of each characters in the first 10 episodes will be extremely relevant and the plot in the beginning will soon come into a full circle in the second season. Each characters will play a role taking down an ultimate villain, so vicious that it is unlike anything you have ever encountered before.
The strongest point about this anime is not much about the character development of Ushio but, rather, the development of Tora. It may not be obvious in this season but he would play a major role in the plot of second season. If you want to see some character development of Ushio, I would suggest reading the manga instead which contains a lot of details skipped in the anime.
Overall, this anime is definitely a hidden gem. The anime may have some flaws in it especially in the beginning but it actually contained a driving plot once the ultimate villain was introduced. Then, you will see the plot started rolling out impressively towards season 2, where the grand scheme would be revealed in the finale, with all the perfect emotional notes hit right in your feels.
Japanesta
- story seems to be repeated .. the theme of " fight between humans & demons " & maybe comes to your mind " inyusha " & " blue exorcist " .. kinda the same frame .. - one hero that always save the day .. - " together we can do it ! no matter what it is difficult " , sacrificing for friends & protect them , never giving up .. based on this staff a lot .. for the first 10 episode ( it could be 9 or 8 can't remember exactly) .. the same idea .. new demon , new fight& new coming danger there to deal with .. ( kinda boring ! )
but , after that .. things will be taking another curve ! .. new shocking secrets will be revealed ..
for the art .. it is classic like anime from nineties .. i prefer that style of drawing over the current one .. ( that's one of the good point about it for me )
Yagyuu_Mugen
This show was quite intriguing and thanks to the trend of remaking old shows it's nice to get to see more polished versions of stories that might otherwise pass us by, Ushio to Tora is such a show. Story 6/10 Without spoiling too much, Ushio is the son of priest who finds a Dai-yokai impaled with a spear on his basement. The ancient yokai is later named Tora, and the spear that was holding it impaled is the Legendary artifact "Kemono no Yari" or the "Beast Spear" fabled as one of the strongest demon slaying tools. In an excalibur like fashion Ushio becomes the wielder ofthe Spear, Tora possesses Ushio and the two set out on various demon slaying adventures. The Story goes from episodic monster encounters to a more overarching plotline involving more of the character cast and more specifically Ushio's past and his relation to the Spear. The show while 26 episodes long feels even longer just from the sheer amount of mini arcs it develops. The characters travel a lot and go through a lot, with new information creating the bigger picture. There is some use of foreshadowing and while it's not much , it's well executed.
What I liked was that by the last episode the show made me feel anticipation for the next season but at the same time you feel invested in the show because of how much time it has spent building its world, history and characters. While the concept is nothing too outstanding, it's interesting enough to draw you in (provided you are into that sort of thing) and the execution is well done. There are some moments here and there where the story falls a bit flat, but nothing too jarring.
Characters 6/10
This show sports a rather large character cast, both in humans and Yokai.
Characters have variable screen time, but most of the characters introduced are recurring and make multiple appearances with the interactions between them being plentiful and entertaining.
Ushio himself is strong willed, carefree, but very energetic and moral and he will go to his limits in order to adhere to his principles, a really nice element is how a "pure-hearted human" like Ushio struggles to go forward in the world of the Yokai and how his interactions with the Yokai make for some pretty interesting banter.
These elements make the world of Ushio to Tora feel more full and alive, rather than just a linear string of episodic acquaintances (Pokemon style).
While the personalities and nature of most characters are well defined and fleshed out, the show is a bit lacking in character development, Ushio in particular doesn't seem to change or develop much from how he was on the first 3 episodes compared to the last 3 episodes. Some characters in the supporting cast seem to progress a bit as the story unfolds, but the characters' personalities and interactions is where the meat and potatoes of the show is. Some characters also come off as a bit formulaic but it's usually not characters that are heavily featured, if you don't mind characters being well defined but relatively stable over the series, then you shouldn't have any problems.
Art 7/!0
Ushio to Tora is fierce and action packed with a very distinctive old-school-ish art-style to boot. The character designs of both the monsters and the characters are well done and the variety in presentation either through drastic color changes, uses of shadows, shading and lighting, an extensive color pallet, various drawing styles and the over exaggeration of facial features really helps drive the atmosphere of the show to the viewer. The Yokai designs are based on classical Japanese drawings but made more dark, angular and sinister.Ushio to Tora has a very strong visual presentation and studio Mappa did a good job animating it. Action scenes feel intense and the show doesn't hesitate to get graphical, with many of its's scenes being really strong, especially the fights between the Yokai. While not the best looking show of the season nor the show with the most fluid combat animation, it comes wearing its' own brand of clothing and it does so in style.
Sound 6/10
The soundtrack is very fitting to the show, it's intense when it needs to be intense and it features a variety of tracks that match the multitude of situations the show features. While no individual track stood out on its' own when I watched the show, the opening deserves a special mention as I feel it perfectly captures the feel of the show and is a great way to prepare the viewer for what's coming.
Enjoyment-Overall: 6/10
Ushio to Tora features an interesting concept a vivid character cast with many interactions with presentation being it's strongest suit. while there were some episodes or moments were I felt a bit bored, for the most time the show kept me engaged, got me a bit invested and featured variety in the story, the characters and the situations they were in. If you like adventure Yokai anime this one is definitely worth checking out
shehrozeameen
Overall, Ushio to Tora (the 2015 remake) is an average anime in terms of story delivery, characters, and the general ambience it sets for itself. Starting off: Story As a story, it has a surprisingly interesting plot with plot points that are well illustrated yet come off like tropes which are used generally in anime. While the characters (somehow) make this anime sustainable, the story itself - in its bare boned form - is mediocre and adequate only because of the reliance of tropes which are common in shonen anime: betrayal and all that. Also, so far as the main story itself is concerned, it is from ep 1to 23. 24 was a complete dud, and same goes for 25 and 26. If you can reach AFTER 25 then it is sheer force of will and the anime tradition of "finishing what you started". Nothing more, nothing less.
Art:
I don't have much comments to make on this other than it is good. The mix of chibi with serious moments - and the designs of the ghosts and various wraiths which appear throughout the story - are well drawn, and particularly in terms of the end villian (ep 1 to 23), they had put in a lot of work - she genuinely is a scary mofo if I ever saw one.
Sound:
The acting by the cast was decent, although I personally think that Ushio sounds older than he actually should be. He's 13 or 14 at best, yet he sounds like an old man of 35 (at the very least).
Characters:
Tropes. I liked only Ushio and Tora, although Ushio's Dad, Mai, Mai's brother, the end villain, and probably the biker dude, are definitely strandouts. Ushio and Tora are the only reason I bother watching this anime, or else I found the two female support casts (I don't remember their names, but they're always around with Ushio) annoying and dumb. Furthermore, the kid who appears between ep 20 to 23 is annoying and retarded as hell - almost like a big fat middle finger on the viewer. I say this because he had one dimensional construct and convenient plot device written all over him (even though his back story, and the entire premise on HOW he is used by the end villain, to the plot's credit, is still well handled).
Nevertheless, it wasn't ear grinding unbearable all the time because the interaction between the characters is really well handled. I think that it got a 7 because - unlike Naruto - the characters didn't waste time: kept to the plot, focused on their motivations, and they were into a protagonist who is genuinely likable.
Overall:
Its an okay anime - as a story from ep 1 to 23, I will genuinely admit that I was into it and it certainly used its premise well. But from 23 onwards (24, 25 and 26) it was simply grinding my ears in "character development" which really wasn't needed. Where the anime itself stands strong is the characters of Ushio and Tora - who are decent and make for really good entertainment value in my opinion, and in particular Tora who in himself is funny when he wants to be.
Bottom line, if anyone goes and calls this 3, I tell them to watch Naruto - that show is a 3 and it is a bitch to watch through. This? Its a decent adaptation and I liked the duration I watched it. Comes in the same category as "Akame ga kill" though (which is 7)
Flawfinder
The word I've been hearing regarding the newest iteration of Ushio and Tora is that most people only paid attention to it because of its retro look and a good chunk of said people were turned off by how dated the story is. That is, if the monster-of-the-week format doesn't turn them off first. I’m not going to lie, it’s sort of a lame and outdated concept to build a show around, but at least it ensures that there’ll be conflict every episode. Most anime don’t even have that nowadays, unless you count learning how to hold hands as acceptable conflict. And yet, for somestrange reason, people willing chose to watch Dull-rarara over it. Hell, people are watching that shitty Utawarerumono sequel over it. I didn’t even know the original was an anime you were supposed to watch back in the day, but then again I didn’t keep up with current anime in 2006.
Not that Ushio & Tora’s age can be easily dismissed. The characterization and comedy are the most obvious factors when you take into account that the source material was written in the 80s and they’ve aged worse than whatever Ippo is doing to continue running after all these years. Almost three decades later and Ushio is still a very boring shonen stereotype who only fights because he wants to save people, even crying over dead grandmothers he knew for all of five minutes. And whilst Tora is generally fun due to his unpredictable nature, I will never find physical abuse funny and you’d have to be very genre blind to think for a second he’d really betray Ushio. Whilst their opposing philosophies do make for some fun interaction, a lot of humor I’d expect to see from Fullmetal Alchemist rears its ugly head on a semi-frequent basis. And Fullmetal Alchemist’s humor sucks balls.
Now I’ve said before in regards to DC’s output that the protagonists being lame can work if the antagonists and challenges they face are good, and I’d like to make an addendum that a good supporting cast can also work wonders to liven up a boring lead as well, as every Harry Potter movie can attest to. With that said, the supporting cast is decent for the most part, but it’s nice to see that the idea to have a large number of said composed of schoolgirls who have a tendency to get their clothes ripped is one cliche that hasn’t budged in thirty fucking years. I still find it strange that Ushio doesn’t have any human friends besides those two schoolgirls, but that sort of stops being a problem when you start to realize that more than half the episodic monsters have a taste for underage female flesh that can’t help but admire a boy who saves them with a giant spear. And the justification for why they’re in the story is pretty weak too. A little more than halfway through the story, Ushio gets turned in a rampaging beast that can only be saved by females who care for him by combing his hair (it makes sense in context). Fair enough, but I don’t see why that couldn’t have been accomplished with just the two girls he knows and have actual storyline significance after said event occurs.
It really would have helped the show’s pacing if they had just been excluded entirely, that’s for sure. Now Ushio & Tora is a manga series that’s over thirty volumes long and Mappa could only afford 39 episodes to tell the complete story, so they had to cut more corners than FMA: Brotherhood did in order to get to the stuff we hadn’t seen before. Of course, just like Brotherhood, the cutting was very apparent during its first thirteen episodes with several of the episodic stories feeling like they should have been an hour long and some of the messages to get diluted in response. Some of the stories like the one regarding the evil father in the mansion and the white-haired chick were fine examinations of humanity’s dark side, but for everyone that worked, there’d be one with hackneyed writing. The absolute nadir of the experience for me was the episode with the sickle mongooses, which was two episodes long in the original OVA series and I didn’t really enjoy because the whole conflict was based heavily around a cliched environmental message. And whilst I applaud rushing through that lame arc as fast as possible, at least the message had buildup when it was first brought to TV and more importantly, it had actual animation.
And the animation can be embarrassingly bad. It - along with everything else for that matter - gets more consistent once the second half starts and the show gets into the meaty parts of the manga. But as is usual for Mappa anime, they tend to devote the most time and care to the important parts of their shows whilst the less important parts end up being Deen-level embarrassments. That’s fine when you’re at the parts when it’s good and enjoying the show using its potential to its fullest, but it tends to make the weaker parts even more sluggish than they need to be. Unfortunately, said weak parts make up a not-so-insignificant portion of Ushio & Tora’s setup phase, and whilst it never sinks to Arslan levels of incompetent, it really wasn’t worth introducing that many characters who barely have any storyline significance even if they’re likable as a whole. Don’t think I didn’t notice that the male background characters from the OVAs didn’t make it into the series.
I know I’m devoting a lot of time seeming to hate on Ushio & Tora, but I really don’t. There’s a lot you have to swallow to get into it of course, but the show’s storytelling chops do a fine job at making the experience worthwhile. It’s an anime about humanity’s dark side, which I generally enjoy as a concept, and whilst the way it explores said dark side through the demons from Inuyasha is nothing new, it’s generally executed well enough to feel fresh. The shonen action genre more often than not treats the subject matter as an accessory for its fight scenes, so to see stuff like Ushio & Tora and Tokyo Ghoul (first season only) do the reverse is something I highly support, especially in regards to having the genre get out of that style-as-substance mindset that it's never gonna fully escape from as long as the Blu-ray sales have control over the market.
What really sells Ushio and Tora's story is the moral ambiguity surrounding our simplistically good protagonists. It really was refreshing to learn that all the demons that attack Ushio live in fear of a much bigger demon ala the plot twist regarding the dragons in How to Train Your Dragon, but Ushio & Tora goes a step further in regards to explaining why said demon is fearful and why he wasn't destroyed back when there was a golden opportunity to do so. And the humans who fight the demons aren't exactly innocent either. Whilst the last arc is a bit of a cliche, it was refreshing to see science in a narrative that is mostly mythological-driven along with it being used to hurt and help both sides in a way that actually has consequences you can't just brush aside. And although the unambiguously evil youkai outnumber the unambiguously evil humans even if you discount the fact that the big bad belongs to the former, the show does a good job at playing both sides even if it never really goes below heavy-handed in terms of whatever message it wants to convey. It's a pity the action never really lives up to the standards of Mappa's previous action-heavy anime even when it is given actual animation, but it's still pretty intense when it needs to be. However, the number of times Ushio loses and has to get bailed out by his flying tiger that he can somehow put in place despite said tiger being much stronger than the monsters who beat the crap out of him is kind of off-putting and really puts in my mind an action-ized version of Calvin and Hobbes.
So as long as you're not allergic to old-school shonen, I'm giving Ushio & Tora my recommendation for its dark storytelling, likable characters, hit-and-miss action, and the fact that you don't need to watch over a hundred episodes to get into the good stuff. And hopefully when its last cour airs next season, I can give it an even stronger one. Let's see if this epic conclusion is really as epic as old-school fans say, or if it's a Final Fantasy VI-like product of its time.
SpectrumCandy
Despite a lot of other opinions I've seen in the reviews I am totally in love with this series. Overall very likable characters with great character building. The story might not be the most original you've ever seen, but it still has it's own unique twists and turns. I had good laughs and sorrow fillied cries through out the whole series and second season was an amazing finish that left me relieved and heartbroken at the same time. To me it was something special. It might not be for everyone, but personally I enjoyed the humor, the sadness, the tight bonds developing through the storyand I felt fulfilled. My questions were answered and there were no holes leaving me dissatisfied in the end. I loved this series and feel almost empty that my journey with Ushio and Tora is over.
Emia98
My review covers both seasons, since I marathon it on Netflix, I didn’t realize I actually watched 2 seasons lol. I read a review here saying the plot is bland. Well, Ushio & Tora was originally made in the 90s and I think it’s a good anime coming from that era. Was it perfect? No. It does have some flaws but to compare it with newer generation anime is not fair. The storyline is linear and straightforward. Honestly, I am a liiiitle bit disappointed with the open ending but as a whole, it was entertaining series. I’m an avid Yu Yu Hakusho fan and Ushio’s demonform is a spitting image of Yuusuke’s demon form. Both have very long hair, slender body, and wears jeans. I really miss YYH and watching Ushio & Tora made me feel contented. One might argue that Ushio doesn’t have character development. I agree with that because he never seriously trained despite being the chosen one. I mean, many main characters had special training before facing the final boss, right? Unfortunately, Ushio didn’t get that. As for personality, I think he doesn’t need development because he’s already the generic cheerful, high-spirit, and kind-hearted protagonist (the type of MC that I like). Because of that personality, he managed to unite the human and demon races. It was interesting to see them working together to fight a shared enemy.
On the other hand, Tora has a great character development even though he acts tsundere about it until the very end lol. It was a running gag in the anime that he would eat Ushio. I found Tora similar to a cat, especially when he mounted on Ushio’s shoulder.
I also like how the side characters were handled. They weren’t tossed away and came to aid in fighting the final villain. Ushio’s parents also play a vital plot in the story whereas most other anime just made the parents either dead or not mentioned at all.
What I dislike was the unreasonable fanservice. There was so much nudity. The girls also, on multiple occasions, just brush off their supernatural incident as a dream and easily fainted, much to my annoyance. Ushio met several girls throughout the story, but I can say his girlfriend (though the two never confessed their feelings to each other) wasn’t the best girl. Mayuka was the most lovable girl. She played important role in the final fight too.
Very disappointed how the anime made Ushio’s mother a stoic person. I read the manga a bit to see if she acts the same, in fact, she shows care towards Ushio much better in the manga. After the final battle, she held Ushio’s unconscious body dearly and was expressively grateful that he was safe. The Anime version made her say and do nothing.
Another thing that I found weird; Ushio was told to meet his uncle to learn the truth about his mother. But he never met his uncle at the end of the journey. Somehow, he just forgot about the uncle? IDK
Besides that, I think the backstory was so cramped in the final battle. It was a bit messy and could have been better. Nevertheless, it was still a pretty good shonen and I enjoyed watching it.
Dompa112
I ended up enjoying this more than i thought after a bit rough opening first 6-7 episodes. Loudmouthed. To much screaming. To much acting like an idiot. I guess pretty typical shounen. But then around episode 8 and after atleast some sort of plot opens up building up for a more meaningful journey for Ushio and Tora rather than just nonsense fighting and screaming. Its still there but theres more and more focus on the reason for their journey, events leading up to it. An interesting backstory. Unfortunely towards the end the show kinda slows down a bit after the big reveals. Kinda just waitingfor S2 to pick up.
The show has some pretty cool fights. Enjoyed the animation. Music is good. OP good. Not great. But it has that classic shounen OP sound. 26 episoded was a few to many as there were several episodes which dragged things down a bit. But overall i enjoyed this show and it kept me invested and interested enough to want to continue with S2.
