Ushio and Tora

It’s been a while since I’ve throroughly enjoyed an anime series. Ushio and Tora made me feel reminiscent of the shows we’ve had during the 1990s. Titles such as Yu Yu Hakusho, Flame of Recca, Shaman King, Dragon Ball Z and the like. Shows that have quality filler episodes; fillers that have direct connection to the situation at hand. Unlike those useless fillers we get nowadays. The anime series Ushio & Tora was directed by Satoshi Nishimura. It was co-produced by MAPPA and Studio VOLN, with the series also written by Toshiki Inoue and Kazuhiro Fujita.

The original OVA ran from September 11, 1992 to August 1, 1993. It only consisted of 10 episodes yet it was still able to cover the core of the whole manga series.

“Ushio and Tora is a supernatural action-comedy series about a high school student, Ushio Aotsuki, who accidentally releases a powerful demon named Tora from a 500-year-long seal in his family’s temple basement. To save himself and his home from the other monsters that Tora’s release attracts, Ushio is forced to wield the legendary Beast Spear, which binds Tora to him and grants him power. The synopsis centers on their reluctant partnership as they fight evil spirits and mythological creatures, navigating their conflicting personalities and their growing, yet often antagonistic, friendship.”

Characters & Voice Actors

Ushio (voiced by Tasuku Hatanaka) is our main protagonist. Even if we got the usual template of a hero, with traits being selfless, sincere, courageous, brave and true, the anime leans over to the darker side of things and most of the time, duting fights, we get to see the gritty part of Ushio. You could hear the desperation from his voice and it cuts through the air.

When I first heard Tora’s (Rikiya Koyama) voice, immediately I could picture out Mamoru Takamura (Hajime no Ippo) dealing a nasty haymaker to his opponent. Upon research, it was indeed Takamura that gave life to Tora. They had the same grit and raspiness to their voice. Even their maniacal laugh was identical. Rikiya Koyama definitely gave a masterful performance and made Tora come to life.

Hakumen no Mono’s (voiced by Megumi Hayashibara) voice was eerily unique, and I couldn’t think of a better way on how this was executed. I’m not very technical with the terminologies in audio, but it sounded like 3 voices overlapping each other, like a number of souls trapped within its body.

Pacing

Spanning for a good number of 39 episodes, Ushio and Tora ended the series on a high note, I couldn’t ask for a better ending. There were some filler episodes, but all of it was a necessary build up towards the conflict at hand. It was nicely paced and I could’t stop watching it.

Character and Creature Design

The monster designs in Ushio and Tora were a blend of traditional Japanese folklore (yokai), mixed with original creature designs by the team. They didn’t stick with just incorporating the frightening aspects of a yokai, but they also included comedic elements to it and gave the monsters more character and depth.

Hats off to the team behind the design of the creatures, the sheer number of different designs was overwhelming when you think about it. Each and every one of them was unique in their own right.

I love how simple the design of the Beast Spear was, yet it overflows with power and menace.

Themes

Ushio and Tora tackles the themes of Friendship and Loyalty, starting as enemies and doing things out of obligation, to now Tora does things out of self sacrifice. The anime doesn’t shy away from showing the dark side of things, people sacrificing themselves for the greater good, even for people they haven’t met before.

The build up was awesome, they started with making us believe how cruel and heartless yokais can be, to the point that our mentality was all yokais should d1e. Then towards the end we get that sense lf camaraderie between humans and yokais, uniting to defeat a common enemy and eventually living peacefully.

Final Thoughts

Not one episode was boring, it was a rollercoaster of emotions coupled with the 90s anime feel. The art style was mean and gritty and very unapologetic in showing what they truly wanted to convey. Ushio and Tora felt like a love letter to 90s anime and a perfect homage to traditional Japanese yokai.