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Ushio and Tora
Good Cop, Bad Cop
Series in a Sentence
By freeing a demon sealed away by the cursed Beast Spear found in the basement of his family’s temple, Aotsuki Ushio and the demon Tora travel on a journey to defeat the demons that stalk them.
What I liked
If you’ve read any of my prior reviews, you might notice a trend surrounding a certain taste I have: I love older series that get a modern coat of paint and a time to shine. Parasyte the Maxim is another example of this type of show and, like Parasyte, Ushio and Tora really grabbed me. More so than Parasyte, though, Ushio and Tora felt like an older series (in a good way). Character designs had a gritty feel and were in line with older aesthetic preferences in animation, character backstories were unique and uniquely tragic in a way that defies the modern cookie cutter ideas, the pacing was both focused and free (more on that later), and the story itself wove in parts of various cultural mythos to really make the world feel alive. Now for an explanation on that pacing being “focused and free:” The story had a great mix of main plotlines and “filler” plotlines that both were able to further character development. This mix kept the series fresh, always had characters evolving, and (most impressively) was wrapped up in a story with very defined story arcs. By having such defined story arcs, ranging from learning about skills to honing skills to discovering truths to the final battle, this series really hammered home the feeling of an adventure. At least from what I’ve seen in this day and age, when a series is an “adventure,” there is really one goal that is being worked towards. Here, there is one goal that is constantly evolving without losing its focus. Again, this is thanks to dynamic characters, settings, and themes. Ultimately, then, this series harkens back to a different time of storytelling that, when combined with great fights, makes a lot of the modern shounen series seem derivative or simplistic.
What I Didn’t Like
I really had to think about what to put in this section because in hindsight and on rewatch I did really enjoy this show. However, when the show was coming out on a weekly basis, there were weeks where I would just leave the episode for later. Sometimes, this would go on for a few weeks at a time. On one hand, I can attribute this to wanting to build up episodes to watch all at once. On the other hand, though, I can probably attribute this skipping tendency to the fact that this show is unabashedly straightforward. Yes, the story and motivations are fluid and yes the characters have great development and stories BUT this story isn’t one that keeps you hooked with twists and questions. Yes, there are twists and yes, there are questions to be answered but they aren’t the type that will keep you up at night theory crafting or racking your brain. This isn’t necessarily a problem but it’s worth mentioning that I just waited until I knew enough episodes were out to answer my questions rather than tuning in every week dying for answers.
Overall Feelings
At it’s core, Ushio and Tora is a classic shounen series made to a standard long gone in the general pool of modern shows. It is a simple story that is somehow still fluid and dynamic in its story progression. Highlighted by great characters, thrilling fights, and some really emotional moments, Ushio and Tora accomplishes the task of reinvigorating a potentially overshadowed show. It presents ideas that you can still see today, and probably can see before it, in a way that is rarely done in the modern anime field. If you can get over the fact that it is a shounen battle series at its heart, you might be pleasantly surprised with how deep something so simple could be. Simplicity is sometimes the best refresher.