Ushio and Tora’s demon hunting marriage is still on the rocks
What They Say:
Long ago, a ferocious monster terrorized the land, until a samurai, wielding the legendary “Beast Spear”, sealed him away. 500 years later, a middle school student named Ushio Aotsuki accidently uncovers the monster in a hidden cellar under his family’s temple. The unsealed monster and the spear attract many other supernatural creatures to the temple and Ushio is forced to release the monster in order to defeat them. Ushio names the monster “Tora” and unwillingly work together to battle other spirits and demons.
The Review:
Content (warning as portions of this review may contain spoilers):
Ushio & Tora came running out of the gate full steam and chock-full of good 90’s shonen fun. This episode is more of the same in that regard though this time the focus is more on furthering the dynamic between our two equally brash leads. Needless to say, it makes for a pretty good time.
The first episode established pretty quickly that Ushio and Tora would have trouble getting along, and things indeed look bad for the demon hunting couple, though their constant banter certainly makes for some good comedy. Their relationship consists of Tora making snide comments with Ushio in turn whacking him around with the spear (which I’m kinda surprised he managed to bring to school without getting too many questions but eh, shonen logic) and their personalities clash pretty heavily. Even their tastes in activities differ as Ushio’s interested in art despite not being very good at it, while Tora’s quite interested in human history since he was stuck in Ushio’s basement for the last few centuries and isn’t very up to date on things (which of course includes the obligatory “what is this thing you call a TV” bit that’s another 90’s staple). However nothing brings people together quite like a crisis and what better one than a 90’s monster-of-the-week?
Said monster-of-the-week comes in the form of a demon called a Rock Eater that sets up magic barriers to lure in victims so it can turn them into stone before eating them. Ushio’s classmates Nakamura and Inoue (the former who is, of course, clearly in love with him) are on its menu and after a bit of persuading (a.k.a. threats) he gets Tora’s help in going after it. Unfortunately for him, when it actually comes time to fight the thing, it’s fairly one-sided and it ends up putting Ushio on the ropes pretty quickly. However rather than asking Tora for help, he instead asks Tora to do everything he can to save the girls instead which impresses him after Ushio spent so much time whacking him for being snarky. Not only does Tora decide to help the girls “this once”, he even steps into help Ushio. He might have said it’s because no one else is allowed to eat him, but it’s clear deep down the big guy’s a bit of a softie after all.
That’s not quite enough to take care of the demon problem though as Tora’s no match for the Rock Eater either and it’s only when Ushio retrieves the spear and the two decide to fight together that they’re able to destroy the Rock Eater. The day is saved, and their exploits even end up getting caught on TV which should probably make for some amusing antics later on if they’re going to be considered demon slaying superheroes now. More importantly though, Ushio gains something of a newfound appreciation for Tora after he helped him out though the duo still has quite a ways to go
In Summary:
Ushio and Tora’s rough little relationship is the center of focus this week, and a battle with a demon-of-the week helps in bringing the two a bit closer together. The demon slaying antics are pretty fun, but the dynamic between the two leads is a surprising highlight as they play off each other really well. It’s kinda fun just watching the two butt heads with each other if nothing else, it’s keeping things pretty entertaining
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
