Ushio & Tora (2016)

Synkue_Synchron★ 9

I have to say that after watching the first episode I did not know what to expect, but against all odds it was amazing. STORY 10; the story continues after season one and it just keeps on developping. It is not rushed and everything fits just right to conclude the story. ART 8; the art was well done, at first I had to adjust to the style, as it is a bit "ruff". Afterwards I think the couldn't have done a better job fitting this art with the story and the characters. SOUND 8; battles, sad , touching and happy moments where accompanied with great musicthrought out this series. It's just, personally, great music if it keeps stuck in my mind and this time it did so. I do have to say that the music fits perfectly and thanks to that I shed some tears alright... CHARACTER 10; I loved the characters from the beginning. Ushio and Tora go so well together and thanks to this continuation of season 1 they got more dept. You see some unexpected reactions from the characters, but what I apprciated the most was that everyone fullfilled their roll excactly right in my eyes. ENJOYMENT 9; i enjoyed it very much, There where moments I cried, I laughed so hard I would start to cry, I even got chocked sometimes of something unexpected. I certainly wasn't bored while watching this and the first season. OVERALL 9; i loved the character development the most and the story allong with it. I really enjoyed all episodes which where all epic on their own and amazing together You certwainly need to watch this show as a conclusion to season 1. And just for the epicness.

seekr12★ 8

BIG SPOILERS So I decided I'd write my review for this show on this entry rather than the first season entry. Ushio and Tora is a fun show that tries to evoke that 90's goofy edginess and fun that many shows had back in the day. While it largely succeeds, there are few arcs that go on too long and parts that are a little bit boring. There were one too many monster of the week episodes, and the HAMMR arc and Kirio arc had some cool moments, but there were a lot of dull episodes. My biggest problem with this show is Ushio himself. Tora is agreat character that we see grow over the course of the series and who we finally get a huge backstory on, and his character arc concludes beautifully. Many of the side characters also grow over the series and even get their arcs neatly resolved. Ushio, however, is the definition of a one-note protagonist. He's perseverant just because, can one-shot most of the villains just because, and every character in the show seemingly praises him for all the blessings in the world. I knew going in that I was going to be watching a hot blooded 90s emulation and didn't expect the deepest characters, but I feel that Ushio could have been made just a tad more complex. It's based on a 90s shonen, however- characters being badass just because is par for the course. What about the good? The soundtrack is great, the animation looks straight out of the 90s, and the last 4th of the series is top-shelf stuff. The main villain, Hakumen no Mono, is literally the embodiment of fear and evil. The incarnations it takes and it's sheer power is on Lovecraftian levels, and I loved that. I'm also a big fan of yokai and Japanese mythology, and I thought that the way they wove a lot of references to classic yokai was awesome. Definitely worth a watch if you've been on a depressing anime kick and want something that makes you feel like you're watching Toonami in the late 90s.