Ushio & Tora

Episodes 27-28

Welcome back, Ushio & Tora! In an anime landscape full of ho-hum shounen shows, this is the classic we deserve—a show that melds action and drama, sincerity and humor, and two leads that cement its “opposites attract” message in a way that permeates the entire storyline.

At the start of Ushio & Tora's second season, we find ourselves in an amnesia arc, where everyone seems to have forgotten about Ushio. It's a vile but oft-tread scheme of the season's biggest bad, the Hakumen no Mono, to further spread fear and despair. At the very least, I thought an amnesia arc would strengthen everyone's relationships with one another once they remember, even if it treads tired ground just to turn Ushio and Tora against their old friends. Instead, this has become one of the most emotionally powerful arcs so far, deepening rather than reviewing old alliances, friendships, and romances, while really giving us something to cry about.

One of the things that makes Ushio so endearing is how quick he is to tears, despite being so strong. (This is definitely something Asako loves about him too). These first two episodes bring that out full-force. First, Hakumen no Mono clearly can't read the mood and erases Asako's memory of Ushio right in the middle of a moonlit cherry blossom-swept confession scene. Ushio finds himself completely alone, until Tora arrives on the scene. Tora's affection can only be described as tsundere—he hides his growing respect for Ushio through a veil of insults and threats—and it's brought to new heights this season when Tora rescues Ushio from a hoard of yokai while loudly detailing his plans to eventually eviscerate his human prey. Ushio has a lot to ugly-cry about (and he does, in terrific detail), but this arc reinforces Ushio as Tora's conscience, showing him what's worth fighting for, when to stand down, and who is worth saving.

Asako is the one in need of saving this episode. It's not the first time she's required a rescue, but it's hard to think of her as dead weight to the plot, merely there to give Ushio a reason to fight, when she's so quick to exercise free will. When the yokai believe that creating a backup Beast Spear is the only way to defend against the Hakumen no Mono, Asako won't let them take MAYUKO as the sacrifice without a fight. While MAYUKO turns out to be surprisingly powerful in this arena, Asako is the one who decides to take the burden on herself to die in MAYUKO's place. It's hard to see her as helpless when she's so tough, resolutely climbing the staircase to the forge. Her resolve is so strong that Ushio and Tora's arrival puts new meaning to “just in the nick of time.” This rescue—and its aftercare—doesn't take place in a vacuum, instead giving the show reason to remember and revisit each character we've met so far—Ushio & Tora never forgets.

With so many tearful goodbyes and reunions, it's hard to believe how balanced this arc remains, providing action and even humor. Even in the midst of my concern for Asako and MAYUKO, I had to laugh at Tora's brusque, “Yo, where the girls at?” and the silly sound effects when Tora comes screeching to a halt mid-flight. Now a new parallel is entering the balance, through an enemy named Guren who looks just like Tora, which is surely not a coincidence. It appears that Tora has literally met his match, and this show has given me nothing but reasons to be excited for what happens next.

Rating: A

Ushio & Tora is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Lauren writes about anime and journalism at Otaku Journalist.