So we’re back to another episode of Ushio and Tora. And I’m happy to report, it was another plot episode. Yay for episodes that are about the plot! I have to say, this was ACTUALLY a pretty damn good episode. I know, what are the odds of me saying that about something, right?
Now you’re probably asking, WHAT exactly happened in this episode? Well if you haven’t figured it out by now, i’m about to tell you. So strap in.
Okay, so the episode starts up with Ushio having just saved the old guy and they made it into town. Once they make it safely to a store he buys a bunch of pastries and milk, giving one to the old man.
He tells the old man about everything that’s going on, but he senses that the demons are approaching, apparently not shy around the people as he originally thought and they try to attack the innocent people who he luckily saves.
He then leads the demons away from the town and runs away. See girl from Blood C? You proactively SAVE people and lead the monsters AWAY instead of having the “DUHHHH” face while they all die.
He gets crazy outnumbered and looks like he’s screwed but then the blade weasels show up and save his butt.
After a bit more fighting it looks like they’re going to get owned until Tora gets over his internal conflict and saves Ushio and the two blade weasels and runs away.
That’s when they get separated by spiritual mist and Ushio ends up in a house where he sees that spirit from a few episodes back and an old looking demon who tells him that he doesn’t want to fight Ushio and explains to him about the demon and his mother protecting it with the barrier. He then charges Ushio to find his mother and discover why she’s protecting such an evil demon. (Probably would have been easier if you just…you know, said so from the start)
Oh, and we also learn that the demon guy was really the old man Ushio saved. WHAT A TWIST!
When they get outside we see that the big demon still wants to fight Ushio because he’s like “Grrr he killed a lot of demons!” and the old demon says not to, but he doesn’t agree. Tora offers to fight and the winner gets to do what they want.
They get into a battle and Tora beats him, but doesn’t kill him and instead punches him in the face.
Beaten, they demons now have to leave Ushio alone while he goes on his quest, and the episode ends with them leaving to continue on their journey.
See, I liked this episode. While it did slow down the journey to get to Hokkaido a little, it did provide Ushio with a lot of relevant background he needed to know and the fight scenes were pretty nifty.
This was definitely a big step for Tora as he pretty much is now on Ushio’s side as he can’t really return to the side of the demons after his betrayal. At first I was a bit annoyed at the slow pace of their friendship but now I realize it’s necessary and it makes sense. Real friendships don’t grow this fast and for a bunch of episodes, Tora really DID use a lot of opportunities to kill Ushio, even when he was sleeping. As opposed to..you know..Inuyasha who gave up killing Kagome after like…5 seconds.
The relationship between these are is really starting to grow on me and I can’t wait for the satisfying conclusion when they become best buds and an unstoppable duo.
One of the things i’m digging about this show is the straight forward plot.
Hey Ushio. Your mom is protecting an evil demon. Go kick ass and find out why. Here’s a spear that can kill demons. Team up with another demon.
That’s pretty much the show and it really works. There’s not layers upon layers in this show which is nice. It’s simple, fun, straightforward, but at the same time is emotionally deep. It DEFINITELY has a 90’s vibe like Slayers or Record of Lodoss War. It’s pretty amazing that they were able to recapture this vibe in a show made in 2015. I’m excited to keep going with show, and hopefully sooner rather than later. All in all, pretty damn good episode.
Episode 8/10
-Hideki
I was waiting for your thoughts on this and I was not disappointed! 😀