Ushio and Tora is a Japanese supernaturalmanga series written and illustrated by Kazuhiro Fujita. It was serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday between 1990 and 1996, and compiled into thirty-three tankōbon volumes. It was first adapted into two OVA series produced by Pastel and released from 1992 to 1993. In 2015, an anime television series adaptation produced by MAPPA and Studio VOLN aired from July 2015 to June 2016. In North America, the OVA series has been licensed by ADV Films in 1998, and re-released in 2003, while the anime television series has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks in 2015. In 1992, Ushio and Tora won the 37th Shogakukan Manga Award for the shōnen category. As of 2015, the manga has over 30 million copies in circulation.
Story
Ushio and Tora centers around the travels and battles of Ushio Aotsuki, who is constantly being stalked and aided by a gigantic, supernatural, and sometimes invisible tiger-like monster named Tora. Ushio's family maintains a temple in Japan, where 500 years ago, his samurai ancestor battled that same monster to a standstill, and eventually trapped him against a rock using a cursed spear called the "Beast Spear", which grants strength, speed, and endurance to the wielder in exchange for his soul. Ushio accidentally unsealed the cave Tora was trapped in. Initially, Ushio refuses to remove the spear pinning Tora down, but Tora's unsealed presence attracts various monsters to the temple. Ushio is forced to free Tora, who would like to eat Ushio, but dares not since Ushio keeps the spear close by. The series focuses on their relationship, interspersed with battles against mythological foes, and with Tora's attempts to grapple with modern life. During the regular battles, Ushio slowly begins to notice that as much as Tora claims to be irredeemable, the demon takes to fighting evil and defending the innocent with more enthusiasm than he cares to admit. Episodic in nature, most of the story consists of a series of fights with different yōkai or other creatures from Japanese myths. The story also includes Ushio's relationships with two girls: the tomboyish Asako Nakamura and the feminine Mayuko Inoue.
Media
Manga
Ushio and Tora, written and illustrated by Kazuhiro Fujita, was first serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday, from issue #6 of 1990, published on January 24, 1990 to issue #45 of 1996, published on October 23, 1996. Shogakukan collected the 313 individual chapters into thirty-three tankōbon volumes, with the first volume released on November 17, 1990, and the last one on December 10, 1996. An additional Gaiden volume was released on May 17, 1997. In 2015, Shogakukan re-released the series into twenty volumes in kazenban format published between May 18, 2015 and December 16, 2016. In 2012, Fujita drawn two-chapter Ushio and Tora short to raise funds for areas devastated by the March 2011 earthquake.
Ushio and Tora was adapted into two OVA series by studio Pastel: one with six episodes released from September 11, 1992 to February 1, 1993 and one with four episodes released from June 11, 1993 to August 1, 1993. A single episode parody OVA was released on October 1, 1993. In North America, ADV Films released the first two episodes on VHS in 1998, but the project was abandoned. In 2003, ADV re-released the series on DVD, with a new dub and including all the episodes.
Television series
An anime television adaptation was produced by MAPPA and Studio VOLN. It was directed by Satoshi Nishimura and written by Toshiki Inoue and Kazuhiro Fujita, featuring character designs by Tomoko Mori and music by Eishi Segawa. The anime was split into two parts: the first part aired between July 3, 2015 and December 25, 2015, and the second part aired between April 1, 2016 and June 24, 2016. For episodes 1 through 26, the opening theme is "Mazeru na Kiken" by Kinniku Shōjo Tai while the ending themes are "HERO" by Sonar Pocket and by Wakadanna. For season 2, episodes 1 through 13, the opening theme is by Kinniku Shōjo Tai while the ending theme is by Lunkhead. In North America, both seasons were streamed on Crunchyroll. The series has been licensed by Sentai Filmworks in 2015, and was streamed with an English dub on Hidive in 2017. It has been licensed for a UK release by Manga Entertainment.
Video games
Ushio to Tora game was released for the Super Famicom on January 22, 1993. The game is an action title created by Yutaka. Players can take the role of Ushio or Tora. ' was released for the Family Computer on July 9, 1993. Ushio is also featured as a playable character in the Weekly Shōnen Sunday and Weekly Shōnen Magazine crossover game '.
Reception
As of 2015, Ushio and Tora has over 30 million copies in circulation. The manga received the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen category in 1992. Todd Ciolek of Anime News Network described Ushio and Tora as a "not-unwatchable demon-hunting series".
