Ushio & Tora

Episode 6

Ushio & Tora brings a lot of '90s charm to the 2015 summer season, but its characters aren't frozen in place. More than a mere beach episode, this week's events indicated plenty of development in both characters' maturity and their relationships with one another. Covering serious emotional trauma without getting overly heavy, this episode made me care about Ushio, Tora, and their friends more than I ever have before.

What do we really know about Ushio? Just that he lives with his barely-there dad. This week, he crosses paths with a little boy named Tatsuya who serves as a vehicle to begin telling the tale of Ushio's apparently tragic past. Tatsuya's mother has died, and in order to deal with his feelings, Tatsuya acts out by misbehaving. Ushio is furious enough to punch the little kid, and we soon find out it's because he sees himself in this boy. As Ushio and Tatsuya both wrestle with the trauma of losing their moms, Ushio's support group—tomboy Nakamura and the usually antagonistic Tora—deepen their relationship with him through mutual dependence. When faced with an enemy he couldn't defeat, Tora admitted he needed Ushio more readily than ever before, and called for help. Meanwhile, Nakamura broke her cliché tsundere role to show us a more maternal side to herself, not to mention a pretty badass set of martial arts skills. She cares for Tatsuya the same way she once cared for young Ushio, while remaining brave enough for the both of them until Ushio can rescue them. Ushio and Nakamura's relationship to this point has been mostly squabbling, but we're beginning to see that a real sweetness lies beneath.

This episode's events take place at the beach, which serves as a powerful backdrop to the action. Mood and tone are conveyed almost entirely through brilliant splashes of color from this setting. In lighter moments, the pool blue ocean and yellow-orange light of the sun and sand relax the viewer. In more intense moments, when Ushio and Tora face the enormous sea demon, the sky turns navy and the sea is a roiling purple. Still more of the episode takes place inside the belly of the beast, where an eerie green glow illuminates this otherworldly setting. As the colors continue to switch, it becomes clear that orange is safety, purple is danger, and green indicates supernatural activity. This isn't only the most beautiful episode of Ushio & Tora so far, but also the most well storyboarded because of this visual consistency.

Finally, there is a post-credits scene that you absolutely can't miss. Usually Ushio & Tora ends right after the credits, so I feel compelled to warn you that if you miss it, you'll miss out on a major cliffhanger. The events of episode six scratched the surface of Ushio's family history, but this jaw-dropping reveal indicates that this show is a lot deeper than it seems from here. So far, Ushio and Tora have encountered and defeated various monsters in the confines of a half hour each, without much apparent development toward a long term story arc. This is clearly about to change. It's good that Ushio and Tora are growing closer, because it's apparent that they're going to need to rely on each other in the escalating battles to come.

Ushio & Tora has the shounen battle formula down pat, but it's going to take more than that '90s flair to impress me—and this is the kind of episode that absolutely delivers. Through compelling emotional drama and visual mood-building, this episode shows us the beginning of what Ushio & Tora is capable of, and signals that plenty more of the same is coming up.

Rating: A

Ushio & Tora is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Lauren writes about anime and journalism at Otaku Journalist.