(L+CR) Ushio & Tora

[Jimmy C]

Six months ago, I prompted user Tormenk for his speculation on the first wielder of the Spear. Here was his guess.

Originally Posted by Tormenk

Given all the foreshadowing that Tora was not native to Japan, that he came over from China around the same time as Hakumen no Mono, wielders of the spear eventually become 'beasts' and of course his own memory block and the talk about the warrior who found the spear should have minded his own business, Tora or Asafuza was the first wielder of the spear.

I couldn't tell him then (spoilers, after all) but you can see he was completely correct! Still, Tormenk, did you guess Tora was the first wielder of the Spear because he gave birth to Hakumen?

And now you all know, all the people that were present at the beginning of the story, Tora, Ushio and Hakumen, are now here to bring it to an end.

[FlareKnight]

Well that's certainly an interesting situation.

Tora sure hasn't had a great run of things over his lifetime. Would certainly explain his special situation and that level of regeneration. Not sure if it's good or bad that he has basically forgotten everything about his human life.

Credit to the show, it was still a pretty sad flashback even if you could see the end result for him coming. Losing everything and having nothing but a desire to hunt down Hakumen. His own rage and anguish being originally caused by Hakumen, but also basically feeding it. Filled with rage his whole life and thus that being the trigger for Hakumen taking shape.

Though I'll avoid asking why Ushio hasn't drowned yet. Those shards are pretty handy .

[BoyTitan]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

Was there honestly anything that Tora could have said that would have calmed Ushio down? Ushio was an emotional wreck at this point. No one was calming that down. Lying to him wasn't going to help. And frankly Ushio was so blinded to what Nagare was even before he completely lost his sensibilities. He just couldn't comprehend that Nagare wasn't a good person.

Tora didn't help the situation, but he honestly didn't hurt it either. And Tora is just not an honest person in general. Expecting someone like that to talk down a person losing their mind is asking too much.

Tora coulda attacked. This whole battle he has done jack shit.

[shmaster]

I wonder if anyone noticed that the flash back actually explained Tora's tsundere behavior.
Whenever he talks about eating someone, it actually is an act of affection, because the sibling said to hide inside his mouth for protection long time ago.

[Tormenk]

I figured the 'hide inside someone's mouth' in a battle was a nice bit of logic since your mouth would only open if you win..or died. Tying it back to Tora's tsundere grumble about wanting to eat Ushio and Mayuko makes a whole of sense since it is the last remaining fragment of Tora's humanity from his past life.

This episode did not disappoint at all and it was fantastic. I love it when episodes like this tie together the character developments into the plot for convincing motivations. Gashakusha birthing Hakumen and Ushio's part in the creation of the Beast Spear makes it more than destiny that they must be the ones to defeat it.

Originally Posted by Jimmy C

Six months ago, I prompted user Tormenk for his speculation on the first wielder of the Spear. Here was his guess.


I couldn't tell him then (spoilers, after all) but you can see he was completely correct! Still, Tormenk, did you guess Tora was the first wielder of the Spear because he gave birth to Hakumen?

And now you all know, all the people that were present at the beginning of the story, Tora, Ushio and Hakumen, are now here to bring it to an end.

No way I could have guessed Hakumen was birthed from a human. On hindsight it would make sense for the first wielder of the spear to have a very deep grudge against Hakumen to seek out the spear to destroy the demon. There were plenty of hints about Tora's identity and past but the biggest was Tora's lament about humans when Ushio was losing himself to the spear in episode 18. To be so personal and empathetic it was Tora's way of pleading with Ushio to stay human and not become like him, as we now know. Fantastic stuff.

I just went back and checked, turns out Tora was pinned by the Spear in his right shoulder when Ushio found him in the basement. Love the foreshadowing done here.

[Nighty40]

fun fact Raama's voice actor was Ushio in the 90's OVA

[Gan_HOPE326]

Well, I don't blame them for needing to do this but DAMN did they cut off on the budget this episode . Besides that, Tora being the first wielder of the Beast Spear I could see coming from miles away, but him also incubating and birthing Hakumen no Mono? THAT was unexpected.

[AntonKutovoi]

Originally Posted by Nighty40

fun fact Raama's voice actor was Ushio in the 90's OVA

And Guren was Hyo

[Stark700]

Season 2, episode 9:

Good episode with the transition and buildup for the grand climax.

I wish they gave more fighting screen time between Tora and Hakumen although I think it got to the point of it (and thanks to the background storytelling from the previous episode). I have to give praise to the VA for portraying Hakumen so well as it made me legitimately hate him this season.

Glad to see a bit of Asako as well.

[BoyTitan]

Dammit Tora enough jobbing already.

[Guardian Enzo]

Every time Izuna appears, I get irrationally happy. What is it about that little bastard that's so irresistible?

[Gan_HOPE326]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Every time Izuna appears, I get irrationally happy. What is it about that little bastard that's so irresistible?

All the advantages of a kitten, plus he has an awesome voice and quite some spunk .

[DemonneoPT]

I have to be honest, Ushio to Tora is cool and it has that 90s feel but it never got me really hooked on it... until the last 5 episodes or so! This final arc is being insanely good!! Since Hakumen got free and since all those revelations about the past were done, the anime just went to godlike state! And that OST with the character speeches is the cherry on top of the cake.

[Goty]

Originally Posted by DemonneoPT

I have to be honest, Ushio to Tora is cool and it has that 90s feel but it never got me really hooked on it... until the last 5 episodes or so! This final arc is being insanely good!! Since Hakumen got free and since all those revelations about the past were done, the anime just went to godlike state! And that OST with the character speeches is the cherry on top of the cake.

I feel you, but i'd say this 2nd season has been consistent and more focused since the first episode. The series finally embraced its plotline, instead of seeming afraid to progress and limiting itself to drop clues and foreshadowings like last year.

[Gan_HOPE326]

Originally Posted by Goty

I feel you, but i'd say this 2nd season has been consistent and more focused since the first episode. The series finally embraced its plotline, instead of seeming afraid to progress and limiting itself to drop clues and foreshadowings like last year.

But the first half of Season 2 was plagued by the fact that they had to rush through some manga material, so a lot of things happened far too quickly to sink it. It's a shame they didn't have 4-5 more episodes to explore that stuff properly. But the Hakumen battle? HELL YEAH. I'm having shivers one episode after another. This is one of the most insanely grandiose battles I can remember from any shounen anime ever. The stakes really feel big, and all the buildup to this moment is paying off. I also love how every character and detail from the previous arcs is coming back as this massive alliance forms to beat the shit out of the scariest mofo to ever tread the Earth. If I had to compare it with any material from the Big Three, I'd say this seems the obvious model from which the Great Ninja War arc from Naruto was inspired (I mean, the Kyubi looks like a palette-swapped Hakumen, and city-destroying blasts flying around were standard there too), but this one is far more effective for me thanks to being simpler and more streamlined and far more emotionally powerful. Also Hakumen has been really hyped as a tremendous villain and boy is it living up to that reputation.

[HandofFate]

I love how EVERYONE that's appeared in this series is here for the final battle.
At first thought the monster of the week stuff in the first season was just typical filler in between actual progression chapters/episodes.
But they all mattered

[Haak]

Unlike others, I've found a fair few annoyances throughout the final cour. The build up to the final fight has been an interesting one but I had a lot of issues with stuff like Nagare suddenly becoming villainous out of nowhere and Ushio miraculously bumping into the Undine drivers (one of which just happens to like the look in his eyes). I also didn't like what felt like a regression in Ushio's character when he went off the wall, and the super convenient dream-vision.

That said, it's not all been bad, particularly because of...

Originally Posted by Stark700

I have to give praise to the VA for portraying Hakumen so well as it made me legitimately hate him this season.

Hakumen no Mono is one of the biggest strengths of this show for me. Maybe it's because I can't recall any villains that are the sheer personification of evil but Hakumen really works as one to an amazing degree. It's not just the voice acting but it's twisted facial expressions and the way it takes delight in other people's misfortunes. It's one of the most intense villains I've ever come across.

It's also great seeing everyone come together for the grand finale (though it can get a little sappy at times) and the reveal of Tora's history was very satisfying. I like how the history between the three main plot drivers (Tora, Hakumen and the Beast Spear) stretches all the way back to ancient times because it gives the conflict a real epic scale.

[Stark700]

Season 2, episode 10:

Good episode, we got Ushio fighting in his armor in full power with confidence. Even against Hakumen's avatars, I think he is doing well.

Plenty of emotions this episode as well. I like how the fighting also expands beyond just Ushio and Tora vs Hakumen but also Guren's return as well. Pretty intense action. Hyou's quite an underrated character so seeing him fighting was quite a pleasant treat. Can't believe he died.

"It tasted good"

[HandofFate]

wonder if we find out why tora was pinned under the basement and who did it

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by HandofFate

wonder if we find out why tora was pinned under the basement and who did it

there was a omake in the final vol about that Tora being pin in the basement. But the English translator never translate it.