Ushio and Tora: Difference between revisions

However, the act of removing the Beast Spear leads to a chain of events, ultimately drawing back to an ancient prophecy and an old and implacable enemy who has the power to destroy all Japan - human and bakemono alike. As Ushio and Tora face off against a variety of bakemono based mostly on Japanese traditional legends, they grow closer until they reach a perpetual [[Enemy Mine]] / [[Heterosexual Life Partners]] state.

 

 

=== ''Ushio&Tora'' provides examples of: ===

* [[Clothing Damage]] - Hinowa has her clothes ripped almost every time she appears. Being hardcore, she doesn't seem to care if she's titillatingly exposed.

** Happens a lot to Ushio and some opponents, simply due to the course of battle.

** [[Justified Trope|Justified]] in that he is an ancient and experienced Youkai and probably developed them over a course of years.

** Justified, but as later revealed (see [[Single Specimen Species]] below), for a different reason.

* [[Gonk]] - As common to Kazuhiro Fujita's style. More of an intensification of expression, although some of the worse youkai are truly gross.

* [[Grandfather Paradox]] - Later in the plot, time travel is invoked. The particular type used doesn't seem to have any qualms about present-day characters influencing past events which will directly cause the events that lead to the present-day characters time traveling in the first place. Actually just one single, much-entangled case in point (MAJOR SPOILER): {{spoiler|Ushio /the Beast Spear/ Jie Mei's line of descendants / Tora / Hakumen}} are all interlinked to the point it becomes unclear what the original, pre-time travel timeline could possibly have been!

* [[Heroic Sacrifice]] - The series is full of these, perhaps none as many in a row (well, attempted anyway) as when {{spoiler|a human must die to make a replacement Beast Spear}}.

* [[Hope Springs Eternal]] - Against a seemingly invincible and impossibly powerful Hakumen, Ushio and Tora awaken The Power of Hope in human and bakemono alike. Literally - {{spoiler|the hope growing in hearts acts as a counter to the fear that would otherwise increase Hakumen's power. Hakumen admits this in its attempt to erase all memories of the inspiring duo.}}

** This is doubly so because Mayuko loves both Ushio AND Asako. She even admits it directly to Asako {{spoiler|when they both have their memory of Ushio wiped, and she only remembers she was in love with this guy but rather let Asako have him}}

** Which is immediately followed by Asako giving him up to Mayuko when she {{spoiler|voluntarily takes Mayuko's place as a human sacrifice}}.

* [[Love Triangle]] - Ushio, Asako, and Mayuko. Asako most likely is in love with Ushio, but is [[Tsundere]] as hell. Mayuko ''is'' in love with Ushio, but seems bent on not ruining it for Asako (though there are some hints that she wouldn't be [[OT 3|adverse to sharing him]]. Ushio...is most likely completely in the dark about either of them.

** {{spoiler|Ushio and Asako get better. Especially with impending doomsday approaching. Then friggin [[Complete Monster]] Hakumen has to spoil the moment with its memory-antics!}}

* [[Power At a Price]] - The Beast Spear bestows great strength and power, but at the cost of the user's soul... Potentially turning him into a bakemono as well.

** The spear itself was made at the cost of two human lives - one for the blade, and one for the shaft.

* [[Power Makes Your Hair Grow]]

* [[Prehensile Hair]] - Tora's can be used to grapple and even catch bullets mid-flight. Plus, he's often drawn with hair floating around looking totally Awesome. Plenty other bakemono use hair as limbs (since they're often lacking actual limbs) and slashing weapons.

* [[The Stoic]] - Hyou turned from loving father to merciless hunter of the supernatural because a bakemono killed his wife and daughter. How does he respond when a shapeshifting bakemono reads his heart and takes the form of his wife and daughter? He picks up his daughter tenderly and then {{spoiler|stabs her through the heart with a blade, followed by his wife in the forehead. "If you had to, would you kill your mother or father? I would."}}

* [[Takahashi Couple]] - Ushio and Asako have only memories of fighting ever since childhood, except for one.

* [[The Power of Hate]] - A running theme later in the storyline. Spoilers abound! {{spoiler|Hatred birthed Hakumen's physical form from pre-bakemono Tora; hatred powers the Beast Spear (along with souls); hatred turns wielders of the Spear into Tora-type Azafuse bakemono; hatred for Hakumen eventually turns Azafuse into Hakumens themselves(!); and hatred for Hakumen keeps Hakumen existing no matter how injured it gets.}}

* [[Tsundere]] - Tora is a male example.