Ushio & Tora

To put it briefly, when you get two versions of the same thing, they are never the same. If I had to comment on this anime in more than one sentence, I would not be able to avoid comparing it to the older 1992 version, which despite its age, ironically feels much fresher than its 2015 remake. Compared to the well-known original version, the latter is an unexpectedly stripped-down, hackneyed, cheesy, dull and tasteless shadow of the original version. Perhaps the only positive transfer from the original here could be considered the "retro feel" of the story and anime art - but personally I would probably not even agree with that, as this feeling is hopelessly lost under the weight of all the audiovisual excrement that was bombarding me from the screen. I just have not seen such an anemic and mismanaged shonen production in a very long time – the action scenes mostly end before they even begin, any suspense is killed by the excessive use of static animation, thus losing all the dynamic potential of an action scene, the pace of the narrative is absolutely deadly (not to mention that the creators are trying to cram the events of 33 volumes of manga into 39 episodes of anime). There is zero character development or any thorough introduction to the audience. Plus there are literally no scenes with catharsis to speak of (what a difference from the original version, where the story of the three Kamaitachi siblings still resonates in my memory!). In addition, although the series is rated PG-13 (absolutely standard for shōnen TV shows), for some unknown reason many scenes seem like they are trying to conform to the lowest rating meant for preschoolers. If you are intrigued by the subject matter, and would like to give this a chance, you would probably be better off reading the manga or watching the older version, which, while it only adapts part of the story, does so way more successfully than this farce. Plus, the fact that a remake of older material can turn out well while retaining the spirit of the original has been proven in recent years by the likes of Parasyte or the more recent season of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (Diamond Is Unbreakable). However, this is, in short, a big bad no-no, for which I cannot think of a single major positive thing that makes it worth the time. After 23 episodes and a full 4 years of overcoming myself to watch more in the belief that the show would somehow gradually get better, Hromino has abandoned all hope and his nerves for good, quitting the series in a huff and leaving behind a single star, more or less out of respect for the original works. (07/28/2019)