teen comedy anime." Lien-Cooper lamented that due to its "disturbing" violence and sexual references the series cannot be recommended to small children, but stated that "bigger kids through adults" should like it. Stephen D. Grant of THEM Anime Reviews called the concept of the series "amazingly cheap and contrived when you read about it, but manages to blow you away in just about every way." Grant stated that the comedy of the series is well handled, but pointed out that its gory scenes "bordered on the gratuitous level" and that they are "definitely not for the weak of heart at times." Grant added: "Ushio and Tora is an awesome series that lets plot take a back seat to character development to great effect." Jonathan Mays of Anime News Network commented: "Ushio & Tora fits all of the stereotypes of bad shonen anime: ugly character designs, lots of fighting, and a "save the female love interest" plot line. However, get past all of that and you have a genuinely funny OAV series", adding as well that it is "worth watching once." Bamboo Dong of the same website called it "one of those shows that so stupid it's cute", and compared it to Inuyasha, recommending to watch said series instead of Ushio & Tora. Dong commented that despite its violence, the series is able to remain funny, but that the jokes "get re-hashed often and have a tendency to get old very quickly." Dong ultimately labeled the series as "mediocre" and that the story "would have done so much better had it been given the time and energy to develop further." Todd Ciolek of the same website called Ushio & Tora as a "not-unwatchable demon-hunting series." Anime In a review of the first episode, Miranda Sanchez of IGN praised the interaction between the characters and the comedic moments, also praising how MAPPA and Studio VOLN were able to transfer the look and essence of the original manga to anime. Sanchez concluded: "[t]his first episode not only flows well and establishes a good base, but also maintains the looks and feel of great ‘90s anime. Ushio and Tora are constantly underestimating each other, which not only provides for great comedy, but also sets up great theme that can carry through the series." Reviewing the first season, Stig Høgset of THEM Anime Reviews commended its "raw, old-timer shounen energy", adding that it "oozes retro