scenes "well-choreographed and executed." McCarter concluded: "while the fights are intense and entertaining, some of the best moments in this series are the quiet laughs that come from the giant Tora perched atop Ushio's shoulders, unseen and unheard by everyone but him." Kevin A. Pezzano of SciFi.com called the "amusingly antagonistic relationship" between Ushio and Tora the "highlight of the anime." Pezzano noted that the combination of action scenes and comedic scenes may turn off fans of either genres, but concluded: "[o]n the whole, though, if you don't mind the odd combination, Ushio and Tora is worth picking up." Andrew Tei of AnimeOnDVD praised the series for its comedy and the relationships between the characters, concluding: "[t]his is one of those great old budget titles that should find its way easily onto your shelf." Mike Toole of Anime Jump called the series "just about the most shounen show I've ever seen", adding that despite its "formulaic premise, sloppy character design, and fairly lackluster animation", the series is "quite charming", praising as well its "fast-paced" action scenes and slapstick comedy, and the new English dub made for the OVA. Toole, however, criticized its gory scenes, commenting that while "it doesn't match Violence Jack or Fist of the North Star in terms of sheer bloodletting", the sheer level of it is out of place, concluding: "I rather highly recommend Ushio and Tora, but only for those not easily shocked by graphic violence." Brian Hanson of the same website commented that the series "definitely has the feel of being like a "best of" album from a much longer manga series", adding that "[s]ome of the characters introduced feel like they should have a larger impact on the progression of the story than they actually do […] but are cast aside in the very next episode in favor of the new monster-of-the-week, never to be heard from again." Hanson concluded: "Ushio and Tora is nothing particularly noteworthy, aside from a few clever bits of animation smattered here and there, and some admittedly funny extras." Barb Lien-Cooper of Sequential Tart called the series "Japan's answer to Stanley and His Monster." Lien-Cooper remarked that the series "starts out like it's only going to be your standard cute anime with only slight hints of supernatural doings", and later it "changes into something BETTER than before. The episodes start working as credible horror anime, as well as above-average