is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazuhiro Fujita. It was serialized in Shogakukan's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday from January 1990 to October 1996, with its chapters collected in 33 tankōbon volumes. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Ushio Aotsuki, the son of a temple keeper, who after having reluctantly released the imprisoned powerful tiger-like monster, Tora, the two begin a journey together, fighting against supernatural beings threatening the world. An 11-episode (including an additional episode) original video animation (OVA) adaptation, produced by Toho and animated by Pastel, was released from September 1992 to October 1993. The series was later adapted into a 39-episode anime television series by MAPPA and Studio VOLN, which aired from July 2015 to June 2016. In North America, the OVA was licensed by ADV Films in 1998, and re-released in 2003, while the anime television series was licensed by Sentai Filmworks in 2015. Ushio & Tora won the 37th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category in 1992 and the Seiun Award in the Best Comic category in 1997. By 2015, the manga had over 30 million copies in circulation. The series has been overall well received by critics, highlighting the relationship between the two main characters and praising its comedy and action sequences. The series, however, has been criticized for the simplicity of the story and (specifically the OVA adaptation) for the "out of place" gory scenes. Story Ushio & Tora centers around the travels and battles of Ushio Aotsuki, who is constantly being stalked and aided by a gigantic, supernatural, and sometimes invisible tiger-like monster named Tora. Ushio's family maintains a temple in Japan, where 500 years ago, his samurai ancestor battled that same monster to a standstill, and eventually trapped him against a rock using a cursed spear called the "Beast Spear", which grants strength, speed, and endurance to the wielder in exchange for his soul. Ushio accidentally opened their basement door Tora was trapped in. Initially, Ushio refuses to remove the spear pinning Tora down (as Tora made the strategic blunder of mentioning that the first thing he would do upon being freed would be to devour Ushio), but Tora's unsealed 500 years of demonic presence attracts various weak monsters to the temple that will soon take from and attack humans. Ushio is forced to free Tora, who would like to eat Ushio, but