The Greatest Anime Episode Ever Tournament

[LumRanmaYasha]

Round 1: Match 16


Silver Spoon Season 2 #8: "Hachiken Howls"

VS.


Ushio & Tora # 36: "To The Promised Night"

VS.


Ushio & Tora #39: "The Fate of Ushio & Tora"

VS.


Ushio & Tora # 34: "Tora"

----

NOTE: From now on matches will be updated on Wednesdays instead of Thursdays.

[gunswordfist]

MOTHER FUCK WHAT

[Spark Of Spirit]

Really. Give me a break here.

[Avaitor]

.....

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I hate you, CX. I hate you with a passion.

[gunswordfist]

I will re/watch all these tomorrow night and vote. Gosh.

[LumRanmaYasha]

I hate you, CX. I hate you with a passion.

Hey man, I just post what the random result generator comes up with. 

[gunswordfist]

It came up with pure evil.

[LumRanmaYasha]

"The Fate of Ushio & Tora" -

Spoiler

This is probably one of my favorite anime/manga endings ever. The final battle with Hakumen is excellent, from Ushio and Tora working together and taking hits for each other to deal the final blow, and Tora's electrifying Hakumen after it screams out for him to hate it by saying he feels no hatred but only pity for it, leaving Hakumen to die afraid and alone. Everything comes together for a satisfying ending that is not without sacrifice on the part of Tora and the elder yokai of Japan, making it all feel so very earned. That ending tease that Tora might come back someday is also just sweet in the right kind of way. Just a great finale all around.

[close]

"Hachiken Howls" -

Spoiler

Komaba dropping out of school and everyone's reactions to it is one of the most depressingly realistic moments I've seen in anime or manga. Learning what drove Komaba as a baseball player and the turmoil his farm is in really puts his character and his interactions with Mikage in perspective, and I really feel Hachiken's helplessness that he's just not able to do anything to help his friends but is boiling over because they won't talk about how bad they're really feeling. I love the ending where Hachiken just grabs Mikage and tells her to let him in, get him involved, and he doesn't care if he gets hurt because he wants to be there to help and support them. It's just a great moment for his character, and a defining moment that shows how far he's come from the reclusive introvert he was at the beginning of the series. SS episodes bleed into each other so much that I can't single out a real favorite, but this one has so many amazing character moments that I love, especially for Hachiken, that as much as I think the other U&T episodes work better as more distinctive individual episodes I just can't put it any lower.

[close]

"To the Promised Night" -

Spoiler

Everyone comes together to put Hakumen in a real bind. After episodes of Hakumen wrecking shit, it's so satisfying to see him squirm. Also satisfying is Hyou's fight with Guren, which is both brutal and hard-fought, and has a bittersweet ending that's very emotional and cathartic for his character. Hakumen losing his shit over Guren not bailing him out at the end of the episode is just a great capper to the whole thing as well.

[close]

"Tora" -

Spoiler

Tora's backstory is really interesting, both in seeing how he was like as a human, and how he and Hakumen's fates are so intertwined. Hakumen was given physical form out of Tora's hatred, and Tora was turned into a demon in pursuit of revenge against Hakumen, and lost his memories and repressed his humanity in pursuit of blind revenge. I'm not big on the after-image effect in the flashback, though. I feel that this was a cost-cutting measure, and while they chose a good way to use that stylistically, it's very distracting to not see the actions and mouths accurately timed to the vocals and audio. Also, they drop it as a stylistic thing towards the end of the flashback where Tora is dragging the woman he likes in the forest and it's animated normally, and that inconsistency kinda bothers me too. Story and character wise there's a lot to like here, but that after-image stuff just doesn't work for me as a stylistic thing and makes the episode a bit harder to enjoy than the others for me.

[close]

[VLordGTZ]

"Hachiken Howls"
"The Fate of Ushio & Tora"
"To the Promised Night"
"Tora"

[Spark Of Spirit]

The Fate of Ushio & Tora
To the Promised Night
Tora
Hachiken Howls

I wish Sentai would get on with announcing their plans for U&T. I want to see this series get the success it deserves.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Same as Desensitized.

[Avaitor]

Same as EK.

[gunswordfist]

To The Promised Night -

Spoiler

Saya's role in this episode is so beautiful and extremely important. She arguably was the most help in the entire battle, including Ushio and Tora. I can't think of a single other show where secondary characters are given such a big role.
I forgot this episode marked the beginning of the last battle. I love how the Beast Spear reforms out of Tora's body and Ushio makes peace with becoming a beast.
It is such a shame Guren got so little screentime. I really loved his voice actor this time around. The episode started fast with him fighting Hyou. Speaking of Hyou, yeah, that's the saddest death in the series, with how him going home was set up and I now have him as my 3rd favorite UT character.

[close]

The Fate Of Ushio & Tora

Spoiler

Tora berating Hakumen is the perfect episode opener.
I absolutely did not see Raama's spirit when I first saw this. Just his sister's.
The look on Ushio's face when he looks back at the temple still gets to me, even just thing about it..

[close]

Tora

Spoiler

Forget this one started with Ushio's defeat being replayed.
I also forgot that the adults in Tora's city wanted to apologize to him.
The scene with Tora getting the best Beast Spear is just too damn cool.

[close]

Silver Spoon - Reminded me how being a responsible adult can be a pain in the ass.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Results:

Silver Spoon Season 2 #8: "Hachiken Howls" - 11
Ushio & Tora #36: "To The Promised Night" - 17
Ushio & Tora #39: "The Fate of Ushio & Tora" - 22
Ushio & Tora #34: "Tora" - 10

"To the Promised Night" and "The Fate of Ushio & Tora" move on to round 2! The next match will be up shortly.