Starting this week, we'll be announcing a new manga shout each week. Don't know what a "Manga Shout" is? Check this
thread and find out more. Now, on to the "Shouting"!!
Japanese: うしおととら (ushio to tora)
English: Ushio and Tora
Author: 藤田和日郎 Kazuhiro Fujita
Amazon: Japanese (Mostly used books, so a Japanese address might be required.)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Horror, Martial Arts, Mystery , Shounen, Supernatural
Status in Japan: 33 Volumes (Complete)
Translation Status: Currently not translated.
Scanlation Status: Volume 1 released by
G.O.D. Manga, very lq, could be a lot better.
Description of Ushio and Tora:
Ushio and Tora is about a guy, Ushio Aotsuki, and a tiger named Tora who hides his appearance at will. Straight out the books like a shounen action version of Calvin and Hobbes Ushio goes around with Tora and together they take out many old creatures from Japanese legends that want to give the two trouble. But don't let their current "friendship" fool you, their original meeting wasn't exactly friendly with Tora wanting to do nothing but eat him, and raise hell with all the humans that are alive at the present time. But who could blame Tora? He was pinned down in a dark hole for the past 500 years by a samurai. Coincidentally, it just so happens to be Ushio's relative that pinned him down using a cursed spear called the "Beast Spear" and thus their love-hate relationship begins.
Art:
The art is of the Shounen look so not the
best but definitely not the worst. Sometimes it's comical, sometimes it's a bit messy and sometimes it's actually quite clean. But overall it's nicely done and shouldn't distract you from enjoying the series.
Images From the Manga
Thoughts:
With the whole
Nurarihyon no Mago (Nurarihyon's grandchild) manga just coming out, Gantz fighting a Nurarihyon in the
current chapter and then this manga it seems like the perfect time to learn a whole bunch about
Japanese mythical creatures. This manga was originally released in 1990 and ran for 6 years
winning a award its second year released makes it a manga that I'm sure will appeal to a lot of people. However it's 33 volumes, and so a daunting task for any translator and scanlating group. But personally it looks like a neat series and I'm sure it could get quite popular.
Interested? Click to Download the Raws
Ushio and Tora v01
Ushio and Tora v02
Ushio and Tora v03
Ushio and Tora v04
Ushio and Tora v05
Ushio and Tora v06
Ushio and Tora v07
Ushio and Tora v08
Ushio and Tora v09
Ushio and Tora v10
Ushio and Tora v11
Ushio and Tora v12
Ushio and Tora v13
Ushio and Tora v14
Ushio and Tora v15
Ushio and Tora v16
Ushio and Tora v17
Ushio and Tora v18
Ushio and Tora v19
Ushio and Tora v20
Ushio and Tora v21
Ushio and Tora v22
Ushio and Tora v23
Ushio and Tora v24
Ushio and Tora v25
Ushio and Tora v26
Ushio and Tora v27
Ushio and Tora v28
Ushio and Tora v29
Ushio and Tora v30
Ushio and Tora v31
Ushio and Tora v32
Ushio and Tora v33
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This manga doesn't have a Shouts Workshop Leader yet! PM NJT and ask him how you can get started!
Not to sound like I'm shifting the blame, but the Mandarin version used was very poor in terms of translation (Typical of older series translated in the 90's; I guess they figured it's mostly for children so they didn't bother putting in the effort). But then again, I don't know squat about Japanese so using the original was out of the question.
Ushio's name was changed to "Chen Ma" and the title was changed to "Magical Power Shiao Ma". I guess they thought Tide & Tiger would be unappealing to younger readers. Ironic thing is, I didn't pick up this series until way later.
Anyways, I'm glad other groups are taking on this series. Too lazy to translate these days. :)