The first half looks like every other monster-of-the-week shounen you've seen. Then the second half arrives, and the show suddenly reveals what it was building toward the entire time, rewarding every repetitive battle and seemingly throwaway character moment with genuine weight. By the finale, you understand why these two had to meet, why they had to fight, why they had to become what they become to each other. The Beast Spear and the monster it sealed aren't a plot device. They're the entire point, and the show earns that revelation by making you sit through the slow burn first.

Ushio Aotsuki, a stubborn middle schooler, has always dismissed his priest father's stories about youkai and a family ancestor who pinned a demon in place with the fabled Beast Spear. While minding the temple with his father away, he finds that very monster in a hidden cellar, still held by the spear after five hundred years. The creature urges Ushio to free him, but Ushio refuses. When a wave of supernatural creatures descends on the temple and threatens his friends and home, he is left with no choice but to release the beast, keeping the spear as his only safeguard. Ushio names him Tora, and the reluctant pair set out to battle spirits and demons. The show mixes supernatural action and adventure with comedy and drama.