I just can’t help thinking if they’re doing the filler / setup episodes this well, how good are the more actiony arc episodes going to be?

Ushio’s father is finally back from his trip and tells Ushio about the story of how Tora was sealed away and how the Aotsukis are descended from the treaveler that defeated him.  He notices Ushio carrying a spear, but it can’t possibly be the Beast Spear, right?  Right?

And it seems nothing comes out of this revelation.

The gang goes to an art gallery, where we learn about Ushio’s favorite artist, who got kinda… weird and dark toward the end of his life.  We also see Ushio’s favorite painting:

Tora somehow sees that the painting was drawn by someone with a grudge against humanity, and that someone who dies with such a grudge becomes an Oni.

Coincidentally (or conveniently; I’m not entirely sure which it’s more of), Ushio meets Reiko, the daughter of his favorite artist.  Turns out she goes to his school!  Okay, definitely convenient.  And she sort of stops Ushio from betting beat up by a delinquent that happens to be her childhood friend.  Doesn’t make him not an asshole though.

Ushio becomes a bit obsessed with getting Reiko to pose for one of his crappy paintings.  Ushio goes to Asako for advice since she used to be in the same class with Reiko, and we learn that strange accidents befalls any of the guys that try to hit on her.  Undaunted, Ushio tries to befriend her for his painting.  Oh, and maybe put an end to her Oni dad that’s haunting her.

Ushio has a fight with the bully and finds out from him that Reiko’s mother ran off with another man.  That’s when her father snapped.  Like… seriously snapped.

Ushio gets attacked, and Reiko can’t take it anymore and tries to take her life for like the fifth time maybe.  Ushio and Masaki pursue Reiko and save her.

So, Reiko’s dad tries to pull everyone into his painting, Tora rescues the lot of them, Ushio stabs the painting through Reiko (the Beast Spear can’t harm humans, apparently), and Reiko’s father passes on.  All is well.  Oh, and the painting changes.

Great episode, and one of my favorite chapters (well, set of chapters).  Glad to see it done justice, even if it’s 20 years too late.

Now, you may be asking, “What, Otaku?  No VHS comparisons this week?”  Nope.  Despite the fact that this story  introduced a great (rarely) recurring character and is one of the better early stories, it was never animated for the OVA (or at least, not in the first 8 episodes… I really need to get around to hunting down the last 5).  Episode 3 of the OVA is the Hyo episode, which we won’t get to for… at least two weeks.  The next episode for the TV series is the next story for the manga, but the OVA didn’t cover it until episode 5.  So out of order, but hey, at least I can actually do some comparisons for that episode.