What is This Feeling of Loneliness When Watching the New Urusei Yatsura?
Translation By: Dylan Acres
Showa Lum, the Neighborhood Big Sister
Many of you are probably enjoying Urusei Yatsura (2022 version), which is currently airing to rave reviews. This author also enjoys watching it every week, and is particularly fond of the scene of Lum-chan dancing in the opening. It is probably an homage to the ending of the old version, but of course Lum-chan looks great dancing.However, there was one point that I felt sad to see. That is the obvious fact that Lum-chan had become a younger girl.
The first anime adaptation of Urusei Yatsura was in 1981, 41 years ago. That was 41 years ago. At the time, people in their mid-teens and older were hooked on Lum-chan and still have their own Lum-chan living in their hearts, and there was a lot of excitement on SNS when the anime was re-animated. When I saw a manga artist explaining in detail how to draw Lum-chan, I thought to myself, "I'm jealous that I was able to find a character I could love for such a long time.
However, for the author, who was in the early grades of elementary school at the time, whether Urusei Yatsura was an existence to which he devoted his absolute love was a little different. I was still too young to understand love.
In my mind, Urusei Yatsura was a very fun anime that started after Dr. Slump Arale-Chan (Dr. スランプ アラレちゃん) was over on Fuji TV. And Lum-chan was like a big sister whom I could see every week.
The main reason why I felt this way was that the scenery in Urusei Yatsura was an exact replica of the cityscape of the time. Lum-chan, who flew in the sky in a world similar to the streets we were so used to and had friendly fights with Ataru, was more like a neighborhood big sister whom we could see once every Wednesday, rather than a woman we admired.
Needless to say, our biggest enemy was the professional baseball game, and when the broadcast time of the third episode of the 2022 version was delayed due to the baseball game, I couldn't help but exclaim, "You don't have to go that far!" unintentionally. I think those who know about those days can understand how I felt. [1] [2]
Lum-chan as a Young Girl
The old series was broadcast from 1981 to 1986. Over a period of about five years, a total of 195 episodes (218 episodes in all) plus one special were broadcast, and I never missed a single episode. The episode that left a particularly strong impression on me was the 78th episode "Pitiful! Mother of Love and Banishment!?" [3] I remember that it was a work that had an unusual atmosphere that was completely different from usual. I was surprised when I later learned that it was the episode that Mamoru Oshii wrote in earnest. The work of a genius leaves a strong impression on children's hearts. [4] [5]
I remember how sad I was when Urusei Yatsura ended, because I could no longer see Lum-chan, whom I had seen every week for five years. I was also sad because Dr. Slump Arale-Chan had ended right before Urusei Yatsura ended.
More than 40 years have passed since then, and when I learned that a new series was to be made, I was quite surprised and delighted to see Lum-chan again.
What I saw in my eyes when I watched the first episode was a very young Lum-chan, who had been waiting for the broadcast. Yes, age had changed Lum-chan from a neighborhood sister to a neighborhood daughter. Lum-chan does not age, but flesh and blood people do. It was quite a shock when I finally realized that enough time had passed to make the elder sister now look like a daughter to me. I guess it is a similar feeling to when you are walking around your hometown and you come across a young person who looks very much like a classmate and you are momentarily taken back to the past and realize, "Oh, that's probably his kid."
In recent years, the number of remakes has increased dramatically, with Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai (DRAGON QUEST -ダイの大冒険-) recently coming to a successful conclusion. Of course, I too have enjoyed them, but I have never felt such a strange shock as I did when I saw the new Lum-chan. That must be how important Lum-chan was to me in the past.
Perhaps, when I was in elementary school, I was fond of Lum-chan. At my age, I only realized it for the first time...
Footnotes
- [1] "うる星やつら (アニメ)" Wikipedia.org. November 24, 2022. Accessed November 26, 2022. https://ja.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ううる星やつら_(アニメ).
- [2] Broadcasting of Urusei Yatsura was often suspended due to special programs such as professional baseball broadcasts (primarily Yakult Swallows games), and volleyball World Cup broadcasts, with this tendency becoming increasingly noticeable in the latter half of 1984 and 1985. As a result, it took four and a half years to air a total of 195 weekly episodes. Fittingly the 2022 series saw the third episode delayed due to a Yakult Swallows game as well pushing the episode to debut at 2:25 am.
- [3] "うる星やつら (アニメ)" Wikipedia.org. November 24, 2022. Accessed November 26, 2022. https://ja.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ううる星やつら_(アニメ).
- [4] Episode 78 "Pitiful! Mother of Love and Banishment!?" is infamous given that Mamoru Oshii was severely repremanded when the episode was submitted. Upper management had warned him that his frequent use of in jokes and references to film and other anime was overdone to such an extent that episodes became meaningless. It was said that a station refused to air this episode but relented due to having nothing else to air in place. The concept of this episode would go on to be an important influence for the second Urusei Yatsura film, Beautiful Dreamer.
- [5] "『うる星やつら』のファンも、TV局も怒った押井守の奇作回 意味不明なループでカルト人気に" Magmix.jp. March 3, 2022. Accessed November 26, 2022. https://magmix.jp/post/81269.
Seiichiro Hayakawa is a writer who works mainly on game scenarios. He also covers events, columns, and interviews. He is a regular member of the Japan Game Scenario Writers Association. He can be found on Twitter.
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