Comments from Mamoru Oshii and Yuji Nunokawa

Translated by: Harley Acres
Thanks to Mitchell for scans and transcriptions.

I think the voice of Ichiro Nagai-san, who plays Sakuranbo (Cherry) who appeared in the first episode, was a little too soft. ^[1] Wouldn't it be better for him to have a more serious tone?

Oshii: Cherry, a.k.a. Sakuranbo, appears only to show his face in the first cours, and appears more frequently as the main character in the second and third cours. ^[2] The voice of Cherry was chosen after considering the balance with the other characters in the second cours. This light fluff would blend quite well with the drama, and I think it would be easy for everyone watching the drama to get used to it. I think it is better than making it too heavy.

Comments from Yuji Nunokawa ^[3]

The director of Urusei Yatsura is Mamoru Oshii-shi. ^[4] He is a young director who is currently very active in the industry. After working as a radio program director, he joined Tatsunoko Productions. He is currently a member of Studio Pierrot. He is a promising newcomer who has been rapidly gaining experience in the last few years. This is Oshii-shi's first work, and his hustle and bustle are astonishing. We, who are watching him closely, are inwardly afraid that he might break his body sooner or later. He looks like a little boy who is 30 years old but has not grown up yet. He is a man who is liked by everyone. Oshii-shi's favorite character in Urusei Yatsura is Ataru. Oshii-shi works hard day and night to keep up with his senior directors. We hope that you will continue to watch him and his works with warm interest.

Highlights

Episode 13 "The Scary Electric Shock!" ^[5] Megane comes in with a handheld backpack tied with a string. When he opens it, he finds a letter signed by Sakuranbo's name and a cherry blossom mark on it along with a yellow ribbon. Ataru begins to read the letter. This ribbon can only be untied by the hand of the one who ties it. It is a special ribbon to seal the power of an oni. Ataru laughs happily and drools...

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Footnotes

• [1] Ichiro Nagai, the voice of Cherry, will go on to be a recurring actor in many of Rumiko Takahashi's series. After Cherry he played the role of Happosai in Ranma 1/2 and Yoreitaisei in Inuyasha: The Final Act.
• [2] A "cours" (クール) is essentially a "season". Typically a cours is 13 episodes in length. The term originates from the French word "cours" meaning "lesson".
• [3] Yuji Nunokawa (布川ゆうじ) is the founder of Studio Pierrot, and you can read a more in depth interview with him here.
• [4] Mamoru Oshii (押井守) got his start as a director on Urusei Yatsura but would go on to direct numerous famous anime films and series. We have numerous interviews archived with him here at the website.
• [5] We are using the episode numbering as referred to in the original article rather than the numbering system that is commonly used today (which is what is used on our website). What they refer to as episode 13 is commonly now called episode 7-1.

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