City Sense in TV

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

If you watch for the cel collections of Urusei Yatsura by Masahito Yamashita, the youngest key animator for Urusei Yatsura every week, you'll notice that there are episodes with unusually unique movements. ^[1] A sharp and well-timed movement, just like that of Yoshinori Kaneda, suddenly appears on the TV screen. ^[2] Some fans call it "Kaneda Doki" and pay attention to it - the mastermind behind it is Masahito Yamashita, a key animator who is 20 years old this year. Of course, he looks similar, but he is a direct disciple of Kaneda, who was a member of "Studio NO.1" until a few months ago (he is currently a member of "Studio OZ"). ^[3] He has been a fan of Kaneda since he was a high school student in Hokkaido, and moved to Tokyo after graduating. "When I first went to show my drawings to Tomonaga-san of OH! Pro, he recommended that I go to Kaneda's place." He left "NO.1" after about two years this spring. "I wanted to try out various possibilities. I discovered that Kaneda's drawings were actually more educational when I stepped back," said Yamashita. It seems that he has moved from a period when he was heavily influenced by Kaneda to a period when he is searching for his own individuality. Keep an eye on his work on Genma Taisen, which he is currently working on.

An Urusei Yatsura fan club was formed.

A fan club was formed in conjunction with the film adaptation. ^[4] It publishes a bimonthly journal and organizes fan gatherings. Benefits include the acquisition of movie discount tickets and the chance to win original cel drawings in a lottery.

★How to apply:
For a membership fee of 400 yen and an 8-month membership fee of 600 yen, a total of 2,000 yen, please send a small money order or registered cash.

★Where to apply:
2, Shibuya Post Office,
Tokyo 160, Japan
Kitty Films "Urusei Yatsura"
"Animage" FC section

Currently in great form!! The female characters of "Urusei Yatsura" are currently in great form! Shunmin's "Achoo, Achoo" and Ran-chan's "You're so noisy" are words of ecstasy. This is a good example of how such a great work can be created when the staff is on board. Moreover, this is the same story that has continued to escalate since "Mendo Arrives With Trouble!" by Yamashita and Kazuhiro Ochi, and it's just been escalating ever since! ^[5] The richness of the movement and story! The excellent choice of voice actors (really spot on, I'm really impressed!). If they continue to create at this level, then you're a real genius!!! The inhabitants of Urusei Yatsura, a world that drifts from laughter to pathos, are right in the middle of the battlefield (Sadame ja!!).

Episode Summary by Yuji Nunokawa ^[6]

It's been almost a year since the series started airing. Thanks to everyone's support, it has been decided that the series will be extended beyond October. In the production of a TV series, the first two seasons (about half a year) are often unfamiliar, and it is often a trial and error process. Only after that do the tendencies of the work and the personalities of the characters begin to permeate each person. I think this program is at its best now. Among the staff, this month we will introduce art director Torao Arai. ^[7] Arai joined the series from the second season onwards, and I think he had a very hard time getting used to the color of this work. After all, the scenes change constantly, from reality to unreality, from space to the primitive age, and most people would be neurotic about this. Arai is a veteran who has worked on many series in the past, but he is eager to blend in with the younger staff and absorb new sensibilities. He also seems to get along well with Oshii from C. It's such an important part that we say "half the screen is animation and the other half is art." That's how much we expect from Arai-san.

Highlights:

Episode 40 So Long, Bye-Bye, Summer Days

At the end of summer, Ataru and his friends are at the beach. Shinobu suggests they have a watermelon-smashing game. Ataru and Lum go to the village to buy watermelons, but the villagers won't sell them any. They say there's a watermelon curse.

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Footnotes

• [1] Masahito Yamashita (山下将仁) has had an illustrious career in the world of Japanese animation. He would continue to work as a key animator with Mamoru Oshii on works like Dallos (ダロス) and Innocence (イノセンス), as well as American/Japanese co-productions like Mighty Orbots and Silverhawks.
• [2] Yoshinori Kanada (金田伊功) was one of the most influential and respected animators in anime history. Genma Taisen (幻魔大戦), mentioned in this article would go on to be one of his most representative works, alongside Birth (バース). Additionally, he is credited for the famous "missle barrage" sequences of Super Dimensional Fortress Macross. He passed away in 2009.
• [3] Studio No. 1 (スタジオNo.1) worked on both Galaxy Express 999 (銀河鉄道９９９) and its sequel film Adieu, Galaxy Express (さよなら銀河鉄道９９９　－アンドロメダ終着駅－) as well as numerous episodes of the 1980 Shin Tetsujin-28 (太陽の使者 鉄人28号). Studio OZ (スタジオＯＺ) has had a much longer existence and handled finishing animation and paint for series like Maison Ikkoku (めぞん一刻), numerous Gundam works, Ranma 1/2 (らんま 1/2) tv series and OVAs and Urusei Yatsura (うる星やつら) OVAs and the fourth film, Lum the Forever.
• [4] "The Urusei Yatsura Fan Club" would go on to be re-named the "Kitty Animation Circle." Their bi-monthly newsletter eventually became the quarterly, then monthly, magazine Movement before renaming itself to We'll. For an in-depth look at Kitty Animation, please see our article.
• [5] Kazuhiro Ochi (越智一裕) worked as a key animator on Urusei Yatsura before making a name for himself on numerous super robot anime. An interview with Ochi can be found on Edition 88's website. Fore more information on all the animators mentioned in this article, we highly suggest reading The Kanada School's Collective Masterpiece: Urusei Yatsura on Animetudes.
• [6] 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.
• [7] Torao Arai (新井寅雄) served as art director for Urusei Yatsura and would serve the same role on both the first and second Ranma 1/2 feature films.

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