Can You Tell the Difference?

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

The frivolous protagonist with bad luck

The protagonist, Ataru Moroboshi, was born under the star of bad luck, his birthday being Friday the 13th, and moreover, a day of bad luck. He is frivolous and reckless, and doesn't care about his bad luck. However, his strength is that he pushes forward without compromising his beliefs, no matter what obstacles he faces. This attitude, which reflects his character, may be what has made him famous because it hits at the true feelings of the viewers.

Episode Summaries:

Love Battle Royale (episode 23) ^[1]
The "New Year's Dance Party" is in full swing at the Moroboshi household, not caring about the inconvenience it causes to the neighbors. Then, Sakura comes to invite Ataru to a disco. Just when he is happy to be alone with Sakura, Lum, Shinobu, and even Sakura's boyfriend come along. What's more, when he arrives at the disco, he finds Cherry there too.

Father, You Were Strong (episode 24)
Princess Kurama, who shared a waking kiss with Ataru, reluctantly has to make a pact with him according to custom. Rather than lamenting, Princess Kurama decides to first reform Ataru's personality, and following her grandfather's advice, she decides to make Ataru the apprentice of her ideal man. This man is Princess Kurama's ideal man and also her father...

Hawaiian Swimsuit Thief (episode 25)
After Lum won a "group invitation to Hawaii for 10 people" in a lottery, Ataru and his friends had a great holiday at Waikiki Beach. Of course, Ataru was completely fascinated by the girls, especially Sakura-sensei, in their swimsuits, ignoring all the surfing. Lum and Shinobu, not wanting to be outdone by Sakura, spent the night choosing their swimsuits for the next day. However, the next morning, the girls' swimsuits that had been hung out to dry had disappeared.

Can you tell the difference!? (Anime Fans Thoughts)

Fan A: It seems like the popularity and ratings of the programs that started in the fall are starting to settle down. So, I'd like to discuss three shows with the editorial team: Urusei Yatsura, Fang of the Sun Dougram, and Chie the Brat. ^[2] Let's start with Urusei Yatsura, a popular work with a unique original story and fresh gags and popular characters that have attracted a lot of attention.

Fan B: The first episode had a lot of parodies, and I could feel the enthusiasm of the young staff, which was interesting, but as the episodes went on, it seems to have gradually faded. The fun of the original author, Rumiko Takahashi, is the unexpectedness of the gags that appear. For example, a swallow turns into a penguin, and when Ataru says "my wife" to Lum, she suddenly turns into the wife of a tenement house owner. I think it started being used in the manga Gaki Deka, but I think it's a modern sensibility to suddenly insert a gag that has nothing to do with the story. ^[3] In the case of Urusei Yatsura, that's supposed to be its selling point, but for now it's been overshadowed.

Fan D: The staff initially said that if there was a scene where a desk flies away, in the next scene Ataru would be upside down, in other words, they were using a koma manga-style technique to make it more funny by omitting the scene where the desk hits Ataru, but I can't say this was completely successful either.

Fan C: The gags are getting stale. Lum does an electric shock and Ataru screams. The mother is always saying "I shouldn't have given birth to you." If it continues like this, there is a danger that the story will become a pattern of Lum and Shinobu proclaiming love for Ataru, with Ataru rejecting Lum, Shinobu getting jealous, Lum doing an electric shock... I think one of the reasons for this is that each episode is 15 minutes long. So far, the story itself is relatively faithful to the original, but in 15 minutes, they have to cut out parts of the original to fit it all.

Fan B: In that respect, they're making 30-minute episodes, so I'm looking forward to them. With 30 minutes, they could add more of their ideas to the original and put them in the script. I want them to put in as much of it as they can. Like when Lum lays out the futon and says, "Darling, I'm going to sleep now," and Ataru gets dragged in. Maybe next time there's a scene where they're throwing pillows. That way, it would simply be funny for little kids, and for older people, it would be a surprising gag. I want ideas like that.

Fan C: I'd also like to see characters like Princess Kurama and Mendo. There are episodes in the original where characters other than Lum and Ataru are the main characters. I think it would change the mood and break out of the rut.

Fan A: Other than that, I would like to see a little more ingenuity in the way the composition is presented. Usually, long shots are used mainly to show the whole from various angles, and close-ups are used to attract the eye and make it easier to portray the characters' psychology. But in the case of Urusei Yatsura, close-ups are common. The story progresses while explaining things through dialogue, so I feel like the characters' psychology isn't explained very well. I would like the composition to be more effective so that the close-ups can be used more effectively.

Fan E: Another thing is that even Rumiko Takahashi said that the drawings in the anime are "cuter than the original," but when you see Ataru's face in profile, you can't tell who he is. ^[4] That's a basic problem, and it's troubling.

Fan D: The viewership ratings are decent, but they're much lower than the shows that are shown before and after them, Dr. Slump at 7:00 and Zenigata Heiji at 8:00. ^[5]

Fan C: On Wednesdays at 7:30, there's NHK's Association Game on the other channel. ^[6] I think it's because of the high viewership.

Fan E: It seems like a pattern has been established where kids watch Slump from 7:00, then mom plays a word association game, and dad watches Zenigata Heiji.

Fan B: I think the viewers are mostly junior high school students or younger. When I ask high school students, it seems like they're looking forward to the first episode being interesting and are waiting to see what happens.

Fan D: It seems like even elementary school students or younger would enjoy the content. Even if you don't understand the meaning of phrases like "get married" or "go to sleep", it's interesting in that sense. The same can be said for Slump, but it's like a child's terminology. I think kids would enjoy that kind of thing. My 3-year-old also imitates "go to the bath".

Fan A: And the movements are flashy. It's not about the quality of the movements, but the scenes change constantly like a commercial. Small kids like that kind of thing.

Fan E: I guess once they reach high school, they stop watching because the words aren't interesting enough.

Fan A: In conclusion, it seems like the fans' expectations are so high that it's a bit lacking.

Fan D: It's true that nothing good came out of it, but I think there's a lot of potential. The characters are great, aren't they? Regardless of whether they're good or bad, it's a typical TV anime that can compete based on its characters. Lum is a very cute character, so I'd like to see her portrayed more cutely when she bullies Ataru too much and regrets it.

Fan B: It's a story that doesn't need scientific verification, and it's more of a sci-fi work with a bizarre, mysterious, and comical content. If they can make the most of that boldly, and if they can think about how to present it and the composition, I think it will be a much more interesting work than it is now.

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Footnotes

• [1] For the sake of creating as accurate a translation of the historical record as possible we have left the episode numbers identical to what they were listed as in the original periodical this article appeared in, however these episode numbers do not match the numbering convention that most fans and producers use in regards to Urusei Yatsura in the present day. The confusion stems from the early episodes airing two unique 15 minute episodes in one 30 minute block. The links will link to the correct episode with the number reflecting the unified numbering system.
• [2] Fang of the Sun Dougram (太陽の牙ダグラム/Taiyo no Kiba Daguramu) is a 75 episode anime that ran from October 1981 to March 1983. Chie the Brat (じゃりン子チエ/Jarinko Chie) is a 64 episode anime directed by Isao Takahata which ran from October 1981 to March 1983.
• [3] Animage Staff. "All the Staff Members are Researching Lum-chan, Who Flies Away from the Mundane World to Another Dimension!" Animage Vol. 10, 1981. https://www.furinkan.com /features/interviews/animage198110.html.
• [4] Gaki Deka (がきデカ/Brat Cop) is a manga by Tatsuhiko Yamagami that Rumiko Takahashi has spoken about many times as having an impact on her own comedic sensibilities. Takahashi even drew a tribute manga to the series in 2016.
• [5] Takahashi, Rumiko. "Sex Appeal Strategy" Animedia Vol. 11, 1981. https://www.furinkan.com /features/interviews/animedia198111.html#takahashi.
• [6] Dr. Slump (Dr.スランプ) is Urusei Yatsura longtime lead-in and ran for 243 episodes from April 1981 to February 1986. It is based on the 18 volume manga by Akira Toriyama. Toriyama and Takahashi met to discuss the anime adapations of their works in 1986. Zenigata Heiji (銭形平次/Heiji, the Detective) ran for 888 episodes from 1966 to 1984, upon the death of it's star Hashizo Okawa (大川橋蔵). Hashizo Ogawa is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest running actor in a one-hour long television series for his performance as Zenigata.
• [7] Association Game (連想ゲーム/Rensou Geemu) was a quiz show that aired on NHK General Television from April 1969 to March 1991.

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