Animedia's Popularity Rankings for 1981

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

Coming in third is Urusei Yatsura, a work that retains the flavor of the popular original work, but subtly changes the setting to emphasize the fun of the animation's movements. ^[1] The slapstick comedy featuring the protagonist, Ataru Moroboshi, who has been burdened with an ominous fate since birth, and aliens, demons, and beautiful women has captivated not only fans of the original work, but also many anime fans overall. In addition to the humor of the gags, the presence of Lum, a beautiful alien girl who has taken up residence in Ataru's house, has inevitably increased his popularity. As can be seen in another graph, Lum is very popular not only with boys but also with girls. In Lum's devoted love for the frivolous Ataru, we can see a representation of the feminine that is fading in modern times. Another attraction of Urusei Yatsura is the variety of guest characters that appear in each episode. Fans are excited to see what kind of eccentric guests will appear and what kind of gags they will show.

The World of Rumiko Takahashi (Comment from Shigekazu Ochiai):

I think the biggest factor in the popularity of Urusei Yatsura is the popularity of Rumiko Takahashi. In other words, the popularity of the original work accounts for a large proportion of the popularity of the TV series, and it is not a popularity that comes from the original author alone. Rumiko Takahashi's portrayal of women is very kind. And the original work shines through in that. I would like highlight this from the third season onwards. ^[2]

Ataru Moroboshi

Ataru Moroboshi, who came in third place, received the support of about 70% of the male votes. ^[3] This shows that there are quite a few male fans who are envious of and sympathize with Ataru's actions in Urusei Yatsura, the actions of a beautiful woman - he will go through fire and water for the sake of Ataru Moroboshi. If only he didn't have a constitution that brings all kinds of disasters upon him, there would surely be many men who would like to be Ataru.

Lum

The most popular female character of 1981 was Lum from Urusei Yatsura. ^[4] With overwhelming popularity, she received more than a quarter of the total votes in this category. The difference between her and the second place winner was a huge 1,500 votes. Moreover, it was found that Lum's popularity is not overwhelmingly with male votes, but that she is also quite popular with female fans. I think that her bravery in continuing to love and call Ataru Moroboshi "darling" has engraved Lum's image in the hearts of many fans. And her cute gestures at random times have added to her popularity.

Comment from Fumi Hirano:

Lum is cute, isn't she? Lum doesn't know that she's cute or sexy. It's like her charm comes out without her even realizing it. This is my first time playing the role of Lum in an anime, but anime is interesting. I want to bring Lum to life more. Lum is so cute when she brings lunch to Darling and hugs him saying "I love you, darling." ^[5]

Episode Summaries

The Spring Blossom Picnic Part 1 & Part 2 (episode 23)

Ataru is on a picnic with his teacher, and in the free land without Lum, he selfishly thinks that today he will be embraced by nature for the first time in a long time and that he and Shinobu will confirm their love for each other. Just as he finds a rocky area in the valley that would be a good place to eat his lunch, Lum and Ten suddenly appear from the opposite bank with baskets in their hands. They forcefully take Ataru's hand and try to eat lunch with him. This will ruin Ataru's hopes. Then Mendo, who was thought to be absent, appears by helicopter and offers everyone a deluxe meal. What's more, after the meal, there are also various games prepared... But somehow the lunch time ended, and there was only an hour left. Lum was in a happy mood because she was with Ataru, but Ataru was not so happy. Still, the four of them - Ataru, Mendo, Lum, and Shinobu - decided to go to the limestone cave at Mendo's invitation...

Beware the Earmuffs! (episode 24)

In a narrow alley between buildings, there was a stall selling ear muffles. They were cheap, costing 150 yen each. Ataru, who was passing by, still managed to bargain down the price to 200 yen for two. However, the ear muffler shopkeeper was actually an alien. Ataru, who was unaware of this, insisted to Ten that girls would be popular if they wore a muffle, and when the two of them put them on, the two of them switched places. In other words, Ataru became Ten and Ten became Ataru. Then along came Lum, who knew nothing about it... Of course, Lum just found everything strange... The next customer to visit the muffle shop was Sakuranbo. However, he immediately noticed the third eye on Ear's forehead, where he had dropped his ski cap. Meanwhile, Ten realized that the strangeness was all due to the ear muffle, and that if he removed it, he would return to his original body. Then, alone, he began a great fight...

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Footnotes

• [1] The top three series for 1981 were: 1. Queen Millennia (新竹取物語 1000年女王/Shin Taketori Monogatari: Sennen Joō) 2. Fang of the Sun Dougram (太陽の牙ダグラム/Taiyō no Kiba Daguramu) 3. Urusei Yatsura (うる星やつら).
• [2] Shigekazu Ochiai was a producer for Kitty Animation, who got his start as an assistant to Kazuo Koike (小池 一夫) and helped manage Gekiga Sonjuku, the training school run by Koike that Rumiko Takahashi attended prior to her debut. Eventually Ochiai left Koike and found himself working for Kitty Music as they transitioned into the anime business. Because of his connection with Takahashi prior to her debut he was able to use those connections to bring her on board with Kitty Animation. This proved to be a very fortuitious partnership as Kitty went on to produce Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku and Ranma 1/2. Ochiai passed away in 1999.
• [3] The top three male characters for 1981 were: 1. Takeru (God Mars) 2. Marg (God Mars) 3. Ataru Moroboshi (Urusei Yatsura).
• [4] The top three female characters for 1981 were: 1. Lum (Urusei Yatsura) 2. Yukino Yayoi (Queen Millennia) 3. Arale (Dr. Slump). The relationship between Dr. Slump and Urusei Yatsura is further explored in this article also from 1982 in Animedia magazine.
• [5] Fumi Hirano is, of course, the voice actress for Lum in Urusei Yatsura. This was her first role in anime, but she would go on to portray: Kahm in Outlanders, Rumi Wakasa in Detective Conan, Seira Nakamori in Cat's Eye, Kanna in Rumiko Takahashi Anthology, Sakura's Mother in Kyokai no Rinne and Lum's Mother in the relaunched Urusei Yatsura anime.

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