It's a World of Psychics and Superhumans

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

Lum's superpowers are, of course, electricity and the ability to fly. This may sound like she's not that different from Ultraman, but Lum is, of course, a lovely girl. ^[1] The way her superpowers manifest is very different from Ultraman's. For example, electricity. Although the electricity leaves Ataru in tatters every time it happens, it is not there to defeat the enemy. Rather, it comes from Lum's endearing maiden heart, as she cares for Ataru. If Ataru is kind to her, he will feel an electric shock of joy, and if Ataru tries to cheat on her, her jealousy will create an even stronger electric shock. Lum's electric shock is one way of expressing her emotions. Even girls on Earth will hug a boy when they're happy, or scratch his face when they're angry. In Lum's case, it just manifests as electricity. Of course, for Ataru, who is always being hit by electric shocks, it must be a big difference... Another supernatural power is the ability to fly, but Lum doesn't fly off into space. She uses it to get to and from Ataru's room on the second floor, or to go to school. In other words, she just flies where humans on Earth would walk. It's very ordinary. Lum doesn't seem strange despite having supernatural powers, but she does have a fundamentally different constitution from Earthlings. For example, Lum and Ten get drunk on umeboshi. Umeboshi is said to be good for the body, except that it tastes sour to Earthlings, but for Lum, it has the same effect as alcohol. Also, Lum's taste buds have developed to the point where they find things that Earthlings find too spicy to eat delicious.

The source of their supernatural powers is their horns

... Lum's horns aren't just for decoration. For example, whether Lum shoots electricity, Ten breathes fire, or flies, it takes a lot of energy. It is not something that can be sustained by the energy produced by one human body alone. In fact, that horn acts as an antenna to absorb such energy. That is why Lum-chan, who was prevented from absorbing energy by Cherry's ribbon that seals her psychic powers, can no longer emit electric shocks or fly. And that important horn grows and grows many times from childhood. If the horn falls off during the growth period, she will not be able to use her psychic powers like Ten-chan.

Lum's secret cosmic weapon

In addition to her psychic powers, Lum-chan has the super scientific powers of her planet, which is far away from Earth. It is this super power, rather than her psychic powers, that will be the trigger for the biggest commotions in Urusei Yatsura. Here, we will take a look at Lum-chan's mysterious secret machines. First of all, Lum-chan's ship is a flying saucer. It has the ability to travel back and forth between Lum-chan's planet and Earth, but its internal structure and energy source are not well known. Since Lum lives there, it seems like it's quite livable. Next is the Copy Gun. Lum learned how to make it in craft class in elementary school, and if you shoot it, you can make as many copies as you want. If they teach this kind of thing in elementary school, the science of Lum's planet is much more advanced than Earth's. The simple Time Machine can go to any place by setting the time and space and deciding the entrance. The portable G-Con is not just a gravity control device the size of a medicine capsule, but it has the amazing function of remembering the object to be controlled and only acting on that object. However, like other mecha, it will be the source of trouble depending on how it is used.

There are many psychics in space and on Earth. If they get involved with the man who brings disaster, Ataru Moroboshi, it's inevitable that trouble will occur.

In order to survive in the harsh environment of space, you have to acquire the appropriate abilities, or else master the mecha that will compensate for them. Therefore, the beings that exist there have different abilities in a way that is different from that of Earthlings. It was fine while they were in space, but once they got involved with Moroboshi Ataru, the most dangerous man in the universe, and appeared on Earth, a big commotion arose. For example, Lum's electric shocks. Lum would not have been able to fire so many electric shocks if she had not been involved with a cheating man like Ataru. Also, Ten's ability to breathe fire, Rei's ability to transform into a tiger-ox, and Ran's ability to absorb youth all cause trouble to other people just because they were involved with Ataru. Also, even if they do not have supernatural powers themselves, if the environment they live in or the machines they use are far removed from the level of Earth, they will appear to Earthlings as if they are psychics or monsters. For example, Oyuki, who lives on the freezing cold planet Neptune, looks like a Yuki-onna, and Princess Kurama, who has a mechanical fan that creates gusts of wind, looks exactly like a Tengu. Moreover, she is just like Snow White when she wakes up after being kissed by a man. Even an interstellar taxi driver, which is supposed to be a normal business in space, collects all of the Earth's oil in the form of a tornado instead of a fare, which is like the work of God to Earthlings. In short, you can't survive in space without this kind of ability.

Ten
A Flying Child Playing with Fire
Ten-chan is Lum-chan's cousin. Therefore, he is of the same Oni tribe as Lum-chan. However, there seem to be various types of Oni tribes, and Lum-chan can shoot electricity, but Ten-chan does not have that ability, instead he can spit fire from his mouth. Also, Lum-chan has two horns, but Ten-chan has only one. The same thing is that they can fly. The fact that Ten-chan can only fly like a turtle is not a matter of ability, but rather because he is a child. Ten-chan has these two abilities, but in fact he has another hidden ability (or should I say talent). It's a sharp and scathing remark that digs into the opponent's guts. For someone like Ataru , this scathing remark must be much more painful than having Ten-chan spit flames at him.

Ran
Energy absorbtion
Ran-chan is Lum-chan's childhood friend and comes from the same planet, but they are apparently of a different species. For this reason, Ran-chan does not have horns, but instead has the characteristic that when she gets angry, her appearance changes completely and becomes frightening. Also, Ran-chan's psychic power is to suck the youth of others from her mouth, and the person who is sucked out becomes old at once.

Rei
Unfortunate constitution, transformation ability
She seems to be of the same Oni tribe as Lum-chan, but her only ability is the ability to transform from a very handsome man into an ugly tiger-cow. It seems that she cannot even fly in the sky. Moreover, it is not clear which of the handsome man Rei and the tiger-cow Rei is her true form. Anyway, it is certain that she is filthy when it comes to food, and she just eats endlessly.

Unique beings, monsters and spirits
The reason why she can slip through and the peach blossom fairy appears under the peach tree is because she is Dracula, Wendy, and the peach blossom fairy. Also, the fact that the pool monster lives in the water and the baku eats dreams is not a supernatural power for them, but merely a means of living.

Ataru Moroboshi
Cockroach-like vitality
Lum-chan's electric shocks hit Ataru every time. Ten-chan spits flames at him. He has been possessed by aliens. He has been possessed by illness. He has even been possessed by the Grim Reaper. Beautiful women hit Ataru. Shinobu throws a desk at him. Things come flying at him from the world. Despite all of this, Ataru has survived. No matter how much he is hurt, he never forgets to approach beautiful women. Did his environment full of misfortune give him the vitality and indomitable spirit of a cockroach? Is it because of this mindset that he invites misfortune into his life? Anyway, Moroboshi Ataru, the most disasterous man in the universe, is also a man who has endured those disasters and survived. If that is the case, then in fact, the person with the greatest powers among the psychics who appear in Urusei Yatsura is Ataru, who has endured all of those attacks and survived tenaciously. Yes, Ataru is a superhuman who surpasses psychics.

Shinobu Miyake
Mental power born from anger
Shinobu is originally a quiet, good-student type of girl. So why is it that she lifts desks on a daily basis, and on more extreme occasions, she lifts boats with people on them, or bookshelves full of books? In fact, this stems from Shinobu's original personality of being quiet. Although she has a strong core and even makes a promise to marry Ataru to encourage him as he plays tag with Lum, carrying the fate of the Earth on his shoulders, she cannot press Ataru as freely as Lum. That pent-up feeling becomes mental energy and accumulates inside Shinobu. So the seemingly flashy act of lifting desks and bookshelves is actually a manifestation of a sad woman's heart.

Sakura
The spiritual power to exterminate monsters and men
As the niece of Cherry, she has a certain level of spiritual power. However, she also has a tendency to make things complicated, and when she tries to exorcise Ataru, she ends up possessing him with a disease instead. Sakura is full of adult sex appeal and has an excellent figure, but the reason why she can eat a full course meal from hell and still maintain her shape is because she has superhuman abilities. She can even eat a giant roasted cow in one go.

Cherry
Abnormal ability to bring misfortune
Since first meeting Ataru and predicting his misfortune, Cherry has been appearing in various places and spreading prophecies. His prophetic powers are quite good, but if he believes himself to be a high priest with strong magical powers and tries to resolve the situation, he will end up with uncontrollable results. At least, his magic power produces some kind of effect, so it's not like he has no power at all, but there are many cases where it would have been better not to do anything, like when the little devil appeared from the mirror.

Shutaro Mendo
Resilience to withstand destruction
For Mendo, who is a forgiving feminist and a dandy, his pride would not allow him to show his disfigured face to a woman. Moreover, as the heir to the Mendo family with assets of 50 billion yen, this is even more so. However, Mendo is also a human being. He has weaknesses, and sometimes his face disfigures. The problem is the strength of his resilience, and his ability to return to normal in an instant can be said to be quite superhuman.

The psychic powers of "Urusei Yatsura" are everyday sensations (Comment from Mamoru Oshii)

What role do psychic powers play in creating the work Urusei Yatsura? We asked chief director Mamoru Oshii about this. ^[2] "The supernatural powers in Urusei Yatsura are very casual. Lum can fly and Ten can breathe fire, but that's just part of their everyday lives. It's the same as walking or running. The characters don't worry just because they have supernatural powers. So the supernatural powers in Urusei Yatsura don't really have much to do with the essence of the show. In terms of supernatural powers, or rather, paranormal powers, Ataru is the best, isn't he? He didn't die even after being beaten so badly. In that sense, all the other characters are supernatural. At first, I was resistant to inflicting so much pain on Ataru, so I deliberately overacted. I made him scream a lot, bared his teeth, etc. By doing that, the emotional aspect was inevitably lost, but if I didn't do it that way, it was hard for people to accept it. We also came up with various ideas in terms of the animation. For Lum's movements, I created many different patterns at first. In the end, I ended up with the weightless movements that (Motosuke) Takahashi created. ^[3] I've finally been able to have fun with Lum and Ten's movements recently. For example, Lum can fly in from far away and stop dead in mid-air. In Lum's case, her hair is what saves her. Without it, she'd be like a robot."

Does Elle really have supernatural powers...?

Well, is that Elle who appears in the movie? And does she have supernatural powers in the movie, so what kind of character is she? Let's ask Oshii, who is also the director of the movie, again. "No one has seen her move yet, so we won't know until we see her in action. However, I wanted to have something that sets her apart from Princess Kurama and Benten who have appeared in Urusei Yatsura so far, so I did include some kind of mechanism. That said, it's subtle. There's nothing particularly special about her compared to the other characters. Also, Elle is the oldest woman in Ataru's life, the woman before Shinobu, so I hope to bring that out. Well, the best way to find out the details is to go to the movie theater and check it out." So, I can't wait for the movie to be released so that I can find out Elle's true charm.

The story of the movie Urusei Yatsura is still a secret, but let's try to guess it based on the information we currently know. First of all, it is expected that the story will naturally begin around Ataru's house on Earth. Therefore, Shinobu, Shutaro Mendo, Cherry, and Sakura will also appear here. Then, Elle, who was engaged to Ataru 11 years ago, appears. To fulfill her promise, Elle takes him to her planet. Elle is the queen of that planet. Considering that Elle's spaceship and Elle's planet are set up in great detail, this scene is expected to be made in the style of a full-fledged science fiction anime. The problem is the actions of Shinobu and Lum, who have taken Ataru away. Nobu aside, Lum, who has the disk, cannot just let this go. Naturally, she will follow Elle and the others to Elle's planet. On Elle's planet, Elle is expected to press Ataru to marry him. However, there is no way that Moroboshi Ataru, the most unlucky man in the universe, can marry such a beautiful woman so easily. There will be a big commotion over the marriage. And what will happen after that...? Another thing I'm interested in is how the characters that appeared in the TV version will be involved in this movie version. Is it too much to want to see Princess Kurama and Benten on the big screen of the theater?

In the November issue, we introduced Elle in a dress, but unfortunately that costume has been changed. The elegant dress with a rose motif matched Elle's queenly aura well, but perhaps it was difficult to move around in the anime with a costume full of colored traces. The new costume is a bustier with a rose branch design, and it looks a bit like Benten's. There is more exposure than in the dress, so many fans may be happy.

A fan convention will be held in Osaka

A fan convention for Urusei Yatsura will be held in Osaka this time. The venue is the OS Theater in Umeda, Osaka, and the doors will open at 9:00 a.m. on November 23rd (Labor Thanksgiving Day). ^[4] The show will start at 9:30 a.m. The event will include an advance preview of the TV version of Urusei Yatsura, a comedy skit by Fumi Hirano and Akira Kamiya, and a lottery. Other events include an exhibition of Rumiko Takahashi's original drawings, an exhibition of cel drawings and illustrations, and a sale of cel drawings and character goods. This fan event requires advance tickets, 800 yen for adults and 500 yen for fan club members. There will be no same-day tickets. Advance tickets are available at the following locations: OS Theater, Subaruza, Hankyu Kaikan, Kobe, Shijo-dori Bookstore Dan, and OS Theater, Himeji. Urusei Yatsura fans in the Kansai region should definitely participate.

There are lots of SF anime-like settings!

There are still many secrets about the Urusei Yatsura movie version, but some of the setting documents have finally been made public. First, at the top is Ten-chan's potty-shaped scooter. It flies through the air in a shape that is just like the spaceship Ten-chan rode on when he came to Earth. Scooters are all the rage these days, so they are very trendy and cool, but when Ten-chan straddles one, it looks just like a potty... In the middle is a spaceship from the planet Elle. It is a heavy cruiser class battleship of the Bara fleet. Its pterosaur-like style is really cool. The appearance of a spaceship like this suggests that there will be space battle scenes. At the very bottom is the Sky Palace of Elle on the planet Elle. The medieval-style castle encased in an ultra-modern dome creates a mysterious atmosphere.

---

Footnotes

• [1] Ultraman (ウルトラマン) is a Japanese tokusatsu science fiction television series created by Eiji Tsuburaya. It has been parodied numerous times in Urusei Yatsura.
• [2] 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.
• [3] Motosuke Takahashi (高橋資祐) served as director, storyboard artist and animation director for Urusei Yatsura. He also worked on Rumiko Takahashi's OVAs for Firetripper (), Maris the Chojo (), and Laughing Target () as director and animation director on all three projects. Around 1979, he founded the animation studio "Studio Dotaku." Asami Endo and Naoko Yamamoto also worked alongside him at Studio Dotaku and followed him to Urusei Yatsura. Additionally,in the 2004 book Innocence: The World of Mamoru Oshii PERSONA Revised and Expanded Edition (イノセンス 押井守の世界 PERSONA増補改訂版) Mamoru Oshii called Takahashi "Studio Pierrot's trump card." He passed away in 2017.
• [4] Labor Thanksgiving Day (勤労感謝の日, Kinrō Kansha no Hi) is an annual public holiday in Japan celebrated on November 23 of each year, unless that day falls on a Sunday, in which case the holiday is moved to Monday.

---