Main Cast and Staff Message

Translated by: Harley Acres

Urusei Yatsura: The Final Chapter is a film adaptation of the final chapters of the original manga. As the cast reaches their final stages before the actual recording begins, we asked the staff about their enthusiasm for the film.

Toshio Furukawa - The Role of Ataru Moroboshi

●Cherish every single line

Maybe it was because it was the final chapter, but watching the film rushes, I was really touched. The series starts and ends with a game of tag, so it reminded me of the time we recorded the first episode. The whole story is so interesting. About two-thirds of it is set in the world of Urusei Yatsura, and you can enjoy the chaos, but the interactions between Ataru and Lum in the second half will bring you to tears.

Ataru remains the same until the very end, right down to the last line. Although the series itself is the final installment, it doesn't end here as if it's the end of everything, rather it ends while preserving the world of Urusei Yatsura, so it leaves a nice, lingering impression.

Ataru is like my signature anime character, so I want to cherish and put effort into every single line he delivers.

Fumi Hirano - The Role of Lum

●I want to voice Lum without any pressure.

It was made faithfully to the original manga. The images were also very beautiful, and I was very moved when I watched the rushes. Part of Lum's charm is that she remains single-minded no matter what. In the second half of the film, there's a scene where she reminisces about old memories. The TV series ran for four and a half years, and the scene beautifully recalls those four and a half years, so it all came back to me.

I'm going to approach the dubbing of this film with a calm mind. If I were to be too tense, I think Lum wouldn't be the usual Lum, and the more I get worked up about this being the final chapter, the more I'll be betraying the image of Lum to the people who love her. I've changed over the past six years, but Lum has always been relaxed and hasn't changed at all.

In the end, I'm disappointed that my darling never said the words "I love you." ^[1]

Kaneto Shiozawa - The Role of Rupa

●I'm honored to be able to participate in Urusei Yatsura!!!

I know how popular Urusei Yatsura is, so I feel some pressure, but I'm glad I was able to participate. I finally made it in time.

The role of Rupa is supposed to have an accent, but he's a handsome character, so I don't want to make the audience laugh. ^[2] I'm sure there will be some wry smiles, but I think it's fine if they simply get the feeling, "this is the way this person speaks." Plus, I never thought I'd end up doing the voice of Rupa as a child either (laughs).

Saeko Shimazu - The Role of Shinobu

●It's a very Urusei Yatsura-like piece!

I was so moved by the end that I was crying while watching the rushes, it was really good. It's a very Urusei Yatsura-like work, so I think it's a fitting finale.

It's sad that there aren't many scenes with Shinobu, but it makes me happy to see the same old Shinobu on screen. I also got to meet Inaba-san once again. I'd be happy if people would remember Urusei Yatsura forever.

Akira Kamiya - The Role of Mendo

●The final chapter is a masterpiece by Rumiko Takahashi-sensei!

The illustrations are beautiful. It's just the best. The theme is solid, and it depicts every inch of the emotions between men and women. I think this is the true essence of Rumiko Takahashi's work. I personally had a lot of fun working on it, and I hope that the fans will cherish it forever.

I'll always remember Urusei Yatsura and I don't think I'll come across another work like it again.

Haruka Inoue - The Role of Karula ^[3]

●It's a very difficult role so I'm nervous.

Although things got complicated and our relationship became more and more strange, Karula, who loves Rupa deeply, is basically a very straightforward woman. Karula and Rupa are presented as a contrast to Lum and Ataru, so if our relationship doesn't go well, the main story won't go well either, so I feel a great sense of responsibility.

It's difficult to play a good-looking character with a Tohoku dialect(?). ^[4] It would be easy if I were an older woman (laughs). I'm nervous about how I can portray the character as "this is Karula."

Tetsu Dezaki - Director ^[5]

●I'm aiming to create a work that respects the original manga, I worked hard to create a natural flow and a moving ending.

Up until now, I've been making films with my own sensibilities, but when I was working on the video version of Urusei Yatsura, the content ended up leaning more towards a man's sensibility. ^[6] I can understand Takahashi-san's unique feminine sensibility, but I can't reconstruct it. The animation director, Yobunichi, gives directions on storyboards and the like, and when I let her do them, they turn out better than if I drew them. So I tried to make the film by making good use of her feminine sensibility. The same goes for this theatrical version. Through this film, I realized that I could be a director using the sensibilities of others, and it broadened the scope of my filmmaking.

Takahashi-san's work has a keen sense of observation, or should I say depth, and she is very good at portraying different people. It's no exaggeration to say that I fell in love with the original manga. When adapting it into a movie, I read the original manga thoroughly and emphasized the interesting parts; I tried to create a work that placed emphasis on the original. That's why I was careful to make sure that the acting of Lum's great-grandfather's funny face and the straight-man acts around him went well even during the dubbing. Then, in the final chase scene, I think the film'll be a failure if it doesn't make the audience emotional, so I struggled with the overall composition. In order to make that scene look natural, I used an orthodox technique, and I introduced Mendo's robot, which took a breather off the tension between Ataru and Lum, and tried to make it climax all at once.

Tomoko Konparu - Screenwriter

●As a woman myself, I really empathized with what Lum said to Ataru.

Actually, before I started working on the Final Chapter, I was writing an original story for the theatrical version of Urusei Yatsura. ^[7] However, while I was working on it, the final chapter of the original manga was announced, so we decided to adapt it...

Since it was a story-oriented film, I tried to make the script as faithful as possible to the original. However, since the manga and the anime are different, I had a lot of challenges, from how to handle the punch lines of each scene from the original to how to more effectively express the feelings of the characters in the visuals.

I think that the original author, Rumiko Takahashi-san, is fundamentally a storyteller. Whenever I read any of her works, I feel something like a "sense of wonder," and each character has a strong presence. Even in Urusei Yatsura, each character has a definite personality and is appealing. I've always empathized with Lum, and in the final chapter, when Lum tells Ataru, "I want you to tell me you love me," I really understood and sympathized with her as a woman.

Setsuko Shibuichi - Character Designer/Storyboards

●It's a fun movie, so I hope you enjoy it!.

Many different people have been in charge of the Urusei Yatsura series up until now, but I was careful to design it in a way that was as close to the original as possible, rather than trying to bring out my own unique style.

When I was storyboarding, the director said he was conscious of a feminine sensibility, but I never thought of it that way when I was drawing, so I don't know. The story of Lum and Ataru has been depicted quite a bit already, so I felt it was difficult to make it more exciting. This time, unlike what is usually shown, Ataru generally has a serious expression on his face, so I had a hard time trying not to lose his Ataru-like nature. I think the movie turned out quite interesting, so I hope you enjoy it.

Tsuneo Tominaga - Technical Director

●We're struggling to capture the atmosphere of the original work on film.

The thing I paid the most attention to when meeting with the director about adapting the film was how to express the characteristics and atmosphere of Takahashi-sensei's original work on film while still respecting the manga. The original manga is solid, so I didn't try to force a climax. I didn't consciously change the ending either, so I think it will build up naturally. The impact of the pictures and the sense of speed created by the movements are something to behold.

The scene with the light pond was the hardest part. In the case of a dark universe, light becomes an important point, but I wonder if I got that right... That part was difficult.

Yukari Kobayashi - Animation Director

●I tried to make the wedding dress look beautiful.

Takahashi-sensei's style of drawing is completely different from what I usually draw, so I was a bit taken aback, but when I finished I realized, "I can draw pictures like this too," and it was a project that opened up a new world for me and taught me a lot. The wedding dress scene was the hardest. It appears quite often, so I wanted to make it look nice. It took a little bit of work, but I'm glad it turned out well.

This is a film that I would recommend to anyone who was a fan of the early Urusei Yatsura series but has grown up and moved on from it.

Tarao Arai - Art Director

●I created different atmospheres for each scene through the creation of image color palettes.

Urusei Yatsura is a world of free imagination, including the TV series and the movie versions. That's why we can be free even in choosing a color palette, but the task of coloring an image becomes more difficult the wider the range of choices... It was a continuous process of trial and error.

For this final chapter, we worked hard for three months, gathering experts in various fields such as mecha design, and including the production of about 50 art boards. We created a different, fun atmosphere for each scene (every three minutes!). I think that the viewers will be able to understand the image we were aiming for.

Shigeharu Shiba - Sound Director

●I was very careful about the sound direction to ensure it would evoke emotion.

Urusei Yatsura has been a series for six years, so the regular voice actors have a perfect grasp of their roles. ^[8] Rupa and Karula were the most difficult because they have accents, but I tried to bring out the nuances of the Tohoku dialect where possible without losing the fact that they are attractive characters. There are times when they speak normally, but I don't think you'll feel anything odd when listening to them.

In the first half of the film, we were able to use the sounds from the TV series, which were nostalgic. It's fun and suspenseful. And I'd be happy if it could move people at the end.

Akihiro Daichi - Director of Photography

●I was able to do some satisfying work with a very enthusiastic staff.

I've always approached Urusei Yatsura as a fan outside of work, but this time I was honored to be able to participate as a staff member. When filming an anime show, it's surprisingly rare to get involved in the production site. Often it ends up being just mechanical work. But this time I was able to feel the incredible passion and power from the production side of things, from the drawing to the animation, and I was able to work to my satisfaction.

We worked to create a beautifully finished film with meticulous attention to detail, without relying on conventional filming techniques, with the first priority being to bring the sensibility of the original manga to life.

Shigekazu Ochiai - Producer

●I want to make a movie that respects the world of Urusei Yatsura!

At the preview of the fourth Urusei Yatsura movie, I was already thinking about a fifth film. The Urusei Yatsura movie series went in a different direction than I had originally intended, so I wanted to make a movie that would cherish the world of the series. I thought that the Urusei Yatsura movies couldn't end until I made that sort of film. So I wanted to end the series with the fifth movie by showing what the world of Urusei Yatsura is. At first, we were talking about making an original film, but after many meetings, we decided that if we were going to go with an original concept, we should go with adapting the original manga. I thought that adapting an existing story might lack impact, but if the original author is happy with the film, I think the fans will be happy too. I think this film is the one I've wanted to make the most thus far.

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Footnotes

• [1] Years later, Rumiko Takahashi would discuss Ataru's refusal to say "I love you," and how that was very important to her not to allow Ataru to say it.
• [2] This interview was conducted in 1988 and similar sentiments were expressed 36 years later. Cho, who plays Upa in the 2022 television remake of Urusei Yatsura would also express difficulty with his dark universe character, Upa's, unique accent.
• [3] Haruka Inoue is another name used by You Inoue (井上瑤), the original voice of Ran in Urusei Yatsura.
• [4] The (?) appears in the original magazine article when describing Karula's accent. The Tohoku dialect is considered rather rural sounding to Japanese listeners.
• [5] Tetsu Dezaki (出﨑哲) (also known as "Satoshi Dezaki" with the same kanji spelling) is the brother of legendary director Osamu Dezaki (出﨑統) who directed the One Pound Gospel OVA as well as Golgo 13 (ゴルゴ13), Black Jack (ブラック・ジャック), Ashita no Joe (あしたのジョー) and Dear Brother (おにいさまへ…/Oniisama e...)
• [6] Tetsu Dezaki is the director of the Inaba the Dream Maker OVA which is what he is referring to here. Interestingly, Mamoru Oshii said something similar about Urusei Yatsura having female sensibilities. In an interview he stated, "I suppose the original story of Urusei Yatsura is based on women’s desires. When I read it I thought it was a woman’s world, and when I was adapting the series I based it on a man’s wishes, because I can’t think any other way."
• [7] There was a different screenplay for Movie 5 that was written and approved by Takahashi before it was thrown out at the behest of producer Shigekazu Ochiai as detailed in his production diary. Konparu was the screenwriter for Urusei Yatsura movies 1, 3 and 5 along with novelizations of Mermaid Saga and Inuyasha. She also wrote a series of original mystery novels, The Young Lady Novelist - Haruna's Casefiles, which Rumiko Takahashi provided illustrations for.
• [8] Shigeharu Shiba (斯波重治), the sound director for the series, speaks about his work on Urusei Yatsura in the interview he gave for that boxset as well as the one for Maison Ikkoku. Shiba was involved with Ranma 1/2 as well in the same capacity.

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