Urusei Yatsura

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

It starts on Wednesday, October 14th at 7:30 pm on Fuji TV!!!

Voice Actor Thought Bubbles:^[1]

Saeko Shimazu:

I’m also very jealous. I’m trying to attract Ataru with charms that Lum-chan doesn't have, but I'm not sure if that’s really possible.... But wouldn’t it be easier to deal with men than Lum-chan...?

Toshio Furukawa:

I'm usually very well behaved and serious. Ever since I was a child, I was an introverted and shy. From now on, I think I'll try to live like Ataru. Shinobu-chan and Lum-chan, are both nice...hehehe.

Ichiro Nagai:

I'm the sticky bug of Urusei Yatsura. I think he is a moving Jizo. He used to be in town, didn't he? I wonder where he went!

Fumi Hirano:

You know what I like about Ataru? There is no one like him on my planet! I don't like my fiancé because he's mean... I'm always a little bit shy with men on my planet. I think I can live with Ataru without him cheating on me!

Kenichi Ogata:

I still don't know whether my son is an idiot or not. I guess we need to have a talk... We need to talk it over once and for all!

Natsumi Sakuma:

I wonder if the reason why Ataru is like that is because his father and I are a bad combination... I guess it was a mistake to have an arranged marriage.

All members of the team are now working as one to try to speak Lum-chan’s language!

Doraemon (ドラえもん) and Dr. Slump (Dr.スランプ) are representative works of science fiction gag fairy tales, but Urusei Yatsura is an ambitious work that attempts to surpass them. ^[2] The secret of Urusei Yatsura is "Lum-chan’s language," The dialogue and scenes ignore the context. The laughter is radical, instantaneous, powerful, and fast-paced, and it spreads throughout the universe. This show is an attempt to express warp-thinking in an animated form, but it is an extremely difficult task to freely use the "language of instantaneous interdimensional travel". Now, the staff and cast are all training hard in "Lum-chan’s language!"

The lush images are filled with a sense of speed!

For television, the original story is cut in half and two episodes of 15 minutes each are shown together. For this reason, the scenario and direction of the episodes were designed to be fast-paced by describing the action before and after the gag. ^[3] The idea was to combine it all with the lush images of Studio Pierrot. The voice actors' post-recording was also delayed until the end of the day, and the party to celebrate the start of the broadcast on September 19 was held an hour later than usual. ^[4] Toshio Furukawa, who plays Ataru Moroboshi, an incredibly unfaithful man, protests that his character is different from his own image, but he’s already excited as he is surrounded by two beautiful women.

I have a feeling that the Lum-chan whirlwind is already upon us!!

Episode 1: I'm Lum the Notorious!
Episode 2: It's Raining Oil in Our Town

Ataru Moroboshi's rationality was completely destroyed by the cuteness of the Oni-like invader Lum, who suddenly descended from the sky and said, "Let's play tag together." However, the future of the Earth was at stake in this battle. This oni girl came to invade Earth! (Episode 1)

Ataru successfully captures Lum and saves the Earth, but the star of bad luck follows him. Ataru’s classmates, who fall in love with Lum at first sight, come to him to demand that he bring Lum back to Earth. However, if they meet again, Lum’s Father will definitely make Ataru his son-in-law. Ataru definitely thinks of Lum as a demon, however, his friends are determined to meet Lum themselves. Soon, a strange UFO appears in the sky above. Lum-chan returns! (Episode 2) ^[5]

Episode 3: Mail From Space--Ten Arrives!
Episode 4: Mrs. Swallow and Mrs. Penguin

One day, Lum, who considers herself engaged to Ataru and settles in with the Moroboshi family, receives a package with a thunderbolt. Inside is the oni child, Ten-chan. He’s a cousin of Lum, but this kid’s a demon child with a cute face and serious attitude. This powerful boy can also breathe fire from his mouth. When he learns that Ataru is Lum's husband, he begins to feel jealous. (Episode 3)

Wherever Ataru is, trouble occurs. Suddenly, a penguin appears in the classroom! In an instant, chaos ensues. The incident originally started when Ten-chan gave a swallow some sweets given to him by Lum. Wait, this penguin was a swallow?!?! Ten-chan, feeling responsible for the penguin's actions, takes measures that far exceed the common sense of the Earthlings. (Episode 4)

Short comment from Rumiko Takahashi:

Urusei Yatsura serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday since September 1978, is still the most popular work in the magazine. "I hope that the anime adaptation will not lose the feel of the original work and will surpass it." One wonders how her world will change.

Comment from Yuko Matsutani:^[6]

The theme song for Urusei Yatsura is sung by Yuko Matsutani. She is a young woman who enjoys jazz dance. She studied theater at "Mayflower," "Geoza," and "Tokyo Vaudeville Show," and then turned to singing! Her favorite artists are Elis Regina, Stevie Wonder, and RC Succession. She is a perfect match for Urusei Yatsura, an anime full of new wave comedy. The record will be released on October 21st by Pony Canyon Records.

Comment from Yu Yamamoto:^[7]

The original story is very interesting. She has a great sense of style. I think the animation will be very timely in the future. I want to do something with that kind of feeling, and I want it to be a hit. From a composition standpoint, we want to have a lot of star characters right from the start. We want to have Lum, of course, but also the popular Ten-chan, Sakura, and so on. When we’re trying to make something interesting, we have to do it in a playful way. For this reason, they are important characters. The story is based on the original to some extent, and we rotate the story as we go along and add our own original ideas. Compared to Yattodetaman (ヤットデタマン), which I worked on before, this one is newer in terms of style.^[8] Yattodetaman was interesting in that it was a combination of mecha and sudden gags, while Urusei Yatsura depicts the relationship between a man and a woman with a sense of the city. I think this kind of fun is the most appealing aspect of Urusei Yatsura.

Comment from Tadashi Oka:^[9]

I believe that Urusei Yatsura will bring to life a kind of anime that has never been seen before. First of all, the main character, Lum, is a little fairy-like character despite being an invader. She’s cute, sexy, and lovable. This is probably the first time we have seen such a main character in an anime. The storyline is a little crazy, the gags are very funny, and the tempo is very fast, all of which are very much in tune with the modern age. Now is the time of nonsense and speed, so I think this is a work that’s truly ahead of its time. It’s a bit like the sci-fi/fairy tale flavor that succeeded with Dr. Slump. In that sense, it can be called an experimental work that will change the course of animation. The theme song is completely different from the conventional way of thinking about anime songs. In short, the work itself could be described as a coming-of-age romantic comedy on a cosmic scale.

Comment from Takao Koyama:^[10]

“I can’t believe it, what’s so great about Ataru? Why’s he so lucky to get the girls? Nuts!” laments a normal husband from Saitama. When he was 17 years old he’d never even had a single girlfriend. Ataru Moroboshi is a man’s best friend. Lum is the kind of girl who will say “Darling, its cold outside, I’ll warm you up at home.” Shinobu is no slouch either. Ataru, no amount of resistance can stand in the face of love...” The beautiful women who appear in front of Ataru one after another and send their attention his way. Oyuki, Princess Kurama, Benten, Sakura... I bet Shohei Hino would go pale. ^[11] The only other person in the realm of Ataru is Yonosuke, who was created by Saikaku. ^[12]

Maybe Ataru is Yonosuke’s reincarnation. No, I’m sure Ataru is possessed by a spirit who has fallen into the path of lust. Urusei Yatsura, which is said to be a sci-fi comedy, deals with many aspects of spiritual and psychological phenomena. And it's interesting how the existence of UFOs and other such worlds appear in Ataru's daily life as a source of comedy. When you pass through the long tunnel (fourth-dimensional passage) in his closet, you'll find yourself in the world of Oyuki. That's why this is called a science fiction comedy or a warp comedy. I’m a man in my thirties and I’m jealous of Ataru, because I’m thinking, "I don't have a girlfriend..." but then I think “wait, my body probably couldn’t handle all that...” But I'm really addicted to watching Ataru enjoy all these beautiful women and having fun with them. He has a nasty personality. The man at the soba shop mistook SF for a brand of cigarettes, but Ken-chan, the waiter said, "Isn’t it called an SF comedy because Ataru is a sex fiend?" Uncertainty about the future, filial piety, a lot of beatings, and worst of all, bad luck... these phrases sound like something a deranged monk would come up with. I‘m afraid that the producer will scold me for being so ominous at the start of the program, so I’ll end with a little teasing: ...We hope you'll give your support to Urusei Yatsura, an immortal comedy anime that is full of fantastic gags and is brilliantly produced!

Episode Summaries:

I’m Lum the Notorious!

Ataru was walking home on the river bank and was hit in the face by a baseball. A traveling monk, Sakuranbo, who saw Ataru fall down, comes up to him and tells Ataru that his irredeemably bad luck shows in his face. Ataru doesn’t pay attention to the words of the monk and starts walking toward home. However, what Sakuranbo said was not a lie. A black limousine is waiting for Ataru to pass by. Ataru was forcibly dragged into the car by three strangers!

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Footnotes

• [1] These comments are the voice actors "in character" as it were.
• [2] Doraemon (ドラえもん) and Dr. Slump (Dr.スランプ) were two massively successful anime based on manga by Fujiko Fujio and Akira Toriyama respectively. Doraemon's second anime ran from April 2, 1979 to March 18, 2005. Dr. Slump ran on Fuji TV as Urusei Yatsura's timeslot lead-in from April 8, 1981 to February 19, 1986.
• [3] Series Director Mamoru Oshii (押井守) discusses this idea of before and after the gag in more detail in Animage 1981 volume 10.
• [4] While this article sets the date for the opening cast and crew party as September 11, 1981 an article in The Anime's November 1981 issue lists the party as occuring on September 19th.
• [5] 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.
• [6] Yuko Matsutani (松谷祐子) debuted her singing career with "Lum no Love Song" and also sang "Ai wa Boomerang" for Urusei Yatsura.
• [7] Yu Yamamoto (山本優) scripted 11 episodes of Urusei Yatsura. He also worked on Mobile Suit Gundam (機動戦士ガンダム/Kido Senshi Gandamu) and Time Bokan (タイムボカン) as a script writer among many other anime.
• [8] Yattodetaman (ヤットデタマン) is the fifth series in the Time Bokan (タイムボカン) franchise by Tatsunoko Productions.
• [9] Tadashi Oka (岡正) is credited as a producer on Urusei Yatsura and would go on to the role of "planner" on Maison Ikkoku, along with many other Shogakukan related anime works such as Hiatari Ryoko (陽あたり良好!), Touch (タッチ) and its film adaptations, Gu-Gu Ganmo (Ｇｕ－Ｇｕガンモ), and Dash Kappei (ダッシュ勝平) as well as Fist of the North Star (Hokuto no Ken/北斗の拳) and Stop! Hibari-kun (ストップ！！ひばりくん).
• [10] Takao Koyama (小山高男) was previously the chief writer on Yattodetaman (ヤットデタマン) before working on Urusei Yatsura. He only acted as chief writer from episode 1 until episode 21 when he was replaced by Kazunori Ito (伊藤和典).
• [11] Shohei Hino (火野正平) is an actor best known for his lead roles in historical dramas.
• [12] Iharu Saikaku (井原西鶴) is a poet who erotic stories and is considered one of Japan’s greatest writers and is credited with creating ukiyozoshi prose. Yonosuke is the main character from Saikaku’s The Life of an Amorous Man (好色一代男/Koshoku Ichidai Otoko). The novel follows Yonosuke through his life and the mean sexual partners he has.

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