Yura Enjoji and Tamuro Gomi are special agents of the JCIA (Japanese Central Intelligence Agency). They are both psionics, Yura is incredibly strong and Tamuro has the ability to "trash-port," which means he can teleport from one pile of garbage to another. Their JCIA liason is the Mr. Yotsuya look-alike, Tadayasu Sekoi. Their mission is to stop United Pigs, an organization attempting to take over the world. Throughout their adventures the JCIA team goes undercover at an evil high school, fights a sea monster, gets lost in the woods, and finally in the last part, watch romance bloom between Yura and Tamuro.
Published In:
Shonen Sunday Zokan 1979 #5 - 9
Dust Spurt!!
Rumic World Vol. 3
Publication Date:
Chapter 1 May 11, 1979
Chapter 2 June 11, 1979
Chapter 3 July 11, 1979
Chapter 4 August 11, 1979
Chapter 5 September 11, 1979
Pages: 5 (full color) 157 (black and white)
Anime Adaptation:
None
Notes:
Dust Spot!! is made up of five chapters.
Mr. Pig (Misuta * bu no maki)
The Pig is Dead, Long Live the Roach (Gokiburi wa ikiru buta wa shine!! no maki)
Water Whirled (Marin * bozu '79 no maki)
The Forest of No Return (Yukue fu-meiro no maki)
Total Waste ( Dasuto * shin no maki)
In their translation of this short story in the 1990s Viz renamed it to Wasted Minds.
Tamuro Gomi (五味たむろ) - His name translates as "the five flavors," this is also a real last name, however the joke is that "gomi" when written (芥) means trash.
Yura Enjoji (炎上寺由羅) - Enjoji is a temple going up in flames. More recently used to refer to a tweet that causes an online firestorm.
Psionics – the term used in the original Japanese edition is ESPers. ESPer is a term for someone who possesses extrasensory perception or ESP. The term was coined by psychologist J. B. Rhine in the 1930s to encompass psychic abilities like telepathy, telekinesis, and clairvoyance.
The JCIA is known as Hinomaru CIA in the original Japanese. Hinomaru (日の丸) translates as "circle of the sun" and is the common name for the flag of Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun.
“Headquarters was smart to use the Mr Pig fad to carry out our agenda.” – Toys are a major cultural touchstone in Japan and toy related fads have existed for decades. The Mr. Pig fad that is showcased in Dust Spot is likely based on Dakko-chan and predates other fads and trends such as Hello Kitty, Tamagotchi and Pokemon.
The evil organization is known as Kanpiki no Buta (完壁の豚). Perfect Pig is the translation, but the furigana show the pronunciation should be "Paafekuton" (Perfection). So it literally says "Perfect Pig" to be read "Perfection".
"Confucius says" - While the original Japanese does not quote Confucius, the quote is similar enough... "If sorry was enough there would be no need for the police" 「ごめんですめば警察はいらない」 is an old Chinese saying.
"A girl's hair is her life" - Yura indeed makes this quote but in the original Japanese she doesn't cite Confucius, but says rather "in Spain they say..." The phrase itself likely stems from Corinthians 11:15 "A woman's hair is her glory" but may also be tied to the famous quote by Coco Chanel who said "A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life."
The original Japanese for the nicknames of our leads are Sacchuzai Shojo (殺虫剤少女) or "Pesticide Girl" and Gokiburi Shonen (ゴキブリ少年) or "Cockroach Boy".
The forest map in chapter four shows a drawing of elephants standing on the back of a turtle carrying the world. This concept comes from Hindu cosmology. Eight elephants support the world and ride on the back of a turtle named Akupāra (अकूपार) or sometimes Chukwa. The legend goes back as early as the 5th Century.
This entire series was published between Urusei Yatsurachapter 18 and chapter 19 with the final chapter falling between chapter 19 and chapter 20.
In episode 13-1 of the 2022 Urusei Yatsura anime adaptation there is a waitress character that strongly resembles Yura Enjoji.
