Season
overview:
Finally after nearly two years since the first episode, a new opening theme song. This is a season that inspires more conflicting feelings for me than any other. There are some true moments of genius, but some other episodes are utter disappointments. In terms of the bad, there are a lot of filler episodes. For example near the end there's slew of flashback episodes for Mendo, Sakura and Ran right alongside episodes that aready focused on those characters. There are a few episodes such as the Miss Tomobiki contest, or the Lady Ryunosuke episode where the creators bastardized Rumiko Takahashi's original vision. But on the other hand, the episodes that are good, are so perfect in every way, that they leave me with a big stupid grin just thinking about them.
The animation quality, acting and direction of these episodes show the series' finally reaching its full potential. Near the end of this season, the show approaches the halfway mark. Urusei Yatsura movie 2 went into production around this time and the main staff had to juggle the movie and TV series. So the mix of good and bad episodes is understandable.
Many of the episode notes below are from Animeigo, the original English language license-holder for Urusei Yatsura.
Episode 79: 面堂家サマークリスマス
Mendo-ke samaa kurisumasu (The Mendo Family's Summer Christmas)
Ryoko invites everyone to a summer Christmas party where, chained in pairs, they must try to climb to the top of a giant Christmas tree for a banquet.
Koji Nanke (南家こう) was responsible for directing the opening and endings of Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku and Ranma 1/2.
"The Young Master's combat-shooting skills are sad much improved!" - shooting instructor. Fans of Japanese cinema might notice a clever visual reference and get a good laugh - The instructor here is modelled after Kunie Tanaka, one of the the most popular Japanese actors.
"C "Hit!" - a banner held by Ataru. A trivial, visual pun here is that Ataru is holding a banner that at reads "Hit!", which is "Atari!" in Japanese.
"That's the Kuroko Group's Cargocopter squadron, sir." - Mendo's employee. "Don't panic! They're Kuroko. Think of them as a part n of the background." - Megane. The Kuroko Group ("Kuroko-gumi") in Urusei Yatsura have a basis in real life. In traditional Japanese theater, "kuroko" are stage assistants covered in black veils who act as invisible puppeteers, operate props or change sets, etc. They are officially invisible and not to be noticed.
Historically, Kuroko evolved during the Edo period, so their speech patterns are archaic at times. "What Fireworks!", for instance, is based on an Edo-era phrase, "Tamaya!," which alluded to a famous fireworks shop.
The main humor with these Kuroko in Urusei Yatsura is that they perform 'invisible' acts in such a blatantly obvious manner!
"As you know, in high school baseball tournaments, there are spring tournaments and summer tournaments." - Kuroko. Needless to say, high school baseball tournaments are a very big thing in Japan, similar in popularity to collegiate basketball in the US. Scouts from professional teams seek new players during these events.
"Can I consider it to be a banquet?" - Sakura. Like Cherry, Sakura uses traditional, sometimes archaic words when more modern, trendy words would normally be used.
Here, the word for 'banquet,' "enkai," was used. Enkai can technically be called parties, but are more traditional in nature.
"Please, grab on. Why, you're so heavy... And why do you look so grumpy?" - Ryoko. "Ryoko... Can't you differentiate between an octopus and your own brother?" - Mendo. Japanese have always regarded an octopus as a kind of 'grumpy' creature, mainly because the early people have noticed that their siphon resembled pouted lips.
"And, awaiting you on the party floor is a deluxe, full-course Shishu dinner!" - a Kuruko. Chinese Shishu dishes are more commonly known outside Japan as Szechuan dishes.
Episode 80: パニックイン幽霊民宿
Panikku in yuurei minshuku (Panic at the Ghost Inn)
On vacation at the seashore again, Lum, Ataru, Shinobu, and Mendo stay at a hotel run by a weird old couple who like to scare their guests. But they have a real ghost of a beautiful young woman who spends a day with everyone at the beach.
"How outmoded!" - Shinobu. "How old-fashioned!" Mendo. "How dilapidated!" - Lum. This sequence which goes: "Koshokusouzen/ Kyuutaiizen/Houkaisunzen" results in a kind of humorous rhyme. As such, we've tried to capture the rhythmic feel in our rendering.
"Evil Spirits, Go Away." The writings on a wind bell are a Buddhist invocation.
"H...Her shadow..." - Shinobu. It is commonly believed in Japan that ghosts cast no shadows.
"Why, customers! Customers, dear!" - Obaasan. "Baasan, customers! Customers!" - Ojiisan. "Obaasan" and "Ojiisan" usually refer to "grandmother" and "grandfather," respectively. In the real world, they are also used to address any old person, regardless of relationship. Here the terms are used for the innkeepers.
"0-" is an honorific which can simply be dropped, depending on closeness of the relationship among the speakers.
"Otama is her name? That nice lady, that is?" - Ataru. Names beginning with "0-" are rare today, and were much more common in pre-restoration Japan. Female characters that appear in samurai movies often fall into this category. "Otama" is certainly no exception.
The added humor here is how befitting the name for this character is, as "-tama" is written with a kanji that means "spirit!"
In addition, "Sudama Inn" ("Sudama-tei") is a reference to a legendary creature called "sudama." Tales often depict sudama as monstrous spirits that dwell in forests. It is said that they have bodies of Oni and faces of ordinary human beings.
"Are you really a ghost? Can you do the corpse-candle?" - Lum. In various legends, ghosts (especially female ones) are often accompanied by corpse-candles. Hence Lum's curiosity.
It is said that such ghosts appear to people at night, chanting half-meaningless invocations like, "urameshiya" (which we rendered as "Prepare to meet your doom!")
"I'm a Neko-mata!" Lum. "Now, why... Why am I a Zashiki Warashi?!" - Shinobu. "What da hell am I?" - Ataru. A Neko-mata is a feline goblin in Japanese legends.
Zashiki Warashi are spirits, most often harmless, that can only be seen by children. The story goes that families whose houses are inhabited by zashiki warashi will prosper! Takahashi's short story, "Extra-Large Size Happiness" deals with a house haunted by such a creature.
On Ataru's head is a porcelain pig, which is something that's used to hold mosquito-repelling incense!
"Staring! Staring! Staring! A ghost, are you not?!" - Cherry. "Jiin," voiced here by Cherry, is actually an onomatopoeia for staring.
"I want Kakigori! Kakigori!" - Otama. Kakigori resembles those typical sno-cones sold at beaches in the summertime. Basically, it consists of crushed ice topped with fruit-flavored syrup.
Episode 81: ああまぶたの母
Aa mabuta no haha (Ah, Mother of My Memory)
Ryunosuke has dinner at the Moroboshi's house after returning Ten-chan who she found in town. Returning home, Ryunosuke has a fight with her father about her mother. Ryunosuke returns to see Mrs. Moroboshi who had been so motherly during her visit. Later, Ryunosuke forces her father to show her the family album so she can see her mother, but Mr. Fujinami had anticipated this and surprises her.
In the convenience store scene, the animators have squeezed in a fair amount of visual references and puns. Just to give you an idea, here we'll explain a few:
The instant ramen noodles are named "Oshii" and "Kubo," named after the series director, Mamoru Oshii, and the producer, Makoto Kubo. One of the customers (visible just before the "Oshii" ramen shot) here is none other than a caricatured Mr. Oshii!
Underneath the "Oshii" ramen logo is a phrase that reads "Umai!" ("Tasty!") which is humorous when considering that "Oshii" sounds like "Oishii," the latter being another way of saying "tasty!"
Ryunosuke picks up an instant ramen. On it is a picture of what looks like an anime show. This one is partly a spoof of "Xabungle," Sunrise's popular robot-comedy anime series that was being broadcast around the same time as Urusei Yatsura. Another side note - instant ramen manufacturers often obtain license to use images of anime characters!
"Shige! Sabu! Kazunori! You're supposed to be house-sitting! What're you doing over here?! Didn't I tell ya to look after Akemi and Tamiko?!" - Lady. The names are those of the chief staff members and their relatives!
"Awesome! How did you come up with such an awesome dish as this?!" - Ryunosuke. "That one...? Well, you boil water, warm it up for 3 minutes still in its pouch, then cut it open, and pour it out onto a plate..." - Ataru. In Japan, many of the most popular instant foods come contained in plastic pouches that simply need to be warmed up. For obvious reasons, they are often considered "cheap" and housewives have a hard time admitting that they use them.
"Awesome! It's really awesome... Your cooking is great, Ma'am!" - Ryunosuke. Visible on Ryunosuke's rice bowl are drawings of "Piyo Piyo" chicks which pop up on other works by Ms. Takahashi.
"My Dad can only cook grainy curry, or oden, or ramen with almost nothing in it! Talk about a real limited repertoire!" - Ryunosuke. A curry can get "grainy" by overusing flour; perhaps Ryuunosuke's father uses it to get as much volume as possible! Ramen is almost always served with a few ingredients and garnishes like vegetables.
"Iskandar," of course, is a reference to Uchuu Senkan Yamato, or Star Blazers.
Oden is a very simple, common dish, somewhat like a stew with tofu, vegetables and chunks of baked fishmeat, etc.
"See, our water heater's broken down and..." -Ataru. Bathtubs in most Japanese houses are built next to water heaters. So here, Ataru and co. are on their way to a public bath-house.
...and so, on today's Wai-Wai- Wide Show we have our always-popular, ongoing investigative report on runaways." - TV announcer. "Wide Shows" ("Waido shoo") are similar to TV talk shows we have in the US. "Wai-Wai-Waido meat. Shoo" is a trivial pun; "wai-wai" can be considered somewhat like "yeah! yeah!"
"Yes... 'Twas the spring of your father's 18th year, as fifteen years of war and civil rebellion came to an end..." - Ryunosuke's father. What he describes are historical facts that are randomly put together!
"Fifteen years of war" usually refers to the time period between 1931 and 1945, just before World War 2 and includes Japan's involvement with Manchuria. Other tidbits mentioned are from all over the historical timetable. Obviously, when they are put together, they don't make any sense!
The idea is that Ryunosuke's father is trying to make his story sound exciting and real, by "borrowing" things from history!
"No doubt about it. Boys tend to resemble their mothers, or so they say... Oh boy!" - Cherry. The line is a pun relying on "oya" (parent) and its homonym that means something to the effect of "Oh, no!"
"M ...Maybe it turns out that Mama's some really ugly bitch. No, worse... Could she be an animal, or a Bug Eyed Monster?!" -Ryunosuke. This is a reference to "BEM," a classic anime show about three creatures that hope to become human. The three creatures were created by a scientist who had high ambitions of producing beings that would free the world from all the demons. But these creatures turned out to be physically gruesome - they were 'big-eyed monsters'(hence the term 'b.e.m.'). They had special powers to change their appearance to something somewhat human-like, but when they are fighting the evil demons they reveal their monstrous looks!
Episode 82: 太陽がいっぱい浮気がいっぱい
Taiyou ga ippai uwaki ga ippai (Plenty of Sun, Plenty of Sickness)
Lum, Ataru, Shinobu, Ten, Mendo, and Sakura are at the beach. Jariten has a little wand that animates sand sculptures. So Ataru and Mendo make three sand Sakuras and bring them to life. Then Lum meets a dolphin and with the help of a disguising earring, she tries to make Ataru jealous by having the dolphin pose as a handsome loverboy.
"Sakura, did you come here by yourself?" - Shinobu. "None of your damn business!" -Sakura. Here, the three guys - Mendo, Ten and Ataru - are drawn to look like Egawa Suguru, then a baseball superstar. Egawa, though one of the most eligible bachelors at the time, was more often made fun of for being quite a cunning character. For more on Egawa, see our Vol. 1 liner notes.
"A handsome man... Let me be a handsome man... I've got it!" - Iruka (Dolphin). "Get serious!" - Lum. "Iro-otoko" is often used to mean a "handsome man." The word is written with two kanji characters - one for "color" and another for "man." Hence the "colored" man pun!
Episode 83: 大激突! テンVSあたる
Daigekitotsu! Ten vs Ataru (Big Bang! Ten vs. Ataru)
Mako, a small girl, falls in love with Ten-chan, but Ten can't stand her. Lum and Ataru prove to be only more trouble for Jariten as both of them try to help Mako get Ten-chan; when Lum and Ataru are not too busy fighting amongst themselves.
"From Kuramae National Hall... so long, ladies and gentlemen!" - TV Announcer. Kuramae Hall used to be post-war Japan's premier site for sumo championships. I
"Next week... TaaGaaMask vs. Tiger The Great." - TV Caption. Both "TaaGaaMask" and "Tiger The Great" are a parody of "Tiger Mask," a classic anime hero from the 70's.
"You're flying slowly because your body just isn't strong enough! Train hard with these iron clogs, which I used to train myself in the old days." - Cherry. "Ten, I've got a present for ya! If you don't use this harness to train your entire body you won't get a balanced result!" - Lum. The concept of training with iron clogs comes from early sports anime and manga, such as "Kyojin no Hoshi." These days it's mostly used as comic relief.
Ten's special training harness is a direct copy of the one that was used by Hyuma Hoshi in "Kyojin no Hoshi!"
"Darling?! Whatcha doing?!" Lum. "I'll be right back! I forgot something! Tell Onsen that I've got a stomach-ache..." - Ataru. The road sign made with pebbles here is a tribute to Ota Dokan, a 15th century warrior who is said to have used piles of rocks as signs. Aside from being a renowned fighter, he is also known for building castles and rerouting rivers.
"This is one technique I never wanted to use... Eat this... My sure-death technique!" - Ten. Here, again, is a reference to the classic anime and manga series, "Kyojin no Hoshi." Ten's close-up scene is a parody of Hoshi showing off his "sure-death technique!"
"Of course! Me and that stealthy Jariten, we're as different as chalk and cheese!" - Ataru. The Japanese proverbial expression, "Undei no so" (literally "separated by as much as heaven and earth") is used to refer to two things that are completely different yet somewhat comparable.
"Give up now?! Sure Death Technique: Terrapin from Hell!" - Ten. "Suppon" (terrapin, or snapping turtle) is a species of turtles that is known for its sharp jaws.
No new episode of Urusei Yatsura airs the following week.
Episode 84: 恐怖! トロロが攻めてくる!!
Kyoufu! Tororo ga samete kuru!! (Horrors! Attack of the Slimy Potatoes!)
Lum, Ataru, Shinobu, and Mendo all stay at a house in the wilderness and are attacked by some slimy potatoes blobs which turn out to be delicious. They eventually break out of the house and flee, but ultimately end up where they started.
This entire episode is an homage to the film Matango (マタンゴ). The film is about a mutated species of mushroom growing on an island. Kazunori Ito is a tokusatsu fan, and was a fan of the film. The movie also inspired noted director Steven Soderbergh. Thanks to ehoba for this
information.
"Tororo-imo," or Tororo Potato, get its name from the gooey nature of its extract ("tororo" is based on an onomatopoeia for something that flows slowly) which is often used in Japanese dishes.
"How can I eat Yamakake if I'm afraid of Tororo potatoes?!" - Mendo. Tororo-imo is also known as "Yama-imo" ("Mountain Potato").
"Yamakake" is simply a bowl of rice covered with Tororo sauce.
"Moroboshi...! Tororo potatoes are aesthetically unfit for Lum!" - Mendo. One reason for Mendo's comment is that Tororo is notorious for its unattractive, lumpy and hairy appearance.
"What if the potato juice gets on her hands and she gets an itchy rash?!" - Mendo. The juice from Tororo potatoes causes many people temporary minor skin irritation!
"Potato." - Lum. "Who're you calling a potato?!" - Shinobu. Calling someone an "imo" (potato) is basically saying that s/he is old-fashioned, unintelligent, laughable or simply stupid. It is one of the most trivial insults, and is used effectively as a pun here.
"Lum! Slow down! I'm scared of speed!" -Mendo. Here we find Mendo is not only scared of darkness and confined spaces, but also of speed!
Episode 85: 惑星教師 CAO-2の復讐
Wakusei kyoushi CAO-2 fukushuu (Revenge of the Planetary Instructor CAO-2)
Lum, Benten, Oyuki, and Ran are reminiscing about a past robot teacher CAO-2. Ataru, and Mendo show up and are soon followed by CAO-2. The girls then set up a big plan to get CAO-2 in a night fight at the school.
"Planet Uni is undergoing colonization." - Oyuki. "Planet Uni? Why?" - Ran. "What could you do with a barren planet full of calcium spikes?" - Benten. "Well, listen to this... underneath that layer of calcium they discovered complex proteins and amino acids." - Oyuki. "CAO-2" is used as a pun: 1) the chemical formula for calcium oxide, 2) "CAO" can be read "kao," which means "face," referring to CAO-2's biggest feature. "Uni" means "sea urchin," hence the planet's characteristic spikes.
"CA0-2... A 200-year veteran of the galactic grammar school, it is a cosmic teacher, a robotic instructor made of metal!" - Narrator. The fact that CAO-2 is shaped like a blackboard eraser brings to light a certain truth about the Japanese school system... that it was fairly common for enraged teachers to throw erasers at disobedient students!
"I can't believe we're not related!" - Onsen. "Indeed!" - CAO-2. Here, Onsen and CAO-2 are engaged in a very stereotypical conversation that is seen on Japanese sitcoms.
"Lum! That blackboard eraser has done nothing wrong! You must convince him to release it!" -CAO-2. "Lum! Don't even bother listening to his nonsense!" - Ataru CAO-2's line is a reference to a classic cops-and-robbers TV show, where officers are notorious for relying on emotions to get hostages released.
"Lum! Open your eyes! That good-for-nothing's but an idiot, he's got no class... Forget this space bombardier beetle or whatever he is! He's ugly looking as well." - CAO-2. "Why, you... What... What makes me a space bombardier beetle?!" - Ataru. "Gomimushi" (literally "garbage bug," sometimes called "Heppirimushi," or "farting bug") are tiny beetles (called "bombardier beetles") that expel an acrid secretion from the posterior end of the abdomen when provoked. Needless to say, calling someone a flatulant little bug ranks much higher, in terms of insult, than calling someone a potato!
No new episodes of Urusei Yatsura air the following two weeks.
Episode 86: 逆上! みじめっ子終太郎!!
Gyakujou! Mijimekko Shutaro (Hysterical! The Nasty Brat Shutaro!)
Lum, Ataru, Mendo, Shinobu, and Ryunosuke go back in time and meet Mendo as a little boy in order to find out why he is claustrophobic. The younger Mendo proves to be more than a brat and Ataru and the older Mendo get caught. Lum and the others come to the rescue and discover how Mendo acquired his fear.
"Oniisama! Oniisama, what happened to you?!" Ryoko. "Oniisama" is a highly polite form of addressing an older brother or brotherly figure. Referring as such to one's own brother as Ryoko does here was a common practice in the old days, especially in prestigious households; these days, it sounds anachronistic and overly dramatic!
"Gosh, Oniisama... Tell me, what's this special training? Tell me!" - Ryoko. Careful viewers will notice the "whack!" caption!
"Yes... Ms. Ryoko was very concerned, so she tried to ask him what was going on, but the Young Master became unconscious after leaving the training room." - Mendo's servant. "Unconscious?" - Ataru. "He must be undertaking some extreme training!" - Lum. "And, so... you came to see how I'm doing?" -Mendo, with a bandage on his head. Bandages in anime and manga are all too often used as comic relief. Notice how they pop up and disappear in a variety of situations!
"Lum... I'll show it to you, and only you... my secret, that is!" - Mendo. "A pickled-vegetables game?" - Lum. "Tsukemono" (also called "Oshinko") refers to pickled vegetables which many housewives make in their homes using ceramic jars. Rarely does one encounter large jars like the ones Mendo has!
"Lame training like this won't cure your phobias! Nothing ever has!" - Ataru. "Right. And that's a toughie..." - Shinobu. 'This is just like an octopus trap." - Ryunosuke. "An octopus trap!" Lum. "Oh, look! He's flinching!" - Ataru. "Leave me alone!" - Mendo
The most common octopus traps are not much more than ceramic jars with semi-open lids, hence Ryunosuke's comment.
"Damn, that brat's so noisy!" - Ryunosuke. "Lum, quiet him down, OK? It'll be a pain if they find us." - Ataru, referring to Mendo. "Mendo" is a homonym that can mean bother/pain in the rear/trouble maker/ etc. Hence Ataru's line is actually a pun.
"What the hell? Are they making Doburoku or something?" - Megane. "There's nothing inside." - Perm. "Doburoku" (sometimes called "Moromi-zake," or 'unrefined sake') refers to a raw, unfiltered sake, which is fairly thick and pale white in appearance; another word for a homebrew!
"Grab my hand! being sucked in!" -Megane. "Wh...What are you doing in there?! You'll turn into a pickle!" - Perm. Another reference to pickled vegetables and the jars used to make them.
"Such nice weather." - Megane. "Yeah. Such nice weather." - Perm. "And also... it's supposed to be Taian today." - Megane. "Now that's good to know." - Perm. The words "Senshoo," "Tomobiki," "Sembu," "Butsumetsu," "Taian," and "Shakkoo" are known as "Rokuyo" or "Rokki" (a six-day divination), a kind of "Rekichu," or diary reference, in Buddhist reckoning. They refer to how "lucky" a given day will be. These names, based on Chinese prophecies, are used to determine which days will be best for important events, especially weddings. "Taian," the luckiest day, means "great peace." "Tomobiki," which means "pulling friends" or "friends coming along," is the name of the high school and area of Tokyo (fictional) where much of the series takes place. It also means a day of no winners and no losers, wherein the early morning and late afternoon are lucky, and the rest of the day is unlucky, as opposed to "Shakkoo," which is just the opposite. People try to avoid having funerals on Tomobiki, because, as its name states, it will pull friends along, and cause them to suffer the same fate as the deceased. "Butsumetsu," which means "the death of Buddha," is considered the unluckiest day, and is also the name of the girls' school next to Tomobiki High. "Senshoo" means that the morning is lucky, and the afternoon is unlucky. It also means that one will be lucky with things which one is doing in a hurry. "Sembu" is the reverse: unlucky mornings, lucky afternoons, and luck in taking things easy. The joke about using these names for place names is that no one would normally even think of using them to name a place. Calling a school "Butsumetsu," for example, connotes a feeling of extreme unluckiness; certainly not a place where one would want to send one's daughter.
"You certainly look like you're having fun!" -Mendou. "Little boy... look over there!" - Ataru "Well?! Do you still think that I've sold my soul to the devil?!" - Ataru. "Acchimuite hoi!" (Look over there!) is a game similar to Simon Says.
"In order to do so, I've gotta earn a lot more trust!" - Ataru. "Do it! Do a lot more! You clown!" - Little Mendo. Mendo's fan-flipping act is a reference to clan lords and other noblemen of the yesteryears who would wave around folding-fans to indicate approval.
No new episode of Urusei Yatsura aired the following week.
Episode 87: 壮絶! 謎のまつたけなべ!!
Souzetsu nazono matsutake nabe!! (Wonderful! The Magic Mushroom Pot!)
Cherry brings some magic mushrooms to school and the students cook and eat them. However these mushrooms have a strange affect on everyone except Lum; and they all start doing theatrical scenes.
"To be... To be... Ten made to be... Full In Care..." - Onsen. We see bits and pieces of Onsen's English class throughout the series. Here, what Onsen is trying to read are basically random phrases that don't make any sense at all.
"What the heck is this?!" - Onsen. "A daikon." -Ataru. "Damn right it's a daikon! And what are you gonna do with it?!" - Onsen As most of our readers know, daikon are long, white radishes that are common in Asia. They are often used boiled, grated or pickled.
"Of course... It IS autumn, after all!" - Onsen. "That's right. It's the best season for enjoying Nabemono." Ataru. Think of "nabemono" (from "nabe" - big ceramic pot, "mono" - things) as the Japanese version of bouillabaisse. That is, lots of boiled goods, usually vegetables, tofu, fish and meat, that are prepared right on a dining table.
Oden (another popular dish) is very similar to Nabemono.
"Th...This is what they call Matsutake?!" -Megane. "I haven't had any in a couple of years!" - Perm. "Where did you steal the Matsutake from?" - Ataru. "Mind your manners! I grew them myself!" - Cherry. "Bull! You can't grow Matsutake so easily!" - Megane. The reason why everyone is going crazy over "matsutake" is simply that these mushrooms are extremely expensive - a kind of delicacy that the average person rarely gets to enjoy.
Deforestation during the 1950's have not only cut down on the number of places where matsutake can be harvested (they grow on a kind of pine tree, and are extremely sensitive to the environment) but also diminished the spores of these unique, highly aromatic mushrooms.
Over the years, matsutake have gone up in price drastically. Cheaper matsutake are imported from Asia and Canada.
At the time of the broadcast, a single matsutake mushroom was often selling for 1,000 to 10,000 yen or more each. Imagine a hundred-dollar mushroom!
"I've got a beef with you, seeing you hiding that meat in your pocket! The meat ought to be in the pot; Let's square our beef that way!" -Principal. "A meaty performance!" - Cherry. In this scene, a few clever puns occur, and we've tried to recreate the original 'feel' in our translation.
"Nikui" can express feelings of hate, disgust, but more often done so somewhat sarcastically to convey envy or amazement. It so happens that meat is "niku" in Japanese, so based on these two words a pun is easily created.
Now, the difficult part is how to put a few variations of it in this sequence in English. Fortunately, the word 'beef' came to Shin's rescue, leading to a juicy translation victory.
"Number 683... Moroboshi Ataru!" - Ataru. Careful viewers will notice one of the most common ways of saving expenses and time during production of anime, the repeated use of footage.
Here, after Cherry had left the school building, those who were left behind are supposedly continuing their matsutake chaos. Yet if you look carefully, Cherry is clearly visible! That is because the animation sequence here is the same as what was used earlier in the story.
Episode 88: 怒りの ラムちゃん!
Okori no Lum-chan! (The Wrathful Lum-chan!)
In a fight with Ataru, Jariten accidentally burns a scarf Lum has just made for Ataru. Ataru tries to get Lum angry with Ten, but Ten goes off thinking of how he can apologize. He ask many people for help, but Sakura is ultimately the one who get Jariten to set things right.
"Naoko... Akina..." Ataru. Naoko and Akina are the names of two of the most popular idol singers at the time - Kawai Naoko and Nakamori Akina.
"Baked sweet potatoes...Get your hot baked 'tatoes here!" - Baked Potato Man. "Y'know, I sure love potatoes." - Cherry. "Takoyaki...! How 'bout a quid of it, y'aIl?! Tho' it ain't squid, y'all! Takoyaki! How 'bout it y'all?!" - Takoyaki Man. "You know, I sure love Takoyaki..." - Cherry. Like ice-cream men, dealers of popular snacks "Yaki-imo" (baked sweet potato) and "tako-yaki" (doughballs with bits of octopus in them) are frequently seen selling their goods out in the streets, as seen here.
Episode 89: ラムとあたる・二人だけの夜
Lum to Ataru futari dake no yoru (Lum and Ataru, a Night Alone)
Mr. & Mrs. Moroboshi win a trip for a weekend and leave Ataru and Lum alone for the first time. Ataru tries desperately to seek sanctuary elsewhere, but Lum gets him home and cooks dinner. Mendo, Megane, and Lum's Stormtroopers try to keep the two apart, but Lum and Ataru manage to get rid of them. By then it is time for bed.
"Because my... my body belongs... to Darling!" - Lum. The sequence that follows is of course a parody of "Return of the Jedi," which had just been released at the time of original airing.
"Our mortgage will never be paid off! Gimme a seat cushion!" - Ataru's Dad. Because people sit on the floor in Japanese living rooms, most people need seating cushions (called "zabuton"). "Gimme a seat cushion!", then, is like "I need to sit down and really think about it for a while!"
No new episode of Urusei Yatsura airs the following week.
Episode 90: レディー竜之介!
Redeii Ryunosuke! (Lady Ryunosuke)
Onsen-Mark gives Ryunosuke lessons in how to be feminine and finally takes her to a wrestling match. The wrestlers get too out of hand and accidentally rip Ryunosuke's beautiful dress and get her mad.
Toshiko Hirano (aka Toshihiro Hirano) is responsible for storyboards on this episode. For a great overview of his career, check out this video.
"After much soul-searching, he set off on a journey..." - Narration. This sequence is a parody of Herman Melville's "Moby Dick." "Point: Women may not address themselves using masculine pronouns." - Onsen. "Girls don't use "ore!" Just imitate me, OK?" - Lum. In Japanese, there are various forms of pronouns, some gender-specific.
"Ore" is a masculine pronoun that is also rough and quite informal; in some contexts it can be quite impolite.
"A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step!" - Onsen. This line, with two lines that follow, doesn't make much sense in Japanese; they are all puns based on the use of "-ri", a unit of distance somewhat like using "mile."
The first line, "Sen-ri no...", is straightforward, and makes sense as is. "A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step."
The second line, "Kuriyori umai Jyuusan-rihan..." or "9-ri 4-ri umai 13-ri...", was actually an Edo-era slogan often used to advertise food. It's a pun, because "9-ri" and "4-ri" can be read "kuri" (homonym for "chestnut") and "yori" (homonym to "...better than..."). And 9 and 4 add up to 13. Chestnuts are considered quite exquisite in Japan. So the phrase basically
implies that "it tastes better than a chestnut", and the Edo-era merchants used it quite a lot!
The third line, "Hyakushakushita no mizu no kokoro yo..." or "100-shaku-shita no mizu no kokoro yo...", is a line from the "Miyamoto Musashi" novel, which literally translates to "oh, the mind/heart of the water, 100-shaku below..." A "Shaku" is a unit of distance, a little over a foot, so the line poetically implies how `deep' something is.
"Coward! And you call yourself a girl?! You can't give up, girl! You're running away without giving it a shot! Loser! Get up! Get up, girl!" - Ataru. This scene is a parody of a classic anime series "Attack No.1 !", a drama about a high school all-girls volleyball team. It remains to be one of the most successful shoujo ("young girls') anime of all time.
Episode 91: ドキュメント・ミス友引は誰だ!?
Dokyumento misu Tomobiki wa dare da!? (Document: Who Will Be Miss Tomobiki?)
The school has a contest for the title of Miss Tomobiki. Lum, Shinobu, Ran, Ryunosuke, and Sakura are the contestants; and Ataru is the final judge.
"Just as the flower's color will easily fade..." -Shinobu. This line comes from a poem by Ono no Komachi, a 9th century imperial attendant and poet. A majority of her poems are about love and romance.
The poem that Shinobu recites is from one of Ono's most famous pieces:
Hananoirowa utsurinikerina itazurani wagamiyonifuru nagameseshima ni
Dozens of translations and interpretations exist for this poem. Here is but one example:
While watching the long rains falling on this world my heart, too, fades with the unseen color of the spring flowers.
The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi & Izumi Shikibu; translated by Jane Hirshfield and Mariko Aratani (Vintage Classics). New York: Vintage Books, 1990.]
Because of the inherent complexity in translating poetry, especially fragments of it, we've left just enough in the subtitles to be used slogan 'The Legacy of the People of the 20th
as a guide. Interested readers are invited to read further!
"...and so, we'll be supporting you 100%, every step of the way! The heyday of the sailor-suit is over!" - a student. The sailor-suit, or the traditional school uniform for girls, was often the wardrobe of choice for many teenage idol stars in the seventies and early eighties.
There are many jokes in Cherry's narration:
"Here's a pair of tickets for an overnight trip to Hakone. One of which is in the name of the No.3 babe at Butsumetsu High. Don't you want the other one?" Hakone is at the center of Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park near Odawara, which is perhaps the most popular spot in Japan, known for many of its hot springs.
"Restaurant Jipangu used the motto, Okonomiya gives power for tomorrow!' and Shinobu became their poster girl." Okonomiyaki is a thick pancake-like food with fillings that consist of shredded cabbage and meat.
"With their motto, 'Eat Me,' Akadama Bakery used Ran as their endorser." Japanese bakeries usually are integrated into coffeeshops, where pastries and other small baked goods do most business.
"Ebiya hired Lum as an endorser and used thes slogan "The Legacy of the People of the 20th Century!" Ebiya's product is a traditional, baked snackfood called taiyaki, which is made of a fish-shaped dough and sweet-bean paste filling.
"Ryunosuke became the model for Kotobuki Oden, with the slogan, The Taste of Hamachaya, the One and Only." Oden is a diverse mix of broiled and boiled vegetables and fishmeat pate all cooked in broth soup. Oden kiosks are set up on street corners, and are especially popular in winter.
There is a scene of Megane printing out images of Ryunosuke and having her female admirers forlornly walk across them. Megane has created a "fumi-e" (踏み絵). Historically a fumi-e is an image of Jesus Christ that Edo period officials forced suspected Christians to step on to prove they were not followers of Christ.
In the 1984 book-length interview The Time We Spoke Endlessly About the Things We Loved (語り尽せ熱愛時代/Kataretsuse netsuai jidai) Rumiko Takahashi shared with Kazumasa Hirai how offensive she found the fumi-e gag from this episode. Quoting from page 168:
Takahashi: There was once an anime episode called "Miss Tomobiki Contest" in "Urusei Yatsura". I was like, "Gah!" at that one...
Hirai: They really messed things up, huh? (laughs).
Takahashi: That was a real eye-opener. What was also a bit of a shocking detail was that they had the characters walk across a fumi-e. I don't understand the nerve of that. If the film was good, I would be proud of it, and if it was bad, I would be angry. I don't think of it as the work of a single director. However, if possible, I would like you to take care of the characters.
Mr. Hirai: There is an aspect that we can't help it because it is done by someone else. If you push too hard, you will reach a point where you have no choice but to do it yourself.
Episode 92: 奇怪! 無我の妙薬!!
Kikai! Muga no miyouyaku (Strange! The Wonderful Medicine of Selflessness)
Cherry gives Kotatsuneko an enchanted taiyaki which the cat, in turn, gives it to Ataru. Upon eating it, Ataru falls asleep. His spirit escapes from his physical body and he goes spying on Sakura and Shinobu in his new ghost form.
'This medicine can purge the body of all its earthly desires. 'Tis a revolutionary potion!" - Cherry. "You're using THAT to solidify it?!" - Sakura. In certain Buddhist teachings, tonnou' refers to harmful, earthly desires that pollute the mind. Priests go through arduous training to rid themselves of such desires.
Cherry's mysterious concoction was being mixed, poured and then baked and solidified in an iron mold that's used to make taiyaki (see above).
"You spend your life building your happiness, one bit at a time, suppressing most of your desires. You call that a beautiful life?! Being human is so lame! But I'm different! I'll become a true human, and use this freed existence to go on a journey! I'll live like a human, of humanity, by humanity, for humanity! And that is what being human is all about!" - Ataru
Yet another overdramatic attempt by Ataru to deliver a serious-sounding monologue!
"Oh, such a handsome man! I'm Akina. Nice to meet you!" "Call me Seiko, handsome!" - Aliens. The names come from the most popular idol stars from that time period.
Episode 93: 終太郎・不幸の朝
Shutaro fukouno asa (Shutaro, Miserable Morning)
One morning Shutaro is recalling unpleasant memories Lum's and Ataru's relationship has had on him and how he's lost to Ataru so many times. Cherry shows up only to help Mendo remember and cause more grief.
"Here's some okayu for you, sir!" -Mendo. "Why in the world do I have to eat okayu in a harem? Bring me something richer!" How about beefbowl with miso soup? Tanuki-Donburi? Huh?" - Ataru. Okayu is essentially pre-cooked rice that is boiled to make a kind of porridge. Leftover rice is sometimes used to make okayu for infants.
Gyuudon (beefbowl, i.e. beef topping over rice) and tanukidon (tempura batter topping over rice) are popular dishes often served in lesser expensive establishments.
The joke here is that even beefbowl or tanukidon are only a minor step above okayu in the fanciness scale.
"That's the power limit of kiosk noodles. That idiot's strength is way above ours!" - Megane. Cheaper noodle shops and kiosks usually do not have any room for customers to sit, hence the name lachigui soba,' or eat-while-standing noodles.
"You're under arrest!" - Police. Numerous pop culture icons are visible in this scene. Among them, that of a marathon runner arriving at the goal: the official logo of a famous confectionary company, Glico, known for its soft caramels.
"Is this where the grape harvest is being held?" - Cherry. Many farms operate separate fields where they allow the public to pick and gather their own fruits and vegetables. Do-It-Yourself picking of strawberries, grapes, mushrooms and potatoes has always been popular.
"So I had all these damned '2' pieces, and I was like?" - Megane. This is a reference to mahjong, a popular game, usually of gambling nature.
Episode 94: 旅の雪ダルマ情話
Tabi no yuki daruma jyouwa (Tales of the Wandering Snowman)
A snowman arrives from space and accidentally gets Jariten angry at it. Ataru unknowingly saves the snowman many times so it thanks Ataru with a late night encounter.
"The water heater breaks down, and it's freezing outside, too! I'll be frozen before I get home." - Ataru. Most bathtubs in Japanese houses are jacuzzi-like structures with water heaters connected to them. Thus, a phrase such as 'fur° ga kowareru' (literally: bath breaks down) does not refer to the actual structure breaking down!
"Being young means being naïve, thus society is like the world of stubborn old people." - Chibi. This chaotic sequence containing seemingly random, nonsensical dialogues uses references from current events, TV, history, and literature. The end result, of course, is essentially non-sense!
"Being naive is like fresh vegetables, and so 'it ain't right!', if you don't eat them, as everybody knows" - Chibi. One of the most successful TV commercials from that time employed an actor using a northern dialect and thick accent, who proclaimed: `Yasai o taanto toranyaa dachikanzo!' which loosely translates to 'It ain't right if ya don't eat enough veggies!'
No episode aired the following two weeks due to New Years.
Episode 95: ラムちゃんの日本昔話
Lum-chan no nihon mukashi hanashi (Lum-chan's Ancient Japanese Fairy Tales)
Cherry tells an ancient fairy tale involving child versions of an elderly Lum and Ataru who have Jariten as a son who grows up to fight an evil Rei who captured a princess Lum.
"It's so little. It's been so little these few years. These guys must be the reason why my share of the otoshidama is so puny!" - Ataru. "Otoshidama" refers to monetary gifts given to children on New Year's Day.
"I'm a kid! Obviously, you've gotta take me with you!" - Ten. "Mediator! 'Tis a good thing that nobody got hurt, thanks to my appearance." -Cherry. Here Cherry is offering himself as a mediator in this heated argument between Ten and Ataru. But "Katami!" can also mean "half of the body," which makes the close-up shot of half-baked Cherry a visual pun.
"Good children ought to take a nap, in order to grow." - Cherry. Yet another traditional aphorism.
"Once upon a time, in a place somewhere, an old man and woman lived together." - Cherry. "Do you think us kids can stomach stories like that these days?!" - Ten. Cherry's line is how almost all Japanese traditional fairy tales begin. Ten's reaction reflects this.
"I'll go wash clothes in the river. Dear, cook some glue for me." - Lum. Women washing clothes in the river is yet another typical scenario in traditional tales.
"A sparrow dwelled in their house, and the three lived joyfully." - Cherry. "M...My tongue is in danger!" - Ten. "The old man snipped the Sparrow's tongue, so that he wouldn't ever be able to eat the glue again." - Cherry. The story refers to one of the classic children's tales, in which a sparrow is punished by an old grumpy man for eating glue. When a kindhearted neighbor (or the man's wife - there are many variations of this story) takes care of the injured sparrow, it rewards the savior handsomely. Seeing this, the grumpy man repeats the same process over again, only this time he puts on a disguise and takes care of the injured sparrow. When he expects some reward, he is given nothing but things he dislikes.
This particular episode has references to many children's tales. Here is another:
"For a peach that's found in the river, it's quite small, wouldn't you say?" - Ataru. "Giant peaches only exist in fairy tales." - Lum. The Story of Momotaro, the Peach Boy, begins with a woman finding a giant peach floating in the river.
"But then, he was born from a peach, so I'd think naming him 'Peach Boy' would be better." Lum. "In that case, let's compromise and name him `Issun-Momota.'" Ataru. Two of the classic children's tales referred to in this episode are "Issun-boshi" ("10-cm boy") and "Momotaro" ("Peach Boy").
Episode 96: かがやけ! あこがれのブラ!!
Kagayake! Akogare no bura!! (Shine! The Blessed Bra!!)
Soban, the big-lipped thug gets his flunkies to try to get Shinobu to date him, but Shinobu seeks safety with Ryunosuke making the flunkies think Ryu's her boyfriend. The jerks find out Ryunosuke's a girl and bribe her with a bra to get her to pose with Shinobu for some date photos.
Soban makes his debut in this episode along with his gang. His gang are identified as Regent (which is the name for his hairstyle), Grass Man and Dog Man in the credits of the 2022 anime. They are unnamed in the original manga.
"Shinobu, wanna go get some anmitsu on the way back?" - Shinobu's friend. "I can't. I'm on cleaning detail today." - Shinobu. Anmitsu is a dessert food, a mixture of jelly and fruits topped by a heavy dollop of syrup and sometimes ice cream as well.
Shinobu's cleaning duty refers to the fact that most schools require students to stay after school to do most of the cleaning around the classroom.
"You bastard! Do you not see these?!" -Ryunosuke. "Those boo-boos? The wrappings will cure them!" - Mr. Fujinami. "These are boobs, not boo-boos!" - Ryunosuke. Sometimes the jokes are even funnier after they are translated, and here is another example! There's no pun in the original Japanese, and anytime we get a chance to do a pun as lame as this (in particular when it's a literal translation), we simply can't resist.
Episode 97: 決斗! 弁天VS三人娘!!
Ketsu! Benten vs sannin musume (Duel! Benten vs. the Three Daughters)
Sugar, Ginger, and Pepper who attend the same school Lum, Benten, and Oyuki did are trying to prove themselves greater than their seniors by humiliating them. This time their scheme is stealing Benten chain and the young girls have to plot and scheme to get the upper hand.
"As long as the Giant Computer S.A.L.T. No.1 is on our side, we're invincible!" - Sugar. To complement the "Spice Girls," we have a saline machine...
S.A.L.T. No. 1 is based on a Japanese instructional song called "Kawaii Cook-san". The lyrics of the song tells children how to draw the simple monkey-like chef character. Decades later Rumiko Takahashi will once more use the design of Kawaii Cook-san in Kyokai no Rinneepisode 10.
"Space vector A-H-O? That's where we'll be able to maximize our superpsychic abilities, but where our sempai will be at an enormous disadvantage!" - Pepper. "Aho" literally means "idiot," "dimwit," etc.
"Accelerator Device ON!" - Ataru. This line is a reference to the classic anime series, "Cyborg 009". The device allows almost-instantaneous spatial movement.
Episode 98: ラムちゃんがいっぱい!
Lum-chan ga ippai! (Plenty of Lum-chans!)
Ran kidnaps Lum and makes a copy of her. Ran sends the copy off to go zap Ataru so he will be mad at Lum. However, electricity causes the copy to act like the original, but Ran does not realize until after she has made six copies, all which now think and act like Lum.
Episode 99: 必殺! 立ち食いウォーズ!!
Hissatsu! Tachigui waoozu!! (Certain Death! Stand-Up Eating Contest)
Mendo's company hosts a noodle eating contest with with all of his friends along with some unusual new faces known for their culinary skills. The fast food connoisseurs arrive with plans to mooch as much as they can during Mendo's contest.
"One Mississippi... Two Mississippi... Three Mississippi..." "Darumasanga Koronda" (similar to the game "red light/green light") is a phrase for a child's game and literally means daruma (meditative monk with no arms and legs) + koronda (fallen). Megane uses the phrase here to measure the timing for boiling noodles. Counting Mississippi's is the closest American equivalent.
In the game, a child, acting as a playcaller, stands with their back to several other children and calls the phrase "Darumasanga Koronda" over and over. Likewise, a group of children behind the playcaller run, walk, or do whatever they can do ge to the playcaller. The playcaller can stop at any time and turn around to see if any cihldren are moving. If they are caught moving, they lose. The child that reaches the playcaller first wins.
"Are these noodles Kansai-style? - Kansai is a region in south-west Japan. Kansai-style noodles use Osaka noodle soup with a light colored sauce. The absence of soy sauce gives it the light color, however it isn't any less salty than regular noodles.
It may be surprising to know that the character Foxy Croquette Ogin (ケツネコロッケのお銀) goes on to become an important link to the larger world of director Mamoru Oshii's oeuvre. The character debuts in this episode but will go on to appear in a number of his later works including live action films, radio dramas and manga written by Oshii. The character links the Tachiguishi-Retsuden (立喰師列伝) series with the larger Keroberos Saga (ケルベロス・サーガ). In most of her appearances (be it radio drama or live action films) she is played by voice actress Mako Hyodo (Sharon Apple in Macross Plus and Kogane Musashi in Ranma 1/2).
"I'm not a woman anymore. I'm just a stingy fast food ronin." The fact that Ogin's name closely resembles the term "ronin" is no coincidence. Ogin calls herself a ronin because she has been ostracized by her master, much like the ronin of feudal Japan who became wanderers or outlaws.
Star Wars References, Homages, Parodies - The creators of Urusei Yatsura are proclaimed Star Wars fans, which was very popular at the time the series was being made.
Episode 100: 大金庫! 決死のサバイバル!!
Taikin kura! Kesshi no sabaibaru!! (The Great Vault! Courageous Survival!!)
Mendo is showing off a large vault of his to Ataru when they are accidentally locked in and spend the rest of the episode trying to get out.
The structure of this episode has been commented on with a few different scenarios suggested to have been the cause. According to Japanese Wikipedia the episode featured only Ataru (Toshio Furukawa) and Mendo (Akira Kamiya). It was suggested that the rest of the cast was busy with "Beautiful Dreamer" at the time and so only these two actors appeared (other than Fumi Hirano recording the title reading at the beginning of the episode). Takashi Ano, the scriptwriter and storyboard artist said that only the two actors were used due to "budget cuts" though he laughed after saying this. A third suggested reason suggested it was in response to a planned strike aimed at improving the treatment of voice actors.
"Shichi Narabe" - This is the name of the card game that Mendo and Ataru play in the vault. It means to "line up seven.' The game involves matching the cards in front of you with a sequential card.
"Shiritori" - A Japanese word-chain game where the opponents try to link the ending consonants of one word to the beginning consonants of another word. The only catch is that the word cannot end with the "n" sound. Mendo does this with his first word, mikan (orange), and later loses with purankuton (plankton).
"Look at the other side" - Similar to "rock, paper, and scissors," this game is a "pointing" game played between two people.
Episode 101: 秘（まるひ）作戦・女湯をのぞけ!
(Hi)sakusen onna yu wo nozoke! (Operation: Peek in the Woman's Bath)
Ataru, Mendo, Megane, Chibi, Perm, and Kakugari are at a bath house trying to peek over at the women's side. Little by little, more of their female acquaintances begin to arrive..
Highlights of Motosuke Takahashi's animation work can be seen here.
"Sento" - A sento is a public bathhouse. Sadly, in recent years, traditional sentos have become rare now that all apartments have showers and baths of their own. However, a new breed of sento has arisen, featuring not just hot baths but also saunas, massage, food, games, karaoke and so on, catering to the "relaxing family night out" market. During their time in Japan, the Animeigo staff would occasionally go to one named "Yutopia" (Yu being Japanese for "hot water").
"Sento Kit" - All sento kits vary with the individual but, for the most part, these usually include personal amenities such as soap, shampoo, conditioner, shaving supplies, a nylon scrubbing towel and a small bath towel. Everything is stuffed into a bucket or similar container to make up the sento kit.
Episode 102: サクラ・哀愁の幼年期
Sakura aishuu younenki (Sakura, Sad Tears of Youth)
Cherry puts something in Sakura's food so that when she sleeps, a copy of Sakura as a young girl appears.
Episode 103: 燃えよラン怒りのビデオメール
Moeyo Ran okori no bideo meeru (Burning Ran's Emotional Video Mail)
Ran get some videotapes in the mail filled with bad moments in her life. Good thing there's no return address.
Episode 104: わが青春のサクラさん!
Wagasei shun no Sakura-san (Sakura-san of Youth)
This episode is narrated by Ataru who is recalling memories of Sakura and her influence.
"Attracted like moths to a distant flame."This phrase comes from a moth's "Dance of Death" when it is attracted to a bright light or, in this case, fire. Simply put, this is how Ataru feels about being in love with Sakura.
Episode 105: スクランブル! ラムを奪回せよ!!
Sukurenburu! Lum wo dakkai seio!! (Scramble! To the Rescue of Lum!)
After a fight with Ataru, Lum returns to her UFO which crashes overnight on the Mendo estate. Lum's lost her memory and Mendo convinces her she's his fiancée. Ataru and Lum's Stormtroopers together fight to free Lum.
"Kuroko" - These were actors in traditional Japanese theater and performed mainly as puppeteers. Their black garb made them "officially invisible" to the audience.
The note that Megane leaves behind for his family before going to join the raid on Mendo's home is a reference to the suicide note left by Kokichi Tsuburaya, a Japanese Olympian who committed suicide at the 1964 Mexico City Olympics. After winning the bronze medal in the marathon he slashed his wrists in his dormitory room due to the young woman he was in love with marrying another man. His suicide note read:
My dear Father, my dear Mother: I thank you for the three-day pickled yam. It was delicious. Thank you for the dried persimmons. And the rice cakes. They were delicious, too.
My dear Brother Toshio, and my dear Sister: I thank you for the sushi. It was delicious.
My dear Brother Katsumi, and my dear Sister: The wine and apples were delicious. I thank you.
My dear Brother Iwao, and my dear Sister: I thank you. The basil-flavored rice, and the Nanban pickles were delicious.
My dear Brother Kikuzo, and my dear Sister: The grape juice and Yomeishu were delicious. I thank you. And thank you, my dear Sister, for the laundry you always did for me.
My dear Brother Kozo and my dear Sister: I thank you for the rides you gave me in your car, to and fro. The mongo-cuttlefish was delicious. I thank you.
My dear Brother Masao, and my dear sister: I am very sorry for all the worries I caused you.
Yukio-kun, Hideo-kun, Mikio-kun, Toshiko-chan, Hideko-chan, Ryosuke-kun, Takahisa-kun, Miyoko-chan, Yukie-chan, Mitsue-chan, Akira-kun, Yoshiyuki-kun, Keiko-chan, Koei-kun, Yu-chan, Kii-chan, Shoji-kun: May you grow up to be fine people.
My dear Father and my dear Mother, Kokichi is too tired to run anymore. I beg you to forgive me. Your hearts must never have rested worrying and caring for me.
My dear Father and Mother, Kokichi would have liked to live by your side.
Episode 106: 死闘! あたるVS面堂軍団!!
Shitou! Ataru vs Mendo gundan!! (A Fight to the Death! Ataru vs. the Mendo Brigade!)
Ataru, Megane, Chibi, Kakugari and Perm scramble across the Mendo estate to try and save Lum as she struggles with amnesia after her UFO plummeted into the Mendo estate.
Wrestling Moves - These can be translated any number of ways and have lost a bit of their meaning since the time this episode aired. Unfortunately, too many of the Animeigo staff actually watch professional wrestling, so it was all too easy to substitute some equivalently amusing moves.
"Infrared Ray Search Group at Fool Son District!" - The term "Fool Son District" is based around the "three nations" adage. In ancient Japan, when someone was described as being beautiful, the phrase "she is the most beautiful woman in three nations" was used. This was equivalent to saying "most beautiful woman in the world," but beacause a person could walk over three of Japan's nations in one day, this phrase was substituted. Here, Mendo says "Fool Son District." Mendo's estate is so large that it has been broken up into districts. For some reason, he or his parents have named on of the districts around the adage of "most idiot (fool) son in three nations."
No new episode of Urusei Yatsura aired the following week, likely due to the change between animation studios, Pierrot to Studio Deen.
