Chapter 103: 薬口害
Kusuri kougai (Adverse Effects)
Sakura makes medicinal pills which look like a candy drop and gives one to Lum and Shinobu. It will make whoever eats it fall in love and become enchanted by a person, and Lum gives it to Ataru. However, it makes Ataru act strangely to everything. Sakura later says that she made a mistake with the ingredients, it's a medicine that makes you lie.
This issue has a report on the next week's debut of the Urusei Yatsura anime.
"Are you roasting potatos?" "No, it's a newt." - The joke here is that in Japanese the two words are very close. "Potato" is "imo" (芋) while "newt" is "imori" (いもり).
Instead of making a love potion (惚れ薬/hore gusuri) Sakura makes a "loudmoth potion" (ほら薬/hora gusuri).
Table of Contents
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Chapter 104: 苦しいときの神だのみ！！
Kurushii toki no kami nanomi! (Urgent Prayers)
Ataru's mom gives him a good luck charm for good luck on a test. But nobody knew its resident was a little man that looks like a god, He says he will help Ataru cheat. Unfortunately he is very annoying and gets Ataru in trouble many times. When he is forced to help Ataru, he decides to copy off Lum's doodle sheet.
The good luck charm given to Ataru by his mother is an "omamori" (御守/お守り). These are objects that are typically sold at Shrinto shrines to bring good luck.
Dazaifu Tenmangu shrine in Kyushu is dedicated to scholar Sagawara no Michizane. Many students come to this shrine to pray for success in important exams.
Table of Contents
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Chapter 105: アマテラス宴会
Amaterasu enkai (Sun Goddess Banquet) Lum's class is doing a play about the legend of Amaterasu. The girl who is playing Amaterasu gets sick, and Ten brings back the stunningly beautiful real goddess to fill in her part. Lum and Ataru get carried away, and she hides in an inflatable cave. When Lum refuses to play her part, the original dancer, Uzume, arrives, followed by many other gods.
This chapter serves as the concluding episode of the television anime series.
Ama-no-Iwato (天の岩戸) is a mythological cave that Amaterasu hides in according to the Kojiki (古事記) and Nihon Shoki (日本書紀).
Amaterasu (天照大御神) is the Japanese Goddess of the Sun, Omoikane (思兼) is the Shinto God of Wisdom, Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto (天宇受売命) is the Goddess of Dawn and Mirth and Ame-no-tajikarao (アメノタジカラオ) is the God of Sports of Physical Power.
Kannazuki or Kaminazuki (神無月, Month of the Gods) is the 10th month, or October.
An alien from Those Selfish Aliens (勝手なやつら), Takahashi's debut professional story, can be seen walking around the grounds of Tomobiki. Additionally Tora-san from It's Tough Being a Man also appears. Also Godzilla and Superman, Kamen Rider and Dakko-chan, Q-Taro from Obake no Q-Taro (ケのQ太郎) by Fujiko Fujio. Signboards of the Peko-Chan logo and Ultraman appear on campus.
Hakama is a traditional trouser-like piece of clothing that is tied at the waist and worn over kimono.
Izumo Province (出雲国, Izumo-no-kuni) was an old province of Japan which today consists of the eastern part of Shimane Prefecture.
Suzume means "sparrow."
Table of Contents
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Chapter 106: 買い食い大戦争
Kaigui daisensou (The Great Off-Campus Snack Battle) The Tomobiki High faculty are all sick of kids ditching school at lunch to eat out. They decide to station themselves at the most popular lunch places in order to catch them red-handed. Ataru and his friends race from place to place in order to escape, but there turns out to be huge student versus teacher brawl afterwards.
Taiyaki is a Japanese fish-shaped cake. It imitates the shape of the tai fish, which it is named after. The most common filling is red bean paste that is made from sweetened azuki beans. Other common fillings may be custard, chocolate, cheese or sweet potato.
Takoyaki is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special molded pan. It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger and green onion.
Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake dish that is often sold at festivals. The name is derived from the word "okonomi," meaning "what you like," and "yaki" meaning "cooked" (usually stir-fried).
Oden is a type of one-pot meal, consisting of several ingredients such as boiled eggs, daikon, konjac, and processed fish cakes stewed in a light, soy-flavored dashi broth.
Tanuki udon is udon noodles sprinkled with tenkasu (tempura crumbs).
Mendo is shown reading The Tale of Kicchomu. The story centers around Kicchomu-san, a figure of local lagend in Natsu. He was inspired by a real person named Hirota Kichiemon from the Edo Period. Kicchomu is a comical character who is celeprated each April in a local Kicchomu-san Festival.
Mendo and his fellow turncoat's armband says "civic guidance" (生活指導/seikatsu shido) which Viz translates as "undercover student behavior task force". Civic guidance is an actual part of Japanese schooling in the post war era. These armbands are often seen in anime and manga and are called 腕章 (wanshou) or アームバンド (aamu bando).
The kanji character on the uniforms is neko, which means "cat."
The maneki-neko (literally "beckoning cat") is a common Japanese ceramic cat figurine, often believed to bring good luck.
The kanji (友商) that appear on the Superman-like Tomobiki Small Shops representative are the first two characters in "Tomobiki" (友引) and "small shops" or "business" (商店/shouten).
A wanted poster on a wall shows the Maitreya Buddha from Shake Your Buddha (がんばり末世).
Modanyaki ("modern" yaki) is a type of okonomiyaki that also contains yakisoba (a stir-fried noodle dish that is often sold at vendors and grocery stories in Japan).
"Old Pops" - The teacher who is trampled is called "Ro-sensei" (老/Ro). "Ro" can be both a proper name and a word meaning "old".
The bird cries out "aho," which means "idiot."
Table of Contents
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Chapter 107: コピーｄｅデート！
Copy de date (Copy de Date) In yet another attempt to steal Ataru, Ran asks him out on a date. Lum makes an exact copy of him using a special gun. The copy, who has a dash by his head, is allowed to go out while the original stays with Lum. They both ditch Lum and go on dates with Ran and Shinobu, but Ran comes to the same solution, and by the end of the day, there are more Atarus causing chaos.
Chapter 108: 昔なつかし、ぐちれよパソコン！
Mukashi na tsukashi, guchire yo pasokon! (Those Were the Days, PC!) Ran, still mad at Lum for spoiling her plans, sends a pasokon -- a "personal control" guy -- to warp Ataru's mind. It looks like a badge, but Lum notices it after awhile. It cannot warp his mind much more than it already has been.
Published In:
Shonen Sunday 1981 Vol. 50
Urusei Yatsura Tankobon Vol. 11 ch. 6
Urusei Yatsura Wideban Vol. 5 ch. 17
Urusei Yatsura Bunkoban Vol. 6 ch. 14
Urusei Yatsura Shinsoban Vol. 11 ch. 6
Publication Date: November 11, 1981
Pages: 16 (black and white)
Anime Adaptation:
None
Notes:
The Personal Controller smokes Mild Seven (マイルドセブン) brand cigarettes. This is a real brand that is now known as Mevius (メビウス). It is the third most popular brand of cigarette on the planet.
Table of Contents
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Chapter 109: おれのツノがない！？
Ore no tsuno ga nai!? (Hornless?!) Ataru knocks Ten's horn off in a fight. Ran finds it and mistakes it for Lum's. She gives her a seed that will supposedly make the horn grow back, but it actually makes a nasty cactus grow. Lum gives it to Ten and the plant grows. Ataru gives Ten the teasing of his life. Lum's horns stay normal as always, and Ran gives up after awhile. Just when Ten can't stand it any more, the now enormous plant falls off, revealing his new horn. Ten's powers are back and Ataru gets caught without a frying pan.
Ataru attempts to hit Ten with a futon tataki (布団叩き). This thin tatami on a stick is used to beat the futon to keep it free of dust mites or bugs
Ran says in Japanese "わしの背後にまわるなっ！！" (Washi no haigo ni mawarunaa!!). This is likely a reference to a famous phrase uttered by master assassin Golgo 13 who often says 俺の背後に立つな (Ore ni haigo ni tatsuna.) both translated as "Don't stand behind me."
Table of Contents
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Chapter 110: 自習騒動
Jishuu soudou (Studying Mayhem) Ten calls Rei back from his home planet to Tomobiki. Everyone who has not seen him before are terrified by the huge animal, and Mendo is shocked (along with the girls) when Rei turns into his humanoid form. Ran gives him her food, of course, and is ecstatic when he says it is delicious. He says that about Cherry's, too, though. Ran is sad when Rei still goes after Lum and keeps eating Ran's food, until he has to go home.
Rei means "zero" which is a joke on he and Ten communicating on Channels Ten and Rei on their radios.
Table of Contents
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Chapter 111: 階段に猫がおんねん！
Kaitan ni neko ga o-n-ne-n! (There's a Cat on the Stairs!) It's a very cold day in Tomobiki, and only Ten spots the giant cat eating taiyaki in a deserted lot. He brings it back to the Moroboshi's house, where it attaches itself to Ataru's kotatsu. It "tells" the story of when it froze to death. Kotatsuneko is a very kind and happy ghost cat, if you do not try to take the kotatsu away from it. Ataru learned this the hard way.
A kotatsu is a low wooden table with a heater underneath it and a hanging quilt over it that retains the heat. People sit by a kotatsu to keep warm.
Unaju is a dish that has eel served over rice in a lacquered food box.
Table of Contents
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Chapter 112: 酔っぱらいブギ
Yopparai bugi (Pickled) Ten comes to school during lunch break. Ataru gives both Lum and Ten an umeboshi because there is no such thing on their planet. They both get completely drunk and out of control. Ten goes crazy with his flames and Lum starts to glow. The teachers get involved and soon everyone is completely bombed.
This is a double issue which means no issue was published the following week due to the New Year's holidays.
Takahashi's fifth editor on Urusei Yatsura, Makoto Oshima, listed this chapter as one of his favorite chapters.
This is a good place to talk about the delinquency that was prevalent in Japanese schools/society at the time in the 1980s. This article discusses the problems of delinquency in 1980. A very good film that covers the topic as well is Keisuke Kinoshita's 1980 film The Young Rebels (called Father! Mother! (父よ母よ!) in Japan) which follows a journalist as he interviews various high school drop outs and their families about the trouble with families at the time.
Umeboshi (梅干し) is a sour, pickled plum that is often thought of as a hangover remedy in Japan. However for the oni it seems to have the opposite effect.
In Japan, garbage is sorted into burnable and unburnable trash.
Shochu (焼酎) is an distilled alcholic beverage. It contains 25% alcohol by volume so is stronger than sake.
Table of Contents
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Chapter 113: 忘年会じゃあ！
Bounenkai jaa! (Forget-the-Year-Party!) Lum brings a type of real-life role playing game to school. The class goes through either a man or woman door, and they become whoever the clothes belong to on the other side. Ataru, Mendo, and Onsen-Mark go exploring in a desert where they find a familiar looking genie with green hair. Ataru uses two of their three wishes on women who all promptly flee, and when he is just about to wish a third time, Urashima Taro (Onsen-Mark) opens his box of youth and everything turns back to normal.
This is a double issue which means no issue was published the following week due to the New Year's holidays.
Forget-the-Year parties called bonenkai are held in December with the intention of forgetting the woes of the past year.
Heiji Zenigata is a fictional police man from a series of Japanese novels, films and TV shows set in the Edo period. He is the namesake of Inspector Zenigata from the famed manga and anime series Lupin III by Monkey Punch.
In Japanese folklore, Ryugujo is an undersea palace of Ryujin, the dragon god of the sea.
The protagonist of a Japanese fairytale, Taro Urashima is a fisherman who rescues a turtle and is carried on its back to the Dragon Palace beneath the sea as a reward. He spends what he believes to be several days with the princess at this palace, but when he returns to his home village, he discovers that he has been gone for at least 100 years.
A kiribi fire purification ritual is a ceremony in which sparks are struck in the direction of someone, often for good luck.
Ataru uses the verb "tsukiau," which means "to date," but it also sounds like the verb that means "to jab each other." Tsuki means "moon".
Between this chapter and chapter 114 Rumiko Takahashi would publish the single page Elfairy/Sprite in Boys and Girls Complete Competitive Collection of SF Manga.
