Urusei Yatsura

The other night I finished off volume 20. For a long time I never thought I'd get that far. An odd set of episodes, it kicked off with 75, a parody of this, and it was played completely straight until the final scene. Episode 77 involves Lum chasing Ran, whom she thinks has poisoned Ataru, into a trippy fantasy world. There's not much story here, just plenty of surreal imagery and references (most of which went over my head).

But the wierdest was episode 78. A strange, lyrical story about the nature of dreams and reality that culminates in a battle against aliens in a ruined Tokyo, starring none other than Ataru's mother, it didn't make a whole lot of sense. From the first few minutes it was obvious that the episode was written by Oshii, who by this point must have grown tired of writing/directing a sitcom. This episode of anime, right here, is where it all began for the man who became renowned for boring as many people as he entertains.
 
It may have taken me 15 years but I've just finished episode 106, which brought to an end the Oshii/Pierrot era of UY. The remaining episodes were animated by Deen, apparently with a much bigger budget. Seriously, it almost looks like a different show.

But the real reason for bumping this thread is to post the "new" opening \o/

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Excellent, I have just joined this forum and there's a thread to one of my most favourite series of all time.

I first found out about UY back in the mid nineties (a magazine called Super Play), and then a few years later the BBC showed Lum the Invader Girl (which I swear I must still have on video).

I cannot express how wonderful I find this series. Funny, heart warming, clever, feel good and inspirational. Sadly I haven’t seen the entire series, only the first 25 volumes.

As my avatar shows, Ataru is my favourite. He's not a lecher... he's an opportunist. He loves Lum, we all know that, it’s just he has a strange way of showing it. Mendou comes second.

As for favourite episode, I really enjoyed episode 41: Panic in a Typhoon. Very original, some daft moments, and a knockout punch line at the end. Add to that Catch the Heart, one of the funniest anime episodes (of anything) of all time. ‘Send in the zoo brigade!’, Mendou chasing Onsen-Mark, and Megane – so close, yet so far. And not forgetting episode 75: The Cock robin episode, which was quite freaky, and well done.

As for the films, I think they really do the job of being ‘proper’ films. While some anime films of some series end up as nothing but extended episodes, the UY films go beyond the series and are true films in their own right, and that’s high praise indeed since the series can be very unique. My favourite is Beautiful Dreamer, such an excellent story and it’s here (I think) where Ataru’s true feelings for Lum are the most obvious. I only have the U.S. Manga Corps VHS release, though.

Lastly, if anyone’s interested I can give details about the Nintendo DS game, Endless Summer, since I have it.
 
Damn, I missed the above post. Good to have another UY fan around these parts (assuming you're still around). I remember Super Play; along with Manga Mania, that magazine started my obsession with anime.

I've now watched all 30 of the TV series discs I own, taking me up to episode 118. So far I haven't enjoyed the Kazuo Yamazaki episodes as much as the Mamoru Oshii episodes; apparently Yamazaki's take on the show is closer to the manga than Oshii's, which means less bizarre experimentation and, I think, less sharp humour. Instead there's been lots of slapstic with giant hammers being pulled out of nowhere in the last 12 episodes.

And I also gave the last four OVAs a spin (not counting the two recap episodes with a scant few scenes of new animation; that Animeigo charged $25 for those is cheeky in the extreme). None were particularly memorable, but my favourite was The Electric Household Guard because, well, the delightful Ryoko's in it.

Nagisa's Fiance is dragged down by the tiresome antics of Ryunnosuke and her old man, but did have a genuinely lolworthy moment towards the end. Date With a Spirit is awful - it ends up being nauseatingly sentimental and Ataru is reduced to the simple, mindless lech he was in the sixth movie. And don't get me started on the sub-par art and character designs. Girly Eye Measles is better but not by much.

All of this leads me to believe that the series was best when Oshii was at the helm. That man can do no wrong in my eyes. except GitS 2
 
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One of these days, I will start watching UY. Sadly, today is not that day.

As yet, I've only ever managed to see the first two OAVs, mainly as Helen McCarthy (in her Super Play column, no less) rated Raging Sherbert as one of her favourite works. Unfortunately, I think it was a bit lost on me as I had no prior experience of the series, but I dunno - reading fabric's posts, I don't seem to be the only one that didn't get it.
 
Thanks to the unavailablity of the TV series here, and Animeigo's reluctance to repackage the discs into a more convenient format, it's not the easiest show to commit to buying. I availed myself of the heavily discounted Right Stuf bundles, but even they're relatively pricey, especially after customs fees and whatnot.

UY is an acquired taste to be sure. I think it was the likes of Oshii, Kazunori Ito, Yuji Moriyama, Akemi Takada, and a lot of talented writers that made the series what it was. Oshii didn't care much for being faithful to the source material and that seemed to give the staff free reign to go nuts.

A better, but still not ideal, place to start would be the first movie. Of all the movies it's the closest in tone to the Oshii's vision of the TV series, and it has some good animation. The OVAs are largely forgettable, with the above mentioned talent long gone, though I do rate the two episodes on the third volume (Catch the Heart and Goat & Cheese).
 
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Proper 80s rawk! I've seen this film loads of times but I've only just noticed the cameo appearance of characters from a certain other Takahashi work during the opening sequence crowd scenes. And man, this film is sentimental. All the UY movies wallow in sentimentality to some degree, even the Oshii ones, but none quite like this. Thar be spoilers ahead!

First of all, the setup for the punchline later.

A new amusement park opens in Tomobiki. Lum and Ataru go there on a date, though Ataru is up to his usual tricks, and of course everyone else tags along. After some very odd things start happening, they all decide to see the magic show. All except Ataru, that is, but it doesn't take much to convince him. Nor for him to volunteer himself for a trick, the end result of which is Ataru being transformed into a pink hippo, while the magician and his assistant disappear.

Lum angst! Ataru angst!

But wait! The magician responsible appears (butt crack!) before Lum. In a tremendously animated sequence, Lum chases the magician back to the theme park, and then disappears. Despite the best efforts of Lum's friends to find out what happened to her, they realise that there's nothing they can do and all head off home. Everyone left on earth succumbs to melancholy at the loss of Lum and all the craziness she brought with her, though some find it more difficult to cope than others. Long story short (this is more work than I thought), it all ends well, but not before some seriously mature cheese. Sick bucket plz. And oh, the punchline. Well, it seems Lum and Ataru ARE connected by a red string after all. Only...

But the best line of the movie was from Ataru's long-suffering mother, and that is what I will leave you with.

 
animefreak17 said:
i saw the OVAs for that series it was awesome
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If you ever get the chance watch the tv series and movies,sad news is that Urusei Yatsura is going OOP this september and i think it will take a miracle for it ever see the light of day again.Urusei Yatsura to me is like a drug i have to at least watch one volume per day,been doing that for the last 15 years now and never tire of it,just gets better and better with age lol.
 
Doraemon666 said:
animefreak17 said:
i saw the OVAs for that series it was awesome
Click to expand...
If you ever get the chance watch the tv series and movies,sad news is that Urusei Yatsura is going OOP this september and i think it will take a miracle for it ever see the light of day again.Urusei Yatsura to me is like a drug i have to at least watch one volume per day,been doing that for the last 15 years now and never tire of it,just gets better and better with age lol.
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i know right its the ova tha made me like the series
 
Nah, I'm guessing they use the stuff to tease the hair on the backs of their hands.

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fabricatedlunatic said:
Say, Lum, how do you feel about cosmetics garnering more attention than your third theatrical outing?



The enduring popularity of UY sure is crazy, though.
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what do expect shes a babe. also the show is funny as hell
 
You possess fine taste, young one.

While I'm here, I may as well post the last screen capture I uploaded. Ataru dimensional shift (or something) face! Don't suppose there are any UY-branded nose hair removers?

 
Just when I thought UY couldn't possibly get any more 1980s, along comes episode 150 and...

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150 episodes and to me the show still feels remarkably fresh, if not quite as sharp as during the Oshii/Ito heyday. I'd like to do an episode-by-episode write-up, but I'm just too lazy. I've no idea how bloggers manage to find the time and inclination to watch multiple ongoing series AND write about them.
 
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