Season
overview:
The animators around this point are at the top of their game. Animation-wise many of these episodes are so gorgeous they reach OVA quality (by 1984 standards). Fuji TV and Kitty must have really been pumping a lot of money into the franchise by 1984 since these episodes look really expensive to make. One of the main reasons for the change in animation style is the shift in studios. Beginning with episode 107 Studio Deen becomes the main studio responsible for the show rather than Studio Pierrot who had handled the previous episodes. Prior to this Studio Deen had been a gross contractor, a subsidiary studio, but from this point forward they become the primary studio for the anime. The comedy and drama really take all the best from Takahashi's manga, and improve upon it.
There are a few missteps such as the episode with Ryunosuke and Benten (they were supposed to meet later in the series in one of Takahashi's stories) but my complaints are few. Kazuo Yamazaki did start to take over directing at this point, and it really shows. While Yamazaki may claim that he was not good at directing movies, I can find no fault with his directing for television.
Episode 107: 異次元空間ダーリンはどこだっちゃ!?
Ijigen kuukan daarin wa doko daccha!? (Dimensional Switch, Where's Darling?)
Lum and Ataru are walking in a park and Lum goes through a dimensional warp door. Lum locates the door and arrive at various parallel worlds of Tomobiki, in one of which Ataru lost the tag game.
Urusei Yatsura episode 107 marked the beginning of a new season.
"It's flower-viewing time, you know, Onsen." - Also called "cherry blossom time." The blossoming of the cherry trees marks the coming of spring and is an excuse for exaggerated merriment. Japanese weather reports solemly report on the northward march of the "Cherry Blossom Front" each spring.
"Good, next! Next! 'Alter Man!'" - This is a reference to the popular Ultra Man series in Japan. Shows such as "Alter Man" and "Ultra 7" were spin-offs to the never-ending Ultra Man saga. Several Ultra Man references appear in the episode. Megaone and his gang strike a pose and yell a famous Alter Man command. Later on, the children in front of the mask stand yell an Ultra Man command.
The various masks on display at the fair are typically found at all Japanese festivals and county fairs. They are similar to cheap Halloween masks in that they are made of thin plastic and held on by a rubber band. They are usually famous characters from series such as Ultra Man, Masked Rider and Urusei Yatsura.
The man sitting at the mask stand is a popular character named Tra-san. He has been popping up from time to time in different anime series for three decades.
"Shut up! You are the god of plague." - This simply means a person with very bad luck and in no way associates Cherry with the occult. However, we can't entirely speak for Cherry. This confrontation between Ataru and Cherry is a parody of the first time these two met in Urusei Yatsuraepisode 1.
Episode 108: 激突!! 女王陛下と愛のラガーマン
Gekitotsu!! Joouheika to ai no ragaaman (Crash! Her Ladyship and the Football of Love)
At school, the boys and Ryunosuke are playing rugby in P.E. class when the football is switched for a UFO shaped like a football which is visiting Earth. Ryu, Lum and Ataru are taken inside the UFO and Ataru chases the UFO's princess while Lum chases Ataru.
"Activate Acceleration Device!" and "Spider in Hell" - These are references to the popular anime and manga series Cyborg 009.
Episode 109: ランちゃん・初キッス涙涙の恋の味
Ran-chan・hatsu kissu namida, namida no koi no aji (Ran-chan, Tasting the Tearful Love of a First Kiss)
Ran bakes some fish food snack with a special ingredient that should cause Rei to kiss her when he eats them.
Ataru calls Lum "stringy fish poop." This is a common Japanese insult for people who are always around or very bothersome. The expression comes from the stringy fish poop that seems to stay with a goldfish long after the little guy has done his business.
Episode 110: き・え・な・いルージュマジック
Ki・e・na・i ruuju majikku (The Indelible Magic Lipstick)
Lum makes some lipstick that cannot be rubbed off, and works like a magnet when two people put the lipstick on. She tries to use it on Ataru but he swipes it from her and tries to use it at school the next day. However, so does everyone else.
The talk show that Lum watches at the beginning of the episode is called "Waratte Iitomo." This afternoon variety show has received the distinction of "the most live broadcasts under a single host" by Guinness Book of World Records. The host, Kazuyoshi Morita, has been the host for over 20 years and has worked on more than 5,000 live shows.
The guest on the show, Tamura Haruki, is probably a parody of Tamura Masakazu. Mr. Masakazu is a famous actor and has appeared in many films and TV shows.
Shiruko is azuki (black bean) stew with rice cake. Shiruko is also the name of the place. Shiruko shops are dessert eateries and have become popular meeting places for teenage girls. Men aren't prohibited at shiruko sops, however girls usually outnumber boys on a typical day.
Megane's dream is a spoof of Japanese soap operas called doramas (dramas), which are very similar to American soaps.
Episode 111: 死闘!! 面堂家花見デスマッチ
Shitou! Mendo-ke hana ken desu macchi (Deadly Combat! The Mendo Family's Flower Display Death Match)
Something has been causing trouble with its late night snacking and it turns out to be Ryoko's pet cherry blossom tree. When the tree eats a leg off each of Shutaro's octopi, he stages a wrestling match between his secret police and Ryoko's tree. But Ataru and Lum get in on the fight.
"But I'm positive it was... Kimaila!" - Kimaila and Konohana are imaginary monsters made up by the Urusei Yatsura creators.
During the fighting, Lum can be seen performing "denki anma" (電気あんま) which translates to "electric massage" to Ataru. An electric massage is a Japanese prank where the victim is laying on their back and the massager lulls them into a sense of relaxation before lifting their legs and rubbing the sole of their foot into the victim's crotch. Sometime in 1958 or 1959 while working on Mama's Violin (ママのバイオリン), mangaka Tetsuya Chiba was severely injured when he was "canned" (forced to draw while locked up in a room to meet his deadline) and he gave an electric massage to his editor. The editor kicked Chiba, knocking him back and causing his hand to crash through a glass window, severing the tendon in his arm. Fujio Akatsuka and Shotaro Ishinomori, members of the Tokiwaso manga apartment enclave, were asked to finish Chiba's manga while he went to the hospital.
Episode 112: 弁天 & 竜之介明日に向って走れ!
Benten & Ryunosuke ashita ni mukatte hashire (Benten & Ryunosuke; Run for the Morrow)
Benten and Ryunosuke meet a small girl who loses her kitten. The two swipe a biker gang leader's bike to go after it and end up getting the whole gang after them.
This episode is an homage to the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Several references can be found throughout. We won't take the time to go through every single one but rather recommend that you watch the movie.
The film, staring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, premiered in 1969. It was nominated for several Academy Awards, including best picture and eventually grossed almost $100,000,000 in the United States. It stands as one of the best films ever made and ranks #50 on the American Film Institute's list of "The 100 Greatest American Films of All Time."
Episode 113: 大恐怖! おユキついに怒る!!
Daikyofu! Oyuki tsui ni okoru!! (Great Horrors! Oyuki is Finally Angered!)
A snow lemming from Oyuki's planet accidentally comes home with Ran and starts causing her great problems. Lum, Oyuki, and Benten show up to try and help, but the only result is a fight between Benten and Ran. Finally everyone calms down, but now Oyuki has to scold the lemming.
You may notice a brief snip of "The Magical Mystery Tour" by the Beatles in this episode. Several of their songs pop up from time to time in Urusei Yatsura. To this day, THe Beatles remain a big influence on rock and pop stars in Japan.
Episode 114: テンちゃんの不思議な恋の物語
Ten-chan no fushigi na koi no monogatari (Ten-chan's Wonderful Love Story)
Jariten meets a ghost girl who very much wants to hug a puppy, but because she is ethereal, she cannot. So Jariten tries to help her by letting her posses his body.
Oze is a famous national park located in central Japan that attracts thousands of visitors each year. THe park, designated a "special natural monument," is home to activities such as hiking and skiing. Ozenuma and Ozegahara make up the two sections of the park. Ozenuma, a marshland, and Ozegahara, a meadowland surrounded by forests and mountains, are both areas full of waterfalls, trails, lakes, streams, vast pastures, as well as beautiful vegetation and wildlife.
"When that picture falls? I'll become a star." - Calling someone a star is an easy way of explaining ot children what happens to a person when they die.
The doctor at the girl's besdie wears an Okame mask, which is a traditional theater mask.
Here are the three kimarite (sumo techniques) mentioned in the episode:
Utchari (Twist Throw) - The ultimate reversal tactic. When a sumo is pressed at the edge of the dohyo rim, he grabs his opponent, leans back, supports his opponent's weight on his stomach, and twists to either side to throw him down. This is often very spectacular, but it can be hazardous.
"Oshitaoshi" (Frontal Push-Down) - It is what it is. Watch dog #2 beat up Ten if you're still unsure.
"Tsukiotoshi" (Turning Force-Down) - A sumo turns suddenly and forces down his opponent at an angle. This is often a defensive tactic by a retreating sumo.
Episode 115: 魔境スペシャル!面堂邸の財宝を探せ!!
Makyou spesharu! Mendo yashiki no zaihou wo sagase!! (Haunted House Special! Quest for Mendo Estate Treasure!)
Mendo's great-grandfather sends Shutaro on a treasure hunt for the Mendo mask, and Ataru, Lum, Shinobu, and Lum's Guard come along as they all go across ice plains, through forests, and an amusement park to finally find the mask.
This episode is an homage to Raiders of the Lost Ark as well as Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and features many familiar scenes from both.
"...Australopolar Octopus Matsu-Chiyo." - Australopolar is one of the many made up terms in Urusei Yatsura. Here it means "South Pole." Matsu-chiyo is the name of the octopus. In the third Urusei Yatsura movie, Mendo meets a vision of Matsu-chiyo and refers to him as his first octopus.
The old bearded man at the ticket stand is a parody of Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi, who lived in the jungles of Guan for 28 years after the end of World War II. Yokoi slept in a tunnel-like, underground cave in a bamboo forest and survived on a diet of coconuts, papayas, snails eels and rats. A trained tailor's apprentice, he used the tree bark fiber of hibiscus trees to weave himself pants and a jacket. Yokoi was discovered on January 24, 1972, near the Talofofo River by hunters and soon became a national celebrity, traveling around Japan giving lectures on survival topics. He later starred in a television special, "Yokoi and the Seven Beauties," in which he taught Japanese women about the art of survival. Yokoi died on September 22, 1997 at the age of 82.
"...bearing the unbearable for over 12 years!" - This line is a reference to Emperor Hirohito's famous radio address to the nationa announcing Japan's surrender on August 15, 1945. "Gyokuon-housou," the Japanese term for the broadcast, marked the first time that the emperor had spoken directly to the common people. This speech, comparable in historical importance to Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, shattered a centuries old belief that the emperor was a descendent of the sun goddess, Amaterasu.
"Shichi-Go-San" (7-5-3) - Shicih-Go-San is a festival held every year on November 15. This festival is held for boys that are three or five-years-old and girls that are three or seven-years-old. Typically, the children dress in their best clothing and visit shrines to receive gifts of candy in long, decorated bags. This candy is called "chitose-ame," which means "thousand year candy." It is a symbol of a long and healthy life.
Instead of candy, Mendo received an amusement park when he turned five which inevitably infuriates Megane, and leads to his dissection of the bourgeois and proletariat.
"Kakigori" - The kakigori (shaved ice) that the mechanical penuins spit out is similar to the crushed ice in a slushy. In Japan, a fruit flavoring is spread over the top of shaved ice, whereas in America, the liquic flavoring usually gets dispersed throughout the entire drink.
Episode 116: 愛と闘魂! グローブVSパンツの決闘!!
Ai to toukoun! Gurobbu vs pantsu no kettou!! (Love & War! Battle of Glove vs. Pants!!)
Ataru dons a magical glove in order to bop Jariten, but the glove is part of a magical pair. When Ataru finally dons the both, he is bestowed with an amazing and uncontrollable ability to super punch anyone coming close to him. Sakura and Cherry prescribe one way to remove the gloves. Have a match; to which Megane shows up in magical wrestler's pants and Mendo in another magical outfit.
"The Pants make people execute a swastika wrestling move..." - This swastika description is attributed to the way Megane contorts his body around Lum and Ataru. In modern wrestling talk, this move is called "the abdominal stretch."
"He is using the carrot-and-stick method!" - In the simplest terms, it means that when a horse does good, it gets a treat. When it is bad, it gets a whipping. However it is a term that can be applied to education, employment and even foreign policy. Here, Ataru punches with one hand and cradles with the other, so he performs both ends of the carrot and stick method, thus accomplishing nothing.
The boxing match between Ataru and Megane is a parody of the June 25, 1976 exhibition boxing-wrestling match between Muhammad Ali and Antonio Inoki. The fifteen-round bout was more of a comedy show and consisted of Inoki kicking from a crab-like position and Ali running around the ring yelling "Inoki coward! Inoki no fight!" In the end, both men received generous paydays and remain good friends to this day.
Episode 117: ラムちゃん牛になる!?
Lum-chan ushi ni naru!? (Lum-chan's Becoming a Cow?)
In a pet store, Lum is bitten by a cow, which she zaps. In the following days, she feels she is turning into a were-cow and a change in her horns seems to indicate this.
Lum's dream about turning into a cow is a parody of the old fabe "Tsuru no Ongaeshi," which translates to "the crane's obligation to repay the kindness." In the story a man saves a crane's life. It later visits him in the form of a woman and begins to knit beautiful fabrics to support them. The woman says that she will continue to provide these articles with the understanding that he never watch her knit. He agrees until one day when his curiosity overtakes him and he discovers a crane knitting the clothing with its own feathers. Upon being discovered, the crane flies away and never returns.
In the Urusei Yatsura version of the old fable, the lady is a cow and provides steaks cut from her own body.
No new episode of Urusei Yatsura aired the following week.
Episode 118: 堂々完成! これがラムちゃんの青春映画
Doudou kansei! Kore ga Lum-chan no seishun eiga (Great Achievement! The Film of Lum-chan's Youth)
Ataru, Lum, Mendo, Shinobu, and Lum's Guard are making a love story movie about Lum. Ataru and Lum are lovers but because of Ataru's infidelity, Lum goes off with Mendo and Ataru tries desperately to get her back. In the end, Mendo, Ataru, and Shinobu are not at all pleased with the movie and attack Megane.
Episode Staff:
Director: Junji Nishimura (西村純二)
Animation Director: Yuichi Endo (遠藤裕一)
Script: Hiromi Asano & Yoshiyuki Suga (浅野祐美 & 菅良幸)
Megane's film features a parody or homage to Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest. This scene, made famous by Cary Grant fleeing a crop dusting plane while wearing a three piece suit, seems to pale in comparison to Ataru fleeing a plane loaded with bombs.
Episode 119: 妖怪退散! 艶姿サクラのおはらい!!
Youkai taisan! Adesugata Sakura no oharai!! (Ghostbusting! Exorcising the Beautiful Sakura!)
At school, Sakura's office is full of demons that she cannot get rid of because Cherry is using her wand to exorcise a sake drinking demon. Ataru goes off to find the wand and finds Cherry in the middle of exorcising and before getting involved in a fight with Ten and a cat. Ataru runs off with the wand and Jariten flies off with the demon who is trapped in a bottle. Sakura eventually gets her wand back and she needs it because Ten and Lum free the demon not knowing what it is.
"He's suffering from total gestalt destruction." - Mendo's condition is a reference to a psychological doctrine called the Gestalt Theory, which is rooted in a person's perception to everyday life.
"Attack Formation!" "Defense Formation Y!" - The series of events that follows, which includes several characters charging one another, is a parody of any number of sports anime.
"Sure Death Cossack Dance" - Mr. Fujinami's ultimate attack move is apparently based on a traditional Russian dance.
Episode 120: 原生動物の逆襲! プールサイドは大騒ぎ
Gensei doubutsu no gyakushuu! Puurusaido wa oosawagi (Attack of the Protozoa! Panic at the Poolside)
The students are cleaning the school's swimming pool when Jariten shows up and proves to be a real pest. After a fashion, Jariten presents some protozoa seeds. The pool is suddenly flooded and the seeds grow into a giant protozoa that swallows Ataru and Mendo into another primordial world where they meet Adam and Eve.
"We are all brothers and sisters! Do a good thing once a day!" (Jinrui mina kyodai-- "All humanity is brothers and sisters") - This quote was uttered by the late Ryoichi Sasakawa during famous commercials in which he urged others to give money to charity organizations. Sasakawa, a businessman who made a fortune as head of a Japanese speedboat gambling empire, donated millions of his own money to worldwide organizations and served as president of The Nippon Organization.
"You've all got short legs!" - This phrase is a big insult in Japan. In America, this could be equivalent to making fun of someone's height or breast size. However, in this episode, the boys appear to take things a little too seriously.
"Earthworms, frogs, they are all alive... and our friends!" - As the boys contemplate the life of protozoa, Perm manages to use a line from an old Japanese children's song.
"I see! You are Eve! Your name is like a chewing gum!" - "Eve" is a brand of chewing gum in Japan.
"Fridge?! That's a strange name for a girl!" - The word "reizoko" is the Japanese term for icebox. The suffix -ko happens to be a typical ending of a girl's name in Japan, thus explaining Ataru's infatuation with the appliance.
Episode 121: またまた登場! 愛の狩人クラマ姫
Matamata toujou! Ai no karyuudo Kurama-hime (Here Again! The Hunter of Love, Princess Kurama)
Princess Kurama uses a compter to find a lover and gets Rei. She steals Rei from Ran so Ran gets Lum to help, but Ataru shows up to make things worse. Finally Kurama forgets about Rei when she sees him turn into a bull-tiger.
This is the lone episode of Urusei Yatsura directed by Mamoru Hamatsu (浜津守). Hamatsu would later go on to direct the OVA of To-y
No new episode of Urusei Yatsura aired the following week.
Episode 122: キツネのかた想い恋すれどせつなく…
Kitsune no kata omoi koisure dosetsunaku... (The Fox's Unrequited Love)
Kitsune comes to Tomobiki and is saved by Shinobu from some dogs. Falling in love with Shinobu, Kitsune goes to school the next day to be with her and because of his polymorphing he causes a bit of confusion and fighting.
The film that the fox watches is called Sailor-fuku to kikanju (Sailor Suit and Machine Gun). The 1981 film, directed by Hiroko Yakushimaru and starring Shinji Somai, tells the story of a teenage girl who inherits her father's yakuza gang after his death.
"I have to go to a police box." - The Koban, or police box is a small room occupied by one or two police officers; just about every neighborhood in Japan has one. It's a place where residents can go for assistance, and serves as a home base for the local beat cops when they are not out patrolling. American cops hang out in donut shops drinking coffee; Japanese cops hang out at the koban drinking tea.
The final scene is a love story to Rumiko Takahashi's works. Among the students are Akemi Roppongi (Maison Ikkoku) playing with puppets of Kyoko and Godai across from Onsen-Mark, Azusa (Laughing Target) to the right of Ataru, Suzune (Firetripper) behind Ataru, along with Shuhei beside her blocked by Onsen-Mark (you can tell by the small striped shirt on his desk), and in the back of the room Haruka Kamishiro and Ryohei Fuse (Sleep and Forget).
Episode 123: 竜之介ボー然! わが子恋しや岩石の母!!
Ryunosuke bo sa! Wagako koishii ya ganseki no haha!! (Ryunosuke Confused! Solid Rock Mother Cherishes Her Young Pebble!!)
During a vacation at the beach, Ryunosuke meets a woman who greets Ryu as her child. But this woman acts a little odd and does not say much. Unfortunately, at the end, the woman turns out to be a metamorphic turtle who was looking for her turtle child, who was disguised as a rock Ryunosuke happened to be sitting on.
"Today's our unlucky day." - When Ryunosuke's father shows up, someone mutters "butsumetsu." This term loosely translates to "The day Buddha died" and basically represents a very unlucky day on the Japanese caalendar.
Ryunosuke and Mr. Fujinami's dream is a parody of American musicals of the 30's and 40's, most notably those of director/choreographer Busby Berkeley, who became famous with his trademark water-dancing choreography.
"If we earn enough this summer, we can reopen Hamajaya in the autumn." - Autumn is the dead season for seaside teashops in Japan.
Episode 124: 怪談!カラ〜ンコロ〜ン女子寮!!
Kaidan! Karaan koroon joshiryou!! (The Stairs! Footsteps in the Girls Dorm!!)
Ataru tells Jariten an old ghost story about a spirit who appears as a beautiful woman then seduces and kills men. She is noted by a lantern she carries and a wooden clanking sound. That night, and nights after, despite Lum's efforts, Ataru is spirited away by a ghostly lantern, but returns every morning claiming to have been to paradise. So one night, Lum, Mendo, Ten, and Cherry follow Ataru.
The story that Ataru tells Ten is a traditional Japanese horror story. However, Ataru takes his own liberties with the story.
"Karan, Koron..." - Like the caption says, this is the Japanese sound that wooden sandals make. It is similar to click, clack.
When Ten gets scared near the end of the episode, there is a split second of kanji in his eyeballs which translates to, "I'm dreaming!"
No new episode of Urusei Yatsura aired the following week.
Episode 125: プール妖怪! 許されぬ恋に燃えて!!
Puuru youkai! Yurusare nu koi ni moete!! (Pool Spooks! Burning with Forbidden Love)
Lum, Ataru, Shinobu, Mendo, and Jariten are at a beachside hotel pool. Lum tries to improve Jariten's swimming with a device that looks likes a fish. When attached to someone's stomach, it propels them in the opposite direction one is swimming in order to build strength. This accidentally gets attached to Ataru which makes it difficult to have fun swimming. Then the little pool demon, who is now living at an aquarium, is trying to get his blowfish girlfriend back from a nasty shark wearing sunglasses, so everyone offers to help.
"That's a coelacanth. They call it a living fossil." - Mendo's strange-looking fish was once thought to be extinct until one was discovered off the coast of Africa in 1938. Since that time several have been caught and an organization has been formed to preserve the species, which scientists estimate to number in the low hundreds. Of course, Mendo has the only living specimen in captivity.
Tsukimidango - These are moon-shaped rice-flour dumpling cakes that people eat while gazing at the moon.
Pochi #2 - Pochi is a typical name for a dog in Japan, similar to Rover, Spot, Rex, and Bobo in America.
When Pochi's "parents" find out that he wants to get married, they appear with strangely drawn faces which translate to "Mama too" and "Papa too." This scribble form of writing is called "Heno Heno moheji." It is simply a creative way of drawing with kanji.
"This guy's called Jaw's the Third." - This shark's name is probably a parody of Jaws and Lupin III.
Mimiko the blowfish - Blowfish are a delicacy in Japanese culture, however they are also very poisonous and must be prepared in the correct way. Chefs who prepare blowfish (sushimi) must have a license to do so.
Episode 126: ランちゃんパニック 友引町に明日はない
Ran-chan panikku Tomobiki-cho ni ashita wa nai (Ran-chan's Panic: No Tomorrow for Tomobiki)
Ran buys a spiked pearl to give to Rei, but it slips through a rip in her pouch and Kotatsuneko finds it. When Ran realizes it is gone, she gets everyone into a panic because this pearl can go supernova. Ataru lets that knowledge slip out while asking a policeman about the pearl and the town goes into a panic blaming Ataru.
Omiai - An omiai is not an arranged marriage but rather a formal introduction. Usually a woman, such as an aunt or a family friend, introduces two people who may have some things in common. Before the introduction, the man and woman learn about each other's hobbies, occupations and interests and then decide if they want to meet the other. While very practical, omiai are becoming less and less common.
The ice cream that Mr. Fujinami sells to Kotatsuneko is a creamy popsicle stick.
When Mendo's guards step out of the helicopter and begin to play baseball, it's yet another parody of the anime series Star of the Giants. This series, which aired on Japanese TV from 1968-1971, remains one of the most referenced of all anime. The catcher, who runs out to hug his friend, is named Hoshi, which is the Japanese word for "star."
