Chapter
18: 父よあなたは強かった
Chichi yo anata wa tsuyokatta (Father, You Were Strong) Kurama decides that the best way to make Ataru into a good man is to show him an example of what an ideal man is really like. So she takes him back in time to the year 1173 where she introduces him to her father, the legendary Ushiwaka Maru one of Japan's most famous historical figures. Ataru finds him lacking in a lot of areas (such as his complete disinterest in women) and sets out to make him into a playboy. During this Lum hires Benkei, another character from the Ushiwaka Maru legend to castrate him ensuring he can never have Kurama. Ultimately the trip through time just makes Ataru focus on his vice-filled desires even more.
The title of this chapter is taken from the 1939 World War II era song of the same name.
Chapters 19 and 20 were chronologically published prior to this chapter but were placed in this order in order to avoid splitting a multi-chapter story across Tankobon Volumes.
The calendar on the Moroboshi's wall says its November, and this chapter was published on the very last day of October.
On a television sharp eyed readers can see the Maitreya Buddha from Shake Your Buddha (がんばり末世) singing one of his songs.
Mount Kurama (鞍馬山) can be found to the north of Kyoto. It is said to be the home of Sojobo, the King of the Tengu who taught Ushiwakamaru swordsmanship.
Ushiwakamaru is the childhood name of Minamoto no Yoshitsune, a military commander who was considered one of the greatest warriors of the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. The Heike Clan that Unshiwaka goes on about is the Taira family, which clashed with the Minamoto family for control of Japan during the end of the twelfth century.
The masks on the wall in Ushiwakamaru's home include The Bride, Hyottoko (火男), and Kamen Rider (仮面ライダー) from the TV series and manga of the same name by Shotaro Ishinomori.
Benkei was a Japanese warrior monk known for his strength during the late Heian period. He came to respect and serve Minamoto no Yoshitsune/Ushiwakamaru.
Table of Contents
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Interior Chapter Comment:Urusei Yatsura is finally at the final episode. Lum, Ataru, Shinobu ... Each of them is an inseparable character. However, in the two-legged waraji of college students and manga artists, long-term serialization is time-consuming. I have a lot of motivation to create, so I will do my best to work in the special issue Dust Spot!!.
Webmasters' Note: Chapter 18 was the final chapter of the short term series that was published sporadically while Takahashi was still in college.
Chapter
19: ディスコ・インフェルノ
Disuko * inferuno (Disco Inferno) Ataru is shocked when Sakura invites him to go clubbing with her at a local disco. On their way a strange man in a black cloke jumps out and begins laughing maniacally. Sakura seems unimpressed and tells everyone that this man is her lover, Tsubame Ozuno, a magician who has studied in the West. Cherry is waiting at the disco and he and Tsubame soon reveal the true reason they have come. The excitement from the club supposedly helps to draw in spirits and they are going to have a spirit summoning battle to see if Tsubame deserves Sakura's hand in marriage. Sakura invited Ataru along due to his innate ability to have bad spirits around him almost constantly. She hopes his presense will help Tsubame best Cherry. The battle rages as Tsubame's Westren monsters taken on Cherry's monsters from the East. Ultimately Tsubame impresses Cherry enough to win Sakura's hand, and the two get engaged.
The title of this chapter is taken from the disco hit of the same name by The Trammps.
This chapter was returned to its original sequence in the publication of the wideban volume. It was moved in the tankobon in order to avoid splitting up multi-part chapters.
Both Daisuke Goko and the Buddha from Takahashi's short story Shake Your Buddha can be seen dancing at the disco in this chapter.
Baphomet is the name of the goat headed creature that Tsubame attempts to summon. It is usually associated with the occult but was co-opted by Anton LaVey for his Satanic Bible in 1969.
Akuma (悪魔) means "devil" in Japanese whereas kuma (熊) means "bear." Here, the man exclaims, "A-kuma!" Or, "Oh! A bear!"
Cherry is countering Tsubame's Western superhero with a reference to Kurama Tengu, the masked hero of Japense old black and white films.
Disco Folk - In the original Japanese the demon calls it a "Disco Hakata Dance" (ディスコ博多甚句/disco Hakata jinku). Hakata is the old (but still often used) named for Fukuoka province. Jinku (甚句) is a "lively song or dance".
Chapter
20: さよならを言う気もない
Sayonara o iu ki mo nai (Without Even Saying Goodbye) Some candy of Lum's sets Ataru's mouth afire, and then when he eats an odd sweet of Cherry's (that just happened to have all of the world's bad luck baked inside) Ataru divides into two Atarus. One Ataru is lecherous, lazy, and rude, while the other is intelligent, caring, and hardworking. The two refuse to merge, and the Moroboshis worry about how they can afford the additional son. Soon the dissheveled Ataru decides to leave with Lum, while the other stays with Shinobu. Much to their sadness Cherry attempts to merge them again, which backfires and creates two normal Atarus.
It is believed that certain food pairings can make you feel ill, and eating unagi (grilled eel) and umeboshi (pickled plum) together is a well-known bad food combination. The sourness of the pickled plum clashes with the oiliness of the unagi, causing digestive problems.
A Dappya Man is with the crowd at the end of the chapter.
This marked the end of Urusei Yatsura (thankfully this wound up being a temporary situation). In the author commentary from the original issue of Shonen Sunday in which this was published Takahashi stated, "Urusei Yatsura is finally at the final episode. Lum, Ataru, Shinobu ... Each of them is an inseparable character. However, in the two-legged waraji of college students and manga artists, long-term serialization is time-consuming. I have a lot of motivation to create, so I will do my best to work in the special issue Dust Spurt!!. Ultimately her editors allowed her to choose which of the series to continue (Urusei Yatsura or Dust Spurt!!). She chose to resume Urusei Yatsura.
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Chapter
21: 勇気があれば
Yuki ga areba (If There Be Courage) Ataru, Megane, Chibi and Kakugari all go on a ski trip over New Years, and meet a beautiful ski instructor named Oniko Adachi. Cherry puts the idea into Ataru's head that she is actually a ogress out to eat him and his friends. Ataru, as usual, ignores Cherry and everyone gets caught in a blizzard and heads for Oniko's house. Meanwhile Princess Kurama is taking a break from her problems at a local hotsprings where an old lady (Oniko's mother) keeps pestering her. Ataru's imagination begins to play tricks on him and he flees Oniko's home with the other Tomobiki students.
Published In:
Shonen Sunday 1979 Vol. 5-6
Urusei Yatsura Tankobon Vol. 3 ch. 4
Urusei Yatsura Wideban Vol. 2 ch. 3
Urusei Yatsura Bunkoban Vol. 2 ch. 7
Urusei Yatsura Shinsoban Vol. 3 ch. 4
Publication Date: January 1980
Pages: 23 (black and white)
Anime Adaptation:
None
Notes:
The title for this chapter comes from the song of the same name by Hideki Saijo.
Oniko's name is written with the kanji characters for "demon" and "child."
Table of Contents
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Chapter
22: トラブルは舞い降りた！！
Taraburu wa mai orita!! (Trouble Rains Down) Tomobiki gains a new student named Shutaro Mendo, the son of Japan's richest family. He makes a dashing entrance as he parachutes in from his family's helicopter and soon meets Ataru, who he deems a lazy, good for nothing idiot. Mendo decides to run for Class President, but his ideas of torturing his male classmates rubs many the wrong way. The boys of the class force Ataru to run against him and in a tie vote, Mendo elects to duel Ataru for the presidency. Ataru does his best to elude Mendo, and wins with a little help from Lum. Consequently Mendo wishes to commit suicide, but Onsen-Mark offers him the position of vice-president to change his mind.
This is the first appearance of Shutaro Mendo who will go on to be one of the major members of the ensemble cast.
On the title page Ataru makes the classic hand gesture that is always associated to Rumiko Takahashi and her characters for the first time.
Rumiko Takahashi revealed that she redrew the storyboards for this chapter seven times.
Sensei (先生) is an honorific title used to address teachers as well as professionals such as doctors, lawyers and artists.
The Mendo family crest is an octopus making the same expression as Hyottoko. Hyottoko is a classic Japanese comedic character, with bulging eyes and a pipelike mouth, and definitely protrayed as a fool.
"Don't forget to take a handkerchief and some toilet paper." - Mendo's grandfather's request may seem strange, but Japanese schools do not have paper towels and so handkerchiefs are used for drying hands and wiping sweat from your brow. Some Japanese public restrooms don't have toilet paper either, though it is certainly more common today than when this story was originally written in 1980. You can read more about Japanese handerchief etiquette here.
"Is your family the one that owns the Mendo Conglomerate?" - The term the student uses is "zaibatsu" (財閥). A zaibatsu literally means "financial clique", which is a had huge sway over the Japanese economy prior to World War II. After the war, the Allied occupation dissolved all the zaibatsu businesses to prevent so much economic power from being centrally located. The suggestion that Mendo's family still has such a powerful company would speak to its age and its power being so great that it was somehow not dissolved following the war.
When Ataru is running from Mendo he uses a multiplying technique, even shouting "kagebunshin" (影分身/shadow other-self) as he dodges about. Ataru also uses the classic ninja body replacement technique known as "kawarimi" (変わり身) or "utsushimi no jutsu" (移身の術) where the victim appears to be injured by an attack only for their opponent to discover their body has been replaced by a log.
Mendo plans to commit seppuku (切腹) or ritual suicide at the end of the chapter, as he cannot face being defeated by Ataru. His guard is acting as his "second" (介錯人/kaishakunin) who will decapitate him after he slices his stomach open.
Table of Contents
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Interior Chapter Comment: Miss Takahashi is recruiting staff to help with the backgrounds of her manga. Girls under the age of 21 who live in the suburbs of Tokyo. To apply please send a postcard to Shonen Sunday's Rumiko Takahashi Staff Recruitment Section. For details, see...
Chapter
23: 星座はめぐる
Seiza wa meguru (Zodiac Cycles) Lum uses the computer on board her UFO to determine if Ataru really is her perfect match. The computer tells her that she is better suited to Mendo, Tomobiki High's newest student. Lum discovers that both Mendo and Ataru are Aries, and decides further tests must be conducted. She shrinks the two down and places them on her "Horoscope", a device showing all the astrological signs orbiting around hers, the Tiger-Striped Unicorn. Each astrological sign gives Lum their opinions which results in a tie. Ultimately Lum decides for herself that she likes Ataru more, and the class surmises that without his money and looks, Mendo is exactly like Ataru.
On the cover of Shonen Sunday this week is Lum alongside Rumiko Takahashi's favorite baseball team the Hanshin Tigers. If you would like to know more about Takahashi and her Tigers fandom you can watch our video on the subject here.
Pachinko (パチンコ) is a type of mechanical game with steel balls resembling those of arcade pinball machines. It is associated with gambling where the winner eventually trades prizes for cash in a roundabout way. Gambling for cash is illegal in Japan.
"Open up, tulip!" - The tulip is a part of the pachinko machine that opens and closes, usually in the center of the board, when open it allows more balls to fall into its pocket for score purposes, when closed it allows fewer balls to fall in. Tulips first appeared on pachinko machines in 1962, and their addition led to a pachinko boom.
Mendo is shown reading The Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant first published in 1781.
Unlike many other manga characters most of Takahashi's characters do not have identifiable birthdays. Urusei Yatsura is an exception though, as this chapter reveals that Mendo's birthday is April 1, Ataru's birthday is April 13, making them both Aries. While Shinobu's astrological sign is Libra, making her birthday somewhere between September 22 to October 23. Don't get us started on Lum's sign of the One-Horned Striped Tiger Beast.
Yoshinoka is a play on Yoshinoya, a popular restaurant chain that sells beef bowl.
Gemini is represented by a dual pair of Ultraman. They even do his special attack Spacium Beam attack.
Table of Contents
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Interior Chapter Comment: Apparently I can graduate from university, and finally I'm getting a job in the world of manga. Moreover, although I am prepared for the long-term serialization of Urusei Yatsura, I'm a little worried. I feel like I'm a small boat that has embarked on the ocean. I don't know where to go yet, but I'll do my best! !!
Webmasters' Note: Chapter 23 is the beginning of the uninterrupted, weekly full-scale run of Urusei Yatsura.
Chapter
24: 春のうららの落第教室
Haru no urara no rakudai kyoushitsu (Balmy Spring Days and the Failure Class) As Onsen-Mark drones on with another boring lecture the entire class with the exception of Ataru and Mendo have fallen asleep. Mendo is desperately trying not to be outdone by Ataru when he discovers Ataru is actually studying a porno mag to keep awake. Soon Onsen-Mark dozes off too, and Ataru explains that this happens every Spring. Lum drops in and they soon spot two little people who seem to be the cause of everyone's sleepiness. They explain that they are the cherry blossom spirits who's job is to make students fall asleep. Shunmin, the young spirit is taking a make-up exam from her master Manchinro. The duo try their best to make Ataru and Mendo fall asleep. Everything from mixing a sleeping potion into their sake to turning into a beautiful woman to entice them to drink more, but nothing works. The sleeping potion proves to be an energy drink that drives Mendo's passion wild and makes him kiss Lum. Just as the Principal and Superintendent walk in, they see Mendo grabbing Lum and Ataru trying to force himself on a waking Shinobu.
The Principal of Tomobiki High School makes his first appearance in this chapter.
Mendo can be seen chugging energy drinks in this chapter, which caught on much earlier in Japan than they did in the West.
Shunmin is written with the kanji characters for "spring" and "sleep." Manchinoro is written with the characters for "ten thousand," "strange" and "tower."
In Japanese culture nosebleeds are considered a symptom of arousal.
Table of Contents
A: No comments.
Interior Chapter Comment: Miss Takahashi is recruiting staff to help with the backgrounds of her manga. Girls under the age of 24 who live in the suburbs of Tokyo. To apply please send a postcard to Shonen Sunday's Rumiko Takahashi Staff Recruitment Section. For details, see...
Chapter
25: ツノる思いが地獄をまねく
Tsunoru omoi ga jigoku o maneku (Love and Suffering) Ataru confronts Shinobu about her growing feelings for Mendo and finally convinces her that he truly cares. Just then Mendo lands on her as he parachutes to school, and she is overcome by him laying on top of her. Ataru realizes that he's lost his shot and storms off as Lum tries to comfort him. Ataru says she'd never understand what normal people deal with, so she decides to disguise herself as a normal Japanese girl and find out. When this "new girl" arrives at school, Ataru immediately falls for her. He even tells Mendo that he can have Lum in exchange for this beauty. Lum gets angry and makes him admit his love for this new girl, and then reveals herself.
Who is the strange woman in Ataru's fantasy that ends up married to Mendo? It's none other than Mother of Ultra, aka Ultrawoman Marie. You can see other members of the Ultraman family in the dream sequence as well.
"What are you? The Hulk?" - Ataru actually does reference The Incredible Hulk here. The Hulk (ハルク) had been published as a manga in 1970 and 1971, and Takahashi would be aware of it as it was written by her teacher, Kazuo Koike.
Table of Contents
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Chapter
26: 君まてども
Kimi mate domo... (How I've Waited for You) The class holds a vote for the most beautiful girl in their homeroom. The boys are all upset by the fact that all the hottest girls love Mendo, so they decide to invent a girl and have her fall for Ataru in an attempt to make Mendo jealous. Mendo doesn't seem bothered, but Ataru's interest upsets Lum a great deal. She threatens to leave him for Mendo, and Ataru calls her bluff and gives her his blessing. Ataru stakes his class presidency on the fact that this imaginary girl will come to meet him, and when she never does Lum begins to feel sorry for Ataru. She disguises herself and goes to the cafe where everyone is waiting. Ataru is mad that he owes Lum for helping him, but then notices how nice she looks and the two walk home hand in hand.
The top two girls in class, Kumiko and Momoe are based on real Japanese celebrities, Kumiko Hara and Momoe Yamaguchi.
Otoko Kumino sounds like a girl's name, but kumino otoko can mean "classroom boys."
Cafe Pigmon: This may or may not be a reference to the creature Pigmon from Ultraman. (Given the other references to Tsuburaya Productions that appear in both the manga and the anime, it seems unlikely that this would be coincidence.)
