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Volume 15

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Chapters Originally Published in:
Shonen Sunday 1982 Vol. 38 - 48

Urusei Yatsura Vol 15

Chapter 147: 激闘、父子鷹!!
Gekitou, oyako daka!!
(Family Feud)
Lum, Ataru, Shinobu and Mendo are at the end of their beach vacation when things are starting to get cold. They meet a father and son who run a beachside teashop "Hamachaya" all year round, even when it becomes too cold and no one visits the beach. The two of them have a disfunctional relationship and keep getting into fights with one another every few minutes. Mr. Fujinami wants Ryunosuke to take over the teashop, but Ryunosuke seems to hate the idea. Soon we find out that the "son" Ryunosuke is not a boy, but a girl who has turned out manly because her father wanted a boy so much, he raised her as one. As soon as they discover her true gender, Ataru and Mendo are suddenly willing to help. After Fujinami and son knock each other out with a cross-counter punch, they awaken to find that they have been chained to the adjoining walls of the teashop. The gang chains them so that they will settle down and talk things through without getting violent. But this just serves to anger them more and the Fujinamis rip the chains out of the support beams and bring down the entire teashop in the ensuing fight.

Published In:
  • Shonen Sunday 1982 Vol. 38
  • Urusei Yatsura Tankobon Vol. 15 ch. 1
  • Urusei Yatsura Wideban Vol. 7 ch. 7
  • Urusei Yatsura Bunkoban Vol. 8 ch. 12
  • Urusei Yatsura Shinsoban Vol. 15 ch. 1
Publication Date: August 25, 1982
Pages: 16 (black and white)
Anime Adaptation:
Notes:
  • Ryunosuke Fujinami makes her debut along with her father.
  • Ryunosuke (竜之介) is strictly a name given to boys. A girl would never have such a name. The "ryu" in it (竜) means "dragon" so it is a particularly masculine name. Fujinami (藤波) is written with the kanji for "wisteria" and "waves".
  • The name of the Fujinami's business, Hamachaya (浜茶屋), literally means "seaside tea shop".
  • The logo emblazoned on the Fujinami's shirts says "I Love the Sea" (海が好き/Umi ga suki).
  • The use of the cross counter punch between Mr. Fujinami and Ryunosuke is a reference to Joe Yabuki from Ashita no Joe who favored throwing the punch against his opponents. Created by Asao Takamori (a pen name of Ikki Kajiwara) and Tetsuya Chiba, it is one of the most famous manga and anime of the 1970s and also one of Takahashi's favorites.

  • Table of Contents
    • A: No comments.

Chapter 148: セーラー服よ、コンにちは!!
Seeraa fukuyo, KONnichiwa!!

(Hello, Sailor Suit!)
With Hamachaya destroyed, the Fujinamis both move to run the student store at Tomobiki High School. Here they will live until they have earned enough money to re-open the teashop. Mr. Fujinami has enrolled Ryunosuke as a male student at the school. Her biggest desire is to be feminine, so she battles her father for the right to wear a girl's uniform. But because of Ataru's meddling, she loses. Ryunosuke is introduced as a new student in the 2-4 home room wearing a boy's uniform. All of the girls in class immediately get a crush on Ryunosuke and the boys take decisive measures to counter this unexpected turn of events. They mug Mr. Fujinami for a sailor suit and give it to Ryunosuke. But Ryunosuke, who is a woman of honor vows that she will not wear the suit until the day she defeats her father.

Published In:
  • Shonen Sunday 1982 Vol. 39
  • Urusei Yatsura Tankobon Vol. 15 ch. 2
  • Urusei Yatsura Wideban Vol. 7 ch. 8
  • Urusei Yatsura Bunkoban Vol. 8 ch. 13
  • Urusei Yatsura Shinsoban Vol. 15 ch. 2
Publication Date: September 1, 1982
Pages: 23 (red tint)
Anime Adaptation:
Notes:
  • Chapter 123 also has the same title as this chapter.
  • Sailor suits are the stereotypical uniform for Japanese high school girls and must feel like a true marker of femininity to Ryunosuke.
  • Mr. Fujinami's belly wrap is known as a harumaki (腹巻) By the 1970s and 1980s it was considered an out of date style of fashion worn by middle-aged men, such as Bakabon's Father in Tensai Bakabon (天才バカボン) and Tora-san from Otoko wa Tsurai yo (男はつらいよ, "It's Tough Being a Man").
  • Ryunosuke's bust wrap is a sarashi (晒し) which you can read more in depthly on here at the site.
  • School stores (学校の売店) are small stores that are housed within public schools and usually sell everything from school supplies to snack foods.

  • Table of Contents
    • A: No comments.

Chapter 149: ブルマーを求めて!!
Burumaa o motomete

(Bloomer Bloopers)
Ryunosuke's teachers and father discuss what will become of her during gym class. Only Onsen-Mark seems to object but she is put in with the boys group, even though she is a girl. Ryunosuke tries to buy girls gym shorts, but her father bribes Kotatsuneko to keep her from doing so. Instead she gets a judo outfit, since the boys will be practising judo in their next class. Her father promises that Ryunosuke can have girls gym shorts if she is able to defeat the entire boys class. The boys all seem happy they will be able to wrestle and cop a feel off of Ryunosuke. During the judo session, the guys all ambush Ryunosuke at once, but Mendo steps in and protects her. Ryunosuke just uses the opportunity to take him down. She fights off the rest of the boys without much trouble. Ataru is the only one standing and proves much more problematic for Ryunosuke since Ataru's grabbing maneuvers are a lot more lewd, disabling the opponent by totally grossing her out. She knocks out Ataru, and wins her battle but her father refuses to show himself and give Ryunosuke the shorts he promised. Just then Ataru comes back and downs Ryunosuke. Only then does her father pop out and declare her the loser.

Published In:
  • Shonen Sunday 1982 Vol. 40
  • Urusei Yatsura Tankobon Vol. 15 ch. 3
  • Urusei Yatsura Wideban Vol. 7 ch. 9
  • Urusei Yatsura Bunkoban Vol. 8 ch. 14
  • Urusei Yatsura Shinsoban Vol. 15 ch. 3
Publication Date: September 8, 1982
Pages: 16 (black and white)
Anime Adaptation:
  • None
Notes:
  • In Japan, those little shorts girls wear to P.E. class are called bloomers, and they are another desirable symbol of femininity for Ryunosuke.
  • Gi is the Japanese term for a martial arts uniform and judo is a very manly martial art that requires a lot of grappling and throwing your opponent to the ground. In a Western teen comedy this would be a wrestling uniform.
  • A kotatsu is a low wooden table with a heater underneath it. A kotatsu quilt goes over the top and hangs down the side to retain heat.
  • The boys sticking their tongues out is a parody of the Peko-Chan logo.

  • Table of Contents
    • A: No comments.

Chapter 150: 蘭は女の香り=その1=
Ran ha onna no kaori, zenpen

(Ran, Scent of a Woman, Part 1)
Ryunosuke wakes up to find her father has been up preparing things all morning. He's acting unusually nice to her, and then she finds out why. While she slept, he embroidered the word "otoko" (man) on her school uniform. Ryunosuke is furious to say the least, but her father puts paralysis powder in her food so that she can not put up a proper fight. She gets beaten up and has to get to class wearing the mark of manhood on her shirt. While stumbling out the door, she meets Ran. The encounter makes an impression on Ryunosuke and she begins to idolize Ran since she seems like the most feminine girl she has ever met. Of course Ryunosuke does not realise that it is an act. Finding out that she is Lum's friend, Ryunosuke asks her for Ran's address and phone number. The guys think Ryunosuke must be lesbian and they send in Mendo to try to turn her straight. Ryu just punches him away and declares she has no interest in guys. This seems to confirm what everyone was thinking. Ryunosuke actually wants to ask out Ran so that she can teach her how to be feminine. Ran does not know that Ryu is a woman and believes that Lum is jealous of her and Ryunosuke, so she accepts, in order to go on a date with her just to spite Lum.

Published In:
  • Shonen Sunday 1982 Vol. 41
  • Urusei Yatsura Tankobon Vol. 15 ch. 4
  • Urusei Yatsura Wideban Vol. 7 ch. 10
  • Urusei Yatsura Bunkoban Vol. 8 ch. 15
  • Urusei Yatsura Shinsoban Vol. 15 ch. 4
Publication Date: September 15, 1982
Pages: 16 (black and white)
Anime Adaptation:
Notes:
  • The "male" symbol (♂) is more appropirately called the "Mars Symbol" was created by Carl Linneaus in the 1750s. The "Venus symbol" is used to represent females.

  • Table of Contents
    • A: No comments.

Chapter 151: 蘭は女の香り=その2=
Ran ha onna no kaori, kouhen

(Ran, Scent of a Woman, Part 2)
Ran and Ryunosuke go on their date. Ataru finds out about this date and wants to put a stop to it. Lum accompanies him and somehow is able to turn it into a date of her own. The two couples meet up and end up double-dating, even though Lum only wanted to be alone with Ataru. Ryunosuke makes a fool out of herself trying to incorrectly mimic Ran's girlishness and inquiring about female secrets, and Ran just thinks Ryu must be a pervert. By the end of the date they end up rowing boats on the lake. Ataru tries to interfere, Ran comes on to Ryu to make Lum jealous, while Lum is doing her best to stop Ataru, and Ryunosuke is trying to observe and take notes from Ran. Even so Ryunosuke learns nothing about being feminine.

Published In:
  • Shonen Sunday 1982 Vol. 42
  • Urusei Yatsura Tankobon Vol. 15 ch. 5
  • Urusei Yatsura Wideban Vol. 7 ch. 11
  • Urusei Yatsura Bunkoban Vol. 8 ch. 16
  • Urusei Yatsura Shinsoban Vol. 15 ch. 5
Publication Date: September 22, 1982
Pages: 16 (black and white)
Anime Adaptation:
Notes:


  • Table of Contents
    • A: No comments.

Chapter 152: 努力、女の道!!
Doryoku, onna no michi

(The Arduous Path to Womanhood)
Ryunosuke tries to show her father that she knows how to eat like a woman and does not do a very good job of it, but her father counters by showing he can copy women's manners too and that any man can badly mimic a women's behavior to get a laugh. Ryu goes to class discouraged. Ataru convinces her that women do not make fists which Ryunosuke never considered before. Ataru offers to help her. According to him, since he's more girl-crazy than anyone, he can best teach her the ways of being a woman. Then again Mendo claims the same thing and the two begin to argue. Lum and Shinobu claim that only girls can help in this department, but then they start arguing too about who's more qualified. Ataru takes Ryunosuke away from the bickering girls and tries to get her to speak more femininely but Ryu gets embarassed and punches Ataru again. Since she should not make fists, Ataru puts shackles on her so that she can not use her arms. Mendo tries again to coach her in feminine speech but she fails once more. The two guys then show her how easy it is, and begin talking like girls. Ataru tries to take advantage of her in shackles saying that girls can not use their fists, but Ryunosuke just retaliates using a headbutt and flying kick. They come to the conclusion that Ryunosuke has done too much fighting growing up to stop her old habits. Her father shows up and Ryunosuke argues with him about how she no longer wants to be like a man. Telling Ryu that her tears finally got through to him, Mr. Fujinami decides to let her know the truth. He turns around and announces that he was once a woman, an obvious lie. The whole class becomes white-haired suffering from mass mental breakdown from the shock.

Published In:
  • Shonen Sunday 1982 Vol. 43
  • Urusei Yatsura Tankobon Vol. 15 ch. 6
  • Urusei Yatsura Wideban Vol. 7 ch. 12
  • Urusei Yatsura Bunkoban Vol. 8 ch. 17
  • Urusei Yatsura Shinsoban Vol. 15 ch. 6
Publication Date: September 29, 1982
Pages: 15 (black and white)
Anime Adaptation:
  • None
Notes:
  • When Shinobu tells Ryunosuke that she needs to talk differently, Shinobu is not just referring to tone of voice- in Japanese, girls and boys traditionally use totally different grammar and vocabulary. You can really drive home how cute or macho you are just by using a particular version of "I."

  • Table of Contents
    • A: No comments.

Chapter 153: 女の証明!
Onna no shoumei!

(Proof of Womanhood)
Mr. Fujinami walks in on Ryunosuke changing and they begin to fight, throwing large objects at one another. Ten who is nearby becomes curious and gets hit by a flying desk that Ryu threw. Ten, who has never met her before, wants revenge after he sees her in class, and tries to breathe fire on her, but the other boys keep getting in the way. The students try to convince him that Ryunosuke's a woman. Ten does not buy it, especially after he feels her chest is flat. To prove to him that she is female, Ryunosuke brings Ten with her to convince him, and the other boys try to follow to peep on her. She changes and gets rid of the wrapping around her chest. She then allows Ten to nuzzle himself into her bosom. Ten is convinced, but then her father comes with a cushion in his shirt trying to pretend that Ryunosuke has done the same thing.

Published In:
  • Shonen Sunday 1982 Vol. 44
  • Urusei Yatsura Tankobon Vol. 15 ch. 7
  • Urusei Yatsura Wideban Vol. 7 ch. 13
  • Urusei Yatsura Bunkoban Vol. 8 ch. 18
  • Urusei Yatsura Shinsoban Vol. 15 ch. 7
Publication Date: October 6, 1982
Pages: 16 (black and white)
Anime Adaptation:
  • None
Notes:
  • Dry towel friction (kanpu masatsu) uses a dry towel rubbed vigourously on the body to generate heat. It is considered beneficial for promoting good health and warding off illness. You can see our video on the topic here.
  • Ryunosuke's chest wrap is known as a sarashi (晒し). You can read all about it here

  • Table of Contents
    • A: No comments.

Chapter 154: 絵画はスポーツだ!
Kaiga wa supootsu da!!

(Art is a Sport!)
The 2-4 class has gone on an art field trip to draw zoo animals. They are assigned to use a weird-looking ostrich named Yotaro as the model. But the class insults its appearance and soon find out how increadibly vain the ostrich is. The teacher pressures them to finish, but none of the students can draw him because he keeps leading them on a chase, or tries to destroy any pictures that are realistically unflattering. To make sure their art is not destroyed again and are allowed to pass the class, the students band together to make individual pieces that, when put together, makes one giant picture that makes Yotaro look as ugly as the art teacher wants him to.

Published In:
  • Shonen Sunday 1982 Vol. 45
  • Urusei Yatsura Tankobon Vol. 15 ch. 8
  • Urusei Yatsura Wideban Vol. 7 ch. 14
  • Urusei Yatsura Bunkoban Vol. 8 ch. 19
  • Urusei Yatsura Shinsoban Vol. 15 ch. 8
Publication Date: October 13, 1982
Pages: 16 (black and white)
Anime Adaptation:
  • None
Notes:


  • Table of Contents
    • A: No comments.

Chapter 155: 花婿、それは女!!
Hanamuko, sona wa onna!!

(The Female Groom)
With that rule forcing her to mate with Ataru abolished, Kurama is still looking for a man. But a good man is seeming more and more impossible to find for her. Finally her subjects pick out Ryunosuke to Kurama's satisfaction. The tengu meet her and find Ryunosuke to be a perfect man in every way, but then they find out that she is a woman. They decide not to tell their princess and later Kurama comes to meet Ryunosuke.

Published In:
  • Shonen Sunday 1982 Vol. 46
  • Urusei Yatsura Tankobon Vol. 15 ch. 9
  • Urusei Yatsura Wideban Vol. 7 ch. 15
  • Urusei Yatsura Bunkoban Vol. 8 ch. 20
  • Urusei Yatsura Shinsoban Vol. 15 ch. 9
Publication Date: October 20, 1982
Pages: 16 (black and white)
Anime Adaptation:
Notes:
  • This issue of Shonen Sunday also includes an article and photoshoot from an Urusei Yatsura fan gathering with Rumiko Takahashi in person and attendees in cosplay as their favorite characters.
  • Karasu tengu are spirits from Japanese folklore that often appear as crows. Coincidentally, Kurama is the name of the mountain near Kyoto where tengu are said to dwell.

  • Table of Contents
    • A: No comments.

Chapter 156: あたる、女へ!!
Ataru, onna e!!

(Ataru Becomes a Woman)
The tengu have a multitude of technology that would allow them to change Ryunosuke into a man. But she refuses. They take a sex-change cannon to school to change her whether she wants it or not. Instead it hits Ataru, but he does not seem to have changed. But when in class everyone soon discovers to great horror that Ataru's chest has grown quite a bit it becomes evident that he has become a woman. Ryunosuke volunteers to get her sex changed just so the tengu will agree to change him back, but Ataru destroys the gun.

Published In:
  • Shonen Sunday 1982 Vol. 47
  • Urusei Yatsura Tankobon Vol. 15 ch. 10
  • Urusei Yatsura Wideban Vol. 7 ch. 16
  • Urusei Yatsura Bunkoban Vol. 8 ch. 21
  • Urusei Yatsura Shinsoban Vol. 15 ch. 10
Publication Date: October 27, 1982
Pages: 14 (black and white)
Anime Adaptation:
Notes:
  • The Tengu are carrying around Adidas branded sports bags.
  • Red Viper Tonic is an actual energy drink from the Philippines.

  • Table of Contents
    • A: No comments.

Chapter 157: 性転のヘキレキ!!
Seiten no he kireki!!

(Sex-Change Shenanigans)
The tengu are still bugging Ryunosuke to become a man, Kurama still does not know her secret and Ataru is still a woman. The tengu give Ryunosuke lozenges that make her hiccup uncontrollably and therefore unable to speak just so she can not explain to Kurama. Kurama tries to kiss Ryunosuke and then her father shows up with a new sex-change gun with the purpose of using it on his daughter. Fighting with her father the losenge gets spit back out and Ryunosuke is able to explain things to Kurama, who is understandably stunned. The tengu try to use the gun on Ryunosuke, but hit Ataru instead, turning him back into a man.

Published In:
  • Shonen Sunday 1982 Vol. 48
  • Urusei Yatsura Tankobon Vol. 15 ch. 11
  • Urusei Yatsura Wideban Vol. 7 ch. 17
  • Urusei Yatsura Bunkoban Vol. 9 ch. 1
  • Urusei Yatsura Shinsoban Vol. 15 ch. 11
Publication Date: November 2, 1982
Pages: 16 (black and white)
Anime Adaptation:
Notes:
  • Apparently this was also a Tuesday release date rather than Wednesday as usual.
  • Culture Day ((文化の日) in Japan is celebrated on November 3rd. It is a celebration of art and culture and usually is celebrated with gallery showings, parades and awards honoring well known artists and scholars. The Order of Culture is awarded to noted members of Japanese society by the Emperor on this day.
  • Ataru references Little Women by Louisa May Alcott by its Japanese title Ai no Wakakusa Monogatari (愛の若草物語). The story had run as a 26 episode anime the year before this chapter was originally published in Japan. The ivy and vegetation surrounding this particular panel is indicative of shojo comics tropes.

  • Table of Contents
    • A: No comments.


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