Urusei Yatsura (うる星やつら) is a Japanese anime television series produced by David Production based on the mangaseries of the same name by Rumiko Takahashi. It is the second television anime adaptation of the manga, following the 1981 adaptation by Kitty Films that ran until 1986. The series premiered on Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block on October 14, 2022, and is scheduled to run for 46 episodes across two split two-cour seasons, with most episodes having two segments per half-hour.
Production and release
On January 1, 2022, a new television series adaptation was announced and premiered on Fuji Television's Noitamina programming block on October 14, 2022.[1][2][3] The series is produced by David Production and chief directed by Takahiro Komei, Hideya Takahashi and Yasuhiro Kimura, with Yūko Kakihara as head writer, character designs and chief animation direction by Naoyuki Asano and Masaru Yokoyama composing the music. The series was announced for 46 full-length episodes of four cours split up into two seasons.[4][5][6] All opening and ending themes are performed by Maisondes. For the first cour (episodes 1–11), the opening theme is "Aiue" (アイウエ) featuring Minami and Sakuramoti, and the ending theme is "Tokyo Shandy Rendezvous" (トウキョウ・シャンディ・ランデヴ, Tōkyō Shandi Randevu) featuring Kaf and Tsumiki.[7] For the second cour (episodes 12–23), the opening theme is "Love Trap Muchu" (アイワナムチュー, Aiwanamchū) featuring Asmi and Surii,[8] and the ending theme is "Not Enough" (アイタリナイ, Aitarinai) featuring Yama and Nito. Sentai Filmworks has licensed the series in North America, Europe, Oceania, and selected Latin American and Asian territories.[9] The second season of the series premiered on January 12, 2024.[10][11] For the third cour (episodes 24–), the opening theme is "Lock-On" (ロックオン, Rokku-On) featuring Hashimero and Meguru, and the ending theme is "Thunder Blossom" (雷櫻, Kaminarizakura) featuring 9Lana and Sakuramoti.[12]
"Young Love on the Run" Transliteration: "Kakemeguru Seishun" (Japanese: かけめぐる青春)
Hideya Takahashi
Yūko Kakihara
Hideya Takahashi
October 14, 2022 (2022-10-14)
"Between a Rock and a Hard Place" Transliteration: "Zettai Zetsumei" (Japanese: 絶体絶命)
Takahiro Kamei
When aliens from the planet Oni come to invade Earth, Ataru Moroboshi is chosen to save his planet if he wins a game of tag against their princess, Lum. After succeeding, due to a misunderstanding, Lum thinks that Ataru has proposed to her, much to his girlfriend Shinobu Miyake's irritation.
Lum tries to thwart Ataru and Shinobu's attempts at communicating, resulting in chaos and destruction in the city.
2
2
"Present for You" Transliteration: "Anata ni Ageru" (Japanese: あなたにあげる)
Yasuhiro Kimura
Yūko Kakihara
Yasuhiro Kimura
October 21, 2022 (2022-10-21)
"The Yellow Ribbon of Happiness" Transliteration: "Shiawase no Kiiroi Ribon" (Japanese: 幸せの黄色いリボン)
Lum insists on spending time with Ataru in school, angering Shinobu and making his life miserable. While trying to go into hiding, he meets a shrine maiden named Sakura who insists on performing an exorcism on him.
Ataru receives from Cherry, a wandering monk, a yellow ribbon that strips Lum of her powers when it is tied around her horns. Although effective, it also causes its own set of strife and misery for the fastener. Later, a young man named Shuutaro Mendo parachutes into the city.
3
3
"Trouble Rains Down!!" Transliteration: "Toraburu wa Maiorita!!" (Japanese: トラブルは舞い降りた！！)
Takahiro Kamei
Yūko Kakihara
Takahiro Kamei
October 28, 2022 (2022-10-28)
"Amazed in a Maze" Transliteration: "Meiro de Meromero" (Japanese: 迷路でメロメロ)
New transfer student, Shutarō Mendō, is instantly popular with the class' girls but disliked by the boys who set Ataru as his opponent for class president. Since the class is equally divided between male and female students, the election ends in a draw, and Shutarō decides to settle the result with a duel.
During a class outing, Lum, Ataru, Shinobu, and Shutarō explore a cavern hoping to spend time alone with their romantic interest, unaware that a weird love square has developed between them. The two boys plot together to split the group, but things don't go as planned, and Shutarō reveals a secret about himself. Something concealed in the cavern is revealed when Lum uses her powers to light the way after they get lost.
4
4
"Sealed with a Kiss!!" Transliteration: "Kuchizuke Totomoni Chigiran!!" (Japanese: 口づけと共に契らん！！)
Kyōhei Suzuki
Yūko Kakihara
Takahiro Kamei
November 4, 2022 (2022-11-04)
While Lum, Shinobu, Ataru, and Shutarō play tennis, a group of crows carry a coffin-like object out of the spaceship seen launching in the previous episode. The "coffin" slides downhill and crashes into the tennis court, where the crows reveal that the woman sleeping inside is their princess, Kurama. After learning that they are looking for a one-time-mating partner for their princess, Ataru manages to awaken her with a kiss, thus sealing the deal. However, Kurama believes she was kissed by Shutarō, and then Ataru's stubbornness and the crows' meddling cause her to question her people's traditions.
5
5
"The Glove of Love and Conflict" Transliteration: "Ai to Tōkon no Gurōbu" (Japanese: 愛と闘魂のグローブ)
Shugo Tsuneoka
Yūko Kakihara
Tomoko Iwasaki
November 11, 2022 (2022-11-11)
"How I've Waited for You…" Transliteration: "Kimi Matedomo…" (Japanese: 君待てども…)
The school hires Sakura as the new nurse, causing a commotion among male students. The PE teachers ask her to exorcise a pair of boxing gloves, but Cherry and Kotetsu-Neko make one of the gloves go flying and hit Lum. Later, Ataru ends up wearing both gloves which results in much grief for him, but also Lum's delight.
Shutarō's male classmates are jealous of all the love letters he gets from the female students. Some of them decide to take him down a notch by making Ataru gloat with a fake love letter. However, Ataru bets the class president's position on whether the letter is real or not. Terrified at the idea of having Shutarō as class president, the conspirators try to fix things, but it doesn't go as planned. Lum finds out the truth, and feeling neglected by Ataru, decides to let him learn a lesson but can't help feeling sorry for him. Later, Lum receives a message from her father, reminding her that they have a big showdown with a rival clan.
6
6
"Good Day for a Departure" Transliteration: "Ihi Tabidachi" (Japanese: いい日旅立ち)
"Ataru Retires" Transliteration: "Ataru no Intai" (Japanese: あたるの引退)
Lum brings Ataru to her home planet through a portal to battle with the Fukujin alien clan. There he flirts with Lum's childhood friend Benten of the Fukujin and faces punishment for making the Oni lose. Believing that Ataru is dead, his parents and Cherry perform a ritual to guide his soul to the afterlife.
Bedridden with a cold, Ataru is visited by his classmates Shinobu, Shutarō, Satoshi (Megane/Eyeglasses), Kōsuke (Perm), and Akira (Chibi). After finding an interdimensional portal Lum left open in Ataru's room closet, they are brought to Neptune by another of Lum's childhood friends named Oyuki.
On the day before the school's Summer Break starts, Ataru announces to the class that he is retiring, which results in everybody else squabbling to become the show's new main character, when in reality he just wants to retire from his position as Class President.
7
7
"Home Is Where You Find It" Transliteration: "Sumeba to" (Japanese: 住めば都)
While hanging out with Lum, Shinobu, Shutarō, Cherry, and Sakura at one of the Mendō family's hotels, Ataru finds a water-dwelling yōkai secretly living at the bottom of the pool. After Shutarō kicks it out, the little yōkai finds a new home.
While on his way out to the beach with Lum to meet with Shinobu and Shutarō, Ataru is asked by his mother to dispose of the water-yōkai living in their bathtub. At the beach, Sakura is on a date with her fiancé, unaware they are being spied on. Meanwhile, a boy ordered by his mother to get rid of his pet Pochi, carries it around in a box hoping to find someone to adopt it. After abandoning it, it turns out the pet is actually just Cherry. Sometime later, Ataru receives a postcard from the water-yōkai, who has been adopted by the boy.
8
8
"Transfer Student Close Call…" Transliteration: "Tennyūsei, Kikīppatsu…" (Japanese: 転入生、危機一髪…)
Hisashi Sugawara
Hiroko Kanasugi
Hisashi Sugawara
December 2, 2022 (2022-12-02)
"Farewell Party Close Call…" Transliteration: "Owakare Pātī Kikīppatsu…" (Japanese: お別れパーティー危機一髪…)
Lum enrolls as a student in Ataru's class, nearly causing him to choke to death. During the school's sports festival, Ataru hits on Ran, a childhood friend of Lum, who transferred to the class next door to take revenge over a boy they both liked in the past.
A small robot in Ran's likeness tells Lum that Ran has decided to give up on exacting vengeance and to return to her planet. She invites both Lum and Ataru, who is unaware that Ran is an alien, to a farewell party. However, it turns out to be a deception to switch Ataru with a simulacre. The next day at school, Lum meets Ran who again expresses her desire for vengeance. Meanwhile on an alien world, a fearsome creature roars while holding a doll in Lum's likeness.
9
9
"To Kill With Love" Transliteration: "Ai de Koroshitai" (Japanese: 愛で殺したい)
Lum's ex-fiancé, Rei, comes to Earth to propose to her. Although he transforms into a huge beast when upset, he is incredibly handsome in his normal state. However, Lum categorically turns him down because she can't stand his gluttony. After a failed attempt to win Lum over and burning with jealousy, Rei chases Ataru and Lum around the local park, causing much mayhem among couples and food-vendors.
Rei shows up at school looking for Lum and food. The girls are charmed by his handsome form, which proves devastating for poor Shutarō. Ran, who is in love with Rei, finds herself fighting for his attention with Lum and even Cherry. When Lum and Ataru return home, Rei has also charmed Mrs. Moroboshi. Later on, Ataru's parents and Lum's mother prepare for the upcoming parent's day at school.
10
10
"Parents' Day Horrors" Transliteration: "Senritsu no Sankanbi" (Japanese: 戦慄の参観日)
Shugo Tsuneoka
Yūko Kakihara
Minoru Ohara
December 16, 2022 (2022-12-16)
"Since Your Parting" Transliteration: "Kimi Sarishi Nochi" (Japanese: 君去りし後)
Jiro Fujimoto
As Ataru and Shinobu's mothers arrive to school for parents day, Shutarō's mother's ox-cart gets crushed by Lum's mother's spaceship. Lum is asked to translate the Mendo matriarch's grievances, since her mother doesn't speak Japanese, but her poor translation skill causes many misunderstandings.
Ataru snaps at Lum who disappears, leaving behind a little handmade doll in her image. In the following days, Lum's absence causes quite a stir and has devastating effects on Ataru. Meanwhile, Lum is with her parents renewing her passport, when her father accidentally turns on the microphone she hid in the doll, learning of Ataru's true feelings.
"A Strange New Year at the Mendo Estate" Transliteration: "Mendō-tei Shinnen Kai" (Japanese: 面倒邸新年怪)
Koichi Chigira
Shutarō's mischievous younger sister, Ryoko, visits him at school and catches Ataru's interest, causing much mayhem.
Ryoko invites Ataru, Lum, and their other friends to the Mendō's family New Year's party, where she prepared a rather twisted board game which ends in a bang.
12
12
"Ten is Here" Transliteration: "Ten-chan ga Kita" (Japanese: テンちゃんがきた)
Tatsuki Yamamoto
Hiroko Kanasugi
Tomoko Iwasaki
January 6, 2023 (2023-01-06)
"A Date for Just the Two of Us" Transliteration: "Futari Dake no Dēto" (Japanese: ふたりだけのデート)
Irritated that his parents are overjoyed at having Lum living with them, Ataru storms out of the house and finds her little cousin Ten in the mailbox. Later, they go to Sakura's temple for the New Year, where they meet with Cherry, Shinobu, and Ran, who is working there part-time and does some quick thinking to keep secret that she is an alien. Ataru snaps after Ten foils his attempts at flirting with the girls, and Sakura gets a new admirer.
Ataru helps Ten write a love letter to Sakura and plan a date with her. However, things don't go as planned.
13
13
"The Great Off-Campus Snack Battle" Transliteration: "Kaikui dai Sensō" (Japanese: 買い食い大戦争)
Fumihiro Ueno
Yūko Kakihara
Shinji Itadaki
January 13, 2023 (2023-01-13)
"A Gift from Ten!!" Transliteration: "Ten Kara no Okurimono!!" (Japanese: テンからの贈り物！！)
The school decides to crakdown on snacking during lunch time, and post teachers at the students' favorite spots to catch them. Ataru leads a resistance which escalates in an all-out war in the shopping district.
When the topic of Sakura's fiancé comes up, Ten gives the girls a ball-shaped contraption, which when looked into claims to predict who the viewer is destined to marry. The results turn out to be somewhat unsatisfying... Later, Ten buys a pack of chewing-gum sticks from the same site as the ball.
14
14
"That Mizunokoji Boy" Transliteration: "Mizunokōji-ka no Otoko" (Japanese: 水乃小路家の男)
Junya Enoki & Takahiro Kamei
Hayashi Mori
Satoshi Ōsedo
January 20, 2023 (2023-01-20)
"Love Letter Trouble" Transliteration: "Toraburu・Retā" (Japanese: トLOVE ル・レター)
Yuki Morita
During a baseball game at the Tomobiki High School's sports tournament, Tobimaro Mizunokoji shows up to challenge Shutarō because of a childhood incident. Tobimaro's skills and meddling from Shutarō's sister, Ryoko, make for a memorable game...
One morning, Ryoko walks the Mendō's pet octopuses instead of Shutarō, and receives a challenge letter meant for her brother from Tobimaro. The letter's wording makes her think it's a love letter, but Shutarō is adamantly opposed to a relationship between her and his rival, so she asks for Ataru's help and it ends up in a most unique showdown.
15
15
"Anko Pathos, the Taste of Love?!" Transliteration: "Anko Kanashi ya, Koi no Aji!?" (Japanese: あんこ悲しや、恋の味！？)
Eiichi Kuboyama
Yūko Kakihara
Shinji Takagi
January 27, 2023 (2023-01-27)
"Memories and a Close Call…" Transliteration: "Omoide Kikīppatsu..." (Japanese: 思い出危機一髪・・・)
After Rei eats a crumb of taiyaki off Ran's cheek, she mistakes it for a kiss and assumes he is over Lum.
At a café with Lum, Ran revisits their childhood and how she constantly got in trouble because of Lum's doing. Shaken by how she wronged her friend, Lum forgets to pay the bill on her way out.
Shinobu and Lum see Sakura roasting a newt to make medicine. The girls interest awakes when Sakura mentions it can be used to make a love potion. The concoction ends up looking as candy, and Lum gets Ataru to eat one with mixed results.
On one of the last days of Summer, Lum, Shinobu, Ataru, and Shutarō meet the Fujinami family, a father and a teenager, running the only open seaside café on the beach. The teen, named Ryunosuke, doesn't want to take over the family business which causes conflict with the father. Ataru and Shutarō decide to leave until they find out Ryunosuke is a girl, but their attempts at flirting are unsuccessful. The group then try to get parent and child to solve their issues peacefully, only to cause more mayhem.
After destroying their seaside café, Ryunosuke and her father get a live-in job at the Tomobiki High School's supply store. Ryunosuke enrolls as a student but her popularity with the girls irritates Ataru and his classmates. In the hopes of turning things around, they buy her a school's sailor uniform after 'convincing' her father. To learn how to be more feminine first, Ryunosuke writes a friendship letter to Ran, who thinks it's a love letter and that she is dealing with a boy. They go on a date that gets disrupted by Ataru.
17
17
"A Chest Full of Longing!!" Transliteration: "Akogare wo Mune Ni!!" (Japanese: あこがれを胸に!!)
Shugo Tsuneoka
Hiroko Kanasugi
Minoru Ohara
February 10, 2023 (2023-02-10)
"Wish Upon a Star" Transliteration: "Hoshi ni Negai wo" (Japanese: 星に願いを)
Ryunosuke decides to buy her first bra. She meets Shinobu who is being stalked by delinquents from Butsumetsu High. After learning that the delinquents' bossman is hopelessly in love with her, Shinobu goes on a date with Ryunosuke in the hopes of making the unwanted admirer give up on her, with Ryunosuke wanting to use the money given to her for the job to buy a bra. Ataru, as usual, can't resist interfering.
During dinner at the Moroboshi's, a shooting star crashes in the house and introduces itself as the Wishing Star, offering three wishes. After the first two wishes are wasted, deciding on the remaining wish brings much strife to the family.
Lum creates a lipstick that makes people wearing it attracted to each other like magnets. The next day at school, Ataru tries it on Ryunosuke but the whole class ends up wearing it.
For the following week's recreational activity, the class votes for 'Yaminabe', involving eating a hot pot casserole in the dark where everyone brings something to throw in. In the following days, Lum makes Ataru eat a spicy Oni dish, and in retaliation, he tries to find out what foods she hates before the Yaminabe.
19
19
"Magic Realm! Jungle of Terror" Transliteration: "Makyō! Senritsu no Janguru" (Japanese: 魔境！戦慄の密林)
Shutarō invites his classmates to meet the Mendō family's prized octopuses. With Ataru in the lead, they insult the most precious octopus on the estate, Matsuchiyo, who runs away with his feelings sorely hurt. They all go to find Matsuchiyo after Shutarō promises a reward for the little octopus' safe return.
Ten goes to the school bored and both he and Lum get drunk after eating pickled plums from the students' lunches. Lum proves to be rather unpleasant when intoxicated and flies around the school looking for Ataru. Meanwhile on a spaceship, three alien girls are plotting against Lum, Benten, and Oyuki.
20
20
"Recovering That Which Was Lost" Transliteration: "Ushinawareta Mono o Motomete" (Japanese: 失われたモノを求めて)
Yasuhiro Kimura
Hiroko Kanasugi
Tomoko Iwasaki
March 3, 2023 (2023-03-03)
Benten's chain gets stolen after she gets knocked down while checking on a girl who looked dead. Ten days later, together with Lum and Oyuki, Benten is challenged to a duel by three younger girls from their old middle school who hope to prove they are rowdier. After much pandemonium to get her chain back, Benten reveals why it is so important to her.
"Ooh, Scary! Voodoo Doll" Transliteration: "Ana Osoroshi ya, Wara Ningyō" (Japanese: あな恐ろしや、ワラ人形)
After learning of a mining operation on a planet with a secret from when they were in elementary school, Oyuki meets with Lum, Benten, and Ran about their revenge attempts on their old robotic teacher, CAO-2.
Ryouko makes a voodoo doll of Shutarō and entrusts it to Ataru, which he attempts to reclaim without Ataru learning the truth.
22
22
"Big Bottle, Little Bottle" Transliteration: "Dai Bin Shō Bin" (Japanese: 大ビン小ビン)
Yuichi Nakazawa
Yuta Suzuki
Koichi Chigira
March 17, 2023 (2023-03-17)
"When Love Strikes" Transliteration: "Ai ga Fureau Toki" (Japanese: 愛がふれあうとき)
Hideya Takahashi
Ten accidentally shrinks Lum with a jar that makes things smaller. While he rushes to get another jar to turn her back to normal, she tells Ataru that the only way for her to regain her regular size is for him to shower her with love and affection.
On her way to school, Shinobu saves a little puppy being bullied by big dogs. The puppy turns out to be a shape-shifting fox who falls in love with her, following her to school. Later, Tomobiki High School's principal decides to hold a contest to crown the Queen of the School, based on beauty, intelligence, personality, skills and strength. The boys in the contest's executive committee have no clear plan to select a winner, but self-proclaimed committee-head Ataru states he will decide.
Lum, Shinobu, Sakura, Ran, and Ryunosuke compete in the finals of the Tomo-1 Queen Contest in front of the whole school with Ataru as the presenter, motivated by the "150 thousand yen" prize. The girls take part in several activities, which are primarily just advertisements for stores in the Shopping District. The final challenge is a battle in the boxing ring, so Ran kisses Shinobu, Sakura, and Ryunosuke to significantly weaken them. However, it turns out the girls aren't fighting each other but rather a group of muscular animals. With the three unable to deal with them, Ran is forced to kiss them again to return their strength, allowing everyone to successfully win the battle. The judges award them a tie, greatly annoying the contestants; even further when they realize the "150 thousand yen" they are given to split is just taiyaki. Ataru, meanwhile, runs away with the kickback money from the sponsors.
Ataru buys two earmuffs that he and Ten put them on, causing them to switch bodies with each other.
Ataru is late to school and Lum opens a portal so they get there fast, but they are actually send 10 years into the future. However, they discover something that suggests they won't end up together.
31
8
"Open the Door" Transliteration: "Tobirawoakete" (Japanese: 扉を開けて)
Shugo Tsuneoka
Hayashi Mori
Shugo Tsuneoka
March 1, 2024 (2024-03-01)
32a
9a
Kyōhei Suzuki
Taizō Yoshida
March 8, 2024 (2024-03-08)
Inaba loses the key fortune where Shinobu, Lum and Ataru uses it that takes them to the space of doors, they go in one of them which they end up back in the future where Ataru is with Shinobu and Lum turns out for some reason with Rei. Inaba informs them this is one of the futures and there are many doors of different futures, one of them where Ran does get with Rei but Lum for some weirdly reason ends up Shutarō. After looking at a apocalyptic mad max-like future that can't be explained, Inaba tells them they can make doorknobs to create new futures and Ataru, Lum and Shinobu create their ideal future but Lum's doorknob gets melted. Ataru finally sees his harem future, but Future Lum leaves Future Ataru after being fed up with him and treating her badly, Ataru realize that getting his harem costed Lum. Ataru and Lum finally discover a future where they do get together.
32b
9b
"The Home Visit Blues: Prohibitive Miyake Edition" Transliteration: "Namida no Katei Hōmon: Kinji Rareta Miyake-ka Hen" (Japanese: 涙の家庭訪問 禁じられた三宅家編)
"Last Date" Transliteration: "Saigo no Dēto" (Japanese: 最後のデート)
Home media release
In Japan, the series was released in two DVD and Blu-ray box sets in 2023. Volume 1, which contained the first cour, was released on March 15, 2023, while volume 2, which contained the second cour, was released on June 28, 2023.[19]
In North America, Sentai Filmworks is releasing the first season on Blu-ray as "Seasons 1 & 2" (representing the first two cours instead of the de facto first season) on March 19, 2024.[20]
Notes
^ abAdvance screenings are held every Saturday and Sunday at the Noitamina Shop.[16]
