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© Rumiko Takahashi・Shogakukan／Urusei Yatsura Anime Production Committee
This might be one of my favorite episodes of the Urusei Yatsura reboot. Not only did I laugh a lot and find the setting incredibly creative, but the episode balanced the Lum and Ataru dynamic without feeling too artificial. They deserve each other because neither of them is a particularly great person. You could argue that no one in the show is a good person as they’re all very self-centered and willing to step on each other (literally) at a moment’s notice to get what they want. Ataru is the most unapologetic of the main cast, but he’s the most self-aware. Throughout the episode, he acknowledged acting like a dirtbag for making Lum wait so long for their date and generally taking her for granted. The way he reacted at the beginning of this episode was interesting because he seemed caught off guard over a girl taking up his invitation to get food. Maybe it’s because he’s so used to striking out, or maybe because he’s more in it for the chase than for the girls themselves. Little moments like that are very interesting.
Towards the second half of the episode, Lum realizes that what she is doing is just as bad as what she lambasted Ataru for. She used this poor Tarzan rip-off extensively and didn’t consider how all this attention would make him feel. The realization was a bit short-lived to keep up with the fast, comedic timing of the episode. But still, I think this episode showcases that you could give character insight without completely changing the status quo.
Speaking of our Tarzan knockoff, Shingo’s introduction in this episode was great. The idea of a young man living in an electrified forest where electrical plugs can power all the trees and vegetation is such a cool idea. I like how it explains why Shingo wasn’t affected by Lum’s electricity since he probably consumed the electric vegetation for his whole life and developed immunity over time. Then the whole bit with the television conveniently reacting to whatever Shingo said was just the right amount of dumb to be funny. The long setups for certain jokes were also excellent. The reveal that it was just Shutaro’s backyard, even though they should’ve been able to piece that together just by arriving at the location in the first place, made my sides hurt with laughter. I hope we get more episodes like this in the future.
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