Urusei Yatsura

Episode 5

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wasn't expecting the final part of this episode to be so touching and endearing. Urusei Yatsura is a comedy through and through with exaggerated reactions, wacky situations, and zero regard for everyone's safety and personal boundaries, but it's nice to see the show actually use some of those comedic qualities to humble a character or build genuine connections between its cast. Plus, the second half of this episode gave me exactly what I was asking for last week with its focus on Lum. It even goes the extra mile to make the growing romantic interest between Lum and Ataru more believable. It's not super deep or complicated, but it is nice.

Before we get there, however, the first half of this episode highlights a rather chivalrous and nice quality to Ataru's character. After being forced into a situation where he could potentially hurt those around him, he was willing to take those hits on his own because he never wants to hurt a girl. It's a little dated, but I can at least see why Lum would find such qualities attractive, and it's consistent with how she started falling for him in the first place way back in the first episode.

The second half is more from Lum's perspective but with the focus being on Ataru more or less being taken advantage of. While he does deserve some consequences for letting his pride get the better of him, I can understand what the show is trying to do in highlighting that being used in such a way might've been a step too far. Lum going out of her way to make sure that he was OK despite the fact that Ataru keeps trying to push her away was nice, and that moment at the end where he starts seeing her in a more attractive light and even initiates physical contact with her for the first time in the entire show is noteworthy. I know the show isn't going to immediately change focus, but I'm satisfied with what we have so far.

Rating:

Urusei Yatsura is currently streaming on HIDIVE.