Urusei Yatsura 95
うる星やつら episode 95 (TV anime)

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Ataru is upset that his share of the otoshidama (the present of money given at New Year’s) is so low and he attributes that to Lum and Ten-chan living at his house. So, Ataru wants them to show some appreication. Ten-chan refuses, but Lum wants to treat Ataru to a nice meal. Naturally, Ataru is down for that, but gets angry when Ten-chan wants to tag along on his date. Fortunately, Cherry arrives with a baby sitting proposal. So to put Ten-chan to sleep, he weaves an elaborate tale, formed from many different Japanese fables (which of course star Ataru, Lum, and Ten-chan) but that puts everyone to sleep.

Thoughts/Review:

This episode is best watched by those who know all of the Japanese fables parodied here. Here’s what I was able to detect — Shita-kiri Suzume (舌切り雀 — “Tongue-Cut Sparrow”), Momotarou (桃太郎 — “Peach Boy”), Kintarou (金太郎 — “Golden Boy”), Issun-boushi (一寸法師 — “One-Inch Boy”), Taketori Monogatari (竹取物語 — “Tale of the Bamboo Cutter”), The Fountain of Youth (couldn’t find the Japanese names so if someone has that, let me know), and even a Star Wars reference in the form of a crashed X-Wing fighter. *lol*

Were I more than just casually aware of these fables, I dare say that I would have found this episode to be rather humorous, especially since some of the roles are reversed for this story (from their original tale). As it is, the episode is fine, though it did make me do a bit of research. ^_^