うる星やつら episode 183 (TV anime)
Urusei Yatsura Ep. 183 review

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Because Asuka won’t give up on her “oniisama,” their mother goes to school to enlists Lum’s help. After their mother establishes a contest where if Asuka loses a fight with Ton, she must give up on him, Lum attempts to help Ton by giving him a power suit. It is to heavy to move, even to avoid an inbound Ataru, who’s been punched by Asuka for getting too close. However, Lum activates the remote on the unit and it works fine, until a bolt comes loose, destroying it. Asuka decides to train harder as Lum is convinced to carry on by a threat against Ataru by Asuka’s mother. Lum plants a special sunflower seed on Ton’s head to make him stronger, which grows rapidly in the sunlight. However, the seed she plants on Asuka to weaken her has no sunlight to grow as a storm approaches.

Asuka sends Ton flying with a simple push, but her mom refuses to accept this as a win. When Ataru goes for Asuka, she flees with him holding on by the hair, chased by Lum.  Ton’s mother is displeased when she finds him in a tree as Asuka comes barreling through, with Ataru and Lum bringing up the rear. She returns when she realizes Ton is there, but the sun comes out and he has strength. However, it is short lived as a cloud moves in and he’s again sent flying. Asuka flees after him, and funding him, the seed on her sprouts, causing vines to grow to tangle them together. Even after breaking free, Ataru gets tangled, then starts growing the vines himself. Lum has had enough and electrocutes him and Asuka. The vines destroyed, Asuka clings to Ton while a bolt of lighting comes from the returning storm. Asuka’s and Ton’s mother realizes she’s doomed, while Shuutaro decides Ataru needs more punishment.

Thoughts/Review:

As is normally the case, Urusei Yatsura episodes are going to end with the status quo unchanged, making everything that happened in the episode mostly pointless except for some laughs. Heck, even Shuutaro and Ataru expressed knowing how things would eventually turn out. *lol*

Fortunately, there are some laughs here.  While most of the jokes were old, Ataru growing vines out of his chest to snare Asuka was funny to me.

Lum frying both Asuka and Ataru was funny to me. (Collateral damage in Urusei Yatsura usually amuses me.)

That said, the whole thing with Asuka having a genetic sexual attraction to Ton is still creepy.  Their mother is still an annoying whack job as far as I’m concerned. She may want this whole sexual attraction thing to be ended, but she’s to blame for it all by raising Asuka in isolation from all males, including Ton.  Ugh.

Still, the episode does have humor. So despite the creepy aspects, and the fact that the production team needed to fill time by having a lengthy flashback of Ton’s power suit test, it is a fun episode.