うる星やつら OVA episode 04 (OAV anime)
Urusei Yatsura OVA Ep. 04 review (Raging Sherbert)

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Ataru is sweltering in the summer’s heat, chafing at being watched by Ten-chan while Lum is away. So, he knocks Ten-chan out of the house with a frying pan to go on a girl hunt. Lum is with Benten, Ran, and Oyuki on Neptune to see Oyuki’s sherbert ranch.  The sherbert creatures look like large, flying sherbert cones and by plucking the cone nose, one has a sherbert cone as the sherbert creature simply grows a new cone. Ran volunteers to open a test market on Earth, which Oyuki agrees to. Ran is happy because she’s going to get free money out of this.  Oyuki gives strong caution about the sherbert’s care, indicating she is somewhat concerned about Ran’s ability to handle the “bird,” but she gives one of the sherberts to Ran in a refrigerated cage.

Ran sets up a sherbert stand on earth, but soon overworks the sherbert bird so that it gets angry and attacks Lum. Lum tries to fry it, so it escapes. In the process, the sherbert attacks and Benten’s new bike gets damaged, so Benten angrily goes after the critter.  Ran takes off with the loot earned from the sherbert sales, but when she gets home, Oyuki pays a surprise visit to see the sherbert bird. Ran says that Lum has it, which Oyuki is fine with. Oyuki promises to return when she’s finished doing a job she’s on, but she reminds Ran of Ran’s promise to care for the bird. Ran panics and starts looking for the sherbert bird, but when she hears from Lum that Benten is after the bird, Ran becomes even more afraid.

Meanwhile, Ten-chan is hunting for Ataru, who’s making sure to elude both Ten-chan and Lum. The sherbert bird attacks Ten-chan, so he sends a flame attack back. The bird kicks Ten-chan’s keester before moving on, where it is found by Benten, who gives chase again. On the ground below, Shinobu and Inaba are on a date, where they stop by an ice cream stand. Inaba orders a couple of ice cream cones, but ends up with two sherberts, courtesy of the sherbert bird, who’s battling Benten.  Elsewhere, Ataru interferes with the date between Sakura and Tsubame, leading him to be launched into flight.  As this happens, Lum and Ran find the defeated Ten-chan, then see where Benten is shooting her weapon in the distance, so they head in that direction.

After taking out Shuutaro at his pool, the sherbert bird gets serious with Benten, making its sherbert cones explosive. Benten’s bike takes serious damage, but even as Lum and Ran catch her and try to get her to stop, Benten won’t be persuaded, even knowing Oyuki’s involvement. Oyuki’s sudden arrival causes Benten to take pause, but she demands something be done about her bike. Oyuki agrees to pay for the bike, then summons the sherbert bird, who’s grateful to see Oyuki. Oyuki apologizes to the bird, then takes it out on Benten, Ran, and even Ataru, who’d “flown” in from Sakura’s punch. Taking them to Lum’s UFO, Benten and Ran are angry with Oyuki as they warm up in the large bath, while Lum decides to keep Ataru on ice as she considers how the sherbert and Oyuki are so much alike.

Thoughts/Review:

This episode was certainly a tad different in that the focus was completely on Lum and her childhood friends Benten, Ran, and Oyuki.  Everyone else just scored a cameo, including Ataru, who basically had an extended cameo by showing up a few times for a few moments, such as when he hit on Sakura-sensei in front of Tsubame.

Speaking of cameos, Shinobu and Inaba showing up for their date was a nice touch in light of how the 3rd OVA episode was.

As to the story itself, it was kind of nice having the story center around Lum and her old friends, with only cursory nods to Ataru’s lechery (’cause I’m sure fans expected such things) and the like. I was entertained by this episode to be sure, but as I think back on it, the episode wasn’t really funny or anything that special.  I was just what it was — 50% setup and 50% sherbert battles, with the cameos of other cast members as icing on the cake. Enjoyable but nothing I’d seek out to watch again.

Production values continued to be good for this OVA, which is to be expected.

Beyond that, I can’t really think of anything else I’d like to add. Since I’m sorely pressed for time, I’ll bring this to a close. Hopefully, the next OVA will be good too.