うる星やつら episode 03 (2002)
Urusei Yatsura 03 (2022) review

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

MENDOU Shuutarou’s (Shuutaro as I used in the OG) grandfather sees him off to school from within a giant, custom helicopter. Shuutarou parachutes down while within Ataru’s classroom, Shinobu attacks Lum and Ataru with desks. One desk sails out of the classroom, clobbering Shuutarou. He’s impressed when he learns Shinobu threw it and she falls for him. However, when he sees Lum, Shuutarou is smitten.

The teacher announces class elections, so Shuutarou gets nominated. He wins over the girls, but the guys nominate Ataru. The vote is a tie, crushing Shuutarou. As such, Shuutarou challenges Ataru to a duel, using cannons to shoot an apple off the other’s head. Shuutarou throws a glove to make the challenge official, but Ataru dodges and flees to the school roof. Meanwhile, Lum lands there, where Shuutarou’s glove smacks her. She fries Shuutarou as a result.

The next day, Shuutarou attempts to make a move on Lum, but fails. Ataru feels Shinobu out to see if she really likes Shuutarou. Sometime later, the class go on a field trip and Lum tags along, knowing what Ataru will be up to. Shuutarou asks Lum to come with him to a nearby cave. Ataru invites Shinobu. Within the cave, Ataru and Shuutarou scheme on how to get the girl they want. They fail. Their next attempt results in the guys getting each other.

Ataru discovers Shuutarou has a fear of the dark and enclosed spaces. However, in the presence of women, he overcomes this. Shuutarou’s flashlight goes out for good, causing real panic. Lum uses her electricity to light up the cave. In the process, she ignites a person-sized rocket, which goes into space after blasting a hole in the roof of the cave.

Thoughts/Review:

You know, I’m enjoying this remake of Urusei Yatsura way more than I expected. And the 2022 Urusei Yatsura 03 was no exception. That said, I do think I understand some of the complaints about pacing.

Enter Shuutarou!

In anime, we often see ojousama characters. These are the daughters of rich, important people. The male equivalent is a waka, and that is what Shuutarou is, to the extreme! I don’t know when Shuutarou shows up in the manga, but in the OG anime, it is the first half of episode 14. Essentially, the first half of 2022’s Urusei Yatsura 03 tells the same story as the OG anime. However, it is clear that the OG anime had Shuutarou arrive in an insane-sized bomber, mimicking some anime action titles of the day.

A big change from the OG story is the duel with cannons. The OG anime saw Shuutarou defeat Ataru in the duel, only to have Lum save her husband and fry Shuutarou. I prefer the 2022 version, where Shuutarou tries to officially challenge Ataru, but hit him with the glove. Indeed, Shuutarou ends up hitting Lum, and it was much funnier seeing her go off and hard-fry Shuutarou. 😂

The second half of Urusei Yatsura 03 was adapted in the second half of the OG episode 23. Here too, both tell the same stories, but in different ways. Again, I prefer the 2022 version. For a start, Lum comes off craftier in the modern version. She’s scheming almost as hard as Shuutarou, Ataru, or Shinobu when it comes to the cave pairing adventure. Next, Shuutarou and Ataru’s partnership is much funnier in the 2022 version.

The biggest change is that the spacecraft in the cave is actually Kurama’s in the 2022 version, and it flies off. In the OG anime, the spacecraft belonged to some alien, who had stocked it with canned goods that caused human stomachs to swell.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

I desperately need to go to bed, so let me wrap up my review of Urusei Yatsura 03 (2022) with some final thoughts.

• I think I understand the pacing issue some folks have had issues with. As you see from the OG anime episodes, the 2022 version is jumping ahead. But not only that, it was a jolt seeing the class suddenly on a class field trip without any buildup or the like. That needed to be handled better somehow.
• I didn’t mind the loss of the canned goods gag from the OG anime. The OG anime often went for the traditional, cartoon gags while the 2022 anime is going for a somewhat more grounded approach.
• Lum has never looked cuter than she did on the field trip. 😍
• Speaking of Lum, her “stormtroopers” really are played down in the 2022 version. Megane and crew are there, but they don’t have the gravitas of the OG anime. And I’m okay with that.

In the end, Urusei Yatsura 03 (2022) made me laugh and entertained me quite a bit. I’m starting to understand the fast-paced concerns, but at the moment, I’m not that bothered by them.