うる星やつら episode 20 (2002)
Urusei Yatsura 20 (2022) review

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Benten goes to help a teen girl, only to be gassed and have her chain stolen. She goes to Earth to have a shower at Ataru’s place. Lum arrives and gets the news, so the two head to see Oyuki. She has a video tape message from a trio of girls named Ginger, Sugar, and Pepper. They have been trying to establish a bad girl reputation, but they cannot surpass the reputation of Benten, Lum, and Oyuki. As such, they have Benten’s chain and challenge them.

The girls prep their Salt-1 robot while Lum, Benten, and Oyuki had to the spot of the challenge. That turns out to be a restaurant in Ataru’s home town. The girls then play a game of Keep Away from Benten and crew. Lum eventually catches Pepper with it, but in frying her, Lum also destroys the chain. As such, she has to hide this fact from Benten. Lum and Oyuki wonder what is so special about Benten’s chain.

Meanwhile, Salt-1 arrives and vomits out a ton of chains as a solution to keep Benten from obtaining it. Lum fries the girls and the chains while a reluctant Oyuki freezes the girls. Benten goes through the pile and finds her chain. She then takes Oyuki and Lum to her home, where she reveals that the chain acts as the key to the front door. So she needed it to gain access to her home. However, once inside, they find Ginger, Sugar, and Pepper waiting for them as the back door had been unlocked.

Thoughts/Review:

I remember enjoying OG episode 97 when Sugar, Ginger, and Pepper showed up. And while the 2022 version in Urusei Yatsura 20 isn’t as funny to me, it was still enjoyable.

The Next Generation

The essential story beats of the remake Urusei Yatsura 20 are basically the same as the OG episode. I’ve not read the manga, but I’m going to guess they are pretty much the same there as well. However, one of the big differences between the OG and 2022 versions are the character designs of Ginger, Sugar, and Pepper.  Ginger went from a blonde haired, blue-eyed “cat girl” type, to a teal haired (with pink highlights) girl wearing a fur-like outfit. Sugar had her Chinese-styled blue hair changed to pink. And Pepper went from black hair to purple hair. Maybe that’s how it was always supposed to be. But otherwise, the girls were the same.

That aside, I loved the VERY 80s usage of a VCR to play the challenge message. I’ve always felt the show needs more 80s elements brought to the forefront to make it feel more in period. And of course Pepper has her very 80s headband on, which is cool.

Ataru’s role in the episodes is superior in the OG version. The 2022 version simply has Lum imagining what Benten will do to Ataru if she learns Lum destroyed a chain. The OG version had Ataru jump into the fray, trying to land one of the three girls. I remember laughing so hard when Ataru grabbed Pepper, only for her to use her snake ability and shed her skin. So naturally, Ataru puts it on and gets fried by Lum, who mistakes him for Pepper.

Speaking of frying, Lum did a lot of that in this episode. But not only that, she actually fried Benten in annoyance at one point, catching Oyuki as well. That made me laugh and I don’t remember it in the OG episode. Good stuff.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Work has me insanely behind, so let me wrap up my review of Urusei Yatsura 20. While I didn’t find it as funny as the OG episode, I did enjoy the antics for what they were. Plus, we learn a bit about the friendship of Benten, Lum, and Oyuki, which is nice. And finally, lovely 80s vibes all over!