うる星やつら episode 10 (2002)
Urusei Yatsura 10 (2022) review

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Ataru’s mother arrives for Parent’s Day at school. As she walks the grounds with Shinobu’s mother, Shuutarou’s mother arrives on an ox-drawn carriage (gissha). However, Lum’s mother lands her space ship on the carriage, destroying it. She sees Ataru’s mother and comes over to her. However, Lum’s mother doesn’t speak Japanese, so Ataru’s mother thinks this may be another of her son’s girlfriends. She’s relieved when she learns the woman is Lum’s mother.

Meanwhile, Shuutarou’s mother attempts to challenge Lum’s mother to a fight. However, due to mistranslations, Lum’s mother thinks Shuutarou’s mom is giving her Shuutarou for marriage. Lum’s mom politely declines. With that, everyone leaves, causing Ataru’s mom to be relieved that Ataru didn’t shame her this year.

Sometime later, Lum gets Ataru up to go to school. Ataru’s parents are thankful for Lum’s hard work. At school, Ataru continues to flirt with girls while Lum makes a small doll. That night, Ataru gets angry with Lum over cramping his lifestyle. She tells him goodbye after leaving the doll she made of herself on his desk.

The next day, Ataru thinks Lum is playing tricks on him by being absent. However, as the day ends, he realizes Lum has left. The following day, when his class realize Lum is gone, a massive search operation begins. Ataru cries at the thought of Lum’s disappearance. Unbeknownst to him, the doll he has with him has a mic. As such, Lum, who’s getting her passport renewed, hears his true feelings.

The next day, Lum returns to a depressed Ataru. He attempts to pretend he’s annoyed, but Lum knows the truth.

Thoughts/Review:

Ah yes, we get the comedy and the poignant in the 2022 version of Urusei Yatsura 10.

Parent’s Day Time

The first third of the 2022 Urusei Yatsura 10 dealt with Parent’s Day at the school. In the OG anime, this was done in the second half of episode 16. While the core of both episodes, regarding the conflict between Lum’s mom and Shuutarou’s mom, is the same, the 2022 version was massively superior. In the OG version, Ataru shames his mother. Shuutarou’s mom challenging Lum’s mom leads to armed conflict, ultimately resulting in the destruction of Ataru’s home.

In the 2022 version, Ataru’s mom is only embarrassed by the memory of the past. Shuutarou’s mother attempts to challenge Lum’s mom for the insult of destroying her ox-drawn carriage. But instead of a war breaking out, Lum’s mistranslations caused comedy misunderstandings. I laughed pretty hard at Lum’s mom believing that Shuutarou’s mom was offering her son as a marriage partner. As such, we get a realistic comedy stuff instead of over the top, Oni vs. Earth combat.

Finally, I loved hearing HIRANO Fumi voicing Lum’s mother. In the OG anime, she was Lum. So it was cool hearing her back.

Lum Disappears

The remainder of Urusei Yatsura 10 is dedicated to the disappearance of Lum and  its impact on Ataru. In the OG anime, this was covered in episode 44. Again, the central core element of Lum’s disappearance is the same, but that’s it. And again, I found the 2022 version superior. The OG version had too much rubbish in it for my tastes. However, the dirty Lum doll makes more sense in the OG version than the 2022 version.

The first thing I like better about the 2022 version is Ataru’s family. In the OG version, Lum’s disappearance is a source of celebration for Ataru’s parents. But in the 2022 version, Ataru’s parents appreciate Lum’s positive impact on Ataru. And they miss Lum when she disappears. I appreciated that.

The impact of Lum’s disappearance on Ataru carried more weight for me in the 2022 episode. In the OG episode, there’s a pop musical montage that never worked for me. In the 2022 version, we get the sad, slow, violin music. And instead of a bizarre music video, we see Ataru visiting places and remembering his past with Lum. Their reunion had more weight to it in the 2022 version.

Finally, I appreciated the fact that Lum’s mom was included in the scene where Lum renews her passport. It never made sense to me in the OG anime that she wasn’t there.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Let me wrap up my review of Urusei Yatsura 10 with some final thoughts.

• On the translation front, Sentai is up to its usual rubbish. For a start, they felt the need to translate manga to comics. Why? Manga is in the English vernacular, and this series is set in Japan, so why change it? Also, the adaptation incorrectly uses oxcart instead of ox-drawn carriage, which was used in the Japanese. There’s a big difference between a cart and a carriage.
• While this series is set in the 80s, and it does make an effort to show some 80s tech, it often feels very modern to me. That aside, Lum’s device screamed 80s and I loved it!

In the end, Urusei Yatsura 10 was a delightful episode that was funny for the Parent’s Day. It was also very poignant for Lum’s disappearance. And I enjoyed the heck out of both.