うる星やつら episode 14 (2002)
Urusei Yatsura 14 (2022) review

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Ataru and Kousuke (Perm) work to throw their baseball game against Shuutarou since they bet against themselves. However, Shuutarou hits a massive foul ball off Ataru’s pitch, hitting a guy in a tree. Shuutarou recognizes him as Ton-chan (MIZUNOKOUJI Tobimaro), a childhood rival. Shuutarou isn’t interested in a baseball rematch with him, but Ryoko arrives on a pantomime horse and forces the issue. She says she loves Tobimaro. However, if Shuutarou wins, she’ll give up on him.

Ryoko asks Ataru if Tobimaro can be on his team. When Ataru sees how horrible he is at baseball, he readily agrees. This puzzles Lum. However, when Tobimaro comes up to bat, Ryoko’s guards make sure he gets a hit and a near home run. Ataru attempts to stop this, but Ryoko causes home plate to collapse.

Sometime later, at the Mendou Estate, Shuutarou is missing. As such, Ryoko decides to walk the octopi. As they cross a bridge, Ton-chan uses a weight to send a challenge letter to what he thinks is Shuutarou. Ryoko reads the letter and believes it to be a love letter. Shuutarou arrives, having finally escaped from the trap Ryoko put him in the day before. Despite Ryoko’s antics, Shuutarou isn’t allowing Ton-chan to be near Ryoko.

Meanwhile, Ryoko grabs Ataru to bring him back to the estate. Shuutarou doesn’t want Ataru hanging around his little sister. Nor does Lum. After some conflict, the others read Ton-chan’s challenge letter and agree it sounds like a love letter. Ton-chan wants nothing to do with Ryoko, who played endless pranks on him as a child. However, when he tries to flee, Ryoko blows him up and back to her. Shuutarou then gives his blessing to the couple.

Thoughts/Review:

Although we’ve already been introduced to Ryoko, Urusei Yatsura 14 reminded me that a little of her goes a long way. And we get Ton-chan to boot.

Ton-chan Arrives

I didn’t remember a ton about Ton-chan when he showed up in the 2022 version of Urusei Yatsura 14. (Har!har!) And I’d certainly forgotten that Ryoko supposedly is in love with Tobimaro-sama. As such, we get her wacky antics of booby traps, grenades, and heavy items to just make things nuttier. And yet despite the harm she causes Ton-chan, I could actually believe that in her own sick, twisted way, Ryoko is in love with him.

That aside, it is no wonder that I didn’t remember much about Ton-chan. The OG episode 70, where Ton-chan is introduced, wasn’t that good. Yeah, there were some moments, just as there were in the first half of the 2022 version. But nothing that memorable.

What drives me nuts is the second story. I have a strong memory that I’m pretty sure was from the OG Urusei Yatsura, where there was an obstacle course. Further, I remember Ryoko tossing heavy things at someone. The closest thing I could find was the episode where Ton-chan’s younger sister is introduced. I’m guessing that the anime may be close to something in the manga. But I couldn’t find anything from the OG anime to truly match what happened in the 2nd half of this episode.

So while Urusei Yatsura 14 may not have been the best of episodes, it did have some laughs. I think the biggest laugh for me came from Ryoko walking the octopi. And then the one that got hit in the head by the hand weight gets his own back.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

In the end, Urusei Yatsura 14 was fine for what it was. And I did have some laughs. But I’m reminded that a little Ryoko goes a long way. Also, the adapter for the subtitles is rubbish. That is all.