As the first arc of Urusei Yatsura concludes with 23 episodes this friday, a new visual on the official website has confirmed that the second arc of the anime will air in 2024. (The anime is listed for a total of 46 episodes).
Urusei Yatsura as a title and a story is influenced by mangaka Rumiko Takahashi’s debut work, Katte Na Yatsura (Selfish Guys). In Japanese, “Urusei Yatsura” or “Sawgashii Yatsura” is used to refer to those who are obnoxious or noisy, but the title of Urusei Yatsura うる星やつら is written with the kanji for star 星, which is a clever play on words as if to say “Those obnoxious or noisy aliens” to refer to the character Lum (the main poster girl in a tiger-striped bikini) and how she originally came from outer space.
The story combines romance comedy tropes, sci-fi elements, and Japanese folktales to tell the tale of the Oni, an alien race that invades Earth but promises to leave if a human can win a game of tag against the aliens. In practice, the series is about Lum, the beautiful daughter of the oni leader, and the successive attempts of high school student protagonist Ataru Moroboshi to touch her horns and win the game despite her extraterrestrial powers.
Due to the gag nature of the original manga story, each episode is largely self-contained, and the new anime is set to adapt only selected chapters from the 34-volume manga. Lum was also not originally a main character, but due to her popularity, she was reintroduced into the story and is sometimes considered the true face of the series (even more than the main protagonist, as the visuals suggest).
Rumiko Takahashi is one of Japan’s most influential manga artists. She is known for creating the popular Inuyasha and Ranma 1/2, and in 2020 she was awarded the Purple Ribbon Medal for her contribution to the arts. These medals are awarded by the Emperor of Japan to people who have excelled in their field of work and performed meritorious deeds, and the purple color is for those who have contributed to Japan’s academic and artistic development.
