Category: Editorials

Size does matter.

7 Comments

I think we have all experienced a show that made us say, “That took too long to do what it needed to do.” Most clearly evident in shows that have filler, like many Shonen Jump titles. And on the flip-side I’m sure we have all wished a certain series was longer (because 7 seasons was just not enough of Ranma for you!).

Well how many times have you also felt that, “Boy that ending sure was rushed.” I think pacing is a form of art that is not always supremely executed by the Japanese. I’m sure the rather harsh time restraints and budgeting of anime (or TV in general) leads to some unevenness in story and plotting, but I don’t think the blame lies solely there. I have seen OAVs and movies which theoretically have unlimited time constraints and they have had major pacing issues.

I have to think that with such a large repertoire of shows they can’t get it right all the time. Quite a few OVAs are used to wet the appetite so you will buy the manga. Or there have been those few instances where OVAs were basically made for existing fans of the manga, as a little bonus, such as the Angel Sanctuary OVA, the Tokyo Babylon OVAs, and the Here is Greenwood OVAs.

BTW – I felt that some of the better Ranma stories like the Musk Dynasty, Konatsu, and Saffron never got put in the anime.

Of course, there are many reasons for it. Especially with shows that are running closely along side a manga. While most longer running series, I think, would benefit from taking a break between season, marketing doesn’t see it that way. They are afraid of being forgotten or out done by a new show in the coming season. So instead you can end up with filler, that many times is pointless, boring, or worse, just plain bad. I shake my fist at you D.Gray Man and your last 20 episodes!

It seems like all in all filler does not necessarily have to be bad. I mean, if you like the characters and their adventures, some more of their tales should be just as good. It just turns out most of the time filler is useless, annoying, and takes time and budget from the better written main plot line. I did like the G8 filler arc from One Piece. Many people consider the Black Rose Arc from Utena as filler and that was awesome. But I have seen countless other filler arcs and they have mostly been weak sauce. For some reason, when other writers take another person’s creation it just always seems like they are missing some vital point that brings the other person’s creation to life. I’m not sure there is some tangible element to it but it just seems off.

Well, I also think that how many filler episodes you get in a row can really determine whether or not you are okay with it. Like one here and again, is fine and can be fun or funny. But when you are looking at 10 or 15 in a row, it starts to get painful. The ideal would be, if you have to have filler, to intersperce it within episodes that have plot. Cutting back and forth between filler and plot. Lots of American television series do this to build suspense and it seems to work a little better.

If certain long running anime could take season breaks, it might definitely help them. There would be less need for horrible filler. Each season the original would manage to have time to build more of the story. It works well enough in the U.S. with TV shows. I’m sure that some people will tune back into One Piece or Detective Conan if there were some repeats for two or three months. It might also lead to less recap episodes in certain series. I won’t be too harsh towards Japanese TV executives because sometimes a certain tactic that works in one country, may utterly fail in another. Maybe they have tried similar strategies in the past only to find that people flee a show on hiatus like rats leaving a sinking ship.

Then there are shows like Detective Conan that are very episodic in design. Maybe a few overlapping episodes, but for the most part you can tune in every week, or once a month, and still know what is going on. These are clearly the ideal for television.

Well all the mega major shows that have been on TV forever tend to be like that. Crayon Shin-chan, Sazae-san, and Doraemon are all the same way. They are always shows that have family appeal because there are the only shows that are going to get the ratings to survive that long. Otaku shows can’t usually sustain an audience as well. Or at least that is the conventional thinking.

And obviously ratings have a big factor after the series has started. Although, this doesn’t seem to be as much of a problem unless you are in a super good slot. Like all the otaku shows that air later at night seem to keep plugging away regardless.

Many times a you see a series drag because it has to be a certain amount of episodes. I remember figuring this out while watching the first season of Magic Knight Rayearth. The last five episodes, roughly, are the same episode over and over again. Talk about frustrating! And you commonly see a deterioration of animation right along with it. Of course, that is a budget issue.

Well the last episodes of Evangelion are famous for people talking with their hands over their mouths to cut down animation costs. There are also a bunch of shows that have spectacular openings and good to spectacular endings but shoestring budget middles.

My preferred length is right around the 13 episode, half season mark. It is long enough to tell a small story, develop attachments if there aren’t too many characters, and wrap it up without feeling like it went too fast. I also feel that it is just a nice manageable number. And for me it usually can be watched very quickly. That is not to say I don’t enjoy a longer series. Because for the most part, I feel studios have a handle on how long a series should be.

I think that I feel 26 episodes is the best amount of time it’s just really easy to mess up 26 episodes. I feel 13 episodes is greater for smaller stories. There have been plenty of 26 episode shows that should have been shrank down to 13 episodes shows to cut down on some of the fluff. But I think a well done 26 episode show is ideal. It has enough time to stretch its legs and really tell a meaty story but not enough time to wear out its welcome. I feel 13 episode shows are best for shorter or simpler stories. I think the Giant Robo OAVs clearly show that some giant robot anime might be more accessible if it were a little shorter.

I think the most important things is for a show to do the most it can with the time it’s given. I will stick with a series if it goes on 200+ episodes like One Piece and I won’t complain about a two episode OAV if they entertain me. All too often short OAVs seem rushed or frantic while longer series seem to have unnecessary filler that makes a series drag when it should be getting to the meat of the story. The ideal length is always just enough episodes to tell the story that needs to be told. No more and no less.

Narutaki Currently!
Watching Hayate no Gotoku!
Reading Dragon Eye
Listening to Pocket single by Ai Otsuka

Hisu (Brainwasher Detective) Currently:
Watching Gaint Robo
Reading Tista
Listening to Asterisk by ORANGE RANGE

Top 5 Favorite OAVs
1. Gaint Robo
2. Rurouni Kenshin
3. Record of Lodoss War
4. Bubblegum Crisis
5. ROD: Read Or Die

Lost in the shuffle.

6 Comments

Certain fashions are timeless and others are only products of their time. Jeans are always fashionable but bell-bottoms are very much a product of the 70’s. Anime can be the same way. Certain shows are classics and forever will be. I can’t see a time when people won’t be talking about Evangelion, Akira, or Castle of Cagliastro in anime fandom. Other series seem to be all the rage, necessary viewing for anime fans, and then disappear from consciousness like they were never released at all. Some shows fade because they lose their novelty factor, others fade because the genre they are in falls out of favor, and some seem to fade for no other reason other than people don’t like older shows.

Oh, so many shows, so little time. It seems that American fans hang on to shows a lot longer than the Japanese do. So it comes as no surprise that so many series get swept under the rug. Most people are looking for the newer, better thing.

Now on to those who were once giants but now have been humbled by time.

Ranma, Ranma, Ranma. Where do I begin? Ranma 1/2 is the story of a tough guy martial artist who, after falling into a cursed spring, turns into a girl when splashed with cold water. Much like Midori Days, it’s one of those shows with a premise that so easily could be used for some bizarre hentai but is used for only slightly ecchi situational comedy. Ranma’s father has promised his long time friend, Soun Tendo, that Ranma would marry one of his daughters and carry on each families martial artist style. The Tendo family decides that Ranma should be engaged to Akane, the youngest sister. Due to a general distaste for boys and a series of unfortunate events (and Ranma being a ego-maniacal jerk) during their first meeting, Ranma and Akane’s engagement starts off on a bad foot. Their relationship never seems to improve as dozens of aspiring fiancees and would be rivals show up to complicate their fragile relationship. There is lots of comical martial arts fighting combined with situational school comedy and cold-water changing mix-ups.

Ranma 1/2 was, at a time, Viz’s flagship title in the U.S. It seemed like the show everyone had an opinion about. Love it or hate it; everyone had seen some Ranma 1/2. There were those people who loved it and thought it was the best thing ever. And those people who hated it and wished the people who loved it would shut the heck up about it. It was constantly cosplayed, fan-fiction boards were flooded with Ranma stories of all types, and almost every list of favorite characters had someone from Ranma on it.

I had a friend at the time who was big-time into Ranma. I saw a lot of it through her and luckily our local video store carried quite a few tapes of it. It seemed to be like one of the first shows, along with a couple of others on this list, that had such a huge cast of characters it was almost impossible not to find one you liked. That was the real magic in it I think.

You can still find fans of Ranma 1/2 but most of the hardcore fandom has moved on to other shows and most people only speak about it with a distant nostalgia (or a dry contempt). All of Rumiko Takahashi’s major works seem to illicit this type of reaction, but I think Ranma is the epitome of this syndrome. Urusei Yatsura came around when there was less of an anime community, so it made a smaller impact because there were less people in anime fandom. The Inu-Yasha manga is still ongoing in Japan and the American fandom has not totally died down. So it doesn’t fall in this category yet. I myself actually like Takahashi’s characters even though they are usually utter jerks. Most people tend not to like Ranma 1/2 because it’s extremely long. It also has a habit of dressing up the same jokes in slightly different clothes. For some reason, I really like Takahashi’s series but your mileage may vary.

My tolerance was rather short. I still really love the OVAs and the movies. But could I sit through 7 season of Ranma? Hell no. I think your ability to do so really has to do with whether or not you liked Ranma, himself. I find it difficult to watch a show if I can’t atleast tolerate the main character. However, I tend to think all of Rumiko’s main works run too long. That is the fault of the editors no doubt.

I think this sums it up best.

Fushigi Yugi is a harem anime for girls. Okay, it’s more than that but lets not ignore this fact. Miaka Yuki and her friend, Yui Hongo, are ordinary girls who get transported into a fictional world contained in a magical book called The Universe of the Four Gods. Miaka soon learns that she is the priestess of Suzaku. The duty of the priestess of Suzaku is to find the seven celestial warriors and summon the god Suzaku. The problem there is a rival nation that worships Seiryu is trying to stop Miaka from summoning Suzaku and will doing anything is their power to stop her.

Anything includes trying to kidnap and rape her 40 times. Because I swear this child is helpless.

Fushigi Yugi was one of the first and one of the biggest break out shojo anime back at a time when the only titles that were being brought over were shonen titles. It was definitely not the first shojo title released in the U.S. either commercially or through fan-subs, but it was still a majorly influential. The old story goes that t Karen Duffy can in many way be considered the person who most helped Fushigi Yugi become the juggernaut that it was. Her fan-subs supposedly almost single handily created a fan-base for Fushigi Yugi in the U.S. No matter how it started it was the tremendous fan-sub fan-base is what got American companies interested in the show. It was definitely a show that came to be licensed in the states with the help of fan-subs. It most probably would have eventually come over to the U.S. but it come over when it did because fan-subs made English-speaking fans aware that such a show existed.

This is such a cool story because it shows the power of fan-subs, in a positive way. I’m sure it has been exaggerated but it can’t be denied that Fushigi Yuugi would never have been what it was if not for the tape trading community. This also put Yuu Watase’s work on the map here in the U.S. Her and CLAMP were the first big shojo manga-ka to gain a following when the manga industry just started up.

This was a show that had a distinctly shojo feel but borrowed enough shonen elements that it had a decent crossover appeal. Despite it’s male fans it should obvious that Fushigi Yugi had a largely female fan-base. In many ways it was a good bridge for all the girls who wanted to watch something else from Japan after Sailor Moon. Since Miaka Yuki was in many ways an ideal self insertion character and was surrounded by a harem of good looking guys, of all stripes, it is no surprise that it quickly gained a female following. The internet was flooded with shrines devoted to any and all of the Celestial warriors, and most of the other male characters form the series. Even the villainous Nakago had a large fan community. It seemed like every girl in anime fandom had watched Fushigi Yugi and would always try to get the guy in their circle of fandom to watch it.

We can thank Fushigi Yuugi for a number of things. Firstly, it was a more mature shojo title than Sailor Moon. It dealt with more adult relationships, sex, betrayal, and death. It also made girl otaku realize, what Japan knew all along, the appeal of the bishonen. Yuu Watase couldn’t draw an ugly guy to save her life. For most this was a somewhat new flavor to the mix. It also did really well in the manga realm and this kick started the shojo manga crazy that has never quite picked up in anime form here in the states.

Now it seems that U.S. fandom has mostly turned against Fushigi Yugi to the point where it is often considered a good example of what is wrong with certain types of shows in anime. Most people seem to talk about it as if they can’t see why they would have ever liked a show like that. It is a show that contains quite a few cliches, a long some would say overextended plot-line, and a good number of people would punch Miaka in the face if they ever met her in real life. If nothing else I know Kohaku still loves this series (and still loves Tasuki).

Well, as a fan-base grows older it seems easy to look back and question your tastes. I was never a fan of this show myself, I had the first two VHS tapes and that was about as far as I got. I read a bit more of the manga. Yuu Watase, still has a huge following, but you don’t really see that in anime. Since, I believe most of her series aren’t animated. I think this skews the idea of why it is looked at with contempt. Quite frankly, series with characters like this are still very popular in shojo manga. You might not see it anime wise, and you won’t see male fans picking up on it anymore. Fushigi Yuugi’s crossover appeal, in my opinion, was product of its time. There wasn’t that much, it was a new concept, and people didn’t have the same expectations. So to say completely useless female heroines surrounded by pretty guys is not popular, would be a mistake.

Slayers was a insanely popular comedy series in the U.S. back in the day. Slayers is set in a D&D fantasy universe with a decidedly farcical slant. Lina Inverse is a sorceress supreme who much like a D&D character wanders around fighting bandits and looting them for treasure. During one of the bandit hunting expeditions she runs into a handsome, but somewhat dim, swordsman named Gourry Gabriev and his legendary Sword of Light. They begin traveling together due to Goury’s want to protect Lina and Lina’s desire to get the Sword of Light. Along the way they usually run a foul of some major demon and reluctantly foil their nefarious schemes. They are eventually joined by the stoic chimera, Zelgadis, and the justice otaku, Princess Amelia. Most of the movies and OAVs are prequels to the TV series that involve Lina and her rival/traveling companion Naga the White Serpent. Although there is usually a very serious overall plot-line, the general tone is always comical and everything is tinged with parody and sarcasm.

Hey, you totally forgot Xellos! That secret keeping priest! And where would the yaoi doujinshi community be without him? Slayers is a show that there was also lots of fan-fiction written about as I recall. And I also saw many sites dedicated to pairings from this show. As my previous statement suggests, they weren’t all canon. I distinctly remember a site that was trying to convince people that Zelgadis and Xellos were clearly in love.

Next you going to say Trowa x Quatre is not canon.

Slayers seems to have had a major effect on the Japanese fantasy anime market by the sheer fact that it spawned dozens of similar comedy fantasy shows. Even the anime Rune Soldier, which is set in the Record of Lodoss world, uses the same comedy/drama formula. It seemed to be a show that was used much like Record Of Lodoss War to draw in people who were familiar with RPGs but knew nothing of anime. Other people went to Slayers after watching Record Of Lodoss War, more fantasy and were not thrown off by Slayers comical bent.

Now here’s a series I can really get behind; hilarious slap-stick comedy combined with almighty power! Plus, there is very little, good fantasy anime. I think that is why both Slayers and Lodoss gained a really large legion of fans. I was and still am a fan of both shows. I am always shocked that there isn’t more like these two shows with the plethora of RPG video games out there. Oh, and as a side note: all the songs were all a lot of fun! I always liked that about the show.

As far as I can tell most people just don’t watch Slayers anymore mostly because it’s old. It still has somewhat of a following, proven when Tokyopop thought of dropping the novel series. They got a massive write in campaign that seems to have saved the series for now. Funimation picked up the TV series with a savior license but I’m curious how well that is doing for them.

Well, I just saw them on the best sellers over at Right Stuf, so that is atleast something. It is true the style and animation look a bit dated. I really think that is the only thing holding it back. Comedy can be universal and many times timeless. I think Slayers is that way, since it is mostly physical comedy.

I will forgo making the overused joke about Cowboy Beobop spoilers and the sexual orientation of certain members of the WWWA and jump right into what the Dirty Pair is about. Kei and Yuri are jack-of-all-trades trouble shooters for the intergalactic World Welfare Works Association. Code named the “Lovely Angels” they are both famous and infamous in the organization. Famous because they they have a perfect success record in the organization and solve the hardest cases, uncover the most obtuse mysteries, and untangle the most byzantine of webs of deception. Infamously called the “Dirty Pair” because almost of of their missions causes a horrific amount of collateral damage. Each episode is self-contained and there is no real need for continuity so they can be watched in any order.

The Dirty Pair was based on a series of light novels by Haruka Takachiho, the author of Crusher Joe. It spawned the anime which was a sleeper hit but went to included a series of OAVs, movies, and a alternate universe series called Dirty Pair Flash. It was also very popular back in the day in the U.S., too. The Dirty Pair was so popular an American comic was produced based on the anime. Toren Smith and Adam Warren wrote and drew an English version of the series with their own take on the characters. The term “girls with guns” was coined for Dirty Pair and made the genre popular with U.S. fans. In fact, certain apocrypha states that Burn Up! became popular in the states due to fans of the Dirty Pair looking for a similar show. The popularity of Burn Up! in the America lead the Japanese to make Burn Up W (Not that the Dirty Pair should be held responsible for Burn Up W).

I remember renting the movies quite a lot. The series is full of big, exploding action but also has comedy thrown in the mix. Also you have two really bad ass female characters and it never felt like the fan-service was over the top enough for anyone to be offended. I assume the popularity of the show also went hand in hand with the Bubblegum Crisis following.

I don’t know why the Dirty Pair has fallen out of favor with US audiences. I feel other than slightly outdated (but still nice) animation there is nothing for modern fans not to like about the Dirty Pair. It has enough eye candy of beautiful girls and heart pounding action for the guys, strong female characters for the girls, and comedy for everyone. I guess really the reason the show fell out of favor was the fact that the genre itself fell out of favor.

80’s character designs. Is the pure and simple reason.

BTW, I feel shows like Noir and Gunslinger Girls are not Girls with Guns series despite what Wikipeida might say.

Now, the show we can blame everything that came afterwards for, Tenchi Muyo. This show was big, big…mega big. It was on television! And there was so much merchandise you could have drowned yourself in it. There are about 10,000 different sequels, movies, books, etc. Yes that is right, Tenchi brought us harem anime.

If Tenchi Muyo did not start the harem anime genre, it at least is the most popular of the first harem anime. The story revolves around Tenchi Masaki, who is quite the average ordinary boy, except for the fact that his grandfather is the owner of a Shinto temple. One day, he goes into the forbidden cave on the temple grounds and accidentally releases Ryoko, a space pirate sealed in the temple long ago. After stopping her from killing him, Tenchi gets Ryoko to warm up to him. But before they can get to know one another, Ayeka and Sasami, two space princesses, come to capture Ryoko but end up falling in love with Tenchi. A ditzy space police officer named Mihoshi also comes look for Ryoko, and happens to fall in love with Tenchi. The genius mad scientist Washu also comes by and, if you haven’t already guessed, falls in love with Tenchi. Eventually an evil bishonen from space comes, who does not fall in love with Tenchi (except in doujinshi) and they have to fight. The plot is a little different in the television series, but you get the picture.

I was quite a fan myself. I had never seen a show like it before. What was that saying you told me Hisu? You will forgive the first one? I’d say that is true, I haven’t found a harem anime worth watching since. Once again, we are seeing a large cast with a lot of different personalities, so it is easy to find someone you like. It is mostly situational humor with mixed in serious parts.

Despite my somewhat tongue in cheek overview of Tenchi, it’s a rather enjoyable show and rather easily accessible. The characters in the Tenchi are fairly iconic and seem to have had imitators and homages to them for years now. For some odd unknown reason, I really like Mihoshi in the original OAVs. I’m not sure why.

My feeling on why shows fall out of favor is, that is the cycle of entertainment. In general, nothing in that industry lasts forever. And if it does, it is a classic. Very few shows are going to fall into that category. To me, for something to become classic, it must bring something new to the table. It should show us something different, make us think in a new way, or make you feel like you’re watching anime for the first time. They aren’t supposed to come along everyday. But that doesn’t mean if it isn’t classic it isn’t worth watching.

Narutaki Currently!
Watching Story of Saiunkoku
Reading Nosatsu Junkie
Listening to Aya Ueto

Hisu (Brainwasher Detective) Currently:
Watching Hellsing Ultimate
Reading Clamp no Kiseki
Listening to Life is Like a Boat by Rie fu

Top 5 shows that got me into anime
5. Demon City Shinjuku
4. Tenchi Muyo in Love
3. Akira
2. Record of Lodoss War
1. Ninja Scroll

Lum is awesome and so not tsundere.

2 Comments

So, I was walking through the park and for some random reason I started thinking about the word tsundere. Maybe because I hate that word and I usually dislike characters that fall into that category. And probably also because I am a weirdo who thinks about anime pretty constantly. Consequently, I started thinking about how fans seem to want to label everything, but that is another article all together.

I’m vaguely curious if there was something in the park that made you think of tsundere characters but that is neither here nor there. I on the other hand really like tsundere characters because I’m a messed up human being. Maybe I just enjoy pain. I also have less trouble with people needing labels. People really like to classify things. That being said I would make sweet sweet love with Flag.

Hold the phone! Aren’t you over stating that a bit? You might like somecharacters that happen to be tsundere but you don’t always like characters who are. Right? RIGHT!? Ahem, that is a whole other article.

I like a wide variety of characters. I guess I think certain tsundere characters are be cute in their tsundere nature. I think Eri or Rin are sort of endearing; where as I don’t really care anything about Naru or Akane. I think you have a general prejudice against characters who are tsundere. I on the other hand am just a loser.

There seems to be a lot of categories people throw the show Urusei Yatsura into that seem wildly inaccurate. If you have never actually seen Urusei Yatsura, well first off why not? And secondly, it will probably be hard to understand what we are about to ramble on about.

Urusei Yatsura is the story of the most lecherous and unlucky boy in the world. Ataru Moroboshi hits on any pretty girl he can find but always strikes out partially because he is just unlucky and partially because he is super skeezy. One day, aliens from the planet of the Oni are about to invade the earth and they give humanity one chance to avoid being conquered. If they can defeat an Oni in a game of tag they will be spared an invasion.

Due to a random drawing Ataru is chosen as the Earth’s Champion. At first he wants nothing to do with the contest but after seeing his opponent is the beautiful princess of the Oni named Lum he agrees to try to catch her in order to feel her up. Ataru expects to win quickly until he learns that Lum can fly and shoot lightning. After several days of utterly failing at capturing Lum, his friend Shinobu agrees to marry Ataru if he can catch Lum. So the next day, Ataru gathers up all his cleverness and sleaziness and catches Lum. In his moment of triumph he shouts out a marriage proposal to Shinobu but Lum mistakenly agrees to marry Ataru assuming it was a proposal to her.

Isn’t that also because he tagged her by grabbing the horns on her head?

Well in Japanese, tag is called Onigokko, which means game of the Oni. Supposedly if you play tag with an Oni and you catch the Oni by the horns then the Oni will grant you a wish. So basically, Lum is fulfilling the wish she thinks that Ataru has made.

So Lum moves in with Ataru and basically acts like his wife. She usually acts very affectionate and devoted to him but will not hesitate to electroshock Ataru whenever he goes after other girls. Other characters from Earth and space begin to flock towards Ataru and Lum in typical Takahashi fashion.

Yes, Takahashi-sensei started making the a huge cast of characters with Urusei Yatsura and this has stemmed to her work since. And she creates the most convoluted, mixed-up, insane love quadrangle-tetrahedrons!

One thing that I’ve heard said, and fans constantly debate it, is that Lum herself, is the first example of the tsundere archetype. I really feel like this couldn’t be further from the truth.

I have to agree. The Internet likes to state things without anything even close to logic or proof behind it. They love to make one minor fact and make a whole totally erroneous argument from it while conveniently ignoring any and all contradicting evidence. If anyone is the prototype of the tsundere from Rumiko Takahashi it’s Akane Tendo.

A main stay of tsundere is to frustratingly act like you don’t like the person that you actually do. Lum makes no if, ands, or buts about who she is in love with. From the moment she becomes “engaged” to Ataru, he is the love of her life. And she really has no problem getting up in your face and letting you know that.

The secret appeal of the tsundere to the fans of the tsundere is the hard won approval from the tsundere after the hard battle of putting up with the outward coldness of the tsundere. If the girl comes out right off the bat and tells you she likes you and wants to be with you then she is not a tsundere. Lum will take any opportunity to declare her love and devotion to Ataru and often goes out of her way to prove her love when tested.

Furthermore, when Lum attacks Ataru, there are few people that could blame her. I mean what is Ataru’s personality? But most tsundere girls are constantly hurting their boys for doing nothing or for complete accidents. The guys usually have no idea what is going on.

Well I love Ataru (just like CLAMP who think he is SO handsome) but he is a super jerk (just like everyone else in Urusei Yatsura) and gets what he deserves most of the time. For some reason the Japanese really like that sort of physical humor and so tsundere girls are often physical in expressing their displeasure with guys.

Actually, I love Ataru also. But that is because everyone in Lum is a jerk but in a totally hilarious way.

Ryuunosuke is not a jerk. She is just a hard-luck woman.

If anyone in the relationship of Lum and Ataru is a tsundere, it’s Ataru himself. Ataru often pretends like he does not have feelings for Lum and wants to be separated from her. However, he occasional shows that he cares for Lum as much as she cares for him. This is all classic tsundere behavior.

The other odd thing is, many people call Urusei Yatsura the first harem show. Since Urusei Yatsura has a large number of female characters, and most of them are very attractive, and have some definite moe aspects to them, it must be a harem show. Plus, Ataru can be considered an average joe who is surrounded with beautiful women. I also think that anyone who says that is dead wrong. That’s like calling the car the first airplane because they are both forms of transportation. They have some very minor similarities but you are ignoring all of their differences.

What are people thinking? There are just as many dudes in Urusei Yatsura as there are girls. For what little harem anime I have actually watched, there seems to be an in-proportionate number of females to males. But in Lum there are guys chasing girls, girls chasing guys, and good-looking people on both sides. Hell no one except Lum even likes Ataru.

Shinobu sort of, but barely, likes Ataru in the beginning but as soon as Mendo appears she drops him like a rock. The cornerstone of harem anime is the milquetoast protagonist thats is loved by all the girls in the series because he’s just a great guy deep down even if most people can’t see it (others would argue for no reason at all). Usually the guys just have a few distinguishing characteristics but is an overall a nice guy. Ataru is anything but the stereotypical misunderstood nice guy. He is a horny, perverted, and selfish guy that occasionally shows hints of being a good guy underneath. If anything, he is the complete opposite of the harem master.

Plus, there are only two types of guys in harem anime who are not the main character. Even more nondescript guys that the protagonist to be background losers and romantic rivals who are bad dudes to be defeated in love. Although it can be argued that that “Lum’s stormtroopers” are the nondescript friends and Mendo is the romantic rival. However, there are more male types in Urusei Yatsura than just those two types.

But everyone is crazy in love with Lum. So if anything it’s like a harem show for girls, but then it isn’t that either. Because Lum just has too much sex appeal. Most harem shows have below average characters that have a bunch of good looking people in love with them for no reason at all. None of the guys are drop dead gorgeous, well except for Rei, but he is an idiot. But it is not a big shocker to see a bunch of guys falling all over themselves for Lum.

For shame. For shame! Are you saying Mendo is not drop dead gorgeous?

In my haste to type that sentence, I obviously was blinded by my love. Mendou is beautiful! Better?

Well Lum is still a sex symbol and a otaku icon of worship in Japan.

Hell, that girl has been on more advertising than most pop stars! Rumiko even drew her rooting for the Hanshin Tigers. And she is on like pasta packaging in Europe!

I also think your implying that you would not run off and marry Cherry. You have odd taste. Cherry is so dreamy.

The only category Urusei Yatsura should be thrown in is the hilarious one.

BTW – My favorite character from Urusei Yatsura is Shinobu.

Narutaki Currently!
Watching Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro
Reading Love Berrish
Listening to Alice Nine

Hisu (Brainwasher Detective) Currently:
Watching Patlabor
Reading 21st Century Boys
Listening to Muther Ucking Police!

Top 5 awesome girls who ain’t tsundere
5. Clare
4. Mikako Koda
3. Lum Invader
2. Tohru Honda
1. Arashi Kishuu