This FAQ sheet was compiled to answer some of the more common questions that are asked about Urusei Yatsura. However it is always growing and so I am searching for even more questions to answer. If you have any questions that you'd like to add to this FAQ, send your suggestion to mason@proulx.ca and I'll give it some consideration.

1. What does the title mean?
2. For what years did the manga run? the anime? How much of it was there?
3. On what time, day, and station did the TV show air?
4. How do I get UY anime and manga in North America?
5. If Viz is translating the manga, how many volumes have they put out?
6. Which manga stories have been skipped by Viz?
7. What has AnimEigo released so far? How often are the tapes released? Have they released any dubs? Why can't I get movie 2 from them?
8. Ogre, demon, devil, oni? Just what race is Lum?
9. Why do Lum, Rei, Ten and all other Oni wear tiger-stripes?
10. Was it me, or did I see Lum in a music video?
11. Why do many of Lum's sentences end in "-tcha"?
12. Why do the Oni play tag in the first episode and the final movie?
13. What are those bug-eyed red fish creatures in a spacesuits ?
14. Does Ataru really love Lum? If so, why does he keep trying to get away from her? Why can't he admit that he loves her?
15. Why does Lum love Ataru?
16. What happened to Ataru and Shinobu's relationship?
17. What is beefbowl (gyu-don)?
18. Why is movie 5 called Kanketsuhen (Final Chapter) if there's another movie after it?
19. I hear that most of the character's names have a deeper meaning. What exactly do the various names signify?
20. What's the UY Complete Music Box? Does it include all the music of the series? Can I still buy it?
21. Why can't I find any fansubs?
22. Did Rumiko Takahashi do anything else after UY?
23. Could there possibly be a remake of Urusei Yatsura in the future? Why or why not?

1 - What does the title mean?

The title "Urusei Yatsura" is a Japanese play on words. There isn't any English equivalent to this complex multi-leveled pun, so we must explain it in detail to understand it.

The first word urusei is a mispronunciation or dialectic pronunciation of the Japanese word urusai which means "annoying," "noisy" or "obnoxious" yatsu is an informal way of saying "person" while ra is simply one way of making a word plural. With that in mind, the title seems to say "obnoxious guys" but it still doesn't account for the fact that it's written as urusei and not urusai. Well read on and you'll see why.

Uru is also the name of a fictional planet from which the alien race of the Oni come from. In Japanese writing where each syllable is a different character, it is written as: u-ru-hoshi ya-tsu-ra, where hoshi is the kanji (Chinese ideological character) for "star." An alternative pronunciation for that character, used only in a compound word when describing the name of a planet, is sei. So with all of that in mind, Urusei Yatsura can mean "noisy-star guys" or perhaps "annoying fellows from planet Uru" or even AnimEigo's translation that is given as "those obnoxious aliens"

2 - For what years did the manga run? the anime? How much of it was there?

The manga started in rather sluggishly in 1978, started up again in 1979 and continued on until 1987. In total Takahashi had created 34 volumes of Urusei Yatsura which comes up to around 374 manga stories.

The TV series started on October 14, 1981 and ended on March 19th, 1986. It had 195 separate TV episodes including an hour long year-end special. From then on many video and films were produced which kept coming out until 1991 when it stopped being made completely. Of the non-TV show releases there have been 6 movies, 8 OVAs, a TV special, and many other miscellaneous video releases.

3 - On what time, day, and station did the TV show air?

From 1981 to 1986 the show aired on Fuji TV every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. There were only two exceptions. One was the spring special in between episode 21 and 22 which aired on a different night and time. The other would be episode 180 which was interrupted for the volleyball World-Cup.

4 - How do I get UY anime and manga in North America?

The manga is being translated and reprinted by Viz Comics and can be found in most comic shops that sell manga. Otherwise they can be ordered straight from Viz-shop-by-mail themselves.

The anime series is being translated and released by AnimEigo. The tapes can often be found in video stores but since UY isn't in high demand, they're hard to come by. The surest way to find their tapes is to contact AnimEigo's mail order service and order the tapes.

To find the original Japanese manga and anime without having to travel to Japan, an obvious place to search would be mail-order anime shops such as Nikaku Animart, Planet Anime, Books at Nippan, UCI Bookstore and others all of whom can be found on the World Wide Web. Incidentally you can also purchase the domestically translated titles mentioned above from them as well as the original releases.

The manga comes in two formats; tankouban and wideban. Tankouban were the first to be released, and all have 11 stories per volume. Wideban which came later are larger compilations of the earlier tankouban each with aproximately 25 stories, although some stories are presented in a different order. The newer wideban are more economical and of slightly higher quality. The wideban are much easier to locate now that the tankouban are out of print. But either way, you get the exact same stories.

The key is to keep hunting. UY merchandise is not easy to find, but there's lots of it out there. If you are persistent, you will eventually prevail.

5 - If Viz is translating the manga, how many volumes have they put out?

Viz is currently releasing tankouban volume 11 of the manga series. However they refer to it as the Return of Lum part 4. For the most part the they are available in graphic novel or comic book form, except for vol. 3.5 to vol. 4.8 which were serialized in Animerica magazine and are only available as a graphic novel.

6 - Which manga stories have been skipped by Viz?

Viz has skipped three manga stories so far. vol 2.2 "The Mysterious Egg," vol 2.5 "Kidnapped by Kappa" and vol. 3.1 "Father, you were strong."

One story, vol. 1.9, "The Great Kiss War", was skipped in the original run of Lum*Urusei Yatsura, but was included in the graphic novels. Another, vol. 3.4, "Ain't He Sweet" only appeared in the graphic novel.

7 - What has AnimEigo released so far? How often are the tapes released? Have they released any dubs? Why can't I get movie 2 from them?

So far AnimEigo has released 19 TV volumes, with four episodes per tape so they're up to episode 74 by now. They've also released 5 of the movies, and 6 OVA volumes which include all 8 OVAs episodes, the Inaba the Dreamaker TV Special, Ryouko's September Tea party, and I'm the Shuu-chan Memorial Album.

They are released rather erratically. When they started making the subs in 1992 they came out once a month, but then they started coming out bimonthly, then on a quarterly basis and now there is no telling when the next will come out. In all likelihood, 3 or 4 tapes are to be released per year. Here's hoping that AnimEigo can pick up the pace.

All of their UY releases are Japanese language with English subtitles, excepting an English dub of the first two episodes labeled as "those obnoxious aliens." It was their first attempt at a UY dub, and their last. Mostly, it didn't sell as well as they would have liked, but mostly they found that UY is too rich in Japanese humor to be dubbed.

However, movie 2: Beautiful Dreamer cannot be obtained from AnimEigo because it was released by U.S. Manga Corps. AnimEigo did the translation, but somehow they rights for the movie belong to USMC. Just recently, they released an English dubbed version of the movie, but I seriously (and thankfully) doubt that dubbing will become a trend with UY.

8 - Ogre, demon, devil, oni? Just what race is Lum?

Although many translations are given for what race of alien Lum is, the only correct term would be Oni. To make it more accessible to the western world, many American translators have tried to translate the name into something that we could comprehend such as ogres and devils. But in actuality Oni nothing like those types of creatures. Oni were are a traditional Japanese demon of mythology that was said to be a product of bad karma in humans. They take on many forms, but the traditional view of an Oni is an evil and ugly giant with horns, a mouth that stretches around his face, fangs and often carries a large club and has many frightening powers which often includes possession. The traditional woman Oni is beautiful and seductive, but can suddenly turn into a frightening demon. The Oni from Urusei Yatsura are a modern alien version of the traditional Japanese variety.

9 - Why do Lum, Rei, Ten and all other Oni wear tiger-stripes?

The mythological Oni were said to have worn tiger-skin underwear. UY plays on this by combining traditional Oni garb with outfits out of a sci-fi show.

10 - Was it just me, or did I see Lum in a music video?

Clips of Urusei Yatsura that feature Lum appear in an American music video by rock artist, Matthew Sweet called "I've Been Waiting." Lum also makes a very brief cameo appearance in Matthew Sweet's "Ugly Truth Rock" video as a keychain, as well as a cameo in the framed picture hanging on the wall in the beginning of "Sick of Myself."

11 - Why do many of Lum's sentences end in "-tcha"?

Lum attaches "-tcha" to most of her verbs which happen to be at the end of a sentence. Her speech is patterned after a very cute saccarine-laden style used in Japan by little girls who are trying to be cute, almost sickeningly so.

12 - Why do the Oni play tag in the first episode and the final movie?

The word for Tag in Japanese is Onigokko which literally means "game of the Oni." So it would be suitable for Oni to have tag as a favorite sport. In both cases, they use a competition of tag to decide the fate of earth.

13 - What are those bug-eyed red fish creatures in a spacesuits?

Those are Dappya Monsters. Called as such because they end every sentence with "dappya" These humorous little cameo characters were originally from Takahashi's first published work called Kattena Yatsura. The big joke with them is that they're from another series so they don't belong in Urusei Yatsura but still make a habit of constantly interfering with the show.

14 - Does Ataru really love Lum? If so, why does he keep trying to get away from her? Why can't he admit that he loves her?

Ataru loves Lum more than anything but he tries to convince himself and those around him that he doesn't. But often times he lets his guard down. Whenever Lum is in some kind of danger, or it seems that he may lose her, that's when Ataru's true self comes out and he shows his true feelings towards Lum. But why does he run from her?

It would almost seem that Ataru would want to keep a platonic relationship with Lum for the time being, but she keeps pressuring him into a deeper relationship which makes him feel trapped. Similarly he is a very independent person who isn't comfortable having his life suddenly taken over by such an overbearing girl who keeps trying to change his ways. Ataru wants to be free to do whatever he wants, which includes girl-chasing and more, but Lum keeps following him, yelling, nagging and giving him an electrical punishment every time he defies her. All of those things make Ataru feel like a prisoner and so he constantly flees from her. But more so he's actually running from having to face his true feelings, which may be the underlying reason behind it all. That brings us to the question of why he has such a problem with admitting his love.

At the beginning Ataru had a bit of a physical attraction to Lum, just like with all girls. But during the Tag Race, he decides he wants nothing to do with her. Ataru's negative feelings towards Lum became worse after Lum decides to move in with him, become his loyal wife and he quickly finds out that she won't let him cheat on her. After getting over the initial "shock"of Lum being around him all of the time (pun intended), he unknowingly begins to fall for her. Soon he himself comes to grips with that fact, but finds it impossible to show his feelings after he acting like he disliked her for so long. So Ataru finds it to difficult to show her how he feels, but he makes things worse by evading the situation and repeating the same horrible behaviour that makes Lum mad. It's a truly vicious circle.

15 - Why does Lum love Ataru?

Well a woman's feelings are a mysterious thing. Only Lum could explain why. Still, there are many reasons that become obvious over the series. One is that Lum sees through Ataru's affectations and knows that he is really a good natured person. A good soul is something that Lum seems to prize over everything else. Also Lum seems to only like men with interesting personalities, which accurately describes Ataru. But this is still speculation because for the most part it's a complete mystery.

16 - What happened to Ataru and Shinobu's relationship?

Shinobu really wanted Ataru as a boyfriend at the beginning despite his behavior. But soon after Mendou shows up, she seems to have forgotten all about persuing Ataru and instead wants Mendou as a boyfriend. Even then Shinobu still has some romantic feelings for Ataru since she does let him get close on a few occasions, but it doesn't last long and begins to grow into fondness as a friend as opposed to a love interest. In short they become friends, although Ataru still tries to get fresh with her.

17 - What is beefbowl (gyu-don)?

18 - Why is movie 5 called Kankestuhen (Final Chapter) if there's another movie after it?

The fifth movie "Kanketsuhen" signals the official conclusion of Urusei Yatsura. However, about three years later another movie came out which doesn't seem to fit into the storyline of the series. Although AnimEigo calls it movie 6, it was really only a 10th anniversary comeback special in the form of a feature film. Many fans tend to think of the sixth movie kind of like an extended OVA because of the treatment that the animators gave it.

19 - I hear that most of the character's names have a deeper meaning. What exactly do the various names signify?

20 - What's the UY Complete Music Box? Does it include all the music of the series? Can I still buy it?

The Urusei Yatsura Complete Music Box is comprised of a huge set of 15 compact disks filled with background music and vocal songs from the TV show, movies, OVAs and more. While it doesn't feature every single UY sound that ever was, it comes pretty close to being truly "complete." It isn't easy to find, but it is still available for purchase. Be warned that since this boxed set is so huge, it's incredibly expensive at well over $350 in American dollars.

21 - Why can't I find any fansubs?

The fact is that very few fansubs of UY were ever made. Those few fansubs were done long ago and are now so rare that they're considered to be non-existent. Since AnimEigo already releases the series no-one has bothered to go on to create any other fansubs of the series.

22 - Did Rumiko Takahashi do anything else after "UY"?

While Takahashi was doing UY, she was still creating some Rumic World stories and later started Maison Ikkoku. She continued to write Maison Ikkoku up to the time when she also ended UY. Shortly after that, she started her longest running series, Ranma 1/2. While doing Ranma 1/2 she also started the Mermaid's Saga, One-pound Gospel and other small projects. Throughout her whole career, Rumiko continued to write Rumic World stories which she still does whenever she has extra time. Now Ranma 1/2 is ended, she is well into her new series called Inuyasha, Sengoku o-Togi Zoushi.

23 - Could there possibly be a remake of Urusei Yatsura in the future? Why or why not?

Probably not. I personally have heard rumors from time to time coming from Japan that Urusei Yatsura may come back to TV, but so far I haven't seen any of these rumors come true. So for the time being, they're only rumors and one has to assume that UY will not come back.

Why not? Well for a variety of reasons.

For one Rumiko Takahashi probably doesn't want new shows made. In fact I think she stated it specifically after she was disapointed with the 6th movie and last few OVAs made in the early 90's. They need the creator's permission before making an adaptation and without her okay it doesn't look promising.

Also much of this TV series' success was based upon the stellar staff behind the scenes. After all these years the voice talent have all scattered or retired. But each one of them was catapulted into popularity with the help of Urusei Yatsura. The production staff have all gone their seperate ways to become leaders in the industry who have each been responsible for creating some of the most popular anime of the 80's and 90's. It would be impossible to bring most of the old creators and voices back together now that they've achieved such widespread success on their own. Most industry people know that it would be impossible to recreate that success without the original core staff. It was done before with the last few releases and those were total flops.

Sure, Urusei Yatsura may have a big fan following, but so does a hundred other anime. The industry is always producing new stuff so there's never a need to renew old shows. However in recent years there's been a trend of animation studios revamping old anime and making it new again. So the idea of UY making a comeback is not farfetched, but unlikely in my mind. The hype over UY has died down in Japan since the late 80's. By now most Japanese still remember the series fondly, but there's no drive to revisit it. Since it's like a relatively newer show to us in America (the anime was released here in 1992) it's easier for our fan base to get excited about a series which to most Japanese has gone the way of a classic.

So what should you feel about the possibility of UY's comeback? My advice is to remain hopeful but skeptical.