"Fasten your seatbelts; it's gonna be a bumpy night."


Classic Urusei Yatsura Parts 1-24
by Mike Smith and Fred Herriot


Those of you who follow these reviews (and I know you're out
there, I can hear you snoring) know that, for the most part,
they consist of a two paragraph look at the plot, some of my
favorite moments, and a recommendation.  (Indeed, after reading
Richard Lawson's very nice Credits (and thanks, Richard) I felt
like Mariko, the combat cheerleader.  "I-N-W-A-R-D-L-O-V-E!")

It would be well-nigh impossible to do that with this series.
For one thing, it won't be complete for a long time.  Then, after
that, they've got *two more* lined up, for a total of about
one hundred and twenty in their overall grand plan.

Twenty-four of them are out publicly as of now, and the following
review will be an attempt to put some perspective on it.

First of all, this goes even further than Just a Dream in taking 
the concepts of Urusei Yatsura an spinning them on their ear.  I
don't think I'd be too far off in saying that the overall arc
is watching Ataru mature to the point where he can become a
Christ figure for the entire galaxy.  No, I'm not making this up.

The first four stories are fairly normal, if a little serious
for UY.  The first is especially interesting, as concepts from it
come back eighteen stories later.  Actually, that's a constant 
hallmark; this series is plotted like a motherf****r, and things 
you thought were pointless fluff come back to bite you several
stories later.

That is perhaps the major fault of this series; you *cannot* leap
in in the middle of Story 10.  I can just picture it.  "When did
Ataru get homicidal superpowers?  When did he get smart?" etc. etc.

As the first arc finishes, character traits are set in motion for 
the first big subarc.  Ataru goes through torture, gains two
distinct personalities, both of whom are homicidal but only one
of whom is psychotic; the residents of Tomobiki decide to blame
Ataru for everything (as usual), only to discover that he ain't
having it anymore.  Apparently, a lot of Ataru's stupidity was
just an act; he ends up being one of the smartest characters in
the whole series.

If you like Ataru, I suspect this series will appeal to you.  As
for the others...well, Lum is treated fairly sympathetically, but
Shinobu fans especially will balk at some of the shocking violence
Ataru commits against her.  Hell, he even hits Ryuunosuke! (Who,
BTW, is my favorite UY character.  A fanfic featuring her is on 
my list).

The rest of Tomobiki are treated like cow dung, and not without
good reason.  The interesting thing is, although this series is
far more serious, and character development clips along, there is
a lot of writing in the classic Anime style, with mallets and
being punted into orbit.

There are also a shload of new characters, most of whom fit in
very well to the UY-verse.  I particularly like Nassur, Benten's
love interest, and Ataru's grandmother, the bitchy billionaire
(yes, you heard that right.  Ataru's the wealthiest boy in Japan.
Fooled you, huh?)  Koosei Ryooki is also a character who is so
well written I sometimes forget that he wasn't in the original.
And Mie Seikou is the friend that everyone should have.

THe gist of this particular arc, of course, is the developing
love between Ataru and Lum.  Though both of them are taken to
the cleaners (especially Lum), the worst traits of both characters
are eventually weeded out, and we can see a relationship actually
*working*.

There's a lot more I could talk about.  Ataru's sister, the 
development of Sakura's character, the whole concept of Sagussa...
but I'd rather you read it.  I hesitiate to recommend it to
hardcore UY fans, as it certainly takes liberties.  The writing,
however, is good enough to hold your attention, however.  And it
needs to.  This is not a series to take lightly.  It's got it's
own vocabulary, character breakdown, and enough plot to keep
the list arguing for months.  Try it.

The first eight stories are at the ftp.std.com site.

All the stories except #21 are at Mason Ikkoku's UY site,
http:www.ottawa.net/~proulx/uy/uyfanfic.html


Next:  a day off, while I wait for Bertha to play through, then...

Gagne.  All of them.  Boy, do I set goals, huh?

--Sean Gaffney
--You git!  I thought you were dead!  Git git git!" - Benny, No Future

PS - for those of you into kawaii things, Shampoo are interviewed
in the new NME.  Not the Ranma character, but almost as good.
Viva La Megababes!