I've always seen the inner joke of the UY series to be that human beings
are the worst monsters of all.

Ataru is simply an extreme example of an ordinary Japanese schoolboy and
this makes him the worst monster and the best hero in the universe.

When the aliens, monsters and spirits are at their most obnoxious it's
because they're acting human.

The UFO cabdriver who'll suck Earth dry of petrochemicals to collect on
his fare.  The ghost who cleans out the four tourists.  The goblin who
uses guilt to try and arrange a quiet pool to stay in.

And of course Lum, who manages to displace her biggest rival by becoming
an ordinary schoolgirl herself.

My problem with TSY is not that the characters would not behave that way
in the situations given but that the situations depart so gravely from the
spirit of the series.

Now, given all that, who really believes that Skuld will kill Ataru in
chapter twelve of "Urusei Megamisama!" and leave Earth to be overrun by
the Oni?

	Henry J. Cobb	hcobb@slip.net          http://www.io.com/~hcobb
    Any sufficiently cool technology is indistinguishable from religion.