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Author Topic: Theory regarding the 'ending' as we loosely call it  (Read 24790 times)

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Offline Oldfan

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Re: Theory regarding the 'ending' as we loosely call it
« Reply #30 on: August 04, 2017, 05:14:19 AM »
- Final Chapter had perfectly captured the characters looking a bit older than they did for most of the series. It's part of why the OVA I Howl at the Moon is very pleasing to look at since it's artstyle is pretty much the same as The Final Chapter.

- Heart of lead is pretty accurate. I love how the series doesn't ever try to make you feel bad for Mendou either because he's a an egotistical scumbag underneath it all, and pretty much has almost everything coming for him. When he doesn't have it coming to him, he's pretty just being the butt monkey of the story. The way he took pain isn't the same way early Ataru did where you legit could feel bad for Ataru at times. I'd love to see Valentine's Deception adapted into an OVA now that I think about it. A cute and funny story. But it's also the usual Ataru acts like a jerk, but in a "cruel twist" he doesn't receive any of the Valentine's from Shinobu, Ran, or even Lum, and even watches Lum give one to Mendou lol. Mendou mocked Ataru the entirety of that one. Until we find out at the end of it all, Lum had planned a special one for Ataru.

- Ryoko's desire to torment does reach pretty crazy levels. I think I'd feel bad more for Mendou if Ryoko was a more recurring character than she ended up being. I remember the story of the voodoo doll and I think I legitimately started feeling bad for Mendou there. He legit could have died there if she really wanted to kill him. Turning the tree into a rocket is something so Ryoko like I laughed when it all happened. That episode in general was funny with Mendou constantly being dumb and jumping off the tree to attack Ataru. When Moroboshi wants to get to or away from a girl, he'll do whatever it takes to do so. It's why I find it funny. He can deceive people and trick people quite often, but he's a terrible liar.

- I mean it was pretty obvious he'd choose to try and protect their future, but it's always nice to see him willingly choose to save it. We all know he doesn't want to settle down at the age he's at (and while his actions are justifiable by any means, I can understand him perfectly for not wanting to just tie the knot at age 17). But it's always great to see that he's clearly content with not only spending the rest of his life with her, but eventually settling down with Lum when he feels he's at the age of where that'd be appropriate.

- Mallets were incredibly underused in the anime unfortunately. He's very shy, he's also extremely emotional. Which explains why he has a diary. The diary one was funny. Especially the scene where he stumbled upon the page that said that Lum and Mendou would talk with one another and he'd get jealous. I find it funny how one of the versions of that story (I think the anime) has him scoff it off, while the manga version has him legit trying to pretend that he isn't jealous. You may have a point. I remember the beginning of the Electric Jungle story, a girl actually did say yes to him, and he chose to not go to that date. He's extremely use to rejection and already expects girls to say no to the point that he doesn't know how to handle a girl that actually does say yes. Of course Ataru doesn't get turned down all the time, as in the story with the Rain Girl, he told her he gets dumped like 4 out of 5 times. I'm surprised girls even accept to go on dates with him 20% of the time. But then you have Lum, a girl truly devoted and invested in a relationship with him, and he's in completely unknown territory. There's only one way to handle it for Ataru, flirt with other girls to keep that distance between Lum and him. Probably was the anime writers throwing the couple a bone considering Ataru and Lum's kiss in the last episode I believe is the only one he willingly chose to participate in throughout the anime from the very start.

- I've just been listening to all of the music capsules and it's feels honestly amazing listening back to all these tracks from the 80s. So many of them I associate with different characters depending on what it is just because of how frequently it plays with a specific character or if it matches their personality. Of course, there's a few tracks with Lum or Ataru in the title of it, which is a dead giveaway as to who the song is specifically referring to. Ataru's life seems to be pretty fun all things considering. He doesn't even concern himself with luck. Heck, it's part of the character's appeal to me later in the series. He becomes so apathetic and disinterested with the consequences of his actions that he disregards them. He knows very well that if Lum or whoever gets him whenever he's doing something mischievous, he's going to endure some punishment, yet he does what he does anyway. He pretty much doesn't fear the pain, as he knows it won't last longer for more than a moment or two and he'll just brush it off and go about with his day. The invincible Ataru fears nothing... except commitment.

- When you catch flak from most of the other major male characters because they're jelly of you because you have the attractive and kind-hearted alien girl, you take every opportunity to mock them right back. Ataru is always in the mood to making a fool of the others.

- Not like Mendou would be much of a factor. It's like everyone can clown the guy. He's little more threatening than Tatewaki Kuno from Ranma in that he's a least a bit more competent than Kuno and more resources.

- That really was the flaw with Kurama as a character. She was single-minded and so stories with her were extremely limited to just that: Kurama finding a suitable husband. She also got pretty close to getting Ryuunosuke until Ataru stopped that from happening and even became a woman in the process as well. That was one of my favorite stories in the series. It got so bad that even Ataru in the manga was like: "This is weird even for us." Only other female who had the upperhand on Lum was Elle, which was pretty much until Lum's rescue mission crashing that wedding.

- It's nice how much Ataru's mother improved as well. She's legit nicer towards Ataru and has even expressed that she loves him later on. Ataru's dad was sort of in the background almost all of the time, and his mother quite often appeared more in random chapters and had dialogue as opposed to his dad.

- Just seems like the alien women are a lot more committed to being mothers. Doesn't hurt that they're pretty determined and feel strongly about their decisions to spend the rest of their lives with the men of their dreams. Ataru does often let her win like when they both wrestled each other for the Mendou family. Ataru (who doesn't hit women) just chose to just let her get him on the ground and everything. It was all very playful between the two, which starts becoming the nature of their relationship later on. They're quite playful with one another. Lum tries her hardest to get Ataru to express his feelings for her more often, and Ataru likes to piss her off by flirting with other girls. It's made even better with the fact that Ataru is a rebellious guy, but Lum herself is no stranger to acting like that either. While she definitely hates that he flirts with girls, there's probably some part of her that feels attracted to that rebellious side of his.

I know there were some that didn't seem pleased from that artwork in Final Chapter, but to me I felt that might have been the best looks overall for Lum and Ataru especially. I know the trend in anime in general was leaning towards that 'larger eye' look, but given that half of the expressiveness of Lum and Ataru comes from their eyes, it was fitting. Also, not counting the artwork that came about in many of the later episodes, it was the first time Lum really looked more like a young woman and not a very cute kid. Lum's beauty came from simplicity, I recall one very early episode when she was playing around with lipstick and it was interesting to see that additional color, but otherwise, aside from the tiger bikini or other clothing, she really didn't mess with much in the way of her looks. Green hair, uncanny blue eyes, and that always present blue eyeshadow, no other makeup ever.

I can say I never felt bad for Mendou ever. The episode with Lum's class reunion, when Oyuki told Mendou and Ataru of the problem they had with the dimensional space they wanted to use for the party, two things stood out. The first was Mendou tried to be the hero, and failed miserably. The moment he saw all the real alien creatures he fell apart, the other was Ataru called him out on his actions and then stepped up and saved the day. And yes, the Valentine's Deception would be a good one to adapt too, I actually just re-read that one the other day and thought the wall of candy Lum was building for Ataru was perfect.

I'd have to say if Ryoko was more recurring, she'd end up being another 'thorn' in Lum's side, she did love playing Ataru as much as she could too. The indolence that Takahashi portrayed the two richest families as having was remarkable. But I give Ryoko a bit more credit than I ever will to Mendou, she seemed to have a heart somewhere inside her. I just laughed at Mendou's situation though with the Voodoo doll, because Ataru had no idea until the end. The only time I felt a little bad for Mendou was when Ryoko was feeding the octopus arms to her tree, and that was really more because despite anything else, they were actually cute.

Ataru's overall growth through either manga or anime is probably more realistic than any more modern anime. He starts off he'd give anything to get rid of Lum, until the first chances of that actually appear. He starts realizing that fully when her father tried to get her paired off with someone else. Though I will say I did initially miss that in the second appearance of Rei, when Ataru, Megane, Chibi and Kakugari are being chased by Rei in his tiger-cow form, Ataru said that while he wants to get rid of her, the thought of anyone taking her away from him isn't something he can stand. The first Christmas episode happens and Ataru realizes how pretty Lum is; we get to Matchmaking and he hitches a ride to the party and aids the ruination of the party. I did like that in the manga, Lum didn't have a clue until the thought bubbles between Ten and her happened, in the anime, Lum just knew it was him. Then in After You've Gone, Ataru is so miserable when he thinks she's gone that we actually see him crying, and Lum being sneaky, hears him. His ever growing feeling comes about here and there until The Final Chapter, where he pretty much gives up to Mendou his girl chasing information, tries to run out of a hole in the side of the school, flies with the others to Rupa's world (By the way, another example of Ataru's powerset, he resisted the G forces from alien ship level escape velocity to get Lum's horns out and clench them in his fist as he said she better be okay). He jumps off a building to fall with her, refuses to lie to her even if it means the end of the Earth and proceeds to be completely defeated by her, all because if/when he does tell her, it'll be on his terms when she won't doubt him. Not a bad change considering in the first episode the first thing he noted about Lum was her bust.

Edit: I just remembered the manga with the matching kimono garb that Lum got for them, when it got away from Lum near the end and some guy grabbed it and Ataru was thinking why doesn't she zap him. Then when she did, it floated away again and she chased after it and was about to get flattened by a telephone pole when Ataru came zooming in and shoved her to safety even as he was almost creamed and he fell into water. More growth right there for him.

Lum used them rarely, aside from the first Ran appearance I don't really recall others. Ataru used them more often, even on Rupa. The anime version of the diary story did have him shrug off Lum talking to Mendou, but the manga version he wasn't happy at all. The Rain Girl story was good, I think in his 4 out of 5, Shinobu was likely the 5th one he may have been referring to, only because that was the only relationship he had unless things happened 'off camera'. The Valentine's Anime one he was somewhat willing, I was a bit confused that somehow Lum zapping Ten sent Ataru flying at her, but I will say I did like seeing Lum zap Ten for calling Ataru an idiot. Still, he flew at her and she caught him and that was a pretty heavy kiss and at first he seemed thrown off but then he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back amidst that swirl of her hair.

I have all the music capsules on my IPod as well as on a playlist on my computer, considering the time the snow was made, the music is very good and it is easily associated to characters/situations. Like when Ataru is taken from Lum's father's ship and Lum gives chase, I can hear that and know it was used twice; in that scene in Only You, and when Ataru charges across the bridge at the end of Ep 106 to try and rescue Lum. And Ataru said it best to Mujaki near the end of Beautiful Dreamer, he never considers the consequences of what he does. He just acts and lets things go where they will, good thing too, that's saved everyone's hides more than once. I would say though Ataru fears two things, the first being commitment like you said, the second being hurting Lum's feelings.

I loved how early on he always rubbed it in Megane's face that Lum chose him. The effect it had on Megane was great because he always looked like he was going to pop a gasket. Then when Megane tried to get even, it backfired.

Mendou's problem is he always underestimates everyone. The episode with the giant Christmas tree is a perfect example, not once but twice he jumps down with his sword ready thinking he'll get Ataru. Really? Just jump down and get him, not even Ataru was ever THAT stupid, and there have been some dumb things that Ataru has done.

That whole sequence with Kurama and Ryuunosuke and Ataru getting a chest was hilarious, because Mendou was just that freaked out by it all. Poking Ataru and the reaction he got made me laugh so hard the first time I saw it. In Elle's case, I guess it was that Lum and the Oni in general hadn't met anyone with a formidable force of their own. Lum's lightning is pretty impressive and Ataru was encased in the barrier and it didn't even faze him. It took those lightning guns to remove it, which to Ataru's credit, he survived that which not much more than his usual charring and being dizzy for a moment.

Ataru's mother's best moment I think, was in Final Chapter, when she's talking to her husband and she pretty much states why she doesn't understand why her son doesn't say it and gives her approval of Lum in her own way. It's pretty obvious overall that everyone knows he loves her, but because they had a misunderstanding which I consider a role reversal for Ataru and Lum, it turned into a showdown. I consider it a role reversal because for the first time, even if wasn't real, Ataru had to see what Lum usually went through with him, 'Lum' being affectionate to someone else. He's been sad before, but that was the first time he was ever really hurt. Between that and the complete defeat he suffered in the tag match, while it can be said that karma is indeed a bitch, I felt bad for him. To think the woman you love is happily going off with someone else and then later get crushed by her in a tag match that you can't possibly win unless you give in. It's too bad there wasn't more internal monologue for the two of them, it'd have been interesting to see how that could have been developed more and see how they both felt.

Kurama's desire to have a husband and children was racial preservation, and someone she could control. Ran was just single-minded in her pursuit of the handsomest, and most simple-minded of all the characters. The flashbacks show Lum was once happy with him, but I imagine Rei as being pretty much like this, "I'm handsome, I'm a thick as a brick when it comes to my skull, and I want to eat constantly while you dote on me" and as we know Lum, she has one desire, to be to someone else what they are to her, the love of their life. Lucky bastard Ataru that he is, somehow became that for Lum, just took a bunch of episodes, OVAs and 5 movies to see she was that for Ataru. The manga basically stated that Lum wanted to see that he kept something of hers to show he did have feelings, the anime was more focused on him saying the three words, but I guess in keeping an actual piece of Lum (morbid in a way, but still, it doesn't get any more personal than keeping the horns I guess), she got her answer. But she went from a pretty much 2 dimensional person to someone that was way more complicated than she could have expected and to say the least, that was more than enough for her.
« Last Edit: August 04, 2017, 05:19:01 AM by Oldfan »
I remain unhappy that they didn't give the right closure to the relationship and we have to 'decide for ourselves' if Lum and Ataru got together.

Offline Seiryu

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Re: Theory regarding the 'ending' as we loosely call it
« Reply #31 on: August 04, 2017, 05:50:09 AM »
- Final Chapter had perfectly captured the characters looking a bit older than they did for most of the series. It's part of why the OVA I Howl at the Moon is very pleasing to look at since it's artstyle is pretty much the same as The Final Chapter.

- Heart of lead is pretty accurate. I love how the series doesn't ever try to make you feel bad for Mendou either because he's a an egotistical scumbag underneath it all, and pretty much has almost everything coming for him. When he doesn't have it coming to him, he's pretty just being the butt monkey of the story. The way he took pain isn't the same way early Ataru did where you legit could feel bad for Ataru at times. I'd love to see Valentine's Deception adapted into an OVA now that I think about it. A cute and funny story. But it's also the usual Ataru acts like a jerk, but in a "cruel twist" he doesn't receive any of the Valentine's from Shinobu, Ran, or even Lum, and even watches Lum give one to Mendou lol. Mendou mocked Ataru the entirety of that one. Until we find out at the end of it all, Lum had planned a special one for Ataru.

- Ryoko's desire to torment does reach pretty crazy levels. I think I'd feel bad more for Mendou if Ryoko was a more recurring character than she ended up being. I remember the story of the voodoo doll and I think I legitimately started feeling bad for Mendou there. He legit could have died there if she really wanted to kill him. Turning the tree into a rocket is something so Ryoko like I laughed when it all happened. That episode in general was funny with Mendou constantly being dumb and jumping off the tree to attack Ataru. When Moroboshi wants to get to or away from a girl, he'll do whatever it takes to do so. It's why I find it funny. He can deceive people and trick people quite often, but he's a terrible liar.

- I mean it was pretty obvious he'd choose to try and protect their future, but it's always nice to see him willingly choose to save it. We all know he doesn't want to settle down at the age he's at (and while his actions are justifiable by any means, I can understand him perfectly for not wanting to just tie the knot at age 17). But it's always great to see that he's clearly content with not only spending the rest of his life with her, but eventually settling down with Lum when he feels he's at the age of where that'd be appropriate.

- Mallets were incredibly underused in the anime unfortunately. He's very shy, he's also extremely emotional. Which explains why he has a diary. The diary one was funny. Especially the scene where he stumbled upon the page that said that Lum and Mendou would talk with one another and he'd get jealous. I find it funny how one of the versions of that story (I think the anime) has him scoff it off, while the manga version has him legit trying to pretend that he isn't jealous. You may have a point. I remember the beginning of the Electric Jungle story, a girl actually did say yes to him, and he chose to not go to that date. He's extremely use to rejection and already expects girls to say no to the point that he doesn't know how to handle a girl that actually does say yes. Of course Ataru doesn't get turned down all the time, as in the story with the Rain Girl, he told her he gets dumped like 4 out of 5 times. I'm surprised girls even accept to go on dates with him 20% of the time. But then you have Lum, a girl truly devoted and invested in a relationship with him, and he's in completely unknown territory. There's only one way to handle it for Ataru, flirt with other girls to keep that distance between Lum and him. Probably was the anime writers throwing the couple a bone considering Ataru and Lum's kiss in the last episode I believe is the only one he willingly chose to participate in throughout the anime from the very start.

- I've just been listening to all of the music capsules and it's feels honestly amazing listening back to all these tracks from the 80s. So many of them I associate with different characters depending on what it is just because of how frequently it plays with a specific character or if it matches their personality. Of course, there's a few tracks with Lum or Ataru in the title of it, which is a dead giveaway as to who the song is specifically referring to. Ataru's life seems to be pretty fun all things considering. He doesn't even concern himself with luck. Heck, it's part of the character's appeal to me later in the series. He becomes so apathetic and disinterested with the consequences of his actions that he disregards them. He knows very well that if Lum or whoever gets him whenever he's doing something mischievous, he's going to endure some punishment, yet he does what he does anyway. He pretty much doesn't fear the pain, as he knows it won't last longer for more than a moment or two and he'll just brush it off and go about with his day. The invincible Ataru fears nothing... except commitment.

- When you catch flak from most of the other major male characters because they're jelly of you because you have the attractive and kind-hearted alien girl, you take every opportunity to mock them right back. Ataru is always in the mood to making a fool of the others.

- Not like Mendou would be much of a factor. It's like everyone can clown the guy. He's little more threatening than Tatewaki Kuno from Ranma in that he's a least a bit more competent than Kuno and more resources.

- That really was the flaw with Kurama as a character. She was single-minded and so stories with her were extremely limited to just that: Kurama finding a suitable husband. She also got pretty close to getting Ryuunosuke until Ataru stopped that from happening and even became a woman in the process as well. That was one of my favorite stories in the series. It got so bad that even Ataru in the manga was like: "This is weird even for us." Only other female who had the upperhand on Lum was Elle, which was pretty much until Lum's rescue mission crashing that wedding.

- It's nice how much Ataru's mother improved as well. She's legit nicer towards Ataru and has even expressed that she loves him later on. Ataru's dad was sort of in the background almost all of the time, and his mother quite often appeared more in random chapters and had dialogue as opposed to his dad.

- Just seems like the alien women are a lot more committed to being mothers. Doesn't hurt that they're pretty determined and feel strongly about their decisions to spend the rest of their lives with the men of their dreams. Ataru does often let her win like when they both wrestled each other for the Mendou family. Ataru (who doesn't hit women) just chose to just let her get him on the ground and everything. It was all very playful between the two, which starts becoming the nature of their relationship later on. They're quite playful with one another. Lum tries her hardest to get Ataru to express his feelings for her more often, and Ataru likes to piss her off by flirting with other girls. It's made even better with the fact that Ataru is a rebellious guy, but Lum herself is no stranger to acting like that either. While she definitely hates that he flirts with girls, there's probably some part of her that feels attracted to that rebellious side of his.

I know there were some that didn't seem pleased from that artwork in Final Chapter, but to me I felt that might have been the best looks overall for Lum and Ataru especially. I know the trend in anime in general was leaning towards that 'larger eye' look, but given that half of the expressiveness of Lum and Ataru comes from their eyes, it was fitting. Also, not counting the artwork that came about in many of the later episodes, it was the first time Lum really looked more like a young woman and not a very cute kid. Lum's beauty came from simplicity, I recall one very early episode when she was playing around with lipstick and it was interesting to see that additional color, but otherwise, aside from the tiger bikini or other clothing, she really didn't mess with much in the way of her looks. Green hair, uncanny blue eyes, and that always present blue eyeshadow, no other makeup ever.

I can say I never felt bad for Mendou ever. The episode with Lum's class reunion, when Oyuki told Mendou and Ataru of the problem they had with the dimensional space they wanted to use for the party, two things stood out. The first was Mendou tried to be the hero, and failed miserably. The moment he saw all the real alien creatures he fell apart, the other was Ataru called him out on his actions and then stepped up and saved the day. And yes, the Valentine's Deception would be a good one to adapt too, I actually just re-read that one the other day and thought the wall of candy Lum was building for Ataru was perfect.

I'd have to say if Ryoko was more recurring, she'd end up being another 'thorn' in Lum's side, she did love playing Ataru as much as she could too. The indolence that Takahashi portrayed the two richest families as having was remarkable. But I give Ryoko a bit more credit than I ever will to Mendou, she seemed to have a heart somewhere inside her. I just laughed at Mendou's situation though with the Voodoo doll, because Ataru had no idea until the end. The only time I felt a little bad for Mendou was when Ryoko was feeding the octopus arms to her tree, and that was really more because despite anything else, they were actually cute.

Ataru's overall growth through either manga or anime is probably more realistic than any more modern anime. He starts off he'd give anything to get rid of Lum, until the first chances of that actually appear. He starts realizing that fully when her father tried to get her paired off with someone else. Though I will say I did initially miss that in the second appearance of Rei, when Ataru, Megane, Chibi and Kakugari are being chased by Rei in his tiger-cow form, Ataru said that while he wants to get rid of her, the thought of anyone taking her away from him isn't something he can stand. The first Christmas episode happens and Ataru realizes how pretty Lum is; we get to Matchmaking and he hitches a ride to the party and aids the ruination of the party. I did like that in the manga, Lum didn't have a clue until the thought bubbles between Ten and her happened, in the anime, Lum just knew it was him. Then in After You've Gone, Ataru is so miserable when he thinks she's gone that we actually see him crying, and Lum being sneaky, hears him. His ever growing feeling comes about here and there until The Final Chapter, where he pretty much gives up to Mendou his girl chasing information, tries to run out of a hole in the side of the school, flies with the others to Rupa's world (By the way, another example of Ataru's powerset, he resisted the G forces from alien ship level escape velocity to get Lum's horns out and clench them in his fist as he said she better be okay). He jumps off a building to fall with her, refuses to lie to her even if it means the end of the Earth and proceeds to be completely defeated by her, all because if/when he does tell her, it'll be on his terms when she won't doubt him. Not a bad change considering in the first episode the first thing he noted about Lum was her bust.

Lum used them rarely, aside from the first Ran appearance I don't really recall others. Ataru used them more often, even on Rupa. The anime version of the diary story did have him shrug off Lum talking to Mendou, but the manga version he wasn't happy at all. The Rain Girl story was good, I think in his 4 out of 5, Shinobu was likely the 5th one he may have been referring to, only because that was the only relationship he had unless things happened 'off camera'. The Valentine's Anime one he was somewhat willing, I was a bit confused that somehow Lum zapping Ten sent Ataru flying at her, but I will say I did like seeing Lum zap Ten for calling Ataru an idiot. Still, he flew at her and she caught him and that was a pretty heavy kiss and at first he seemed thrown off but then he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back amidst that swirl of her hair.

I have all the music capsules on my IPod as well as on a playlist on my computer, considering the time the snow was made, the music is very good and it is easily associated to characters/situations. Like when Ataru is taken from Lum's father's ship and Lum gives chase, I can hear that and know it was used twice; in that scene in Only You, and when Ataru charges across the bridge at the end of Ep 106 to try and rescue Lum. And Ataru said it best to Mujaki near the end of Beautiful Dreamer, he never considers the consequences of what he does. He just acts and lets things go where they will, good thing too, that's saved everyone's hides more than once. I would say though Ataru fears two things, the first being commitment like you said, the second being hurting Lum's feelings.

I loved how early on he always rubbed it in Megane's face that Lum chose him. The effect it had on Megane was great because he always looked like he was going to pop a gasket. Then when Megane tried to get even, it backfired.

Mendou's problem is he always underestimates everyone. The episode with the giant Christmas tree is a perfect example, not once but twice he jumps down with his sword ready thinking he'll get Ataru. Really? Just jump down and get him, not even Ataru was ever THAT stupid, and there have been some dumb things that Ataru has done.

That whole sequence with Kurama and Ryuunosuke and Ataru getting a chest was hilarious, because Mendou was just that freaked out by it all. Poking Ataru and the reaction he got made me laugh so hard the first time I saw it. In Elle's case, I guess it was that Lum and the Oni in general hadn't met anyone with a formidable force of their own. Lum's lightning is pretty impressive and Ataru was encased in the barrier and it didn't even faze him. It took those lightning guns to remove it, which to Ataru's credit, he survived that which not much more than his usual charring and being dizzy for a moment.

Ataru's mother's best moment I think, was in Final Chapter, when she's talking to her husband and she pretty much states why she doesn't understand why her son doesn't say it and gives her approval of Lum in her own way. It's pretty obvious overall that everyone knows he loves her, but because they had a misunderstanding which I consider a role reversal for Ataru and Lum, it turned into a showdown. I consider it a role reversal because for the first time, even if wasn't real, Ataru had to see what Lum usually went through with him, 'Lum' being affectionate to someone else. He's been sad before, but that was the first time he was ever really hurt. Between that and the complete defeat he suffered in the tag match, while it can be said that karma is indeed a bitch, I felt bad for him. To think the woman you love is happily going off with someone else and then later get crushed by her in a tag match that you can't possibly win unless you give in. It's too bad there wasn't more internal monologue for the two of them, it'd have been interesting to see how that could have been developed more and see how they both felt.

Kurama's desire to have a husband and children was racial preservation, and someone she could control. Ran was just single-minded in her pursuit of the handsomest, and most simple-minded of all the characters. The flashbacks show Lum was once happy with him, but I imagine Rei as being pretty much like this, "I'm handsome, I'm a thick as a brick when it comes to my skull, and I want to eat constantly while you dote on me" and as we know Lum, she has one desire, to be to someone else what they are to her, the love of their life. Lucky bastard Ataru that he is, somehow became that for Lum, just took a bunch of episodes, OVAs and 5 movies to see she was that for Ataru. The manga basically stated that Lum wanted to see that he kept something of hers to show he did have feelings, the anime was more focused on him saying the three words, but I guess in keeping an actual piece of Lum (morbid in a way, but still, it doesn't get any more personal than keeping the horns I guess), she got her answer. But she went from a pretty much 2 dimensional person to someone that was way more complicated than she could have expected and to say the least, that was more than enough for her.
- I thought the art style was perfect for that part of the series. The ending, with everyone looking older than how they did at the end of the anime. The anime itself did this too. Episode 1 Ataru looks different from Episode 195 Ataru. Lum goes through several changes herself to where she comes off a lot of the time looking either like a really cute 15 year old, or barely 17.

- Lol, love how Ataru had no reaction to the alien creatures. Mendou sure is a coward deep inside. Ataru calling him out on it was great. I love how Valentine's Deception went. The way Takahashi wrote it made it seem like Lum didn't give a damn about getting Ataru a chocolate (in Ataru's eyes). You'd think Ataru would realize by that point that Lum tends to think bigger than just giving him a simple chocolate. Made even greater by Ataru acting like a jerk, and then watching him not get any chocolate. I did like that Shinobu would have given him one had she had anymore.

- They both had a heart I'd say, though masked beneath their other qualities. Made worse for Mendou due to how recurring he is, and the fact that you just see more of his flaws as a person and how much an ego-maniac he really is. The Octopus got it rough at times.

- He's just an "average 17 year old boy" who's going through his phase of immaturity and lechery. He definitely seems to unwind and chill out a lot more as the series progresses, often just going with the flow of things. Ataru use to bug out a lot towards the weird things happening to him in the early parts of the series. Well Lum has a bust to admire, Ataru took full advantage of that in the anime at one point. Of course, it runs much deeper than that by the end. I love how when the group got captured on Rupa's world, nobody but Ataru thought to cunningly jump into the water to avoid being seen. He'd have saved Lum successfully had it not been for the fiasco of the fake Lum. Of course, without that, the catalyst to the bigger plot at hand would have never happened.

- It's probably one of those off-screen things in that 20% of the females he asks to go on a date with him say yes. I guess it could count as willing. Though he wouldn't have kissed her on his own free will, he definitely didn't mind it. Hilariously enough, an episode earlier was the Snow Queen one, which Lum kisses Ataru in as well (though Ataru is quite flabbergasted and didn't expect the Snow Queen to be Lum). Pretty much her own devised plan to get Ataru to kiss her.

- Good thing too. Ataru is perfectly capable of thinking before he acts, but willingly chooses not to. I mean it's pretty much a big reason he saved everyone from being trapped in the dreams from Mujaki. I don't know if he's necessarily afraid of hurting her feelings though. He seems to not mind getting her pissed off or offended (unless he takes it too far), but seems to hate the thought of her crying because of him. The sweet potatoes one was a pretty clear indicator of that.

- He even tells Megane in episode 10 that Lum is free to love whoever she wants and he loses it. Especially since, despite how smug Ataru is for saying it, he isn't wrong and Megane knows this. He'll probably go to prison for something eventually.

- I love how Ryoko already assumed Mendou died when he jumped off and was genuinely surprised when she found out he was still alive.

- I loved the scene, especially in the manga. Kyousuke touches Ataru's chest and then just tags Mendou in only for him to freak out. I love how in the back you have Ryuunosuke just nonchalantly realizing that Ataru has breasts.

- I wouldn't mind more dialogue, though I feel there was enough to know how they both felt. He really was just put into a position to where he couldn't win on his own. The sheer fact she can fly already meant he had no chance in the world at winning. The real reason he beat Lum the first time was because of the fact she didn't know him, so she had no clue what to expect from Ataru (not to mention she was fairly cocky herself which is partly why Ataru managed to get her bra which led to her defeat). By the time of the second tag match, she was a lot more focused, and clearly played the safe and smart game by just keeping away since it was obvious he couldn't feasibly catch her within the terms of the game, especially since she wasn't falling for his usual tricks. Ataru didn't start truly taking it seriously himself until he found out about the Memory-Erasing Device. Only time Ataru even got close to Lum was near the end when she was not only pretty desperate, but also depressed and puzzled at the idea of why he won't just say one phrase to end the whole game.

- It's pretty telling that only Ataru, Lum, and Shinobu got their romantic plots resolved for the most part. Sure you could say Mendou too I guess, but it never got to the point of being as serious as the Inaba stories for Shinobu, or having the entire manga, anime, most OVAs, and all of the movies backing him up that Ataru and Lum got.

Offline Oldfan

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Re: Theory regarding the 'ending' as we loosely call it
« Reply #32 on: August 06, 2017, 04:34:32 AM »
- I thought the art style was perfect for that part of the series. The ending, with everyone looking older than how they did at the end of the anime. The anime itself did this too. Episode 1 Ataru looks different from Episode 195 Ataru. Lum goes through several changes herself to where she comes off a lot of the time looking either like a really cute 15 year old, or barely 17.

- Lol, love how Ataru had no reaction to the alien creatures. Mendou sure is a coward deep inside. Ataru calling him out on it was great. I love how Valentine's Deception went. The way Takahashi wrote it made it seem like Lum didn't give a damn about getting Ataru a chocolate (in Ataru's eyes). You'd think Ataru would realize by that point that Lum tends to think bigger than just giving him a simple chocolate. Made even greater by Ataru acting like a jerk, and then watching him not get any chocolate. I did like that Shinobu would have given him one had she had anymore.

- They both had a heart I'd say, though masked beneath their other qualities. Made worse for Mendou due to how recurring he is, and the fact that you just see more of his flaws as a person and how much an ego-maniac he really is. The Octopus got it rough at times.

- He's just an "average 17 year old boy" who's going through his phase of immaturity and lechery. He definitely seems to unwind and chill out a lot more as the series progresses, often just going with the flow of things. Ataru use to bug out a lot towards the weird things happening to him in the early parts of the series. Well Lum has a bust to admire, Ataru took full advantage of that in the anime at one point. Of course, it runs much deeper than that by the end. I love how when the group got captured on Rupa's world, nobody but Ataru thought to cunningly jump into the water to avoid being seen. He'd have saved Lum successfully had it not been for the fiasco of the fake Lum. Of course, without that, the catalyst to the bigger plot at hand would have never happened.

- It's probably one of those off-screen things in that 20% of the females he asks to go on a date with him say yes. I guess it could count as willing. Though he wouldn't have kissed her on his own free will, he definitely didn't mind it. Hilariously enough, an episode earlier was the Snow Queen one, which Lum kisses Ataru in as well (though Ataru is quite flabbergasted and didn't expect the Snow Queen to be Lum). Pretty much her own devised plan to get Ataru to kiss her.

- Good thing too. Ataru is perfectly capable of thinking before he acts, but willingly chooses not to. I mean it's pretty much a big reason he saved everyone from being trapped in the dreams from Mujaki. I don't know if he's necessarily afraid of hurting her feelings though. He seems to not mind getting her pissed off or offended (unless he takes it too far), but seems to hate the thought of her crying because of him. The sweet potatoes one was a pretty clear indicator of that.

- He even tells Megane in episode 10 that Lum is free to love whoever she wants and he loses it. Especially since, despite how smug Ataru is for saying it, he isn't wrong and Megane knows this. He'll probably go to prison for something eventually.

- I love how Ryoko already assumed Mendou died when he jumped off and was genuinely surprised when she found out he was still alive.

- I loved the scene, especially in the manga. Kyousuke touches Ataru's chest and then just tags Mendou in only for him to freak out. I love how in the back you have Ryuunosuke just nonchalantly realizing that Ataru has breasts.

- I wouldn't mind more dialogue, though I feel there was enough to know how they both felt. He really was just put into a position to where he couldn't win on his own. The sheer fact she can fly already meant he had no chance in the world at winning. The real reason he beat Lum the first time was because of the fact she didn't know him, so she had no clue what to expect from Ataru (not to mention she was fairly cocky herself which is partly why Ataru managed to get her bra which led to her defeat). By the time of the second tag match, she was a lot more focused, and clearly played the safe and smart game by just keeping away since it was obvious he couldn't feasibly catch her within the terms of the game, especially since she wasn't falling for his usual tricks. Ataru didn't start truly taking it seriously himself until he found out about the Memory-Erasing Device. Only time Ataru even got close to Lum was near the end when she was not only pretty desperate, but also depressed and puzzled at the idea of why he won't just say one phrase to end the whole game.

- It's pretty telling that only Ataru, Lum, and Shinobu got their romantic plots resolved for the most part. Sure you could say Mendou too I guess, but it never got to the point of being as serious as the Inaba stories for Shinobu, or having the entire manga, anime, most OVAs, and all of the movies backing him up that Ataru and Lum got.

It also helped in not just her case, but for all the girls in the series that they were drawn essentially with a little more body substance to them. The Lum of Ep 1 of the anime had a slightly larger head and a slim body with her obvious bust that Ataru noticed immediately. Shinobu looked way more like a younger girl (jailbait as Kurama called her), Oyuki, Benten and Ran all needed to eat a little more. Only Sakura came off as normal. I know, adult vs children, but when you look at the movies in comparison, the bodies normalized a bit. More notably Lum and Shinobu than the others, well, Ran's bikini seemed like it got smaller than Lum's even. The one thing I hated in Always My Darling was the step back the kids took in it. When Mr. Fujinami is trying to sell stuff at the end, there's a group shot of most of the people before Ryuunosuke punches him up into the sky, Shinobu is tiny, Inaba is a giant compared to her, and Ryuunosuke really does sadly look like a boy.

Mendou is a coward with a really nasty streak in him. Imo the caterpillar, he would have almost did kill it with the bug spray. Ataru thinks and usually correctly so, that Lum is completely enthralled with him and will come through, so when she doesn't he gets a comeuppance. He may not learn, but the lesson is a harsh one. I liked how the manga made more of a big deal with Valentine's Day than the anime did. I know if I had a crappy Valentine's Day like he did and then woke up too a wall of chocolate from the girl I supposedly wanted to get rid of, I'd be reassessing my stupidity. Also, unless I miss my mark, I think it's only really because of Lum that he ever cries. In the anime episode And Then There Were None is a great example. Everyone else comes up dead, he's shocked, upset even. When the water comes through the ceiling when Lum is taking a bath? He's in a crisis. And unless I'm wrong, he inferred they're supposed to go at the same time. Go where? Die? I took that as either be killed on the island at the same time, or live out their lives and die at the same time. If it's the former, then okay, fits the story, if it's the latter then sounds like someone planned on a life with Lum somewhat early on.

Well, other than the one that grabbed Shinobu and gave her the no clothes treatment. Mendou has many of the 'bad qualities' that Ataru has and none of his good ones.

I would hate to see anyone more extreme than Ataru, in terms of lechery that is. I know it exists in other animes, but in the UYverse, he's supposedly the best at it. Even the God of Lust in Always My Darling was impressed by his aura of lust. The funny thing with Lum's bust; it's not really any more prominent than those of other girls save Shinobu. Sakura didn't mind wearing some revealing stuff early on. Heck, Ran's bikini in Only You was just as skimpy as Lum's. Benten's outfit was not what I call conservative either. Oyuki actually became way more conservative from her initial appearances as her indoor clothing was much more revealing. Kurama never changed her look, and Shinobu dressed based on the occasion. And with the whole rescue thing, almost feels like Ataru was the only one on the ball - until he thought Lum was going to marry Rupa, then he fell apart.

The Snow Queen episode was fun, Lum figured out his plan and beat him, fair and square. Well, she did give him something to cheat with, but overall, she won. That was always a nice thing, seeing her get her victories in the end.

I would say he might not be mindful of Lum's feelings, but if she does get hurt, he's quick to feel bad and apologize. The episode with them home alone and Mendou and the others try to interfere, when she tries to tell him something and he snaps at her, as soon as she looks sad at him, he stops immediately and pretty much says don't mind me as an apology. Too bad he had to wear that suit though at the end...

Given Megane and the others seem to almost have lolita complexes, they'll be locked away for a while. But Ep 10 was the start of Lum stopping her treatment of Ataru as a possession. She makes it very clear in her dialogue to herself and to Ten she loves Ataru, she did that in the Manga too (sans Ten who wasn't added yet).

She didn't seem fazed too much by assuming he was dead. I loved in Ep 93 when she's calling him for breakfast and when he keeps saying okay she blows up the bridge. Her words, "I bear no grudge" are usually followed by a stack of grenades.

Ataru's reaction to them is priceless, poor Mendou looked like he was going to dry up and die.

Ultimately, Ataru had no chance unless he gave in to her demands, and we know Ataru, one of the two most stubborn people in the series. It boiled down to she wanted him to say it, and he didn't want to say it under those circumstances, but it was likely the closest he ever came to saying it. And the sequence as he's running to her when she flies at him, you almost think he's going to say it because he opens his mouth and we hear the beginning of sound and then we shift to her and screaming her trademark "Darling" as she flies at him. I watched it with a headset on my computer, when she grabs him we get an "Oof" sound from him too. Always missed that when watching on TV.

Ha, Mendou got his just desserts. He wanted what he couldn't have, now he's stuck with something he doesn't want and doesn't really want him in return because Asuka wants her brother.
I remain unhappy that they didn't give the right closure to the relationship and we have to 'decide for ourselves' if Lum and Ataru got together.

Offline Seiryu

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Re: Theory regarding the 'ending' as we loosely call it
« Reply #33 on: August 06, 2017, 06:02:40 AM »
- I thought the art style was perfect for that part of the series. The ending, with everyone looking older than how they did at the end of the anime. The anime itself did this too. Episode 1 Ataru looks different from Episode 195 Ataru. Lum goes through several changes herself to where she comes off a lot of the time looking either like a really cute 15 year old, or barely 17.

- Lol, love how Ataru had no reaction to the alien creatures. Mendou sure is a coward deep inside. Ataru calling him out on it was great. I love how Valentine's Deception went. The way Takahashi wrote it made it seem like Lum didn't give a damn about getting Ataru a chocolate (in Ataru's eyes). You'd think Ataru would realize by that point that Lum tends to think bigger than just giving him a simple chocolate. Made even greater by Ataru acting like a jerk, and then watching him not get any chocolate. I did like that Shinobu would have given him one had she had anymore.

- They both had a heart I'd say, though masked beneath their other qualities. Made worse for Mendou due to how recurring he is, and the fact that you just see more of his flaws as a person and how much an ego-maniac he really is. The Octopus got it rough at times.

- He's just an "average 17 year old boy" who's going through his phase of immaturity and lechery. He definitely seems to unwind and chill out a lot more as the series progresses, often just going with the flow of things. Ataru use to bug out a lot towards the weird things happening to him in the early parts of the series. Well Lum has a bust to admire, Ataru took full advantage of that in the anime at one point. Of course, it runs much deeper than that by the end. I love how when the group got captured on Rupa's world, nobody but Ataru thought to cunningly jump into the water to avoid being seen. He'd have saved Lum successfully had it not been for the fiasco of the fake Lum. Of course, without that, the catalyst to the bigger plot at hand would have never happened.

- It's probably one of those off-screen things in that 20% of the females he asks to go on a date with him say yes. I guess it could count as willing. Though he wouldn't have kissed her on his own free will, he definitely didn't mind it. Hilariously enough, an episode earlier was the Snow Queen one, which Lum kisses Ataru in as well (though Ataru is quite flabbergasted and didn't expect the Snow Queen to be Lum). Pretty much her own devised plan to get Ataru to kiss her.

- Good thing too. Ataru is perfectly capable of thinking before he acts, but willingly chooses not to. I mean it's pretty much a big reason he saved everyone from being trapped in the dreams from Mujaki. I don't know if he's necessarily afraid of hurting her feelings though. He seems to not mind getting her pissed off or offended (unless he takes it too far), but seems to hate the thought of her crying because of him. The sweet potatoes one was a pretty clear indicator of that.

- He even tells Megane in episode 10 that Lum is free to love whoever she wants and he loses it. Especially since, despite how smug Ataru is for saying it, he isn't wrong and Megane knows this. He'll probably go to prison for something eventually.

- I love how Ryoko already assumed Mendou died when he jumped off and was genuinely surprised when she found out he was still alive.

- I loved the scene, especially in the manga. Kyousuke touches Ataru's chest and then just tags Mendou in only for him to freak out. I love how in the back you have Ryuunosuke just nonchalantly realizing that Ataru has breasts.

- I wouldn't mind more dialogue, though I feel there was enough to know how they both felt. He really was just put into a position to where he couldn't win on his own. The sheer fact she can fly already meant he had no chance in the world at winning. The real reason he beat Lum the first time was because of the fact she didn't know him, so she had no clue what to expect from Ataru (not to mention she was fairly cocky herself which is partly why Ataru managed to get her bra which led to her defeat). By the time of the second tag match, she was a lot more focused, and clearly played the safe and smart game by just keeping away since it was obvious he couldn't feasibly catch her within the terms of the game, especially since she wasn't falling for his usual tricks. Ataru didn't start truly taking it seriously himself until he found out about the Memory-Erasing Device. Only time Ataru even got close to Lum was near the end when she was not only pretty desperate, but also depressed and puzzled at the idea of why he won't just say one phrase to end the whole game.

- It's pretty telling that only Ataru, Lum, and Shinobu got their romantic plots resolved for the most part. Sure you could say Mendou too I guess, but it never got to the point of being as serious as the Inaba stories for Shinobu, or having the entire manga, anime, most OVAs, and all of the movies backing him up that Ataru and Lum got.

It also helped in not just her case, but for all the girls in the series that they were drawn essentially with a little more body substance to them. The Lum of Ep 1 of the anime had a slightly larger head and a slim body with her obvious bust that Ataru noticed immediately. Shinobu looked way more like a younger girl (jailbait as Kurama called her), Oyuki, Benten and Ran all needed to eat a little more. Only Sakura came off as normal. I know, adult vs children, but when you look at the movies in comparison, the bodies normalized a bit. More notably Lum and Shinobu than the others, well, Ran's bikini seemed like it got smaller than Lum's even. The one thing I hated in Always My Darling was the step back the kids took in it. When Mr. Fujinami is trying to sell stuff at the end, there's a group shot of most of the people before Ryuunosuke punches him up into the sky, Shinobu is tiny, Inaba is a giant compared to her, and Ryuunosuke really does sadly look like a boy.

Mendou is a coward with a really nasty streak in him. Imo the caterpillar, he would have almost did kill it with the bug spray. Ataru thinks and usually correctly so, that Lum is completely enthralled with him and will come through, so when she doesn't he gets a comeuppance. He may not learn, but the lesson is a harsh one. I liked how the manga made more of a big deal with Valentine's Day than the anime did. I know if I had a crappy Valentine's Day like he did and then woke up too a wall of chocolate from the girl I supposedly wanted to get rid of, I'd be reassessing my stupidity. Also, unless I miss my mark, I think it's only really because of Lum that he ever cries. In the anime episode And Then There Were None is a great example. Everyone else comes up dead, he's shocked, upset even. When the water comes through the ceiling when Lum is taking a bath? He's in a crisis. And unless I'm wrong, he inferred they're supposed to go at the same time. Go where? Die? I took that as either be killed on the island at the same time, or live out their lives and die at the same time. If it's the former, then okay, fits the story, if it's the latter then sounds like someone planned on a life with Lum somewhat early on.

Well, other than the one that grabbed Shinobu and gave her the no clothes treatment. Mendou has many of the 'bad qualities' that Ataru has and none of his good ones.

I would hate to see anyone more extreme than Ataru, in terms of lechery that is. I know it exists in other animes, but in the UYverse, he's supposedly the best at it. Even the God of Lust in Always My Darling was impressed by his aura of lust. The funny thing with Lum's bust; it's not really any more prominent than those of other girls save Shinobu. Sakura didn't mind wearing some revealing stuff early on. Heck, Ran's bikini in Only You was just as skimpy as Lum's. Benten's outfit was not what I call conservative either. Oyuki actually became way more conservative from her initial appearances as her indoor clothing was much more revealing. Kurama never changed her look, and Shinobu dressed based on the occasion. And with the whole rescue thing, almost feels like Ataru was the only one on the ball - until he thought Lum was going to marry Rupa, then he fell apart.

The Snow Queen episode was fun, Lum figured out his plan and beat him, fair and square. Well, she did give him something to cheat with, but overall, she won. That was always a nice thing, seeing her get her victories in the end.

I would say he might not be mindful of Lum's feelings, but if she does get hurt, he's quick to feel bad and apologize. The episode with them home alone and Mendou and the others try to interfere, when she tries to tell him something and he snaps at her, as soon as she looks sad at him, he stops immediately and pretty much says don't mind me as an apology. Too bad he had to wear that suit though at the end...

Given Megane and the others seem to almost have lolita complexes, they'll be locked away for a while. But Ep 10 was the start of Lum stopping her treatment of Ataru as a possession. She makes it very clear in her dialogue to herself and to Ten she loves Ataru, she did that in the Manga too (sans Ten who wasn't added yet).

She didn't seem fazed too much by assuming he was dead. I loved in Ep 93 when she's calling him for breakfast and when he keeps saying okay she blows up the bridge. Her words, "I bear no grudge" are usually followed by a stack of grenades.

Ataru's reaction to them is priceless, poor Mendou looked like he was going to dry up and die.

Ultimately, Ataru had no chance unless he gave in to her demands, and we know Ataru, one of the two most stubborn people in the series. It boiled down to she wanted him to say it, and he didn't want to say it under those circumstances, but it was likely the closest he ever came to saying it. And the sequence as he's running to her when she flies at him, you almost think he's going to say it because he opens his mouth and we hear the beginning of sound and then we shift to her and screaming her trademark "Darling" as she flies at him. I watched it with a headset on my computer, when she grabs him we get an "Oof" sound from him too. Always missed that when watching on TV.

Ha, Mendou got his just desserts. He wanted what he couldn't have, now he's stuck with something he doesn't want and doesn't really want him in return because Asuka wants her brother.
- Amazing how drastically the artstyle and the way the characters looked changed from different points in the series. Though they looked better than usual (as expected) in the films given when they arguably take place within the story (Always being the exception).

- I found it crazy how all the guys legit tried killing it. Like they were hellbent on it. When they were just stomping on it in the room and how it jumped to Ataru and then they tried getting it from Ataru by force to kill it was pretty damn sad. Yeah, he only ever reacts the strongest whenever it has to do with Lum. It's pretty obvious that despite these two only ever meeting each other at the age of 16, they pretty much care more about each other than anyone else. In Ataru's case, I can't blame him. Before Lum showed up, his life wasn't really all that good to begin with, and he was pretty much the village idiot, with his parents not even liking him (and his mother saying she wish she never had him). Even after Lum came into his life, most the people he came into contact with weren't exactly friendly with him either. Can clearly understand why Ataru prefers Lum to everyone else. With Lum, that's really one of the many great questions characters ask. Cause she wouldn't hesitate to choose Ataru over anyone else.

- Thinking about it, Mendou really doesn't have any redeemable qualities lol. Like of Rumiko's rich and wealthy rivals, he's by far the worse of the lot. Kuno is stupid and a jerk, but nowhere to the extent of Mendou, and Mitaka is honestly a decent person who actually does improve later on in the story, even trying to better himself as a person to get Kyoko's heart.

- Usually whenever Ataru made mention of Lum's bust, the anime would take liberties and increase the size of it at times. Like in that Kurama episode and Ataru firmly plants his face into her chest. It was a bit bigger than it usually is. Heck, even in the manga this was somewhat the case. Early Lum's chest size was larger than they end up being later on (best shown in the manga story where Lum tries to stop Ataru and Shinobu from seeing each other), and her proportions are also even curvier than they end up being later on. After a certain point, Takahashi kept her bust at relatively the same size (not small but not as big as how they were within like the first 15-20 chapters), and made her slightly less curvy.

- Lol she did cheat there. I find her win funnier in the manga in that in the manga story, she was the Snow Queen all along lol and after Ataru won on his own terms (since Lum didn't cheat there), he's so surprised and she is just so darn happy he won. The whole story was great in both versions with the fact that Ataru had no clue what the lady looked like. Of course, it was obvious to me from the start when first reading/watching it that Lum was the Snow Queen. Only character outside of Ataru they ever let get a kiss on Lum in both anime and manga was Pigumo (the frog who Lum willingly kissed to make him go back to normal), and Mendou (who forced a kiss on Lum in the story where his and Ataru's earthly desires were released from them by that spring fairy - manga version only). Saddest part, Mendou kissing Lum there is the last time any of the males of the cast ever kisses her in the manga. The anime seemed to make it a point to not have anyone but Ataru kiss her (outside of that one exception since the Pigumo story was a story from the manga).

- I guess he knew he didn't want to get electrocuted while she was sleeping. I'm sure if he really did want to get it on with Lum that night and had told he wanted to and didn't want to wear the suit, she probably would have happily complied. Sure Ataru ended up being fine if they had sex that night (always amazes me how from that story onwards, he'd be fine with having sex with her though not necessarily comfortable) though he clearly thought that's what she meant by sleeping with him, and obviously didn't press further since he's already shy enough as it is with her.

- Yeah that's true. They'll probably be taken in for stalking. Agreed there as well, it's where Lum acknowledges she really truly loves Ataru. What better situation for her to come to that realization and state it, then when Ataru has pissed her off/upset her? Best way to showcase it, since it made the point of her feelings all that much stronger. The whole icing on the cake was how Ataru was the one who initiated their extended time spent together when he requested for them to walk together for a bit longer while holding hands.

- Grenades... Reminds me of the mines she planted in the giant cake that people had to eat their way out of. She's a real piece of work that Ryoko.

- Mendou really did freak out there lol. Kyousuke definitely handled that part out better. Always questioned why Kyousuke's description was that he is Ataru's best friend in the manga when they don't hang out all that often late in the series. It was also pretty obvious for a long time that Lum is his best friend.

- The whole series, especially the last story is essentially Ataru's ultimatum. Faced with impossible odds in every way possible: Lum is completely focused this time around and is still allowed to fly. Mix that fact in with the fact that she has no intentions of letting him win and can just play keep away unless she hears the words she wants to hear. Ataru, who is equally as stubborn as her refuses to say so (unknowingly to Lum, he was refusing to do so for her own sake and happiness), and Ataru himself was fully aware without admitting it, he didn't have a chance in hell of winning that. The crucial moments being when he picked up Lum's horns and when he dropped them when he fell. Had he not fallen when and the way he did, he pretty much would have lost. Kinda crazy how much more depressing of an ending that would have been if Ataru hadn't fallen when he did and then after Lum wins, she then sees an exhausted and tired Ataru drop due to fatigue with her only then seeing the horns. Would have been tragic. Luckily, that didn't happen, and they can go on to continue living with each other for the rest of their lives. Heck, after the last story, I don't really see Ataru and Lum truly pissing each other off anymore. Definitely don't see anything like what went down in Boy Meets Girl/The Final Chapter ever again.

- How fitting. He's left with an option that doesn't even entirely want him, while he remains eternally jealous of a guy who got the girl he never had a chance of getting. All the while Mendou himself is a shallow, egotistical, jerk who (as you mentioned) doesn't possess any of the good qualities the guy he's jealous of does.

Offline Oldfan

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Re: Theory regarding the 'ending' as we loosely call it
« Reply #34 on: August 06, 2017, 09:04:50 AM »
- Amazing how drastically the artstyle and the way the characters looked changed from different points in the series. Though they looked better than usual (as expected) in the films given when they arguably take place within the story (Always being the exception).

- I found it crazy how all the guys legit tried killing it. Like they were hellbent on it. When they were just stomping on it in the room and how it jumped to Ataru and then they tried getting it from Ataru by force to kill it was pretty damn sad. Yeah, he only ever reacts the strongest whenever it has to do with Lum. It's pretty obvious that despite these two only ever meeting each other at the age of 16, they pretty much care more about each other than anyone else. In Ataru's case, I can't blame him. Before Lum showed up, his life wasn't really all that good to begin with, and he was pretty much the village idiot, with his parents not even liking him (and his mother saying she wish she never had him). Even after Lum came into his life, most the people he came into contact with weren't exactly friendly with him either. Can clearly understand why Ataru prefers Lum to everyone else. With Lum, that's really one of the many great questions characters ask. Cause she wouldn't hesitate to choose Ataru over anyone else.

- Thinking about it, Mendou really doesn't have any redeemable qualities lol. Like of Rumiko's rich and wealthy rivals, he's by far the worse of the lot. Kuno is stupid and a jerk, but nowhere to the extent of Mendou, and Mitaka is honestly a decent person who actually does improve later on in the story, even trying to better himself as a person to get Kyoko's heart.

- Usually whenever Ataru made mention of Lum's bust, the anime would take liberties and increase the size of it at times. Like in that Kurama episode and Ataru firmly plants his face into her chest. It was a bit bigger than it usually is. Heck, even in the manga this was somewhat the case. Early Lum's chest size was larger than they end up being later on (best shown in the manga story where Lum tries to stop Ataru and Shinobu from seeing each other), and her proportions are also even curvier than they end up being later on. After a certain point, Takahashi kept her bust at relatively the same size (not small but not as big as how they were within like the first 15-20 chapters), and made her slightly less curvy.

- Lol she did cheat there. I find her win funnier in the manga in that in the manga story, she was the Snow Queen all along lol and after Ataru won on his own terms (since Lum didn't cheat there), he's so surprised and she is just so darn happy he won. The whole story was great in both versions with the fact that Ataru had no clue what the lady looked like. Of course, it was obvious to me from the start when first reading/watching it that Lum was the Snow Queen. Only character outside of Ataru they ever let get a kiss on Lum in both anime and manga was Pigumo (the frog who Lum willingly kissed to make him go back to normal), and Mendou (who forced a kiss on Lum in the story where his and Ataru's earthly desires were released from them by that spring fairy - manga version only). Saddest part, Mendou kissing Lum there is the last time any of the males of the cast ever kisses her in the manga. The anime seemed to make it a point to not have anyone but Ataru kiss her (outside of that one exception since the Pigumo story was a story from the manga).

- I guess he knew he didn't want to get electrocuted while she was sleeping. I'm sure if he really did want to get it on with Lum that night and had told he wanted to and didn't want to wear the suit, she probably would have happily complied. Sure Ataru ended up being fine if they had sex that night (always amazes me how from that story onwards, he'd be fine with having sex with her though not necessarily comfortable) though he clearly thought that's what she meant by sleeping with him, and obviously didn't press further since he's already shy enough as it is with her.

- Yeah that's true. They'll probably be taken in for stalking. Agreed there as well, it's where Lum acknowledges she really truly loves Ataru. What better situation for her to come to that realization and state it, then when Ataru has pissed her off/upset her? Best way to showcase it, since it made the point of her feelings all that much stronger. The whole icing on the cake was how Ataru was the one who initiated their extended time spent together when he requested for them to walk together for a bit longer while holding hands.

- Grenades... Reminds me of the mines she planted in the giant cake that people had to eat their way out of. She's a real piece of work that Ryoko.

- Mendou really did freak out there lol. Kyousuke definitely handled that part out better. Always questioned why Kyousuke's description was that he is Ataru's best friend in the manga when they don't hang out all that often late in the series. It was also pretty obvious for a long time that Lum is his best friend.

- The whole series, especially the last story is essentially Ataru's ultimatum. Faced with impossible odds in every way possible: Lum is completely focused this time around and is still allowed to fly. Mix that fact in with the fact that she has no intentions of letting him win and can just play keep away unless she hears the words she wants to hear. Ataru, who is equally as stubborn as her refuses to say so (unknowingly to Lum, he was refusing to do so for her own sake and happiness), and Ataru himself was fully aware without admitting it, he didn't have a chance in hell of winning that. The crucial moments being when he picked up Lum's horns and when he dropped them when he fell. Had he not fallen when and the way he did, he pretty much would have lost. Kinda crazy how much more depressing of an ending that would have been if Ataru hadn't fallen when he did and then after Lum wins, she then sees an exhausted and tired Ataru drop due to fatigue with her only then seeing the horns. Would have been tragic. Luckily, that didn't happen, and they can go on to continue living with each other for the rest of their lives. Heck, after the last story, I don't really see Ataru and Lum truly pissing each other off anymore. Definitely don't see anything like what went down in Boy Meets Girl/The Final Chapter ever again.

- How fitting. He's left with an option that doesn't even entirely want him, while he remains eternally jealous of a guy who got the girl he never had a chance of getting. All the while Mendou himself is a shallow, egotistical, jerk who (as you mentioned) doesn't possess any of the good qualities the guy he's jealous of does.

I know that they had to juggle the movie productions alongside the production of the TV series, I give those artists a lot of credit, they really worked their hearts out on this stuff. I also have to say in Japan, there a LOT, and I'm understating this even with all caps, of UY fans on Twiiter. If I can figure out how to attach an image to these posts, someone seems to have scored storyboard sketches from the 3rd movie.

I thought it was crazy too, given how they all try to profess their love of beauty to Lum constantly. Meanwhile, Ataru simply thinks it's cute and it'll grow up to be a beautiful butterfly and Lum is immediately with him. I have to wonder if Lum just knew all this about him and that's part of the reason why she was so in love with him. She only made fun of him once when he was talking sentiment while sitting on the beach, but then she stopped. And now that you mention it, I tend to wonder if it's because of his parents treating him like they did since they didn't hesitate to say they wanted a daughter, if he was doing what he did on purpose.

Mendou is clearly the most unlikable, at least from our perspective. Ataru at least knew he had his uses, Lum just wanted everyone to be friends, and for the longest time, Shinobu just wanted him. She went from bad to worse to finally getting someone good. I don't hate Mendou, but I've known people like him and they always left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

Ah yes, the 'this is real moment' as he practically motorboats her. When Ten appeared in the anime he buried his head in her chest too, and after a moment, the 'poing' sound happened as her bust popped out from being smushed by his face. Lum sure didn't mind though, she even blushed a little. But you're right, early on she was bigger. I'd have to go through my digital tankobans, but there was one chapter intro image that had her in a bodysuit and my first thought was 'Wow, she's top heavy for her there'. I wouldn't say not as curvy, but she filled out more so to speak. I would have to say that aside from the inter-dimensional bathhouse episode when Ataru gets a job, her best body looks come later on, the 5th movie and in some of the OVAs.

Hehe, she can cheat as much as she wants when the outcome is her getting Ataru where she wants him. I remember the Pigumo episode and manga, it was interesting to see Ataru's reactions. Especially when he ran off at high speed and then just before the kiss, he zooms back and slaps Pigumo to the floor which shocks everyone. That whole 'My Woman' in play right there. And Mendou may have kissed her, but she sure wasn't happy about it, Manga Lum is a little more blunt in some ways than anime Lum, especially in the beginning. But then again, I know that Fumi Hirano was making her to be as adorable as possible which paid off. In the Catch the Heart OVA, Megane tried to kiss her and then died of a heart attack.

Oh I'm sure if he said 'C'Mon Lum..." she would have been all over him. Hell, Ten razzed him in the intro to Rei episode. The Oni are not shy that's for sure, when her mother kicked out her father and he stayed at the Moroboshi house, he really wanted to know why they didn't sleep together. Ataru was really uncomfortable then. But yeah, assumed the whole thing with sleeping, and she pretty much meant she wanted to cuddle up to him. First time I saw that episode my thought was 'Oh man you're an idiot Ataru'.

Ataru has had a few moments where he was the initiator of moments, or where he was going to be if he had the chance. I actually just finished re-watching Ep 64 "The Season for Goodbyes" which was based off the Ataru Retires manga. I suppose it can go in two directions, but it seems to me like at the beginning, which is all original, when Lum flies up into the drifting blossoms and calls out to him, Ataru has a strange look on his face. That, "Umm...wow' look that a guy has when he's in love. Of course, he's stepping down as Class President like in the manga, but that night when they're in his room and Lum is cuddling Ten, Ataru gets strangely serious with Lum, and says he wants to talk to her about something after he sees a plane fly away. When he turns around they're both sleeping and he tenderly covers them with his jacket. That was a very un-Ataru moment. One could argue he was going to tell her to leave, but given later when he's stepping down as president and people are assuming he's giving up Lum, he exclaims angrily, "When did I ever say I was giving up Lum?" I think poor Lum missed her chance at having him all to herself. Also, by Lum's words, by this episode she'd been with him for a year and a half, time is very skewed in UY.

Not the girl I want having a grudge against me, she used a lot of grenades in the Electric Household Guard too, even electrified the wall around the house to zap everyone but Lum who got a supercharge from it.

The polar shift of everyone being around to just seeing a few people was notable, the anime started it earlier, but the Stormtroopers did get to appear here and there. But the manga really did end up being about the Boy and the Girl. I think actually the summary of the Manga is in the title of the last story, Boy meets Girl.

Ataru's ultimatum - Be a free spirit and be unhappy for the rest of your life, or be with Lum and have the love of your life. He really never stood a chance. Those Takahashi heroines know just how to get under a man's skin and stay there. I do question the change of the dialogue from the manga to the anime, because in the manga he clearly wonders why he can't just tell her how he feels, but in the anime he seriously questions if he has to actually say it for her to understand. No, you're definitely right about that one thing, I don't think they will ever go that far in pissing each other off anymore. Unspoken as it is, they definitely love and need each other too much. Which is why I think Lum was going to use the memory device, not as a punishment, but to spare herself all the pain she would have if the ending wasn't what it was. She is just as obsessive if not more so than he is, I don't see her being able to handle knowing on a daily basis the man she fell hard for was out there without her at his side. And given how Ataru gets so depressed if she's gone for even a couple days, he'd have probably done something really drastic.

Couldn't happen to a better snake in the grass lol.

I *think* this will work to see but this is apparently storyboard images. Someone on Twitter in Japan posted 4 of them and for the life pf me I can't find that feed anymore.
I remain unhappy that they didn't give the right closure to the relationship and we have to 'decide for ourselves' if Lum and Ataru got together.

Offline Seiryu

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Re: Theory regarding the 'ending' as we loosely call it
« Reply #35 on: August 07, 2017, 08:15:30 AM »
- Amazing how drastically the artstyle and the way the characters looked changed from different points in the series. Though they looked better than usual (as expected) in the films given when they arguably take place within the story (Always being the exception).

- I found it crazy how all the guys legit tried killing it. Like they were hellbent on it. When they were just stomping on it in the room and how it jumped to Ataru and then they tried getting it from Ataru by force to kill it was pretty damn sad. Yeah, he only ever reacts the strongest whenever it has to do with Lum. It's pretty obvious that despite these two only ever meeting each other at the age of 16, they pretty much care more about each other than anyone else. In Ataru's case, I can't blame him. Before Lum showed up, his life wasn't really all that good to begin with, and he was pretty much the village idiot, with his parents not even liking him (and his mother saying she wish she never had him). Even after Lum came into his life, most the people he came into contact with weren't exactly friendly with him either. Can clearly understand why Ataru prefers Lum to everyone else. With Lum, that's really one of the many great questions characters ask. Cause she wouldn't hesitate to choose Ataru over anyone else.

- Thinking about it, Mendou really doesn't have any redeemable qualities lol. Like of Rumiko's rich and wealthy rivals, he's by far the worse of the lot. Kuno is stupid and a jerk, but nowhere to the extent of Mendou, and Mitaka is honestly a decent person who actually does improve later on in the story, even trying to better himself as a person to get Kyoko's heart.

- Usually whenever Ataru made mention of Lum's bust, the anime would take liberties and increase the size of it at times. Like in that Kurama episode and Ataru firmly plants his face into her chest. It was a bit bigger than it usually is. Heck, even in the manga this was somewhat the case. Early Lum's chest size was larger than they end up being later on (best shown in the manga story where Lum tries to stop Ataru and Shinobu from seeing each other), and her proportions are also even curvier than they end up being later on. After a certain point, Takahashi kept her bust at relatively the same size (not small but not as big as how they were within like the first 15-20 chapters), and made her slightly less curvy.

- Lol she did cheat there. I find her win funnier in the manga in that in the manga story, she was the Snow Queen all along lol and after Ataru won on his own terms (since Lum didn't cheat there), he's so surprised and she is just so darn happy he won. The whole story was great in both versions with the fact that Ataru had no clue what the lady looked like. Of course, it was obvious to me from the start when first reading/watching it that Lum was the Snow Queen. Only character outside of Ataru they ever let get a kiss on Lum in both anime and manga was Pigumo (the frog who Lum willingly kissed to make him go back to normal), and Mendou (who forced a kiss on Lum in the story where his and Ataru's earthly desires were released from them by that spring fairy - manga version only). Saddest part, Mendou kissing Lum there is the last time any of the males of the cast ever kisses her in the manga. The anime seemed to make it a point to not have anyone but Ataru kiss her (outside of that one exception since the Pigumo story was a story from the manga).

- I guess he knew he didn't want to get electrocuted while she was sleeping. I'm sure if he really did want to get it on with Lum that night and had told he wanted to and didn't want to wear the suit, she probably would have happily complied. Sure Ataru ended up being fine if they had sex that night (always amazes me how from that story onwards, he'd be fine with having sex with her though not necessarily comfortable) though he clearly thought that's what she meant by sleeping with him, and obviously didn't press further since he's already shy enough as it is with her.

- Yeah that's true. They'll probably be taken in for stalking. Agreed there as well, it's where Lum acknowledges she really truly loves Ataru. What better situation for her to come to that realization and state it, then when Ataru has pissed her off/upset her? Best way to showcase it, since it made the point of her feelings all that much stronger. The whole icing on the cake was how Ataru was the one who initiated their extended time spent together when he requested for them to walk together for a bit longer while holding hands.

- Grenades... Reminds me of the mines she planted in the giant cake that people had to eat their way out of. She's a real piece of work that Ryoko.

- Mendou really did freak out there lol. Kyousuke definitely handled that part out better. Always questioned why Kyousuke's description was that he is Ataru's best friend in the manga when they don't hang out all that often late in the series. It was also pretty obvious for a long time that Lum is his best friend.

- The whole series, especially the last story is essentially Ataru's ultimatum. Faced with impossible odds in every way possible: Lum is completely focused this time around and is still allowed to fly. Mix that fact in with the fact that she has no intentions of letting him win and can just play keep away unless she hears the words she wants to hear. Ataru, who is equally as stubborn as her refuses to say so (unknowingly to Lum, he was refusing to do so for her own sake and happiness), and Ataru himself was fully aware without admitting it, he didn't have a chance in hell of winning that. The crucial moments being when he picked up Lum's horns and when he dropped them when he fell. Had he not fallen when and the way he did, he pretty much would have lost. Kinda crazy how much more depressing of an ending that would have been if Ataru hadn't fallen when he did and then after Lum wins, she then sees an exhausted and tired Ataru drop due to fatigue with her only then seeing the horns. Would have been tragic. Luckily, that didn't happen, and they can go on to continue living with each other for the rest of their lives. Heck, after the last story, I don't really see Ataru and Lum truly pissing each other off anymore. Definitely don't see anything like what went down in Boy Meets Girl/The Final Chapter ever again.

- How fitting. He's left with an option that doesn't even entirely want him, while he remains eternally jealous of a guy who got the girl he never had a chance of getting. All the while Mendou himself is a shallow, egotistical, jerk who (as you mentioned) doesn't possess any of the good qualities the guy he's jealous of does.

I know that they had to juggle the movie productions alongside the production of the TV series, I give those artists a lot of credit, they really worked their hearts out on this stuff. I also have to say in Japan, there a LOT, and I'm understating this even with all caps, of UY fans on Twiiter. If I can figure out how to attach an image to these posts, someone seems to have scored storyboard sketches from the 3rd movie.

I thought it was crazy too, given how they all try to profess their love of beauty to Lum constantly. Meanwhile, Ataru simply thinks it's cute and it'll grow up to be a beautiful butterfly and Lum is immediately with him. I have to wonder if Lum just knew all this about him and that's part of the reason why she was so in love with him. She only made fun of him once when he was talking sentiment while sitting on the beach, but then she stopped. And now that you mention it, I tend to wonder if it's because of his parents treating him like they did since they didn't hesitate to say they wanted a daughter, if he was doing what he did on purpose.

Mendou is clearly the most unlikable, at least from our perspective. Ataru at least knew he had his uses, Lum just wanted everyone to be friends, and for the longest time, Shinobu just wanted him. She went from bad to worse to finally getting someone good. I don't hate Mendou, but I've known people like him and they always left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

Ah yes, the 'this is real moment' as he practically motorboats her. When Ten appeared in the anime he buried his head in her chest too, and after a moment, the 'poing' sound happened as her bust popped out from being smushed by his face. Lum sure didn't mind though, she even blushed a little. But you're right, early on she was bigger. I'd have to go through my digital tankobans, but there was one chapter intro image that had her in a bodysuit and my first thought was 'Wow, she's top heavy for her there'. I wouldn't say not as curvy, but she filled out more so to speak. I would have to say that aside from the inter-dimensional bathhouse episode when Ataru gets a job, her best body looks come later on, the 5th movie and in some of the OVAs.

Hehe, she can cheat as much as she wants when the outcome is her getting Ataru where she wants him. I remember the Pigumo episode and manga, it was interesting to see Ataru's reactions. Especially when he ran off at high speed and then just before the kiss, he zooms back and slaps Pigumo to the floor which shocks everyone. That whole 'My Woman' in play right there. And Mendou may have kissed her, but she sure wasn't happy about it, Manga Lum is a little more blunt in some ways than anime Lum, especially in the beginning. But then again, I know that Fumi Hirano was making her to be as adorable as possible which paid off. In the Catch the Heart OVA, Megane tried to kiss her and then died of a heart attack.

Oh I'm sure if he said 'C'Mon Lum..." she would have been all over him. Hell, Ten razzed him in the intro to Rei episode. The Oni are not shy that's for sure, when her mother kicked out her father and he stayed at the Moroboshi house, he really wanted to know why they didn't sleep together. Ataru was really uncomfortable then. But yeah, assumed the whole thing with sleeping, and she pretty much meant she wanted to cuddle up to him. First time I saw that episode my thought was 'Oh man you're an idiot Ataru'.

Ataru has had a few moments where he was the initiator of moments, or where he was going to be if he had the chance. I actually just finished re-watching Ep 64 "The Season for Goodbyes" which was based off the Ataru Retires manga. I suppose it can go in two directions, but it seems to me like at the beginning, which is all original, when Lum flies up into the drifting blossoms and calls out to him, Ataru has a strange look on his face. That, "Umm...wow' look that a guy has when he's in love. Of course, he's stepping down as Class President like in the manga, but that night when they're in his room and Lum is cuddling Ten, Ataru gets strangely serious with Lum, and says he wants to talk to her about something after he sees a plane fly away. When he turns around they're both sleeping and he tenderly covers them with his jacket. That was a very un-Ataru moment. One could argue he was going to tell her to leave, but given later when he's stepping down as president and people are assuming he's giving up Lum, he exclaims angrily, "When did I ever say I was giving up Lum?" I think poor Lum missed her chance at having him all to herself. Also, by Lum's words, by this episode she'd been with him for a year and a half, time is very skewed in UY.

Not the girl I want having a grudge against me, she used a lot of grenades in the Electric Household Guard too, even electrified the wall around the house to zap everyone but Lum who got a supercharge from it.

The polar shift of everyone being around to just seeing a few people was notable, the anime started it earlier, but the Stormtroopers did get to appear here and there. But the manga really did end up being about the Boy and the Girl. I think actually the summary of the Manga is in the title of the last story, Boy meets Girl.

Ataru's ultimatum - Be a free spirit and be unhappy for the rest of your life, or be with Lum and have the love of your life. He really never stood a chance. Those Takahashi heroines know just how to get under a man's skin and stay there. I do question the change of the dialogue from the manga to the anime, because in the manga he clearly wonders why he can't just tell her how he feels, but in the anime he seriously questions if he has to actually say it for her to understand. No, you're definitely right about that one thing, I don't think they will ever go that far in pissing each other off anymore. Unspoken as it is, they definitely love and need each other too much. Which is why I think Lum was going to use the memory device, not as a punishment, but to spare herself all the pain she would have if the ending wasn't what it was. She is just as obsessive if not more so than he is, I don't see her being able to handle knowing on a daily basis the man she fell hard for was out there without her at his side. And given how Ataru gets so depressed if she's gone for even a couple days, he'd have probably done something really drastic.

Couldn't happen to a better snake in the grass lol.

I *think* this will work to see but this is apparently storyboard images. Someone on Twitter in Japan posted 4 of them and for the life pf me I can't find that feed anymore.
- It's amazing on how much love I see from fans of the series even nowadays considering it's pretty much a "veteran" series and has been forgotten or moved by most people. Always nice to see the occasional recent art of it, as well as just looking at the art over the years of the series. I've gone on Pixiv quite often despite not understanding Japanese (managed to figure a way of navigating it) and a lot of the fanart of the series is great.

- Lum was funny there. She thought of it as a game at first. Fitting how the end of that story has Ataru and Lum dressed in clothes fitting of an old married couple. Ataru definitely gets some of his bad traits from his parents (mainly his mother) not to mention he has to endure them talk about how it'd be better off if they never had him, and never really sticking up for him in the earlier stories. His father was a little more supportive than his mother at times early on though. I wouldn't be surprised if Ataru early on in some way resented his parents a bit.

- I also don't dislike Mendou, and he filled his role well. He probably would have been worse if he had been portrayed as more of an equal or superior to Ataru in the same way Mitaka somewhat was to Godai early on. Mendou remaining vain, egotistical, and shallow and yet getting humiliated every step of the way makes him bearable because you can laugh at his expense.

- The episode where Lum shrinks also has at the beginning of the episode Ataru accidentally pressing his face to one side of Lum's chest, and Lum just responds by forcing Ataru to essentially motorboat her there. She was pretty happy doing that lol. Ataru's reply made it even funnier when he's all like "Lum! This in not the thing to be doing in public!" Like he's embarrassed about it, but wouldn't mind doing it if they were alone in his room lol. He also never said he didn't like it. Her look later on does improve tremendously.

- Ataru can't help it but to go into overdrive at the thought of some dude getting his woman. Love how Lum was trolling everyone by saying she needed to kiss Pigumo in private because she's "shy." Lol at her being shy. She would (and has) kiss Ataru in public if he either asked her to do so, or went in to do so. Hell, she's even made schemes to try and get him to kiss her. Yeah, she did hate the fact Mendou did that lol. She was absolutely disgusted with it. Just a big contrast is all. Takahashi had no problem allowing Mendou to kiss Lum, in the anime? Nah, nobody but Ataru. Legitimately laughed at Megane's moment there. Runs up to the top of the school, and then just drops when he's about to get what he wants. That whole OVA was hilarious to me. Ataru feeding Shinobu a heart and when she looks at him was hilarious. I also found it funny when Ataru tricked Lum by pretending to be serious. He can be real deceptive when he wants to be, despite being a terrible liar. Funniest part though was definitely Lum's lightning having it's own mind and chasing Ataru. Too bad Lum, you almost succeeded in getting Ataru's kiss. At least you can take pleasure in the fact you've gotten to kiss him multiple times.

- I love how Ten was just all "If you want I can just close my eyes." He obviously knew what Lum meant, and both him and Lum were pretty blunt too and completely fine with that happening. Hilarious that Ataru cared more about the futon itself than Lum essentially trying to coerce him to sleep with her. Yeah, she'd definitely happily get it on with Ataru had he asked. He was an idiot in that episode from the moment he thought she just went home without placing a tracer on him. What hammers it home was that he called her a simpleton, which really sells how out of the loop he really is.

- Don't ever try to make sense of UY time lol. Realistically, they should be like third years in college or something if the timeline placement made any sense lol. That story was great. The whole story in the anime and manga versions made it pretty ambiguous what Ataru had to say. Though as usual, this series (and really a staple of Takahashi's works lol) characters jump to conclusions and start overreacting. Like you had Shinobu hiring so many people just to get Ataru lol. Yeah, Lum did miss her chance to spend some quality time with Ataru, especially since he seemed like he was in one of his more easy going moods to be around him. Manga version was funnier with everyone wanting to audition for the role as new main character. Only person who had any merit for that was Lum who in many ways could be argued to be the main character. Her importance in the series is as great as Ataru's with the added effect of being far more well known and iconic than not only Ataru, but her entire series itself. Regardless though, even when I first got into the series, Ataru always came off as the main character to me. I'd argue the males in Takahashi's works are almost always the main characters in her works, only that the lead females also play just as important a role.

- I lol'd when Lum was taking rare hijinks like damage in that OVA. It's just so rare for Lum to take collateral damage that it comes off as funny. Only time I can remember that happening in the manga was when: 1) The Ataru clones ran her over leaving footprint marks on her, 2) When she tried feeding a sleeping Ataru the "Love" candy Sakura made, Ataru kicks her in the stomach, and 3) when she got Ataru to wear the true feelings shirt but she cranked it up so loud it sort of backfired on her.

- Yeah, the title of the last storyline pretty clearly portrays the overarching point of this series.

- An ultimatum of epic proportions. Oh Ataru, you and her girlfriend/fiance nearly dooming the earth over what was essentially the biggest lover's quarrel you two ever had. It was immature and got way out of hand, but completely necessary for Lum to know exactly how he felt, the Ataru Moroboshi way. I definitely preferred the manga version of that scene. Manga Ataru (due to all the constant progression of his character and his growing maturity) legitimately questions and berates himself for not being able to say. Had Lum not challenge him to this tag game, he probably would have eventually said it to get her back. Of course if he was traveling back to the World of Darkness, he'd need to tell her in a secluded area. Yeah it was pretty clear after Benten talked to Lum, the Memory Erasing Device wasn't really a punishment, but it was (initially) there to further force Ataru into a position where he had no choice but to admit he loved her. But you really see later on that she just isn't angry anymore and is just saddened and depressed by it. Yeah, it'd be pretty tragic. I was under the impression Lum wouldn't lose her memories, but Ataru (and everyone from earth) would lose theirs? If so, that in ways is even more tragic than if both were to have lost their memories. Imagine just being on your planet, not being able to get over the one you love the most, but not being able to be with him anymore. Probably doubles for Ataru in that he's a complete wreck if Lum is gone for too long.

- I'm impressed you found those pictures. Pretty hard to find stuff like that nowadays.

Offline Oldfan

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Re: Theory regarding the 'ending' as we loosely call it
« Reply #36 on: August 08, 2017, 03:26:41 AM »
- It's amazing on how much love I see from fans of the series even nowadays considering it's pretty much a "veteran" series and has been forgotten or moved by most people. Always nice to see the occasional recent art of it, as well as just looking at the art over the years of the series. I've gone on Pixiv quite often despite not understanding Japanese (managed to figure a way of navigating it) and a lot of the fanart of the series is great.

- Lum was funny there. She thought of it as a game at first. Fitting how the end of that story has Ataru and Lum dressed in clothes fitting of an old married couple. Ataru definitely gets some of his bad traits from his parents (mainly his mother) not to mention he has to endure them talk about how it'd be better off if they never had him, and never really sticking up for him in the earlier stories. His father was a little more supportive than his mother at times early on though. I wouldn't be surprised if Ataru early on in some way resented his parents a bit.

- I also don't dislike Mendou, and he filled his role well. He probably would have been worse if he had been portrayed as more of an equal or superior to Ataru in the same way Mitaka somewhat was to Godai early on. Mendou remaining vain, egotistical, and shallow and yet getting humiliated every step of the way makes him bearable because you can laugh at his expense.

- The episode where Lum shrinks also has at the beginning of the episode Ataru accidentally pressing his face to one side of Lum's chest, and Lum just responds by forcing Ataru to essentially motorboat her there. She was pretty happy doing that lol. Ataru's reply made it even funnier when he's all like "Lum! This in not the thing to be doing in public!" Like he's embarrassed about it, but wouldn't mind doing it if they were alone in his room lol. He also never said he didn't like it. Her look later on does improve tremendously.

- Ataru can't help it but to go into overdrive at the thought of some dude getting his woman. Love how Lum was trolling everyone by saying she needed to kiss Pigumo in private because she's "shy." Lol at her being shy. She would (and has) kiss Ataru in public if he either asked her to do so, or went in to do so. Hell, she's even made schemes to try and get him to kiss her. Yeah, she did hate the fact Mendou did that lol. She was absolutely disgusted with it. Just a big contrast is all. Takahashi had no problem allowing Mendou to kiss Lum, in the anime? Nah, nobody but Ataru. Legitimately laughed at Megane's moment there. Runs up to the top of the school, and then just drops when he's about to get what he wants. That whole OVA was hilarious to me. Ataru feeding Shinobu a heart and when she looks at him was hilarious. I also found it funny when Ataru tricked Lum by pretending to be serious. He can be real deceptive when he wants to be, despite being a terrible liar. Funniest part though was definitely Lum's lightning having it's own mind and chasing Ataru. Too bad Lum, you almost succeeded in getting Ataru's kiss. At least you can take pleasure in the fact you've gotten to kiss him multiple times.

- I love how Ten was just all "If you want I can just close my eyes." He obviously knew what Lum meant, and both him and Lum were pretty blunt too and completely fine with that happening. Hilarious that Ataru cared more about the futon itself than Lum essentially trying to coerce him to sleep with her. Yeah, she'd definitely happily get it on with Ataru had he asked. He was an idiot in that episode from the moment he thought she just went home without placing a tracer on him. What hammers it home was that he called her a simpleton, which really sells how out of the loop he really is.

- Don't ever try to make sense of UY time lol. Realistically, they should be like third years in college or something if the timeline placement made any sense lol. That story was great. The whole story in the anime and manga versions made it pretty ambiguous what Ataru had to say. Though as usual, this series (and really a staple of Takahashi's works lol) characters jump to conclusions and start overreacting. Like you had Shinobu hiring so many people just to get Ataru lol. Yeah, Lum did miss her chance to spend some quality time with Ataru, especially since he seemed like he was in one of his more easy going moods to be around him. Manga version was funnier with everyone wanting to audition for the role as new main character. Only person who had any merit for that was Lum who in many ways could be argued to be the main character. Her importance in the series is as great as Ataru's with the added effect of being far more well known and iconic than not only Ataru, but her entire series itself. Regardless though, even when I first got into the series, Ataru always came off as the main character to me. I'd argue the males in Takahashi's works are almost always the main characters in her works, only that the lead females also play just as important a role.

- I lol'd when Lum was taking rare hijinks like damage in that OVA. It's just so rare for Lum to take collateral damage that it comes off as funny. Only time I can remember that happening in the manga was when: 1) The Ataru clones ran her over leaving footprint marks on her, 2) When she tried feeding a sleeping Ataru the "Love" candy Sakura made, Ataru kicks her in the stomach, and 3) when she got Ataru to wear the true feelings shirt but she cranked it up so loud it sort of backfired on her.

- Yeah, the title of the last storyline pretty clearly portrays the overarching point of this series.

- An ultimatum of epic proportions. Oh Ataru, you and her girlfriend/fiance nearly dooming the earth over what was essentially the biggest lover's quarrel you two ever had. It was immature and got way out of hand, but completely necessary for Lum to know exactly how he felt, the Ataru Moroboshi way. I definitely preferred the manga version of that scene. Manga Ataru (due to all the constant progression of his character and his growing maturity) legitimately questions and berates himself for not being able to say. Had Lum not challenge him to this tag game, he probably would have eventually said it to get her back. Of course if he was traveling back to the World of Darkness, he'd need to tell her in a secluded area. Yeah it was pretty clear after Benten talked to Lum, the Memory Erasing Device wasn't really a punishment, but it was (initially) there to further force Ataru into a position where he had no choice but to admit he loved her. But you really see later on that she just isn't angry anymore and is just saddened and depressed by it. Yeah, it'd be pretty tragic. I was under the impression Lum wouldn't lose her memories, but Ataru (and everyone from earth) would lose theirs? If so, that in ways is even more tragic than if both were to have lost their memories. Imagine just being on your planet, not being able to get over the one you love the most, but not being able to be with him anymore. Probably doubles for Ataru in that he's a complete wreck if Lum is gone for too long.

- I'm impressed you found those pictures. Pretty hard to find stuff like that nowadays.
Twitter has become something like Facebook in that if you follow a person, similar suggestions pop up. I followed one person because apparently he's a UY fanatic and so is his wife and daughter. He has various figurines of Lum glued to the center console of his car and has Lum decals on the windows. He's also a pretty good artist and showcases what he draws so I figured what the heck, I'd follow him just because, Twitter suggests new people every other time I look at it that also like UY and Lum specifically. I decided to also to check out Pixiv, Chrome will auto-translate if you let it - bearing in mind some of it is literal and not 100% correct. Now I'll have to see what fans post there.

That's one of the best things about Lum, despite her world being way more advanced than ours (her bra seemingly holds not just her bust but all those gadgets as well and you never see them when she loses that bra), Earth is totally new to her and she approaches everything with wide-eyed innocence. Perhaps that clothing was her indication of where they would eventually be. And like you, I definitely say most of his bad traits come from his mother, but his initial meek attitude comes from his father. His mother is very quick to capitalize on anything she can manage to do so with, like Parent's Day at the school. Lum's mother vs. Mendou's mother with the roulette wheel, in which you can also tell Lum got all her traits from her mother except one - her height and arguably her temper, that is from both of them.

Mendou just seems to be the token jerk/rival. He tried so hard to compete, and portray himself as better simply because he's rich. He had to play the money card because Rei beat him in the 'Man is Face' card. In the manga he's got one thing over Ataru, he's taller, in the anime they're about equal.

Lum just craves his attention. At first it's a demand because as we know she considers him a possession, but that changes early on and she just wants his attention because she loves him. She wants to know she's physically desirable and attractive to him in addition to having his emotional love wich is totally understandable. Like when she questions him, rather pointedly, or in her case, shockingly/bitingly about why he looks at other women when he has someone that is willing right in front of him. I still maintain despite everything, she was/is a virgin, she's just way more forward. But in the bathhouse episode, I wonder how he would have reacted if he'd known that he was basically up against a naked Lum. Funny how the female nudity was featured now that I think of it. Benten, Lum, Kurama, Shinobu and Ran were featured in some way topless or at least revealed, but Oyuki and Sakura were not.

Yeah, Lum is about as shy as Cherry is cute lol. And Lum has done some elaborate schemes, like the love potion episode with Sakura and Shinobu which ended up being a lie potion. And definitely in the manga, Mendou was less tolerable to her than in the anime. If she had even a bit more of the attitude she had in the manga, Mendou would have been a crispy critter I bet. Don't forget Mendou's very pink and mutli-armed ugly sweater she knitted in someting like 8 seconds flat. He has his tearful moment and then Ataru slams a metal jar over him. But the lightning was great, especially when Ataru jumped behind Mendou and he took the brunt of the blast.

Well, he was expecting Shinobu to come over, and when Lum figured that out she was hilarious in her reaction. Threw everything at him that Ten gave her, including his desk chair which she even broke from her rant and said thank you for. Ataru's big mistake is he underestimates Lum. Give her enough time and she can shoot down any argument he makes and counter most any move he has. He assumes innocence is lack of intelligence and that has blown up on him several times. But still, Ataru has zero clue, he could have it all and he goes after what doesn't want him. And speaking of that rant, if you freeze frame it at the start, there's a very quick blurb from Lum "Shinobu can go to hell!" It's there for maybe a second and then it's back to the rant. Lum really did not like her at the beginning at all.

I noticed that lol. If the whole timeframe was only supposed to be within two years, they had extra summers in there because it seems like they had a number of seasons pass by. I know the anime didn't quite follow the story placement of the manga in how it jumped around, but that was some really awful timeline management there. The anime version just seemed, and I'll say it's because of my POV of the two, that he was having some settling down feelings there. But I can see where an argument could be made that he might have been wondering if he could get rid of her somehow, just that look on his face when she flew up was not one of being annoyed. And poor Megane, the one 'noble' deed he does and fights everyone to save Ataru because he thinks he'll get Lum in the deal. The manga version was great with everyone saying it should naturally be them, until Lum pretty much said it's about her. Initially it was supposed to be all about Ataru and different people he meets with Lum being just one of them, but the fans loved Lum so much Takahashi had to bring her back. Pretty sure the buck-toothed demon story is the only one in the manga that doesn't have Lum in it at all.

I think there was one other in the manga where she took some damage, when Ran invited her and Ataru over and the doll exploded leaving Lum's school uniform in tatters.

Boy meets Girl (and how he goes from Hate to Love).

I tend to think that the device would have affected all of them, even Lum from the way her father described it. Otherwise, why punish Benten and the other aliens and Lum gets to keep her memories? I agree that it was the ultimate ultimatum, tell me or you'll lose all your memories of me and the others, but Lum doesn't strike me as wanting to live with that pain. Using the device even in theory was more painful to her than anything else other than he wasn't saying what she wanted to hear. If she left herself with her memories, she could basically go back and start all over again with him and see if it works with a more 'mature' Ataru. Otherwise, I don't see Lum as being able to do it. She couldn't give up on him in Only You and she had way more reason to be angry with him there, he left Earth for a woman he couldn't even recall.

I did find the twitter feed today of the person that posted them, makes me wonder who they are because he said he had them in storage. Storyboard animations usually don't go up for sale unless there's some kind of auction or something like it. And in another showing of how popular UY is amongst people, apparently this remix of the original opening song hit this year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDLCnKI-dIk - I'll admit, her lip syncing is not the best, but throw green hair and horns and a set of easy to wear fangs on her, she could likely be a pretty good live action Lum.
I remain unhappy that they didn't give the right closure to the relationship and we have to 'decide for ourselves' if Lum and Ataru got together.

Offline Seiryu

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Re: Theory regarding the 'ending' as we loosely call it
« Reply #37 on: August 08, 2017, 06:39:31 AM »
- It's amazing on how much love I see from fans of the series even nowadays considering it's pretty much a "veteran" series and has been forgotten or moved by most people. Always nice to see the occasional recent art of it, as well as just looking at the art over the years of the series. I've gone on Pixiv quite often despite not understanding Japanese (managed to figure a way of navigating it) and a lot of the fanart of the series is great.

- Lum was funny there. She thought of it as a game at first. Fitting how the end of that story has Ataru and Lum dressed in clothes fitting of an old married couple. Ataru definitely gets some of his bad traits from his parents (mainly his mother) not to mention he has to endure them talk about how it'd be better off if they never had him, and never really sticking up for him in the earlier stories. His father was a little more supportive than his mother at times early on though. I wouldn't be surprised if Ataru early on in some way resented his parents a bit.

- I also don't dislike Mendou, and he filled his role well. He probably would have been worse if he had been portrayed as more of an equal or superior to Ataru in the same way Mitaka somewhat was to Godai early on. Mendou remaining vain, egotistical, and shallow and yet getting humiliated every step of the way makes him bearable because you can laugh at his expense.

- The episode where Lum shrinks also has at the beginning of the episode Ataru accidentally pressing his face to one side of Lum's chest, and Lum just responds by forcing Ataru to essentially motorboat her there. She was pretty happy doing that lol. Ataru's reply made it even funnier when he's all like "Lum! This in not the thing to be doing in public!" Like he's embarrassed about it, but wouldn't mind doing it if they were alone in his room lol. He also never said he didn't like it. Her look later on does improve tremendously.

- Ataru can't help it but to go into overdrive at the thought of some dude getting his woman. Love how Lum was trolling everyone by saying she needed to kiss Pigumo in private because she's "shy." Lol at her being shy. She would (and has) kiss Ataru in public if he either asked her to do so, or went in to do so. Hell, she's even made schemes to try and get him to kiss her. Yeah, she did hate the fact Mendou did that lol. She was absolutely disgusted with it. Just a big contrast is all. Takahashi had no problem allowing Mendou to kiss Lum, in the anime? Nah, nobody but Ataru. Legitimately laughed at Megane's moment there. Runs up to the top of the school, and then just drops when he's about to get what he wants. That whole OVA was hilarious to me. Ataru feeding Shinobu a heart and when she looks at him was hilarious. I also found it funny when Ataru tricked Lum by pretending to be serious. He can be real deceptive when he wants to be, despite being a terrible liar. Funniest part though was definitely Lum's lightning having it's own mind and chasing Ataru. Too bad Lum, you almost succeeded in getting Ataru's kiss. At least you can take pleasure in the fact you've gotten to kiss him multiple times.

- I love how Ten was just all "If you want I can just close my eyes." He obviously knew what Lum meant, and both him and Lum were pretty blunt too and completely fine with that happening. Hilarious that Ataru cared more about the futon itself than Lum essentially trying to coerce him to sleep with her. Yeah, she'd definitely happily get it on with Ataru had he asked. He was an idiot in that episode from the moment he thought she just went home without placing a tracer on him. What hammers it home was that he called her a simpleton, which really sells how out of the loop he really is.

- Don't ever try to make sense of UY time lol. Realistically, they should be like third years in college or something if the timeline placement made any sense lol. That story was great. The whole story in the anime and manga versions made it pretty ambiguous what Ataru had to say. Though as usual, this series (and really a staple of Takahashi's works lol) characters jump to conclusions and start overreacting. Like you had Shinobu hiring so many people just to get Ataru lol. Yeah, Lum did miss her chance to spend some quality time with Ataru, especially since he seemed like he was in one of his more easy going moods to be around him. Manga version was funnier with everyone wanting to audition for the role as new main character. Only person who had any merit for that was Lum who in many ways could be argued to be the main character. Her importance in the series is as great as Ataru's with the added effect of being far more well known and iconic than not only Ataru, but her entire series itself. Regardless though, even when I first got into the series, Ataru always came off as the main character to me. I'd argue the males in Takahashi's works are almost always the main characters in her works, only that the lead females also play just as important a role.

- I lol'd when Lum was taking rare hijinks like damage in that OVA. It's just so rare for Lum to take collateral damage that it comes off as funny. Only time I can remember that happening in the manga was when: 1) The Ataru clones ran her over leaving footprint marks on her, 2) When she tried feeding a sleeping Ataru the "Love" candy Sakura made, Ataru kicks her in the stomach, and 3) when she got Ataru to wear the true feelings shirt but she cranked it up so loud it sort of backfired on her.

- Yeah, the title of the last storyline pretty clearly portrays the overarching point of this series.

- An ultimatum of epic proportions. Oh Ataru, you and her girlfriend/fiance nearly dooming the earth over what was essentially the biggest lover's quarrel you two ever had. It was immature and got way out of hand, but completely necessary for Lum to know exactly how he felt, the Ataru Moroboshi way. I definitely preferred the manga version of that scene. Manga Ataru (due to all the constant progression of his character and his growing maturity) legitimately questions and berates himself for not being able to say. Had Lum not challenge him to this tag game, he probably would have eventually said it to get her back. Of course if he was traveling back to the World of Darkness, he'd need to tell her in a secluded area. Yeah it was pretty clear after Benten talked to Lum, the Memory Erasing Device wasn't really a punishment, but it was (initially) there to further force Ataru into a position where he had no choice but to admit he loved her. But you really see later on that she just isn't angry anymore and is just saddened and depressed by it. Yeah, it'd be pretty tragic. I was under the impression Lum wouldn't lose her memories, but Ataru (and everyone from earth) would lose theirs? If so, that in ways is even more tragic than if both were to have lost their memories. Imagine just being on your planet, not being able to get over the one you love the most, but not being able to be with him anymore. Probably doubles for Ataru in that he's a complete wreck if Lum is gone for too long.

- I'm impressed you found those pictures. Pretty hard to find stuff like that nowadays.
Twitter has become something like Facebook in that if you follow a person, similar suggestions pop up. I followed one person because apparently he's a UY fanatic and so is his wife and daughter. He has various figurines of Lum glued to the center console of his car and has Lum decals on the windows. He's also a pretty good artist and showcases what he draws so I figured what the heck, I'd follow him just because, Twitter suggests new people every other time I look at it that also like UY and Lum specifically. I decided to also to check out Pixiv, Chrome will auto-translate if you let it - bearing in mind some of it is literal and not 100% correct. Now I'll have to see what fans post there.

That's one of the best things about Lum, despite her world being way more advanced than ours (her bra seemingly holds not just her bust but all those gadgets as well and you never see them when she loses that bra), Earth is totally new to her and she approaches everything with wide-eyed innocence. Perhaps that clothing was her indication of where they would eventually be. And like you, I definitely say most of his bad traits come from his mother, but his initial meek attitude comes from his father. His mother is very quick to capitalize on anything she can manage to do so with, like Parent's Day at the school. Lum's mother vs. Mendou's mother with the roulette wheel, in which you can also tell Lum got all her traits from her mother except one - her height and arguably her temper, that is from both of them.

Mendou just seems to be the token jerk/rival. He tried so hard to compete, and portray himself as better simply because he's rich. He had to play the money card because Rei beat him in the 'Man is Face' card. In the manga he's got one thing over Ataru, he's taller, in the anime they're about equal.

Lum just craves his attention. At first it's a demand because as we know she considers him a possession, but that changes early on and she just wants his attention because she loves him. She wants to know she's physically desirable and attractive to him in addition to having his emotional love wich is totally understandable. Like when she questions him, rather pointedly, or in her case, shockingly/bitingly about why he looks at other women when he has someone that is willing right in front of him. I still maintain despite everything, she was/is a virgin, she's just way more forward. But in the bathhouse episode, I wonder how he would have reacted if he'd known that he was basically up against a naked Lum. Funny how the female nudity was featured now that I think of it. Benten, Lum, Kurama, Shinobu and Ran were featured in some way topless or at least revealed, but Oyuki and Sakura were not.

Yeah, Lum is about as shy as Cherry is cute lol. And Lum has done some elaborate schemes, like the love potion episode with Sakura and Shinobu which ended up being a lie potion. And definitely in the manga, Mendou was less tolerable to her than in the anime. If she had even a bit more of the attitude she had in the manga, Mendou would have been a crispy critter I bet. Don't forget Mendou's very pink and mutli-armed ugly sweater she knitted in someting like 8 seconds flat. He has his tearful moment and then Ataru slams a metal jar over him. But the lightning was great, especially when Ataru jumped behind Mendou and he took the brunt of the blast.

Well, he was expecting Shinobu to come over, and when Lum figured that out she was hilarious in her reaction. Threw everything at him that Ten gave her, including his desk chair which she even broke from her rant and said thank you for. Ataru's big mistake is he underestimates Lum. Give her enough time and she can shoot down any argument he makes and counter most any move he has. He assumes innocence is lack of intelligence and that has blown up on him several times. But still, Ataru has zero clue, he could have it all and he goes after what doesn't want him. And speaking of that rant, if you freeze frame it at the start, there's a very quick blurb from Lum "Shinobu can go to hell!" It's there for maybe a second and then it's back to the rant. Lum really did not like her at the beginning at all.

I noticed that lol. If the whole timeframe was only supposed to be within two years, they had extra summers in there because it seems like they had a number of seasons pass by. I know the anime didn't quite follow the story placement of the manga in how it jumped around, but that was some really awful timeline management there. The anime version just seemed, and I'll say it's because of my POV of the two, that he was having some settling down feelings there. But I can see where an argument could be made that he might have been wondering if he could get rid of her somehow, just that look on his face when she flew up was not one of being annoyed. And poor Megane, the one 'noble' deed he does and fights everyone to save Ataru because he thinks he'll get Lum in the deal. The manga version was great with everyone saying it should naturally be them, until Lum pretty much said it's about her. Initially it was supposed to be all about Ataru and different people he meets with Lum being just one of them, but the fans loved Lum so much Takahashi had to bring her back. Pretty sure the buck-toothed demon story is the only one in the manga that doesn't have Lum in it at all.

I think there was one other in the manga where she took some damage, when Ran invited her and Ataru over and the doll exploded leaving Lum's school uniform in tatters.

Boy meets Girl (and how he goes from Hate to Love).

I tend to think that the device would have affected all of them, even Lum from the way her father described it. Otherwise, why punish Benten and the other aliens and Lum gets to keep her memories? I agree that it was the ultimate ultimatum, tell me or you'll lose all your memories of me and the others, but Lum doesn't strike me as wanting to live with that pain. Using the device even in theory was more painful to her than anything else other than he wasn't saying what she wanted to hear. If she left herself with her memories, she could basically go back and start all over again with him and see if it works with a more 'mature' Ataru. Otherwise, I don't see Lum as being able to do it. She couldn't give up on him in Only You and she had way more reason to be angry with him there, he left Earth for a woman he couldn't even recall.

I did find the twitter feed today of the person that posted them, makes me wonder who they are because he said he had them in storage. Storyboard animations usually don't go up for sale unless there's some kind of auction or something like it. And in another showing of how popular UY is amongst people, apparently this remix of the original opening song hit this year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDLCnKI-dIk - I'll admit, her lip syncing is not the best, but throw green hair and horns and a set of easy to wear fangs on her, she could likely be a pretty good live action Lum.
- Pixiv was fun just to see some of the drawings there. But it's as I said, always great to see a big UY fan nowadays. Few and far between.

- Probably was. This was still somewhat early, but by this point it was long before set in stone that Ataru and Lum was the power couple. Always found it funny how insignificant Ataru's parents (especially his father) became as the series progressed, but then late in the manga and anime, there's that random story about the wishing star that prominently features his parents (for the last time as well).

- The heights in the anime always fluctuated at times from what I saw. I remember some shots of Lum being taller than Ataru, them being the same height, or Ataru being a fair bit taller. I always pictured Mendou a bit taller than Ataru, so I like that more in the manga, and Ataru is a bit taller than Lum there. Sometimes the series makes Lum look like a giant compared to Shinobu. Lum's got those long legs.

- Yes, Lum's love for Ataru has evolved immensely, quite admirable really. She truly grows to love the jerk despite all his terrible qualities. I remember her getting on Ataru's case in one story in the manga as she bluntly just tells him that no other girl is willing to put up with Ataru but her. It's even funnier when I go back to the story where Ataru was tricked to go on that date with the girl so that the guys could humiliate him: She mentions to Ataru that there'd have to be something seriously wrong with a girl to go out with Ataru. I'm all "Oh Lum, you're no ordinary girl." But she found her soul mate through it all. She's one of a very small list of people to ever see the real Ataru (I think Sakura and Cherry are the only other two).

- That line was interesting and a legitimate one: Why chase after other women when there's a beautiful one willing to shower you with her affections all the time? Of course Ataru's reasoning pretty much boils down to: As a 17 year old boy, he doesn't want to "throw his youth away" (at least that's what it was initially). But later on it became obvious that it was much more than just wanting to throw his youth away (since he does have time, he's only 17), but that he fears committing to Lum (despite loving her dearly) as he knows that he'll have to tie the knot with her in that case. He takes advantage of her because of that, and it makes him a real scumbag at times. I don't at all condone what he does, but I do understand his side of this. It's one of the few things Lum could never fully understand about Ataru, on why he won't just commit to her. Most of the girls were indeed naked lol. I love how when the women found out the guys were there, Lum was all open to the idea of Ataru chilling with them.

- She can be quite manipulative when she wants to be (the Love potion was a good one, though her stunt in the last story trumps any of her previous acts). That is true. Anime Lum was definitely more tolerant and cutesy than her manga counterpart (though she was pretty damn cute there too the anime just played it up). Lum was a lot more blunt and less tolerant of some of the stupidity going around in the manga at times. Lol what really sold it was Onsen Mark snatching Mendou's heart and allowing the hilarity to ensue. Only downside was that provided the best way to prevent a kiss from Ataru and Lum once again lol. Lol I'm just remembering one scene in that OVA where Lum pretty much tells Ataru to wait up and he just asks her why would he wait. It had me laughing hard for some reason. Probably because in the context of the series, why would Lum think Ataru would wait?

- Even Lum can get her comical super strength moments on rare occasions.  :hehe It does tend to bite him in the butt for underestimating her. Sure her naivety works for Ataru at first, but it tends to backfire on him. Too true, but if he did submit to what he really wants, there'd be no reason for these two to grow. Though given it's a Takahashi couple, I imagine it getting a lot of fans irritated at times with the style of how she approaches couples (usually one step forward and two steps back). No, Lum really didn't like her. Even when they were on slightly better terms and no longer blindly hated each other, Lum still goes out of her way to point out Shinobu's lack of "sex appeal."

- The timeframe is sort out of whack I don't even bother trying to make sense of it usually. It's a pretty big hassle considering they've gone through like summer and winter for a fact like 3-4 times. Who knows, he might have been ready to settle down. Megane's protection of Ataru was noble, but it's as I said, if you assume in a Takahashi story, you're very likely to end up not getting what you want in the end. Yeah, that was the only one she was absent from, Ataru himself has been absent from like 4-6 chapters. All the ones he's been absent from though made sense in the context that they usually were about Lum reminiscing the old times with her childhood friends. In the anime, both are only absent from 1 episode each.

- You're right about that. I'm also remembering (though she wasn't necessarily hurt), the story where Ran kidnaps Lum and clones her. Like I love how there's no explanation or reason of how Lum managed to do it. We just see Lum tied up and stuffed in a locker. Ran had all the makings of being a bigger villain in the story had she been pushed farther into that role. Of course any chance of that being a thing disappeared when we come across the stories of learning just how cold (no pun intended) Oyuki can really be. It's why Oyuki is so funny to me. She can be so unashamedly selfish and times that she's hilarious.

- Yeah, you're probably right. Just re-read that part. Pretty interesting for Benten to speak up about it, even going so far as to say she likes the people on earth (even though the only people she really interacts with on earth normally that are actually Human are Ataru and Ryuunosuke Still a nice moment for Benten. A few non-Ataru/Lum characters got some nice moments in the finale. Yeah, Lum definitely was faced with her own despair there when she got so desperate. She was so terrified of the thought of being forced to forget Ataru, that it pained her that he wouldn't say it. Lol Only You. Nobody believed Ataru when he claimed to not know Elle. Thinking about it, you'd think they would have at least given him the benefit of the doubt lol. Usually he'd jump at the chance of knowing a girl or something, but he had no reason to lie after all the punishment he took.

- I enjoyed the song that was being remixed. That was probably my favorite opening theme outside of Chance of Love.

Offline Oldfan

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Re: Theory regarding the 'ending' as we loosely call it
« Reply #38 on: August 08, 2017, 10:48:53 PM »
- Pixiv was fun just to see some of the drawings there. But it's as I said, always great to see a big UY fan nowadays. Few and far between.

- Probably was. This was still somewhat early, but by this point it was long before set in stone that Ataru and Lum was the power couple. Always found it funny how insignificant Ataru's parents (especially his father) became as the series progressed, but then late in the manga and anime, there's that random story about the wishing star that prominently features his parents (for the last time as well).

- The heights in the anime always fluctuated at times from what I saw. I remember some shots of Lum being taller than Ataru, them being the same height, or Ataru being a fair bit taller. I always pictured Mendou a bit taller than Ataru, so I like that more in the manga, and Ataru is a bit taller than Lum there. Sometimes the series makes Lum look like a giant compared to Shinobu. Lum's got those long legs.

- Yes, Lum's love for Ataru has evolved immensely, quite admirable really. She truly grows to love the jerk despite all his terrible qualities. I remember her getting on Ataru's case in one story in the manga as she bluntly just tells him that no other girl is willing to put up with Ataru but her. It's even funnier when I go back to the story where Ataru was tricked to go on that date with the girl so that the guys could humiliate him: She mentions to Ataru that there'd have to be something seriously wrong with a girl to go out with Ataru. I'm all "Oh Lum, you're no ordinary girl." But she found her soul mate through it all. She's one of a very small list of people to ever see the real Ataru (I think Sakura and Cherry are the only other two).

- That line was interesting and a legitimate one: Why chase after other women when there's a beautiful one willing to shower you with her affections all the time? Of course Ataru's reasoning pretty much boils down to: As a 17 year old boy, he doesn't want to "throw his youth away" (at least that's what it was initially). But later on it became obvious that it was much more than just wanting to throw his youth away (since he does have time, he's only 17), but that he fears committing to Lum (despite loving her dearly) as he knows that he'll have to tie the knot with her in that case. He takes advantage of her because of that, and it makes him a real scumbag at times. I don't at all condone what he does, but I do understand his side of this. It's one of the few things Lum could never fully understand about Ataru, on why he won't just commit to her. Most of the girls were indeed naked lol. I love how when the women found out the guys were there, Lum was all open to the idea of Ataru chilling with them.

- She can be quite manipulative when she wants to be (the Love potion was a good one, though her stunt in the last story trumps any of her previous acts). That is true. Anime Lum was definitely more tolerant and cutesy than her manga counterpart (though she was pretty damn cute there too the anime just played it up). Lum was a lot more blunt and less tolerant of some of the stupidity going around in the manga at times. Lol what really sold it was Onsen Mark snatching Mendou's heart and allowing the hilarity to ensue. Only downside was that provided the best way to prevent a kiss from Ataru and Lum once again lol. Lol I'm just remembering one scene in that OVA where Lum pretty much tells Ataru to wait up and he just asks her why would he wait. It had me laughing hard for some reason. Probably because in the context of the series, why would Lum think Ataru would wait?

- Even Lum can get her comical super strength moments on rare occasions.  :hehe It does tend to bite him in the butt for underestimating her. Sure her naivety works for Ataru at first, but it tends to backfire on him. Too true, but if he did submit to what he really wants, there'd be no reason for these two to grow. Though given it's a Takahashi couple, I imagine it getting a lot of fans irritated at times with the style of how she approaches couples (usually one step forward and two steps back). No, Lum really didn't like her. Even when they were on slightly better terms and no longer blindly hated each other, Lum still goes out of her way to point out Shinobu's lack of "sex appeal."

- The timeframe is sort out of whack I don't even bother trying to make sense of it usually. It's a pretty big hassle considering they've gone through like summer and winter for a fact like 3-4 times. Who knows, he might have been ready to settle down. Megane's protection of Ataru was noble, but it's as I said, if you assume in a Takahashi story, you're very likely to end up not getting what you want in the end. Yeah, that was the only one she was absent from, Ataru himself has been absent from like 4-6 chapters. All the ones he's been absent from though made sense in the context that they usually were about Lum reminiscing the old times with her childhood friends. In the anime, both are only absent from 1 episode each.

- You're right about that. I'm also remembering (though she wasn't necessarily hurt), the story where Ran kidnaps Lum and clones her. Like I love how there's no explanation or reason of how Lum managed to do it. We just see Lum tied up and stuffed in a locker. Ran had all the makings of being a bigger villain in the story had she been pushed farther into that role. Of course any chance of that being a thing disappeared when we come across the stories of learning just how cold (no pun intended) Oyuki can really be. It's why Oyuki is so funny to me. She can be so unashamedly selfish and times that she's hilarious.

- Yeah, you're probably right. Just re-read that part. Pretty interesting for Benten to speak up about it, even going so far as to say she likes the people on earth (even though the only people she really interacts with on earth normally that are actually Human are Ataru and Ryuunosuke Still a nice moment for Benten. A few non-Ataru/Lum characters got some nice moments in the finale. Yeah, Lum definitely was faced with her own despair there when she got so desperate. She was so terrified of the thought of being forced to forget Ataru, that it pained her that he wouldn't say it. Lol Only You. Nobody believed Ataru when he claimed to not know Elle. Thinking about it, you'd think they would have at least given him the benefit of the doubt lol. Usually he'd jump at the chance of knowing a girl or something, but he had no reason to lie after all the punishment he took.

- I enjoyed the song that was being remixed. That was probably my favorite opening theme outside of Chance of Love.

I like to see fanart because while there's always someone that has to draw images in the more exaggerated methods of Hentai and such, there's those people who remain the purists and draw a character as they were portrayed at the time. I think I would have liked to see the Lum from the final design she had in the manga as an anime version, there was something about that rendition that was very pleasing to look at. Simple, yet still Lum in all her glory.

I can't say I missed his mother too much as time went along. She just struck me as someone that was bitter to a point, and felt like she was entitled to or better yet, deserved more. The episode where she was looking at Ataru's baby pictures was a sharp contrast to her usual showings though, because she clearly seemed to actually be nicer in her attitude with Ataru. The scene in The Final Chapter where they're discussing Lum was nice though. As usual, his father has his face behind a newspaper while she's talking about Ataru and Lum and why he can't say it to her and she basically gives her approval of Lum being in his life forever and he just just gives his assent.

If the Inaba OVA is any indication of things, I think they settled with their versions on the height issues, I'll post a screencap too. I did notice that the models used for her parents in that OVA were pretty much the same as in Final Chapter. Lum's father went through the most drastic height change I think of anyone. He was enormous in the first episode and they really shrank him by the end. And Lum does seem to define that 'endless legs' scenario at times doesn't she? Endless legs on someone that ideally is usually shorter than the main character.



Edit: Lum's mother used to be much taller too, taller than both Ataru or Lum, one can argue that they both grew a little since her mother's first appearance, but that's a heck of a late teen growth spurt then for them both. Lum's mother was like a full head taller if memory serves.

The funny thing with her love for him is she never really explains it. She apparently gushes to her friends how much she loves him, but we never hear it or her reasons why. She just loves him, to the point of fanaticism in fact, but she's not wrong, no other girl would put up with him, not his old self anyways. The Ataru we see in the last story is definitely much changed, but by then it doesn't matter, everything he did in that story was for Lum and no one else. Given he's been friends with Shinobu and the Stormtroopers since they were little and he still would have doomed the Earth rather than lie to Lum or make her even think she had a reason to doubt him, that's a very serious character change. And what's funny is she thinks she's completely ordinary too, the manga story where she disguised herself as a student she flat out said it to Mendou. I can't say I know any girls myself with horns, can shoot lightning or fly and has fangs and uses them to bite like she does. I think if I did I would be dead, so my thought is she considers herself ordinary in terms of other Oni.

Ataru defines the idea of being blind to what's right in front of you. Likely he envisions women as being a buffet and he wants to try as many dishes as he can, the only problem is all the dishes but one don't want to be sampled. He went from not wanting to throw away the Springtime of his Youth to fearing commitment, to accepting it after seeing what the outcome would be like. That Inaba story I consider to be when he woke up and saw that commitment wasn't so bad, it just took seeing a Lum that's all smiles and crying from being happy to seal the deal. I think in addition to Cherry and Sakura, Shinobu saw it too though, if anyone else ever did, they turned a blind eye to it.

Nothing Lum could do would ever trump the last story, she played the whole deck of cards all at once with that and she pretty much won. She got her proof and nothing Ataru can say or do will change that, unless he really goes against his overall character and I doubt that would happen. That whole sequence with Onsen Mark was hilarious, he grabs it and then "Sensai...." and the look on Onsen Mark's face was priceless. But sure Lum, Ataru will just stop so you can electrocute him, that'd happen the same day I think as Shinobu willingly kisses Soban lol.

Takahashi and couples, it makes me shudder. My girlfriend has started watching this now, she used to sneak watching over my shoulder but since I networked our computers she's been watching the episodes from my drive where I have all my downloaded subbed episodes, OVAs and movies, she's been watching either from her phone or her computer. Of course, she's going way out of order, OVAs and now movies, but she watched my subbed version of Final Chapter and got annoyed all over again (InuYasha didn't end to her satisfaction) and all I could say is I warned her. Hell, everything after UY had arguably more resolved relationship issues than UY did, she can count herself lucky. She just looked at me though and said "Really, him holding her horns is all we get?" and all I could say is that and a last minute kiss in the last TV episode.

We could say that a year has 2 of each season, but otherwise, it is the most skewed timeframe I think I've ever seen. I had to laugh though when we saw Megane post fight and he was barely alive. But I have to say only Lum/Shinobu/Ran got what they wanted I think in the end of it all. Lum more or less has Ataru, Shinobu has Inaba and Ran has Rei (doorprize maybe there). I mean, yeah Sakura has Tsubame, but only was a factor early on and then one last time in the OVA Date with a Spirit. The stories that didn't have Ataru in them were good though, the one without Lum was alright, but that one in the Manga without Lum was kind of boring. I preferred the anime version and that Lum was horrified by that little devil.

The Ran vs. Lum stories were good, even when it was it wasn't really Ran trying to drain Ataru, like the cupcake episode. I liked how when Ataru ate it, he went from being goofy looking to serious and handsome as the cupcake took effect. That might have been the most heartbroken Lum ever was when she thought Ataru had died. And I think the only time Oyuki showed any warmth was her first appearance with the 'And things were going so well' comment that threw Lum completely off. Here she is calling Ataru 'Lum's husband' and Shinobu his mistress and then she didn't at all mind his 'attention'. Makes me think all alien men are just crap and the earthmen are where it's at. But Oyuki is very subtle with her moods, if she starts a speech though, run.

Aside from Ran enrolling in the school, Benten's had the most screen time of the other aliens. I give her the credit for making Lum fight to keep her man in Only You and she's the closest to Lum in overall mood and temper. She was hilarious in the Sherbet OVA and I never knew she had such a head of hair either until that one cone shot from the bird. But damn, when it pegged her brand new bike and she went ballistic, she'd give Lum a run for her money with that temper. And because it's always funny to say how much Mendou is the patsy, I liked where her bike creamed him when he was spouting his nonsense to the bird after it flew off. I liked what happened in the finale right after Lum grabbed Ataru and hugged him, when everyone was watching. They're all happy, Sakura makes her comment as Shinobu is wiping a tear from her eye, and then the device falls from the skies. Just the looks on everyone's faces from smile to 'Uh oh...' and then half the group gets flattened. And yeah, no one gave Ataru credit for him not knowing Elle, heck he still couldn't really rightly remember her even when they were talking, but she was attractive and that was a planet of women so in his mind, instant harem.
« Last Edit: August 09, 2017, 04:33:19 AM by Oldfan »
I remain unhappy that they didn't give the right closure to the relationship and we have to 'decide for ourselves' if Lum and Ataru got together.

Offline Seiryu

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Re: Theory regarding the 'ending' as we loosely call it
« Reply #39 on: August 09, 2017, 07:20:07 AM »
- Pixiv was fun just to see some of the drawings there. But it's as I said, always great to see a big UY fan nowadays. Few and far between.

- Probably was. This was still somewhat early, but by this point it was long before set in stone that Ataru and Lum was the power couple. Always found it funny how insignificant Ataru's parents (especially his father) became as the series progressed, but then late in the manga and anime, there's that random story about the wishing star that prominently features his parents (for the last time as well).

- The heights in the anime always fluctuated at times from what I saw. I remember some shots of Lum being taller than Ataru, them being the same height, or Ataru being a fair bit taller. I always pictured Mendou a bit taller than Ataru, so I like that more in the manga, and Ataru is a bit taller than Lum there. Sometimes the series makes Lum look like a giant compared to Shinobu. Lum's got those long legs.

- Yes, Lum's love for Ataru has evolved immensely, quite admirable really. She truly grows to love the jerk despite all his terrible qualities. I remember her getting on Ataru's case in one story in the manga as she bluntly just tells him that no other girl is willing to put up with Ataru but her. It's even funnier when I go back to the story where Ataru was tricked to go on that date with the girl so that the guys could humiliate him: She mentions to Ataru that there'd have to be something seriously wrong with a girl to go out with Ataru. I'm all "Oh Lum, you're no ordinary girl." But she found her soul mate through it all. She's one of a very small list of people to ever see the real Ataru (I think Sakura and Cherry are the only other two).

- That line was interesting and a legitimate one: Why chase after other women when there's a beautiful one willing to shower you with her affections all the time? Of course Ataru's reasoning pretty much boils down to: As a 17 year old boy, he doesn't want to "throw his youth away" (at least that's what it was initially). But later on it became obvious that it was much more than just wanting to throw his youth away (since he does have time, he's only 17), but that he fears committing to Lum (despite loving her dearly) as he knows that he'll have to tie the knot with her in that case. He takes advantage of her because of that, and it makes him a real scumbag at times. I don't at all condone what he does, but I do understand his side of this. It's one of the few things Lum could never fully understand about Ataru, on why he won't just commit to her. Most of the girls were indeed naked lol. I love how when the women found out the guys were there, Lum was all open to the idea of Ataru chilling with them.

- She can be quite manipulative when she wants to be (the Love potion was a good one, though her stunt in the last story trumps any of her previous acts). That is true. Anime Lum was definitely more tolerant and cutesy than her manga counterpart (though she was pretty damn cute there too the anime just played it up). Lum was a lot more blunt and less tolerant of some of the stupidity going around in the manga at times. Lol what really sold it was Onsen Mark snatching Mendou's heart and allowing the hilarity to ensue. Only downside was that provided the best way to prevent a kiss from Ataru and Lum once again lol. Lol I'm just remembering one scene in that OVA where Lum pretty much tells Ataru to wait up and he just asks her why would he wait. It had me laughing hard for some reason. Probably because in the context of the series, why would Lum think Ataru would wait?

- Even Lum can get her comical super strength moments on rare occasions.  :hehe It does tend to bite him in the butt for underestimating her. Sure her naivety works for Ataru at first, but it tends to backfire on him. Too true, but if he did submit to what he really wants, there'd be no reason for these two to grow. Though given it's a Takahashi couple, I imagine it getting a lot of fans irritated at times with the style of how she approaches couples (usually one step forward and two steps back). No, Lum really didn't like her. Even when they were on slightly better terms and no longer blindly hated each other, Lum still goes out of her way to point out Shinobu's lack of "sex appeal."

- The timeframe is sort out of whack I don't even bother trying to make sense of it usually. It's a pretty big hassle considering they've gone through like summer and winter for a fact like 3-4 times. Who knows, he might have been ready to settle down. Megane's protection of Ataru was noble, but it's as I said, if you assume in a Takahashi story, you're very likely to end up not getting what you want in the end. Yeah, that was the only one she was absent from, Ataru himself has been absent from like 4-6 chapters. All the ones he's been absent from though made sense in the context that they usually were about Lum reminiscing the old times with her childhood friends. In the anime, both are only absent from 1 episode each.

- You're right about that. I'm also remembering (though she wasn't necessarily hurt), the story where Ran kidnaps Lum and clones her. Like I love how there's no explanation or reason of how Lum managed to do it. We just see Lum tied up and stuffed in a locker. Ran had all the makings of being a bigger villain in the story had she been pushed farther into that role. Of course any chance of that being a thing disappeared when we come across the stories of learning just how cold (no pun intended) Oyuki can really be. It's why Oyuki is so funny to me. She can be so unashamedly selfish and times that she's hilarious.

- Yeah, you're probably right. Just re-read that part. Pretty interesting for Benten to speak up about it, even going so far as to say she likes the people on earth (even though the only people she really interacts with on earth normally that are actually Human are Ataru and Ryuunosuke Still a nice moment for Benten. A few non-Ataru/Lum characters got some nice moments in the finale. Yeah, Lum definitely was faced with her own despair there when she got so desperate. She was so terrified of the thought of being forced to forget Ataru, that it pained her that he wouldn't say it. Lol Only You. Nobody believed Ataru when he claimed to not know Elle. Thinking about it, you'd think they would have at least given him the benefit of the doubt lol. Usually he'd jump at the chance of knowing a girl or something, but he had no reason to lie after all the punishment he took.

- I enjoyed the song that was being remixed. That was probably my favorite opening theme outside of Chance of Love.

I like to see fanart because while there's always someone that has to draw images in the more exaggerated methods of Hentai and such, there's those people who remain the purists and draw a character as they were portrayed at the time. I think I would have liked to see the Lum from the final design she had in the manga as an anime version, there was something about that rendition that was very pleasing to look at. Simple, yet still Lum in all her glory.

I can't say I missed his mother too much as time went along. She just struck me as someone that was bitter to a point, and felt like she was entitled to or better yet, deserved more. The episode where she was looking at Ataru's baby pictures was a sharp contrast to her usual showings though, because she clearly seemed to actually be nicer in her attitude with Ataru. The scene in The Final Chapter where they're discussing Lum was nice though. As usual, his father has his face behind a newspaper while she's talking about Ataru and Lum and why he can't say it to her and she basically gives her approval of Lum being in his life forever and he just just gives his assent.

If the Inaba OVA is any indication of things, I think they settled with their versions on the height issues, I'll post a screencap too. I did notice that the models used for her parents in that OVA were pretty much the same as in Final Chapter. Lum's father went through the most drastic height change I think of anyone. He was enormous in the first episode and they really shrank him by the end. And Lum does seem to define that 'endless legs' scenario at times doesn't she? Endless legs on someone that ideally is usually shorter than the main character.



Edit: Lum's mother used to be much taller too, taller than both Ataru or Lum, one can argue that they both grew a little since her mother's first appearance, but that's a heck of a late teen growth spurt then for them both. Lum's mother was like a full head taller if memory serves.

The funny thing with her love for him is she never really explains it. She apparently gushes to her friends how much she loves him, but we never hear it or her reasons why. She just loves him, to the point of fanaticism in fact, but she's not wrong, no other girl would put up with him, not his old self anyways. The Ataru we see in the last story is definitely much changed, but by then it doesn't matter, everything he did in that story was for Lum and no one else. Given he's been friends with Shinobu and the Stormtroopers since they were little and he still would have doomed the Earth rather than lie to Lum or make her even think she had a reason to doubt him, that's a very serious character change. And what's funny is she thinks she's completely ordinary too, the manga story where she disguised herself as a student she flat out said it to Mendou. I can't say I know any girls myself with horns, can shoot lightning or fly and has fangs and uses them to bite like she does. I think if I did I would be dead, so my thought is she considers herself ordinary in terms of other Oni.

Ataru defines the idea of being blind to what's right in front of you. Likely he envisions women as being a buffet and he wants to try as many dishes as he can, the only problem is all the dishes but one don't want to be sampled. He went from not wanting to throw away the Springtime of his Youth to fearing commitment, to accepting it after seeing what the outcome would be like. That Inaba story I consider to be when he woke up and saw that commitment wasn't so bad, it just took seeing a Lum that's all smiles and crying from being happy to seal the deal. I think in addition to Cherry and Sakura, Shinobu saw it too though, if anyone else ever did, they turned a blind eye to it.

Nothing Lum could do would ever trump the last story, she played the whole deck of cards all at once with that and she pretty much won. She got her proof and nothing Ataru can say or do will change that, unless he really goes against his overall character and I doubt that would happen. That whole sequence with Onsen Mark was hilarious, he grabs it and then "Sensai...." and the look on Onsen Mark's face was priceless. But sure Lum, Ataru will just stop so you can electrocute him, that'd happen the same day I think as Shinobu willingly kisses Soban lol.

Takahashi and couples, it makes me shudder. My girlfriend has started watching this now, she used to sneak watching over my shoulder but since I networked our computers she's been watching the episodes from my drive where I have all my downloaded subbed episodes, OVAs and movies, she's been watching either from her phone or her computer. Of course, she's going way out of order, OVAs and now movies, but she watched my subbed version of Final Chapter and got annoyed all over again (InuYasha didn't end to her satisfaction) and all I could say is I warned her. Hell, everything after UY had arguably more resolved relationship issues than UY did, she can count herself lucky. She just looked at me though and said "Really, him holding her horns is all we get?" and all I could say is that and a last minute kiss in the last TV episode.

We could say that a year has 2 of each season, but otherwise, it is the most skewed timeframe I think I've ever seen. I had to laugh though when we saw Megane post fight and he was barely alive. But I have to say only Lum/Shinobu/Ran got what they wanted I think in the end of it all. Lum more or less has Ataru, Shinobu has Inaba and Ran has Rei (doorprize maybe there). I mean, yeah Sakura has Tsubame, but only was a factor early on and then one last time in the OVA Date with a Spirit. The stories that didn't have Ataru in them were good though, the one without Lum was alright, but that one in the Manga without Lum was kind of boring. I preferred the anime version and that Lum was horrified by that little devil.

The Ran vs. Lum stories were good, even when it was it wasn't really Ran trying to drain Ataru, like the cupcake episode. I liked how when Ataru ate it, he went from being goofy looking to serious and handsome as the cupcake took effect. That might have been the most heartbroken Lum ever was when she thought Ataru had died. And I think the only time Oyuki showed any warmth was her first appearance with the 'And things were going so well' comment that threw Lum completely off. Here she is calling Ataru 'Lum's husband' and Shinobu his mistress and then she didn't at all mind his 'attention'. Makes me think all alien men are just crap and the earthmen are where it's at. But Oyuki is very subtle with her moods, if she starts a speech though, run.

Aside from Ran enrolling in the school, Benten's had the most screen time of the other aliens. I give her the credit for making Lum fight to keep her man in Only You and she's the closest to Lum in overall mood and temper. She was hilarious in the Sherbet OVA and I never knew she had such a head of hair either until that one cone shot from the bird. But damn, when it pegged her brand new bike and she went ballistic, she'd give Lum a run for her money with that temper. And because it's always funny to say how much Mendou is the patsy, I liked where her bike creamed him when he was spouting his nonsense to the bird after it flew off. I liked what happened in the finale right after Lum grabbed Ataru and hugged him, when everyone was watching. They're all happy, Sakura makes her comment as Shinobu is wiping a tear from her eye, and then the device falls from the skies. Just the looks on everyone's faces from smile to 'Uh oh...' and then half the group gets flattened. And yeah, no one gave Ataru credit for him not knowing Elle, heck he still couldn't really rightly remember her even when they were talking, but she was attractive and that was a planet of women so in his mind, instant harem.
- I agree about that. Characters are only at their best when captured in the style of how they actually look like. Though I've seen quite a lot of nice pics of the UY characters in artists own styles. Must say, some of the ones I've seen have done a real nice job with it.

- His dad always tried hiding behind the newspapers. He definitely didn't want to get involved in anything if he could help it. His parents were never that important to begin with, even less important than the Stormtroopers, whose roles increased drastically compared to the manga where they just disappeared around the time Mendou showed up. Always wondered why.

- The best part of that entire pic when comparing heights is that Ataru and Lum's mother are both the same height and a bit taller than Lum herself. The other funny part is that they gave Kakugari Onsen-Mark's complexion. I'll never forget when first watching that OVA how it had both Mujaki and the smaller Lum both present at that wedding even though that doesn't make sense. Yeah, Lum's mother was taller than Ataru initially, but this depicts the two at the same height. Ataru and Lum in that picture are likely in their early twenties. They'd still have some room to grow.

- It'll always remain somewhat unclear why does Lum love Ataru. We know a few reasons, but we're never really told from her directly just why. Guess to Lum it isn't important on the why. She doesn't dwell on why, and doesn't really understand why others are so insistent on wanting to know why. All they need to know is she loves him. End of story. He wouldn't have gone that far for anyone but Lum. It's pretty clear long before the series ends Ataru and Lum care more about each other than they do anybody else. Well she's just like her mother, so it isn't farfetched to assume she isn't all that different from the norm of other Oni. If anything, Rei might be the oddball Oni.

- You can't stop his quest for fulfilling his youthful days! He must ask out every girl he can, even try and flirt with a girl by telling her how rain happens lol. Ataru probably prefers people turning a blind eye to his more noble side. The trick is in this series is most people believe the Ataru they normally see to be the "Real Ataru" while the more kind-hearted and noble Ataru is just "an act." Ataru doesn't do a damn thing to tell people otherwise, despite knowing himself he's capable of being a nice person. Ataru prefers people thinking his real self is an act cause it keeps people guessing, and it's how he tends to surprise people and prove them wrong (something he loves doing). Lum is however the only one who sees through his own act and realizes just how good of a person he really is deep inside (probably even more so than Ataru himself).

- Can't beat someone who chooses the game to play, has flight advantage, has complete knowledge of you, and sets up a countermeasure in case she doesn't get what she wants. Despite how desperate she was in her efforts, I give her props for going that far just to confirm if Ataru genuinely felt the same way about her as she does for him, especially since Ataru didn't exactly make it obvious he loved her when he told her hated her instead of just saying he loved her and would have ended this whole conflict back in the spaceship. Onsen always gets the short end lol. He rarely ever gets the last laugh. I mean the best he managed against Ataru was a draw, and even then, Ataru goes on to clown him several times later anyway. Well, it was worth a shot lol. Give him a chance to stop before she brought out the heavy artillery.

- Lol, she should have known what she was getting herself into. You're right, UY is a bigger offender of how Takahashi resolves her relationships more so than her others. Like Ranma and Akane ended the most similarly to Ataru and Lum, but even Ranma got out a "I love you" to Akane. Hell, Akane even heard him say it too. If your GF wants to see a Takahashi couple truly and completely be complete, Maison Ikkoku is really anybody's best bet at it. MI was a good read.

- The little Devil in general was pretty creepy in both versions. Kinda glad it only appeared once. The biggest crime to me will always be Ryuunosuke not even getting anything close to a resolution for her story. Like some fans may be upset by how Ataru and Lum's relationship was resolved, but I was more irked by Ryuunosuke's. She's one of my favorites, but she was never really allowed to get a "win." She never find out who her mother was, and was never really able to truly embrace her feminine side for more than maybe a few short minutes.

- I do like how they sort of resolved the conflict between the two when Lum went to Ran's house to take care of her when she got sick. The story pretty much ends with Ran realizing that Lum doesn't purposely try to ruin things, it just happens as a byproduct of Lum just trying to help Ran out. Ran just sort of rolled with it. Lol, Benten purposely trying to get Oyuki pissed off just to see how she'd get back at Ran. Ran would fight it out with Lum and even Benten (even kissed Benten to try and steal her youth), but Oyuki? She's packing it in and running for the hills. It really makes you realize that from a first glance, Oyuki may be the nicest of Lum's three childhood friends, but when you get down to it, Benten is probably the nicest of the three.

- That scene was pretty funny in Only You when Megane was talking to Ataru about life on that new planet. Ataru just talks and acts like a villain that it has me laughing pretty hard. He tells Megane how he can pretty much be his subordinate and take pleasure in that and Megane then grovels at Ataru's feet afterwards. Then Ataru just starts laughing maniacally. Benten can get pretty serious when she really needs to be. Yeah, I was surprised to see she has that much hair. She too like Lum has a pair of very long legs.

Offline Oldfan

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Re: Theory regarding the 'ending' as we loosely call it
« Reply #40 on: August 10, 2017, 02:16:31 AM »
- I agree about that. Characters are only at their best when captured in the style of how they actually look like. Though I've seen quite a lot of nice pics of the UY characters in artists own styles. Must say, some of the ones I've seen have done a real nice job with it.

- His dad always tried hiding behind the newspapers. He definitely didn't want to get involved in anything if he could help it. His parents were never that important to begin with, even less important than the Stormtroopers, whose roles increased drastically compared to the manga where they just disappeared around the time Mendou showed up. Always wondered why.

- The best part of that entire pic when comparing heights is that Ataru and Lum's mother are both the same height and a bit taller than Lum herself. The other funny part is that they gave Kakugari Onsen-Mark's complexion. I'll never forget when first watching that OVA how it had both Mujaki and the smaller Lum both present at that wedding even though that doesn't make sense. Yeah, Lum's mother was taller than Ataru initially, but this depicts the two at the same height. Ataru and Lum in that picture are likely in their early twenties. They'd still have some room to grow.

- It'll always remain somewhat unclear why does Lum love Ataru. We know a few reasons, but we're never really told from her directly just why. Guess to Lum it isn't important on the why. She doesn't dwell on why, and doesn't really understand why others are so insistent on wanting to know why. All they need to know is she loves him. End of story. He wouldn't have gone that far for anyone but Lum. It's pretty clear long before the series ends Ataru and Lum care more about each other than they do anybody else. Well she's just like her mother, so it isn't farfetched to assume she isn't all that different from the norm of other Oni. If anything, Rei might be the oddball Oni.

- You can't stop his quest for fulfilling his youthful days! He must ask out every girl he can, even try and flirt with a girl by telling her how rain happens lol. Ataru probably prefers people turning a blind eye to his more noble side. The trick is in this series is most people believe the Ataru they normally see to be the "Real Ataru" while the more kind-hearted and noble Ataru is just "an act." Ataru doesn't do a damn thing to tell people otherwise, despite knowing himself he's capable of being a nice person. Ataru prefers people thinking his real self is an act cause it keeps people guessing, and it's how he tends to surprise people and prove them wrong (something he loves doing). Lum is however the only one who sees through his own act and realizes just how good of a person he really is deep inside (probably even more so than Ataru himself).

- Can't beat someone who chooses the game to play, has flight advantage, has complete knowledge of you, and sets up a countermeasure in case she doesn't get what she wants. Despite how desperate she was in her efforts, I give her props for going that far just to confirm if Ataru genuinely felt the same way about her as she does for him, especially since Ataru didn't exactly make it obvious he loved her when he told her hated her instead of just saying he loved her and would have ended this whole conflict back in the spaceship. Onsen always gets the short end lol. He rarely ever gets the last laugh. I mean the best he managed against Ataru was a draw, and even then, Ataru goes on to clown him several times later anyway. Well, it was worth a shot lol. Give him a chance to stop before she brought out the heavy artillery.

- Lol, she should have known what she was getting herself into. You're right, UY is a bigger offender of how Takahashi resolves her relationships more so than her others. Like Ranma and Akane ended the most similarly to Ataru and Lum, but even Ranma got out a "I love you" to Akane. Hell, Akane even heard him say it too. If your GF wants to see a Takahashi couple truly and completely be complete, Maison Ikkoku is really anybody's best bet at it. MI was a good read.

- The little Devil in general was pretty creepy in both versions. Kinda glad it only appeared once. The biggest crime to me will always be Ryuunosuke not even getting anything close to a resolution for her story. Like some fans may be upset by how Ataru and Lum's relationship was resolved, but I was more irked by Ryuunosuke's. She's one of my favorites, but she was never really allowed to get a "win." She never find out who her mother was, and was never really able to truly embrace her feminine side for more than maybe a few short minutes.

- I do like how they sort of resolved the conflict between the two when Lum went to Ran's house to take care of her when she got sick. The story pretty much ends with Ran realizing that Lum doesn't purposely try to ruin things, it just happens as a byproduct of Lum just trying to help Ran out. Ran just sort of rolled with it. Lol, Benten purposely trying to get Oyuki pissed off just to see how she'd get back at Ran. Ran would fight it out with Lum and even Benten (even kissed Benten to try and steal her youth), but Oyuki? She's packing it in and running for the hills. It really makes you realize that from a first glance, Oyuki may be the nicest of Lum's three childhood friends, but when you get down to it, Benten is probably the nicest of the three.

- That scene was pretty funny in Only You when Megane was talking to Ataru about life on that new planet. Ataru just talks and acts like a villain that it has me laughing pretty hard. He tells Megane how he can pretty much be his subordinate and take pleasure in that and Megane then grovels at Ataru's feet afterwards. Then Ataru just starts laughing maniacally. Benten can get pretty serious when she really needs to be. Yeah, I was surprised to see she has that much hair. She too like Lum has a pair of very long legs.

Oh I agree with you there, such as the artist Genta who has a section here for his artwork, his version of Ataru and Lum are great and the daughter that he created for them is adorable (since she pretty much looks like a Mini Lum). It's when I see a Lum drawing and the bust defies description as well as gravity that I get a little weary of the boundaries of fan art.

I think the only time his dad actually was helpful was the Love Triangle episode when he gave Ataru the rubber raincoat so he could brave going out to see Shinobu. Of course, it was in tatters not just moments later so it may not have been the best item to give him. Score another for Ataru's strength too as when Cherry tried to kill him (let's face it, Cherry DID try), Ataru tried to return the favor with a piece of lightpole. I think basically his parents were phased out because of not being used. The later stories just were at school or odd locations, pretty much once Lum came along he almost didn't need his parents anymore.

They usually use things like this for a who's who retrospective. When UY 3 came out they used Ruu and Lahla as passersby in the street when Lum was out doing something. In UY 6 they used practically everyone as witnesses to the battle between Mendou's forces and Lupica's ship. But yeah, Ataru and Lum's mother are the same height, so either he had one big growth spurt or they shrunk the parents. The complexion mess up though I wondered about, that was a bit odd since Kakugari was pretty pale in the TV series compared to that. I still wonder why they never showed Ataru's face, they did for Lum finally with the wedding, but never once for Ataru.

The whole why she loves him though frustrates everyone else though. It makes me wonder if at the end of the day when Mendou and Megane go home if they cry into their pillows at night. I mean, Megane's room is pretty creepy all things considered, and with Mendou he seems to want to own her like a possession more than have her as a person. And I do find it interesting that all the times we did see other Oni, we always saw men and we've never had more than three women; Lum, her mother and her aunt.

We can't, but Lum will sure as hell try and she just about did too. All the times she ran interference; dragged him off, dropped enough lightning on him to power a small town, used mallets, etc. Still, I give him credit for trying though, it's why Mendou's father said he's more persistant than his own son. The only time he stops in his tracks is of course, for Lum. Admittedly he did stop in the Manga when it came to Shinobu because of Inaba; really is a shame Love and Valor wasn't adapted. But overall, the real Ataru is likely the most capable male in the show, he becomes the instant leader and suddenly everyone just follows him - like when Rei invaded for everyone's lunches or for Lum's reunion - both times Mendou fell apart and Ataru was right there to step up. Not bad for a kid whose mother kept saying she should never have had him.

I would say for once she effectively completely cornered him in every respect. But she's had all that skewed time to think about all of his tricks and antics, for once she was on complete offense and no defense. I'm just still amazed that after all the time they were together, they actually have had worse misunderstandings. Part of me was like "C'Mon Lum, he went all that way to get you back, and you can sit and think he doesn't love you? He jumped out of his kimono when you were falling." But when they're angry forget it, all reason goes right out the window and that likely might have been the single craziest stunt Ataru ever pulled, hands down. I'm actually kind of surprised none of the others ever said anything to him about that. I do feel bad for Onsen though at times, the only reason he puts up with any of it is because he loves Sakura. (I still laugh when I hear Tsubame's name, since it means swallow)

Edit: She started watching the episodes, and made a face about the artwork so I had to remind her this started way earlier than the last few movies. She watched the first 10 of them since she had off from work today, she likes the chaos of the episodes and she already thinks Rei is annoying. I told her to wait until she gets to Mendou, but I did tell her she can watch a 'perfect' ending to an RT story, since I have all the Maison Episodes on the same drive(s) that I have all my UY stuff on. When I didn't think I could get the Blurays, I had everything on a storage drive, then backed it all up on a second storage drive and also a portable one too. That's my only subbed versions since the Blurays are all JP only.

Between the two versions, I like Ataru's reactions to it in the Manga better. Who knew Ataru could throw knives the way he does? For a kid that's supposedly a klutz and all these other bad things, he's surprisingly very adept. I know it's anime and as such, there's in most all cases the hidden abilities, but he had counters for most everything except Oyuki's ice and Lum's lightning. If someone said to me that Takahashi didn't intend for him to be 100% human, I wouldn't doubt it for a moment. But yeah, of all the women in the show/manga, Ryuunosuke got nothing in the end except more of the same. A pain in the ass father and she still wore the chest wrap, and speaking of her father, he bears a lot of resemblance to the father of the girl haunted by the rain demon, even has the same seiyū. I guess at least she has a brawl buddy in Benten.

Lum in her way is just as klutzy as Ataru, it just comes out differently. When she helps, things go wrong and when she cooks, you might as well order take out. Or when she goes to make Ataru a treat and she turns him into a wolf. Ran has different reasons to be afraid of the other three girls though, Lum is nearly as sweet acting and has her own nuclear temper, Benten can go from zero to ticked off and grab her own ordinance in blink, but Oyuki...there's no warning, nothing. Unless you listen to her carefully, you have no idea when she's angry at all. But Benten is definitely an opportunist, she played Ataru pretty well that first Setsuban and got the win for the Lucky Gods because she knew Lum would have fit.

I liked how when he was laughing in that sequence he stops when he sees everyone looking at him with that "Really?" look on their faces. Poor Ataru, three times he's had a chance at a harem but something got in his way. I think the only women with normal legs from the regulars were Shinobu and Ryuunosuke. Ran seemed to have long legs when she went around in her bikini and Sakura was pretty much legs and chest.
« Last Edit: August 10, 2017, 04:44:49 AM by Oldfan »
I remain unhappy that they didn't give the right closure to the relationship and we have to 'decide for ourselves' if Lum and Ataru got together.

Offline Seiryu

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Re: Theory regarding the 'ending' as we loosely call it
« Reply #41 on: August 10, 2017, 06:10:34 AM »
- I agree about that. Characters are only at their best when captured in the style of how they actually look like. Though I've seen quite a lot of nice pics of the UY characters in artists own styles. Must say, some of the ones I've seen have done a real nice job with it.

- His dad always tried hiding behind the newspapers. He definitely didn't want to get involved in anything if he could help it. His parents were never that important to begin with, even less important than the Stormtroopers, whose roles increased drastically compared to the manga where they just disappeared around the time Mendou showed up. Always wondered why.

- The best part of that entire pic when comparing heights is that Ataru and Lum's mother are both the same height and a bit taller than Lum herself. The other funny part is that they gave Kakugari Onsen-Mark's complexion. I'll never forget when first watching that OVA how it had both Mujaki and the smaller Lum both present at that wedding even though that doesn't make sense. Yeah, Lum's mother was taller than Ataru initially, but this depicts the two at the same height. Ataru and Lum in that picture are likely in their early twenties. They'd still have some room to grow.

- It'll always remain somewhat unclear why does Lum love Ataru. We know a few reasons, but we're never really told from her directly just why. Guess to Lum it isn't important on the why. She doesn't dwell on why, and doesn't really understand why others are so insistent on wanting to know why. All they need to know is she loves him. End of story. He wouldn't have gone that far for anyone but Lum. It's pretty clear long before the series ends Ataru and Lum care more about each other than they do anybody else. Well she's just like her mother, so it isn't farfetched to assume she isn't all that different from the norm of other Oni. If anything, Rei might be the oddball Oni.

- You can't stop his quest for fulfilling his youthful days! He must ask out every girl he can, even try and flirt with a girl by telling her how rain happens lol. Ataru probably prefers people turning a blind eye to his more noble side. The trick is in this series is most people believe the Ataru they normally see to be the "Real Ataru" while the more kind-hearted and noble Ataru is just "an act." Ataru doesn't do a damn thing to tell people otherwise, despite knowing himself he's capable of being a nice person. Ataru prefers people thinking his real self is an act cause it keeps people guessing, and it's how he tends to surprise people and prove them wrong (something he loves doing). Lum is however the only one who sees through his own act and realizes just how good of a person he really is deep inside (probably even more so than Ataru himself).

- Can't beat someone who chooses the game to play, has flight advantage, has complete knowledge of you, and sets up a countermeasure in case she doesn't get what she wants. Despite how desperate she was in her efforts, I give her props for going that far just to confirm if Ataru genuinely felt the same way about her as she does for him, especially since Ataru didn't exactly make it obvious he loved her when he told her hated her instead of just saying he loved her and would have ended this whole conflict back in the spaceship. Onsen always gets the short end lol. He rarely ever gets the last laugh. I mean the best he managed against Ataru was a draw, and even then, Ataru goes on to clown him several times later anyway. Well, it was worth a shot lol. Give him a chance to stop before she brought out the heavy artillery.

- Lol, she should have known what she was getting herself into. You're right, UY is a bigger offender of how Takahashi resolves her relationships more so than her others. Like Ranma and Akane ended the most similarly to Ataru and Lum, but even Ranma got out a "I love you" to Akane. Hell, Akane even heard him say it too. If your GF wants to see a Takahashi couple truly and completely be complete, Maison Ikkoku is really anybody's best bet at it. MI was a good read.

- The little Devil in general was pretty creepy in both versions. Kinda glad it only appeared once. The biggest crime to me will always be Ryuunosuke not even getting anything close to a resolution for her story. Like some fans may be upset by how Ataru and Lum's relationship was resolved, but I was more irked by Ryuunosuke's. She's one of my favorites, but she was never really allowed to get a "win." She never find out who her mother was, and was never really able to truly embrace her feminine side for more than maybe a few short minutes.

- I do like how they sort of resolved the conflict between the two when Lum went to Ran's house to take care of her when she got sick. The story pretty much ends with Ran realizing that Lum doesn't purposely try to ruin things, it just happens as a byproduct of Lum just trying to help Ran out. Ran just sort of rolled with it. Lol, Benten purposely trying to get Oyuki pissed off just to see how she'd get back at Ran. Ran would fight it out with Lum and even Benten (even kissed Benten to try and steal her youth), but Oyuki? She's packing it in and running for the hills. It really makes you realize that from a first glance, Oyuki may be the nicest of Lum's three childhood friends, but when you get down to it, Benten is probably the nicest of the three.

- That scene was pretty funny in Only You when Megane was talking to Ataru about life on that new planet. Ataru just talks and acts like a villain that it has me laughing pretty hard. He tells Megane how he can pretty much be his subordinate and take pleasure in that and Megane then grovels at Ataru's feet afterwards. Then Ataru just starts laughing maniacally. Benten can get pretty serious when she really needs to be. Yeah, I was surprised to see she has that much hair. She too like Lum has a pair of very long legs.

Oh I agree with you there, such as the artist Genta who has a section here for his artwork, his version of Ataru and Lum are great and the daughter that he created for them is adorable (since she pretty much looks like a Mini Lum). It's when I see a Lum drawing and the bust defies description as well as gravity that I get a little weary of the boundaries of fan art.

I think the only time his dad actually was helpful was the Love Triangle episode when he gave Ataru the rubber raincoat so he could brave going out to see Shinobu. Of course, it was in tatters not just moments later so it may not have been the best item to give him. Score another for Ataru's strength too as when Cherry tried to kill him (let's face it, Cherry DID try), Ataru tried to return the favor with a piece of lightpole. I think basically his parents were phased out because of not being used. The later stories just were at school or odd locations, pretty much once Lum came along he almost didn't need his parents anymore.

They usually use things like this for a who's who retrospective. When UY 3 came out they used Ruu and Lahla as passersby in the street when Lum was out doing something. In UY 6 they used practically everyone as witnesses to the battle between Mendou's forces and Lupica's ship. But yeah, Ataru and Lum's mother are the same height, so either he had one big growth spurt or they shrunk the parents. The complexion mess up though I wondered about, that was a bit odd since Kakugari was pretty pale in the TV series compared to that. I still wonder why they never showed Ataru's face, they did for Lum finally with the wedding, but never once for Ataru.

The whole why she loves him though frustrates everyone else though. It makes me wonder if at the end of the day when Mendou and Megane go home if they cry into their pillows at night. I mean, Megane's room is pretty creepy all things considered, and with Mendou he seems to want to own her like a possession more than have her as a person. And I do find it interesting that all the times we did see other Oni, we always saw men and we've never had more than three women; Lum, her mother and her aunt.

We can't, but Lum will sure as hell try and she just about did too. All the times she ran interference; dragged him off, dropped enough lightning on him to power a small town, used mallets, etc. Still, I give him credit for trying though, it's why Mendou's father said he's more persistant than his own son. The only time he stops in his tracks is of course, for Lum. Admittedly he did stop in the Manga when it came to Shinobu because of Inaba; really is a shame Love and Valor wasn't adapted. But overall, the real Ataru is likely the most capable male in the show, he becomes the instant leader and suddenly everyone just follows him - like when Rei invaded for everyone's lunches or for Lum's reunion - both times Mendou fell apart and Ataru was right there to step up. Not bad for a kid whose mother kept saying she should never have had him.

I would say for once she effectively completely cornered him in every respect. But she's had all that skewed time to think about all of his tricks and antics, for once she was on complete offense and no defense. I'm just still amazed that after all the time they were together, they actually have had worse misunderstandings. Part of me was like "C'Mon Lum, he went all that way to get you back, and you can sit and think he doesn't love you? He jumped out of his kimono when you were falling." But when they're angry forget it, all reason goes right out the window and that likely might have been the single craziest stunt Ataru ever pulled, hands down. I'm actually kind of surprised none of the others ever said anything to him about that. I do feel bad for Onsen though at times, the only reason he puts up with any of it is because he loves Sakura. (I still laugh when I hear Tsubame's name, since it means swallow)

Edit: She started watching the episodes, and made a face about the artwork so I had to remind her this started way earlier than the last few movies. She watched the first 10 of them since she had off from work today, she likes the chaos of the episodes and she already thinks Rei is annoying. I told her to wait until she gets to Mendou, but I did tell her she can watch a 'perfect' ending to an RT story, since I have all the Maison Episodes on the same drive(s) that I have all my UY stuff on. When I didn't think I could get the Blurays, I had everything on a storage drive, then backed it all up on a second storage drive and also a portable one too. That's my only subbed versions since the Blurays are all JP only.

Between the two versions, I like Ataru's reactions to it in the Manga better. Who knew Ataru could throw knives the way he does? For a kid that's supposedly a klutz and all these other bad things, he's surprisingly very adept. I know it's anime and as such, there's in most all cases the hidden abilities, but he had counters for most everything except Oyuki's ice and Lum's lightning. If someone said to me that Takahashi didn't intend for him to be 100% human, I wouldn't doubt it for a moment. But yeah, of all the women in the show/manga, Ryuunosuke got nothing in the end except more of the same. A pain in the ass father and she still wore the chest wrap, and speaking of her father, he bears a lot of resemblance to the father of the girl haunted by the rain demon, even has the same seiyū. I guess at least she has a brawl buddy in Benten.

Lum in her way is just as klutzy as Ataru, it just comes out differently. When she helps, things go wrong and when she cooks, you might as well order take out. Or when she goes to make Ataru a treat and she turns him into a wolf. Ran has different reasons to be afraid of the other three girls though, Lum is nearly as sweet acting and has her own nuclear temper, Benten can go from zero to ticked off and grab her own ordinance in blink, but Oyuki...there's no warning, nothing. Unless you listen to her carefully, you have no idea when she's angry at all. But Benten is definitely an opportunist, she played Ataru pretty well that first Setsuban and got the win for the Lucky Gods because she knew Lum would have fit.

I liked how when he was laughing in that sequence he stops when he sees everyone looking at him with that "Really?" look on their faces. Poor Ataru, three times he's had a chance at a harem but something got in his way. I think the only women with normal legs from the regulars were Shinobu and Ryuunosuke. Ran seemed to have long legs when she went around in her bikini and Sakura was pretty much legs and chest.
- Of course when you get there, as you mention, that's stepping into more of the R34 realm of drawings. Where everything is likely expanded on.

- His dad just loves to shy away from everything lol. Though in the earlier stories, he did say at the end of the stories how Ataru would pay for everything that happened, even though it largely wasn't completely his fault. I mean hell, Shinobu and Lum also played a big role in everything getting destroyed in the love triangle story, or how the Stormtroopers summoned the space Taxi. Had the series stuck more with the theme of Ataru trying to overcome adversity to prove his love to Shinobu as it seemed to be going initially, his parents might have been a bit more recurring as characters. But later on, you can't even classify them as minor characters a lot of the time lol. Still, it makes sense. Most stories as you pointed out usually took place in different locations.

- You'd think Kakugari was Onsen's son in that pic lol. As for Ataru, there was a big theme on not showing Ataru's face in that story manga and anime version. I never understood why. I always wondered what was Takahashi's reason for not showing his face. Heck, we didn't even really get to see Lum's face until the future where they got married, where her tears of happiness was a plot point for Ataru's major turn in learning to accept a fate where they get married. As for Ataru? No clue. One of the versions, I think in the manga, has Lum asking Ataru why he's so shy (since his head is faced away from view) as they walk down as the newly wedded couple.

- Mendou I can imagine not getting too much time to cry his eyes out that Lum will never be his considering his sister would never give him enough peace time for that. Megane? He'll cry, and then probably kiss a Lum poster he has on his wall or something.  Megane should invest in getting some help with that obsession. I do wish we got to learn more about the Oni and the Lucky Gods beyond just Setsubun.

- Ataru tends to be a very independent person. Although many may not like that he sometimes becomes the "de facto leader" of the group, but that's cause he jumps at the situation head first and everyone else is forced to adapt to it or get left behind in all the hijinks. If you chicken out, you usually end up like Mendou, if you run with it and go with the flow, you'll have a better chance of coming out unscathed. Mendou fell apart when Rei came around, love how Ten seems to get along with Rei well enough. Hilarious how he only really seems to have a big role in a story if he's playing the antagonist of it, even though Rei isn't usually antagonistic in nature, hell he only ever tried threatening to kill someone (Ataru) on the spot once. His last major story with the twin lockets was great. Had a nice mix of everything: comedy, fun, Ataru getting jelly and Lum happily and lovingly teasing him for it. It had that really funny scene where the characters are all like "You think Rei would understand anything about this?" Ataru's all like "Nah, he's an idiot." Then they just see Rei behind them who just spits up the other locket. He may not speak Japanese, but he can sure understand what they're saying when he finds it convenient.

- You're right about that, they've had worse misunderstandings than the one they had in the last story. I mean hell, when Ataru was traveling to the World of Darkness, he said her name, and Lum just knew he was coming to save her. He willingly jumped off a cliff to go and save her. Conversely, Ataru, you yourself stated that Lum is irrevocably in love with you, so why would you ever believe differently. Sure, it was a fake that said it, but you yourself have said how strongly she's loved you and even took full advantage of it. For you to lose trust in her this quick? Onsen Mark, now he's likely the biggest loser in this series. Nobody respects the guy. Sakura barely acknowledges him, and the students tend to deliberately causes him pain any chance they get. Tsubame, I half the time forget who he is because he's pretty irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. As far as Sakura goes, they really do double up on her sex appeal at times for the sake of some storylines (her admission into Tomobiki High as the nurse is a pretty big one). I did like how the Inaba OVA, they had her look just like Kyoko.

- Lol she'll be surprised, Rei is honestly pretty tame in the annoying department. Heck, he isn't even all that bad considering he doesn't even appear all that often. Mendou though? The guy is present in like 80-90% of the stories. But yeah, Maison Ikkoku is definitely the way to go if you want to see a Takahashi couple have a complete resolution.

- He's quite skilled in many areas. Even then, while he couldn't straight up counter Lum's lightning, he could either dodge it or just tank/resist it a lot of the time. Oyuki? As I've said before, she's very well the most powerful character in this series, especially when angry. Nobody wants to mess with her. I always felt bad for Ryuunosuke. Her story never went anywhere. I did enjoy the stories between her and Benten. I especially loved when they met the second time where they're on better terms, but just wanted to beat each other up anyway just because they like to fight.

- Benten is pretty smart when she wants to be. But it's pretty easy to tell when she'll get angry. As you said with Oyuki, there's literally nothing to tell when she goes off. She just does at the drop of a hat. Easily understandable why Ran fears her so much. Not a character alive in the series Ran would refuse to fight against barring Oyuki.

- Sakura was pretty much all that to the horny teenage boys at Tomobiki lol. Even Ten got in on that too, but has the nice advantage of being younger. You're right, Ran did appear to have long legs as well when she wore her bikini.

- Lol just remembering another funny moment. The story where they had to ring the giant bells. Ataru goes over to see Lum who got hurt hitting one since she isn't really strong physically, and she is quite pleased to see Ataru comfort her. She tells him to win some of the prizes for her and Ataru is all "Nah, I think I'll win them for myself." Lum just replies with this comical glare she shoots at Ataru as well.

Offline Oldfan

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Re: Theory regarding the 'ending' as we loosely call it
« Reply #42 on: August 11, 2017, 05:53:05 AM »
- Of course when you get there, as you mention, that's stepping into more of the R34 realm of drawings. Where everything is likely expanded on.

- His dad just loves to shy away from everything lol. Though in the earlier stories, he did say at the end of the stories how Ataru would pay for everything that happened, even though it largely wasn't completely his fault. I mean hell, Shinobu and Lum also played a big role in everything getting destroyed in the love triangle story, or how the Stormtroopers summoned the space Taxi. Had the series stuck more with the theme of Ataru trying to overcome adversity to prove his love to Shinobu as it seemed to be going initially, his parents might have been a bit more recurring as characters. But later on, you can't even classify them as minor characters a lot of the time lol. Still, it makes sense. Most stories as you pointed out usually took place in different locations.

- You'd think Kakugari was Onsen's son in that pic lol. As for Ataru, there was a big theme on not showing Ataru's face in that story manga and anime version. I never understood why. I always wondered what was Takahashi's reason for not showing his face. Heck, we didn't even really get to see Lum's face until the future where they got married, where her tears of happiness was a plot point for Ataru's major turn in learning to accept a fate where they get married. As for Ataru? No clue. One of the versions, I think in the manga, has Lum asking Ataru why he's so shy (since his head is faced away from view) as they walk down as the newly wedded couple.

- Mendou I can imagine not getting too much time to cry his eyes out that Lum will never be his considering his sister would never give him enough peace time for that. Megane? He'll cry, and then probably kiss a Lum poster he has on his wall or something.  Megane should invest in getting some help with that obsession. I do wish we got to learn more about the Oni and the Lucky Gods beyond just Setsubun.

- Ataru tends to be a very independent person. Although many may not like that he sometimes becomes the "de facto leader" of the group, but that's cause he jumps at the situation head first and everyone else is forced to adapt to it or get left behind in all the hijinks. If you chicken out, you usually end up like Mendou, if you run with it and go with the flow, you'll have a better chance of coming out unscathed. Mendou fell apart when Rei came around, love how Ten seems to get along with Rei well enough. Hilarious how he only really seems to have a big role in a story if he's playing the antagonist of it, even though Rei isn't usually antagonistic in nature, hell he only ever tried threatening to kill someone (Ataru) on the spot once. His last major story with the twin lockets was great. Had a nice mix of everything: comedy, fun, Ataru getting jelly and Lum happily and lovingly teasing him for it. It had that really funny scene where the characters are all like "You think Rei would understand anything about this?" Ataru's all like "Nah, he's an idiot." Then they just see Rei behind them who just spits up the other locket. He may not speak Japanese, but he can sure understand what they're saying when he finds it convenient.

- You're right about that, they've had worse misunderstandings than the one they had in the last story. I mean hell, when Ataru was traveling to the World of Darkness, he said her name, and Lum just knew he was coming to save her. He willingly jumped off a cliff to go and save her. Conversely, Ataru, you yourself stated that Lum is irrevocably in love with you, so why would you ever believe differently. Sure, it was a fake that said it, but you yourself have said how strongly she's loved you and even took full advantage of it. For you to lose trust in her this quick? Onsen Mark, now he's likely the biggest loser in this series. Nobody respects the guy. Sakura barely acknowledges him, and the students tend to deliberately causes him pain any chance they get. Tsubame, I half the time forget who he is because he's pretty irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. As far as Sakura goes, they really do double up on her sex appeal at times for the sake of some storylines (her admission into Tomobiki High as the nurse is a pretty big one). I did like how the Inaba OVA, they had her look just like Kyoko.

- Lol she'll be surprised, Rei is honestly pretty tame in the annoying department. Heck, he isn't even all that bad considering he doesn't even appear all that often. Mendou though? The guy is present in like 80-90% of the stories. But yeah, Maison Ikkoku is definitely the way to go if you want to see a Takahashi couple have a complete resolution.

- He's quite skilled in many areas. Even then, while he couldn't straight up counter Lum's lightning, he could either dodge it or just tank/resist it a lot of the time. Oyuki? As I've said before, she's very well the most powerful character in this series, especially when angry. Nobody wants to mess with her. I always felt bad for Ryuunosuke. Her story never went anywhere. I did enjoy the stories between her and Benten. I especially loved when they met the second time where they're on better terms, but just wanted to beat each other up anyway just because they like to fight.

- Benten is pretty smart when she wants to be. But it's pretty easy to tell when she'll get angry. As you said with Oyuki, there's literally nothing to tell when she goes off. She just does at the drop of a hat. Easily understandable why Ran fears her so much. Not a character alive in the series Ran would refuse to fight against barring Oyuki.

- Sakura was pretty much all that to the horny teenage boys at Tomobiki lol. Even Ten got in on that too, but has the nice advantage of being younger. You're right, Ran did appear to have long legs as well when she wore her bikini.

- Lol just remembering another funny moment. The story where they had to ring the giant bells. Ataru goes over to see Lum who got hurt hitting one since she isn't really strong physically, and she is quite pleased to see Ataru comfort her. She tells him to win some of the prizes for her and Ataru is all "Nah, I think I'll win them for myself." Lum just replies with this comical glare she shoots at Ataru as well.

To each their own when they make their fanart, I just can't see Lum as being the Hentai Porn Star of some people's dreams lol.

There were a few times I felt sorry for his dad, the whole being a salaryman in Japan was not a fun thing to essentially be. They did work long hours and ended up working a lot more than they wanted to in order to make the ends meet. But yes, Ataru will pay them back; good thing the stories really didn't follow each other in episodic format, just by the Love Triangle episode alone Ataru would have been working 24/7 for the rest of his life. And we can blame Lum for that 'bye bye Shinobu', she was just too popular. But I think also Ataru hit the nail on the head without realizing it when Shinobu said she'd marry him. She didn't offer because she loved him or anything of the sort, she offered because she didn't want him to be a loser. I cut her some slack, if we assume they're younger than 17 when the first Ep aired, then a 15-16 year old doesn't fully understand the concept of what love and marriage is in most cases. Plus she did try fighting for him, she was just overmatched by someone that basically bought her way into Ataru's home by Ep 2. Earth gets to keep its oil if she gets to move in with Ataru. Still, after a certain point the parents were moot, they didn't further the plot really, the last big thing they did early on was have the pow wow with Lum's parents and decide that Ataru and Lum should get married.

He did a good impression of him in Beautiful Dreamer, which was a radical departure for Onsen's artwork. Who knows, maybe Onsen got lucky? (No, I don't think that's remotely the case. As bad as the others were, I don't see Onsen ever being more than a bachelor for the rest of his life). And yes, you're right, it was the manga where she asked him why he was so shy. Maybe he couldn't believe he was actually married to her and so he was looking away. The manga version was a far less than perfect future than the OVA. All sorts of things never get explained by the end of the series as a whole, I still wish I knew what that mini Lum was supposed to represent in Beautiful Dreamer.

I'm sure Ryoko probably blew him up at least once an evening. Given how Ran and Benten like their guns, I'm surprised that she never came across them. And with Megane, I'm actually surprised his pajama shirt outfit didn't have her name written on it. Again, he is definitely 'most likely to get arrested' if not beaten within an inch of his life because if we go on the logical premise that after Final Chapter all Lum and Ataru could do is move forward as a couple, Megane would be a lunatic and Ataru would likely not put up with it long. It would have been nice to learn more about them, but if they had added more characters I bet there'd be more unresolved stories to contend with. Takahashi has an issue with adding too many characters to stories.

Rei's best moment as a character with feeling was when Kurama tried to take him and he saved Ran as opposed to jumping for all the falling food. The locket episode was good, not only was Ataru jealous, but he was also relieved when nothing happened - proving again he really only cares about Lum. But overall, Rei is about 5 watts shy of a 4 watt bulb - but he's great as a distraction like he was in Only You. As for Mendou, even if he doesn't chicken out, he is likely to be clowned as he was in the watermelon episode when it just bounced him into the sky and we have the slow version of his spinning fall to the ground. But Ataru is pretty much the one who wants to be free to do what he wants with who he wants, and finds himself frustratingly limited as time goes on only to accept it in the end.

Given all the character building they went through to that point, I can only say in Lum's case, her temper got the best of her and she assumed the worst of the guy that more or less led the charge to get her back. How many times did she look at Ataru upset when he flirted? The one time he was upset and she was blind to it, but when he uses Carla that she doesn't miss. But Ataru? I'm pretty sure he knew how he felt about her long before that point, but this time he saw her kidnapped, powerless and unconscious and he was not able to do anything for her. He had that stress walking into the situation and like Lum he's got a temper and he's stubborn as all hell. He got fooled, likely felt stupid but at the same time was angry at what he saw. Their kid(s) will either be really peaceful or be nightmares for everyone around them. Onsen Mark's wins are countable on one hand, with a couple fingers leftover. That school must have really needed teachers if he made it all that time. Tsubame had two stories where he was the 'focus', his first appearance and the Date with a Spirit OVA. And Sakura's sex appeal was really ramped up in the manga at least in her artwork, closeups of her face in some cases were really well detailed. Until they toned her down near the end and thank you, I wasn't crazy when I thought she looked like Kyoko then. Of course, Onsen Mark, as well as kid versions of Ataru, Shinobu and Megane appeared in Maison as cameo spots, but no one else did.

Today she made it to Ep 22 with the Engagement Party, when she complained again I just said this is just getting started, it'll get even more crazy and confusing.

Oyuki is scary in the fact that if she had a mind to do it, she could freeze someone solid and walk away saying, "When you thaw out in a few months, we'll talk." And with Ryuunosuke, I liked her, but her father was just the single most annoying character hands down. I'd rather see Mendou give a speech than hear her father for more than a few moments. I mean seriously, where was he looking when she was growing up? You'd have to be blind to see your daughter isn't a man, or in his case, very insane.

Ten is the only one to ever have a successful date with Sakura, even her fiance couldn't manage that one.

That was a funny moment for the seesaw manner in which he treated her at times. He is pretty greedy when it comes down to it too, like the Typhoon Episode and he constantly said "Allowance?" after boarding up the house with Lum and Ten's help.
I remain unhappy that they didn't give the right closure to the relationship and we have to 'decide for ourselves' if Lum and Ataru got together.

Offline Seiryu

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Re: Theory regarding the 'ending' as we loosely call it
« Reply #43 on: August 11, 2017, 07:00:48 AM »
- Of course when you get there, as you mention, that's stepping into more of the R34 realm of drawings. Where everything is likely expanded on.

- His dad just loves to shy away from everything lol. Though in the earlier stories, he did say at the end of the stories how Ataru would pay for everything that happened, even though it largely wasn't completely his fault. I mean hell, Shinobu and Lum also played a big role in everything getting destroyed in the love triangle story, or how the Stormtroopers summoned the space Taxi. Had the series stuck more with the theme of Ataru trying to overcome adversity to prove his love to Shinobu as it seemed to be going initially, his parents might have been a bit more recurring as characters. But later on, you can't even classify them as minor characters a lot of the time lol. Still, it makes sense. Most stories as you pointed out usually took place in different locations.

- You'd think Kakugari was Onsen's son in that pic lol. As for Ataru, there was a big theme on not showing Ataru's face in that story manga and anime version. I never understood why. I always wondered what was Takahashi's reason for not showing his face. Heck, we didn't even really get to see Lum's face until the future where they got married, where her tears of happiness was a plot point for Ataru's major turn in learning to accept a fate where they get married. As for Ataru? No clue. One of the versions, I think in the manga, has Lum asking Ataru why he's so shy (since his head is faced away from view) as they walk down as the newly wedded couple.

- Mendou I can imagine not getting too much time to cry his eyes out that Lum will never be his considering his sister would never give him enough peace time for that. Megane? He'll cry, and then probably kiss a Lum poster he has on his wall or something.  Megane should invest in getting some help with that obsession. I do wish we got to learn more about the Oni and the Lucky Gods beyond just Setsubun.

- Ataru tends to be a very independent person. Although many may not like that he sometimes becomes the "de facto leader" of the group, but that's cause he jumps at the situation head first and everyone else is forced to adapt to it or get left behind in all the hijinks. If you chicken out, you usually end up like Mendou, if you run with it and go with the flow, you'll have a better chance of coming out unscathed. Mendou fell apart when Rei came around, love how Ten seems to get along with Rei well enough. Hilarious how he only really seems to have a big role in a story if he's playing the antagonist of it, even though Rei isn't usually antagonistic in nature, hell he only ever tried threatening to kill someone (Ataru) on the spot once. His last major story with the twin lockets was great. Had a nice mix of everything: comedy, fun, Ataru getting jelly and Lum happily and lovingly teasing him for it. It had that really funny scene where the characters are all like "You think Rei would understand anything about this?" Ataru's all like "Nah, he's an idiot." Then they just see Rei behind them who just spits up the other locket. He may not speak Japanese, but he can sure understand what they're saying when he finds it convenient.

- You're right about that, they've had worse misunderstandings than the one they had in the last story. I mean hell, when Ataru was traveling to the World of Darkness, he said her name, and Lum just knew he was coming to save her. He willingly jumped off a cliff to go and save her. Conversely, Ataru, you yourself stated that Lum is irrevocably in love with you, so why would you ever believe differently. Sure, it was a fake that said it, but you yourself have said how strongly she's loved you and even took full advantage of it. For you to lose trust in her this quick? Onsen Mark, now he's likely the biggest loser in this series. Nobody respects the guy. Sakura barely acknowledges him, and the students tend to deliberately causes him pain any chance they get. Tsubame, I half the time forget who he is because he's pretty irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. As far as Sakura goes, they really do double up on her sex appeal at times for the sake of some storylines (her admission into Tomobiki High as the nurse is a pretty big one). I did like how the Inaba OVA, they had her look just like Kyoko.

- Lol she'll be surprised, Rei is honestly pretty tame in the annoying department. Heck, he isn't even all that bad considering he doesn't even appear all that often. Mendou though? The guy is present in like 80-90% of the stories. But yeah, Maison Ikkoku is definitely the way to go if you want to see a Takahashi couple have a complete resolution.

- He's quite skilled in many areas. Even then, while he couldn't straight up counter Lum's lightning, he could either dodge it or just tank/resist it a lot of the time. Oyuki? As I've said before, she's very well the most powerful character in this series, especially when angry. Nobody wants to mess with her. I always felt bad for Ryuunosuke. Her story never went anywhere. I did enjoy the stories between her and Benten. I especially loved when they met the second time where they're on better terms, but just wanted to beat each other up anyway just because they like to fight.

- Benten is pretty smart when she wants to be. But it's pretty easy to tell when she'll get angry. As you said with Oyuki, there's literally nothing to tell when she goes off. She just does at the drop of a hat. Easily understandable why Ran fears her so much. Not a character alive in the series Ran would refuse to fight against barring Oyuki.

- Sakura was pretty much all that to the horny teenage boys at Tomobiki lol. Even Ten got in on that too, but has the nice advantage of being younger. You're right, Ran did appear to have long legs as well when she wore her bikini.

- Lol just remembering another funny moment. The story where they had to ring the giant bells. Ataru goes over to see Lum who got hurt hitting one since she isn't really strong physically, and she is quite pleased to see Ataru comfort her. She tells him to win some of the prizes for her and Ataru is all "Nah, I think I'll win them for myself." Lum just replies with this comical glare she shoots at Ataru as well.

To each their own when they make their fanart, I just can't see Lum as being the Hentai Porn Star of some people's dreams lol.

There were a few times I felt sorry for his dad, the whole being a salaryman in Japan was not a fun thing to essentially be. They did work long hours and ended up working a lot more than they wanted to in order to make the ends meet. But yes, Ataru will pay them back; good thing the stories really didn't follow each other in episodic format, just by the Love Triangle episode alone Ataru would have been working 24/7 for the rest of his life. And we can blame Lum for that 'bye bye Shinobu', she was just too popular. But I think also Ataru hit the nail on the head without realizing it when Shinobu said she'd marry him. She didn't offer because she loved him or anything of the sort, she offered because she didn't want him to be a loser. I cut her some slack, if we assume they're younger than 17 when the first Ep aired, then a 15-16 year old doesn't fully understand the concept of what love and marriage is in most cases. Plus she did try fighting for him, she was just overmatched by someone that basically bought her way into Ataru's home by Ep 2. Earth gets to keep its oil if she gets to move in with Ataru. Still, after a certain point the parents were moot, they didn't further the plot really, the last big thing they did early on was have the pow wow with Lum's parents and decide that Ataru and Lum should get married.

He did a good impression of him in Beautiful Dreamer, which was a radical departure for Onsen's artwork. Who knows, maybe Onsen got lucky? (No, I don't think that's remotely the case. As bad as the others were, I don't see Onsen ever being more than a bachelor for the rest of his life). And yes, you're right, it was the manga where she asked him why he was so shy. Maybe he couldn't believe he was actually married to her and so he was looking away. The manga version was a far less than perfect future than the OVA. All sorts of things never get explained by the end of the series as a whole, I still wish I knew what that mini Lum was supposed to represent in Beautiful Dreamer.

I'm sure Ryoko probably blew him up at least once an evening. Given how Ran and Benten like their guns, I'm surprised that she never came across them. And with Megane, I'm actually surprised his pajama shirt outfit didn't have her name written on it. Again, he is definitely 'most likely to get arrested' if not beaten within an inch of his life because if we go on the logical premise that after Final Chapter all Lum and Ataru could do is move forward as a couple, Megane would be a lunatic and Ataru would likely not put up with it long. It would have been nice to learn more about them, but if they had added more characters I bet there'd be more unresolved stories to contend with. Takahashi has an issue with adding too many characters to stories.

Rei's best moment as a character with feeling was when Kurama tried to take him and he saved Ran as opposed to jumping for all the falling food. The locket episode was good, not only was Ataru jealous, but he was also relieved when nothing happened - proving again he really only cares about Lum. But overall, Rei is about 5 watts shy of a 4 watt bulb - but he's great as a distraction like he was in Only You. As for Mendou, even if he doesn't chicken out, he is likely to be clowned as he was in the watermelon episode when it just bounced him into the sky and we have the slow version of his spinning fall to the ground. But Ataru is pretty much the one who wants to be free to do what he wants with who he wants, and finds himself frustratingly limited as time goes on only to accept it in the end.

Given all the character building they went through to that point, I can only say in Lum's case, her temper got the best of her and she assumed the worst of the guy that more or less led the charge to get her back. How many times did she look at Ataru upset when he flirted? The one time he was upset and she was blind to it, but when he uses Carla that she doesn't miss. But Ataru? I'm pretty sure he knew how he felt about her long before that point, but this time he saw her kidnapped, powerless and unconscious and he was not able to do anything for her. He had that stress walking into the situation and like Lum he's got a temper and he's stubborn as all hell. He got fooled, likely felt stupid but at the same time was angry at what he saw. Their kid(s) will either be really peaceful or be nightmares for everyone around them. Onsen Mark's wins are countable on one hand, with a couple fingers leftover. That school must have really needed teachers if he made it all that time. Tsubame had two stories where he was the 'focus', his first appearance and the Date with a Spirit OVA. And Sakura's sex appeal was really ramped up in the manga at least in her artwork, closeups of her face in some cases were really well detailed. Until they toned her down near the end and thank you, I wasn't crazy when I thought she looked like Kyoko then. Of course, Onsen Mark, as well as kid versions of Ataru, Shinobu and Megane appeared in Maison as cameo spots, but no one else did.

Today she made it to Ep 22 with the Engagement Party, when she complained again I just said this is just getting started, it'll get even more crazy and confusing.

Oyuki is scary in the fact that if she had a mind to do it, she could freeze someone solid and walk away saying, "When you thaw out in a few months, we'll talk." And with Ryuunosuke, I liked her, but her father was just the single most annoying character hands down. I'd rather see Mendou give a speech than hear her father for more than a few moments. I mean seriously, where was he looking when she was growing up? You'd have to be blind to see your daughter isn't a man, or in his case, very insane.

Ten is the only one to ever have a successful date with Sakura, even her fiance couldn't manage that one.

That was a funny moment for the seesaw manner in which he treated her at times. He is pretty greedy when it comes down to it too, like the Typhoon Episode and he constantly said "Allowance?" after boarding up the house with Lum and Ten's help.
- Unfortunately that's how some people and even some of the teenage boys in the series sees her as.

- Lol, Lum was gonna commit lover's suicide. She legit didn't care if they died there. To go that far... It's not worth your life, especially when you've only been alive for around 16-17 years. Well Lum did technically conquer earth in the space taxi story. Earth was literally at her mercy and she got what she wanted out of it. Ataru went from hero to zero real quick. I really do wish Takahshi had a few more stories actually take place on Lum's home planet. Always an underrated aspect, especially since she never delved too much into the Oni customs or even how they live.

- Onsen has to be the bachelor and has to remain the biggest loser in the series. He's there as a reminder for the other characters that they still have hope not to end up like him. Lol, they were throwing soda cans and other garbage at Ataru in the manga version. It really puts into perspective just how immature some of these people still are. To be a young adult and still acting like you're 16-17 years old at a wedding? That's pretty low. Not to mention, characters have a bad habit of seeing and hearing only what they want to see and hear. Like they could clearly see that Lum was happier than they've probably ever saw her, and she was even crying tears of joy at the thought of marrying Ataru. You'd think they'd get a clue that Lum is pretty much the "aggressor" in her relationship with Ataru. She's usually the one that has to force him to do anything with her. But they've got this mental picture in their heads of how Ataru "mistreats" Lum (as in forces himself on her when she's trying to avoid him). Though Lum even told the guys, "My body belongs to darling." That pretty much destroyed any sort of fantasy they could imagine where Ataru is forcing himself on Lum when she pretty much tells the other guys that she willingly gives herself to Ataru and Ataru alone. These guys will remain bitter for their entire lives.

- She does indeed have that problem. So many characters even get introduced late in a series but never really get things resolved. I'm amazed Megane never commented on how his parents thought of his obsession. Like I'd imagine they'd walk in his room on rare occasion (not often as I'm sure once they see the Lum propped up covered room they'll make it a point to not go in there often) and have their own ideas on just how sick Megane really is.

- Ah when he saved Ran, his only ever truly decent character moment. I love how they put Mendou in the watermelon episode (he wasn't there in the manga version) for pretty much the sole purpose of being clowned. Like he doesn't take part in learning about the watermelon curse alongside Ataru, Lum, and Shinobu. He's just there to get crushed by the watermelon. Well when you're getting older, you'll have to start settling down. What better way to do so then with the only person you love?

- No way in the world their kids would be peaceful. They'll probably have enough of either of there parents' traits to where it'd be another living nightmare for someone like Onsen, who'll be tormented by Moroboshi until the day he dies. Ataru certainly wasn't making it easy for Lum telling her he hated her and all. The real dumb thing was how when they got the World of Darkness, the others get captured, but could have left the cell at any time, and might have had a chance of preventing the situation from getting as bad as it did as if they had just left the prison cell, they could have tried making their way to the wedding hall themselves. Tsubame... I really just can't have an opinion of the guy. He's really just kind of there. Makes sense how it would only be them having a cameo in Maison Ikkoku if they're depicted as being young kids, makes sense for Shinobu and Megane to be there, as he's known Shinobu since they were young, and presumably Megane too.

- It does get a lot crazier. The quality of the episodes also improve later on too. As your GF progresses throughout the series, while the resolution to Ataru and Lum's relationship is real subjective, their genuine moments along the way to the finale are really sweet.

- Her father was pretty cruel too. Like they checked the family album, and they see pictures of several women who he says is all her mother. He won't just come out and give her a straight answer. I really did like the story where Ryuunosuke stayed over at Ataru's house for a bit and consoled in Ataru's mother. She really needs a break from a father as terrible as the one she has.

- Good boy Ten! Gets even farther on a date with Sakura than her own boyfriend.

- Lol the typhoon story. She has this romantic moment with him, and Ataru genuinely doesn't mind her sitting up close to him. But then he just ruins the mood by asking for more food.

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Re: Theory regarding the 'ending' as we loosely call it
« Reply #44 on: August 11, 2017, 08:54:05 AM »
- Unfortunately that's how some people and even some of the teenage boys in the series sees her as.

- Lol, Lum was gonna commit lover's suicide. She legit didn't care if they died there. To go that far... It's not worth your life, especially when you've only been alive for around 16-17 years. Well Lum did technically conquer earth in the space taxi story. Earth was literally at her mercy and she got what she wanted out of it. Ataru went from hero to zero real quick. I really do wish Takahshi had a few more stories actually take place on Lum's home planet. Always an underrated aspect, especially since she never delved too much into the Oni customs or even how they live.

- Onsen has to be the bachelor and has to remain the biggest loser in the series. He's there as a reminder for the other characters that they still have hope not to end up like him. Lol, they were throwing soda cans and other garbage at Ataru in the manga version. It really puts into perspective just how immature some of these people still are. To be a young adult and still acting like you're 16-17 years old at a wedding? That's pretty low. Not to mention, characters have a bad habit of seeing and hearing only what they want to see and hear. Like they could clearly see that Lum was happier than they've probably ever saw her, and she was even crying tears of joy at the thought of marrying Ataru. You'd think they'd get a clue that Lum is pretty much the "aggressor" in her relationship with Ataru. She's usually the one that has to force him to do anything with her. But they've got this mental picture in their heads of how Ataru "mistreats" Lum (as in forces himself on her when she's trying to avoid him). Though Lum even told the guys, "My body belongs to darling." That pretty much destroyed any sort of fantasy they could imagine where Ataru is forcing himself on Lum when she pretty much tells the other guys that she willingly gives herself to Ataru and Ataru alone. These guys will remain bitter for their entire lives.

- She does indeed have that problem. So many characters even get introduced late in a series but never really get things resolved. I'm amazed Megane never commented on how his parents thought of his obsession. Like I'd imagine they'd walk in his room on rare occasion (not often as I'm sure once they see the Lum propped up covered room they'll make it a point to not go in there often) and have their own ideas on just how sick Megane really is.

- Ah when he saved Ran, his only ever truly decent character moment. I love how they put Mendou in the watermelon episode (he wasn't there in the manga version) for pretty much the sole purpose of being clowned. Like he doesn't take part in learning about the watermelon curse alongside Ataru, Lum, and Shinobu. He's just there to get crushed by the watermelon. Well when you're getting older, you'll have to start settling down. What better way to do so then with the only person you love?

- No way in the world their kids would be peaceful. They'll probably have enough of either of there parents' traits to where it'd be another living nightmare for someone like Onsen, who'll be tormented by Moroboshi until the day he dies. Ataru certainly wasn't making it easy for Lum telling her he hated her and all. The real dumb thing was how when they got the World of Darkness, the others get captured, but could have left the cell at any time, and might have had a chance of preventing the situation from getting as bad as it did as if they had just left the prison cell, they could have tried making their way to the wedding hall themselves. Tsubame... I really just can't have an opinion of the guy. He's really just kind of there. Makes sense how it would only be them having a cameo in Maison Ikkoku if they're depicted as being young kids, makes sense for Shinobu and Megane to be there, as he's known Shinobu since they were young, and presumably Megane too.

- It does get a lot crazier. The quality of the episodes also improve later on too. As your GF progresses throughout the series, while the resolution to Ataru and Lum's relationship is real subjective, their genuine moments along the way to the finale are really sweet.

- Her father was pretty cruel too. Like they checked the family album, and they see pictures of several women who he says is all her mother. He won't just come out and give her a straight answer. I really did like the story where Ryuunosuke stayed over at Ataru's house for a bit and consoled in Ataru's mother. She really needs a break from a father as terrible as the one she has.

- Good boy Ten! Gets even farther on a date with Sakura than her own boyfriend.

- Lol the typhoon story. She has this romantic moment with him, and Ataru genuinely doesn't mind her sitting up close to him. But then he just ruins the mood by asking for more food.

LOL - You must either have a crazy schedule like I do, or just be in a totally different timezone than me.

And sadly, I can only imagine how they view her. I mean, within the cast she definitely stands out, and at the time when anime was coming into its own, you had either normal anime or you had Hentai. With Lum being openly sexy and there being fleeting nudity at times, the dots were too easy to connect for some people.

You're right, she pretty much did conquer the world, she did better than her father did in fact - all thanks to the hormones Ataru's classmates. But with the Lover's Suicide, in thinking about it, Final Chapter was like that in reverse. Even if Ataru could survive that fall with his insane durability, no guarantee for Lum so who knows maybe he jumped to be with her and not have to be alone if something happened to her. But I think we can count on one hand stories that took place on Lum's world, and have fingers to spare. When we saw Neptune for Oyuki's intro I remember thinking it looked strangely too normal. The flashbacks with Lum and Ran as little kids I don't really count as full stories, but if they're indicators of Lum's home, it's definitely very weird, like the Oni in general.

Sad too, Onsen's not an unlikable character. He just gets put on the most by a class that clearly doesn't respect him. They were even nicer to their homeroom teacher than they were to Onsen. Of course while the anime version is nicer in tone than the manga version with the wedding, the fact that the effort he makes in either one is a nice thing to see. Even just before that when she's clearly very upset that they haven't found a married future and blames him and he goes into comfort mode, the expression on his face sells the moment for him. He's known ever since the end of the first tag match his mouth is what started this going, but seeing her be visibly upset like that was like a wakeup call. I know this is my opinion on it, but his expression seemed to say "She really does want this, despite eveything I've done, I have to do something". Also, maybe it's me, but I got the impression that the anime version took place over two days, but I could be wrong. AnimEgo's translations sometimes are less than perfect, but if it was a two day span, when Lum starts arguing about why they didn't see her future, she blames Ataru. So when you say characters see and hear only what they want, that very much so applies to Lum because when she did that, my reaction was "Uh, Lum....he tried to save that other future. You forget already?" But, it's her temper there.

Pretty sure as far as full sets of parents are concerned, we only saw Ataru's, Lum's, Shinobu's, and Mendou's. We saw Sakura's mother (that Cherry look-alike made me shudder) and then we saw Ton and Asuka's mother, Ten's mother and Ran's mother. But none of the Stormtroopers. lol Maybe Megane offed his parents after they said something about his room, I wouldn't put it past him at all. But Maison had a few too many characters I felt too, even though that was a more cohesive story overall. Probably all because the goal was defined up front. That leads me to a question, I stopped following Takahashi after Ranma 1/2, and I know what happens in InuYasha thanks to my girlfriend, but the idea of "Boy meets Girl" is in each of them. Are you following Kyokai no Rinne? Is that feeling in that one too?

Poor Rei and his limited vocabulary, but when he saved Ran he redeemed himself for being that annoying comedic plot device to make Ran jealous and Lum crazy. He likely figured if something happened to her, there goes his constant supply of food. That was one of the somewhat rare moments where the anime and manga aligned well. I will say the manga version of Kurama was the better looking version in this case. But Mendou and the watermelon, I loved how they ran past him and said help us, and he readies himself only to see how big it was and then get clobbered. Poor Ataru got walloped too though, but then Lum got angry and did the Ultraman pose with a zap. Always enjoyed that they paid homage to Ultraman in UY with Lum's poses.

I see their kids as being terrors not just to others, but to Ataru too. If they inherit Lum's Oni abilities Ataru will find himself way outnumbered, and if they inherit his crazy abilities too? Nothing's worse than invincible kids, period. And it's not like Ataru can use a frying pan on them like he did with Ten. But with Final Chapter, while I know it's really just about Lum and Ataru, the only thing that was jarring was the fact that all the usual voices of reason didn't speak up until it was too late. Sakura's line of 'Going through all this for three simple words', for someone that is a school counsellor, the nurse and a priestess, she has no idea how hard it can be to say three simple words.

I warned her, I even told her from about 70+ onwards there's going to be some really strange moments and that she has to watch 105 and 106 back to back so she gets the full effect of the story which is Oshii's swan song of the series. As far as their relationship and it's resolution, I have to fall in the camp of 'of course they stayed together' otherwise, it would almost feel like I watched it all for nothing (Note I say almost). And I can't say I ever saw a post in which a person said they thought Lum dumped him and left for good. Ataru would probably go insane with depression.

Funny how she took more consolation and solace from Ataru's mother than he did. But her father was definitely a rotten specimen of life in all ways, tricking your own kid so they wouldn't eat something just so you could is pretty low.

The typhoon episode and the summer date one both are good in that Lum gets to enjoy some time with him and he really doesn't mind. When she saw his reaction to her looking like an earth girl she was overjoyed. The music that played in those episodes for the candle scene in typhoon and when Ataru is wondering why Lum left after the date and she appears in the UFO overhead, it's pretty much a theme song for them early on.

I just watched some of the video footage from the 10th anniversary special that is still out there, 2021 is coming up faster than we realize, UY will be 40 soon.
I remain unhappy that they didn't give the right closure to the relationship and we have to 'decide for ourselves' if Lum and Ataru got together.