Today is the 43rd anniversary of the original Urusei Yatsura anime and also the 2nd anniversary of the remake. Since I had never made a comparison of the first episode, I thought today was the perfect time to post it. And to make it more special, I even added all the other versions of the Game of Tag scene in the anime so you can see and appreciate the evolution of the animation of this iconic scene from 1981 to 2022.
I like both of the adaptations of chapter 1 for different reasons. I think the original is more comedic and funnier while the remake version is more faithful to the story of the manga. The original episode 1A was only a half-episode meaning it was just about 12 minutes long. Meaning it didn’t adapt everything from the 24-page manga chapter. Despite this it more than makes up for it with the comedic additions. Most notably, it actually shows Ataru’s failed attempts of grabbing Lum in all of the days. It was a hilarious montage that wasn’t in the manga. I liked how the anime made certain scenes funnier in subtle ways like the starting pistol freaking exploding and Ataru’s silly facial expressions. Most notably, the anime changed how Ataru took Lum’s bra by giving him a strange contraption that he used to steal it instead of grabbing it with his hands. It’s surprising and comes out of nowhere and it’s never used again. But somehow, this scene became very iconic and I saw countless fanarts or parodies of it. And even in Movie 2 and Episode 107 of the series this scene was referenced but as alternate realities which was really cool and also showed how much the animation improved over the years. It’s cool because Movie 2 was directed by Mamoru Oshii and animated by Studio Pierrot while episode 107 was directed by the man who took over as the series director after Oshii left Kazuo Yamazaki and animated by Studio Deen who up until episode 106 only worked as a subsidiary studio but took over as the main UY studio with episode 107. And the episode came out only a month after the movie.
The remake version of episode 1A is longer and thus has more time to adapt more of the manga. It had scenes that were skipped in the original like the scene of Ataru’s parents talking about how he’s bad luck incarnate. And made more scenes more manga-accurate like Ataru’s talk with Shinobu before the final day. I think the original version of the scene is funnier and more powerful because it was just between Ataru and Shinobu instead of his friends who were just glorified extras. The remake also added its own version of a montage scene but it wasn’t as crazy as the one in the original. I think the remake shined the best during the final showdown between Ataru and Lum. Not only was it animated really well but also it tweaked some things that made the scene from the manga even more fleshed out. I liked how in the remake version, you can notice how Lum slowly gets attached to her future Darling. It was also cool how they added the stadium as the location where the game of tag began and ended as in the manga and the OG anime it took place on a random street. The stadium makes the scenes feel more eventful and [Urusei Yatsura Remake] >!it was reused in the final episodes.!< It was a great adaptation and one of the best episodes of the remake.
Despite this, the remake version still had one major difference from the manga. In the manga, Ataru actually steals Lum’s bra on the 8th day and keeps it with him until the last day. So, Lum was actually topless for almost 3 whole days as it was her only top lol. I prefer both of the anime adaptations because Ataru stealing the bra on the last day as a last-ditch effort is more impactful and funnier.
Which version do you think did it better?
SteakForGoodDogs on
Why does the guy’s gun explode, though?
A-Jayy on
It’s quite cool how Ataru didnt grab Shinobu’s butt in the newer version. Kinda shows how times have changed
Hardwarestore_Senpai on
Ah. So that’s how the misunderstanding happened. I always wondered why he was kind of a jerk to lum despite being married.
Warm-Enthusiasm-9534 on
I found UY uneven, personally, but the first episode of both versions is so funny.
ScriptedBlueAngel on
Why no boobs man, I love boobs
Beneficial_death on
Man I still love that this is basically an anime roadrunner and Wile.E coyote episode 😂❤️❤️
7 Comments
Today is the 43rd anniversary of the original Urusei Yatsura anime and also the 2nd anniversary of the remake. Since I had never made a comparison of the first episode, I thought today was the perfect time to post it. And to make it more special, I even added all the other versions of the Game of Tag scene in the anime so you can see and appreciate the evolution of the animation of this iconic scene from 1981 to 2022.
I like both of the adaptations of chapter 1 for different reasons. I think the original is more comedic and funnier while the remake version is more faithful to the story of the manga. The original episode 1A was only a half-episode meaning it was just about 12 minutes long. Meaning it didn’t adapt everything from the 24-page manga chapter. Despite this it more than makes up for it with the comedic additions. Most notably, it actually shows Ataru’s failed attempts of grabbing Lum in all of the days. It was a hilarious montage that wasn’t in the manga. I liked how the anime made certain scenes funnier in subtle ways like the starting pistol freaking exploding and Ataru’s silly facial expressions. Most notably, the anime changed how Ataru took Lum’s bra by giving him a strange contraption that he used to steal it instead of grabbing it with his hands. It’s surprising and comes out of nowhere and it’s never used again. But somehow, this scene became very iconic and I saw countless fanarts or parodies of it. And even in Movie 2 and Episode 107 of the series this scene was referenced but as alternate realities which was really cool and also showed how much the animation improved over the years. It’s cool because Movie 2 was directed by Mamoru Oshii and animated by Studio Pierrot while episode 107 was directed by the man who took over as the series director after Oshii left Kazuo Yamazaki and animated by Studio Deen who up until episode 106 only worked as a subsidiary studio but took over as the main UY studio with episode 107. And the episode came out only a month after the movie.
The remake version of episode 1A is longer and thus has more time to adapt more of the manga. It had scenes that were skipped in the original like the scene of Ataru’s parents talking about how he’s bad luck incarnate. And made more scenes more manga-accurate like Ataru’s talk with Shinobu before the final day. I think the original version of the scene is funnier and more powerful because it was just between Ataru and Shinobu instead of his friends who were just glorified extras. The remake also added its own version of a montage scene but it wasn’t as crazy as the one in the original. I think the remake shined the best during the final showdown between Ataru and Lum. Not only was it animated really well but also it tweaked some things that made the scene from the manga even more fleshed out. I liked how in the remake version, you can notice how Lum slowly gets attached to her future Darling. It was also cool how they added the stadium as the location where the game of tag began and ended as in the manga and the OG anime it took place on a random street. The stadium makes the scenes feel more eventful and [Urusei Yatsura Remake] >!it was reused in the final episodes.!< It was a great adaptation and one of the best episodes of the remake.
Despite this, the remake version still had one major difference from the manga. In the manga, Ataru actually steals Lum’s bra on the 8th day and keeps it with him until the last day. So, Lum was actually topless for almost 3 whole days as it was her only top lol. I prefer both of the anime adaptations because Ataru stealing the bra on the last day as a last-ditch effort is more impactful and funnier.
Which version do you think did it better?
Why does the guy’s gun explode, though?
It’s quite cool how Ataru didnt grab Shinobu’s butt in the newer version. Kinda shows how times have changed
Ah. So that’s how the misunderstanding happened. I always wondered why he was kind of a jerk to lum despite being married.
I found UY uneven, personally, but the first episode of both versions is so funny.
Why no boobs man, I love boobs
Man I still love that this is basically an anime roadrunner and Wile.E coyote episode 😂❤️❤️