Urusei Yatsura (2022) – Season 1 Episode 2 Recap & Review

Present for You / The Yellow Ribbon of Happiness

Episode 2 from Urusei Yatsura begins with Ataru at school, being overwhelmed by Lum. The entire class is irritated by Lum and finds it difficult to focus.

Shinobu is furious over Lum’s teasing which results in everyone in the class laughing at Ataru. Shinobu throws Ataru under a variety of desks after she and Lum are in a smooching time.

On the following day, Ataru is seen at his favorite restaurant, the Cat in the Cat Caboodle Diner in disguise. When he has eaten the food, the TV reporter labels him as missing. Lum, Shinobu, Cherry, and his family members are all upset over his absence. The newscaster posts photos of Ataru disguised as a man, causing some diners to express suspicion about Ataru.

Ataru leaves the restaurant and runs into a female. He asks her for help and then the woman nudges him down. She senses his bad luck because of her underlying physiognomy. She admits to being a shrine maiden, and that Ataru is cursed with regard to women. She promises to perform an exorcism for Ataru to help rid him of his curse. In her home, we find out that she is named Sakura.

When Ataru encounters Sakura’s mother, He tries to flee however, Sakura’s mother drags him back into their house. At first, he thought she was Cherry disguised. She drags Ataru into the room for exorcism and then tries to get out. But, Sakura knocks him toward the ground with one of her canes. Sakura plans to perform the exorcism, however, she is unable to perform it with success because of tooth pain. The result is that many demons appear in Ataru which indicates that Sakura’s doing her part to make things worse.

Sakura sings and tries to ward off the demons. She stops due to a migraine. Ataru informs her that each when she stops there are more monsters that appear. We discover that the demons who latched themselves to Ataru are the ones that caused Sakura discomfort. Sakura releases the demons to wait for the Grim Reaper to appear and cut Ataru.

In the hospital, Sakura as well as her mom meet with Cherry. He’s content that the demons responsible for her illness have gone away and we discover that he’s actually her uncle. Everybody from the Grim Reaper and Ataru’s family feels pity for him since they believe they’ve lost him. Ataru awakes and asks for the number of a woman and her address. Lum offers Ataru as well as the Grim Reaper an unexpected ending in the episode’s final segment.

In the next episode, Ataru visits Cherry. He asks her to create something that can take Lum’s powers. He explains his idea to Cherry but is not aware Lum is in the vicinity. Lum starts to electrocute Ataru while Cherry recognizes the problem. At Ataru’s house, one of his buddies comes to visit him and presents him with the present of Cherry. The present is contained in a box with a yellow ribbon and an unsigned letter from Cherry.

Within the note, Cherry tells Ataru that He must put the ribbon around Lum’s horns so that she can neutralize her powers as an Oni. The only people who put the ribbon on her horns will be able to remove it. Lum arrives and, after some naive remarks from his companion, Ataru ties the ribbon around her horns. Lum is thrilled with the present. She flies away, but she lands on the ground, despite her efforts to escape.

While Lum attempts to determine the mystery behind what’s happening, Ataru and his friend observe her. Lum runs into one of Ataru’s acquaintances and attempts to shock her to test if her electrocution abilities work. The friend interprets their gestures to be a gesture of affection and sparks jealousy in the other friend of Ataru’s. The same thing happens with this person, which leads to an intense argument between both. While they argue, Ataru confronts Lum, questioning her about why she’s not able to make use of her abilities.

Shinobu arrives and tells them to find an area. Lum is furious and responds with an insensitive reply, and shows off the present that Ataru presented her with. Shinobu is angry at the fact that Ataru did not give her anything and attempts to take the ribbon off of Lums. Ataru is unable to stop her while Shinobu is frightened. She was planning to bring some sweets baked by Ataru. She kicked Ataru in the face and he is defeated.

At night, two of Ataru’s friends want to stay at his house. They are trying to guard Lum since she’s unable to utilize her powers, and they worry about her sexy behavior of Ataru. Ataru confronts his companions and forces them to jump on a nearby tree just outside the window of his bedroom. Lum is grateful to Ataru for his courage and says she would like to stay with him throughout the rest of his life.

Ataru dislikes the idea and demands Lum cut his ribbon. When Lum insists on stopping him Ataru’s friends storm into his room via the window. They come across Ataru who is able to dominate Lum. They attempt to take him down her. But, Lum isn’t a fan of their appreciation and demands to go. When she throws Ataru’s things to them accidentally tosses the box Cherry left for Ataru.

The box containing the letter is discovered by one of his buddies. The person who received the letter reads it and reveals the contents to Lum. Furious, Lum performs various wrestling moves against Ataru. In defeat, Ataru removes the ribbon off her horns, granting Lum her power back. When Lum gets electrocuted by  Ataru for his brutal actions She vows to give Cherry the same fate.

In his camp, Cherry receives a faint message within his concoction warning him that he’s in danger. Cherry is forced to pack up his possessions and decides to stay at Sakura’s home overnight to avoid any issues with Lum. The next day we meet a young man named Shutaro who is planning to relocate to Tomitake Town. The story ends with Shutaro jumping off the plane to go to his first day of school in Tomitake.

The Episode Review

It was another enjoyable episode on Urusei Yatsura. The episode introduced us to some new characters while giving more insight into those we’ve seen in the previous. Lum And Ataru’s funny antics have continued to entertain viewers and never fail to bring a smile from me. There are some issues that were raised this week that merit being addressed.

Sakura’s introduction was great however, her character seemed a bit too much in her reactions and emotions. The constant fight scenes and interruptions during the exorcism were amusing but repetitive and irritating. It would have been much more enjoyable If the gag contained various jokes other than her pauses repeatedly to allow the demons in. It could be reminiscent of Spider-Man’s The Last Way Home during the whole Dr. Strange and Peter incident.

I hope that any future episode featuring Sakura will not portray her as a sexy person. It’s also refreshing to witness Lum attacking someone other than Ataru. It’s also odd that she doesn’t take any action to shield Shinobu from her anger. The public knows her devotion to Ataru for her husband and they’ve heard her rants about his having an affair with her.

It may be a bit odd that he’s not decided to offer Shinobu the proper shock after all her physical assaults on Ataru. A scenario that resembles this would make the three’s relationship more intense and dramatic. If you think about it, Ataru secured Lum at least twice during “The Yellow Ribbon of Happiness” segment It’s interesting to see what he’d do in the situation in which Lum is hurt by Shinobu.

Overall, it was a great sequel to last week’s first episode. A few jokes were well-timed and a lot of slapstick-heavy moments caused me to laugh out loud.

The two segments featured both familiar and brand-new characters who showed their stuff while adding worth. Let’s hope that the next episodes will continue to provide entertainment for both new and old viewers.