Urusei Yatsura – 29 – Kotatsu Sleds and Cow Bites

That title up above really gets to the immense variety inherent in Urusei Yatsura. Part of the joy of watching is having no idea what’s coming. The giant cat hasn’t had a focus segment for a while, but gets one this week as he buys a suspiciously cheap but well-made kotatsu that refuses to be covered with a blanket, ruining Lum’s 121st Othello win over Ataru.

When they see the Mendou family crest carved into the side, Ataru summons Shuutarou with an insult, and he tells them that because the table is made from the wood of the only cedar tree in the South Pole, it hates heat of any kind. That said if a kotatsu connoisseur like Neko can’t tame it, nobody can.

For several days and nights their cat-and-table chase disrupts the Moroboshi household. Finally, the two shake on a truce, and rather than use the kotatsu in the normal way, he uses it to pull a sled instead. It gets to stretch its legs, and Neko and Lum have a blast riding the sled. Everybody wins!

If a feral kotatsu that hates blankets isn’t random enough for you, how a bout a cow at the local pet store? This cow has a tendency to glomp hands; it glomps Ataru’s hand, then Lum’s hand. She shocks the cow, but is left with a wound on her hand that she goes up into her orbiting spaceship to treat.

After kicking back with some trashy space TV with Ten, including a program about a Dracula that turns an alien into a human girl (which is terrifying to said aliens), Lum has a nightmare about being transformed into a cow. When she gets up to brush her teeth, she notices her horns are a lot bigger, and very cow-like in shape.

Lum takes the next few days off, such that when a morose Ten shows up at school, Ataru and Shuutarou are eager to know what’s become of her. Then she shows up with a new hairdo hiding the larger horns, and Sakura can’t do much for her, since she has no knowledge of Oni anatomy. Ataru isn’t his usual selfish self here; he seems genuinely concerned for Lum and her somber mood.

He follows her out onto the beautifully rendered city streets in the rain (all the 70s and 80s-era cars driving by are a nice touch), and she starts saying weird stuff about if she should go missing and a cow show up at his door, she wants him to name it Lum and take good care of it. With that, she says goodbye and prepares to fly off, but in a very nifty bit of 3D animation, he catches her, and undoes her buns to reveal her horns.

She tells him she’s turning into a cow, but he tenderly takes her horns into his hands and pleads with her not to go anywhere, saying “I’m gonna take good care of you.” Sure, he means it in the context of the expectation she’ll turn into a full-on cow, but setting that aside, its one of his more romantic gestures in the whole run of the show, and the two end up crying in each others’ arms. It’s a very moooo-ving scene (I’m so sorry…)

It’s one of those times you realize why Lum loves Ataru so much. Most episodes he’s chasing some other girl who has no interest in him, but every once in a while he shows he cares … and in this case, starts building a cow pen in the backyard when Lum learns via Ten that her horns growing are a natural Oni function when one gets an infection, and they’ll eventually return to normal. So, there will be no LumCow! Got it? Good!

Chained Soldier – 07 – Housekeeping

Rairen thinks he’s hot shit with his lightning, but 6th Squad Commander Izumo Tenka is able to dogwalk him, thanks to her mastery of portals and singularities. She employs the former to dodge his attacks and teleport where she wishes, and the latter to suck him into oblivion. Tenka has an aloof, ethereal air to her combat style, and like last week the animation and use of color and lighting is very nicely done.

After a debriefing and giving Bizen his autograph (she now respects him a little even though he’s a man), Yuuki is ready for a nice long bath, but forgets that both Kyouka and Himari owe him significant rewards. As expected, they carry them out together, disrobing and assisting with his bath. This scene is also very nice looking; the show doesn’t skimp when it comes to fanservice, making the trashy look classy.

Yuuki travels with Kyouka and Himari to 6th Squad’s barracks, where he’s put to work as a caretaker-for-the-day while Kyouka and Tenka have a meeting. He finds the place very clean, though he still isn’t quite used to doing women’s laundry. Shushu stays at home, her crush for Yuuki still in full flower. She even considers tidying up her room for the first time, since it’s possible he’ll like her more if she’s less of a slob.

This downtime-filled episode is full of great little details that add texture to the new 6th squad characters. We see that for all her harsh words and treatment of Himari, Yachiho is kind of obsessed with her cute little sister, judging from her drom decor, and that Sahara is just as deadly with the wrestling moves when she’s fast asleep and mistakes Yuuki for a pillow trying to flee.

Earlier during the debriefing at the 7th barracks, Himari makes sure to thank Yachiho for saving her life during the Shuuki battle. Yachiho scoffs it off in her tsundere style. At the 6th barracks, Himari watches her sister work out in the gym, and both Yuuki and Sahara encourage her to talk to her.

Sahara believes Yachiho’s Peach ability was borne from her desire to spend more time with Himari, while Himari’s learning ability was borne from her desire to learn from Yachiho. The sisters have a nice little moment when Himari hands Yachiho a towel, Yachiho snatches it without saying thank you, and they start amicably bickering, the way sisters do.

Meanwhile, we get a peek at the humanoid Shuuki’s arena-like headquarters, and learn that Tenka was correct in her uncertainty about Rairen dying. He was rescued at the last second by Shikoku, a snake woman who lounges around looking at relics from the normal world. I also dig Jouryuu, a buff Amazoness with lionine hair and piercing eyes.

Rairen’s plan was to launch a full-scale assault on the Demon Defense Force, but it failed spectacularly. However, it did shoe Shikoku who they’re dealing with commander-wise. She’d previously engaged the 3rd squad without their leader present and defeated them easily, but Kyouka and Tenka are a different story.

As for the two commanders, Tenka ends the meeting with a request that comes as a surprise to Kyouka: she wants “the little slave”, i.e. Yuuki. We saw her teleport into his room while he slept, and watching him in battle has only intensified her desire to possess and use him. The ED visuals in which she plays with a collar suggest she’ll be Yuuki’s master at some point, but I highly doubt Kyouka would part with him permanently.