Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer (1984)

Once again I'm confronted with a film that has roots in a very popular series that I haven't seen.  Urusei Yatsura is popular for, if nothing else, the fact that Lum, the tiger-striped bikini clad main character, is considered to be one of the top "anime babes" of all time.

The setup is somewhat like Tenchi Muyo, except instead of having the main character a boy who is descended from an alien race with a bunch of women surrounding him, you have an alien girl, Lum, surrounded by a bunch of guys.  A mysterious alien race called the Oni comes to invade the Earth, but gives mankind one chance to save itself- if a randomly chosen Earthling can defeat the invader's daughter, Lum, in their sport- a game of tag.  It just so happens that Ataru Moroboshi, a hormone driven boy, is chosen as Earth's champion.  Through an interesting series of events, Ataru wins, saves the Earth, and gains the devoted affections of Lum.

In this film, we join with Ataru and the gang in what appears to be a desolate wasteland.  In a flashback that comprises most of the film, Ataru reveals that the wasteland is actually their home town of Tomobiki, separated from the rest of the world and ravaged after all the other residents mysteriously disappeared in a day that repeated over and over again.  Is this a dream?  Or a nightmare?  Or frighteningly real?

The film has an eerie, surrealistic atmosphere that is very intriguing.  The animation is pretty impressive- not surprising considering that this film was directed by Mamoru Oshii, of Ghost in the Shell fame.  Unfortunately, the characters were repulsively obnoxious at first, a reaction I seem to have with all films based on series that I haven't seen.  After a while, though, they seem to grow on you, much like Tenchi Muyo did.  I did find myself enjoying some of the characterizations and relationships, although I didn't quite see the appeal of Lum in this film.  Actually, she ends up having very little to do with the film (other than the occasional electrical tantrum), as the human characters and their dreams are the focus.

Overall, I think this was an interesting and enjoyable film.  I may just start watching the series sometime.

Here's an EXCELLENT site about Urusei Yatsura.  If only ALL fan sites were like this:

Tomobiki-cho: The Urusei Yatsura Web Site
http://www.tomobiki.com

Posted: 5-17-'98

Copyright ©1997-1999 by Francis Li
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