Sometimes, Things Are Good. It’s not often, so it’s important to recognise when they are and celebrate those moments, which I why I absolutely beg you take two minutes out of your day to watch this trailer for the upcoming anime series Urusei Yatsura. Here’s why.
Urusei Yatsura is the first major hit from manga author Rumiko Takahashi of Inuyasha and Ranma 1/2 fame; it ran from 1978 to 1987, while the anime adaptation aired 1981-86. It’s technically about a girl-crazy, impossibly unlucky high school kid named Ataru Moroboshi who gets selected to defend the Earth when aliens arrive. If he can catch the alien leader’s daughter Lum in a game of tag, the world will be saved, but in the process, Lum becomes convinced Ataru has proposed to her. Yes, I know this is a lot, even moreso when I say this description is like calling The Simpsons a series about “a suburban family.” Urusei Yatsura is bananas, featuring an immense amount of aliens based on Japanese mythology, high school shenanigans, and an incredibly rich cast of characters. There’s an episode where potatoes — non-sentient, non-ambulatory potatoes — take over the world.
This trailer is for the Urusei Yatsura remake, which begins airing in Japan in October (and will eventually come to the U.S. anime streaming service Hidive). I never imagined I’d get to see a modern, absolutely gorgeous version of my favourite anime series, so I am not lying when I say it makes me so happy I genuinely teared up a little:
Look, I get that this obscure anime series has little to no meaning for you, and maybe this trailer didn’t even pique your interest in the slightest. But I’d disappoint myself if I didn’t try to share something that brings me so much joy in hopes that it inspires anyone out there to feel a little of the same. Also, there’s an episode where the main cast has a steel cage wrestling match with a cherry blossom tree that they only manage to win after getting the tree drunk. I love this show, and I hope some of you will, too.
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Editor’s Note: Release dates within this article are based in the U.S., but will be updated with local Australian dates as soon as we know more.