Urusei Yatsura 1: Onri yû (1983)

Director:

Mamoru Oshii

Writers:

Tomoko Konparu (writer)
Mamoru Oshii (adaptation)

Release Date:

11 February 1983 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Fantasy | Romance | Sci-Fi

Plot:

When everyone in town recieves invitations to Ataru's wedding, they are shocked to see that his alien sweetheart Lum is not the bride...

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Wedding | Rose | Based On Comic | Based On TV Series

Cast

Fumi Hirano	...	Lum (voice)
Toshio Furukawa	...	Moroboshi Ataru (voice)
Saeko Shimazu	...	Shinobu (voice)
Akira Kamiya	...	Mendou (voice)
Kazuko Sugiyama	...	Ten (voice)
Ichirô Nagai	...	Sakuramboo (Cherry) (voice)
Machiko Washio	...	Sakura (voice)
Shigeru Chiba	...	Megane (voice)
Akira Murayama	...	Perm (voice)
Shinji Nomura	...	Kakugari (voice)
Issei Futamata	...	Chibi (voice)
Kenichi Ogata	...	Ataru's Father (voice)
Natsumi Sakuma	...	Ataru's Mother (voice)
Ritsuo Sawa	...	Lum's Father (voice)
Reiko Yamada	...	Lum's Mother (voice)

Also Known As:

Urusei Yatsura 1: Only You

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

Kitty Films

Trivia:

The name of Elle's planet in Japanese is "Erusei". This is likely a pun on "urusei", part of the series title "Urusei Yatsura".

Quotes:

Lum: This is so romantic.
Ataru: [Thinking] Boy, what a mess I'm in.
Lum: We've been through so much, but at last we're going to be properly married.
Ataru: [Thinking] I want to see Elle. Somehow I must escape from this trap.
Lum: I can almost hear the footsteps of happiness.
Ataru: [Thinking] I can almost hear the footsteps of doom.
Lum: Somehow I have this feeling that we're not on the same wavelength.
Ataru: Huh? Must be your imagination.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs The Graduate (1967)

Soundtrack:

Hoshizora Cycling

Colorful Craziness

From the tender opening (not something you really see done well in a comedy) to the oddly hilarious ending credits, Only You is a force to be reckoned with.

The movie begins with everyone in school receiving wedding invitations for the union between Ataru and Elle. Only problem is that no one knows who Elle is, least of all Ataru. After he gets thoroughly trounced by the Stormtroopers and Shinobu, he is visited and learns he's been engaged to an alien cutie. This makes everyone happy but Lum, who realizes she needs to get Ataru to a chapel before it's too late.

The animation holds up well, and the songs range from catchy to tolerable. What makes this movie great are the little moments that exist: Mendo's reaction for being mistaken for Ataru and later Megane's reaction to Mendo getting captured are two things that could only spring from such twisted and hilarious characters. On the same token, the last shot of Elle is so emotionally potent it elevates the movie to a new plane.

As a big UY fan, I can definitely recommend Only You. Perhaps its most redeeming feature is it's ability to juggle so many characters and so many different tones all while maintaining a light touch. It's a movie that improves and expands on the TV series in every way.

Rating: 10/10