The following contains spoilers for Episode 4 of Urusei Yatsura, “Sealed with a Kiss!!,” now streaming onHiDive.
The fourth episode ofUrusei Yatsuranot only introduces a classic character in Kurama, but also the new series' first full-episode story, having only done two-parters up to this point. Of course, the hijinks and shenanigans the characters get up to have not gone away,and this episode is just as crazy as the rest.
While this episode mostly focuses on the new character of Kurama, there’s also a focus on Mendo, the character that was just introduced last episode. Since Mendo is a major character in the original series and is sure to show up frequently for the rest of the series, it’s good for the audience to get a feel for his character.
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“Sealed With A Kiss!!”
The show begins with the four core characters of Ataru, Lum, Shinobu, and Mendo playing tennis together. Nearby, a group of crows transports the capsule that was inside the spaceshipfrom last episode. A stray tennis ball knocks out one of the crows, sending the capsule flying towards the group. As they inspect the capsule, Ataru and Mendo are both entranced by the beautiful woman sleeping inside. The crows appear and explain the situation to the gang; on their planet, there are no humanoid males, and so they must travel from planet to planet looking for a suitable groom for their princess Kurama, currently asleep in the capsule. The crows decide that Mendo is handsome enough to suit the princess tastes, and encourage him to kiss the princess. Naturally, Ataru tries to get in the way, wanting a chance with the beautiful princess, and after a short scuffle in which Lum and Shinobu struggle to keep their love interests from kissing another woman, Ataru eventually manages to plant a kiss on Kurama’s lips.
The crows suddenly despair, as tradition dictates that the man who kisses the princess awake must become her husband. Kurama awakens, but mistakes Mendo as the one who kissed her. She is thoroughly satisfied with his looks, and the crows find it difficult to explain that she is mistaken. Several days later, the misunderstanding has yet to be resolved, and the crows decide to allow Kurama to keep believing that Mendo is her chosen lover, with only the elder crow insisting that they continue to follow tradition. Lum, wanting to keep Ataru from having to become Kurama’s lover, offers her help in return.
In the meanwhile, Kurama has left to see Mendo at school, which immediately causes problems with the other female classmates. Ataru, for his part, keeps trying to make moves on Kurama, believing that he is her rightful husband. However, the crows arrive and keep Ataru from revealing the truth to her. They then convince Mendo to pretend that he was the one who kissed Kurama, and he reluctantly agrees. Satisfied, Kurama declares that she and Mendo immediately consummate their love.
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Outside of school, Lum helps the crows create a “love nest” for Kurama and Mendo, while Ataru and the other female students in class continue to protest. Mendo’s nerves get the better of him when he realizes what he’ll be doing in full view of the school, but Kurama forcibly pulls him in once the love nest is done. Inside, she attempts to seduce him, but they are interrupted by Ataru, who managed to make his way in. He is followed by the elder crow, who reveals to Kurama the truth: Ataru was the one who kissed her awake, not Mendo.
Kurama is distraught to hear the truth, but she ultimately decides to stick with Mendo, flagrantly bucking tradition. The elder warns her that terrible things will happen if she doesn’t follow tradition, but is unable to explain the actual punishment for doing so. They decide dig into footage of the past elders to find out, eventually having to go back to the very first elder. The elder reveals that he established the tradition in order to preserve the fond memories of his adventures as a youth, much to Kurama’s rage. Mendo offers to consummate their relationship now that tradition no longer needs to be upheld, but Ataru appears and traps Mendo within a bell, forcing him to reveal his fear of the dark and cramped spaces. His shameful display disgusts Kurama, so she decides that now that she is no longer held back by tradition, that she can take her time finding a suitable man by herself.
More Alien Marriage Hijinks
Kurama is the first alien character to appear in the series since Lum, and many more are sure to come. While Kurama is not the most frequently reoccurring character in the original series, her appearance early on is great, since it helps to establish the precedent of alien characters showing up often in this series. Kurama is a great representative of how crazy it gets when aliens are involved, and other characters down the line turn it up even harder.
This episode also does a lot to explore Mendo as a character. While he seemed near-perfect in his introductory episode, in this episode, we learn that Mendo is just as girl-crazy as Ataru, just in a different way. The rivalry between Ataru and Mendo is also a focal point of the episode as they fight over who gets Kurama. As a big focal point of the series, fans should get used to seeing these two square off more often than not.
