The following contains spoilers for Episode 7 of Urusei Yatsura, “Home Is Where You Find It/Marine Garbage Disposal,” now streaming onHiDive.
The newest episode ofUrusei Yatsurais as laugh-out-loud as the rest, with both parts centering around a minor character.With so many characters being introduced in the last episode, it’s a good point to take some time to develop the group dynamic between the main characters and see how they interact when dealing with bizarre situations.
While there are still a lot of characters that need to be re-introduced into the new series, the core of the series' humor is the relationships between the four main characters. This episode shows a variety of sides between them that give viewers a better idea of each character’s personality.
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“Home Is Where You Find It”
Ataru, Lum, and Shinobu arrive at Mendo’s new hotel to enjoy the new pool. Cherry and Sakura are also there, and Sakura’s appearance in a swimsuit excites Ataru to the pointthat he tries to jump her. She immediately rebukes him and sends him flying into the water. The others continue about their day, but Lum notices that Ataru has yet to come up for air.
Down in the pool, Ataru is found by a strange but harmless creature living at the bottom of the pool. The creature mistakes Ataru for a visitor and tries to convince him to stay. However, Ataru is starting to run out of breath, and when Lum comes down to find Ataru, he tags her out and has her take her place as the creature’s visitor. Ataru bursts out of the water and call for Sakura and Cherry for their exorcism skills, as he claims that a demon is living at the bottom of the pool. The two exorcists and Mendo are skeptical, but decide to humor him at the very least.
At the same time they go down, the pool demon comes out of the water, having run out of ingredients for tea. His presence freaks out the pool-goers, but the demon himself doesn’t seem to mind very much. At the bottom of the pool, Lum immediately tags out so she can go up for air, while Sakura and Mendo yell at Ataru as the pool demon is nowhere to be found. However, the pool demon soon returns, and Mendo immediately demands that the demon leave.
The demon demands an explanation, and running out of air, Mendo swims back up to the surface with the demon to explain. Once the details have all been hashed out, the demon accepts being evicted, though he is sad to do so. Ataru and Lum feel pity for the pool demon, but Mendo remains steadfast in his decision. Ataru and Lum wish the demon good luck in finding a new place, but are surprised to find him in their home’s bath later that day.
“Marine Garbage Disposal”
Ataru and Lum head out for a day at the beach, but they are stopped by Ataru’s mom, who asks them to also get rid of the pool demon who has been shacking up in their bath for the past month. Despite being kicked out, the pool demon is rather amicable about the whole situation, and Ataru promises to leave him in a good place for a home. They soon arrive at the beach and meet up with Mendo and Shinobu before Ataru walks off with the pool demon to find a suitable location. On their way, they walk past Sakura, who is on a date with her boyfriend Tsubasa.
Ataru eventually leaves the pool demon by a cliff overlooking the sea. The pool demon waves farewell cheerfully when Ataru leaves, but reveals that he feels lonely about being told to go when he is by himself. He spies Sakura and Tsubasa walking together, and when he recognizes Sakura from the pool, he tries to talk to her.
However, he is stopped by Ataru, who came back when he noticed the couple himself. The two spy on the couple hoping to see something hot, while Mendo, Lum, and Shinobu are spying from another vantage point, having also seen them together.Eventually the situation heats up enough that the two start to kiss, but the pool demon blows everyone’s cover by getting far too close, and the moment is ruined.
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Throughout this whole segment, a young boy has been wandering around with his pet Pochi in a box, having been told by his mother that he would not be allowed to keep him. When he sees Ataru with the pool demon, he assumes that the pool demon is Ataru’s pet and feels a little envious. Eventually, while the group is having lunch later, the boy decides to leave the box holding Pochi near them in the hopes that they will take care of him once he’s gone.
However, Ataru and the gang have a similar idea to leave the pool demon in a similar box so that he might be picked up by a kind stranger. The boy, regretting leaving Pochi behind, runs back and takes back the box from Ataru. Realizing that the boy has mistaken the pool demon’s box for Pochi’s, the gang decide to open up the box only to find Cherry inside. Later on, a postcard reveals that the pool demon is now living at the boy’s house as Pochi, his search for a home come to an end.
Silly Supernatural Shenanigans
Both segments of this episode center around the mysterious pool demon, a strange yet affable creature that likes to live in water. The situationlends itself to many opportunities for comedy, andUrusei Yatsuradoesn’t waste it. The character is hilarious, and while his time in the series wasn’t long, it was certainly a lot of fun.
This episode also does a good job in further exploring the relationships of the characters. The four main characters certainly feel more like a friend group, and we see more of Sakura and Cherry, as well as Sakura’s boyfriend Tsubasa. While the story does not necessarily focus on them, it does show a little more of their group dynamic, making their relationship seem a little more rounded.
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