Oh crikey, the misanthropy here. Pretty much everyone comes across either shallow, hateful, spiteful, idiotic, desperate or a mix of all of them in these two episodes. I’d forgotten just how mean UY’s humour could get.
In the first of these stories, Rei, Lum’s ex-fiance, comes to Earth to win Lum back.
A handsome idiot (idiot may be giving him too much credit), both Shinobu and Ataru’s Mother fall for his good looks. However he has a problem, when he gets mad he turns into a giant tiger-cow.
The story features Lum at the most vicious and cold hearted we’ve seen her so far, going so far to claim she’s pregnant to get rid of both Rei and Shinobu. Likewise Shinobu and Ataru’s Mother are portrayed as incredibly shallow, with Shinobu claiming Lum should be happy with just Rei’s good looks despite all his other character flaws and Mrs Moroboshi fantasizing about running off with him.
It all culminates in a silly duel that involces Rei and Ataru sitting in a lightning storm in metal helmets.
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The second story is far stronger, built around a chase sequence of the sort that would become something of a trademark for the show. Also 3 of the Stormtroopers (Megane, Chibi and Kakuragi) make an appearance.
Ataru, Megane, Chibi and Kakugari find Rei in a Beef Bowl shop pining for Lum. They tease him until he “cows out” attracting Lum and Ten’s attention. It turns out he’s learnt enough Earth language to be able to propose to Lum. Of course being a glutton, his proposal is that she should cook for him for the rest of his life.
Lum, Ataru and the Stormtroopers tease him some more and he goes berserk, kicking off the chase scene. As he chases them he keeps mistakenly saying his proposal to every woman he bumps into. Ten meanwhile gives the Moroboshi’s address to the enamoured women, their indignant boyfriends and the shop owners whose livelihoods the rampage has ruinied.
By the end Rei has proposed to Shinobu and Mrs Moroboshi too, and the Moroboshi’s house is under siege from all the people Ten has tipped off.
And then the episode ends, because once again, putting everything right wouldn’t be right.
By now the strength of the show’s music is becoming clear. There’s recurring scenes like “chase”, “mock soap opera melodrama” that are used over and over again. These are given a musical short hand by using similarly recurring musical cues behind the scenes. And they fit the moods of scenes very well.
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Both episode were written by Izumi Itirou, who I can find very little about. The first story was storyboarded and directed by Keiji Hayakawa (Chikkun Takkun, Spoon Oba-san) with animation direction from Hayao Nobe.
The second episode once again has Mamoru Oshii on storyboard and direction duties and Asami Endo on animation direction.
It’s clear the Oshii/Endo stories are the strongest so far in terms of animation. Lots of imaginative shots, executed adeptly.
Rei is voiced by Tessho Genda, who amongst his credits is the voice of Batman in the Japanese dub of Batman TAS and Batman: Gotham Knight, Inspector Gadget, Foghorn Leghorn, Ryu in Akira, Umibozu in City Hunter, Suppaman in Dr Slump, the godlike narrator in Ippatsu Kiki Musume, D in Project A-Ko and Optimus Prime/Convoy in the Transformers franchise.
Chibi is voiced by Issei Futumata, who’d go on to take the lead role of Yusaku Godai in Maison Ikkoku. Other roles include Kinkotsuman in Kinnikuman and Mikiyasu Shinshi in Patlabor.
Kakuragi is voiced by Shinji Nomura, whose only other role of note is Yoshikazu Aihara in Yamato.