This is a prime example of the sort of material that Oshii didn’t seem all that interested in. It’s a necessary episode, but the two stories feel really slight compared to the last episode.
It’s necessary because it introduces another one of the supporting cast, Benten. She is the second of Lum’s childhood friends we’ll meet. Unlike the demure and polite Oyuki, Benten is a brassy biker gang member. Like Oyuki and the other ET characters, she’s nowhere to be found in Oshii’s UY masterpiece “Beautiful Dreamer”. She’s a fairly fun character, but nowhere near as fun as Mendou, Megane or other more earth-bound characters.
The episode opens with a great bit of business where Ataru and his mother are celebrating the news that Cherry is leaving. You don’t get it too often, but these little scenes where Ataru and his mother behave similarly adds to her usual reaction that she never should have had him.
Then Lum and Ten whisk Ataru away to take part in a Setsubun festival. However it is more of a warlike showdown between the Oni and the Gods of Luck. Ataru’s heart isn’t in it, until he spots, on the opposing team, Benten.
There’s some nonsense involving him flirting with Benten, explosions and Rei, and it’s certainly better looking than last episodes horoscope story. But the bits on Earth with Cherry and Mr & Mrs Moroboshi are funnier than the space/mythology bits.
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In the second story feels even slighter.
Benten returns, this time visiting Earth to see their Setsubun festival. When Lum accidentally electrocutes Benten, she summons her biker gang (made up of the daughters of gods) for another contest.
In this contest Ataru decides that the gods and humans should throw beans at Oni. Lum and Ten run and bump into men in Oni costumes who they try to rally into their army thinking they are Earth Oni.
Lum uses Ten as a weapon causing the Gods to flee and summon their dads. When they show up rather than helping them, they tell them off.
Then Lum makes her face appear over the Earth as the Gods fly off as her final revenge.
Yeah, I don’t know how this makes up for cavorting with your husband all day while you get pelted with beans either.
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Benten is voiced by Yuko Mita, who would go onto play the similarly salt of the earth Akemi in Maison Ikkoku. Other roles include Tsururin Tsun from Dr Slump and Neko musume in the 1985 Gegege no Kitaro.
Takao Koyama is the screenwriter for both stories, Keiji Hayakawa was storyboarding and directing both with Hayao Nobe as animation director on the first story and Asami Endo on the second.