This may be up in my top 10 UY episodes. In terms of writing it’s definitely the best so far.
It is one of those “escalate a single idea” episodes that I consider to be some kind of ideal in animation. The idea in question is – earmuffs that swap the mind of the wearer with another wearer.
Ataru buys 2 pairs from a mysterious salesman, and then convinces Ten that if he buys the second off him women will be interested in him (this is the start of Ten as a mirror to Ataru in the same way Mendou is). Then, when Ten puts his pair on they swap minds.
Ataru escapes Ten’s clutches and decides to put his new body to use, namely being hugged by women so he can shove his, or rather Ten’s, face in their chest. This works well (he gets women queueing up to hug him!) until he tries hugging Sakura. Sakura sensing something is up beats up “Ten” before he gets a chance to fly into her chest. A struggle ensues which leads to Ataru AND Ten being stuck in Sakura’s body, Sakura in Ten’s body, and Ataru’s body, empty, in the back of a gravel truck.
Meanwhile Cherry has conned the salesman into selling him TEN earmuffs and we finally see that the salesman is an alien. Tired of cheapskate Earthlings he heads to his spaceship – hidden in the same gravel pit Ataru’s body is being taken to.
Lum, Sakura and Ten have by now got everyone back in their correct bodies, so Ataru gives the aliens an earful and they give him 3 bags of earmuffs as damages. Thinking no one is wearing a pair he puts on one and swaps places with Cherry.
Inevitably, everyone ends up at the Moroboshi house, there’s eating, fighting, an explosion and everyone ends up wearing earmuffs!
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This is the second of Masaki Tsuji’s scripted episodes (the next & last is episode 28).
Kozima Tamiko storyboarded and directed, Asami Endo was animation director.