Bit of an odd one this as it’s two different manga chapters welded together into one slightly unsatisfying whole. The manga has two chapters based around rugby, and the anime puts them together and somehow loses the punchlines to both in the process…
As has been established in earlier episodes, due to her poverty and her father raising her as a boy, Ryuu does not possess a bra. Instead she uses a wrap, which as the episode opens has been stolen. This presents her with problem at school the next day, as she’s playing in the school rugby team. All this comes from chapter 210 of the manga “Youth Rugby Hell”.
Meanwhile we see a spaceship approaching Earth which is seaching for a new planet to colonise. They find Earth and decide to enslave the human race. The men on the spaceship are hoping there will be women on Earth as it turns out that their Queen is the only woman in their race. This scenario comes from chapter 84 “Her Ladyship and the Rugby Ball of Love”.
Once the boys discover Ryuu’s dilemma and her decision to play the rugby match without support, they use the game as an excuse to try and cop a feel. While the match is going on the spaceship arrives on Earth. However it turns out that the aliens are tiny, and their spaceship resembles the size and shape of a rugby ball (shades of the G’Gugvuntts and Vl’hurgs invasion of Earth in The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy).
They beam Lum, Ryuu and Ataru onboard so that they might get a better idea of Earthlings. The usual mess of fighting, groping and electrocution happens before they beam them off again and wisely leave the Earth to its own devices.
Then rather than have the payoff from chapter 210 where Ryuu discovers Ataru stole her wrap and whips the boys repeatedly with it, we leave them chasing her again…
Not as strong as the last episode, but still a well animated episode, though again the level of titilation is notably up once again from what was typical for the Oshii/Studio Pierrot stint. Unlike a lot of the Ito scripts though, this feels less than the manga’s stories. The addition of more of a motivation for the alien queen, has come at the loss of a stronger punchline to the episode.
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Keiko Maruo’s biggest anime credits would be for Magical Knight Rayearth and Goldfish Warning.
Screenplay: Keiko Maruo
Storyboard: Junji Nishimura
Director: Junji Nishimura
Animation Director: Masami Abe