It’s been a while, but here’s a Ten-based episode.
When Ten and Ataru get into a fight after Ten incinerates the first watermelon the season, they are interrupted by a tiny robot, who gives Ten a message from his mother. She is planning on visiting him on Earth as her work as a firefighter has taken her nearby.
Ataru is pleased to see her as she’s quite attractive, however Ten seems less keen on her visiting. It all becomes clear when she asks Ten if he’s not been using his fire breath indescriminately. Which of course he does. ALL THE TIME. So whenever Ten is about to use his breath on Ataru, Ataru rings a fire bell which brings his mum running in a rage!
We then get a flashback which explains further Ten’s fear of his mother. As a baby, she used to regale him with tales of her capturing pyromaniacs and burning them alive…
When Ataru boasts of his power over Ten at school the next day, Ten tries to mount a sneak attack by stealing the bell. However the Stormtroopers manage to ring it and Ten is thwarted by his mother one more time.
Ten’s second plan is to lure Ataru into the P.A. room with a fake love letter, which is soundproofed. However Ataru manages to switch the PA on and ring the bell before Ten can burn him. This time his mother floods the entire school in an attempt to put out the fire.
Ten’s third plan involves Ataru pretty much the same love letter as before. Due to Ataru’s stupidity it works and Ten manages to tie Ataru to a tree and sets it on fire. Unable to free him, Ataru summons superhuman strength and pulls the tree out the ground, before Ten’s mother appears to put the fire out.
And we see that Ten’s mother likes putting out fires, perhaps a little too much. Finally in a first for the show, rather than the Moroboshi’s home getting destroyed, Ataru bows to thank Ten’s mum for saving him and forgetting he was tied to the tree, destroys the school with it.
As this is one of those Tex Avery-esque episodes with one idea rammed home to hilarious excess, I loved the hell out of it. It helped that there’s a lot of nice animation in this episode, with the character design looking particularly strong. Moreso than any of his episodes so far you can look at this and say “Yuji Moriyama was working on this”.
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Screenplay: Hiroyuki Hoshiyama
Storyboard: Mamoru Oshii
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Animation Director: Yuji Moriyama