Review of Urusei Yatsura: Movie 5 - The Final Chapter

Introduction

Rumiko Takahashi is one of the best-known manga artists, especially in the West. There are a host of anime series that are based on her works, and nearly all of them run into three figure episode numbers. Earlier this year, Inuyasha made its UK debut, and I have reviewed the first twelve episodes elsewhere on the site. But long running anime series rarely find an audience in the UK, and the numbers sufficient enough to justify a release schedule of up to 50 or more discs usually only apply in places like the US. In the UK, we have to make do with the spin offs and tie-ins, which can fit on fewer volumes. All we see of Ranma½ in the UK are the two movies. Yet another Rumiko Takahashi title, Urusei Yatsura has had better exposure, with around five hours of OVAs, as well as five of the six theatrical movies being released here on DVD. Of course the few hundred television episodes are nowhere to be seen.

When aliens from the planet Oniboshi invaded Earth, they offered a challenge. If Earth`s champion could defeat their own, then they would leave humanity in peace. But they would get to choose the champion. They chose eternal lecher Ataru Moroboshi, a teenager with only one thing on his mind. All he had to do to win was to catch the alien princess Lum, a task made easier by her obvious attractions. The downside was that she could fly. When all seemed lost, Ataru`s girlfriend offered to marry him, but when Ataru agreed, Lum got the wrong end of the stick, and accepted his `proposal`. Since then, Lum has become an ever-present part of Ataru`s life, making his life as a pervert extremely difficult, as her jealousy would manifest in the form of electric shocks. That was the premise of the series Urusei Yatsura, and as the show progressed a large cast of fascinating characters built up.

The fifth film, appropriately named The Final Chapter, was at the time of production supposed to be the conclusion to the Urusei Yatsura story, adapted as it was from the final chapters of the long running manga. Following on from the disappointing Lum The Forever, it also returned to the show`s anarchic comedy roots.

Long ago on his travels, Lum`s great grandfather, hungry, broke and desperate, ran into an unscrupulous trader. One dodgy mushroom later, and he had promised his first-born daughter in marriage to the dark cloaked figure. But it took 120 years and three generations for a daughter to be born into the family, and now that Lum is grown up, the debt has become due. Only it is the trader`s handsome descendant who will collect. Soon Lum is kidnapped and whisked off to a dark world for the wedding. If Ataru wants her back, he`ll have to catch Lum in a game of tag, just the way that he did all those years previously. But this time with the fate of the world in the balance, Lum doesn`t want to be caught.

Video

Practically the first frame of the film is subject to some obvious pixellation, but otherwise it is another creaky and aged transfer from MVM. With a 4:3 transfer that looks as if it has been taken from the VHS, it`s low resolution, soft and has some colour bleed. On the other hand, it`s clear and pretty free of print damage, and the animation isn`t hampered by the soft look.

The VHS origins begin to tell during the end credits, which are of the type that replay the key moments of the film in a small section of the screen while the credits scroll. Only they do this in widescreen. My guess is that all of the Urusei Yatsura films were originally in 1.85:1 format, but the Animeigo VHS masters have become so ingrained in the West that even the IMDB lists these films as having 4:3 OARs.

Audio

Again, the sole Japanese soundtrack with burnt in English subtitles betrays an early disc. The dialogue is clear, and the straightforward DD 2.0 track has no flaws.

Features

The end theme plays in its entirety over the main menu. If you are so inclined, you can rip an mp3 of it to add to your music collection. Note: Do not do this! This is probably illegal, and you will probably end up in Guantanamo.

Conclusion

After the far out surrealist experience of Lum The Forever, it`s good to come back to some familiar comic mayhem in the fifth film, The Final Chapter. It`s a little too familiar in fact, as the plot turns out to be a rehash of the first film, with a simple character juxtaposition to differentiate it.

In Only You, Ataru wound up engaged to a girl he didn`t remember, and whisked off for a shotgun wedding. It was down to Lum to go and rescue him. In The Final Chapter, it is Lum who has a secret suitor, and Lupa is just the sort of hunk to sweep her off her feet, if she was so inclined. She`s not of course, and it falls to a magic mushroom to remove her powers and leave her vulnerable to a little bridal kidnapping. It`s down to Ataru to rescue her. Ataru is surprisingly grown up in this film, he isn`t so influenced by his lecherous nature, and he only allows pretty young things to momentarily distract him from his mission.

Of course the path of true love never runs smooth, and it turns out that Lupa has a girl pining after him. Crossed wires and misinterpreted gestures ensue, and frankly no one ends up happy with each other. With Lum demanding that Ataru show some affection, and Ataru convinced that Lum is cheating on him, it seems an inauspicious time to recreate their game of tag, the game that led to Lum fixating on Ataru in the first place.

So it`s practically a remake of the first film. Who cares when the silly humour, fast pace, and sheer entertainment is still there? It has all the slapstick, crossed wires, farce and silliness required of an anime comedy, and it`s the sort of film that is ideal if you just want to put the old grey matter in idle and let a film wash over you. But once again, the heart of the film is the relationship between Ataru and Lum. As this was adapted from the end of the manga series, it was all about getting Ataru to commit to Lum, to show that the couple had more going for them than just the electric shock mayhem thus far. Can Ataru actually say the three words that Lum so badly wants to hear? Not exactly, but the three words he does finally utter mean much more in the context of the film`s climax. Ataru finally grows up, and this seems like an ideal place to draw a discrete curtain over proceedings. Except they went and made a sixth movie.