Good Day For a Departure / Oyuki / Ataru Retires

Episode 6 of Urusei Yatsura begins with Lum informing Ataru that he’ll be participating in Setsubun with her on her home planet. Ataru is excited to feast on his once-a-year meal Sukiyaki, though. She opens up an interdimensional portal in his room, and the two arrive at her planet. There, they meet up with her friends and family who are all celebrating Setsubun. They have a great time eating Sukiyaki and playing games together. ..

Ataru and Lum link up with Lum’s father. He and his people will battle an opposing faction, the Lucky Gods, deemed the “Lucky Ones.” Someone blows a horn, and the Onis and Lucky Gods engage in a game of basket tower toss. However, Ataru spots one of Lucky God’s noble red-haired female warriors and heads toward her. ..

Lum tells Ataru to get away from her. Lum confirms the red hair girl’s name is Benten and her longtime friend. Benten tells Ataru that she has been seeing a ghost lately and it is causing her a lot of stress. Cherry arrives and tells them that he received a premonition that Ataru is in Hell. Cherry suggests that his parents must help Cherry guide Ataru’s soul to Heaven to honor his death. Before he can do so, he asks Ataru’s mother to make him some Sukiyaki. ..

Meanwhile, Lum is angry with Ataru’s flirtatious attempts on Benten. Benten forges a scheme. She plans to play along with Ataru to spite Lum. Benten flirts with Ataru, and Lum loses control over her team’s basket. After the battle ends, Lum’s father announces the winner. The Lucky Gods claim victory as Lum’s father chooses Ataru to face punishment per the Setsubun traditional rules. ..

Ataru’s parents and Cherry finish their second round of Sukiyaki. Ataru’s mother threatens him to proceed with the ritual since Cherry wants to depart. Cherry summons a vision that allows them to peer into Ataru’s whereabouts. His family and Cherry notice Ataru strapped to a pole while being pelted with items. The segment concludes with them his parents comically believing Ataru’s in Hell.

The next set piece starts with Ataru waking up from a cold next to Shinobu. Suddenly, everyone from Mendo to Cherry starts arriving at his room. Mendo and some students are furious that Lum isn’t with Ataru. Ataru tells them that Lum went to Neptune to visit an old friend. Suddenly, cold weather engulfs Ataru’s room. Mendo opens one of Ataru’s closets, causing an avalanche to shower everyone with snow. ..

Ataru’s classmates dig through the snow to find Ataru being held by a mysterious girl. Cherry plans to exorcise the girl because he thinks she’s a demon. Mendo stops him. The girl reveals that Ataru’s closet now houses a portal to her world. She asks if everyone can guide her back to her place, and they accept. Ataru and his friends follow the girl. ..

Ataru tells one of his friends that Lum turned his closet into an interdimensional passageway the other day. Mendo comments how the entrance has vanished, so they can’t turn back now. The girl tells the group not to fall behind because the passage they’re traversing now crosses through dimensions. They reach a large hole, and the girl hears two cries for help. ..

Someone points out that one of the voices is Lums. The girl hops into the hole, and Ataru and the others follow suit. Lum rushes to Ataru’s aid, confirming they are on Neptune. It appears the girl they were following was her old friend, Oyuki. Other girls ask Ataru’s male classmates and Mendo to shovel away at the snow. ..

Oyuki invites the group into her home for tea. She reveals that she opened an interdimensional hole to dispose of all the snow on her planet. Oyuki reveals that she is a magical being and has the power to turn anyone into a tree. She offers to prepare tea for everyone, but Ataru was infatuated by Oyuki’s pleasant demeanor and dashing appearance. Lum electrocutes him out of jealousy, causing Ataru to leave the area.

Alone, Ataru tells the story of how Oyuki’s better than Shinobu and Lum because she’s kinder. Oyuki takes Ataru to a room because she notices he has a fever. Ataru and Oyuki put the moves on each other. Before they do anything further, Oyuki’s manservant B-Bo breaks one of the room’s walls and attacks Ataru. Ataru realizes that B-Bo is a yeti.

Ataru is informed by Oyuki that her brother, B-Bo, views her as an elder sister and doesn’t like men showing affection toward her. B-Bo chases Ataru to the interdimensional hole and returns to Ataru’s home. Several hours later, Tomobiki Town’s citizens and news crew cover the events unfolding at Ataru’s household. B-Bo is holding Ataru atop his house, making it look like a parody of King Kong.

Shinobu reads an article about the event that took place on the next day. She is surprised to see that B-Bo and Ataru are yelling while other people are looking at them. Oyuki and B-Bo stand inside Ataru’s closet. Ataru asks Oyuki and Lum to close off the interdimensional passageway to prevent him from getting more sick.

Shinobu wonders what happened to Mendo, as he hasn’t appeared in school for days. We discover Mendo stayed on Neptune to continue shoveling the snow to appease Neptune’s women. This set piece ends up revealing the countless piles of snow he dug up. The final segment starts with Ataru’s homeroom teacher informing the class that their first semester has concluded and to complete their Summer homework.

Ataru announces his retirement from being Urusei Yatsura’s protagonist. Mendo prepares to overtake Ataru’s role, but Cherry arrives and plans to take the mantle. ..

In the latest episode of the series, Sakura knocks Cherry off the guest and announces she’ll be the main character. The cycle continues with more characters from Benten to Kurama popping up. Ataru tells them all that he planned to retire as class president. This episode concludes with Lum saying she’s the main protagonist.

The Episode Review

The sixth episode of Urusei Yatsura introduces some nice set-up for future characters and subplots, but the humor in every set piece is well-executed, but the 4th wall humor in the third one may surprise many people. The comedy in “Ataru Retires” carries mixed baggage. While it’ll provide some laughs, it doesn’t offer anything valuable.

I wasn’t impressed with Good Day for a Departure. The show didn’t live up to my expectations and I found myself relating to Ataru’s disappointment with the battle between the Onis and Lucky Gods. While the other contests were coated in lightheartedness, it would’ve been interesting to see a competition with more depth and activity. With how much build-up it received from Lum and her father, I expected more from the Setsubun competition.

Fans of the show may have similar grievances with Benten’s handling in episode six. She doesn’t receive as much attention as Oyuki does in her segment. All we receive is information about her being Lum’s old friend. While she displays some mannerisms that help her stand out, it would’ve been intriguing to receive more information about her, her people, and their culture.

The episode had some decent humor and heartwarming moments, but it didn’t live up to the previous episode’s stellar conclusion. Let’s hope the next episodes will give more screen time to our new cast members and develop Lum’s relationship with Ataru further. ..