The following contains spoilers for Episode 3 of Urusei Yatsura, “Trouble Rains Down!!/Amazed in a Maze,” now streaming onHiDive.
Episode 3 continuesUrusei Yatsura’s current run of releasing chaotic, laugh-out-loud episodes with two stories centered around the character of Shutaro Mendo, an incredibly wealthy and handsome young man. With Mendo’s introduction, much of the main cast has been assembled, and Ataru’s life has just gotten that much more complicated.
Mendo is an absurd character witha wealth of unique quirks and personality traits, ones that clash well with Ataru’s general demeanor. Though this is only his introductory episode, Mendo has already begun to mesh well with the cast, and his presence is sure to raise the level of shenanigans featured in the series.
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“Trouble Rains Down!!”
The episode starts with Mendo preparing for his first day at his new school. Mendo makes quite an entrance by parachuting down from a private helicopter, but his descent is disturbed by a desk thrown by Shinobu. When he arrives at school, Mendo is immediately popular with the girls in class due to his handsome face and gentlemanly demeanor, much to the chagrin of the boys. Shinobu has also fallen hard for Mendo’s charms, much to the chagrin of Ataru. While Mendo flirts with nearly every girl in class, he finds himself drawn to Lum.
The teacher declares that it’s time to vote for a class president, and Mendo immediately volunteers. He declares that he’ll implement a strict disciplinary plan that will punish tardiness and laziness, but only for the boys. In response,the boys in class convince Ataru to run against him. The vote splits evenly between the boys and girls, causing the vote to end in a tie. Mendo is shocked to be tied with the buffoonish Ataru and demands a duel to settle the tie. Mendo decides the rules of the duel via his family’s ancient traditions; firing an apple of the top of the other’s head using cannons.
However, before the duel can begin, Mendo must hit Ataru with a glove. Ataru dodges all of Mendo’s attempts to hit him and runs off, knowing that the duel cannot start until he is hit with a glove. Mendo chases Ataru down to the rooftop and corners him, but Lum ends up getting in the way when she finds and meets up with Ataru. Ataru takes the opportunity to claim that Mendo challenged her to a duel, and Lum promptly shocks him. The classmates arrive at the roof and assume Ataru beat him, and Ataru happily takes the credit. An ashamed Mendo attempts to commit seppuku, but he is assumedly convinced to stop by the teacher and the girls in class.
“Amazed In A Maze”
While on his way to school, Mendo finds that his mind constantly wanders back to thoughts of Lum. As he parachutes down once again, Mendo bumps into a flying Lum as she searches for Ataru. Mendo assumes she was embracing him, and in her attempt to get away, the two end up entangled in the parachute. Elsewhere, Ataru tries to dissuade Shinobu from going after Mendo, but he is interrupted by Mendo and Lum, who land on top of them, parachute and all.
Later, the class goes on an outdoor excursion in the wilderness. Ataru wants to have some alone time with Shinobu, but Lum refuses to leave his side. Mendo comes by to invite Lum to visit a limestone cave, but Lum refuses to go without Ataru. Ataru is initially reluctant, but when he realizes that he can use the cave to get close to Shinobu, he decides to invite her along as well. The four all enter the cave,each with their own intentions of getting closer to their chosen love interest.
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Once inside the cave, Ataru keys Mendo in on his plan to split up with the girls, and Mendo agrees to cooperate. At a fork, Mendo shuts off the flashlight, and the boys grab a girl and run into separate pathways. Unfortunately for Ataru, he accidentally grabs Lum’s hand instead of Shinobu. The group ends up reuniting rather quickly, and the two boys resolve to try again. However, this time, Ataru and Mendo end up together, to both of their disgust. Alone without the girls, Mendo reveals his dark secret; he is actually afraid of the dark and cramped places, but as long as beautiful women are around, he can keep himself in control. He blubbers on Ataru’s leg until the girls reappear, upon which he immediately rebounds back to his confident self.
The group suddenly realize that they no longer know how to get back, and to make things worse, Mendo’s flashlight goes out for real. In the confusion, Lum decides to light up the cave with her electricity, which ends up reactivating a dormant spacecraft that shoots into the sky. The episode ends with the group being found by the rest of the class in the cave that has now been turned into a giant hole.
Four’s A Crowd
The addition of Mendo throws a huge wrench into the love trianglecurrently established by Lum, Ataru, and Shinobu, making an already complicated romantic situation even more complex. Shinobu is completely enamored by the handsome Mendo, while Lum appears to have captured Mendo’s affections. The end result is a bizarre love square where every participant is yearning after someone else (except for Ataru, who is alright with any girl as long as it’s not Lum).
The episode does its best to showcase as many of Mendo’s sides as possible, and largely succeeds. We see him at his best in the A-part as a suave, handsome gentleman who’s a bit to rigid, while the B-part shows him at his worst as a shameless flirt and a prideful coward. He’s a great addition to the cast, and with the post-credit scene hinting at another classic character coming back, the hijinks are only going to ramp up from here.
