Urusei Yatsura (2022) – Season 1 Episode 17 Recap & Review

A Chest Full of Longing!! / Wish Upon a Star

Urusei Yatsura episode 17 begins with Ryunosuke planning to purchase herself a bra with the money she saved. Meanwhile, three men start taking photos of Shinobu as she’s walking down a pathway alone. She notices them, flees, and bumps into Ryunosuke. She asks Ryunosuke to stay with her for a while. She notices Ryunosuke is feeling down and explains that she couldn’t afford a bra because it cost about 1000+ yen. Shinobu comforts her and says she could try saving up 100 more yen to purchase one at a bargain bin.

The men following Shinobu reveal themselves as high schoolers from Butsumetsu High. They tell Shinobu that their boss is interested in going out with her. Shinobu declines their boss’s offer, upsetting them. They tell Shinobu that their boss is persistent about dating her, and Shinobu warms up to date their boss. However, she departs after seeing what their boss looks like in a photograph. At their boss’s hideout, he preaches about his love for Shinobu. His minions plan to snap photos of Shinobu with her boyfriend, hoping their boss will let his feelings go.

At Tomobiki High, Shinobu explains to Ataru and his friends that she and Ryunosuke will be going on a date to help the Butsumetsu High boys out with their boss’s affection. Ryunosuke meets with the boys, who promise to give her 5000 yen in exchange for those photos. The men ask Ryunosuke and Shinobu to strike several poses that make them look like a romantic couple. Ryunosuke starts getting carried away and gets slapped by Shinobu. While taking photos at the cafe, Ataru interrupts one of the photo sessions. Ryunosuke punches Ataru and tells him to mind his business.

Ataru shows Ryunosuke a bra that she could have if she stops her date with Shinobu. Lum electrocutes Ataru for trying to intermingle with her, allowing the Butsumetsu boys, Shinobu, and Ryunosuke to flee. They try taking photos near a water fountain, but Ataru finds them. To make matters worse, the Butsumetsu boys’ boss shows up and tries to have his way with Shinobu. Shinobu knocks him out, surprising everyone except Ataru. The Butsumetsu boys’ 5000 yen flew into the air during the dispute. Ryunosuke tries retrieving it, but it lands on Cherry’s cat friend’s head.

His friend places it on a grill, and it disintegrates. The Butsumetsu boys’ boss gets up and wants to smooch Shinobu. The boys steal Ataru’s bra bag and offer it to their boss. Ataru and Ryunosuke attempt to swipe it back, but the Butsumetsu boys’ boss eats it. The episode concludes with Ataru’s mother revealing that it was hers.

The next set piece starts with an anthropomorphic star crashing into Ataru’s home as he, his family, and Lum eat. The star deemed the Wishing Star, says he’s come to grant them three wishes due to them being poor. Ataru’s parents pay the wish no mind, as they’re furious about the Wishing Star’s rudeness. Feeling terrible about what he caused, the Wishing Star hands Ataru’s father a star sticker on him to write his wish. He wishes for the house to be turned to normal, and the Wishing Star grants it. After seeing his magic, Ataru’s family welcomes him with open arms.

While everyone bickers over the second wish, Cherry uses it for food. The Wishing Star says he can’t accept cancellations, and they only have one more left. Ataru tries taking the Wishing Star to his room but his mother catches him in his cunning act. She retrieves the Wishing Star’s belongings to avoid Ataru making a foolish wish. In his room–Ataru attempts to make a wish, but the Wishing Star denies it. Ataru and Lum meet with Ataru’s parents to discuss the wish. The Wishing Star tells them they have until dawn to make the wish. The Wishing Star helps himself to some refreshments in Ataru’s family’s fridge.

Ataru’s mother says they should hold a lottery to decide who gets to make the final wish. They hold the lottery, and Ataru’s father wins. Ataru’s mother checks what her husband wants to wish for, and it’s revealed that he’d like to redo his life. Ataru and his mother decided that it’ll be better to wish for money and head to the kitchen. Everyone finds the Wishing Star sleeping after drinking multiple cases of beer. Cherry inserts a wish sticker into its mouth, asking the Wishing Star to wake. He wakes up but flees since Ataru’s family has no more wishes left. The episode concludes with Ataru and his parents in shambles.

The Episode Review

This was an amusing chapter of Urusei Yatsura that focuses more on Ryunosuke’s journey to become more woman-like. She went through many uncomfortable hurdles and received nothing in return. On that note, this episode reminds viewers that Ataru still holds affection for Shinobu, despite having a bad habit of falling for every attractive woman he meets.

Although his actions were horrendous, Ataru shows some wholesomeness toward Ryunosuke to some extent. Giving her a bra to relieve her of pretending to be Shinobu’s boyfriend is a rare act of kindness on his part. Although this was a jealousy-fueled attempt on Ataru’s part, it was nice seeing him offer Ryunosuke a way out of this embarrassing situation.

The second bit was decent. It gives viewers new insight into Ataru’s family dynamics. Although Ataru’s mother loves scolding her son for his poor behavior she still cares for him. It came as a shocker that Ataru’s father would rather redo his life than fix his relationship with his wife and son. It’ll make some recall the whole Rei and Ataru’s mother situation several chapters back.

Overall, this was a decent addition to Urusei Yatsura’s (2022) season. It gives more attention to Ryunosuke and shows her steady growth in achieving her goal. We also receive great slapstick, jokes, and quirky one-liners between both set pieces. As always, I hope we get into some drama between Lum and Ataru though.