“ |
Hi! I'm Moroboshi Ataru, Number One Japanese Boy! Please date with me! |
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—Moboroshi Ataru
Ataru Moroboshi (諸星あたる, Moroboshi Ataru?, lit. Falling star to get hit) is the main protagonist of Urusei Yatsura. He is the most lecherous teenager in the universe.[2]
History[]
Ataru is a seventeen year old student at Tomobiki High School, Class 2-4, in the town of Tomobiki. Born in April (4, an unlucky number in Japanese culture) on Friday the 13th (an unlucky number in Western cultures), Butsumetsu, and the same day as a major earthquake, Cherry has referred to him as a carrier of bad luck rarely seen in this society.
Infamous for being a lecherous pervert, he chases after and tries to grope every woman no matter what the situation. However, his life changes forever when he is selected to save his planet from alien invaders in an all or nothing game of tag with the Oni princess Lum. Although Ataru wins, he accidentally ends up proposing to Lum and becomes her “husband” much to the promiscuous boy’s chagrin.
Personality[]
Ataru is a very lecherous and perverted young man with an idiotic and lazy personality, and often tries to escape class work and sleeps in even on school days. Whenever he sees or hears a pretty girl, he immediately asks for their address and telephone number, not only does he fail in these efforts but any female he harasses tends to physically harm him, yet this doesn’t deter him and he continues his chase. He is also very cynical and rude to those who annoy or bother him being prone to immature outbursts, even outright violence. He is also a bit of a glutton often showing a love for food especially his mother's cooking and will grow heavily upset if he’s cheated out of a meal.
Despite how stupid he seems, Ataru often displays remarkable intelligence, particularly when escaping from Lum.
He has occasionally let his good-natured side shine through, most notably when he took care of the class caterpillar everyone else hated and when he went on a date with the ghost of a sick girl who had admired him from afar.
The only woman Ataru rejects is ironically the only woman interested in him that being his “wife” Lum. Due to the fact that she forced herself into his life and is intolerant to his perverted behavior often electrocuting him for “cheating” on her, he typically treats her like a nuisance, claims he wants nothing to do with her and constantly disobeys her. Despite all of this, however, Ataru genuinely cares about Lum and has already implied that she is, in fact, the only girl he truly loves, for he has already put himself in danger on several different occasions to protect her. When he thought Lum was gone, Ataru became so depressed that he stopped flirting with other girls and even cried softly in bed while hugging Lum's doll. However, he is unable to openly admit that he loves her due to his pride.
Lum and few other of Ataru's friends once created a plot towards him to turn his personality upside down. This plan included their faked deaths and Mendō confronting Ataru as dressed up like him. The plan didn't work, though Ataru was quite shocked.
Appearance[]

Handsome Ataru
Ataru is a rather skinny young man with has dark brown eyes and hair with slightly tan skin. Ataru's attire varies depending on the situation or weather. He is usually seen wearing his school uniform; however, during holidays he is often dressed in the appropriate attire, even at times kimonos or robes, and in the winter when not at school he commonly wears scarves or jackets. At home, he never wears shoes; otherwise at home his clothes are best described as slovenly or sub-casual -- things he changes out of when he leaves the house. This is particularly true during the summer months, as notable in Beautiful Dreamer. He's also shown as pretty buff in the anime.
Powers and Abilities[]

Ataru's iconic sword catch
At times he appears to be superhuman, with the life force of a cockroach and the rejuvenation powers of a lizard, he possesses furious tenacity when trying to achieve something especially when the motivation is related to a beautiful woman. As a result, he never gives up on his girl hunting, no matter how many times he fails or how bad Lum shocks him. Also due to having been electrocuted by Lum so many times, he developed tolerance towards electricity and at times can't be knocked unconscious from it.
He has "cartoony" superhuman abilities. Being able to do incredible things just because the author wants him to do. He can pop up out of thin air and can defeat a judo trainer with a single throw. He also has shown to have very good stamina as well as running speed when he chased Asuka. He is one of the special students that need to be chained with an iron ball in order to make it a fair competition in a school event.
Like a variety of characters from the anime and manga, Ataru can catch a blade with his bare hands. He does the technique the most out of all the characters (especially when Mendō tries to slice him countless times) and is considered its best practitioner as noted when he caught a moving Swordfish.
Relationships[]
Ataru met Lum when he was randomly selected by a computer to represent mankind in a game of tag with the fate of the Earth on the line (Lum herself represented the Oni race). When it looked like Ataru would fail, Shinobu Miyake (his girlfriend at the time) promised to marry him if he won. Determined to do "the stuff that married people do", he succeeded in catching Lum and then loudly declared "Now I can get married!!" However, Lum mistook this as a proposal to herself and the two were immediately engaged. In the beginning, he is cold-hearted towards her and saw her as a nuisance preventing him from girl hunting, but by the time of the story "A Night Alone!!" (夜を二人で!! ,, Yoru wo Futari de!!?) (Vol. 18) he was completely okay with sharing a bed with her. When his beloved Lum had abandoned him, he grew into a deep depression even crying himself to sleep while holding a doll of Lum. He is also shown to be quite jealous if another guy gets too close to Lum (ex: Rei, Mendō, Shingo, the Dolphin, etc). In the story "The Gloves of Love and War" (愛と闘魂のグローブ,, Ai to Tokon no Gurōbu?) (Vol. 21), in which he accidentally puts on boxing gloves that force him to grab and punch anyone who gets close enough to him, he continuously puts his own face in front of Lum's each time she gets too close, punching himself instead. This is just one of many instances when Ataru does everything he can to protect Lum from physical harm. Near the end of the series, in the story introducing Inaba, he decides to protect the future where he and Lum get married. In the final story they have another game of tag, this time with the Earth's memory of Lum and everything that has happened since her arrival on the line. Lum will let him win if he just says "I love you", but he refuses and tries to catch her himself. However, in the end, he shouts "Like I'll forget you" and Lum sees that he had kept something of hers (her old horns), so she tearfully allows him to catch her and continues to live on Earth with him. In the last panel of the series, Lum says that one day she'll make him actually say it, to which Ataru responds "Only on my deathbed".
He and Shinobu have known each other since they were little seem to have been friends. At the start of the series, Ataru and Shinobu were a couple who loved and cared for each other deeply. However, Ataru's shameful perverted ways, bad luck, and the arrival and psychotic nature of Lum made Shinobu quickly jealous, with her often misunderstanding the situation, and she tried to leave Ataru numerous times. Eventually, she begins to lose feelings for him when Lum checks into their class. Ataru's feelings, however, remain, but Shinobu begins to treat him like every other woman does.
He and Mendō share a rivalry. The pair are almost always seen fighting with each other, though they do often team up to take on a common enemy. They are also quite similar.
The two are friends.
They are mostly his friends, but would backstab him in a heartbeat due to their obsession and love for Lum. They are jealous of Ataru and constantly get in his way.
Ataru's mother often wishes she never had him. However, she still looks after him as a mother would.
Ataru often hits on her and gets in the way of her romance with Rei, much to her annoyance. He seems to be mostly unaware of her hidden side for most of the series.
Ataru is often seen hitting on them (much to their annoyance) but they tolerate him because of their friendship with Lum.
Ten is vastly annoyed by Ataru and the feeling is mutual. In much later issues and episodes, it wasn't uncommon to see the two absolutely beat the ever living tar out of each other. Ironically, Ataru and Ten have a lot of things common in them though Ten doesn't like to be put in his category.
Rei was initially jealous of Ataru being the object of Lum's affection, much to Ataru's dismay. However, Rei eventually calmed down as his own relationship with Ran grew stronger, though Ataru would begin to meddle so he could have Ran for himself.
Her tomboyish looks doesn't seem to phase Ataru at all. He still finds her very attractive and hits on her, which leads to vicious beatdowns from her.
Ataru is unfazed by her superhuman strength, persistently hitting on her. On the other hand, Asuka is terrified of Ataru and develops a phobia of men because of him.
Speech[]
Appellations[]
Name | What They Call Ataru | What Ataru Calls Them |
---|---|---|
Lum | Darling | Lum |
Shinobu Miyake | Ataru-kun | Shinobu |
Shūtarō Mendō | Moroboshi | Mendō |
Ryūnosuke Fujinami | Moroboshi | Ryuu-chan |
Kōsuke Shirai | Ataru | Kousuke |
Ten | Ataru | Jariten |
Cherry | Moroboshi Ataru | Cherry |
Sakura | Moroboshi | Sakura-san |
Mother | Ataru | Kaa-san |
Father | Ataru | Tou-san |
Onsen-Mark | Moroboshi | Sensei |
Hanawa | Moroboshi-kun | Sensei |
Principal | Moroboshi-kun | Kouchou (Principal) |
Ryūnosuke's Father | Young Man | Oyaji |
Ran | Darling | Ran-chan |
Benten | Lum's Husband / Moroboshi | Benten-sama |
Oyuki | Moroboshi-san | Oyuki-san |
Lum's Father | Son-in-Law | Otou-san |
Kurama | Moroboshi | Kurama-chan |
Ryōko Mendō | Moroboshi-sama | Ryouko-chan |
Asuka Mizunokōji | Man | Asuka-chan |
Quotes[]
- "Hey, hey, hey...What's your address and phone number?"
- "I refuse! I'd sooner go to Iscandar than fight and be killed by an Oni!" [note: "Iscandar" is a reference to "Space Battleship Yamato" / "Star Blazers"]
- "But to grab those horns, naturally I've gotta grab the body first..."
- "When will you learn that I always do things without thinking of the consequences?"
- "I'll never forget, I'll... never... forget..., I'LL NEVER FORGET! ...you, Lum..."
- "You idiot, if I say 'I love you' under these circumstances, how do you know if I was telling the truth?"
- "Sighs...At my age, I already have a woman who follows me around thinking she's my wife. Oh! My youth's rotting away!"
- "Behold! My secret 'Flip-Up-The-Skirt' maneuver!"
- "I...I'm always kind! And I just thought it would be sad to break a ghost's dream."
- "Darn right! Ever since that alien pyscho decided she was my 'fiancée'...my life's been nothing but wretched! Dumped by Shinobu, zapped by lightning every time I make a pass at another girl! And now she flies happily off to marry some guy her family has picked out for her. Dear readers! I ask you: do I deserve such torment!?"
- "Well, you see, I want to be free from a girl, because I want to keep loving her."
- "I'm in love with Lum just like other girls, I just don't like that she interrupts my girl huntings. If you don't bring her to my harem here right now I'm going to destroy your dream!"
- "I HATE YOUR GUTS!!!!!"
- "Lum you idiot."
Trivia[]
- Though the protagonist of the series is often thought to be Lum, Takahashi has stated that she had always meant for it to be Ataru.
- In Legend of the Galactic Heroes, the womanizing Oliver Poplan is described as the "Ataru Moroboshi of Iserlohn". Later, Oliver Poplan would be voiced by Ataru's Japanese voice actor, Toshio Furukawa in the OVA version. This might've been done intentionally as both were produced by Kitty Films.
- Ataru's birthday is supposed to be April 13th, on a Friday, and on Butsumetsu. However, assuming Urusei Yatsura begins in 1978 (the year it's serialization began), this would make him 27 at the beginning of the series, as the last time before 1978 that those days fell upon one another was in 1951.
- Ataru makes a few cameo appearances in the TV anime versions of Takahashi's Maison Ikkoku and Ranma ½ (both also produced by Kitty Films). In several early episodes of Maison Ikkoku, Ataru (along with Shinobu and Lum's Stormtroopers) appears as a kindergartener on his way to and from school. In a notable scene from Ranma ½, Shampoo demonstrates a cure that will supposedly rid Ranma of his curse. The potion turns a small dog into Ataru.
- At first, Ataru was supposed to end up with Shinobu instead of Lum. That is why Lum is absent for the second chapter of volume 1—she was supposed to be a one-off character. However, fans liked Lum and begged for her return, so Takahashi made Lum Ataru's new love interest.
- Ataru is good at volleyball and managed to become the captain of the boys team.
- His first Japanese voice actor, Toshio Furukawa, would later go on to provide the voice of Ataru's Father in the reboot series, Sakamoto from Maison Ikkoku (Rumiko Takahashi's second major manga series) and Koganemaru Matsushita from Maris the Chojo.

- When meeting Kagome Higurashi from Rumiko Takahashi's fourth major manga series, InuYasha, Kagome speculated that Ataru is the descendant of co-star Miroku, as Ataru asked her for her name, her email, her phone number, and her three sizes in the special Rumic World DVD opening.
- In the same special opening, Ataru has a cell phone with a charm made from the Lum doll he got in Episode 44.
- It should be noted that all three of Lum's childhood friends have either flirted, returned flirting, or tried to seduce Ataru in their debut episodes: Oyuki was completely down to betray Lum's friendship for some fun with Ataru only to be interrupted by B-Bo. Benten and Ataru flirted for a majority of the Combat of Setsubon. And Ran's entire revenge plot involved trying to seduce Ataru away from Lum (this was toned down as her affections moved towards Rei.)
- Ataru shares the same ability of Dr. Slump's Senbei Norimaki in an ability called 'Handsome Mode', where he loses his aloof persona and dons a more serious nature and tone. However, this was pointed out by Kurama that if he forces it, the nerves and muscles in his face will be destroyed. He often uses this ability to one up Shūtarō Mendō.
- In a few earlier episodes, Ataru is depicted as having black hair.
- Ataru and Lum kiss a grand total of three times in the 1981 anime, not counting Ataru kissing Lum in the final moments of the ending theme Open Invitation, and do not kiss at all in the manga.
- In Episode 5, Lum kisses Ataru against his will.
- In Episode 59, Lum catches an explosion-thrust Ataru and pulls him into a kiss he is implied to return.
- In Episode 194, Ataru deliberately kisses Lum whilst they are trapped together, the only time he initiates a kiss.