Magic Realm! Jungle of Terror (魔境！戦慄の密林, Makyo! senritsu no janguru [mitsurin]?), known as "Shivering in a Jungle of Evil" in the Project ILM scanlation, is the 212th chapter of the Urusei Yatsura manga.
Summary[]
Shūtarō Mendō enlists the help of his classmates to recapture a very special octopus when it escapes from his private collection.
Plot Overview[]
Shūtarō Mendō proudly leads the students of Class 2-4 through an enormous enclosure designed to replicate the Antarctic in order to show off his prized pet Matsuchiyo, a rare South Pole Octopus. When they see him, however, none of his guests understand what the fuss is all about, commenting that it looks like just an ordinary octopus. Upset, Matsuchiyo runs away, throwing Mendō into a panic - so much that he offers his classmates anything they wish for if they will help him find Matsuchiyo. They track the South Pole Octopus to the "tropical hall", a jungle-themed enclosure, but are distracted when they are attacked by some of the wild beasts residing there. Screams bring the separated group running to a bizarre sight; Shinobu, Lum and Ryunosuke in the clutches of an enormous octopus. Mendō reveals that Matsuchiyo grows to huge proportions when in high temperature environments. Matsuchiyo begins to take a very inappropriate interest in the ladies it has captured, which is the last straw for Lum, who punishes it with a massive electric shock. Mendō steps forward and is able to soothe the oversized cephalopod, which expresses its affection by enveloping him in its crushing arms.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
Trivia[]
- There are, in fact, multiple species of octopus that inhabit the cold waters of Antarctica in the real world, including Cirroctopus glacialis and Cirroctopus antarctica.
- Matsuchiyo (松千代) is a real Japanese name, which translates into English as "Pine tree of a thousand generations". Unlike in some cases in Urusei Yatsura, there is no hidden meaning or secret pun concealed in Matsuchiyo's name or its spelling; this is a fairly normal Japanese name, spelt in the standard Japanese spelling. This "mundanity" does play into Ataru and company's complaints that Matsuchiyo is a very mundane pet by Mendō's standards.
- Shinobu's dream that she can make Mendō marry her if she retrieves Matsuchiyo plays into the fact she has been obsessed with winning Mendō's hand since he entered the series in Chapter 22.
- Ryūnosuke's dream of having a grateful Mendō reward her with various girl's clothing is, of course, a callback to a running theme in Ryūnosuke's stories.
- Hokuto's dream of Mendo rewarding him with a "tanuki figurine" calls back to Chapter 117, where it was shown he had a storefront tanuki statue hidden in his locker and it was his most prized possession.
- Tanuki are a tree-climbing member of the canine family tree with a distinct raccoon-like fur-pattern, leading to a common English translation of their species name as "raccoons" or "raccoon dogs". They are found throughout much of Asia, including Japan. In Japan, they feature prominently in folklore as shapeshifting and illusion-wielding tricksters, much like the more famous kitsune (fox-spirits). They're also considered symbols of good fortune, especially in the financial field, and statues of them are common decorations for storefronts.
- Matsuchiyo's attempt to undress Ryūnosuke, Shinobu and Lum is certainly an homage to the legendary Shunga (春画) art piece 蛸と海女, known most famously in the west as "The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife", which depicts an ama diver being pleasured by a pair of octopuses. Drawn in 1418 by Katsushika Hokusai, it is often considered the pioneer of the "tentacle hentai" genre of erotica in Japan.