Pitter-Patter Christmas Eve (ときめきの聖夜, Tokimeki no seiya?) is the 10th episode of Urusei Yatsura.
Summary[]
Lum's Stormtroopers devise a scheme to embarrass Ataru and get Lum to dump him by setting up a fake Christmas Eve date for him.
Plot Overview[]
It's "X'Mas" Eve, and Lum, Ataru and Ten are chilling outside in the shopping district. Lum is knitting while Ataru practices tricks on the yo-yo. Ten is impressed despite himself, but catches himself and accuses Ataru of being immature. The Stormtroopers, accompanied by two girls we’ve never seen before,”coincidentally” run into the group, and Megane makes an elaborate show of greeting Ataru before “noticing” Lum. The girls ask Lum about her knitting, and she explains that she’s knitting a present for Darling. Ataru mourns that his age he already has a wife making him clothes, which does not impress the Stormtroopers.
The girls catch his eye, and he demonstrates his favorite yo-yo trick, the “Flip-up-the-skirt maneuver”, earning himself another accusation of immaturity. The Stormtroopers excitedly anticipate an electrocution, but instead Lum calmly explains that she’s worried because he does dumb things when she’s not around. (He does them when you are around, too, Lum.) Ataru explains why he does these things now, waxing poetic for a moment before revealing that soon girls will be wearing heavy clothes and these pleasures will be lost to him. The Stormtroopers encourage Lum to dump him, but wind up being electrocuted themselves. Ataru demands that Lum go home (so he can practice the skirt trick some more). She agrees, but tenderly zips up his vest so he won’t catch cold and asks him to come home soon.
Ataru grumbles about her ordering around all the time, and the Stormtroopers warn him that Lum will leave if he pushes too far. He says that he wants to spend time with Lum on Christmas Eve, and also that if anyone wants to take his place they’re welcome…except that Lum has the right to choose her man as well. This is the last straw for Megane, and he and the Stormtroopers engage on a spree of rage-eating, while bemoaning that Lum wants to be with someone who has no redeeming features like Ataru. They decide that this justifies any dirty tricks, and compose a love letter to Ataru from “Kumino Otoko” (“Men of the classroom”). Megane applies lipstick to SWAK the letter and laughs madly, disturbing everyone, possibly because he looks like the Joker.
At the Moroboshi residence, Megane gives Ataru the letter (fortunately having wiped off the lipstick first). Ataru demands to know if the writer is a beauty, as Lum and Ten listen in from the bedroom. Megane says that she’s an “11”, suggesting that she’s actually Nigel Tufnel. Ataru reads the letter, which asks him to meet at Cafe Pigmon (probably an Ultraman reference, according to AnimEigo’s notes) the next day at 4:00. Ataru thanks Megane effusively, and Megane suggests that he tear up the letter to spare Lum’s feelings. Ataru says he would never throw this chance away, because who cares about Lum’s feelings anyway? He doesn’t actually say “She’s standing behind me, isn’t she?” before turning and seeing an angry Lum. Refusing to back down, he gets a well-deserved electrocution, but continues to stand his ground.
Cut to the group sitting very awkwardly in Ataru’s room as he applies lotion. Lum asks him not to go, then tearfully begs him, but he remains adamant. She asks if he hates her, and he explains that he loves her…but he also loves all the other women he knows, because he’s like the wind, man, and if she’s done she can go back to her UFO now. She flies into the sky in a flash of lightning and a cry of “DARLING NO BAKA!” (“Darling, you idiot!”). Atop her UFO, Lum asks herself who could cause Ataru to behave like this way. Ten suggests they go back to their homeworld, but Lum’s in too deep.
Meanwhile, Ataru prepares his hair while his father goes into convulsions outside the door. Also meanwhile, the Stormtroopers toast their success with cans of Coke, until Kakugari points out that they don’t actually have a girl to be Otoko. Megane says he has a plan, and will crush Ataru on the morrow as he crushes the Coke can in his fist (which, given how strong Japanese cans are, is pretty impressive).
At the Maglomall Coffee Shop, Megane offers the #3 Babe of Butsumetsu Girls’ School 5000 yen for an hour’s work–go on a date with Ataru, elbow him in the jaw when he inevitably loses control and jumps her, and publicly embarrass and shame him.
Kakugari arrives with Mr. Hippopotamus, a member of the Senshoo High Wrestling Club and another admirer of Lum. He agrees to clobber Ataru after #3 Babe fights him off. Parm arrives with an old chum, the head of the Shakkoo High School newspaper and yet another FOOL (Fan Of Ol’ Lum), who will smear Ataru’s good name with the story. A phone call arrives for the “Lord Chairman of the Supreme Council of Lum’s Stormtroopers” (Megane, of course) and the head of the Assault Team (Chibi) tells him that Lum has disappeared, but Ten has volunteered to find her by 4. (Or “4:00 PM”, as they keep saying, since apparently they have to specify.) Megane goes all J. Jonah Jameson and bellows that they must show this to Lum or the whole operation is ruined! Ruined! and sends Parm to fetch Ataru.
Lum wanders the crowds in the mall as “Jingle Bells” plays (be glad it’s not “Little Drummer Boy”, Lum). Perm dashes past without noticing her, and she takes to the air to follow. In a park, the Stormtroopers tell Ataru to cancel the date or Lum will be mad, but Ataru WILL kiss his beloved Otoko.
Megane bets him that he won’t kiss Otoko in front of Lum, and Ataru is down with that action. Having thoroughly proven how well reverse psychology works on Ataru, the Stormtroopers fantasize about how this will go down and laugh uproariously. Megane unwisely kisses a metal post (this is December, remember), where Lum listens in from atop a clock–it’s now 3:30. She realizes that Ataru getting a love letter was highly unlikely after all, and that he needs to be taught a lesson…but then lands on the clock (which is now showing a hand pointing at the 1) and looks back uncertainly.
At “Coffee Pigmon”, as it says on the sign, the various parts of the plan wait around not at all suspiciously. Everyone is nervous, even the waitstaff. As 3:58 comes around, Lum waits on another clock outside the cafe, thinking to herself that this is exactly what Darling deserves–and yet… As the clocks strikes 4, Ten finds Lum, who is crying because she still loves Ataru despite it all and no one gets to make fun of him. She flies off into the sky and vanishes.
Cut to #3 Babe running down the sidewalk, running late, when she’s intercepted by someone wearing tiger-stripe boots. Lightning flashes, and we cut back to the cafe at 4:30, where Ataru says that she seems to be playing hard to get. Cue the arrival of Otoko, who apologizes for being late. Ataru goes over to her while the Stormtroopers are gobsmacked. It’s not until now that Ataru recognizes her (how many green-haired girls are there in Japan?) but she warns him not to break kayfabe if he doesn’t want to be a laughingstock. She thoroughly kisses him and leads him out of the cafe so they can be alone, which breaks the brains of the conspirators and turns Megane’s hair white.
Under a railway trestle, Ataru swears vengeance, but Lum points out that this all his fault and she pulled his chestnuts from the fire. Ataru mutters that he owes her one yet again, but then is struck by how pretty she is. She gives him his Christmas present, a yellow-and-blue tiger-striped scarf. It begins to snow as “Silent Night” plays. Lum starts to head home to warm the room, but Ataru catches her by the hand and asks if she wants to walk with him instead.
Cast[]
- Lum
- Ataru Moroboshi
- Ten
- Megane
- Kakugari
- Perm
- Chibi
- Otoko Kumino (fictional girl)
Trivia[]
- This marks the first appearance of one of the best looking girls of Butsumetsu High School whom ironically Megane offered to introduce to Ataru in Episode 1b.
the episode's reanimated scene from the movie The Final Chapter
- The last scene of Lum giving Ataru a tiger-striped scarf as a Christmas present has been reused and reanimated in The Final Chapter.
- This episode's ending is one of the first instances in which Ataru shows his true feelings about Lum.
- This is the first one to contain a full 22-minute story rather than 2 11-minute segments.
- And also the last episode to air in 1981.
Differences from the manga[]
- Ataru's "Flip-up-the-skirt" maneuver from chapter 34 is adapted in this episode, but the actual chapter isn't adapted until Episode 44. The scene in the manga takes place in the classroom as well. The main chapter that this episode is adapting is chapter 26.
- The manga version of the fictional girl story is a lot different in the manga, despite the outline plot being the same:
- It doesn't take place during Christmas.
- Ten doesn't appear.
- Shūtarō Mendō appears and his popularity with girls in school causes upset unnamed boys, in an attempt to make him jealous, to hire a pretty girl from the same school to pretend being in love with Ataru.
- The girl's alias is Shinobi Nobade.
Quotes[]
- "Sighs... At my age, I already have a woman who follows me around thinking she's my wife. Oh! My youth's rotting away!" - Ataru
- "Behold! My secret "Flip-up-the-skirt" Maneuver!" - Ataru
- "Can you have a walk with me?" - Ataru
Gallery[]
