After You've Gone (君去りし後, Kimi Sarishi Nochi) is the 44th episode of the Urusei Yatsura.
Summary[]
Lum disappears, after Ataru spoils her stormtroopers’ party celebrating her first year on Earth, leaving behind a doll that resembles her, much to his regret.
Plot Overview[]
One afternoon, Ataru is reading a manga while Lum is making a doll of herself, suddenly she remembers something and asks Ataru what time is it now, Ataru throws her a big alarm clock. After she sees the time, Lum remembers that Megane and the stormtroopers are throwing a party to celebrate her one year anniversary on earth. Lum takes along Ataru to the party.
Lum leaves the party
During the party, an uninterested Ataru claims that he didn't like the celebration, he then goes on telling that the person who has endured over the year isn't Lum but himself, saying that he has to endure day after day electrocuted by her and even goes as far by saying that if Lum never came to earth, Shinobu would never abandoned him and he can live freely without Lum stopping him. His words cause a sad Lum to leave the party, but not before asking Ataru if he would be alright without her, to which Ataru responds yes. The Stormtroopers are very upset with Ataru's selfish attitude, telling him that he was not even invited in the first place, but Ataru yells them back saying that it was Lum who took him to the party.
Ataru reunites with Lum
Back home, Lum finishes her doll and leaves it at Ataru's table, saying that he will take care of it in her place, after cleaning up the manga that Ataru left on the floor, she and Ten leave the house through the window. When Ataru returns, he wonders where Lum is, and after finding her bed empty, he realizes that she really is gone. Ataru then remembered Lum words asking if he is alright without her, and wonders if he has gone too far with his actions. He then spends the night trying to find Lum outside but fails. Back in his room, Ataru finds the doll that Lum left behind.
The next day at school, Ataru is pondering alone in the class window, with Lum's doll in his shirt pocket. The Stormtroopers approaches him and asks where Lum has gone to, but Ataru shrugs them off. Perm then notices Lum's doll in Ataru's shirt and takes it from him, Ataru chases him and demands that he gives it back, but Perm throws the doll around to his fellow Stormtroopers so they can see the doll. Mendō suddenly interrupts and asks Ataru if Lum has dumped him, his words cause Ataru to be suspicious and thinks that Mendō probably seduced Lum to leave him, so Ataru yells at Mendō to give Lum back, but Mendō tells him that he doesn't know where she is, thus realizes that Lum really is missing, so he orders his troops to search her throughout Japan. Despite their efforts, she is nowhere to be found. Ataru starts to believe that Lum has left him forever.
Ataru wanders alone in the city
Later at night, Ataru meets Shinobu in the park, she asks if there's anything she can do to help, but Ataru dismisses it. Ataru then walks alone in the city streets, brooding over his loss of Lum, and finally breaks down when he falls over a trash can in an alley, sobbing as he holds Lum's doll in his hand.
Meanwhile, up on the earth's atmosphere, there is a spaceship, inside, there is Lum, her father, and Ten sitting around a table. It turns out that Lum and Ten didn't leave because of Ataru, but because they are renewing their passports to stay on earth. Right beside Lum, there is a radio-like device and Ataru's voice is heard from it, it is revealed that she put a microphone inside the doll so she can watch over Ataru while she's gone. Lum hears Ataru's cry over the device and she understands how much he missed her.
Ataru reunites with Lum
As morning comes, Ataru is walking sadly to school, suddenly, he hears Lum's voice calling him, he turns and is surprised to see Lum sitting on a wall right next to him. Ataru is happy to see her again and begins to cry, but then hides his tears by pretending that he didn't worry about her at all. The Stormtroopers sees Lum and calls her, to which she happily responds their greeting. We then see the doll's face on Ataru's shirt, winking at the camera as the episode ends.
Cast[]
- Ataru's Mother
- Ten
- Ataru Moroboshi
- Lum
- Megane
- Kakugari
- Perm
- Chibi
- Ataru's Father
- Cherry
- Shūtarō Mendō
- Shinobu Miyake
- Lum's Father
Trivia[]
The reanimated scene from The Final Chapter
- Kakugari mentions the matchmaking session from Episode 22.
- The ending theme is now "Hoshizora Cycling", replacing "Kokorobosoi na", even though it was used as the insert song of the episode, during the scene in which Ataru wanders in the city alone.
- A reference to Maison Ikkoku is seen on the cover of the manga Ten is reading.
- The scene of Lum noticing that Ataru is carrying her doll has been reused and reanimated in The Final Chapter, although she is wearing her high school uniform.
- This episode was chosen by fans as the best episode in the Urusei Yatsura anime series as revealed in Episode 193.5. That episode itself is a repeat of this episode.
Differences from the manga[]
The manga version of this story is generally the same with little differences:
- The argument that causes Lum to "leave" happens in Ataru's classroom instead of the anniversary party, and starts with Ataru's "Flip-up-the-skirt" Maneuver with his yo-yo which was adapted in Episode 10.
- Cherry doesn't appear.
- Ataru doesn't walk around the city and cry in the alleyway. He cries in his bed holding Lum's doll.
Gallery[]
