The Obstacle Course Swim Meet (ザ・障害物水泳大会, Za Shougai-mono Suiei Taikai?) is the 12th and final OVA of Urusei Yatsura. It is also one of 3 animations It's a Rumic World 30th anniversary and Weekly Shonen Sunday 50th anniversary.
Summary[]
Ataru and the others will join the competition of 'The Obstacle Course Swim Meet', organized by the Principal and Onsen-Mark. Each of the students need to face different kinds of obstacles during the competition, only few of them reach the finalist and their situation is getting harder and harder than previous obstacles.
Plot Overview[]
During summer midnight, Ataru feels himself extremely hot and cannot sleep well while Kotatsu-neko places its kotatsu onto him, suddenly Lum returns from outside and brings wind chime that Oyuki gave her that acts as a 'cooler machine' to cool down the surrounds. Ataru feels happier as the wind chime keep providing a cool air for letting him to fall asleep.
On the next day, Lum starts to choose her best swimsuit for her summer swim in Tomobiki High. While everyone arrives at school, Onsen-Mark and the Principal start the assembly. Onsen-Mark says that for the one who wins the contest will be exempted from further summer homework.
The competition has begun! All of the students of Tomobiki High quickly rush to the main door of school hall. They had face different kinds of obstacles during competition, at the same time majority of them stuck at the obstacles before reaching to the pool. Thinking that there are more of them still can go through the obstacles with ease, Onsen-Mark starts to worry about his deal between the students-the homeworks. But the principal has an idea to stop them from getting win.
Meanwhile, Benten and Oyuki arrive at Ataru's house to visit Lum, but the windchime breeds rapidly and cover the whole house. The house are becoming ice, so with Ataru's parents. When Oyuki withdraws all the windchimes by using Absorber Box and plans to leave, the Three Daughters seem to be bring more troublesome for Benten again.
After the students face such obstacles, only Lum, Ataru, Shinobu, Ryūnosuke, Ran and Mendō arrive at the finalist. Onsen-Mark makes an announcement about for those who had success get the Dappya for this competition will get a kiss from the principal. Lum and the others decide to change their goals to avoid his kiss, keep losing themselves in purpose during the competition. Unexpectedly, Benten rides her air bike from the sky with rush for avoiding the Three Daughters' attacks. Since they are getting nearer Tomobiki High, the chaos has begun.
Ryōko realizes his brother is in trouble when she gets know through spy screen, she sends uncounted helicopters and tanks to protect her brother, but the situation turns worst. More and more chaos occur in Tomobiki High. During the chaos, Oyuki finds herself has lost the Absorber Box, Lum and Ataru accidentally press the button, and so whole of the windchimes start to break free and grow more rapid until cover the whole school compound. Within few seconds, the school becomes an ice hill, freeze all the people who near at school. Only Kotatsu-neko wins the competition with the Dappya, the principal gives it a kiss on its paw. All of the students feel awkward.
At evening, families and friends are gathering themselves at a place to celebrate Summer Festival. Ataru promises Lum that he will date with during the competition, but seems that Ataru had totally forget his promise and start to flirt the girls. Lum gets angry, captures Ataru from his back and shocks him by using electric shock. When the times has come, various types of fireworks dash to the sky, creating a marvelous patterns for starting Summer Festival.
Cast[]
- Ataru Moroboshi
- Kotatsu-neko
- Lum
- Ataru's Father
- Ataru's Mother
- Ran
- Shinobu Miyake
- Tomobiki High School Principal
- Onsen-Mark
- Sakura
- Shūtarō Mendō
- Ryūnosuke Fujinami
- Ryūnosuke's Father
- Oyuki
- Benten
- Three Girls Gang
- Ten
- Cherry
- Ryōko Mendō
- Dappya
Trivia[]
- The characters from Ranma ½ like P-chan and Saotome Genma in panda form exist in this anime when Sakura tried to save the injured students from the swimming pool by using fishing rod. On the other side, since Summer Festival starts, Ataru once again behaving pervert against Kagome and Akane who originate from InuYasha and Ranma ½. There are also Kyoko and Yusaku with Kentaro at the end, viewing fireworks (Maison Ikkoku). One of the bags' Keychain has a figurine that resembles Shippō from Inuyasha.
- This is current the only Urusei Yatsura OVA produced in the 21st century.
- Although Kotatsu-neko did not participate itself, it still can win the competition.
- Everyone is froze by the Oyuki's windchimes except the principal, Kotatsu-neko, Dappya and Oyuki did not been freeze.
- Based on the appearance of Absorber Box that took by Oyuki, it looks like a pig and it has a sound of pig snoring after closing the cover.
- According to Oyuki's wind chime, it seems that this windchime comes from a from a tree called Wind Chime Tree whereby there is still have a broken ice branch at its top.
- This is the first animated production to be in digital ink-and-paint instead of cel animation.
- This is possibly because of like what is mentioned is the trivia of Movie 6, most animated movies, OVAs, or TV shows by the early 2000s would be produced using in digital ink-and-paint instead of cel animation.
- The 2022 anime adaptation is also animated digitally as well as this practice for animation had started becoming more expensive to produced, more outdated by the mid-2000s in favor of animation being produced more digitally through computers and tablets. Other animated shows outside of Japan, notably American ones, such as SpongeBob SquarePants (since 2000), Hey Arnold! (since 1999), Ed, Edd, n Eddy (since 2004, albeit the intro was animated digitally in 1998), The Simpsons (experimented in 1995, 2001, and 2002 until it became the norm completely in 2003), and The Powerpuff Girls (since 2001) experimented on this practice prior the 21st century.
- Another anime series based on a Rumiko Takahashi manga, Inuyasha, was produced in the early 2000s but mainly used cel animation until transitioning to digital ink by 2003.
- Because this OVA was produced as part of the "It's a Rumic World" 30th anniversary special, it is not included in the AnimEigo complete series DVD boxed set, which does house the other 11 OVAs.