The Magnificent Three-Way Chat @ Rumiko Takahashi's House

Translation by: Harley Acres

Urusei Yatsura will finally start on Thursday, October 13th!!

To commemorate the start of the broadcast, the two main cast members who are big fans of Urusei Yatsura, joined in a spectacular three-way discussion with the original author, Rumiko Takahashi! They spoke about the appeal of the series and their passion for this project!!

Is Rumiko Takahashi from another world?

Today, we were at Takahashi-sensei's "home and workplace". You must have been very excited to visit.

Kamiya: I was very excited. I've loved many of your masterpieces since I was a child, and to think those works were born here. I feel such a sense of mystery in this place.

Uesaka: In my mind, this place was like one of the "top five places I can't go even if I wanted to" (laugh), so I feel as if I am still dreaming.

Kamiya: It is just like a dream. I was even wondering if Takahashi-sensei was even a real person (laughs). Because it's amazing that one artist has created such a wide range of works and a huge number of characters over a period of decades. So, if someone had told me that Takahashi-sensei was actually from another world and that her home was on some other planet, I would have been convinced (laughs).

Takahashi: My house is surprisingly normal, isn't it? (laugh)

Kamiya: It's too big to be ordinary (laughs). However, this is the real world, isn't it?

Uesaka: It's very nice. As soon as you go up to the entrance, you are greeted by Lum-chan, and precious illustrations and goods are displayed here and there. I also heard that there is a basement where you keep various goods. I'm so curious about it all.

Takahashi: I can show you around later if you like.

Uesaka: Really? Yes!

Kamiya: How kind of you. I never thought this day would come. I wonder if this is a dream after all.. (laughs).

You've never met, but you're already friends?

The three of you met once at a dinner party, right? What was your first impression of Ms. Takahashi?

Kamiya: I was skeptical that she even existed, so when I met her for the first time, I was like, "Wow, she really exists!"

Uesaka: At the dinner meeting, I could feel that Kamiya-san had this love bubbling up from the depths of his heart. I had never seen him like that before, so it was refreshing.



Kamiya: I've loved manga since I was a child, and I've always been influenced by them. So when I met you, I was so excited that I made the mistake of going on and on about how much I "love" Rumiko Takahashi's works (laughs).

Uesaka: I couldn't help but think, "I have to peel him off her soon" (laughs).

Kamiya: I was like a fan at a handshake event who wouldn't let go of your hand. After I got home that day, I deeply regretted what I had done (laughs).

Uesaka: I had the chance to talk while I was there standing next to Kamiya-san, I kept glaring at him, but Takahashi-sensei was too friendly. It was so much fun that I had the illusion that you had been friends for a long time. Before we met, I had imagined that I would receive "words of appreciation from a god-like being" but she talked to us frankly about everything, even topics like "I like this season's anime" and so on.

Kamiya: Takahashi-sensei is always willing to talk about any kind of otaku topics.

Takahashi: I am an otaku myself (laughs).

I heard that Takahashi-sensei has known of you two for a long time.

Takahashi: Of course. I'm very fond of Kamiya-san as Levi from Attack on Titan and Kiyoshi from Prison School. ^[1]

Kamiya: I'm so happy to hear that. Prison School is a rather strange work, but in a good way.

Takahashi: I liked the original manga and read it with my friends. That's why I was overjoyed when the anime adaptation was announced. I was really looking forward to buying the Blu-ray, but I had to restrain myself because unlike the TV version, the Blu-ray version is very expensive (laughs). I like Uesaka-san not only as a voice actor, but also as a singer. I started liking her when she sang Jigoku de Hotcake, the ending theme of Hozuki's Coolheadedness, and I listen to it often. ^[2]

Uesaka: Takahashi-sensei told me about this at a dinner party, but I was so happy that I don't remember much after that (laughs)..

I understand that the casting was decided by audition. Did Takahashi-sensei ever give you any suggestions or comments?

Takahashi: Nothing special. Not only the voices of the two actors, but also the performances of the other cast members were so wonderful that I felt I had nothing to say. In fact, all the cast members were so well-known that I was almost stunned and wondered if it was all right that they were so splendid. I was almost bowled over by all the distinguished names in the cast (laughs).

The important thing is I was able to watch it without any sense of unease.

I would like to start talking about the main story of the anime. You have seen the completed videos up to the third episode, what did you think of it?

Takahashi: I felt no sense of unease and was about to enjoy the show. I think that is very important. Especially for those who have seen the original work or the earlier anime I think this is very important.

Kamiya: No doubt about it. That's exactly how I feel (laughs).

Takahashi: I felt that even those fans couldn't help but enjoy this adapation as well.

Kamiya: I am glad to hear that. The theme of this year's anime is to be "more faithful to the original work." And I feel that it is closer to the original manga. I'm more of an original manga fan, so I feel very comfortable with the tempo of our show.

Uesaka: Everyone has their own version of Urusei Yatsura in their hearts, and it's amazing that they can do [a new version] without it feeling so different. I am not from the real-time generation [that followed the series when it was originally came out], but I was exposed to the anime and the original manga when I was in high school, so when I saw the new series, I felt as if I was back in my school days. It is difficult for me to look at my own shows objectively, but Urusei Yatsura was strangely pure and enjoyable.

While there is nostalgia due to the emphasis on the original manga, the artwork has also been updated, such as the change in Lum's hair color.

Takahashi: It's great. Personally, I found it strange that Lum was so lovely at key points that I couldn't help but laugh (laughs). Lum is perfect. She's beautiful and cute, and although she reveals a lot of skin, she's pure and doesn't look trashy. I am grateful that you have wonderfully grasped what I valued when drawing Lum. After all, I still remember how I felt at the time it was serialized, and it felt like the feeling I had for Lum was turned into an anime. It made me feel very nostalgic.

Kamiya: Wow, that is a comment that will definitely make the staff happy (laughs). It's true that Lum-chan's drawn so cutely that it makes me wonder, "How much do you guys really love Lum-chan?" As for the character designer, Naoyuki Asano, he works as animation director for almost every episode, and he's so involved in everything that I can't help but worry, "Are you going to retire after this?"

Takahashi: I also love Asano-san's work. I fell in love with his work in Mr. Osomatsu, I'm really happy that he's working so hard. ^[3]

This anime is composed strictly of episodes from the original manga, but is Takahashi-sensei involved in the selection?

Takahashi: It is completely up to them [the anime staff]. The people who make the selections are all former readers and viewers, so I leave it up to their sensibilities.

Kamiya: Do you have a feeling that "this one must be included"?

Takahashi: I'd be too embarrassed. It would be embarrassing for people to think, "Takahashi really likes this story?"

But there are some storylines that you are attached to, aren't there?

Takahashi: Yes, there are (laughs). But I guess it's like, "not saying anything makes it better."

Kamiya: I see. I love Inaba-kun, so I really hope he appears in the new anime.

Uesaka: Inaba-kun is an important character that leads into the final chapters, so I'm sure he'll appear.

Kamiya: I wanted to ask Takahashi-sensei, how did Inaba-kun come about in the first place?

Takahashi: Urusei Yatsura was initially a short-term serialization, but at that time I drew a chapter based around the concept of "Ataru and Shinobu get married and have a child." But when the series became regularly serialized, I thought, 'The main character is Lum, right?', and I thought Ataru and Shinobu together wasn't a great idea. I really didn't want to neglect Shinobu, so I thought I'd continue the series until I could come up with a path that lead to Shinobu's happiness. That's when I came up with Inaba. ^[4]

Kamiya: The good thing about you is that while searching for a way to have Shinobu's happy ending, you're able to create a wild character like Inaba.

Finally, please tell us about the highlights of this work.

Kamiya: It's incredible that you can watch a new Urusei Yatsura every week in the Reiwa era. "30 minutes just to entertain everyone." I will do my best until the end so that you can reach Lum's legendary lines in the final episode of the original manga, so please take a look.

Uesaka: I think all Japanese people will have access to it, but in this day and age, there are streaming services too. So, I think that this is a work that I would like people overseas to see. I want to tell you that this is the "slapstick love comedy" that Japan is proud to say started here.

Kamiya: If someone saw this and said, "Isn't this a copycat of XX?", they would say, "No way!" I'd immediately retort (laughs).

Uesaka: “This is the original!!” (laughs).

Lastly, Takahashi-sensei, please give a message to the readers.

Takahashi: For my part, I think the old anime was also tremendously wonderful. This adaptation is overflowing with the passion and energy brought by the young creators who came together and brought a charm that was not present in the original material. In that sense, I feel that this anime sublimated the elements of the original manga to the maximum extent possible. Please enjoy it as mindless fun.

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Footnotes

• [1] Perhaps Hiroshi Kamiya's most famous role is as Levi Ackerman from Attack on Titan (進撃の巨人/Shingeki no Kyojin) (2009-2021), one of the most popular anime and manga series of the 2010s. In Prison School (監獄学園) Kamiya played Kiyoshi Fujino, the protagonist of the series. Prison School (2015) ran for 12 episodes and an OVA.
• [2] Hozuki's Coolheadedness (鬼灯の冷徹/Hozuki no Reitetsu) is a 31 volume manga series by Natsumi Eguchi that ran from 2011 to 2020. It was adapted into a 39 episode anime series.
• [3] Mr. Osomatsu (おそ松さん/Osomatsu-san) is an anime based on the 1962 manga series Osomatsu-kun by Fujio Akatasuka. The 2015 anime adaptation of the classic manga was well recieved. Perhaps thanks to his skill updating the classic series in a contemporary style Naoyuki Asano (浅野直之) was an ideal fit to do the same for Urusei Yatsura. Interestingly Asano also worked on Moeyo-ken which Rumiko Takahashi provided character designs for.
• [4] Takahashi has told this same story via Twitter as well. On April 17, 2022 she stated, "In the initial ten-part serialization, I drew a future in which Shinobu would marry Ataru, and I kept wondering how I could resolve this future. I came up with a parallel world and a door, and was able to introduce Inaba as well, which I thought would make Shinobu happy. The Urusei serialization ended because I saw Shinobu was happy." The "initial ten-part serialization" that Takahashi refers to is the fact that the first few chapters of Urusei Yatsura were done while Takahashi was a college student. The series was serialized in spurts throughout 1978 and 1979. While she says the story was part of the initial ten-part serialization it was actually chapter 12.

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