Hello, darlings! Welcome back to #LumSquad, a podcast hosted by @LumRanmaYasha and @ProdTally devoted to the wonderful and wacky world of Rumiko Takahashi’s Urusei Yatsura!

It’s time for I, I, You, and I to review Urusei Yatsura: Only You! We’re so excited to finally have the films streaming on Crunchyroll and coming to blu-ray courtesy of Discotek, and so we’ll be periodically interrupting our coverage of the manga to review each movie! And what better occasion to start with than on our 10th episode AND just ahead of the upcoming blu-ray release of Only You coming later this month! 

We’re starting off with the series’s first movie, Only You, a much-beloved crowd-pleaser that director Mamoru Oshii was loath to make! While clearly a love letter to the series, do we agree with Oshii that it’s more of an extended episode than a “real film?” We discuss the fascinatingly fraught production history of Only You, analyze Elle as a parallel to both Lum and Ataru, describe the multitude of references and callbacks to the series, and evaluate the film’s iconic music and far less esteemed english dub! They say a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet, but where does this first feature fall among the other films in the franchise? Only you will find out by listening to our show!



Download here! 

PODCAST BREAKDOWN:

00:30 – Intro & Overview of Only You

02:34 – Synopsis of Only You
09:11 – Only You Production History
13:03 – Elle Character Analysis, Part 1
14:45 – Only You Production History, Continued
17:30 – Rumiko Takahashi’s Involvement & Reactions
18:55 – Impact on Oshii’s Career
20:45 – Influence on Subsequent UY Films
21:50 – Oshii’s Dissatisfaction with Only You & Ethos as a Filmmaker
31:05 – Only You’s Animation
33:15 – The Shadow Tag Scene
34:36 – The Movie’s Place in Continuity
37:45 – Only You as a Potential Finale for the Series
40:32 – Musings about Long-Running Shows, including a Tangent about Chibi Maruko-chan
45:25 – Urusei Yatsura’s Place in Japanese Popular Culture
48:13 – Animation Cels
51:26 – Animation Quality & Backgrounds
54:15 – Only You as a Self-Referential Reflection of the Series
55:30 – Elle Character Analysis, Part 2
1:00:13 – References to Other Media
1:01:27 – Lum & Ataru’s Parents & the Marriage Meeting Scene
1:08:33 – Elle Character Analysis, Part 3
1:12:52 – Minor Characters & Cameos
1:13:40 – Benten & Oyuki’s Emphasized Roles in the Film
1:14:55 – How Well the Film Uses Its Characters & Their Dynamics
1:18:55 – Only You’s Music
1:29:29 – Only You’s Various Home Video Releases Over the Years
1:31:05 – CPM’s English Dub
1:36:50 – Voice Actor Connections Between Only You and Other Anime
1:40:53 – Our Final Thoughts on Only You

1:44:16 – Wrap-Up

Enjoy the show, and follow us on twitter at @Lum_Squad, on tumblr at lumsquad.tumblr.com, and subscribe to us on Youtube! You can follow the hosts on twitter at @LumRanmaYasha and @ProdTally. Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and iTunes and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content! If there are any topics you would like to see us talk about on the show, drop us a line in the comments below, or e-mail us at lumsquadpod@gmail.com! Thanks for listening!

Music Featured:

“I, I, You & Ai” by Izumi Kobayashi
“Lum’s Ballad” by Fumi Hirano 

LINKS:

About The Author Siddharth Gupta

Siddharth Gupta is an illustrator, animator, and writer based in Minnesota. They graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Animation from the School of Visual Arts, and have worked on projects for the University of Minnesota and the Shreya R. Dixit Foundation. An avid animation and comics fan since childhood, they've turned their passion towards being both a creator and a critic. They credit their love for both mediums to Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball, which has also defined their artistic and comedic sensibilities. A frequent visitor to their local comic book shop, they are an avid reader and collector, particularly fond of manga. Their favorite comics include The Adventures of Tintin by Herge, Bloom County by Berkeley Breathed, and pretty much anything and everything by Rumiko Takahashi.

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