Ten is a very popular character, and fans of the series have been waiting eagerly for his return in the new series. Ten immediately makes his presence in the series known, and his rivalry with Ataru is easily one of the most iconic parts of the series. The second cour of Urusei Yatsura is off to a strong start, and it will only get crazier from here.
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“Ten Is Here”
As Ataru’s family rings in the new year, Ataru’s parents fawn over Lum while casting snide remarks at Ataru. Peeved, Ataru decides to leave the house, only to find a small child shoved into the mailbox. Lum recognizes the little child as Ten, her baby cousin. Ten immediately endears himself with Lum and Ataru’s parents, leaving only Ataru unimpressed with the child’s cuteness.
Ataru and Lum later head out to celebrate New Year’s at Sakura’s, though Ataru is annoyed to see Ten coming with them. Ten dislikes Ataru just as much, and makes it clear before setting him on fire with his breath. They eventually arrive at the shrine where Sakura lives, and Ten is introduced to her and Shinobu. Ran is also there working as a part-time shrine maiden, and Ten recognizes her immediately. Not wanting to blow her cover, Ran pretends to not recognize him, and manages to keep her secret despite Lum attempting to prod at the truth.
The group play karuta, where Ataru takes the opportunity the grab the girls’ hands while pretending to be too late to take cards. Ten notices this and burns him for it, and the group decides to stop playing, opting for a talent show instead. Ten shows off his flying skills, though he is much slower due to his age. Ataru heckles him for it nevertheless, which earns him another blast of flame. When Ataru heads off to wash the burns off, Ran arrives to attempt to seduce him yet again. Ataru immediately falls for it and goes for a kiss, but is immediately scorched by Ten’s flames yet again. Infuriated, Ataru grabs some cooking utensils and chases after Ten, using a pan to block the flames from Ten’s mouth. The chase ends when Sakura throws Ataru into a pond, chastising him for trying to fight a baby. Moved, Ten begins to nurse a big crush on Sakura.
“A Date For Just The Two Of Us”
Back at Ataru’s house, Ten appears to be working out on something frantically. This turns out to be a love letter to Sakura, asking her out on a date. Ataru, seeing a chance to play a prank, offers to ghostwrite the letter for Ten. The letter eventually arrives at Sakura’s house, and she finds the letter so obscene and disgusting that she immediately heads out to beat up whoever sent her the letter. However, she is surprised to learn Ten was the sender, and allows him to lead her on a date. Ataru, surprised that his intentionally repulsive letter actually got Sakura to come out, decides to tail Ten with Lum in tow.
Ten leads Sakura along on his date plan, which unbeknownst to Sakura was created by Ataru. They first go to a swingers’ club, but Sakura quickly drags Ten to a more normal cafe instead. Ten is immediately distraught that Sakura didn’t like his date plan, and Sakura appeases him by sharing a drink with him. They then head out to a movie theater showing questionable movies. Unable to convince Ten to go somewhere else, she reluctantly takes him into the theater.
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Thankfully, the movie turns out to not be salacious as expected, but Ataru and Lum expose themselves when they get too engrossed in the movie. Sakura realizes that the date was all Ataru’s work, and punishes him for it.
As night falls, Sakura tries to end the date, but Ten pushes to keep it going. Eventually, he asks to marry her, and Sakura is forced to gently let him down. As she does, Lum notices a ring on her left finger, and realizes that she is getting married. Ataru and Ten are distraught to hear that Sakura is getting married, but Ten ultimately gives up on Sakura, turning his attentions to Ataru for intentionally messing up his date plan.
The Return Of A Classic Character
Ten is a mainstay character in the original Urusei Yatsura series, which was why it was surprising to many that he did not appear during the first cour of the new series. This episode remedied that by giving fans two Ten stories back to back, and it’s certain that he will be a big part of the series going forward. This episode does a lot to establish Ten’s character quickly, and the relationship and rivalry between him and Ataru is quickly solidified. Expect to see a burnt Ataru almost as much as an electrified Ataru going forward.
While this episode does not have an end-credits scene, the new opening does hint at some new characters joining the cast soon. As the cast continues to get bigger and bigger, the shenanigans and hijinks are only going to get crazier. The second cour of Urusei Yatsura is off to a great start, and hopefully things will only go up from here.
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