Once again Ryoko is portrayed as a having an interest in the supernatural. Not sure if this is a permanent shift in how she’s presented or if she returns to a straight mischievous portrayal later. This time round she makes a voodoo doll of her brother, and not trusting herself with it she decides to give it to someone she can trust to look after it (after using it to throw Mendou around a bit first).

That person is Ataru Moroboshi.

The twist that Takahashi throws in is that Ryoko doesn’t tell Ataru what it is, merely that he’s to look after it. As it’s Ryoko who’s asked him to do something, he actually does it, tying it round his neck and wearing it under his shirt. This leads to Mendou suffering all the ignominies that Ataru befalls the next day, such as being hit by Shinobu and electrocuted by Lum. Oh and being kissed by Ataru when Ataru kisses the doll thinking it’s a good luck charm.

Realising the situation and what Ataru would do if he learnt that he had a voodoo doll of him, Mendou dedicates himself to acting as Ataru’s protector the rest of the school day. Here the animation really comes into its own, escalating the tasks Mendou has to do to crazy levels not seen in the manga. And inserting all sorts scenes of the pair gazing longingly into one another’s eyes. It’s not until he’s been trampled by elephants that Mendou snaps and demands the doll.

Which of course leads to Ataru, who up to this point had been admiring Mendou for his heroism in saving him, nailing the doll to a tree!

Another solid episode, and Toshiki Inoue continues to show their skill at expanding a manga chapter to TV episode length. There’s also some flashy animation filling those gaps too. An sci-fi film parody that Mendou is watching on TV early in the episode and a baseball game both have some fun stuff in them.

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Screenplay: Toshiki Inoue
Storyboard: Kazuo Yamazaki
Director: Naoyuki Yoshinaga
Animation Director: Yuichi Endo

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This is an unbelievably sweet episode. And it introduces a new recurring character.

When Shinobu saves a fox from being beaten up by some dogs (she does this by swing a telegraph pole at them), the fox develops a huge crush on her, seeing her as the heroine in an action film he once saw. So he tries to find her and pay her back for her kindness. However it doesn’t quite go right. When Shinobu can’t afford the make-up she wants, the fox puts the make up in her bag as a present, but only ends up getting her accused of shoplifting.

He does manage to get her umbrella back to her when she leaves it at the shop. And when she throws the flowers she was taking to class in order to beat up Soban, he recovers them and puts them in a vase on Onsen-Mark’s desk. However he’s also left little fox foot prints everywhere.

But that’s OK, because “Ataru” appears to clean them up. For this fox has shape-changing powers, unfortunately they are a little incomplete as he remains the same size, and retains his fox ears, tail and his little dot eyes and nose. So this little Ataru tries to clean up the footprints but keeps leaving more. When other class members arrive, they are so shocked they fetch Onsen-Mark. Who is also shocked as this Ataru is so polite.

Then the Headmaster arrives, and for reasons unknown cannot find his glasses (Kotatsu Neko is wearing them). He thinks this is the real Ataru and compliments Onsen-Mark on turning him into a model student. Eventually the real Ataru arrives and the truth is revealed, but Shinobu points out that the fox is just trying to pay her back. She thanks him and he goes off, his debt paid, never to be seen again…

Until a tiny fox-eared Onsen-Mark arrives to teach the class!

This may be a perfect Urusei Yatsura episode. The first half captures the melancholic, nostalgic sweetness at the heart of the anime, and the second half in the class is full of the escalating insanity that comes from the manga. It also helps that it looks fantastic, lots of great shots and a trademark crazy running sequence when Soban appears.

The fox, Kitsune is voiced by Masako Sugaya, who also voiced the very similar character, O-shima, in episode 52.

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Screenplay: Michiru Shimada
Storyboard: Kazuo Yamazaki
Director: Kazuo Yamazaki
Animation Director: Yuichi Endo

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