It seems I’m ever fated to be so slow on script production that they end up dated somewhere in there, but regardless here’s the deal. Out of seriously nowhere, Urusei Yatsura had a 2022 anime project announced. I live in Australia where our timezone means that it was already past midnight when someone tagged me about the news, and so at truly only about 20 minutes into the new year I had decided this one is already better than the last. As may have become apparent by now: I like Urusei Yatsura. Quite a bit, even. The anime is in my top five, and although the manga leaves nowhere near as much of an impact it’s still one I greatly enjoy. Still on the high from this news, I simply wanted to find some way to talk about it. To celebrate it. Thus I think, when better than now would there be to finally blitz development on a certain post that I’ve been toying with for a couple years. In sequence with the last videos where I returned to my Love Live Sunshine discussions using “defining my terms” as an excuse to once again ramble about a series I adore so much, and also out of laziness because goodness man translating a 20,000 word image-heavy blog post into a video is way beyond what I’d consider fun, I’ve opted to cut out a certain portion of it and reposition that in a similar vein. Defining my terms once more. I again return to my Top 12 Anime post to hone in on something that I brought up in passing. It concerns that moment in Urusei Yatsura’s entry where I briefly displayed my Urusei Lineage collage while I mentioned how the lasting influence of the show has become something that I enjoy following along, and I may or may not have namedropped the “romantic invader” nickname that I’ve adopted for this subgenre. But I can afford to give that topic a bit more exploration by pulling from the longer script.
I’m a very big fan of Urusei Yatsura. Not only on its own merits (which are immense), but in tracing through its subgenre. To the extent that, for the past two or so years I’ve had this personal project going on, following the lineage of Lum Invader. The way her explosive personality has rippled through the scene over the past 40 years. The demihuman-forced-cohabitation-slapstick-romcom, something I’ve more commonly come to refer to as the “Romantic Invader” in reference to its origins and function. How does one piece influence the next, and the image of this genre steadily evolve over the years? It’s a line running strongly throughout anime history, constantly picked and prodded by a multitude of participants that adapt and transform its shape. Sometimes channelling it directly like Oniyome wa Metotteshimatta, sometimes branching off to create a new multimedia empire like Tenchi Muyo. Sometimes faintly borrowing characters like Ami and Minori in Toradora, and sometimes doing so in a more signposted manner like Zero Two or Cure Milky.
This has become one of my biggest activities around anime. Not exactly an analytical one, but a surface-level categorisation project. The Lum-a-like maintains a constant level of relevance and evolves through multiple distinct phases. Urusei Yatsura becomes Megami-sama becomes To Love-Ru becomes Nisekoi. How so, and where? I’m not so much fixated on the why, but of observing each text and noting down the linkage points viewed from within their own structural confines. Previously, this project was done in the form of a collage. But that has long become unwieldy. Graphic design has never been my strong point so I’m simply too dumb to figure out the logistics of arranging these things any longer, and furthermore it’s difficult to even try since it’s reached the size to where it feels as though Photoshop is on life support any time I open the file. I can’t add any substantial text into an image either, so it presented a problem where my graphic was always divorced from the notepad file containing those vague explanations. For these reasons I’ve been wanting to rearrange it in a more workable form. That being this blog post. The next question is then whether I try and extract a video project out of it. That was the plan, but only for a short amount of time. I do like having things visualised in that way. Video essays a really cool format in that they allow you to dictate the pacing of the script and use a huge amount of images in a way that other mediums can’t accommodate. But then I thought to check the info on the WordPress post and discovered its length. I have a lot of passion for Urusei Yatsura and for this topic, so ideally I’d like to. But given the fact that I have not seen every anime in existence, I wasn’t really sure it was worth approaching. It’s impossible for me to make a decisive piece on this because it will certainly become incomplete with every new cohabitation romcom I watch. I’m sincerely doubting that I still have all the screenshots I need for this anymore either, nor the memory required to accurately apply them, given that I have well upward of 70 series to mention and quite a few of them are manga. With the amount to cover I can’t imagine I’ll have much room for coherent grammar or avoiding word repetition either, and in the paragraphs I can already see a clear imbalance between those I detailed from memory and the ones I watched while this script has been active. This is more of a general talking piece with an excess of bad paragraphs than it is any kind of specific, sustained essay. Though I’m sure that limitation has become quite evident by now. The script perpetually grows the more anime I watch, and although I can obviously keep coming back and adding to the text in the blog post, for quite a while now I’ve been trying to figure out where I actually cut it off and publish. That was something with no answer in the foreseeable future, so I believe that the announcement of Urusei Yatsura: Allstars is probably the best prompt I’m going to get for it. Zero Two, Cure Milky and Mai Vlad Transylvania formed an especially potent string of girls referencing her in recent years, and now as if in response the original herself has been summoned back. It’s quite exciting.
Urusei Yatsura; Rumiko’s wildly influential romcom where the flying, green-haired alien oni – Lum Invader – steals a proposal that wasn’t actually directed at her and pushes her way into Ataru’s family. It never actually gets mentioned if she’s a proper princess or whether Oniboshi even has that system of royalty, but nevertheless Lum is the daughter of the tribe’s leader and in multiple movies we see the entire planet mobilized for her sake. Which is important to note because there are many a princess down the line, like Sun or Lala. She’s a possessive lover from a race of barbarians, whose lack of understanding in the human common sense constantly makes trouble for her “darling”. That ‘lion tamer’ act resulting from the different definitions of “normal” between the human and the non is perhaps the most defining characteristic of the genre. However, although they all display this concept, not every player is as aggro as Lum. There are generally two streams of character within this niche. You have your Lums, and you have your Belldandys. Either selfish or smothering. But even within the gentler sect, the invader naturally brings trouble to the protagonist’s daily life wherever they go.
Genre is a dynamic and inherently transformative thing so the best bet will always be to look at each instance on an individual level, but generally speaking the Urusei Yatsura-derivative “romantic invader” formula tends to manifest as a rowdy demihuman girl forcibly taking the protagonist as their husband, while misinterpreting or outright trampling their will. Like, as a viewer we naturally sympathize with Lum’s unrequited romantic endeavours – or at the very least that they largely appear that way – but you gotta realise that really she’s just a brute who storms into Ataru’s life to suddenly declare ownership of him and physically punish any defiance. Lum is very much the one pushing this romance from the wrong place, not Ataru. Usually her descendants will mimic either her lack of common sense or affinity for violence, due to being the princess from a group of thugs. The Oniboshi are in the Setouchi yakuza, Planet Deviluke’s warring forces, the Beehive gang, or other mafias around. Although the protagonist can’t help but be attracted to her at some level these rough alien sensibilities are something which always stand in the way of him earnestly accepting her affections.
Because of her iconic bikini outfit the romantic invader will almost always be a sex symbol for the protagonist. Sneaking into his bed at night, walking out of the shower naked or just generally being unaware of what sets off human males. In many cases they’ll even be seen wearing their own bikini outfit, like Ura and MM, and it’s pretty common for them to reference Lum by having a three-letter name. Lum, Sun, Mai, Ura, etcetera. Rather than beginning from dating they will most often leap straight into marriage, finding some way to ingratiate themselves to the family and move into the protagonist’s home. However he stubbornly rejects the invader’s advances, frequently using the phrase “don’t cling to me” and shoving them off. Given that these do all have a romance show hidden somewhere beneath all the craziness they will undoubtedly reciprocate their feelings with time, but the violence native to the girl makes falling in love a challenge.
The protagonist approaches them from a stance somewhere between embarrassment and bewilderment. But one thing is for sure, the last thing he wants is the fallout of everyone knowing about their connection and tries to keep her hidden. He, to some extent, values his peace and quiet, so anything more would be a hassle. The invader isn’t much one for playing these games however, and inevitably makes their way into the public. She suddenly intrudes into his classroom, causing the other guys to lash out in jealousy, and oftentimes being driven as far as to form a fan club which aims to get in between them. After causing that ruckus with her intrusion, she then transfers in and immediately becomes the campus idol. This can lead the previous popular girl to one-sidedly treat her as a rival. Before long a nuisance comes to throw a wrench in the newlywed life, most often appearing as a younger relative with a chibi body. These include Ten, Spiral Maki, Mashiro and other similar characters.
The monster bride’s main romantic rival is a human who personifies more antiquated social values and has her hair styled in a short bob. Shinobu, Haruna, Kosaki, Ichigo etcetera.
Her childhood friend will have some kind of two-faced or manufactured personality and consider her a lifelong rival, though their attempts at revenge tend to not even register with the main girl. This character role is a particular favourite of mine, seen in Ran, Sia, Lunar, Run, Marika and more. This girl is standoffish and attempts to deceive others by acting especially cute or polite in order to cover her grudges, though at the same time gets lonely easily. A lot of the time the alien pair will also have their own green and pink hair to specifically signpost their intention of channelling Lum and Ran.
There will undoubtedly be some kind of rich and handsome love rival competing against the husband since I suppose that’s the main point of this genre, really. The traditional representatives of the subservient wife and rich husband are rejected in favour of she who comes to reinvent love and self-definition. That is the invasion, that is her romance.
The protagonist’s best friend is a sleazy guy infatuated with the invader, and as part of the gag often has a monkey motif in his design. Megane, Saru, Saruyama, Kitamura and Shuu, they all screech as if they’re part of the same species.
There’s often a girl with a troubled gender identity, and their dad’s refusal to acknowledge them as a girl for some questionable reason or another is the cause of much conflict. The bride’s father is an imposing man who towers over the protagonist, while the groom’s father tends to slink away at his presence, and the mother is easily swayed by other men.
As far as recurring gags are concerned, there are a few which will always show up. Urusei Yatsura is a slapstick comedy so things coming after it will usually have the protagonist getting caught up in precarious situations played for comic effect. Genderswap jokes happen in a lot of series too. The invader has running jokes such as her inability to cook something suitable for humans, like Lum’s extreme spicy food or Lala’s dark matter flavouring. A lot of the time they sleep in the protagonist’s wardrobe, either as is, or by creating an interdimensional space within it. It’s just a collection of little setting tidbits that might seem innocuous on their own, but when taken together in context will often reveal a pathway leading back to it.
This is a huge chunk of media wherein all roads lead to Lum. So if it looks, feels and sounds like an Urusei Yatsura – it’s probably an Urusei Yatsura. That is the Lum-a-like, and that is the romantic invader with which I’m so obsessed.
Character Roles
Lum (Urusei Yatsura): Miia (Monster Musume), Nuku Nuku (Cat Girl Nuku Nuku), Zero Two (FranXX), Cure Milky (Star Twinkle Precure), Mai van Transylvania (Vlad Love), Louise (Zero no Tsukaima), MM (Kemeko DX), Nyaruko (Haiyore! Nyaruko-san), Ren (DearS), Ura (Oniyome wa Mettote Shimatta), Lala (To Love-Ru), Chizuru (Kanokon), Tamamo (Fate/Extra), Ami (Toradora), Tanarotte (Macademi Wasshoi), Ryoko (Tenchi Muyo), Kiriha (Tsugumomo), Urd (Megami-sama), Lime (Saber Marionette), Kurumi (Steel Angel Kurumi), Dokuro (Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro)
Ataru (Urusei Yatsura): Godai (Maison Ikkoku), Reverse Rito (To Love-Ru), Shuu (Nisekoi)
Shinobu (Urusei Yatsura): Haruna (To Love-Ru), Kosaki (Nisekoi), Akiko (Nuku Nuku), Neneko (DearS), Ayeka (Tenchi Muyo), Ichigo (FranXX), Siesta (Zero no Tsukaima), Herikawa (Onegai Teacher), Kanna (AnoNatsu), Akane (Kanokon), Nozomu (Kanokon), Saki (Koutetsu Tenshi), Minorin (Toradora)
Ran (Urusei Yatsura): Run (To Love-Ru), Lunar (Seto no Hanayome), Cthuko (Nyaruko), Eimi (Nuku Nuku), Sia (DearS), Zange (Kannagi), Cherry (Saber Marionette), Marika (Nisekoi), Kaori (Shugogetten)
Ten (Urusei Yatsura): Mashiro (Mikakunin de Shinkoukei), Peke (To Love-Ru), Maki (Seto no Hanayome), Chitose, Slash (Mahoromatic), Kanna (Dragon Maid), Skuld (Megami-sama), Rishu (Shugogetten)
Oniboshi (Urusei Yatsura): Setouchi (Seto no Hanayome), Deviluke (To Love-Ru), Beehive Gang (Nisekoi), Mafia (Final Approach)
Mendou (Urusei Yatsura): Mitaka (Maison Ikkoku), Mikawa (Seto no Hanayome), Miyauchi (Shugogetten)
Ryuunosuke (Urusei Yatsura): Ranma (Ranma 1/2), Ren (To Love-Ru), Run (To Love-Ru), Sun (Seto no Hanayome), Tsugumi (Nisekoi), Bamba (Vlad Love)
Megane (Urusei Yatsura): Saru (Seto no Hanayome), Saruyama (To Love-Ru), Kitamura (Toradora), Shuu (Nisekoi), Oikawa (DearS), Kamikura (Tenchi Muyo)
Belldandy (Megami-sama): Shao (Shugoetten), Sun (Seto no Hanayome), Mahoro (Mahoromatic), Mizuho (Onegai Teacher), Ichika (Ano Natsu de Matteru), Tsukasa (Tonikaku Kawaii), Snowbow (3 Angels), Ena (Mansen Maou Shoujo Ena-sama), Senko (Senko-san), Falce (Macademi Wasshoi), Pyra (Xenoblade Chronicles 2), Sakura (Fate/Stay Night), Tohru (Dragon Maid), Orihime (Maga-Tsuki)
Keiichi (Megami-sama): Nasa (Tonikaku Kawaii), Nagasumi (Seto no Hanayome)
Ryo-Ohki (Tenchi Muyo): Shantak-kun (Nyaruko), Celine (To Love-Ru)
Lala (To Love-Ru): Yuuna, Cherry (Nadenade Shikoshiko), Zero Two (FranXX), Yuuna (Yuragisou Yuuna), Ikaros
Taiga (Toradora): Chitoge (Nisekoi), Ayumi (Her or the World), Benio (Twin Star Exorcists), Aki (Masamune’s Revenge), Mashiro (Tomodachi no Imouto), Erika (Cuckoo’s Fiancee), Mythra (Xenoblade Chronicles 2)
Mahoro (Mahoromatic): Hikari (This Ugly Yet Beautiful World), Ponko (Ponkotsu Ponko-chan), Nona (Chou Kadou Girl), Isla (Plastic Memories), Yumemi (Planetarian), RyuZU (Clockwork Planet), Flower (Kowarekake no Orgel)
Chi (Chobits): Ren (DearS), Flower (Kowarekake no Orgel)
Nemesis (To Love-Ru) -> Anzu (Sekai ka Kanojo)
Louise (Zero no Tsukaima) -> Taiga (Toradora) -> Chitoge (Nisekoi)
Ryuji (Toradora) -> Raku (Nisekoi)
Ryuunosuke’s dad (Urusei Yatsura) -> Claude (Nisekoi)
skapbadoa 
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