Television series
Urusei Yatsura
Other titles called Urusei Yatsura: the 2022 series (Fuji TV).
- Comedy
- Romantic comedy
- Light-hearted
A riotous 1981 anime where Earth's fate rests on a game of tag between a hapless pervert and a cute alien princess. What starts as a ten-day doomsday scenario becomes an absurdist romantic comedy that barrel-rolls between slapstick, sci-fi hijinks, and surprisingly warm character moments. It's joyfully weird, endlessly inventive, and uninterested in making anyone behave sensibly.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you love sitcoms built on escalating chaos, where a horny, hapless lead keeps digging himself deeper and the supporting cast becomes the real engine of the mayhem.
Skip it if you want a tidy plot that moves forward; the episodes often loop back on themselves, and the lecherous lead's antics can wear thin if his leering is not your kind of humor.
What it asks of you: It asks for a lot of patience with repetition, since most episodes are self-contained short bursts of slapstick rather than a single story arc building toward something.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Ranma ½1989
Same creator, same anarchic energy. Romantic chaos, supernatural complications, and characters who refuse to have a single calm moment. The jokes land faster than you can process them.
But The pervy humour hasn't aged as gracefully. Also 161 episodes—commitment required if it grabs you.
Maison Ikkoku1986
Rumiko Takahashi again, but grown up. A will-they-won't-they romance with real tenderness underneath the comedy, and genuinely likeable characters you root for.
But It's far more gentle and sincere than Urusei Yatsura. If you loved the chaos more than the heart, this might feel slow.
Video Girl Ai1991
Another Takahashi work that bends romance and sci-fi together. Weirder premise—a girl literally emerges from a video cassette—but the same warmth beneath the strangeness.
But Darker edges than you'd expect. The romance is sincere to the point of melancholy, which changes the whole vibe.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Urusei Yatsura
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Uchuu Kyoudai2012
Both are comedies where the plot setup is secondary to your investment in characters who are imperfect, trying, and worth your time. Both believe in warmth without sentimentality.
A mature man becomes an astronaut alongside his estranged brother. It looks and sounds nothing like Urusei Yatsura but shares the same generous heart—genuinely funny, genuinely moving, genuinely about real people wanting real things.
But It's slow. 99 episodes of space bureaucracy and character development. The sci-fi premise is a frame for relationships, not the attraction.
More like this (5)
Bubblegum Crisis1987
Cyberpunk Tokyo with an all-female action squad. Tonally all over the place—comedy, noir, sci-fi, rock music—in a way that shouldn't work but somehow becomes the point.
But Only 8 episodes, and it's wildly uneven. Some eps are magnificent, others feel like sketches.
Serial Experiments Lain1998
Utterly unlike Urusei Yatsura in tone, but shares that same commitment to being genuinely weird and refusing easy answers. A girl, the internet, and metaphysical horror playing as ambient dread.
But It's dense, abstract, and frequently incomprehensible. Not comfort viewing. Not funny. Actively unsettling at times.
Dirty Pair: Affair on Nolandia1985
Two bickering space agents demolish everything around them while solving crimes. Fast, silly, affectionate toward its characters, and never takes itself seriously for a second.
But Very '80s in all ways. The animation is variable and it's brief (25 min eps, not many seasons). Also leans harder on action than character.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes1988
Both are shows that use genre (sci-fi comedy vs. military drama) as a vehicle for something deeper—character and ideology matter more than plot. Both are unafraid to spend time on side characters and tangents because they trust the world.
110 episodes of space opera that plays like a chess game between two brilliant strategists. Vast, philosophical, funny in unexpected moments, and completely committed to exploring every implication of its premise.
But Deliberately paced. Heavy on political theory. Some episodes are pure talking heads. Requires patience and genuine interest in the war itself, not just explosions.
Urusei Yatsura: Only You1983
Not a wildcard by the usual rules, but structurally belongs here: this is what Urusei Yatsura becomes when it reaches for something bigger. If the series makes you want more, this is where to find it.
A 50-minute film that goes operatic—Lum and Ataru separated across space, genuine stakes, visual inventiveness that makes the TV series look restrained. It's the series at peak creativity.
But It's a film, not a series, so you lose the week-by-week accumulation of character. Also assumes you know and care about the relationship already—don't start here.
Recommended by
I Dream of Jeannie, Tonikaku Kawaii: Fly Me to the Moon, Ranma ½, Kimagure Orange Road, Haiyore! Nyaruko-san, Dexter's Laboratory, Tenchi Muyou!, Galaxy High School, Samurai Pizza Cats, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Here Comes the Grump, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, Felix the Cat, Kimagure Orange☆Road: Tanabata Special, Galaxy Express 999