Urusei Yatsura – Season 2 Episode 18 Recap & Review

Flower Petals of Love and Courage

Episode 18 of Urusei Yatsura Season 2 begins with Shinobu waiting for Ataru and Lum to arrive. Then, Shinobu overhears two men she thinks are making strange comments toward her. However, Shinobu learns the men were complimenting an animal and not her. Shinobu lies to the men, telling them they didn’t bother her. Lum and Ataru arrive and Lum explains why they’re late. 

Shinobu abandons the two and wanders through the park. She wishes to encounter a kind man and stumbles upon Inaba’s unconscious body. Shinobu wakes Inaba up and the two visit a restaurant. Inaba asks Shinobu to be his girlfriend. Ataru and Lum overhear Inaba and Shinobu’s discussion. The former tells Shinobu to turn Inaba down, angering Lum. 

Inaba tells Shinobu that he can ask any girl to help him. This convinces Shinobu to injure Inaba and leave the restaurant. Inaba leaves the restaurant and begs Shinobu to hear him out. Shinobu complies so he, Shinobu, Ataru, and Lum visit a bench. There, Inaba tells our trio that he must complete a promotion test and requires a partner. He argues that co-workers with significant others fare well in the promotion test. 

Shinobu says she’s willing to help him. The four greet Inaba’s friends at Inaba’s world and head for the promotion test’s location. The four stumble upon a large spooky door, but Shinobu encourages Inaba to open it. The four realize this door leads to a bathhouse. Inside, many women are bathing in the area. Ataru flirts with all the women in the area, angering Lum. 

Meanwhile, Inaba refuses to progress. Inaba’s friends discourage him and argue he’ll fail the test. Shinobu tells Inaba to toughen up and move forward. Eventually, the four leave the bathhouse and enter a grassy area. Next, locks appear on Inaba, Shinobu, Lum, and Ataru’s feet via lightning bolts. The locks shackle Lum and Inaba together while it does the same for Shinobu and Ataru. 

Eventually, the four reach a fork in the road. The left path will take them to heaven while the other hell. Ataru chooses hell after seeing a girl in a bunny suit begging for help. Ataru frees the girl and the girl reveals themselves to be a male god. The god awards Ataru and the others for choosing the correct path as this was the heaven route in disguise. 

More women in bunny outfits appear and the god tosses the key into the river nearby. Shinobu, Inaba, Lum, and Ataru head for the key, much to Ataru’s disappointment. They jump into the river and Inaba uses the key to unlock the locks. A mermaid appears, catching Ataru’s attention. Lum swims after Ataru. Then, another mermaid grabs Shinobu by her hair and telepathically orders Inaba to kiss her.

Inaba tries kissing the mermaid to free Shinobu, angering Shinobu. Shinobu frees herself and drops a rock on Inaba’s head. Inaba tries explaining the situation to Shinobu, but Shinobu doesn’t want to hear him out. Shinobu falls through a space-time irregularity area, exciting Inaba to chase after her. Inaba’s friend tells Ataru and Lum what happened to Inaba. 

Ataru and Lum drink tea at a table and aren’t worried for Inaba’s safety. Inaba grabs Shinobu and we cut away to Ataru, Lum, and one of Inaba’s co-workers again. Inaba’s co-worker tells Ataru that Inaba won’t fail if he leaves the testing grounds. However, he doesn’t think Inaba won’t make the space-time forest flower bloom in time. Inaba and Shinobu land on a grassy platform and the former tries reasoning with Shinobu. 

Shinobu’s not interested in Inaba’s words. The two stumble upon a shortcut and several women in bunny outfits. The girls tell them to take the shortcut to escape the irregularity. However, they tell Inaba Shinobu can’t use the staircase since she’s not a rabbit. Shinobu tells Inaba to leave her behind but Inaba refuses. One of the girls tells Inaba that he must use a door embedded in a rock monster if he wants to depart this world with Shinobu. 

The girls offer to take Shinobu to her universe and Shinobu insists Inaba not fight the rock monster. Inaba refuses and fights the rock monster. The rock monster brutally assaults Inaba, scaring Shinobu. Fortunately, Inaba finds the monster’s weak point and defeats him. Shinobu and Inaba exit the monster’s door and Shinobu demands Inaba’s co-worker to tell her where the promotion test’s flower is. 

Shinobu drags Inaba’s unconscious body to the flower and learns it’s withered. Then, we return to following Ataru, Lum, and one of Inaba’s coworkers. Inaba’s co-worker tells Ataru that Inaba needs cheerful romance to make the flower bloom. His co-worker says this is why the promotion test is built around ruining participants’ relationships with their lovers. 

Inaba wakes up, gathers flowers, and hands them to Shinobu. He thanks her for sticking with him to the end. Filled with glee, Shinobu cries. One of her tears strikes the withered flower, causing it to blossom. The two stare at the flower and then at each other. Inaba asks Shinobu if he can visit her sometime.

The episode closes with Shinobu telling Inaba that she’ll gladly wait for him. 

The Episode Review

What started as a usual wacky and feverish outing between our cast, concluded with a “cheerful and romantic” affair between Shinobu and Inaba. While the episode would’ve benefitted from balancing both aspects, fans will be overjoyed with this chapter’s Shinobu and Inaba-centered scenarios. From goofy conflicts to understandable stances, fans will leave this episode hoping Inaba and Shinobu will become a couple. 

Simultaneously, this episode successfully showcases how dysfunctional Lum and Ataru’s relationship is. There have been episodes where Ataru’s shown decent growth and maturity, but his sexual cravings remain one of his worst aspects. Although Urusei Yatsura Season 2’s finale is vastly approaching, we’re hopeful Ataru and Lum’s relationship will produce exceptional results, much like the withered promotion test flower during episode 18’s conclusion. 

All in all, this was another comical-driven outing from this series. While the comedy remains enjoyable and top-notch, the romance and drama carry average results. Nonetheless, there’s still time for this sci-fi and supernatural outing to give fans the endearing romance they’ve sought since Season 1.