Urusei Yatsura episode 9 - Lum’s ex-fiance arrives on earth, Ran fails to win Rei’s affection

Urusei Yatsura episode 9 was one of the most awaited episodes of the series by far, as it was going to introduce Rei, Lum’s shape-shifting ex-fiance. The current rebooted version of the anime is loyal to manga, but since it follows a dissimilar sequence, a few characters have been cast off, like Lum’s cousin, Ten, from episode 9.

The two narratives of Urusei Yatsura episode 9, titled "To Kill With Love" and "Studying Mayhem," highlight the newly introduced shape-shifting Oni, Rei, who has come to earth for her ex-fiance, Lum, to persuade her to return with him to their home planet. Besides revealing why Lum left Rei, the episode also shows Ran’s efforts to make him fall in love with her.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the anime Urusei Yatsura.

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Urusei Yatsura episode 9 highlights

To Kill With Love

The first narrative of Urusei Yatsura episode 9 kicked off with Ataru cleaning his untidy room in a hurry because Shinobu was about to visit him. As Lum was acquainted with how Ataru gets flirtatious in front of Shinobu, she didn’t leave. Intruding on their conversation, Cherry told Ataru that something worse was heading his way and he must vacate the house immediately.

Being reluctant about his decision to stay, Ataru eagerly awaited Shinobu’s arrival. The latter startled everyone with her panic-stricken expression. However, the most frightening scene for Ataru, Lum, and Cherry was Shinobu riding a larger Ushitora (cow-tiger). After the creature shape-shifted back to its human form, Lum was frightened to discover that it was Rei, her ex-fiance.

Due to Rei’s attractiveness, Ataru’s mother got infatuated with him instantly. After being asked by Shinobu, Lum revealed the reason for leaving her ex-fiance was his shape-shifting ability, activated when angry or hungry. Rei tried to impress Lum by proposing to her, but it didn’t work out.

Infuriated, Rei chased Ataru around the city in his Ushitora form. While running after the latter, the former inadvertently made several women fall head over heels for him. Rei also wreaked havoc by gobbling all the food from the hawker's stalls.

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Studying Mayhem

At Tomobiki High School, Ataru and his classmates used their free study time to horse around. Shuutaro received a message on his radio from his pilot stating that an unidentified external line named Channel Rei was interfering with their signal. Suddenly, Rei, in his Ushitora form, entered the class and started eating the students’ lunchboxes.

Shuutaro was shocked after he learned that the giant creature was Lum’s ex-fiance, who also happened to be handsome. After Rei shape-shifted to his humanoid form, all the girls in the classroom got hypnotized by his charismatic looks. However, abruptly losing his female audience caused Shuutaro to believe that money makes men powerful.

Ran sought Lum’s help in giving Rei her lunch box since she was too shy to face him alone. While eating Ran’s lunch, Rei was calmer and more respectful. The former was delighted that the latter was behaving differently around her. However, Ran’s misconception instantly faded after Rei ate Cherry’s lunch the same way.

The latter relayed to everyone that Rei would take his leave because he was hungry. Ataru and his peers were still devastated and confused by what had just happened. Moreover, he and Lum were shell-shocked after they learned Rei didn’t leave and was binge-eating huge servings of rice at their home.

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Final thoughts on Urusei Yatsura episode 9

After looking at the enormous appetite of the new character Rei, Sakura got a new competition heading her way. The charismatic Oni has that effect on women where they get entranced by just his looks, and he doesn’t even need to speak words comprising more than three syllables. However, Lum is the only girl in Urusei Yatsura who isn’t fond of Rei because she can’t stand his shape-shifting ability which Ran has no problem with.

Until now, Shuutaro believed he was way more attractive than others, and with looks alone, he could make a girl’s heart skip a beat. However, with Rei’s arrival, his inferiority complex skyrocketed swiftly, causing him to believe that money makes a man superior, showing that Shuutaro might have a histrionic personality disorder.