Although it might not be remembered by some modern anime fans, Urusei Yatsura is definitely a classic among otaku around the world. Featuring a lecherous student and his sultry alien "fiancee," the show continues to be beloved by legions of adoring fans. From a historical aspect, however, there's even more importance to the series beyond its comedic quality.
Urusei Yatsura exemplified and standardized many of the early tropes of the popular harem genre, from multiple romantic interests to their otherworldly nature. These archetypes can be seen in '90s anime that would more officially codify harem, and the effects are still felt today. With a revival on the way, here's how Those Obnoxious Aliens birthed the arguably as obnoxious harem genre.
How Urusei Yatsura Spawned Harem's Many Partners
Urusei Yatsura focuses on the perverted high schooler Ataru, who is selected by computer in a game of intergalactic tag involving the alien Oni species. His opponent is their princess, Lum, who eventually loses to the lecherous lad. Due to a misunderstanding involving a proposal to his girlfriend Shinobu, Lum believes that Ataru wants to actually marry her and accepts his "offer." Joining his school, Lum becomes popular among the guys, gaining quite a few followers of her own.
While it's more of a love triangle than anything else, the relationships between Shinobu, Lum and Ataru are classic harem. One member is heavily interested in another, who is much more nonchalant, if not entirely oblivious to their true feelings. Likewise, the object of one person's affection may be with someone else entirely. When played up for comedy, the result is continually uproarious antics. The fact that Ataru is such a loser in every other aspect of his life is something that would be used in further harem shows such as Tenchi Muyo!, with a normal, if not outright perverse guy becoming the object of affection for multiple women.
Urusei Yatsura and the Otherworldly Love Interest
By having an alien as the main girl, Urusei Yatsura also codified the idea that the love interest could be supernatural or otherworldly in some way. This can be seen in the aforementioned Tenchi Muyo!, wherein the protagonist becomes surrounded by beautiful space pirate women. Other examples include Demon King Daimao, To Love Ru, Negima! and Kamisama Kiss, with many of these also sharing the royalty aspect of Urusei Yatsura.
One series that was popular in the mid-2000s was The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Although it definitely counts as one, its harem status is many times forgotten. The story involves an everyday male student surrounded by beautiful female characters, all of whom have their own incredible paranormal powers. Bakemonogatari likewise falls into this category, with these and other shows seeing their lineage lead all the way back to Urusei Yatsura.
It's not surprising that the show has continued to have this much of an impact on the anime industry considering how ubiquitous and popular it was upon release. Popularizing anime intro and outro songs, the series' legacy with anime is incredibly understated. The biggest part of that legacy, however, will always be with the harem genre, which can't escape the impact of those obnoxious aliens.
