Danica Davidson
October 17, 2022 
The original Urusei Yatsura anime premiered in 1981, following the 1978 debut of the manga. The new Urusei Yatsura anime decided against resetting the story in modern times, so it still occurs in the late 70s/early 80s. When the new anime hit Japanese TVs in the middle of the night over the weekend, many fans chose to keep their watching as authentic as possible, and recorded the episode on tapes.
We know this because a number of Japanese people made the point of not only getting out their old Betas and VCRs, but showing off on social media as how they’re being true to the era.
SoraNews24 translated this tweet, writing, “I see everybody’s getting their ancient equipment out to record Urusei Yatsura on video tape.”
https://twitter.com/niizan_AVC/status/1580237243238580231
This person showed off their Beta Max.
うる星やつら、βで録らんとあかんのか…(*^^*)
録画は試してないけど、まだいけるかな？
あと、流石に新品のテープがない。(^_^;) pic.twitter.com/v5kcWsec8z— 遅刻の帝王 (@tikokunoteiou) October 13, 2022
This person was also in on the action.
令和の「うる星やつら」ちゃんと面白かった！時代設定が普通に昭和だったのでベータマックス（EDVｰ9000）で録画してブラウン管TVで観るの全然間違ってなかったわwww #うる星やつら#ベータマックス https://t.co/RHTNHReSG9 pic.twitter.com/z6ekXoG2MX
— 大西さん (@2012apocalypsis) October 13, 2022
And this person had to get their Victor HR-7650 fixed in time for the show.
ビクター HR-7650何とか修理が間に合いました。
録画&再生テストOK
画質も良好
というより、1981年発売のビデオデッキとは思えないほど綺麗な画でビックリ。うる星やつら コイツで録画しよう！ pic.twitter.com/8YH0AHbjp1
— 岩ちゃん (@gantaro_junker) October 13, 2022
Here’s a blank VHS tape for taping the anime:
うる星やつら、バッチリ録画されてますな
NECしゅき（手の平オートリバース） pic.twitter.com/mE3ZzGMtok
— RX-DT707 (@RDt707) October 13, 2022
Speaking of tapes, this person went for cassette tapes, as opposed to VHS tapes, so they could record the opening theme song.
うる星やつら…
北海道は放送が19日なんだよな…
VHSデッキは生きてる個体がないから今回はテレビの音声を知世のSUGARでカセットテープに録音するか‼️#うる星やつら pic.twitter.com/E1QEuGzOj2— 90's J-POP好き (@90sJPOP1) October 13, 2022
Urusei Yatsura is available to stream on HIDIVE. HIDIVE gave this description of the series:
“Chosen as humanity’s representative in a duel against invading aliens, the womanizing Ataru faces off against the alien princess Lum — and the conflict follows him home when Lum invades both planet Earth AND the reluctant Ataru’s love life!”
The original manga was written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi, who is also known for her series Ranma ½, Inuyasha, Mermaid Saga and more. VIZ Media publishes them in English and gave this description of the first volume:
“In a high-stakes game of tag, Ataru must touch Lum’s horns in ten days—or aliens will take over the earth! The fact that Lum can fly doesn’t make Ataru’s job any easier. As it turns out, the game of tag is only the beginning of Ataru’s troubles, as he continues to attract strange encounters with otherworldly beings like beautiful snow spirit Oyuki and the sexy crow goblin Princess Kurama!”
Would you be interested in watching Urusei Yatsura in such an authentic way?
Source: SoraNews24
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
