Urusei Yatsura: Ikare!! Shâbetto

I recommend this episode of the Urusei Yatsura series as a great introduction to many of the fun characters in the anime / manga. I've used it for this purpose with many of my friends who wanted to get an idea of what the series was about, and they immediately requested more...

As one of the people commented, this episode is not primarily about the relationship of the two main stars of the show, (Lum and Ataru) but concerns itself with the inter-linked relationships of quite a few of their wacky friends, and showcases a bizarre occurrence involving the Ice Princess Oyuki's pet Sherberts, unique snow creatures which are literally flying ice cream cones, and capitalistic plans of the cute and bubbly bundle of psychotic chaos, Ran-chan.

Of course, when the caged creature is accidentally set free, all bets are off as to who's liable to get killed first, the Sherbert, Ran-chan, or the highly upset Biker Goddess Benten, who gets into a personal duel with the Sherbert... And what will Oyuki do when she finds out how her pet has been misused and abused... Very chilling possibilities!!!

"Raging Sherbet" (1988) is the third OAV (Original Animated Video) spin-off of "Urusei Yatsura," the popular Japanese animated series based on Rumiko Takahashi's comic book about horny high-school boy Ataru and his gorgeous, horned live-in alien "wife," Lum, of tiger-skin bikini fame. This particular 26-minute episode spotlights Lum's alien girlfriends, Ran, Oyuki, and Benten, who are first seen visiting the icy planet Neptune, home of a sherbet cone-producing bird, which the money-hungry, boy-crazy Ran sees as a cash cow during Tokyo's hot summer. After persuading Oyuki to let her borrow one of the birds, Ran takes it back to earth and exploits the poor thing until it balks at making any more sherbet cones, breaks out of its refrigerated cage, and flies out over the skies of Tokyo. Ran, Lum and flying biker girl Benten chase after it, desperate to retrieve it before the normally demure, but fiery-in-her-wrath Oyuki returns and learns what happened.

While amusing and fast-paced, this episode is essentially just a half-hour animated sitcom and is a lot less inspired than the earlier Lum movies and TV episodes, chiefly because it takes the focus off the comic, sexually-charged misadventures of Ataru and Lum. While many fans of the series enjoy the antics of Lum's friends, all three of the girls are seen to better effect in the TV episodes and some of the movies. This episode was released in the U.S. on a VHS edition paired with "I Howl at the Moon," also reviewed on this site.