Urusei Yatsura OVA

Quick take: "Inaba the Dreammaker" is the only one you need to watch because it introduces a character and plot element that will make the ending a little better. The others are rather unnecessary and could be skipped if you really didn't want to watch them, without any loss to the storyline of the series. OVA 11: "Date with a Spirit" is worth a watch as well as it's the best of the OVAs.

Watch order: if you wish to watch all of these OVAs, I suggest you watch them after the 195th series episode and before Movie 5, "The Final Chapter."

Rating the OVAs together is ... a bit difficult. "Inaba the Dreammaker" is really the only one that matters in regards to Lum and Ataru's relationship, the others are very episodic and can easily be glossed over.

Then you have to consider that there are some inconsistencies within the OVA qualities. For example, OVAs 1-3 are very similar in quality to the original series with "Dreammaker" easily being the best of them. 4-11 are just okay, some better than others. "Date with a Spirit" is the best of not just the later OVAs, but all of them.

The quality drop stretches across all categories. Some of the OVAs stories are good, while the majority are just mediocre. The sound is just a bit worse as the music isn't the best representation of the series' score. Some characters are absent from the OVAs that were apart of the series, or they just appear as a cameo. Even art seems to suffer at times and most notably changes in OVAs 4-11. They use techniques and styles that just weren't used in the original series' episodes.

Some episodes seemed to be more geared towards fan service (around episodes 4-6), something that wasn't so present in the original series. This wasn't consistent in the OVAs at all and only limited to a few episodes, so I felt a little confused about why it was suddenly there and then suddenly gone again. I don't mind fan service if it's a bit more subtle and seems more natural within the action of the scene, but some of it felt forced and as a result, a little odd. Actually, most of the OVAs were riding on the continued popularity of UY at the time, so in many ways they were just additional episodes giving the fans what they wanted anyway.

Then there's my enjoyment. Possibly because I watched the entirety if UY in release order, I was generally less excited about the OVAs than the series/movies. Honestly, I suggest you watch the OVAs before "The Final Chapter," as you'll likely find no reason to return to the OVAs after. I certainly wish I had done the same and it might have earned a higher score. I got the most enjoyment out of "Date with a Spirit," OVA 11 and felt "Dreammaker" was good.

In any series there are good episodes and bad episodes, relative to each other. UY is no exception. The series would not have suffered had these episodes been apart of the original 195, but rating the OVAs separately cause the score to lower. That is to say, the "bad" episodes of UY are easy to overlook because they are apart of the rest of the series and the "good" ones make up for them. Yet the OVAs aren't representative of the best the series has to offer in anyway. They certainly wouldn't have made it into the top 10 episodes, but a few could have possibly been near the bottom.

All of this being said, if you enjoyed UY as I did (my original series rating: 9), you'll enjoy the OVAs as well. Worth watching to get the completed achievement for all of UY, but outside of "Dreammaker," you aren't missing anything. Just be choosy on watch order when you go to view these.

Journey Through Madhouse Episode #16: Be aware that to discuss these OVAs, I watched the entire 1981 version of Urusei.

Of the 11 OVAs that exist, not all were made by Madhouse. It was a co-production between Deen, Madhouse, and Magic Bus. Of those 11 OVAs, I can tell you that only 2 are worthwhile. There's a 40-minute compilation and a 50-minute one that doesn't contribute anything to the overall Urusei story. The worthwhile ones are those focused on Inaba. A regular character in the series, but one who wasn't introduced until these OVAs. The first OVA is about the boys searching for their ideal future ... and offering a glimpse into what the ending between Lum and Ataru might be like. The second OVA is the one where Ataru has a date with the ghost of a deceased girl. In this episode, you can appreciate a bit of the protagonist's true personality. You can see a glimpse of the kindness the character has shown on rare occasions. Despite being a womanizer, when necessary, he can do things to help the girl find peace.

One detail that doesn't detract from the experience is that, since several studios participated in this project, the artistic changes are noticeable. You can see how the character designs change from one OVA to another; sometimes the sharpness of the colors, the backgrounds, or some other aspect changes, but they're easy to identify at a glance. I can't say much about Madhouse's involvement because I don't know for sure which episodes they produced. Therefore, I can only tell you that if you want to see only the canon part of the story, go to the Inaba episode and the one about meeting a spirit. You can leave the rest back in the '80s, where it belongs.