http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lamu.jpg
[[caption-width:345:Thus began a great love story...]]

''Darling no {{BAKA}}!''


An early work by {{Rumiko Takahashi}}, ''Urusei Yatsura'' is often considered the original MagicalGirlfriend parody, enough that [[UnbuiltTrope the bumbling well-meaning Magical Girlfriend has become an archetype in its own right]]. The show's poster girl, a cutesy alien named Lum who habitually wears a tiger-striped bikini (at left), is easily one of the most recognizable anime characters in history.

The show centers around Ataru Moroboshi, an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent who happens to be both the unluckiest and most perverted man in the world, possibly the entire universe. He is chosen by lot to challenge a band of alien invaders in a game of tag to decide the fate of the Earth. His opponent: the lovely [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses Princess Lum]], daughter of the invaders' leader. After several false starts, it takes a promise of marriage by his long-suffering girlfriend and [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend childhood companion]] Shinobu to bolster him to victory. Unfortunately, after his triumphant declaration of "Now I can get married!", Lum thinks Ataru wants to marry ''her'', falls ''instantly'' in love with him -- and the rest is history. Lum moves in with her "darling" Ataru, and before long, the district of Tomobiki has become a hotbed for intergalactic weirdness involving Lum's friends and relatives, with Ataru stuck in the middle.

Unlike most {{Unlucky Everydude}}s who were only [[AccidentalPervert Accidental Perverts]], Ataru actually ''was'' an unrepentant pervert, and generally found his loyal "fiancée" to be little more than a hindrance to his more lecherous pursuits, though even he wasn't below the occasional PetTheDog moments.

If ''MaisonIkkoku'' is the first PrettyFreeloaders-style comedy, UY is one of the earliest tongue-in-cheek [[UnwantedHarem harem comedies]], combining its outlandish premise to spice up deceptively typical plots, as well as parody the genre nearly a decade ''before'' the fact. Its popularity even inspired a tenth-anniversary movie, the unusually offbeat ''Always My Darling''.
----
!!''Urusei Yatsura'' provides examples of:

* AccidentalMarriage
* AdaptationDisplacement - The anime adaptation is sometimes more fondly remembered than the original manga, particularly the more surreal and experimental episodes and films (where director MamoruOshii started making a name for himself).
* AlienInvasion - The main premise of the series. At first.
* AliensSpeakingEnglish - The chapter where Lum gets hit in the head and loses her memory of Japanese and can only speak the oni language is a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming when Ataru - allowing the WaterWorks to flow freely for the first time - embraces her and begs her to remember it.
* AllLoveIsUnrequited - And if it isn't (the rare examples being Tsubame and Sakura and, eventually, [[spoiler: Inaba]] and Shinobu), the rest of the craziness conspires to keep them apart. Arguably, Ataru and Lum also love each other, but analyzing that would require a separate page altogether.
* AllMenArePerverts - Ataru, in spades. In the 10th anniversary movie ''Always My Darling'', Princess Lupika's computer pinpoints him as the most lecherous man in the universe.
* AlohaHawaii
* AncientAstronauts
* AnIcePerson - [[MeaningfulName Oyuki]], the Queen of Neptune.
* AnimeAnatomy - Averted. If nowhere else, then during Lum's initial DefeatByModesty.
* AnimeInLaws - Ten, of course.
* ArthurDent - Ataru, though this might be a bit of a subversion, considering his superior running-away skills and indestructibility
* [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign As Long As It Sounds Chinese]] - The oni language, which Lum's mom speaks, is portrayed in the manga as [[{{Wingdinglish}} mah-jong tiles and as gibberish in the anime]], complete with weird subtitles that make no sense.
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther - [[YourMileageMayVary Or simply]] [[PetTheDog justification for the continuation of their relationship]]; whenever it seems that Ataru is going to lose Lum permanently, he abandons everything till he gets her back. Once he does, [[ResetButton the balance of the universe is restored.]]
-->'''Ataru''': "I hate being bound to Lum... but I hate people trying to take Lum away from me ''more''!"
* AWorldwidePunomenon - Ataru's name, the series name, etc. The series, as a whole, is full of them.
* {{Baka}}
* BalloonBelly - Happens to multiple characters, but Ataru and Cherry are the most prone to it. Inverted by Sakura, who literally eats a restaurant out of its business and doesn't gain an ounce.
* BarehandedBladeBlock - Ataru is a master of this
* BareYourMidriff - Are there any {{Fanservice}} tropes ''not'' related to Lum?
* BattleCry - Shinobu always evokes her super strength by getting worked up about boys. "MEN BE DAMNED!"
* BaseballEpisode - You can bet there will be one whenever Tobimaro shows up.
* BecomingTheMask - Ran seems to like it on Earth when being a kawaiiko student, seeing as she still attends Tomobiki High even after she mostly gives up on her revenge against Lum. Mostly being the keyword. In a subversion, she's still bitter, shrewish and violent on the inside.
* BerserkBoardBarricade
* BerserkButton - In the Kotaru the haunted kotatsu storyline, information from Mendou is required. He arrives, in full samurai garb, katana at the ready, 0.1 second after Ataru yells out: "MENDOU YOU SISSY!!!"
* BettyAndVeronica - Shinobu and Lum (Lum wins).
** More like Shinobu moves on, really.
* BewareTheNiceOnes - The only person the bitter and vindictive [[BunnyBoiler Ran]] fears is the [[YamatoNadeshiko calm, feminine and graceful]] Oyuki. With very, ''very'' good reason.
* BigEater - Sakura... the pretty one.
** And Rei, especially when [[StealthPun he gets big]].
* {{Bifauxnen}} - Ryuunousuke, who's studly enough that [[StupidSexyFlanders even girls who are aware of her gender swoon]].
* BigFancyHouse - Complete with ''multiple'' [[TheThingThatGoesDoink things that go doink]]
* BikerBabe - Benten
* BiologicalMashUp - Ataru and a notebook.
* BitchInSheepsClothing - "Tee-hee! Ran-chan is sooo happy!"
* {{Bokukko}} - Ryuunosuke. Hard stop.
* BookAndSwitch - Ataru
* BrattyHalfPint - Jariten
* BreakTheCutie - Parodied with Asuka, who would likely be the one to break anyone in half. Now, if only her nemesis wasn't Ataru...
* BrotherSisterIncest - Subversion: the extremely sheltered Asuka fears all men except her "big brother" ("a special kind of man who is just like you!"). She considers Mendou (her fiancé due to a family agreement) her brother because she heard Ryoko refer to him as such once and Ryuunosuke, since she was wearing her sarashi that matched her actual brother Tobimaro's. Guess which "brother" has to endure rib-crushing hugs in his bed or bath? Hint: he's rather terrified of this and their mother blames it on ''him''.
* BucketBoobyTrap
* ByTheEyesOfTheBlind
* CallingTheOldManOut - Ryuunosuke, several times a day.
* CannotStandThemCannotLiveWithoutThem
* CantActPervertedTowardALoveInterest - Ataru, partly because Lum would likely consider as his submission to their "marriage".
* {{Casanova}} - At least, Ataru ''wants'' to be one.
* {{Catchphrase}} - Several, most often a variation of the following:
--> '''Ataru''': "Ojooooou-chan! Let's go on a date! / What's your address and phone number?"
--> '''Shinobu''': "MEN BE DAMNED!!!"
--> '''Mendou''': "Waa!...It's dark! It's cramped! I'm scared!!"
--> '''Ten''': "I'm a good boy!"
--> '''Cherry''': "'Tis fate."
--> '''Ryuunosuke''': "I'm a chick, damnit!!!" ''(in a very mannish way of speaking)''
--> '''Mr. Fujinami''': "I LOVE THE SEA!!!" ''(accompanied by a tidal wave, no matter where he might be)''
--> '''Ran''': "Ran-chan is sooo happy!"
--> '''Asuka''': "EEEEK! A man!!" ''(followed by a MegatonPunch)''
--> '''Mrs. Moroboshi''': "We never should have had him!"
--> '''Lum's Stormtroopers (particularly Megane)''': "Lum-saaaaan!!!"
* CharlesAtlasSuperpower - [[CerebusRetcon Shinobu, after Lum arrives]] (in one movie, when Lum left the Earth, she lost her power). Also Asuka, though she inherited this from her mother and is able to run 100 meters in a few seconds while wearing 200 kg worth of medieval armor.
* ChickMagnet - Rei breaks up loving couples just by walking past them, causes squees whenever anything of the female gender sees him. His being dumb as a plank and loving only food does nothing to dissuade the girls. His [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting transforming into a giant goofy tiger-bull whenever excited]] might. Sometimes.
** Also [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer Ryunnosuke]]. [[{{Bifauxnen}} Being female]] is evidently no obstacle in becoming the school's most desired {{Bishonen}}.
-->'''Girl:''' Gorgeous!
-->'''Guy:''' Uh...you know that's a ''girl'', right?
-->'''Girl:''' Oh, we know. She's dreamy, isn't she?
* ChildhoodMarriagePromise - Lum's great-grandfather promised his daughter to Rupa's great-grandfather in exchange for an antidote. Once the latter found out that there is no daughter, he vowed to wait until a girl was born in the oni royal family. As it turns out, his great-grandson is apparently the correct age to marry Lum, and had been brought up with the idea that he would marry her.
** Also, Ryuunosuke and Nagisa, courtesy of their fathers.
* ClingyJealousGirl - Both Lum and Shinobu, to Ataru and Mendou, respectively.
* ClosetSublet - Lum, at first.
* ComedicSociopathy - Everybody that shows up on screen. ''Everybody''.
** Except maybe Kitsune. ''Maybe''.
* CookingDuel
* CoolBigSis - Sakura, when she feels like it.
* CoolBike - Benten's rocket cycle.
* {{Crossdresser}}
* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming - One comes early on when Lum saves Ataru from embarrassment by posing as [[TheErnest the girl other guys try to set him up with to humiliate him]]. Once Lum gets him out of there and explains things, Ataru, though highly irritated by the fact that he owes her one, finally realizes that Lum is actually pretty and stops her from flying off by shyly asking her to walk with him for a while. Of course, the ResetButton strikes back in the next chapter/episode, but it still shows that, ComedicSociopathy aside, these two are the OfficialCouple for a reason.
** But the biggest one comes at the very end of the 5th movie, Final Chapter, which culminates into a repeat of the race that caused Lum and Ataru to meet in the first place - except this time, the stake is that if Ataru doesn't catch her, [[spoiler: all the memories of the aliens will be erased from the earthlings' minds. But if Ataru says he loves Lum, she'll allow him to catch her. Despite everyone trying to convince him that he can just lie - something Lum herself decides to accept in her mind - Ataru steadfastly refuses to say the words. On the last day, they face off ''atop a giant mushroom'']]
-->'''Lum''': "Darling you idiot! [[spoiler:Do you ''want'' to forget about me?!"]]
-->'''Ataru''': I'll never... I'll never... I'll never... [[spoiler:I'LL NEVER FORGET!!! About you... Lum...]]
[[spoiler: Ataru collapses from exhaustion and drops the horns that Lum lost when she became an adult, which Lum decides to take as confirmation of his affection, despite him not saying the words - she tearfully flies into him and guides his hands to her horns.]]
* CrowningMomentOfFunny - The above scene culminates into [[spoiler: a slapstick chase when all the remaining cast begins chasing them, since they remain dissatisfied that Ataru didn't say he loves Lum despite the threat to the Earth and heavy property damage.]]
* CursedWithAwesome - Yes, Ataru, I'm sure it ''totally sucks'' to have a [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Green Haired Space Babe]] girlfriend.
* CustomUniform - Mendou and Ryuunosuke.
* CuteBruiser - Subverted with Shinobu, who can juggle desks easily, but believes herself a [[YamatoNadeshiko fragile sweet little schoolgirl]].
* CuteLittleFangs - Lum
* CuteMonsterGirl - Lum again. Not to mention her friends Oyuki (Yuki-no-Onna), Ran (Gaki) and debateably Benten (Fukujin), as well as the minor character Kurama (Karasutengu- or "Crow Tengu").
* DamselInDistress - Sub- and possibly inverted by Shinobu. She might believe herself to be one, but her super strength gets her out of most scraps. Subverted by Lum in the Final Chapter - she [[BroughtDownToNormal loses her powers because her horns fall out]], but she still bites and uses Ten effectively, almost escaping.
* DancingTheme
* DartboardOfHate - Parodied, Kurama has one of Ataru. She throws a dart at it, however the image catches the dart in its teeth and eats it.
* DealWithTheDevil - Ataru forms one entirely by ''accident'' with a VSign, if you'll believe that.
* DefeatByModesty - Lum, in the first storyline
* DepravedDentist
* {{Determinator}} - Parodied and played straight with Ataru.
* DisproportionateRetribution - while Lum did get Ran into trouble as a child (sometimes on purpose, most of the time accidentally, but never with the intent to harm her), Ran swore a vendetta against her childhood friend after she hooked up with the guy Ran liked... and [[ItsPersonal then dumped him.]]
* [[strike: DoesNotLikeMen]] [[DoesNotLikeMen Pulverizes Men Out of Fear]] - Asuka Mizunokoji. [[ShrinkingViolet Kept isolated from men according to family tradition]], [[ExtraordinarilyEmpoweredGirl she inherited her mother's super-strength]], which is her way of getting rid of all those scary men (the first one she ever met was Ataru Moroboshi). Of course, that's the lesser evil, as her brother Tobimaro can testify, as being classified as a "big brother" ("a special kind of man who's just like you") combined with the fact that Asuka developed a crush on him means rib-crushing hug.
* DoggedNiceGuy - Inaba starts out as a decidedly non-threatening version of this towards [[spoiler: Shinobu]]. She eventually reciprocates. Rupa in the 5th movie is a much more aggressive version towards Lum.
* DoorJudo
* DorkHorseCandidate - Ataru
* DudeShesLikeInAComa - Kurama
* DumbMuscle - Rei
* EarlyBirdCameo - "[[BreakingTheFourthWall My name is Shutaro Mendou and I will soon become a regular character on this show.]]"
* EasilyThwartedAlienInvasion
* EarCleaning - Lum can occasionally be seen cleaning Ataru's ears, at home or even at school (episode 17, for example). This is intended to be one of the signs that Ataru does care for her, but is unwilling to commit to her.
* EarWorm - Every single opening and ending theme.
* EdibleThemeNaming - the Spice Girls, Sugar, Pepper and Ginger.
* ElementalRockPaperScissors
* EnsembleDarkhorse - Lum, to the point that she actually supplanted the OfficialCouple.
** Megane and company would also count in the anime. In the manga they are in the background a half-dozen or so times.
* EvenTheGirlsWantHer - Ryunnosuke
* EveryGirlIsCuterWithHairDecs - Early on, Ataru forces Cherry to give him a set of yellow ribbons that, if tied around Lum's horns, make her lose her powers.
* EverythingIsCuterWithLuckyCharms
* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs - One episode transports Lum, Ataru and Ten into the past, where a dinosaur mistakes Ten for its hatched egg and the egg believes Lum to be its mom.
* EverythingsBetterWithPenguins - The second episode involves the neighborhood being overrun with them.
** Wasn't that a subversion where the "penguin" was actually a swallow that had [[IncrediblyLamePun swallowed]] some of Ten's candy?
* {{Expy}}
* ExtremelyDustyHome: In one of {{The Movie}}s.
* FalseStart
* {{Fangirl}} - Mendou has a formal organization of fangirls following his every move, ready to punish Ataru for any perceived infraction against him.
** FanBoy - Lum has much the same. The fandom has [[FanNickname come to calling them Lum's Stormtroopers]].
*** Both groups are equally horrified when it seems that Lum and Mendou are going to get together; they actually turn to Ataru for help, because a) Lum is the one girl Mendou shows serious interest in throughout the whole story (in the Destiny Production Bureau Arc, one future shows him and Lum happily married, with Ataru as their retainer) and b) outwardly, Mendou is close to perfection in looks, intelligence and money, making it harder to constantly point out how unsuitable he is for Lum. Again, this proved to be [[NotWhatItLooksLike a misunderstanding]].
* FantasyKitchenSink
* FireBreathingDiner
* FourGirlEnsemble - Starring Lum, Oyuki, Benten and Ran.
* FranchiseZombie
* FreakyFridayFlip
* FryingPanOfDoom - Ataru's weapon of choice.
* FumiHirano
* FurBikini - Lum's outfit, based on the legends of oni wearing tiger skins.
* GenericCuteness
* TheGlomp
* {{Gonk}} - Cherry, especially emphasized by his sudden entrances and close-ups. Sakura's mom, who looks like Cherry with hair. And, of course, Shinobu's highly persistent suitor, Soban from Busumetsu High, who raises this trope UpToEleven.
* GreenEyedMonster - Ran, Ran and have I mentioned Ran?
* HaremAnime - Well, sort of, this might be called an ur-harem series, before ''TenchiMuyo'' truly created the genre.
** More like the "un-harem", Ataru wants one, none of the girls want to be in one.
* HandsomeLech - Though rich, popular and good looking, Mendou is just as big a pervert as Ataru.
* HelloNurse - Sakura
* HeManWomanHater - Tobimaro firmly believes that baseball is no place for women... though most of his issues with the gentler sex can be directly attributed to a childhood spent running from Ryoko Mendou.
* HotAmazon - Shinobu, and Lum. ''And Benten'', don't forget Benten.
* HotBlooded - Tobimaro, complete with GoNagaiSideburns even.
* HoYay - Thanks to a lipstick that draws the lips of the people using it together, Ataru and Mendou end up in a full-frontal smooch by mistake. Both are promptly disgusted - a dappya fish monster even offers the readers three panels to recover from this shock. The participants of the kiss think they require more.
* HumanAliens - Averted with every alien aside from the important characters. Most aliens look nothing humanoid - see the omiai chapter/episode and take a good look at Lum's would-be suitors aside from Uni and the Prince of the Underground.
* HyperspaceMallet
* IAmNotShazam
* ICantBelieveItsNotHeroin - [[BizarreAlienBiology Oni get drunk on ume, or pickled plums in English.]]
* {{Idiots Cannot Catch Colds}}
* InnocentBystander - Subverted, Ryoko often poses as one.
* InstantFanClub
* InterspeciesRomance - Kitsune develops a very innocent crush on Shinobu after she saves him from a pack of dogs.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting - Uber-bishonen [[ChickMagnet Rei]] turns into an ''ushitora'' (a very large, goofy and stupid-looking cross between a tiger and a bull) whenever excited. And that means whenever lots of food is in front of him. Or, early on, whenever his ex-fiancée, Lum, spurns him. The only girl it doesn't bother at all is Ran... and even the girls who see both of his forms still aren't entirely against the prospect of romancing him.
* JourneyToTheWest - Reenacted by the whole cast as a play.
* {{Kawaiiko}} - Ran, whenever her psycho-bitch state isn't taking over. When Lum mentions that she should just be herself, Ran explains that getting back to her Kawaiiko mode is difficult.
* KavorkaMan - Mr. Fujinami apparently. He has photos of dozens of women with baby Ryuunosuke and doesn't even remember which one of them is his real wife, Masako. It then turns out that he never actually seduced them- he hired them to pose for the pictures because he wanted to "help" Ryuunosuke somehow.
* KingOfAllCosmos
* KidAnova - Ten charms lots of girls with his cuteness. Also, one of his dreams is marrying Sakura.
* KidSamurai - Mendou, who keeps a katana in his locker and Tobimaro, who leads a hermit lifestyle in the mountains and always wears a ragged samurai robe.
* KissOfDeath - Ran
* [[LadykillerinLove Ladykiller in Love]] - Subverted, since Mendou is a HandsomeLech and not TheCasanova, but he qualifies. Subverted again in the fact that his relationships with both Lum and Asuka can be interpreted this way. The straight example is Rei; Lum is the only girl in the series who ''doesn't'' require food to get him chasing after her. If you don't see the magnitude of that achievement, you seriously need to rewatch the stories featuring him.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall
* TheLeisureSuitLarry - Ataru
* LethalChef - Lum cooks reasonably well... [[AlienLunch but only by Oni standards]]
* LettingHerHairDown - Benten subverts this effectively.
* LicensedSexist - Mr. Fujinami's response to having a daughter? Giving her a butch name, forcing her to bind her breasts and raising her as a boy. He even [[spoiler: got her engaged to a guy who was raised as a girl.]]
* LingerieScene - Parodied
* LoveableSexManiac - Take a wild guess...
* LoveYouAndEverybody - Of course Ataru loves Lum...And Shinobu, and Sakura, and Ran, and Ryunnosuke, and Benten...
* LoveMartyr - Everyone considers Lum this.
* LovePotion
* MagicPants - Pepper
* MamiKoyama
* MasqueradeBall - Parodied, as the Japanese words can be read in different ways.
* MayumiTanaka
* MegaNeko - Kotatsu-neko
* {{MIB}} - The men in black glasses and the kuroko.
* MiddleOfNowhereStreet
* {{Miko}} - Sakura
* MilhollandRelationshipMoment
* MiniatureSeniorCitizens - Cherry and Sakura's mom.
* MissingMom - No one can actually figure out if Masako is alive or had just left Mr. Fujinami.
* MiyamotoMusashi - The Heian Era segments reenact this, with Onsen-Mark as Musashi, Ataru as a BigEater and petty criminal posing as Musashi and Mendou as Kojiro.
* MorphicResonance - Kitsune transforms into the other characters by essentially becoming slightly more human-like, losing the tail and putting on the same outfit and hairstyle as the person he wants to turn into. It never fools anyone.
* MostCommonSuperPower - Averted: in the first storyline, both Ataru and Shinobu remark that Lum is big-busted, while she appears to be a C-cup, at most. Of course, the FurBikini might have left a great impression...
* TheMovie - Several
* MsFanservice - Lum. Oh, how we love the tiger-striped bikini.
** Benten may also count, with her ChainmailBikini.
* MurderTheHypotenuse - Ran's default reaction to anyone who gets within ten feet of Rei.
* NegativeContinuity
* {{Ninja}} - In addition to the Kyoto story arc featuring a run in with an actual Ninja clan, during Mendo's introduction, Ataru not only used a Ninja style bare handed sword catch, but he also pulled the NinjaLog trick.
* NoAccountingForTaste - Ataru's parents and both of his girlfriends.
* NoblewomansLaugh - Ryoko does a more subdued and ladylike version of this at times.
* {{No Guy Wants To Be Chased}} - Of course, Lum considers them married, so...
* NonIdenticalTwins - The one time everyone believes the kitsune shapeshifting.
* OffModel - Too many instances to name.
* OyajiKid - Ten
* ThePaolo - Rupa in the 5th movie, once Lum finally gives Ataru the ultimatum to say he loves her or she's staying on the World of Darkness. In a subversion, she obviously doesn't like him as anything more than a casual friend, and that's after he stops trying to force her into marriage. In a twist, Lum is actually his Paolo as well.
* ParentalAbandonment
* PersonalRaincloud
* PettingZooPeople
* PlayboyBunny - The standard uniform for female employees of the Destiny Production Bureau. Males get slightly frumpy rabbit suits.
* PlayingWithFire - Ten
* PropheticNames - Metaphorical; Ataru's full name translates to "struck by a falling star." And one of the readings for Mendou is "trouble". Shinobu means "to endure". And Lum, well... Agnes Lum, after whom she is named, was a [[MostCommonSuperPower bikini model...]]
* RealMenWearPink - The resident uber-studly man-amongst-men is not only female, but dreams of the day when she can wear a frilly dress and high heels. Ryuunosuke certainly doesn't think that RealWomenNeverWearDresses.
* RedOniBlueOni - Ataru and Mendou; Benten and Oyuki.
* RedStringOfFate - Ataru has one on each of his fingers.
* ReunionRevenge - Lum and Ran are reunited after a long time at Tomobiki High. This trope starts when Ran finally remembers that she didn't come for a friendly chitchat.
* RobeAndWizardHat - Though he has no hat, Tsubame always wears his wizard cape.
* RoyalBrat - Oh Ryoko, how we love you and your kabuki stagehands.
* SaekoShimazu
* {{Salaryman}} - Mr. Moroboshi
* {{Sarashi}} - Ryuunosuke
* SayMyName - All together now! "DAAAAAAAAARLIIIIING!!!" "AAAAAAATARUUUUUU!!!" "MOROBOSHIIIIIIIIII!!!" "LUM-SAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!"
** "MASAKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"
* SchoolFestival
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney - Mendou, plus his sister Ryoko on occasion
* SeriousBusiness - Playing tag (literally, "the game of the oni")
** For Tobimaro, playing baseball is serious business, seeing as he lives in the mountains and practices... to no avail.
* ShockAndAwe - Lum
* ShoutOut
* ShutUpKiss
* SmashingWatermelons
* SocialServicesDoesNotExist
* SnapBack
* SpoiledBrat - Mendou
* SmallGirlBigGun - Benten
* StableTimeLoop - When the gang tries to go back in time to cure Mendou's claustrophobia and nyctophobia, the bratty younger Mendou enrages his future self so much that he chases him into a dark room filled with large vases with a katana in hand and a rather maniacal expression in his eyes. Present-time Mendou begins smashing the vases while snarling out various threats at his child self. By the time the others get him out of there and the MIB find the child, little Mendou is practically hysterical in his vase.
* StalkerWithACrush - Played for laughs with Rei, who, despite apparently loving only food (and whatever else can be considered food) still has feelings for Lum, much to Ran's chagrin and rage. How Lum managed to get him to fall in love with her remains a mystery.
** Also, played straight with Soban, the highly {{Gonk}} boss of [[MeaningfulName Busumetsu High]], who does little beyond charge at Shinobu yelling: "Shinobu-saaaan! SUKI DAAAA!!!!" Fortunately, Shinobu is stronger than him.
* StarCrossedLovers - Parodied with Tsubame and Sakura, who never get the chance to kiss because of the constant presence of DatePeepers from Tomobiki High.
* SweetOnPollyOliver - Subversion, the resident Casanovas Ataru and Mendou suspect Nagisa might not be a girl since they feel nothing towards "her".
** The straight example is Ryunnosuke -- Crossdresser or no, Ataru's happy to grope her as much as he is with any other girl.
* SwissMoment - So many Anime pros grew up with the show that Shoutouts can be found in hundreds of shows. You may not recognize some of them until you see the episode they took it from. (e.g. The lipstick commercial, Ryoko's "operation".)
* SumiShimamoto
* TakahashiCouple - A strange case in that the show itself is not example, but the reason ''for the trope coming into existence''! RumikoTakahashi intended for the OfficialCouple to be Ataru and Shinobu... until the [[ExecutiveMeddling editor]] and [[EnsembleDarkhorse the general public]] made it known to her that they preferred Lum to Shinobu. While Takahashi herself has stated her great liking for Lum since, and has no ill-feelings towards the Lum & Ataru pairing, she created the TakahashiCouple in every manga since to prevent any fan/editor hijacking of her romantic interests (ironically, though, [[MaisonIkkoku every]] [[OnePoundGospel intended]] [[RanmaOneHalf couple]] [[InuYasha since]] has been the favorite of fans and editors anyway, so one has to wonder if there's really a need at all for her to do this - and if she just didn't realize the storytelling gold she had with Ataru and Lum at the beginning).
* TalkingAnimal - Kitsune
* ThemeNaming
* ThroughHisStomach - Ran is extremely happy when Rei snarfs down her lunch with a little more dignity than those of the other girls, even saying her name reverently and responding with an enthusiastic yes when she asks if the food is good. Then Cherry shows up with a bigger bento... and Rei's reaction is exactly the same.
* ThunderingHerd
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl - Benten and Oyuki.
* TransformationRay
** And a transforming Rei [[IncrediblyLamePun just for grins]].
* {{Tsundere}} - Shinobu "MEN BE DAMNED!!!" Miyake ''and'' Lum.
* TunnelKing - The Prince of the Underworld.
* TwoTeacherSchool
* UglyGuyHotWife - Lum's parents. Ataru's mom seems to think this about her marriage, with her melodramatic soliloquy about her wasting her life on "an idiot son and a good-for-nothing husband" when Rei came along...
* UglyGuysHotDaughter - Lum, very much so.
* {{Unbuilt Trope}} -
* UnluckyChildhoodFriend - Shinobu, though she ceases to care roughly around the time Mendou shows up
* UnluckyEverydude - Ataru, taking it to epic proportions; he was actually born in the middle of an earthquake on a date that was considered extremely unlucky in both Western (Friday the 13th) and Japanese (Butsumetsu) calendars.
* UnwantedHarem - Inverted, Ataru wants a harem to the horror of all the rest of the females
* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist
* VerbalTic - Da'cha!
** Don't forget the Dappya Monsters!
* VitriolicBestBuds - Brought UpToEleven by Ataru and Mendou, who gave a very destructive relationship despite being the closest thing to best guy friends the other has.
* WaifFu - Shinobu, of course. Especially when Soban is concerned.
** Also, one story revolves around Lum trying to convince a younger girl that courage is all one needs to defeat her enemies. Said girl then asks Lum to defeat Soban ("Shinobu-saaan! I love yooouuu!") without using her powers. She even sends the challenge letter herself. Fortunately, Shinobu turns up before Lum loses all her super-strength pills.
* WeirdnessMagnet - Ataru, supposedly due to the circumstances of his birth.
* WellExcuseMePrincess - Lum
* WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway - Lame indeed...
* TheWhitePrince - Mendou
* WholesomeCrossdresser - [[spoiler: Nagisa]]
* [[WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent Why Couldn't You Be Different?]] - Ataru and Ryuunosuke, though in the latter case her father chooses to completely ignore the fact she's a girl instead of openly evoking this trope.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes - [[{{Claustrophobia}} "Waaaah! It's dark! It's cramped! I'm scared!!!"]]
* YamatoNadeshiko - Oyuki is a highly cunning and calculative variant.
* {{Yandere}} - Ran, [[XJustX just... Ran]]
** Ryoko Mendou might also qualify, with her tendency to stop Tobimaro with grenades whenever he tries to escape her. Of course, this ''is'' Ryoko, so it might just be another one of her ploys.
* YaoiFangirl - Mendou's fangirls were cheering a bit too much at the HoYay entry situation.
* YouAlreadyChangedThePast
* [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair You Gotta Have Green Hair]] - Lum had an AdaptationDyeJob in the anime, since iridescent hair would be difficult to draw.
* YouKnowWhatYouDid - Subversion: since Rei talks very little aside from exclaiming "Lum!" whenever he sees her, Ran is very quick to assume that whatever situation involves the two is an attempt by Lum to get back together with Rei, much to Lum's horror.
* YuppieCouple - Miss Soup and Mr. Noodle
* ZigzagPaperTassel -- Sakura sometimes uses an ''ōnusa'' to perform exorcisms.
** Episode 47 featured a television crew that was recording a pseudo-documentary in the forest. They set up a ''shimenawa'' across the footpath to make it look more interesting.
* ZombieApocalypse - Alien tooth aches can be eased by biting others.
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