Urusei Yatsura Movie 2: Beautiful Dreamer

Title:Urusei Yatsura Movie 2: Beautiful Dreamer
Beautiful Dreamer
Overall:Rent
Keywords: , , , , , ,
Notables: FURUKAWA Toshio
OSHII Mamoru
Original Concept - TAKAHASHI Rumiko
R1 License - Central Park Media(Defunct)
The gang at Tomobiki high are working hard to prepare for a school festival. However, their sensei begins to believe that they are repeating the same day over and over. He tells this to Sakura-sensei, who with her miko powers begins to investigate. When folks start to disappear and the gang can't get very far away from the school, it seems that some powerful force is at work here. But who is doing this and why?
[Movie, 1984, 95 minutes]
[edit] The ↗Urusei Yatsura franchise:
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Rent 7 7 7 6 7 Ggultra2764 [series:60#1552]
I've heard of Beautiful Dreamer being considered the best of the movies offered up by the Urusei Yatsura franchise and with Mamoru Oshii's hands being on this movie, I can certainly see why. While retaining the basic feel of the TV anime, this film goes into some more serious and surreal territory when Ataru, Lum, and other characters within the series try figuring out the circumstances surrounding a mysterious influence that is keeping the cast within the vicinity of the school and other strange events that take place. What is unveiled about the origins behind these mysterious events lead to some rather interesting exploration on human existentialism with exploring whether one wants to confront the harsh world of reality or resort to escapism by venturing into one's inner fantasies. The visuals are a noticeable improvement over Only You with more cleaner details on backgrounds and characters, plus more fluid animation. While you would be required to have seen at least some of the TV anime to know about Urusei Yatsura's characters, Beautiful Dreamer is still a memorable entry in the franchise, arguably more so for me than even the TV anime thanks to Mamoru Oshii's directorial work on it.

Last updated Wednesday, April 19 2017. Created Wednesday, April 19 2017.
Rent 8 8 8 7 8 AstroNerdBoy [series:60#436]

There is something that I really enjoyed about this movie. It contains elements and the high school cast from Urusei Yatsura, but it has a more serious and darker tone. It isn't overly dark, but the mystery of what is happening to their town is very interesting. While the answers that are given are odd, they work because they fit into this overall strange situation the characters find themselves in.

The exploration of reality and the time is also interesting. The exploration of dreams is also very interesting. The story is a good vehicle to explore these. It was interesting to see Lum's dream come true. It was also equally interesting seeing Ataru's dream, which while being what we'd expect from the lech, contained an unexpected element.

Bottom line: This is a really good Urusei Yatsura movie and a credit to the franchise. While not very wacky, it still contains many of the elements of the TV series while exploring things in a more serious manner.

Last updated Wednesday, March 09 2005. Created Wednesday, March 09 2005.

Buy 9 9 9 10 10 Jack Walrath [series:60#375]
This is the best of the UY movies. Yes the movie feels darker than the series, but it still has the same characters. What I love about this movie is that has an interesting and slightly intellectual plot and how the movie questions time and reality. I also like the interesting look this movie and the weird scenes it has like when Shinobu is surrounded by bells. The atmospheric music is also very good. One problem, it's a small one, Kazuo Yamazaki's character design for Shinobu makes her hair look like it has devil's horns from certain angles.

Last updated Monday, September 30 2002. Created Monday, September 30 2002.
Rent 7 7 9 7 7 Kaitou Juliet [series:60#137]

There's no doubt that this movie is masterfully made. The question of whether to recommend it depends mostly on what a given fan watches Urusei Yatsura for. If you like the slightly spooky surrealism, this movie has it in spades. If you like the romance, there's a little of that. If you like the zany comedy, there is some, but the overall mood is a bit heavier than the average TV episode. (It's based on TV episode 21, "Wake Up to a Nightmare," but with a more sinister twist.)

There is an English dub. The acting is passable, but the mispronunciations (such as "Mendou" rhyming with "cow") made me wince. The original Japanese cast is wonderful as always.

I know some people consider it the best Urusei Yatsura movie ever. Personally, while I enjoyed this movie a lot, I didn't feel the need to buy it to watch over and over (my usual criteria for a "buy" rating). So I'll rate it "rent first if you can, buy it if you love it."



Last updated Tuesday, April 03 2001. Created Thursday, March 08 2001.

Other Sites
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IMDB http://us.imdb.com/Title?Urusei+Yatsura+2%3A+By%FBtifuru+dor%EEm%E2+(1984)
Urusei Yatsura Movies Page at Tomobiki-cho http://www.tomobiki.com/movie/

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