The Return of Lum * Urusei Yatsura, Vol. 8: Ran Attacks!

By Rumiko Takahashi

When Ran, Lum's rival and arch nemesis, returns to Earth and pays Lum an unexpected visit, she uses any means possible to wreak havoc in Lum's life, including food fights, love potions, and clones. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1569313369
• ISBN13: 9781569313367
• Release Date: April 1999
• Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.2" x 0.5" x 5.6"

Customer Reviews

Childhood memories

A very chaotic way of life got worse for Ataru and alien princess Lum when deranged redhead Ran entered the scene. And Ran's revenge attempts rule "Ran Attacks!", one of the most entertaining volumes of Rumiko Takahashi's first long-running series. ("I still have scars from that coincidence!") Mayhem rules when Sakura agrees to create a love potion for Lum to give Ataru... except it seems to have a strange effect on him. Later on, Ataru tries to cheat with a god of knowledge, a host of deities crash the "Plains of Heaven" play (or as Lum calls it, "Stairway to Heaven"), and a closed campus policy sets off a war between the rebellious students and their wily teachers. Then a ghost cat starts haunting the staircase, and Lum and Ten get drunk on pickled plums -- and Lum is a mean drunk. But all is not over with Ran, the deranged redhead who holds several childhood grudges against Lum. To protect Ataru, Lum clones him -- except that Ran also clones him, and soon an army of Atarus is running amuck. Ten loses his powers when his horn falls off -- much to Ataru's delight. And gluttonous yet gorgeous alien Rei arrives at the school, and Ran tries to win him over with her lunch -- but things are not that easy. Rumiko Takahashi excels at creating complex, entertaining series that would have been drivel in someone else's hands. In this case, the comical story of the world's unluckiest, most lecherous teenager, and how he (very slowly) falls in love with a strong-willed alien princess. With lots of electric shocks, creepy priests and flying tiger-cows, of course. Probably the closest thing this volume has to a dud story is Ran's tough-talking button, which she sends to control Ataru. The rest of the time, it's lovable mayhem, out-of-control attractions, and weird alien problems (like the cactus growing from baby Ten's head). Ataru is the same ol' girl-hunting lech as always, who inexplicably doesn't notice anything weird about Ran. Takahashi provides a bit more insight into the childhood grudges that Ran has against Lum, and also shows what happens when Oni lose their horns. Alas, fan favorites like priestess Sakura, creepy monk Cherry, and long-suffering Shinobu appear relatively briefly. The deranged Ran adds extra spice to an already funny volume of alien hijinks. A thoroughly amusing collection of sci-comedy stories.

Welcome back Ran-chan

After a couple of volumes absence from Urusei Yatsura, Ran-chan returns with a vengence. This is another brilliant book from Takahashi-sensei, and it looks more at Ran and Lum's relationship. The stories are as solid as ever, and the only flaw in its otherwise perfect visage is that it's the last one Viz have put out. There's still a huge volume of unpublished Urusei Yatsura manga out there, let's see more!

This book got me hooked!

'Ran Attacks' was my introduction to the Lum books. I've read two others since then, but 'Ran Attacks' remains my favorite. It is definitely one of, if not the funniest book in the series! When Lum's childhood friend/rival decides to be mean to her, anything can happen! Unfortunately, all Ran's mischief seems to center on poor Ataru! From Ataru being cloned, to Lum's ex fiance, Rei showing up, to the gods arriving to liven up a school party, absolutely anything can happen! I would definitely reccomend this book to anyone, but I would suggest reading 'The Perfect Collection' and 'The Return of Lum - Uresei Yatsura' first, to introduce you to the characters.