| “ |
Sorry to keep you waiting! I'm Lum. |
” |
—Lum[src]
Lum (ラム, Ramu?) is the daughter of the Oni invader. She also is the one of the major female characters from Urusei Yatsura.
History
The owner of a very sexy body, she misunderstood Ataru Moroboshi's proposal and has forced her way into his life as his "loving wife".
Lum met Ataru when he was randomly selected by a computer to face her in a game of tag with the fate of the earth on the line. Ataru had been promised marriage by Shinobu if he could win, so upon catching Lum he declared "Now I can get married!" Lum mistook this as a proposal to herself and accepted it. On her planet engagements are sacred, she is completely determined to be married to Ataru for the rest of her life, falls completely in love with him, and refers to him as "Darling (ダーリン, Darling?)". She violently shocks him whenever he looks at or flirts with another girl (or if he insults her or does something to make her unhappy), but almost always forgives him in the end.
Personality
Lum is a very sweet, innocent, faithful, and good-natured girl but she can also be jealous and get a very hot tempered, usually due to Ataru and his incessant addiction of flirting.
Appearance
Her ears are slightly pointy and she has long green hair. She has two tiny horns on her temples. She also has fangs on the top of her mouth.
Outfit
Tiger-striped bikini
She wears a tiger-striped bikini (based on the tiger-striped loincloths of mythical oni, which were made out of man's bad karma). Her bra is also used to hold some of her special devices.
School uniform
When she began attending school, she wore a sailor suit and tried to act like a typical earth girl.
Powers and other Abilities
- Flight - Lum can fly to various heights into the sky, according to her own, free will.
- Electric Shock - Lum can generate massive, electrical discharges, usually from her hands.
- Creates Various Devices - Lum usually creates various devices that almost always lead to turmoil, if not often, chaos whenever used.
Relationships
- Moroboshi Ataru - In the beginning of the story, Lum is constantly hugging and kissing Ataru (whether or not he wants it), but by the end she has calmed down considerably and simply holds onto his arm whenever they are walking somewhere. She is usually together with Ataru and does almost everything with him, be it eating lunch, going to and from school, or going to a festival. Because of this, she has come to consider and treat his room as her home, though Ataru insists she sleep in the closet. Takahashi's reason for this is that two high school students shouldn't be sleeping together. They also share a kiss in the last episode of the series "All-Star Banquet! We Are Immortal!"
- Miyake Shinobu - She initially saw Shinobu as a rival that challenged her love for Ataru. However, as the story dragged on, they eventually become close friends and allies, using Shinobu's strength and Lum's electrical powers to accomplish things together. Shinobu gradually concedes and moves onto trying to build a relationship with Mendou, and then Inaba later in the series.
- Mendou Shuutarou - Lum has always viewed Mendou as a reliable and close friend. Although Mendou strictly loves just Lum, to where she is all that his eyes can perceive, Lum is only interested in Ataru. Mendou is very defensive and protective of Lum and is always looking out to assist her whenever needed, whether with his troops or with his own life. He treats Lum in a formal fashion and usually treats her to invitations and events.
- Benten - Lum and Benten are childhood friends that have always caused trouble and havoc. They help each other whenever it is needed.
- Oyuki - Lum and Oyuki are also childhood friends, but Oyuki in contrast to Lum has always held back and usually exhibited good behavior, although she has participated in the troublesome activities that Lum has participated in. Oyuki comes to Lum's assistance whenever she needs it, usually through the classroom's closet, freezing everything in her path.
- Ran - Lum and Ran are childhood friends, but they share a great rivalry that is largely based in vengeance. Lum respects Ran and is fearful of her tantrums, often "forgetting" events in the past where she got Ran in trouble. As a child, Ran looked up to Lum as a protector, but she felt victimized by all the numerous times that Lum has gotten her in trouble, such as blaming bed wetting on her, or almost allowing her to get eaten by a dinosaur. She also despises Lum for having stolen Rei's love in the past, and feels threatened that Lum may be trying to steal Rei again. Ran followed Lum to Earth to plot her revenge. Initially, her plan was to take Ataru away from Lum, and potentially poison him with her lips. At other times, she plots to poison her herself. Despite all the hostile ambitions, Ran views Lum as a friend that is always there for her, such as during the time when she was sick and Lum stayed by her bedside all night long.
- Ruu - He is Lum's and Ataru's descendant in this movie. Ruu and Lum meet each other.
Speech
Lum refers to herself in the first person as "uchi (うち, uchi?)" and is famous for usually ending her sentences with "~datcha (～だっちゃ, ~datcha?)". When used by itself, "datcha" means "Yes". A similar speech pattern appears in Takahashi's debut work Katte na Yatsura, where the dappyamen add "dappya (だっぴゃ, dappya?)" at the end of all of their sentences.
Appellations
| Name | What They Call Lum | What Lum Calls Them |
|---|---|---|
| Moroboshi Ataru | Lum | Darling |
| Miyake Shinobu | Lum | Shinobu |
| Mendou Shuutarou | Lum-san | Shuutarou |
| Fujinami Ryuunosuke | Lum | Ryuunosuke |
| Shirai Kousuke / Lum's Stormtroopers | Lum-chan | Unknown |
| Megane | Lum-san | Megane |
| Ten | Lum-chan | Ten-chan |
| Cherry | Unknown | Cherry |
| Sakura | Lum | Sakura |
| Ataru's Mother | Lum(-chan) | Mother-in-law |
| Ataru's Father | Lum | Father-in-law |
| Onsen-Mark | Lum | Sensei |
| Hanawa | Lum-kun | Sensei |
| Principal | Lum-kun | Kouchou (Principal) |
| Ryuunosuke's Father | Unknown | Oji-san |
| Ran | Lum-chan | Ran-chan |
| Rei | Lum | Rei |
| Benten | Lum | Benten |
| Oyuki | Lum-san | Oyuki-chan |
| Lum's Father | Lum(-chan) | Tou-chan |
| Lum's Mother | Lum | Kaa-chan |
| Kurama | Oni Woman | Kurama |
| Mendou Ryouko | Oni Woman | Ryouko |
Quotes
- "Darling!"
- "Darling, you idiot!"
- "One, two, three! DIVINE RETRIBUTION!!!"
- "We're going to make a baby on Saturday night!"
- "Darling! Shinobu can go to hell!"
- "Darling, you IDIOT! Do ya wanna really forget about me!?"
- "Oooh! I will never marry such a tacky man! Tacky tacky tacky!!"
- "Umeboshi? GIVE ME UMEBOSHI!"
- "Teacher, husbands and wives should always be together, whether it's raining or windy, in the house, or even at school!"
- "Thank you, Ran. I will think hard about this..."
- "Even if it takes a "lifetime", I'll make ya say it!"
- "Will this be okay? I mean, she doesn't seem to know what darling can be like sometimes..."
Trivia
- Lum's name comes from a bikini model called Agnes Lum.
- Lum is often believed to be the protagonist of the series due to her popularity. However, Takahashi Rumiko has stated on many occasions that she had always meant for Moroboshi Ataru to be the protagonist.
- When Lum's horns are removed, her electric and flying abilities disappear and she becomes a regular girl.
- Lum drinks tobasco as if it were juice and the food she cooks is violently spicy. Eating umeboshi causes her to get drunk and she dislikes garlic.