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I LOVE THE SEA! |
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—Ryūnosuke's Father
Ryūnosuke's Father or Mr. Fujinami is the father of Ryūnosuke Fujinami and Masako Fujinami's husband. He is one of the main characters of Urusei Yatsura.
Biography[]
Several running gags surround this character, including the ever changing face of Masako Fujinami (who has been portrayed as the women from Maison Ikkoku, and even Kamen Rider), the complete denial of Ryūnosuke being a girl, and his trademark of love of the ocean.
Appearance[]
Mr. Fujinami is a bizarre man with a rather angular and stern face that hardly changes expression too much unless extremely angered, injured or genuinely shocked, and even these instances are brief, with his eyes looking as if they're always squinting yet simultaneously glaring at anyone and everything he sees even when he's happy. He has unkempt and spiky black hair that is always facing his back as well as darker skin than his daughter. He and Ryūnosuke look nothing alike despite being parent and child, which even made other characters question if they were even related upon first meeting them.
For attire, he is almost always seen wearing a simple white shirt and pants combo with a brown haramaki tied around his waist, and for footwear he usually either wears a pair of geta or goes barefoot. He also tends to dress like an old woman when doing housework. Despite his obstinate refusal to allow his daughter to wear female clothes, Mr. Fujinami himself seems to own a suspicious amount of women's clothing that he occasionally wears, although he hypocritically claims that this is done to give Ryūnosuke a maternal figure in the absence of her mother or simply give their home a feminine touch, much to Ryūnosuke's frustration.
Personality[]
Mr. Fujinami is a very surreal, unhinged and completely moronic father figure who could only be described as completely insane and delusional due to his personal dream of finding an heir to his unpopular and broken down beachside teashop for reasons that make sense only to him and which lead him to having an incredibly dysfunctional and hostile relationship with his daughter with whom he has tried to force himself and her into believing that she is a man despite all evidence to the contrary, going to ridiculous lengths to maintain the delusion by any means necessary despite failing to deceive his daughter with his constant lies.
Among his many maniacal and schizophrenic antics, he has gone as far as making all sorts of excuses and falsehoods for why his daughter is really a man, such as (just to name a few) claiming that Ryūnosuke suffers from delusion, that her boobs are swollen tumors or bug bites, that she has a crossdressing fetish, that her hourglass figure is a sign of malnourishment, or that her feminine appearance is a trick of the light. His most notable claim though was that the reason he forcefully raises Ryūnosuke as a man is because it was her mother Masako's dying wish to have a strong son (with Mr. Fujinami further adding that he would give Ryūnosuke her mother's bathing suit on her 17th birthday as an apology for the many years of brutal treatment); in truth though Mr. Fujinami later implied that she was possibly alive by going on live television and begging her to come back, likely having made the whole thing up, and to top it off there was no bathing suit, just a cooking apron which he claimed was a bathing suit. Whether there was any truth to his claim of Masako wanting a son is unknown, but considering Mr. Fujinami's track record of constant lies and delusions, it was all likely made up and the fate of Ryūnosuke's mother is still a mystery (assuming there isn't far bigger lie going on), although he does regularly claim that Masako loved Ryūnosuke very much regardless and that he genuinely can't remember anything about Masako.
His delusions concerning Ryūnosuke's fair sex aren't entirely rooted in denial though, as he is aware that Ryūnosuke is a woman, keeping all sorts of women's clothes with him supposedly meant for Ryūnosuke and constantly promising her that she will get to wear them if she ever beats him in battle, but these are mostly used simply to torment Ryūnosuke and he will always find some way to break his promise or even cheat just to get his way, such as hide when things aren't going his way or putting sleeping drugs and paralyzing poisons into Ryūnosuke's miso soup on days when he wants an easy win over his daughter, causing Ryūnosuke to rarely have anything good to eat. He even goes as far as not giving Ryūnosuke an allowance so she can't buy anything girly without him knowing and worst still using Kurama's alien technology to try and forcefully transform Ryūnosuke into a man without mercy, with Ryūnosuke even pointing out his own complete lack of sympathy and morality for his daughter during the pursuit. Mr. Fujinami has even gone out of his way to stitch the symbol for manhood on most of Ryūnosuke's clothes and even mark her down as male on all her official documents, and if it were possible, Mr. Fujinami would likely even remove all instances of Ryūnosuke being female from this website!
Despite all of this and his insistence on Ryūnosuke needing to act and dress like a man, Mr. Fujinami tends to dress like a woman himself for reasons that make sense only to him, often dressing up like an old house maid when cleaning his home claiming that it is to give their home a feminine touch and give Ryūnosuke a maternal figure to look up to in the absence of her mother (even giving Ryūnosuke permission to call him mother while wearing a dress with the symbol for womanhood in contrast to Ryūnosuke's outfits) or simply putting on women's clothes as a cheap form of disguise or for no reason at all, either doing this as another method of tormenting Ryūnosuke or he ironically has the crosdressing fetish he often accuses his daughter of having.
Lying about Ryūnosuke's womanhood isn't his only constant, as Mr. Fujinami is a chronic liar who lies about all sorts of things at almost every opportunity ever since Ryūnosuke was 1 year old, either for his own benefit or for no reason other than to just wanting to bully Ryūnosuke or enjoy personal comforts to himself (such as tasty food) without having to share due to their poverty-stricken lifestyle. Among his many lies include:
- Claiming Christmas and other holidays don't exist so he doesn't have to buy Ryūnosuke presents.
- Claiming chocolates are actually "choke-a-lots", a deadly poison made from cow's blood that Ryūnosuke should never eat while secretly eating chocolates himself so he wouldn't have to share.
- Claiming that he's a woman just to mess with Ryūnosuke.
- Claiming that him pushing Ryūnosuke down and bullying her as an infant was how you hold a baby, resulting in her almost doing the same to Ten.
- Claiming cakes don't exist while eating cake right in front of Ryūnosuke and claiming it was cold medicine.
- Claiming parfaits are only safe for girls to eat and never allowing Ryūnosuke to see one.
- Claiming a victory through cheating is still a victory, which Ryūnosuke has sorrowfully come to believe.
- Claiming that Ryūnosuke (when she was only 1 year old) has to work at the family beach shop because she's a boy, almost freezing to death during winter despite no one going to the beach during winter.
- Claiming that staying warm by a cozy fire and relaxing under a blanket during a harsh winter season is training while Ryūnosuke endures actual training with no warmth.
- Claiming that being given St. Valentine's candy from a girl will magically transform Ryūnosuke into a man.
- Claiming that expensive and tasty matsutake mushrooms are actually deadly evil mushrooms that would kill Ryūnosuke if she didn't duck and cover just so he could eat them when she wasn't looking, having put her through this routine regularly for 10 years.
- Claiming Ryūnosuke's mother is either dead or alive on a regular basis, possibly lying about how he met her and destroying all evidence that she ever existed, with the possible implication that she actually left him, assuming he isn't suffering from delusions and denial.
Ryūnosuke has pointed out that her father has a very sick sense of humor, with Mr. Fujinami considering some of his lies and attempts to bully Ryūnosuke jokes or a form of pranking. A more disturbing trait that possesses the already disturbed Mr. Fujinami is Ryūnosuke's belief that her father may be an incestuous pervert. What leads Ryūnosuke to this suspicion are instances where her father walks in on her when she's bathing or changing clothes, with Mr. Fujinami simply claiming that since they are both men (in his own deluded mind) then there should be no issue with a father seeing his naked "son" which is soon followed by Ryūnosuke beating the daylights out of him. Or when Mr. Fujinami was revealed to have been hiding in Ryūnosuke's dressing room during the Tomobiki High Beauty Contest while she was changing into a bikini, although he claims that this was to make sure that she didn't take off her chest wrappings. He also tends to occasionally grab, grope or poke at Ryūnosuke's breasts when reminding Ryūnosuke of her "swollen tumors" or "oversized bug bites", even going so far as wanting to rub salve on her breasts with his own bare hands in order to "stop the swelling" much to Ryūnosuke's disgust. Or when the girly bathing suit he finally gave to his daughter was nothing more than a skimpy apron. Or how he never allows Ryūnosuke to go out with boys, often acting as her only escort to any event and even participating in a contest that was meant to find an ideal man for herself, which he incidentally ended up winning and may have revealed that Ryūnosuke developed a bit of an unnerving electra complex due to wanting a man similar to her father (a matter which was made even worse during a heart-related incident). However in all of these instances Mr. Fujinami maintains his deadpan expression and never shows any sign of arousal or nosebleeds like other perverted characters, suggesting that he is either good at hiding his emotions or that he's just being his usual deluded self with no awareness of how inappropriate his idiotic actions are. Ryūnosuke considers these to be his most sickest jokes.
Mr. Fujinami notably has a very unusual and deep seated hatred of the ocean yet at the same time has a strong affinity towards it that defies explanation, traits which he has passed onto Ryūnosuke and is one of the few things that they can both enjoy doing together without fighting (at least for more than a few seconds), with their mutual hatred of the ocean stemming from the high tide always damaging their beach shop and driving away customers for most of the year. He will often curse the ocean and throw insults at it, always encouraging Ryūnosuke to yell at the ocean alongside him with utmost discrimination or even try to physically fight the ocean to which even Ryūnosuke draws the line at and points out that it makes no sense as the ocean isn't a person that can be punched.
Powers and Abilities[]
Like Ryūnosuke, Mr. Fujinami is a strong fighter with a unique fighting style and impressive endurance, exchanging multiple bloody blows with his almost superhuman daughter as well as enduring other forms of collateral damage on a daily basis and usually being strong enough to lift large loads by himself and break through walls easily when necessary. Like his daughter, his stamina is just as superhuman, as he is almost always seen battling Ryūnosuke and even when they're not fighting, a fight is sure to erupt eventually.
Mr. Fujinami's durability can be inconsistent at times as he is sometimes easily overwhelmed from a serious punch from Ryūnosuke or when the students of Tomobiki High gang up on him, yet it only a matter of time before he quickly recovers, although he has been known to fake being knocked out to lull his opponents into a false sense of security. He is also somehow capable of mysteriously appearing out of nowhere in an instant the moment Ryūnosuke is about to achieve her dream of being girly as if acting as some sort of a living law of nature existing to stop his daughter from wearing a girl's outfit at every possible opportunity.
He is shown to be quite swift and nimble, often hopping and dancing around on his tiptoes as if he was weightless, usually when taunting Ryūnosuke or promoting his goods at the school shop.
Out of all of his battle skills and his complete lack of mercy when fighting, Mr. Fujinami's most dangerous skill is his constant use of deceit and trickery to win arguments both verbal and physical, shamelessly using tools, weapons, explosives or even drugs and poisons to get his way, even on his own daughter who acts as his most frequent victim.
For some unknown reason and despite his hatred of the sea, Mr. Fujinami is capable of summoning waves from the sea no matter where he is which he seemingly does for dramatic or comedic effect but they have an actual impact on the environment and can be seen by horrified onlookers. Sometimes he will even arrive from out of nowhere while riding on a small or large wave in the middle of a road or street or even inside a building which will then wash away anyone caught in the current.
Relationships[]
Ryūnosuke's father is regarded with near-universal disgust and abhorrence by those around him, with the vehemency of their dislike largely stemming from how frequently they interact with him and in what capacity. He rarely interacts with others, at least enough to form a distinct relationship, but there are a few noteworthy examples.
Ryūnosuke herself absolutely loathes her father, regarding him as the single greatest blight on her existence and attributing all of her suffering - correctly - to his insane antics and irrational demands. Father and daughter fight incessantly, and in extremely violent manners. The two of them think nothing of beating each other bloody, attacking each other at the slightest provocation. Ryūnosuke's father does care for his daughter, deep down, but that caring emerges twisted through his selfishness and delusions; he is determined to have a strong, proud, manly son, and refuses to let Ryūnosuke's refusal to forsake her gender identity get in the way of that. Whilst at times they can act like a loving father/daughter pair, such moments are rare and brief. Even when they aren't fighting over his attempts to force Ryūnosuke to pretend to be a boy, Mr. Fujinami is shown to actively enjoy tormenting Ryūnosuke, either to keep delicious food for himself or just for his own twisted amusement.
Onsen-Mark personally thinks that Mr. Fujinami is a bad father, trying to stop him from getting Ryūnosuke assigned to boy's PE class and to call him out on his bad parenting during parent/teacher meetings, but Mr. Fujinami largely ignores such protests. Indeed, he ignores them so well that he actually seems to think Onsen-Mark is a friend, and the two men have been sighted casually drinking together when not at-work.
Nagisa Shiowatari is the only person who can genuinely be said to have an outright positive opinion of Ryūnosuke's father; he perceives the man as his father-in-law, and treats him with all the respect and deference he feels such a position demands. Because of this, and because Nagisa's feminine behavior and dress doesn't threaten Mr. Fujinami's delusions about Ryūnosuke being a boy, Mr. Fujinami genuinely likes Nagisa and speaks highly of him as his "daughter-in-law", actively pushing for the two of them to get together.
To be added.
Tomobiki High School Principal
The Tomobiki High School Principal seems to be utterly oblivious to how insane Ryūnosuke's father is, and so the two of them get on well.
The students of Class 2-A normally treat Mr. Fujinami with the politeness that "proper behavior" demands, but personally dislike him immensely. The boys in particular have been known to physically assault him, although it's very rare that they get so worked up about him.
Appellations[]
| Name | What They Call Ryūnosuke's Father | What Ryūnosuke's Father Calls Them |
|---|---|---|
| Ryūnosuke Fujinami | Kuso–Oyaji (shitty–father), Hentai-Oyaji (pervert-father), Baka-Oyaji (stupid-father) | Ryūnosuke, Ryūnosuke-kun |
| Masako Fujinami | Unknown | Masako-chan |
| Onsen-Mark | Fujinami-san (Mr. Fujinami) | Sensei-kun (Teach') |
| Nagisa Shiowatari | Otou-sama (Honorable Father/Honorable Father-in-Law) | Nagisa-chan |
| Nagisa's Father | Fujinami-kun | Shiowatari-kun |
| Ataru Moroboshi | Otou-san (Pops/Father-in-Law) | Moroboshi |
Quotes[]
- "STUPID OCEAN!"
- "Why do you not turn your wrath against our enemy, THE SEA?!"
- "O' traitor sea! Oh stupid ocean!"
- "Ryūnosuke you must listen to your father! The ocean cannot defeat a strong man!"
- "Come on! Come on, yo!"
- "I LOVE THE SEA!"
- "MASAKO!"
- "If you keep those tumors* hanging, they're going to sag, son."
- "I'M A WOMAN TOO! Not..."
Trivia[]
- His first seiyū would be the second voice of Maomolin from Ranma ½, due to Yō Yoshimura passing away of subarachnoid hemorrhage.
- He also shares some traits in common with Genma Saotome from Ranma ½, who is also a self-centered and abusive father (although even Genma's harsh actions may not be able to compete with Mr. Fujinami's own brutal antics) with similar facial features who frequently lied to his child and put them through a harsh upbringing for the sake of keeping a promise to his wife about raising their child into a strong man, as well as both forcing an arranged marriage upon their children with the children of an old friend.
- Ryūnosuke and her father's relationship mirrors and parodies the harsh father-son relationship between Ittetsu Hoshi and Hyūma Hoshi from the anime and manga series Kyojin no Hoshi's which came out many years before Urusei Yatsura, as it also deals with an incredibly harsh father punishing his son and pushing him to his physical limits in order to carry on his legacy, however where as their relationship is portrayed as more of a romanticized serious drama with them occasionally finding common ground and affection in improving their baseball skills in overly idealistic scenarios, Ryūnosuke and her father's relationship is portrayed as a tragic comedy and any instance where it seems that Ryūnosuke and her father find common ground and affection immediately falls apart due to Mr. Fujinami's own reasoning being completely insane and pointlessly cruel and Ryūnosuke quickly realizing that her father is a moron, with Mr. Fujinami sometimes just bullying, tormenting or even poisoning Ryūnosuke for no discernible reason, with the abuse being portrayed as an actual negative with no idealization, that in no way helps to prepare her to run her family's teashop which normally results in both parent and child beating the stuffing out of each other.
- Several chapters and episodes even have both of them parodying instances from Kyojin no Hoshi.
- Their relationship may also be a parody of Oscar François de Jarjayes and her father from The Rose of Versailles manga and anime which came out years before the release of the Urusei Yatsura anime and manga, where instead of both characters being portrayed as wealthy aristocrats and the father's desire for a male heir being glossed over and romanticized, Ryūnosuke and her father are instead portrayed as poor and unkempt civilians and with Mr. Fujinami's actions being fully shown as realistically and unnecessarily cruel by putting his daughter through his brutal treatment and training regime since infancy just to meet with his selfish desire for a male heir.
- This is seemingly further enforced in Episode 65 where Ataru, Megane and Mendo imagine Ryūnosuke naked in a surreal setting wrapped in rose thorns when thinking about how her father's upbringing might have messed her up, mirroring the final image of the opening sequence of The Rose of Versailles anime where Oscar was also naked and wrapped in rose thorns in a surreal setting.
- His third seiyū previously voiced Megane from the original Urusei Yatsura anime series, Yotsuya from Maison Ikkoku and Sasuke Sarugakure from Ranma ½.
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