The new #UruseiYatsuya is really well done, and the current sub-plot is no exception.
I had forgotten just how deep the love-hate relationship between #Lum and #Ataru went, but the latest episode puts it on full display.
It may not be that obvious to a westerner why Ataru can’t bring himself to say, even as a lie that he likes/loves Lum, even when the fate of the world is on his shoulders. Ataru is so wrapped up in his own emotions for Lum that the opposite thing comes out. It’s that very childlike side of him that pokes fun at her to mask that he’s actually quite taken by her, a fact which leaks out from time to time, so he over-compensates.
This way of thinking may be foreign to anyone younger than 30, and most younger than 50, but I swear, Ataru reminds me of my grandfather, and how he expressed his affection by insulting us grandkids, with the most mischievous smile on his face.


