Come for the food and drink inspired by Rumiko Takahashi’s first manga series, stay for the special guest appearance by Maison Ikkoku.
Anime and manga fans got some great news earlier this month when the announcement was made that Rumiko Takahashi, legendary creator of manga including Ranma 1/2 and Inu-Yasha, has a new serial in the works. However, the dark lining to that otherwise silver cloud is that we’ll have to wait until spring for the new series to debut.
In the meantime, though, fans will be getting a chance to go all the way back to Takahashi’s first major manga, but in a whole new way, with the opening of an Urusei Yatsura Cafe in Tokyo and four other cities in Japan!
▼ The cafe’s concept logo is steeped in the disco sci-fi aesthetic that characterized the comic upon its start in 1978.
Like the Ranma 1/2 Cafe we visited (and loved) back in January, the Urusei Yatsura Cafe is a pop-up eatery housed in department store Parco’s The Guest restaurant, which hosts themed establishments on a rotating basis. Aside from interior decorating saluting the series and its characters, customers can enjoy a wide variety of food and drink inspired by the cast and antics of the influential anime/manga about a lecherous high school boy and his lovingly devoted, frighteningly violent accidental alien princess bride.
While the entrees, such as the above-pictured Boy Meets Girl Pasta and Ran’s Hamburger Basket of Love for Rei, have nice nods to Urusei Yatsura’s romantic pairings, some of the most inventive items are the menus are the desserts. Pint-sized pyrotechnician Ten, for example, is credited with cooking the Ten’s Flame-Charred French Toast (which actually looks to be a delicious mix of chocolate and strawberry), served with a handwritten apology in the character’s child-like poor penmanship.
Also eye-catching is the cherry cream-filled Cherry’s Pancake, named after, and looking exactly like, the deranged monk who flip-flops between trying to save Urusei Yatsura’s eternally unlucky protagonist Ataru from the menagerie of evil spirits drawn to him and just nonchalantly telling him he’s doomed.
Then there’s the mysterious “Waaa! It’s Dark and Cramped and Scary Octopus Trap Parfait,” which references ordinarily suave rich boy Mendo’s fear of dark, enclosed spaces.
In an extra-special twist, there’s even one dish from another of the prolific Takahashi’s manga. Urusei Yatsura’s original serialization overlapped with that of Maison Ikkoku, her most down-to-earth series, which focuses on a bumbling college student’s with a crush on his widowed apartment manager. The two share a complexly emotional moment when Kyoko, the widow, makes dinner for them using a recipe that her late husband loved, and you can now try it for yourself by ordering the Kyoko’s Stir-Fried Liver and Garlic Chives, which comes with a paper apron featuring the same “piyo piyo” cheeping chick from Kyoko’s in-manga apron.
Maison Ikkoku doesn’t get its own drink, unfortunately, but there’s a full lineup of Urusei Yatsura beverages, such as Lum’s Electrifying Smoothie, made with mango and green apple flavors accentuated with fizzing candies, and Lum’s Pickled Plum Cocktail, which despite its mature presentation is entirely non-alcoholic.
This being a Japanese themed cafe, latte art coffee is also, of course on the menu…
…and. naturally, ordering any of the cafe’s unique beverages gets you a randomly selected character art coaster.
▼ Considering that the anime has shown that trying to look handsome for an extended period of time causes the face of male lead Ataru (second from left in the top row) to contort in violent muscular spasms, it’s unusual to see him appearing so normal.
Prices for drinks hover around 800 yen (US$7), while food prices are in the 1400-yen ballpark. You’ll also want to bring some extra cash for the Urusei Yatsura Popup Store that’ll also be open during the cafe’s run and stocked with items including, but not limited to, the ones seen below.
▼ Key chains
▼ Small plates/candy dishes (the purple Kyoko plate seems to be the only Maison Ikkoku item on offer).
▼ Earrings
▼ Coffee mug
▼ Tote bag and zippered pouches
▼ And, for the truly dedicated Urusei Yatsura fan, a neon Lum sign, which is only available through Parco’s online store by preorder and costs 160,000 yen.
The Urusei Yatsura Cafe will be coming to five different Parco The Guest locations, with different dates for each:
● Fukuoka Parco: December 21-January 28
● Sapporo Parco: December 29-February 25
● Tokyo Ikebukuro Parco: January 11-March 31
● Nagoya Parco: January 18-March 31
● Osaka Shinsaibashi Parci: March 30-May 28.
If our visit to The Guest’s Ranma 1/2 restaurant is anything to go by, the Urusei Yatsura Cafe should be a serious treat for fans, but you should also expect a long line for a table, so arriving early (the Tokyo Ikebukuro cafe opens at 10 a.m.) would be a good idea.
Restaurant information
Urusei Yatsura Cafe (Tokyo Ikebukuro) / うる星やつらカフェ（東京池袋）
Venue: The Guest Café and Diner
Address: Tokyo-to, Toshima-ku, Minami Ikebukuro 1-28-2, Ikebukuro Parco Main Building, 7th floor 東京都豊島区南池袋１−２８−２池袋パルコ 本館7F Open 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
January 11-March 31
Website
Related: Urusei Yatsura Cafe Osaka Shinsaibashi, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Sapporo
Source: The Guest via Entabe
Images: The Guest
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