10 Tv Shows Anime Like Urusei Yatsura Thereviewgeek Recommends

More Romance & Comedy Narratives Await You!

With its 2022 remake on the horizon, it’s great to reflect on the wonderful romantic comedy 80s anime Urusei Yatsura. This show is a bundle of joy and humor. It features unconventional characters, and nonstop facial and bodily humor, and it will brighten anyone’s day. It’s about a boy named Ataru Moroboshi, whose selected to represent Earth in a war against aliens. His opponent is a reserved alien princess named Lum, who doesn’t take her job seriously. After defeating Lum in a game of tag, he finds himself in a pickle. Lum mistakes one of his humorous gestures as a wedding proposal and accepts his offer. Therefore, the anime follows the daily lives of Ataru and Lum, as he struggles to attend to Lum’s needs while trying to safeguard his already broken relationship with another girl. Fear not if you’re having trouble finding anime similar to Urusei Yatsura! We’ve discovered 10 alternate shows that’ll give you a similar experience as Urusei Yatsura. Additionally, for each anime we’ve reviewed, we’ve included a link that allows you to view our full thoughts about the series to see if it’s worth your time. So without further ado, we present 10 TV shows that should whet your appetite when you’ve finished streaming Urusei Yatsura!

To Love Ru

Similarities – Story & Comedy

To Love Ru feels like a spiritual clone of Urusei Yatsura in many ways. Both anime involve men getting into a romantic affair with an alien princess and having to deal with the nonstop hilarity that comes with it. This anime’s male protagonist, Rito Yuuki is different from Ataru, though. Unlike Ataru, Rito appears timider around females and can’t muster the courage to ask any girl out on a date. However, Rito and Ataru both have intimate feelings for another girl but have trouble satisfying their alien fiancé and their real love interests. To Love Ru tackles humor similarly to Urusei Yatsura. Both shows utilize their bodily humor and visual gags to generate laughs from the audience. You can expect these shows to feature a wide array of fan service depicting girls in rather sensual attire and circumstances. If you’re looking for an anime with a similar plot and a more timid male protagonist, check out To Love Ru.

Ranma 1/2

Similarities – Art Style & Shared Author

Ranma 1/2 was another work created by Rumiko Takahashi and offers a great deal of humor and romance. Like Urusei Yatsura, this anime doesn’t feature a complex plotline. It tends to stray away from its storyline to spend more time fleshing out its characters and their relationships. Contrarily, Ranma 1/2 feels slightly more action-packed than Urusei Yatsura. This is due to its main character’s infatuation with martial arts and fighting. As a result, fans can expect characters in Ranma 1/2 to encounter the same type of absurdities Lum and Ataru do. Ranma 1/2 follows Ranma Saotome, a martial arts prodigy who finds himself in a peculiar dilemma. After falling into a cursed spring with his father, Ranma gains the ability to transform into a woman by getting splashed by cold water. Only hot water can transform him back. To make matters worse, Ranma learns that his father set him up to marry the daughter of a famed martial arts master. Although Soun learns of Ranma’s transformative powers, he proceeds with the marriage and has Ranma marry his youngest daughter Akane. Unfortunately, Akane isn’t fond of men, but she is a skilled martial artist. Therefore, the anime details Ranma and Akane’s quest to work together as they tackle numerous villains and meet new love interests.

Maison Ikkoku

Similarities – Romance

Maison Ikkoku feels like a more serious approach toward romance than Urusei Yatsura. Despite both series being created by Rumiko Takahashi, this series feels more realistic and less absurd than her prior works. That doesn’t mean Maison Ikkoku doesn’t have its own bundle of humor. The comedy you’ll find in Maison Ikkoku feels more wholesome and less bizarre. You can expect characters to utter funny lines and showcase signs of facial humor. However, this is a tale that’ll appeal to those that were hoping for a more realistic take on Lum and Ataru’s relationship. This series also contains phenomenal plot progression and wraps everything up in a neat bow toward its climax. It’s a love story that’s very relatable and will leave fans satisfied. Urusei Yatsura fans should give this anime a watch if they’re looking to see Rumiko tackle a more grounded romance series.

Kimagure Orange Road

Similarities – Paranormal Romance Narratives

Kimagure Orange Road is another anime from the 80s with an episodic plot structure and an enjoyable romance angle. This anime’s about a boy named Kyousuke Kasuga, who has spent his entire childhood avoiding everyone out of fear that they’ll find out about his family’s paranormal abilities. One day, he meets a girl named Madoka Ayukawa, who happens to be a delinquent known for smoking, drinking, and fighting people. Her friend, Hikaru, falls in love with Kyousuke, resulting in Kyousuke ending up in a love triangle. Not only does he need to safeguard his relationship with these girls, but he must deal with his family’s paranormal issues. As one can tell, Kimagure Orange Road offers a similar character dynamic and plot structure as Urusei Yatsura. You have a paranormal entity falling in love with a human being and there’s a hidden love triangle thrown in the mix to keep things intriguing. The comedy in this anime is on par with the humor you’d find in Urusei Yatsura and is sure to get a rise out of you. Urusei Yatsura fans looking for another paranormal romance anime full of charm and wonder should give Kimagure Orange Road a chance.

Gintama

Similarities – Wacky Characters & Scenarios

Gintama is what happens when you remove the romantic aspects of Urusei Yatsura and go full force with its comedy. Underneath Gintama’s parodic and gag humor lies a story rich in character progression, backstory, and nuance. Gintama is a slightly episodic series with enough content to satisfy any fan of comedies and samurai anime. Gintama’s fourth-wall-breaking jokes are well-written and are guaranteed to make you crack a smile or a laugh. The animation isn’t too impressive, but like its characters and story, it gets better as the series continues. You’ll cheer on its protagonist Gintoki and his friends during their fights while giggling at them during their blunders. Like Urusei Yatsura, this is a comedy anime worth watching if you need to free yourself from a stressful day. Trust me, you’re in for a phenomenal time.

Dog Gods!

Similarities – Romantic Comedy

If you enjoyed the character dynamic between Ataru and Lum, then you’ll find Keita and Youko’s relationship in Dog Gods familiar and entertaining. Like Lum, Youko will scold Keita for his flirtatious attempts at scoring a date with other women. In time, Keita will learn to appreciate Youko’s company and formulate a strong bond with her. At the same time, Keita will get placed in situations that are downright hilarious. Like Ataru, you don’t need to worry about Keita’s actions going unpunished. Dog God’s animation and art style shouldn’t be written off. This show utilizes its character designs to their fullest potential. Like Urusei Yatsura, this show incorporates its slapstick and bodily humor effectively. While some of its characters may look jarring at times, the show never fails to make you laugh.

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

Similarities – Slice of Life & Comedy

Imagine having a personal maid that can transform into a dragon. That’s the life our female protagonist Miss Kobayashi leads in Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid. This series features everything Urusei Yatsura fans adored about that show from hilarious jokes to bonkers facial humor. Our tale revolves around Kobayashi, a stoic programmer who encounters a dragon one night. Kobayashi offers Tooru a place to stay since she’s homeless. To repay Kobayashi, Tooru transforms into a human maid who must cater to Kobayashi’s needs. In spite of this, Kobayashi realizes that having a dragon maid is troubling. While their lives together start off wonky, the show excellently develops Kobayashi and Tooru’s relationship wonderfully. The show introduces numerous side characters with distinct personalities. Watching these characters clash with Kobayashi and Tooru really sets up the show’s family theme. If you’re looking for a hilarious and sweet show with more emphasis on family values, check out Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid.

Dr. Slump & Arale-chan

Similarities – Comedy

Dr. Slump & Arale-chan is a nonstop hilarious roller coaster ride. This is one of Akira Toriyama’s works that’s often overshadowed by his more popular series, Dragon Ball. While these shows have crossed over in the past, Toriyama’s comedic routes lie heavier in Dr. Slump & Arale Chan. That said, this show offers a similar retro art style aesthetic as Urusei Yatsura. Arale and Lum are otherworldly beings with supernatural abilities. Despite being an android, Arale’s curiosity will lead her down many troubling routes that will require her to utilize her god-like strength. Dr. Slump & Arale-chan tells a simple story about Dr. Slump and Arale’s strange lives in Penguin Village. While the former is a genius he lacks strength, which is vice versa for the latter. This is a series best watched with your brain turned off. If you enjoy shows where you can sit back and watch the madness unfold, then this might be up your alley.

School Rumble

Similarities – School Life, Romance, Comedy

School Rumble is anime with an emphasis on school life, romance, and comedy. In it, students exhibit nervous behaviors when approaching their love interest from unrequited love and unspoken confessions. It’s a show many will find relatable and hilarious. Our tale follows Tenma and Kenji’s attempts at confessing their love for the people they adore. The show places these two in embarrassing and wholesome scenarios that will make their mission more challenging. At the same time, it’s these obstacles that make the show an enjoyable watch for many fans. Viewers can anticipate our characters to endure embarrassing school-oriented tasks that will lower their confidence and self-esteem. Some include relatable scenarios like arriving late to class or failing to meet the expectations of higher-ups and friends. Fans who enjoyed seeing Ataru’s nonstop failures in Urusei Yatsura will adore seeing Tenma and Kenji commit multiple mistakes.

Doraemon

Similarities – Sci-Fi, Characters, Themes

Doraemon is in the same boat as Urusei Yatsura. It is an unforgotten classic with a nice following and somehow has spawned multiple adaptations from feature films to laid-back video games. That said, Doraemon doesn’t offer any romantic love triangles like Urusei Yatsura. However, it places our protagonist Nobita in fun-filled explorative sci-fi-themed adventures that will keep viewers invested. This show approaches its storytelling from an episodic standpoint like Urusei Yatsura and manages to build up Nobita’s bond with his futuristic cat companion, Doraemon. Comparably, Lum and Doraemon will feel like hindrances in our male protagonists’ lives. Nobita, like Ataru, isn’t a well-loved individual and ends up getting involved in crude exchanges with people that enter his life. It isn’t until he meets and spends time with Doraemon, that he develops a more optimistic and mature outlook on life. So there we have it, our 10 anime/TV show alternatives to watch when you’ve caught up with Urusei Yatsura! What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!