She came here to take over the world and ended up falling in love with one of its people. Able to make enemies into friends if given enough time. She’s from beyond the stars and can fly to where she’s needed. She’s Lum! Who is this alien princess though and what caused her to stop taking over Earth? Let’s find out!
Lum Invader of the Oni alien race grew up as royalty. She and her friends would often get into trouble but Lum was able to get away with it while another of her friends, Ran, would take all the blame. This would lead to problems in the future but for now, Lum loved her life. When the time came for the Oni to take over Earth, it was customary to allow a random individual form the planet to represent their defense by engaging one of the Oni in a game of tag. Lum was the Oni representative while a young human named Ataru was the Earth’s.
Ataru would win the game, saving the Earth, but in the process of tagging Lum he would say that now he could get married. To help motivate him to win, his girlfriend, Shinobu said she’d marry him if he won. Lum mistook this as a proposal and her people take marriage proposals very seriously so Lum accepted it and moved into Ataru’s place, his closet to be exact. Lum’s feelings for Ataru were very strong, she was ready to love for the rest of her life.
It was a culture shock, but not really for Lum but everyone around her having to deal with her ways. Even though they hadn’t taken over it sure felt like it was Lum’s world and we just lived in it. She was going to the same school as Ataru and unknowingly breaking the hearts of half the student body by simply existing and only caring about Ataru. She didn’t get along with Shinobu at first, seeing this girlfriend as a rival to her betrothed darling.
Things would have been weird enough had it just been Lum who came to Earth, but eventually her old friends and family would come by to cause new culture clashes and misunderstandings. Ran would return to seek vengeance after all those years as kids, getting blamed for Lum’s misdeeds. This came as a surprise to Lum but she did learn to respect her friend’s righteous anger. She’d also have to deal with the fact that Ataru wasn’t the only one with a pre-existing paramour. Turns out, Lum had already been engaged to someone else but this man bored her to tears due to their incompatibility. She’d have to make right by a lot of these old enemies and allies to help her grow as a person.
Time went on and Lum would grow more accustomed to Earth’s nonsense and genuinely grow closer with Ataru. Her rivalry with Shinobu would become a strong friendship as the two were able to realize their similarities and celebrate their differences. She’d grow a strong relationship with Ataru’s family, she and his mother would become the ideal mother-in-law and daughter-in-law connection. Lum went from ready to conquer to ready to love and finally ready to be with her friends and family on Earth, both new and old.
There you have it! Lum is from the same creator as Ranma 1/2 and InuYasha, Rumiko Takahashi. It’s her earliest work and still thought of fondly by many a fan of manga and anime. The character of Lum and her story helped form a lot of mainstay ideas in manga and anime like theme songs being pop songs. Her famous green hair was originally ever-changing but the anime’s animation limitations meant it was easier to pick one weird color and stay with it. Funny how limitations can sometimes create such amazing ideas. See you next time!
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Dr. Bustos
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