{ "id": "ep4w2v0fk3", "slug": "urusei-yatsura-2-beautiful-dreamer", "title": "Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer (うる星やつら2 ビューティフル・ドリーマー)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form", "label": "Films by genre, form, and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts", "label": "Animated and short films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.anime-features", "label": "Japanese anime features", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.anime-features" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.anime-features.yr-1932-1998", "label": "Released 1932 to 1998", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.anime-features.yr-1932-1998" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.anime-features", "label": "Asia (other) · 1946 to 2000: Japanese anime features", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.anime-features", "path": [ { "id": "geo.asia", "label": "Asia (other)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t1946", "label": "Asia (other) · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form", "label": "Films by genre, form, and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts", "label": "Animated and short films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.anime-features", "label": "Japanese anime features", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.anime-features" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer (うる星やつら2 ビューティフル・ドリーマー) is a 1984 anime film by Mamoru Oshii, second theatrical adaptation of Rumiko Takahashi's manga, in which Tomobiki-cho is trapped in an endlessly repeating dream before the school festival.", "snippet": "Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer (うる星やつら2 ビューティフル・ドリーマー) is a 1984 anime film by Mamoru Oshii, second theatrical adaptation of Rumiko Takahashi's manga, in which Tomobiki-cho is trapped in an endlessly repeating dream before the school festival.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.animated-shorts.anime-features.yr-1932-1998", "markdown": "# Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer (うる星やつら2 ビューティフル・ドリーマー)\n\n**Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer** (うる星やつら2 ビューティフル・ドリーマー) is a 1984 Japanese animated film directed and written by [Mamoru Oshii](https://www.edgepedia.org/mamoru-oshii), the second theatrical feature based on [Rumiko Takahashi](https://www.edgepedia.org/rumiko-takahashi)'s manga *Urusei Yatsura*. In it, the residents of Tomobiki-cho find that the day before their high school's cultural festival repeats endlessly, and the town gradually reveals itself to be trapped inside a dream.[1](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=17402) • [2](https://pierrot.jp/archive/movie_b2000/mov_02.html) Though atypical of the franchise, it is regarded as the most highly regarded entry of the series' films and an early marker of the direction Oshii's later career would take.[3](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/urusei_yatsura_2_beautiful_dreamer)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | February 11, 1984, Toho theaters; produced by Toho and Kitty Films, animated by Studio Pierrot with Studio Deen cooperation[1](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=17402) • [4](https://eiga.com/movie/34968/) |\n| Director and writer | Mamoru Oshii, who also directed the TV series' first two seasons and the first film, *Urusei Yatsura: Only You* (1983)[3](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/urusei_yatsura_2_beautiful_dreamer) |\n| Original work | Rumiko Takahashi's manga, serialized in Shogakukan's *Weekly Shōnen Sunday*[2](https://pierrot.jp/archive/movie_b2000/mov_02.html) |\n| Premise | The day before the school festival loops forever; the town decays, people vanish, and the characters are trapped in an infinite dream[2](https://pierrot.jp/archive/movie_b2000/mov_02.html) |\n| Running time | Reported as 97 minutes by Studio Pierrot, 98 minutes by Kinenote and Eiga.com, and 99 minutes by The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction[2](https://pierrot.jp/archive/movie_b2000/mov_02.html) • [1](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=17402) • [3](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/urusei_yatsura_2_beautiful_dreamer) |\n| Format | Color, American Vista aspect ratio (1:1.85), 35 mm, monaural sound[1](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=17402) |\n| Recognition | 7th place, Japanese film division, Kinema Junpo readers' Best Ten for 1984 (first place went to *Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind*)[5](https://www.oshii-lab.com/home/works/%E6%98%A0%E7%94%BB%E3%82%A2%E3%83%8B%E3%83%A1%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A7%E3%83%B3/%E3%81%86%E3%82%8B%E6%98%9F%E3%82%84%E3%81%A4%E3%82%892%E3%83%93%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%83%86%E3%82%A3%E3%83%95%E3%83%AB%E3%83%89%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%9E%E3%83%BC) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Story\nWith the cultural festival one day away, Tomobiki High School is busy with preparations, and Ataru Moroboshi and his classmates are staying overnight at school to work. Their teacher Onsen-Mark and the school nurse Sakura notice that the day before the festival is repeating endlessly, and order everyone home, but Tomobiki-cho is already in an abnormal state.[4](https://eiga.com/movie/34968/) The town decays, people disappear, and the mystery of the unending loop unfolds; Ataru, the alien girl Lum, and the others are trapped inside an infinite dream.[2](https://pierrot.jp/archive/movie_b2000/mov_02.html) The dream is the work of the dream-eating demon Mujaki (夢邪鬼), voiced by Taku Takahawa (藤岡琢也) in the Japanese cast.[1](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=17402) At the film's climax, the characters discover they have all become part of the dream of Lum, and at the end another yōkai appears, Baku the dream eater.[7](https://ppgl56bcd5c26e0.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Zipes-Greenhill-Magnus-Johnston_Fairy-Tale-Films-Beyond-Disney-International-Perspectives.pdf)\n\nThe main cast carried over from the television series: Fumi Hirano as Lum, Toshio Furukawa as Ataru, Akira Kamiya as Shūtarō Mendo, Saeko Shimazu as Shinobu Miyake, Machiko Washio as Sakura, and Chiba Shigeru as Megane.[3](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/urusei_yatsura_2_beautiful_dreamer) • [2](https://pierrot.jp/archive/movie_b2000/mov_02.html)\n\n## Production\nThe film was produced by Toho and Kitty Films, with animation by Studio Pierrot and cooperation from [Studio Deen](https://www.edgepedia.org/studio-deen).[1](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=17402) • [4](https://eiga.com/movie/34968/) Oshii served as both director and screenwriter, Junji Nishimura as episode director, Kazuo Yamazaki as character designer and animation director, Shichirō Kobayashi as art director, and Masaru Hoshi as composer; the theme song, \"Ai wa Boomerang\" (愛はブーメラン), was sung by Yūko Matsutani.[1](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=17402) • [5](https://www.oshii-lab.com/home/works/%E6%98%A0%E7%94%BB%E3%82%A2%E3%83%8B%E3%83%A1%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A7%E3%83%B3/%E3%81%86%E3%82%8B%E6%98%9F%E3%82%84%E3%81%A4%E3%82%892%E3%83%93%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%83%86%E3%82%A3%E3%83%95%E3%83%AB%E3%83%89%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%9E%E3%83%BC)\n\nIn a later interview, Oshii said he had not consulted Rumiko Takahashi about the original script. He described the first film, *Only You*, as a rushed job completed in four or five months that he considered \"a fan movie, an event movie\" rather than a real film; for the sequel, an earlier script draft was scrapped after half a year of problems, and he treated the project as an independent film, revamping the character designs and costumes and building parts of the school from scratch.[6](https://eigageijutsu.blogspot.com/2013/11/interview-with-mamoru-oshii-on-urusei.html?m=1)\n\n## Reception and controversy\nThe film departed sharply from the franchise's usual tone. Oshii's earlier work on *Urusei Yatsura* had been largely frothy entertainment, while *Beautiful Dreamer* is concerned with perception, playing with time, dreams, and reality, and employs a surreal art style unlike that previously used on the show.[3](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/urusei_yatsura_2_beautiful_dreamer) According to Brian Ruh, author of *Stray Dog of Anime: The Films of Mamoru Oshii*, this shift in filmmaking priorities angered a number of viewers, and some fans were reportedly so upset by Oshii's treatment of the characters that they sent him letters containing razor blades.[8](https://cultureinjection.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/brian-ruh-stray-dog-of-anime-the-films-of-mamoru-oshii.pdf) A contemporary account in *Animage* described the film as a hit that also sparked controversy.[9](https://the.sunet.furinkan.com/features/interviews/animage198502a.html)\n\nAssessment rose over time. The film placed 7th in the Japanese film division of the 1984 Kinema Junpo readers' poll, behind the year's first-place *Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind*.[5](https://www.oshii-lab.com/home/works/%E6%98%A0%E7%94%BB%E3%82%A2%E3%83%8B%E3%83%A1%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A7%E3%83%B3/%E3%81%86%E3%82%8B%E6%98%9F%E3%82%84%E3%81%A4%E3%82%892%E3%83%93%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%83%86%E3%82%A3%E3%83%95%E3%83%AB%E3%83%89%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%9E%E3%83%BC) The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction calls it, though atypical, the most highly regarded of the franchise's six films, displaying signs of the path Oshii would later take in *Angel's Egg* (1985), *Ghost in the Shell* (1995), and *[The Sky Crawlers](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-sky-crawlers)* (2008).[3](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/urusei_yatsura_2_beautiful_dreamer) A Japanese retrospective notes that while the first film's reputation was mixed, later evaluation came to favor the second.[10](https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/p-library/books/e502414ef8acbbea7340f69dde32c3f4.pdf) On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 92% Tomatometer from two reviews, with a critics' consensus crediting it as an important step in Oshii finding his unique voice.[11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/urusei_yatsura_movie_2_beautiful_dreamer)\n\n## Place in Oshii's career\nThe film is widely treated as the origin point of Oshii's style. Japanese sources describe it as the foundation and breakthrough work (出世作) of the director who later made *Ghost in the Shell*.[12](https://www.neowing.co.jp/product/TBR-25018D) Oshii himself identified the film's structure as a method he favored and used here for the first time: the story begins in the characters' ordinary high school lives and grows steadily stranger, with the action having occurred long before the film begins, so that by the time the cast realizes something is wrong they have already repeated the same day an unknown number of times.[6](https://eigageijutsu.blogspot.com/2013/11/interview-with-mamoru-oshii-on-urusei.html?m=1) A 2008 [Yomiuri Shimbun](https://www.edgepedia.org/yomiuri-shimbun) interview with Oshii connected the film's endless repetition of the night before a school festival to his dissatisfaction with the idea of \"eternal youth,\" noting that the concept and execution took the film beyond anime geared toward children.[13](https://bio-psycho-social.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/time-loop-movies.pdf)\n\nScholarship has also examined the film's animation technique. Takafumi Matsuno, in a 2008 article in the *Japanese Journal of Animation Studies*, used *Beautiful Dreamer* and *Innocence* (2004) to study how Oshii distinguishes human figures from human-like figures such as mannequins and robots; in *Urusei Yatsura 2* the difference is marked by changes in skin color, the presence or absence of hair and mouths, and double lines indicating joints.[14](https://database.jsas.net/mapping/items/ar0022008002/)\n\n## Home video and streaming\nThe film has been released on Blu-ray in Japan by Toho, including a 2015 edition (catalog number TBR-25018D) with Japanese DTS-HD 5.1 and linear PCM monaural audio.[12](https://www.neowing.co.jp/product/TBR-25018D) As of late 2026 it streams in Japan on subscription services including Hulu, U-NEXT, Anime Times Amazon Channel, and FOD, and is available for rental or purchase on Amazon Video and the Apple TV Store.[15](https://www.justwatch.com/jp/%E6%98%A0%E7%94%BB/uruxing-yatsura2-biyuteihurudorima)\n\n## References\n\n1. [うる星やつら２　ビューティフル・ドリーマー, KINENOTE](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=17402)\n2. [うる星やつら２ ビューティフル・ドリーマー, Studio Pierrot official site](https://pierrot.jp/archive/movie_b2000/mov_02.html)\n3. [Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/urusei_yatsura_2_beautiful_dreamer)\n4. [うる星やつら2 ビューティフル・ドリーマー, 映画.com](https://eiga.com/movie/34968/)\n5. [うる星やつら2　ビューティフル・ドリーマー, Mamoru Oshii Laboratory](https://www.oshii-lab.com/home/works/%E6%98%A0%E7%94%BB%E3%82%A2%E3%83%8B%E3%83%A1%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A7%E3%83%B3/%E3%81%86%E3%82%8B%E6%98%9F%E3%82%84%E3%81%A4%E3%82%892%E3%83%93%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%83%86%E3%82%A3%E3%83%95%E3%83%AB%E3%83%89%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%9E%E3%83%BC)\n6. [Interview with Mamoru Oshii on Urusei Yatsura 2 - Beautiful Dreamer, Nihon Cine Art (Central Park Media interview)](https://eigageijutsu.blogspot.com/2013/11/interview-with-mamoru-oshii-on-urusei.html?m=1)\n7. [Fairy-Tale Films Beyond Disney: International Perspectives (Zipes, Greenhill, Magnus-Johnston)](https://ppgl56bcd5c26e0.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Zipes-Greenhill-Magnus-Johnston_Fairy-Tale-Films-Beyond-Disney-International-Perspectives.pdf)\n8. [Brian Ruh, Stray Dog of Anime: The Films of Mamoru Oshii](https://cultureinjection.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/brian-ruh-stray-dog-of-anime-the-films-of-mamoru-oshii.pdf)\n9. [Rumic World: Early Spring Symposium on Animated Movies (Animage, February 1985)](https://the.sunet.furinkan.com/features/interviews/animage198502a.html)\n10. [第5章—ジャパニメーション](https://s3.us-west-1.wasabisys.com/p-library/books/e502414ef8acbbea7340f69dde32c3f4.pdf)\n11. [Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/urusei_yatsura_movie_2_beautiful_dreamer)\n12. [うる星やつら2 ビューティフル・ドリーマー アニメ Blu-ray, Neowing](https://www.neowing.co.jp/product/TBR-25018D)\n13. [\"Oshii says dissatisfaction behind 'eternal youth'\", Yomiuri Shimbun, August 1, 2008, p. 18](https://bio-psycho-social.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/time-loop-movies.pdf)\n14. [松野敬文「押井守のアニメーション映画における人間と人形の描写」, アニメーション研究 9(1), 2008, Database for Animation Studies](https://database.jsas.net/mapping/items/ar0022008002/)\n15. [うる星やつら2 ビューティフル・ドリーマー 動画配信, JustWatch Japan](https://www.justwatch.com/jp/%E6%98%A0%E7%94%BB/uruxing-yatsura2-biyuteihurudorima)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Animated and short films › Japanese anime features › Released 1932 to 1998*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/urusei-yatsura-2-beautiful-dreamer", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/urusei-yatsura-2-beautiful-dreamer.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer (うる星やつら2 ビューティフル・ドリーマー)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/urusei-yatsura-2-beautiful-dreamer. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer (うる星やつら2 ビューティフル・ドリーマー)](https://www.edgepedia.org/urusei-yatsura-2-beautiful-dreamer)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/urusei-yatsura-2-beautiful-dreamer](https://www.edgepedia.org/urusei-yatsura-2-beautiful-dreamer). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer (うる星やつら2 ビューティフル・ドリーマー)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/urusei-yatsura-2-beautiful-dreamer. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer is a 1984 anime film by Mamoru Oshii, second theatrical adaptation of Rumiko Takahashi's manga, in which Tomobiki-cho is trapped in an endlessly repeating dream before the school festival." }