Frieren Creator Joins Artists of One Piece, Gintama & More for Special Project

Anime crossovers are few and far between but when they do happen, they will often take the anime world by storm. While characters like the Straw Hat Pirates and the Z-Fighters might meet in an anime, the creators of many anime franchises are more than happy to share their talents in other storylines. Such is the case with this new collaboration to help in celebrating the forty-fifth anniversary of Urusei Yatsura, the legendary franchise from creator Rumiko Takahashi. Considering the impact that Lum and her co-stars have had on the anime medium, creators of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, One Piece, Gintama, and more have assembled to try their hand at bringing the alien princess to life.

For those who need a refresher, Urusei Yatsura as a series first debuted in 1978 and has recently made a comeback thanks to a 2022 reboot from David Production. In the series, an alien race known as the Oni descend upon the Earth to invade it but instead, give humanity one chance to survive…in a game of tag. With one contestant being the alien Lum and the other being normal protagonist Ataru Moroboshi, hilarity ensues when humanity prevails but things don’t exactly go Ataru’s way. Series creator Rumiko Takahashi has made quite the name for herself in the anime world thanks to both this series and other works including Inuyasha, Ranma 1/2, Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon, and Mao.

[RELATED: Urusei Yatsura May Have Bad News for English Dub Fans]

Urusei Yatsura Turns 40

To help in celebrating this massive milestone for the story of Lum and Ataru, several big names in the anime industry gathered to share their artistic talents with Takahashi’s franchise. The artists included in the project include Abe Tsukasa (Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End), Eiichiro Oda (One Piece), and Hideaki Sorachi (Gintama). You can check out the crossover images below, as each mangaka lends their unique style to Lum, easily making the case for how the alien princess could look if she were to jump into their respective stories.

Urusei Yatsura is Over?

The original Urusei Yatsura anime ran for nearly two hundred episodes thanks to Studio Pierrot and Studio Deen, coming to an end in 1986. The latest reboot was one that trimmed the fat and kept the anime adaptation to two seasons, and it doesn’t appear as though it will be getting a third. However, there is another big remake that has made landfall from creator Rumiko Takahashi.

Ranma 1/2 released twelve episodes to make up its big return to the small screen, with the series headed by Studio MAPPA. Following the season finale, the reboot quickly confirmed that a second season was in the works, and considering the original series has hundreds of episodes, it could go on for quite some time.

Want to keep an eye on the many works of Rumiko Takahashi? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for all the latest on Urusei Yatsura and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.

Via Oricon