Rei

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Rei (レイ, Rei^?, Zero) is an Oni and Lum's ex-fiancee.

History

Rei first appears in manga chapter 6 To Kill with Love (愛で殺したい, Ai de koroshitai^?) and TV anime episode 3a The Handsome Shapeshifter Rei Appears! (変身美男レイが来た！, Henshin Binan Rei ga Kuta!^?)). He comes to Earth to retrieve Lum. Ataru Moroboshi tries to convince Lum that she should go back with her own kind, but Lum lies and says that Ataru's child is in her belly, which infuriates Rei. He challenges Ataru to a potato eating contest and loses. This is the first and last time that someone out-gluttons Rei. In the next chapter The Way to a Man's Heart (憎みきれないろくでなし, Nikumikire nai Rokudanashi^?) (TV anime episode 3b Go away! Ladykiller! (くたばれ！イロ男！, Kutabare! Iro-otoko!^?)) he continues to pester Lum about getting back together. Lum then agrees to do so but only if he can propose to her in Japanese. While looking at a cheat sheet he was able to, but Lum still refused, so he chased her and Ataru around town. This was the first and last time he was able to speak more than two words at a time.

Rei is the only character who surpasses Shūtarō Mendō as a ladykiller, but is quite dim-witted and a terrible glutton. Long ago both Lum and Ran were in love with him, but he got engaged to Lum, breaking Ran's heart in the process. However, Rei's love for food and his shapeshifting eventually caused Lum to call off the engagement. He follows Lum to Earth but eventually starts dating Ran, though he seems to be more interested in the food that she cooks for him rather than Ran herself.

Appearance

Powers and Abilities

• Shape shifting - Rei has the unique ability to transform into an Ushitora (牛虎, Cow-Tiger^?). Whenever he sees food he becomes excited and transforms into his Ushitora form.

Relationships

Lum

Rei was engaged to Lum before the start of the series, but she called it off because she now hates him due to his arrogance, his ugly transformation and his greedy glutton habits. When he first arrives, he still is in love with Lum, and tries to get her back from Ataru but only for her telling him to get lost. However, his interest in her eventually waned.

Ran

Ran was in love with Rei, just as Lum was. When Rei was engaged to Lum, Ran's heart was broken, and she dedicated herself to revenge on Lum. Eventually, due to Lum having no interest in him at all, Ran decided to pursue Rei for herself, eventually getting him to fall for her.

Kurama

Kurama fell for Rei while searching for a husband to replace Ataru. However, despite her Tengu servants' best efforts to hide it, she discovers his Ushitora form and is horrified causing Kurama of dumping Rei eventually just like when he was dumped by Lum.

Speech

Unlike the other Oni aliens, Rei usually only says a few words at a time. This is explained by his having a very poor grasp of Japanese; the only times he is seen stringing a coherent sentence together is when he is reading from a "Japanese for Dummies" translation guide. Despite this, he is able to convey a lot of information to other aliens, despite only making a single word or sound with perhaps a few gestures.

Whilst never explicitly attributed to his lacking intellect, it seems obvious that Rei's ineptitude with speaking is intended to showcase either his lackluster intelligence, his apathy to anything other than food or Lum, or both.

Although still very quiet, the 2022 animated adaptation features Rei speaking in Japanese much more frequently and much more elaborately than the original manga or the 1981 anime did, such as having him try multiple different proposals (admittedly still read from cue cards) instead of mindlessly repeating the same one in his debut story, and more overtly responding to Mendo's insult in their first meeting. This creates an impression of a slightly smarter Rei in this incarnation, though he is still shown to be quite dull-witted.

Trivia

• The creature comes from the Chinese compass (for which the directions have then names of animals) signifying the unlucky direction of the northeast. It is the direction from which oni are said to enter the human world, and that is why they are depicted as mighty, horned creatures wearing tiger skins.
• Rei in his cow-tiger form is featured in the 5000 yen bill in the anime version of Rumiko Takahashi's 2009 manga, Kyōkai no Rinne.
• His first seiyū previously voiced Akauma from Fire Tripper, Narration from Kyōkai no Rinne and would provide the voice of CAO-2 in the reboot series.
• His second seiyū previously voiced Refuto from Kyōkai no Rinne.
• The 1981 animated adaptation of Urusei Yatsura shows Rei with the ability to grow in size in his monster form in his debut episode, in particular transforming into a gargantuan behemoth that looms over the town's buildings after Lum makes her claim to be pregnant with Ataru's child. This ability was never shown in the manga, and makes no appearances elsewhere in the anime. One possible explanation for its inclusion was a comedic homage to the kaiju ("giant monster") film genre.
• When Rei debuts in the manga, his Ushitora form is drawn in a relatively realistic style, making him look genuinely menacing. In all subsequent appearances, even in that same chapter, it has a much goofier look, with more cartoonish proportions.

Media Appearances

Manga

Anime

Gallery

1981 Anime

Movies and OVAs

2022 Anime

References

1. Tomobiki-cho, The Urusei Yatsura Website.