He’s like he popped out of a moomin story

One thing I really, really love in the New UY is: I think it's the first time I see any inkling of WHY Lum likes Ataru in that first chapter.

Like I get it, in the manga she was never supposed to become his main love interest and her infatuation was intentionally portrayed as a whim, so of course there was no reason other than comedic necessity. In the anime, I'm still not sure WHY they didn't give them much if they knew Lum was going to stick around already, but my money is on- Ataru's feelings are the priority for the moment, so understanding WHY Lum is so hung up on him doesn't matter much really.

But in the new version we see them being, dare I say, directly flirtatious with one another during the tag game.

We also see Lum seeming endeared by his persistence, even if she was misunderstanding the reason for it.

And it makes sense, when you think about what her reasons for dumping Rei were -the fact that he couldn't care enough about the relationship to stop eating and pay attention to her- that she would be absolutely smitten with a guy she thinks just went through hell to win her heart.

Of course, I'm able to fill the blanks here because I watched the original and read the manga, newcomers might just see the very surface of 'She fell in love because he managed to win against her' (Which I also think is a factor, mind you. When you're as strong and crafty as Lum is, it's nothing to yawn at.) but it's nice to see something that was some of a mystery in the originals shown like this. I'm already looking forward to seeing how they tackle other moments that could have used a bit more meat!

holy shit this is a really good analysis

someone had a very, very specific fetish

ラム 🎀