Lum the Invader [ Japan Pop Media 1978 ]
Lum is a well known and popular character in Japan,[2] and has been described as “the original Otaku dream girl”.[7] On 4 April 1982, Lum and other characters from Urusei Yatsura appeared in two public service announcements for Kansai Electric Power Company regarding being careful with kites and koinobori around electrical lines.[8][9] Hirano Fumi, the voice of Lum, did the main voice overs for the commercials.
Merchandise featuring Lum continues to be popular, and her image appears on a wide variety of printed, commercial, and electronic media.[2][10][11][12] Thirty years after she was introduced (in 1978), pachinkomachines featuring Lum are still being made.[13] Lum also appeared wearing a Hanshin Tigers uniform in a series of numbered collector covers of the Daily Sports (a daily sports newspaper published in Japan) from 2003-08-12 to 2003-09-15.[14] Comiket organiser Ichikawa Koichi has described Lum Invader as being both the source of moe and the first tsundere,[15] a character type which alternates between being harsh and being loving. Bome, a sculptor of anime-style figurines, felt that Lum was the first female lead character in ashōnen manga work, and was inspired by Lum to create a line of “oni-musume” (she-devil) figurines.[16]
Matthew Sweet introduced many people in the United States to Lum through clips in his music video “I’ve Been Waiting”.[17] Sweet also has a tattoo of Lum.[17]
A parody of Lum and Ten can be seen in the street in an issue of the Futurama comic. Lum has green hair and the tiger stripes on her clothes are brown.
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