Benten (Urusei Yatsura)

Benten is a "space biker chick" member of the Fukujin alien clan. During her early years, she grew up as childhood friends with Lum, Ran, and Oyuki, all of whom she attended elementary school with; around this time, both Benten and Lum had the habit of getting into trouble, which consequently caused Ran to get hurt and take the blame for the duo's mistakes.[7][8] As a teenager, Benten is reunited with Lum when the latter returns to her home planet accompanied by her fiance Ataru Moroboshi to participate in a traditional battle that takes place between Benten and Lum's clans every year during their planets' spring equinox. In the midst of battle, Ataru briefly falls in love with Benten and sides with her clan, much to Lum's dismay. Despite finding him annoying, Benten decided to take advantage of Ataru's affection for her by pretending to reciprocate his feelings in order to anger Lum, whose jealousy consequently causes her clan to lose the battle to Benten's.[1][9]

Over the course of the series, Benten finds herself involved in various abnormal, unusual and otherworldly situations along with the rest of the manga's colorful cast of characters. These situations include: Benten challenging a trio of middle-school space girls in an attempt to retrieve from the three of them a chain that she uses as the ignition key for her flying motorcycle;[10][11][12] her trying to prevent Ataru from crashing a party she – along with Lum, Shinobu, Sakura, Ran, Ryoko, Ryunosuke and Oyuki – were hosting in an old-fashioned sentō;[13] and aiding Ryunosuke in stealing a gang leader's bike in order to find a lost kitten he has been looking for, only for the duo to be followed by the entire biker gang whose leader they robbed earlier.[14][15]

In addition to the manga series, Benten was also featured in its 1981 anime television series adaptation, in which she was voiced by Yūko Mita.[16] The character also made appearances in the animated theatrical films based on the series, including Urusei Yatsura: Only You (1983), Urusei Yatsura: Remember My Love (1985), Urusei Yatsura: The Final Chapter (1988), and Urusei Yatsura: Always My Darling (1991).[17][18][19] Despite not being present in the main plot of the film Urusei Yatsura: Lum the Forever (1986), Benten was featured in the film's credits.[20] In the 1988 "Raging Sherbet" OVA, Benten, along with Lum and Ran, decide to temporarily leave Earth in order to take a summer vacation with Oyuki to her home planet Neptune, where they learn about the Sherbet birds, which produce icy treats on demand.[21] Additionally, Ishigami currently voices the character in the 2022 anime television series adaptation of Urusei Yatsura.[22]