This list is for both showcasing which significant stories from the OG got cut and also being a sort of guide for new fans who have only watched Remake and are interested in watching the OG Urusei Yatsura but don't want to commit to watching the entire series.
If you've watched the Remake, you should already have enough context to jump into almost any episode without feeling lost.
But first, I need to clarify some things. This list mainly focuses on episodes that were cut or not adapted in the Remake. But there will also be episodes in this list that were adapted in the Remake but they were different enough that I think they are worth watching in the OG anime. In such cases, I also wrote the Remake episode numbers beside them.
Second is that, OG Urusei Yatsura had some really unique and creative anime-original or "filler" episodes and most of them were as good as if not better than "canon" episodes. These episodes which were not based on any manga chapters are marked as "anime original" beside their names.
Finally, it's much more convenient to simply watch OG Urusei Yatsura from beginning to end instead of following any list. So, if you can I suggest just doing that.
This list is mostly based on my personal opinion. And there will be some episodes that you'll enjoy a lot that aren't on this list.
Unlike my last post, this time I have divided the list into several different categories so you can choose which type of episodes you wanna watch based on what interests you the most (Like characters, themes, etc.).
AtaLum episodes:
A lot of episodes that are supposed to focus on Ataru and Lum simply did not make it into the Remake which created a lot of weird inconsistencies. Such as Lum saying that she'd have to save Ataru "again" even though she never did so before in the Remake and also Lum saying it's been a while since their "last date" even though the chapter where they have their first date was not adapted. It made Ataru and Lum's relationship seem less organic and more superficial than anything in the Remake compared to the original anime and the manga.
These episodes mainly focus on the interactions between Ataru and Lum and include episodes that develop their relationship.
Episodes focusing on Lum and her friends:
Lum's friends are Benten, Oyuki, and Ran. One of my biggest complaints of Season 2 was that it didn't give much screentime to Lum's best friends: Benten and Oyuki. There's even an inconsistency in the final arc where Benten says she actually likes humans even though she barely interacted with them in this version of Urusei Yatsura.
So, these are episodes that specifically focus on Benten and/or Oyuki.
Side-character episodes:
Episodes focusing on other side characters of the series. The Remake focused more on introducing new characters every few episodes, so most side characters didn't even get enough screen time. These episodes don't mean that these side characters don't appear in other episodes but that these episodes focus on them more specifically. Characters like Shinobu, Ten, Sakura, and Ryunosuke appear in almost every episode after their introductory episodes.
Shinobu: The original main heroine of Urusei Yatsura. She appears in almost every episode. But I'd say the chapters featuring Kitsune are also Shinobu-focused episodes.
Sakura: Probably the most mature recurring character of the series.
Ran: Lum's childhood friend/enemy.
Ryunosuke: Tomboy girl with serious daddy issues. One of the most popular UY characters in Japan.
Ryoko: Probably the most unhinged character of the series.
Kurama: Kurama was a character who was probably done dirty the most in the Remake. Basically all of her early episodes got cut and her entire story was basically abridged into one episode.
Spice Girls: I was surprised these characters didn't make a comeback in Season 2 of the Remake.
Ten: Ten is another character who appears in almost every episode since his debut in Episode 2. But he does have a few episodes that are focused on him that are pretty good. Including ones that involve his mother such as Episode 76 and 171.
Lum's Parents: Episodes that show more of Lum's parents.
Asuka: The only Asuka episode that was in the OG but wasn't in the Remake:
Episode 183 Asuka VS Big Brother! It's Battle of a Certain Love!
Kotatsu-Neko: His introduction episode was skipped in the Remake.
Episode 51 There's a Cat on the Stairs
Episode 146 The Scampering Kotatsu-Neko! Anything to Get Warm (Remake Episode 29A)
Cameo character episodes:
These are characters who made quick cameos at the beginning of Episode 18 of Season 1 and also at the end of The Home Visit Blues episodes in Season 2.
Here is the list of the cameo characters from Episode 18: https://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=2077229 and The Home Visit Blues episodes: https://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=2152959.
This is purely speculation but I wonder if these characters were actually planned to be in the Remake but after the episode count was decided the idea was scrapped. But instead of throwing away the character designs they just reused them as quick cameos. They looked too good to just be used as cameos.
I didn't include episodes of characters who are in the final eyecatch of the Remake for obvious reasons.
Trippy and unhinged episodes:
Original Urusei Yatsura was famous for many weird, trippy, and zany episodes or scenes that simply don't exist in the Remake. Most of them were anime-original. So, a huge part of what made Urusei Yatsura so special is missing in the Remake.
Other funny episodes:
These are episodes I couldn't really fit into other categories. But they're just straight-up great or hilarious episodes that shouldn't be skipped.
As for movies and OVAs, I think you should just watch all of them. Especially the first 2 movies and the OVAs included in the list.
OG Urusei Yatsura is easily accessible and you can probably watch any episode due to its episodic nature.
But again, I'll always recommend watching the full series and there will be some episodes outside of this list that might become your favorites.
My post was originally inspired by this YouTube video about the Top 50 Urusei Yatsura Episodes for Newcomers. I think it's a great list but it's much shorter than mine.
This will likely be my last UY-related post so I decided to put a bit more effort into it. If there are any mistakes then lemme know. Comment if your favorite episode from the OG is missing from this list.
Thanks for reading this.
