>{When Ataru grabs Lum's horns, he starts muttering, "I can get married!"
>Lum misinterprets his meaning, and agrees to marry him. The joke here is
>based on a myth that says that an Oni has to grant a wish to whoever grabs
>its horns. Ataru simply wasn't specific enough about his wish.}
>

Good point...I had forgotten about this particular superstition.  Still, I
wouldn't count it as a conscious wish - Ataru had...other things on his mind :-)
We are talking about the intention of the male character, after all, and not
someone else's interpretation of their behavior...

>You are reading only the Dark Horse translations?  Pity you've never read
>chapter 5 of the orginal manga then.  K1 used to carry a torch for Sayoko.

I am limping my way through the originals.  The operative word here, I
think, is "used to."  Bell never had to use any Lum-style fireworks on K1
because he's bright enough to know when he has a good thing.  Ataru, on the
other hand, never learned the old saw about "A bird in the hand..."
(atrocious pun fully intended).

>>It's not that K1 refuses to admit that he loves her.
>
>I suspect that K1 and "the hitter" have very similar reasons for not
>saying what they really feel.

Really?  I must confess that I never saw K1 as being that mercenary.  Ataru
won't acknowledge his love because it would mean an end to his girl-chasing
days.  K1 has no girl-chasing days to speak of; by the time the manga
opened, he was already resigned to the "fact" that no woman wants a short man.

>>K1 eats Bell's cooking all of the time,
>
>Exactly, Lum and Bell show their affection with offerings of food.  Both
>have openly moved in with their men and assumed wifely duties.  Watch out
>if they ever start saying "Anata" (Dear).

<chuckle>  Perhaps I misunderstood your original poinr here...I thought you
were comparing Lum's infamous lack of cooking ability to Bell-san's cordon
bleu technique.  Seemed a little odd..

Kevin

=====================
Kevin Barth
Research Analyst
Quantum Research Corp.