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Here we go with the best answer I can give to this question. First off I have to say that my assessment is based on the manga, and not the anime. Despite the anime being based on the manga, they are quite different in the characteristics of many of the characters, ESPECIALLY Ataru, Lum, Shinobu and Mendo, not to mention the Stormtroopers don't really even exist, other than at the beginning. Once Mendo joins the cast, they go away. The reason I use the manga is because, for one, it's Takahashi-sensei's original vision of the story (if there was really an "original vision" to begin with, but that's a whole other matter). For another, I'm more familiar with the manga than the anime.

Now the basis of the question is whether or not Ataru and Shinobu could have worked as a relationship. Certainly, I personally think so, and I think it would have been much different than the relationship between Ataru and Lum. To better explain it, we have to take a look at Ataru's personality. Unlike in the anime, where Ataru's personality can be best described as the "most lecherous person in the universe" (as the 6th movie so blatantly points out), in the manga, Ataru really starts out more like a typical teenage boy, albeit a most unlucky one. I personally think that it was Lum's influence that made him seem that way as the manga progresses. In the very beginning of the manga, Ataru and Shinobu get in a fight over him just looking at another girl. When Invader came, she came right to Ataru's side because she was worried about him. I think that their relationship in the beginning was more of a situation where they were close friends with feelings for each other, and they were just starting to get those feelings sorted out, and had just started to move it from friendship into relationship. Had it not been for Lum showing up, they could have eventually resolved it and progressed in the relationship.

His perverted nature didn't really start to develop until Lum became a part of his life. Yes, he was initially very attracted to Lum. When the tag race was declared, he simply wanted to take advantage of a situation. But shortly after it began, he realized (with prodding from Shinobu) that he needed to see Lum as an enemy, and not as just some babe. If Shinobu and him weren't fighting, I think perhaps he would have been more likely to control himself around Lum in the beginning. Even in the beginning of the series, after Lum arrived, and he was still trying to work things out with Shinobu, the only time he ever made any advances towards any other women was when the two of them were having problems. IE: Sakura when he was trying to get away from that situation completely, Oyuki when he was sick and after making advances towards Shinobu was being rejected and beaten on, etc.

I think ultimately the way he turned out was because of Lum forcing herself on him, and he would mollest the other women in the series as a way to push her away. First because he didn't want her around, later (after he had started developing feelings for her) because he wasn't ready for a relationship as serious as Lum had wanted, and much later, just to prove to Lum that he wasn't changing for her.

As far as Ataru's way of dealing with problems... just consider the fact that he's a 17 year old boy. 17 year old boys aren't exactly known for their abilities to shoulder responsibility or handle situations maturely. He's still a few years away from psychological maturity to the point where he would be able to do such things. Call it growing up, call it growing out of it, either way... it's growing. In time, I'm sure he'd be more than capable of handling things. Especially considering his life-loving, free-spirited attitude about things. Positive outlooks on life take a lot of trauma to destroy. The only question about it is if Lum would put up with him for so long, or if he would have to find someone else by the time he can reach that point.


As far as Shinobu's settling for Ataru, I don't know if I can agree with that or not. In some ways I do, some ways I don't.

Consider this: Ataru and Shinobu had been close for a very long time. At first as childhood friends, and then (until Lum showed up), developing a romance. It seemed to me even after Lum showed up that they would still try and make things work. It wasn't Ataru's fault that Lum mistook his celebrating his engagement to Shinobu as a marriage proposal. It also wasn't Ataru's fault that he was forced by family, friends, and neighbors to accept Lum's offer to live with him to pay off that taxi fare, either. It again wasn't Ataru's fault when Lum took stalking to a whole new level after she forced her way into his life (despite his attempts to escape it all). Can you say as much that she settled for him as you can that despite their long friendship, once Lum arrived, she was pretty damned quick to just drop him for Mendo?

Now, I can understand her getting fed up with the whole love triangle situation with Ataru and Lum that quickly. But what bothers me about her, is how, despite his looks and money, she stuck by Mendo's side through SO MUCH, but when Ataru was getting screwed over, she was so quick to abandon him any chance she could get. Despite all his problems, Ataru tried making things work. Shinobu was so eager to just drop Ataru... and yet she stood by Mendo despite his obsessing over Lum, despite his ignoring her unless she was the only other girl around at the time, despite his many attempts to murder someone who was supposed to be a close friend since childhood that never really wronged her, and at first, despite his arranged engagement to Asuka. It wasn't until Inaba came around that she really got over Mendo. Maybe I just don't understand women's minds, maybe she was just being a self-serving b*tch, I don't know. Either way, at first there seems every indication that her and Ataru were really developing a close relationship, but as the story progresses, it makes it seem more and more like she was with him because it was convenient. Like she was with him not because there weren't better options out there, but because he was the easy choice.

Deep down, I think Shinobu is really a weak character. I'm not saying she's a bad character, but her insane physical strength is most certainly balanced by a weakness of personality. Personally, I think Ataru is better off without her than she is without him.