Though he is unable to catch Lum due to her power to fly (only managing to steal her bikini top), he finds newfound motivation after Shinobu Miyake, his childhood friend and classmate in classes 2-4, promises to marry him if he wins.

In his triumph, he declares his desire to marry Shinobu—Lum mistakenly interprets this as a marriage proposal to herself, which she immediately accepts, much to Ataru's chagrin.

Despite his behaviour towards women, he is remarkably chivalrous at other times claiming that if he hurt so much as one woman, he couldn't call himself a man, something which the girls in his class all acknowledge.

At times he appears to be superhuman, with the durability of a cockroach and the rejuvenation of a lizard, possessing remarkable tenacity for a boy of his age and physique when trying to achieve something.

Ataru has occasionally let his good side shine through, most notably when he took care of the class caterpillar everyone else hated it, and when he went on a date with the ghost of a sick girl who had admired him from afar.

In Ataru's own ideal future, he had a harem containing every prominent female in the cast, but he decided to abandon it after he learned that Lum would not be with him, further signifying the love he has for her.

At times, (mostly involving fights with Mendou) Ataru has demonstrated knowledge with some ninja abilities—one such skill is the Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique).

In the sixth feature, "Always, My Darling", Ataru, powered by his lust, was able to pass traps similar to the ones of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade through the use of a lecherous 6th sense.

Also, to be noted from this movie is his ability to draw out his h-chi/h-ki (hentai chi/ki) to create a powerful lust aura similar to that of Happosai from Ranma ½.

At times he's able to escape from his restraints and to top it up, he learned to exploit other characters' weaknesses such as Rei's desire for food and Mendo's fear of darkness.

English Castilian Spanish Italian Gilles Poitras has compared Ataru to Ryo Saeba from Tsukasa Hojo's City Hunter manga and anime series, stating that "Ryo Saeba can best be described as what would happen if Ataru grew up to be handsome, physically fit, a crack shot with any given firearm and a hotshot gun for hire in Tokyo.

"[1] Ataru was ranked third in Mania Entertainment's 10 Most Iconic Anime Heroes written by Thomas Zoth who commented that "Against all odds, he finds himself the target of affection of beautiful, powerful women, making him the first protagonist with a harem.