Rumiko Takahashi: What's Not to Love

[arai_lyra]

This woman has it all: comedy, horror, romance, drama. What's not to love? Any other RT fans out there? I just love all her stuff... okay, maybe except Mermaid's Scar, but Ranma 1/2 and Inu Yasha, priceless-ocity. What are some of your RT favorites?

EDIT: For those of you who don't know, RT is the author and artist of countless manga that got huge in anime form even after success in print and she rox my sox.

[Lokizzo]

Though I do love her and everything, I find her works too be a bit too long and at times overly commercialized. Her works, while always great, did help inspire some of the earlier otaku stereotypes that continue even today. Overall she's great though.

[arai_lyra]

Though I do love her and everything, I find her works too be a bit too long and at times overly commercialized. Her works, while always great, did help inspire some of the earlier otaku stereotypes that continue even today. Overall she's great though.
Hmm... that is true, that is true. Neither Ranma nor Inu Yasha ever seem to end, do they? Hmm... what have I been doing with my life? *overly-dramatic sobs*

[Manga608]

What are all the shows she's taken part it? I only know Inuyasha and Ranma..But I kinda figured she has more...
That reminds me I hafta watch last eps of Inuyasha on YouTube o.o

[Burned Sanity]

i love all her series especially your Inuyasha series and same with her Mermaid Forest, not alot of people know about that one but it's just as good as her other ones. But she tends to drag on and on and when she has the right place to stop she thinks of something else for the story to go on, lol. But she's really good.

[LT Stormwalker]

Ranma 1/2 was the series that got me into manga.

[arai_lyra]

Ranma 1/2 was the series that got me into manga.
Sweetness!

[Burned Sanity]

Ranma 1/2 is one of her best i have all the books for that one, lol.

[minisangolovesmiroku]

She can chage any love scene and make it funny, and that's what I love about her.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=jKIGr4B7IRk

Check it out and you'll see.

Her best stuff is Maison Ikkoku, InuYasha and Ranma 1/2

[Koshiba]

Urusei Yatsura and Mermaid's Scar are a couple of my Rumiko favorites. :)

[arai_lyra]

Urusei Yatsura and Mermaid's Scar are a couple of my Rumiko favorites. :)
Dude, Mermaid's Scar was creepy and demented, how could anyone--oh... actually, one second thought, I'd better watch those again. I might appreciate them more now that I've matured. :-P

[Anjolina]

I like her mangas, but they get boring because the plot gets so twisted and long. :(

[CatMarieS]

Takahashi is a talented artist, no doubt, but her mangas go on waaay too long. That and the little thing I like to call "Takahashi Character Death" where main characters suddenly dissapear, never to be heard from again, with zero explaination, like Dr. Tofu in Ranma 1/2.

[KitKat286]

I used to love InuYasha and Ranma they were some of the first manga and anime I read/watched. But yeah they do go on too long and they get boring. Now my favorite thing by her is the Mermaid Saga, cos it's not so long as her other stuff... Though if I'm not mistaken it's not over? Or is it? I forget...

[Sango]

Takahashi-sensei is the best Inuyasha, Mermaid Scar, Ranma 1/2 are the best and her other stories qare grreat but I haven't gotten to read them yet XD

[littlekittysakura]

Inu-Yasha is one of my favorites as is Ranma. I haven't gotten very far in Ranma but I've seen/read so much of Inu-Yasha that I feel that I could almost skip most of the series and just watch the end and still understand what's going on...

On a interesting note, I own some of the Ranma manga, and I was somewhat worried about my parents reading it because of the...um... lack of censorship. I didn't think they would be happy with me reading it, but lo and behold, Ranma is now my mom's favorite manga.... :P

The world works in strange ways...

[KingdomShade]

I enjoy all of her work that I've seen/read thus far. I agree that they do tend to be rather long and rather hard on the wallet of those who would collect them, but I don't mind. I think it can be hard for an author to give up and stop working with characters they know so well or when they have fans begging them to give them just a little more. Ah well perhaps I feel so because I like Sesshomaru's gang ;).

[Kyaa the Catlord]

I heartily recommend her shorter works. Mermaid's Forest/Scar (and the newish TV series which retells it) and her "Anthology" are amazing productions.

Stay far away from Inu Yasha and Ranma 1/2. UY is ok, but the jokes tend to get old. Thankfully the cast is large enough that once you get tired of being zapped by Lum, you'll be frozen by Oyuki. And Oyuki is love. *loves*

[Koshiba]

Lum is my most favorite female anime character ever. ;D I could never get tired of her!

Though I agree about her shorter works as well.

But you know, we can never win. We don't like it when something is so long but when something ends, we're so sad and want more. :P

[Kyaa the Catlord]

Lum is neat, I'll give you that. But she suffers from the same problem I get in Inu Yasha, if the episode ends, the reset button is clicked in their brains most of the time. Any ground gained? Lost. I want to root for them, but I know that they are doomed by this unfair mindwiping. :(

Ranma doesn't suffer as badly, but it ends so poorly. :( I loved it until I realized it was going nowhere.

[MorbidGnome]

I don't really care for her. At all. Her style is okay, but none of her stories thrill me. She drags them out way more than necessary.

[Countess Cain]

My first manga ever was Ranma 1/2, so she's kind of high up there on my 'sentimental manga artists' lists.

However, I do agree that her series go on for too long...

[Cheila]

ranma 1/2 was the first manga i read. it's great but i never read it to the end... it gets a bit boring ^^; i'd like to read the rest someday, but there's a lot of other mangas i want to buy first... :p
i enjoyed Lum anime too, but never read/watched inuyasha

[Cojiro]

I don't really care for her. At all. Her style is okay, but none of her stories thrill me. She drags them out way more than necessary.
I totally agree. Her storys are so stock that it hurts, badly written, blindingly obvious and down right boring. Why they go on for 20+ volumes I don't know.
Her art is pretty awful in my eyes. I'm a litle peeved that people like her art so much (Or at all!) when there is stuff out there that looks much better (Parakiss, Demon ororon, Tramps like us, FLCL to name but a few.)

[kawaiikitty]

i like inuyasha alot (even if it is WAY to long), but i haven't seen or read any of her other stuff (ahhh!!! where have i been?? oh, right, i've been here). i really want to see mermaid forest (i think that's what it is called). from what i've heard it's pretty good. have any of ya'll seen it? is it good?

[Erisu-Chan]

G'day,

INUYASHA,INUYASHA,INUYASHA!!! i love Runiko Takahashi's manga's/animes, my personal all time favorite is InuYasha but closely in second is Ranma 1/2 :D (side bursting) i also love Maison Ikkoku -i've never seen/read LUM * before but i've heard it is really great, i hope to someday though:)

-Erisu-Chan

[satoshichan]

Ranma was one of the first mangas i got into, then i watched InuYasha becuase she was the creator i love both of them!!!

[kazuchiyo]

I totally agree. Her storys are so stock that it hurts, badly written, blindingly obvious and down right boring. Why they go on for 20+ volumes I don't know.
Her art is pretty awful in my eyes. I'm a litle peeved that people like her art so much (Or at all!) when there is stuff out there that looks much better (Parakiss, Demon ororon, Tramps like us, FLCL to name but a few.)

The thing is, Rumiko Takahashi basically CREATED what we consider to be "stock" nowadays. In the late 70s-early 80s, when she created Urusei Yatsura, that kind of spot-on parody of love-story with such a vivid and huge cast of characters was something that hadn't ever really been seen before.

Urusei Yatsura is one of my favorite series of all times, but granted I don't expect that everyone or even most people will like it.

[MikeyS]

Here is what I think of Rumiko Takahashi:

THE FILLER THAT WILL REPLACE THE CREAM FILLING IN HOSTESS CUPCAKES!

(Meaning that she drags everything on and has chapters/episodes that do not aid the storyline...)

[Manji]

U guys should check it out Hyung Tae Kim his artwork is real good ^^

[shawn432]

Rumiko is alsome!! i love all of her books.inyasha ROCKS!!!

[twilightwolf]

Ranma 1/2 is one of her best i have all the books for that one, lol.
heh, i have to agree on that! I read upto volume 28 and didn't read any for a while (they were e-books and my computer was broke) when i finaly decided to continue from where i left off i ended up cursing myslef because i stopped reading them and i will never forgive myself :(

because they were so enjoyable and funny i decided i'd buy the proper manga! I read volumes 1+2 a year ago, which got me into manga and started the rest july time and decided to continue them a few months ago. now i am trying to scrape as much cash together to get all the volumes of Ranma 1/2 on my book case- man Takahashi knows how to make a good Romance/comedy/action :D

[Eiri Yuki]

Ranma 1/2 and inuyasha are great, i must agree. But i don't think their too long. If a show can go on and on, it shows the creators' creativity and greatness.

[AnimeDudde]

yea, except the only creativity Rumiko has showed in her works is just repeating the same scenario over and over again... Ranma was okay for the first 2 seasons, and Inu Yasha the first season, after that they become highly predictable. Her characters have little development and the plot is too closed. Plus the plot-holes are endless. She's a decent manga-ka, im not that big a fan of hers.

[Serafimangel]

Ranma 1/2 was the series that got me into manga.

Same, over three years ago! Haha! Her work if funny and charming. (I still havent read the last ranma thought, hasn't come to the UK yet. Aaaaargh!:D

[Nekochii]

Was anyone here besides me suprised when they found out that the creator of InuYasha, Ranma 1/2, and Urusei Yatsura was female? That just made me like her even more! ^^

[Formerly Wu]

Er, a lot? :\ Not to diss her or anything, she was a master of the craft, but her glory days were over more than a decade ago. For as long as a lot of Inu-yasha fans have been alive, really.

Urusei Yatsura was my first manga, and I liked its weirdness. Ranma 1/2 was my second, and I loved it (collected ~15 volumes). They introduced me to manga.

Then I picked up Inu Yasha. This was years ago, mind; back when Viz was just releasing the flipped volumes, before the TV series was even a blip on the radar. It was exactly the same stuff, over and over and over again.

It sort of broke the Takahashi spell on me, and I've never really been able to take her stuff seriously since.

[Himura_77]

I love Rumiko Takahashi's work! After reading .hack/LOTT (my first manga series), Inuyasha was my second series I read and I fell in love with her work! The only thing I don't like about her manga is in series like Ranma 1/2, the character noses are, well, unique, unusual.

[bleachedgantz]

I like her but she never ends her mangas very well (like Ranma 1/2). Also is she still working on Inuyasha or has she ended it and started something new?

[shadowmose]

I like her but she never ends her mangas very well (like Ranma 1/2). Also is she still working on Inuyasha or has she ended it and started something new?

You have never read Maison Ikkoku have you? The ending for Maison Ikkoku was perfect for me. My favorite mangas of hers is Urusei Yatsura and Maison Ikkoku. Her current stuff to me doesn't seem as good as her old works.

[KeoKa]

Yeh I too defintlly like her work. But is Inu-Yasha still going or has it ended yet?

[Verdekurama]

My favorite Rumiko Takahashi stories are Ranma 1/2 and Inuyasha.

[AnimeDudde]

I have to admit shes a good business women though.. considering Inu yasha sucked crap after about the 10th volume of the manga, she still continued it and has been cashing in on it forever because of few japanese, and many North Americans who find something Ill never realize good about Inu yasha. As for Ranma, same story... So she's rich, her manga sucks, but people buy it and thats all that matters. Her art is pretty good, thats about it. And I swear she's lesbian, no offense or anything, but she so is.

[shadowmose]

And I swear she's lesbian, no offense or anything, but she so is.

What are you basing this on?

[AnimeDudde]

Cant explain, just this feeling I get when reading her manga and stuff, or maybe bi, I dunno :P

[Andre]

Maison Ikkoku is my favoritest manga and anime ever ^_^ Likewise, Urusei Yatsura is a great show, and the ultra detailed noted http://www.animeigo.com includes in their releases make them well worth it :)

I kind of hope VIZ undertakes finishing One Pound Gospel, and releasing the OVA they put out on VHS on DVD, since the manga was just announced as coming to an end soon [it's the series Rumiko's done on the side for the past 20 years, about a Boxer who can't stop eating, and the Nun who platonically likes him. Though he's actually in love with her :)].... and it sounds as if it'll get a Maison Ikkoku-style ending [ie- a definite closure]

[Andre]

Hmm... that is true, that is true. Neither Ranma nor Inu Yasha ever seem to end, do they? Hmm... what have I been doing with my life? *overly-dramatic sobs*


Ranma 1/2 ended with Vol.38, and Maison Ikkoku ended with Vol.15.... you have to remember that Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2 and Inu Yasha are all Shonen Sunday manga, and Shonen Sunday manga that are popular with fans tend to go on forever, because the editors want them to.

With titles like One Pound Gospel and Maison Ikkoku, Rumiko's actually allowed to have her characters age [Maison Ikkoku focused on about 5 years of Godai and Kyoko's courtship], and the stories END. Her short story works are also a good example of her classic storytelling skills, which reflect more traditional manga/comic pacing and art styles. VIZ has done several collections of these, though I hope they get around to reissuing them to make their availability widespread [older releases, so hard to track down], and that thye get around to collecting her most recent shorts collection [which I think is the only one they haven't done.... it only came out 2 or so years ago, along the same time as the Rumic Theatre TV series].

If you're really, really wanting to try some short Rumiko pieces, it might be worth tracking down used copies of the Rumik World OVA's CPM released on VHS :)