The Boundaries’RINNE
出典 : Amazon.co.jp
In 2009, a year after Inuyasha’s 11 years and 7 months of serialization ended, a new serialization, “RINNE OF THE BOUNDARY”, began in Sunday magazine.
The story centers on RINNE ROKUDO, a mixed-blooded human/dead god who works to bring ghosts back to life, and the heroine, Sakura Mamiya, who has a constitution that allows her to see ghosts.
It is a complete change from the serious Inuyasha, but as Takahashi-sensei wanted to “make a work that can be enjoyed in a casual manner”, the story has a strong comedy tone.
The style of the story is in the vein of Urusei and Ranma, but it seems to have more heartfelt episodes than romance and gags.
Even though it is a comedy, it deals with the end of life, so that theme may have naturally come to the fore.
Although it was not as big a hit as the past series, it has been serialized for 8 years and 8 months, with a total of 40 volumes of comics published.
It was made into a TV anime on NHK, and was broadcasted up to the third series.
By the way, the total number of copies of all the comics published during the series exceeded 200 million.
He is the second artist from Sunday and Shogakukan (after Mitsuru Adachi), and only a few people in the whole manga world have achieved this record.
MAO
出典 : Amazon.co.jp
This is the latest installment of the series, which began in 2019.
It is the first Sunday serialized work to be an all-serious dark fantasy.
It is also a bizarre romance, with the mermaid series being the closest to the mermaid series in terms of setting and atmosphere, and although it shares some similarities with Inuyasha, it does not share the same worldview as either of these works.
The setting of this work is Japan in the present day and Taisho 12.
This is the story of Mao, an Onmyoji who was cursed by a cat poison, the cat demon, and her body was eroded by it.
There is a lot of mystery and foreshadowing sprinkled throughout the work, especially at the end of volume 2 when Nahana’s home and daily life is overturned, which is quite thrilling.
It has been hinted that this is going to be a full-length story, and it looks like it’s going to get even more interesting in the future.
Rumiko Takahashi Theater, short stories
出典 : Amazon.co.jp
For 42 years, from 1978, when he made his debut, to 2020, Takahashi-sensei had serialized most of his works, and in between those 42 years, he published many short stories.
His debut work, “The Selfish Guys,” was the original idea for Urusei, and was a well-received read-only piece that led to the series.
This short story is a comedy with a strong element of absurdity and is loved by fans.
In 1979, “Dust Spurt! is the only manga serialized in the series that has not been mixed by media.
It is a single volume, and it is a rather standard gag manga.
1983’s “Flame Tripper” is a time slip to the Sengoku period, similar to later works like “Inuyasha”, and was also made into an OVA.
These and other early shorts and medium-length stories were mostly gags and high road stories, but after that, more and more heartfelt and black comics began to appear.
From the late 1990s to 2000s, serialized stories were the mainstream and the number of read-only short stories decreased, but in the 2010s, the number of short stories began to increase again.
What makes them different from the serialized works is that the characters are not so strong and the main focus is on themes and stories.
Most of the characters are ordinary working people and housewives, which allows me to immerse myself in the story.
In 2003, thirteen of the shorts, including “The Tragedy of P”, were adapted into an anime series and aired for a single cool season under the title “Rumiko Takahashi Theater”.
Summary
Only a really limited number of people, such as Fujiko Fujio-sensei, are able to animate even short stories.
That’s how great he is, and it’s proof that he’s a manga artist whose works are full of charm no matter what you read.
The early period of Urusei and Mezon’s work is indeed very dated, but from the middle period onwards, the work is completed and the rest is up to you, so there is no problem to start with any of his works.
RINNE is the catchiest in terms of content and design, but if you start with the anime, RINNE is the easiest to get into.
If you’re a fan of romance, don’t hesitate to choose Mezon one!
