Rumiko Takahashi --- The Godmother of this forum

[Net-Lex]

I've been baptized in the name of the genius that is Rumiko Takahashi this past year, by way of Ranma 1/2 and Urusei Yatsura being reran on Kids Station.
As a result, I've been frequenting my local GEO and renting all theatrical versions of Urusei Yastura--all the while enjoying the glory that is 80's, Japanese, theatrical animation.
Granted, I've been a fan of Inuyasha sine Cartoon Network's initial U.S. airing back in the late 90's. However, at the time, I wasn't aware that it was one of Takahashi-san's series; not to mention her immense contribution to otaku--nay, Japanese pop-culture--as a whole.
I'd love to hear how you all feel about said author's work.
In my mind--and I'm sure many--she's the 'Godmother' of manga (and anime by proxy).

[Drew_Sutton]

I am a huge fan of Takahashi Rumiko - I love her designs, artwork and stories. I think my favorite work overall is Maison Ikkoku but I was introduced to her through Ranma 1/2 in the late 90s.

While Ranma 1/2 had been huge in anime communities and conventions, at that time I was still getting involved in 'organized fandom', I guess for lack of a better word. The closest people I geeked out over Japanese cartoons with were my closest circle of friends and none of them were really in touch with other fans outside of the Internet. One of my friends had gone to Blockbuster or some indie video store, I can't remember, and since we're always on the look out for new anime, he picked up a couple Ranma 1/2 tapes. We watched them, jumping into the story halfway through, and were immediately struck with it. We went back to the beginning and started in from there. It became a staple for us and began to replace our previous staple, Dragonball.

I was still reading comics at the time and while I was dropping a lot of the superhero books I had been reading, I saw they had Ranma 1/2 comics (floppy singles versions!), so I started buying a couple of those and it wasn't too long after Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer was broadcast on Sci-Fi's Summer Anime Week thingy. I heard Takahashi's name and immediately recognized the connection, so I watched the broadcast while the VCR taped it. Being my first exposure to Urusei, it was probably not the best thing. While the characterization was easy to figure out, the film itself was just weird. I didn't really try to track down any other of her works, particularly Urusei Yatsura.

After getting over being gun shy of her other works, I found Maison Ikkoku in the comic form. I got the first volume collected as a graphic novel and some later singles. I really liked it but since I eventually stopped going to comic shops and it was before the B&N/Borders Manga Boom, it wound up getting shelved and I moved on. When Urusei Yatsura TV got released on DVD several years later, I started picking it up and found my way back to Maison Ikkoku.

I never got into Inu Yasha; had nothing to do with it's popularity or some bad fandom reaction - my sister borrowed it from a friend of hers, I read the volumes she borrowed and just never got into it. It had the comedy I liked from her previous works but tried for a string of seriousness more than just getting emotionally invested into the characters. I also tried to get into Kyoukai no Rinne when it came out several years ago, but just couldn't get into that one, either.

There's a lot of criticism leveled at her work because "nothing happens". And, in a way, it's a fair point because much of her works aren't traditional, linear stories. Instead, they're written as situational comedies. I've always liked that aspect because once you know the leads, you can come back whenever, wherever and everything is in this nice package.

[yusaku]

Maison Ikkou was my favorite Rumiko Takahashi offering. I managed to obtain the complete tv series on DVD. I like it so much I wish I could find another complete collection as a backup. Takahasi is one of my top anime and manga creators of all time.

Lum, Mermaid Forest, Ranma 1/2, and Maison Ikkoku were my favorites. I complete DVD library copies of all those titles only I am missing the Ranma 1/2 series because that series should always be available for sale. Thus, I spend my time going after her manga trades for Lum and Maison Ikkoku.

[Ben]

I will always have a great appreciation for Rumiko Takahashi, for one nostalgic reason in particular: I had seen anime before Ranma 1/2, but my first encounter with manga was at a local comic shop that stocked Viz titles pretty much from day one. It was probably 94, and I saw Ranma 1/2 on the shelf and was entranced by the art style, and knew I had to check out what this was. That struck up a conversation with the store owner who recommended the old Marvel release of Akira to me, and I was hooked. I'm still a huge Ranma fan, but I think that now that I've read all of Urusei Yatsura it is still my favorite work of hers, with Maison Ikkoku a close second.

[Animusubi]

Overall I like Takahashi, but at the same time, I may not hold her in the same regards as others. If only because I just feel like Inu Yasha and Rinne were both disappointing, and I haven't liked her art after Ranma 1/2.

Her style in late UY and Maison/early Ranma 1/2 were my favorite. Her short stories, and Mermaid's Saga I felt were her strongest stories. Her weakness is creating too many characters, and other characters not being utilized enough. Especially in Ranma 1/2. I actually like the anime of Ranma 1/2 more than the manga.

[Net-Lex]

It's clear from all the above comments that Takahashi-san is not immune to the predicament all artists encounter--namely, they reach an apex. But, if you're going to reach one it might as well be as high as hers.

[Net-Lex]

By the way, which of Takahashi-san's character designs is everyone's favorite?
I'll have to go with Lum--so sexy, so iconic. That aside, I can still appreciate the call-back to Japanese myth with the Oni motif.

[llj]

Takahashi is a great manga artist to study if you are a budding comic artist. Clear, concise layouts--you never have trouble trying to figure out what's going on visually.

[SteveH]

I'm the iconoclast in the room. I really don't care much for Rumiko Takahashi. I found Urusei Yatsura to be amusing at times and that's about it.

Out of politeness I won't go into the seeming odd clueless subtext of Ranma fandom other than how annoyingly vocal they were back in the day.

Her time is done. She's joined much more worthy creators in history's dustbin (Sadamoto, Sonoda, Mikimoto).

My opinion, of course, and likely to be in the minority.

[greg]

Alex, I have the UY movie "Beautiful Dreamer" on LaserDisc. You need to come over sometime and watch it with me, as I have yet to watch it myself. I am just ignorant of many of the characters that came later in the series. I've been meaning to let you know that my wife's job will be changing. She'll be going back to part time and will have weekends free again!

I too have been catching these Ranma and UY episodes on Kid's Station here in Happy J-Land. My daughter likes UY, but I have yet to show her Ranma. The show features plenty of T&A, so that will be right up her alley. (I am pretty sure every five-year-old kid is a nudist with Tourette's Syndrome.)

EDIT: As for favorite character designs, I really dig the recent UY opening credit animation with the gang wearing Star Wars-inspired space combat gear. Seeing Lum with a holstered laser pistol is very cool! That and the very fantasy-looking Lum. I think Usamimi on here shared a picture of her wearing a rather gauzy robe draped over her body, holding a sword. My friend had a poster of that in college, and it was super sexy, droolworthy, and envy-inducing.