‘Kyoukai no Rinne’, ch. 1-13, by Rumiko Takahashi

When ‘Inuyasha’ finally ended not so long ago, I guess everybody heaved a sigh of relief. It had been fun in the beginning, and I had quickly fallen in love with the characters and the world, but then things started to drag, nothing new happened, character growth came to a screeching halt… I stopped reading the manga altogether after I bought a new volume, accidently skipping the previous volume – and didn’t notice.

Of course, these experiences colour my judgement of Rumiko Takahashi’s post-’Inuyasha’ series.

I know Takahashi-sensei has made other series besides ‘Inuyasha’, very different manga, too. But ‘Rinne’ is pretty much in the same vein as ‘Inuyasha’, and has obvious parallels, so I think it’s fair to compare the two. Or even necessary.

Sakura is a first-year high school student who, for a reason that is explained eventually and that delightfully doesn’t mean she is inherently special, can see ghosts. That’s how she notices that her new classmate, Rinne, is working part-time as a shinigami of sorts. Naturally, they become friends and thus help various ghosts with whatever unfinished business binds them to this world.

So far, it’s episodic and light-hearted, often funny and with the occasional surprise thrown in for good measure. I actually find myself enjoying the individual “cases” themselves, instead of just seeing them as an excuse to introduce the characters and elements necessary for the inevitable longer story arc. It’s a solid manga, fun to read and actually funny here and there. I can see it running a long time based on these qualities.

However, like I said, it is pretty similar to ‘Inuyasha’. Maybe the biggest difference can be found between the titular characters, Rinne and Inuyasha, themselves – while the latter had a tragic backstory and a serious inner conflict, Rinne’s situation is a lot simpler and lacks that fascinating quality… It surely gives ‘Kyoukai no Rinne’ a lighter feel, which could be considered to be a disadvantage or an advantage, depending on your personal taste. I certainly don’t need tragic backstories, but still, Rinne seems to lack the depth that Inuyasha had, at least as of now. Sakura… Sakura is Kagome with braids. Not much to say here. Then there’s Shipp… I mean, Rokumon, the mascot-like demon-ish cuddle thing. Appears as a half-cat that looks very similar to Shippo in design, or as a cute black little kitten, or a bigger scarier/funnier demon, you know, like Shippo.

Chapter 13 introduces a mysterious antagonist who Rinne recognizes, and next week we will probably know if this yet unnamed stanger will turn out to be Rinne’s evil half brother or something. ;D Yeah, I wish. Anyway. So far, the characters feel familiar, which of course produces a familiar dynamic, and if you liked ‘Inuyasha’ and miss it, this might be just the thing to fill the hole in your heart. On the other hand, something new and unique would be nice, right?

Actually, I find it annoying that ‘Rinne’ feels so much like ‘Inuyasha’, and not just in subtle, thematic ways that can be explained with being created by the same author with not much time between. The introduction of Rokumon really makes it seem deliberate. And it makes me scared that ‘Rinne’ will end up emulating the worse aspects of ‘Inuyasha’, too, and will never come into its own! Well… only time will tell, and in the meantime,  why not just enjoy the manga! Because it’s definitely fun.

Tags: kyoukai no rinne, rumiko takahashi