Kyoukai no Rinne first impressions

Kyoukai no Rinne is the newest manga series by the famous manga-ka Rumiko Takahashi. The first chapter of Rinne came out less than a year after Takahashi finally finished her longest running series, Inuyasha…

So far I’ve read 11 chapters of Rinne and I can say that it definitely has much of Takahashi’s unique style of humor and characters. However, this could also make it predictable and tiring to fans of Inuyasha, Ranma, or Takahashi’s other fantasy/comedy series.

I was a big fan of Inuyasha for many years so I can’t help but compare it to Rinne and note the similarities between the two. First of all, the characters in Rinne echo the Inuyasha characters in both looks and roles: Rinne is obviously Inuyasha with short red hair and a white rather than a red magical haori, Sakura is practically a carbon copy of Kagome, seemingly in personality as well as looks, with a slightly different hairstyle, and Rokumon is Shippo as a kitten instead of a fox, who can transform into a black version of Kirara XD Some may say that this is simply what happens when a manga-ka makes many different series – similarities in character design and personalities can’t help but crop up. But so far, to me it seems like Takahashi’s other series were more distinct from each other than Rinne is from Inuyasha. But I suppose as the chapters go by, the Rinne characters will distinguish themselves more and more from Inuyasha. Rinne’s personality is evidently different from Inuyasha’s right from the beginning, as he’s more polite, level-headed, and less violent and foul tempered. Rokumon is also more humble than Shippo, since he is serving Rinne. However I still have yet to see anything distinguishing Sakura from Kagome. Even Kagome and Akane from Ranma 1/2 were distinct from each other, since Akane was more temperamental and quick to violence. It’s already pretty evident that Sakura and Rinne will be the next typical “Takahashi couple” but who knows. So far only a few other supporting characters have been introduced in Rinne so I’m sure at least some of them will stand out.

Storywise however, Rinne is different from Inuyasha in the sense that it deals with shinigami, spirits, and the afterlife as opposed to youkai in the Sengoku Jidai. With this it’s actually more similar to Bleach. While most of Takahashi’s series have both comedy and drama in them, with one of the two being the emphasis (drama in Inuyasha’s case and comedy in Ranma’s), it seems like she’s going for a more comedic emphasis with Rinne, as it’s been mostly comical and episodic, with nothing extremely serious or violent happening. But it definitely has the potential to be either so we’ll see how things go. So far the fantasy element of shingami guiding spirits to the afterlife, spirits lingering in the real world because of regrets, etc., is interesting. I’m sure, knowing Takahashi’s creativity, the story will get more complex as more characters and subplots are introduced.

Anyway, 11 chapters into Rinne and I’m enjoying it, mostly because it makes me nostalgic for Inuyasha and I like Takahashi’s style of characters and storytelling. I doubt Rinne will touch my heart the way Inuyasha did, but it could still turn into a great series for Takahashi fans, or anyone who wants a new twist on the Bleach-like theme of shinigami, spirits, and the afterlife. Viz is doing a great job with their simultaneous scanlations of the Rinne chapters so it’s very easy to start reading the series translated. I’m really not into reading manga, especially online, but since the Rinne chapters are short and I haven’t fallen behind, I’m sure I’ll keep them up. Looking forward to more =)