Rumiko Takahashi
This is the report I did in summer school based on Rumiko Takahashi. Click here for Miss Takahashi's picture. Or, you can click in the 'k' in Rumiko Takahashi.
Rumiko Takahashi was born on October 10, 1957, in Niigata, Japan. She attended Niigata Chuo High School, and sometimes doodled in the pages of her notebook. However, she never thought of being a manga creator when she grew up. Manga became her hobby when she was in college. Miss Takahashi enrolled in a famous manga university in Gekiga Sonjuku, where she worked with Atsuji Yamamoto. The founder of that school was Kazuo Koike, who was kown for his works: Lone Wolf, Cub, and Crying Freeman. She also went to Josei-dai, and became friends with a manga artist, Hanako Meijiro and a fantasy writer, Reiko Hikawa.
Takahashi’s magnificent works caught the eye of a famous publisher, Shogakukan. She was then asked to publish a story for the magazine, Shonen Sunday. The story that she published was Those Selfish Aliens, and won the New Comic Artist Award.
Takahashi’s first manga series was Urusei Yatsura, which was mainly for college audiences. It was released in 1978 and was published in Shonen Sunday every week. She also decided to publish another series while doing Urusei Yatsura, called Maison Ikkoku. It’s about a college student Yusaku Godai, who falls in love with his apartment owner, Kyoko Otonashi, the willow. (Which I think is much too old for him.) But the person Kyoko likes is Shun Mitaka, a rich, good-looking, tennis coach. Maison Ikkoku was released in 1982 and was published in Big Comic Spirits every month instead of Shonen Sunday. It was mainly for young adult audiences. The series Urusei Yatsura and Maison Ikkoku both ended in 1987, with Urusei Yatsura having published 34 volumes and Maison Ikkoku with 15 volumes. Takahashi then started working on one of her longest series, Ranma 1/2 It was about a martial arts student named Ranma Saotome who was cursed, and turns into a girl when he is splashed with cold water and turns back into a boy when splashed with hot water. Ranma1/2 has a total of 38 volumes. The comic series ended in 1992 and the animated series ended in 1996. On July 6, 1995, Shogakukan celebrated the sale of Rumiko Takahashi’s one hundred millionth book: Ranma1/2 volume 34. She also dubbed Ramna 1/2 into English. To honor her great achievements she won the Inkpot Award in 1994 at the San Diego Comic Convention. After Ranma1/2 ended, Takahashi began her next series Inu Yasha Sengoku Otogi Zoushi, which means Inu Yasha, a Feudal Fairy Tale. It is about a 15-year-old girl named Kagome Higurashi who falls into a concealed well, and travels back into Sengoku Jidai, the Feudal Age. There she meets Inu Yasha, a hanyou (half-demon), and they start on a Journey together in search of all the shard of the Shikon no Tama (Jewel of Four Souls). On their journey, they fall in love with each other. But Kikyo, the woman which Inu Yasha loved 50 years ago, and whom Inu Yasha believed she betrayed him, came back to from the dead just to find Inu Yasha and Kagome together. Inu Yasha is one of my favorite shows. Miss Takahashi found a new production company for her new release: Sunrise. Sunrise is famous for their work: The Mobile Suit Gundam. Inu Yasha became one of Takahashi’s most successful works and is currently on TV on Cartoon Network at 12:30am.
Rumiko Takahashi also created some short series, which included, One or W, Maris the Chojo, and Firetripper. There was also, Mermaid Saga and One-Pound-Gospel, which was about a boxer named Kosaku Hatanaka who falls in love with a nun, Angela, but in unavailable because of her beliefs. Kosaku also has weight problems, and tries to eat less, while trying to win Angela’s heart. All of these short series were published in Big Comic Spirits.
Rumiko Takahashi continues to grow more and more successful every year, after spending over 20 years creating manga. Sometimes she discussed her favorite baseball team, the Hanshin Tigers, and her favorite music group, Shanza in Shonen Sunday. Because of her outstanding works, Miss Takahashi earned the title “The Princess of Manga? She never married and never regretted the path she took as a manga creator.
