Rin-ne 1

Rumiko Takahashi – Viz – 2009 – 1+ volumes

As I’ve said before, I’m a pretty big fan of Takahashi.  This series is a given read for me.  There is literally no criticism you could level at it that would keep me away.  I actually already read this volume, since it’s serialized on its own site here.  Reading it online before I get the book in my hands takes a lot of the joy out of it for me though, so I stopped after several weeks.  The last chapter I read was literally the last one in this book.  Re-reading it was still a pleasure, though.

How does it measure up?  Well, it’s a Takahashi series.  I feel like everything about it is so familiar that it’s hard to comment on.  There’s both good and bad in that statement, but I have to say, for a Takahashi series, it’s also got a pretty interesting plot.  I haven’t read Inu-Yasha (which will be something I will rectify when the VizBig volumes come out in November), but I like the supernatural theme set in the real world here, and I have a soft spot in my heart of shinigami of all shapes and sizes, be they Rukia, Ryuk, Rinne, or Takuto.  Death Note will always be the coolest thing anyone’s ever done with the idea of a shinigami, but I find Takahashi’s approach to the subject far more interesting than, say, Bleach and Full Moon.

This first volume is actually an awful lot like the beginning of Bleach, with interesting, short missions where various tasks are performed.  Rinne makes for a sad character, period, since he is poor and sort of forced to rid the world of ghosts for pocket change and cans of food.  We get a little bit of backstory for him, but as of yet, there’s no real general thrust other than the need for Rin-ne to pay off his debt.

The one thing that does bother me a little bit is that neither Rinne or Sakura, the main character, seem to have much personality or chemistry together.  I like them a lot, don’t get me wrong, and I like the humor that plays off both of them, but it’s kind of strange that there isn’t an element of friendship, or love, or hate, since Takahashi’s main characters always seem to just… well, go together, and have a good track record of ending up with one another after everything is said and done.  Rinne and Sakura just seem to exist, and do the same things together.  Sakura hangs out with Rinne because she is curious and wants to help him, sort of, but… the two just haven’t quite sparked yet.  There may be a reason for this, given Rinne’s nature, and maybe there’ll be a spark later on.  As I said, I like both of them, and they make me laugh, and with the plot being as interesting as it is currently, their lack of chemistry in the very first volume isn’t all that worrying.

While not gripping, the series has definitely gotten off to an interesting start, and I’m interested to see where all the ghost busting will go eventually.  Hopefully some strange and wonderful places.  I’ll keep reading, regardless, because I like shinigami and I love Takahashi, so… yeah.  Make of that what you will.

This was a review copy provided by Viz.