Rin-ne 5

Rumiko Takahashi – Viz – 2011 – 5+ volumes

So one of my problems with the series thus far is that it’s hard to read both Rin-ne and Sakura. The story is beginning to hint at the two of them being a couple, but really, Rin-ne is the one that gets worked up when a rival shinigami girl starts hitting on him. Sakura being completely emotionless becomes a “thing” here, since with her acting like that, Rin-ne really can’t tell what she’s thinking when Ageha randomly shows up to court him. He’s… sort of the same way in terms of stoicism, but he’s a bit easier to read since he’ll do anything for tiny amounts of money, seems to always be depressed, and clearly has a crush on Sakura. I do like that Sakura’s complete lack of emotion is a plot point, though. Hopefully that will get fun later, or Rin-ne will develop a bit more of a personality to balance her out.

The short stories are still a little zany for my taste, but there were a couple fun ones this time around. My favorite was about a Haunted Cedar at Sakura’s old elementary school that she, Rin-ne, and Tsubasa exorcise together. It’s pretty straightforward, with a ghost from Sakura’s past and an evil spirit, but I think my favorite part was the yo-yo tricks. It also had a cute ending, which is a little out of the ordinary so far.

Other stories include one about a ghost whose dog haunts the library, a mystery ghost grabbing the ankles of the track star, a haunted bento, and the end of a story from the last volume that introduced Ageha the shinigami, whose older sister is romantically involved with Rokudo’s dad. Most of them make more of an attempt at humor than genuine scary/supernatural subject matter, and the humor is falling flat for me, but there’s something about them that is rather addictive. All the stories are in a 3-chapter story arc, and it’s hard not to finish and immediately start the next one. There’s no real plot development or major goings-on this time around other than the beginnings of the Sakura/Rin-ne pseudo-relationship, but I can tell that the dance around these two will take a long, long time to resolve itself. Sigh.

Ageha and Tsubasa are sort of the same character at this point, exorcist/shinigami that are head-over-heels in love with one of the main characters. I like Tsubasa a little more than Ageha, but only because he is so energetic and free with his sacred ashes. That joke still hasn’t gotten old. Ageha is all right as far as a secondary female romantic interest goes, she’s a lot girlier than Sakura and isn’t afraid to show a little affection towards Rin-ne. Rin-ne is torn on this point, since he doesn’t want to encourage Ageha, yet can’t turn down free food.

Honestly, it’s more-or-less the same story it was in volume one, but the characters are starting to grow on me, and it becomes harder and harder to put down with every volume. I still don’t like it nearly as much as the other series I’ve read by Takahashi, but it’s beginning to get that sitcom-y quality to it, where I’ll come back for every volume just because I like the characters and enjoy watching them do things. I’m still hoping for a little direction plot-wise within the next couple volumes, though.

This was a review copy provided by Viz.