Rumiko Takahashi | |
|---|---|
高橋 留美子 | |
| Born | (1957-10-10)October 10, 1957 (age 68) Niigata, Niigata Prefecture, Japan |
| Occupation | Manga artist |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Notable work | |
| Awards |
|
Rumiko Takahashi (高橋 留美子,Takahashi Rumiko; born October 10, 1957) is a Japanesemanga artist. With a career of several commercially successful works, beginning withUrusei Yatsura in 1978, she is one of Japan's best-known and wealthiest manga artists.[1][2] Her works are known worldwide, where they have been translated into a variety of languages, with over 230 million copies in circulation;[3] making Takahashi one of thebest-selling authors of all time. She has won theShogakukan Manga Award twice, once in 1980 forUrusei Yatsura and again in 2001 forInuyasha,[4] and theSeiun Award twice, once in 1987 forUrusei Yatsura and again in 1989 forMermaid Saga.[5] She also received theGrand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême in 2019, becoming the second woman and second Japanese to win the prize.[6] In 2020, the Japanese government awarded Takahashi theMedal with Purple Ribbon for her contributions to the arts.
Takahashi was born inNiigata, Japan.[7] Although she showed little interest in manga as a child, she was said to occasionallydoodle in the margins of her papers while attendingNiigata Chūō High School [ja]. She co-founded a manga club at high school together withYōko Kondō, who also became a manga artist.[8] Takahashi's interest in drawing manga herself did not start until later.[9] In an interview in 2000, Takahashi said that she had always wanted to become a professional comic author since she was a child.[10]
During her university years, Takahashi enrolled inGekiga Sonjuku, a manga school founded byKazuo Koike, author ofCrying Freeman andLone Wolf and Cub. Under his guidance, Takahashi began to publish her firstdōjinshi creations in 1975, such asBye-Bye Road andStar of Futile Dust. Koike often urged his students to create well-thought out, interesting characters, and this influence would greatly impact Takahashi's works throughout her career.[9] Takahashi worked as an assistant forhorror manga artist andMakoto-chan series creatorKazuo Umezu.[11][12]
Takahashi's professional career began in 1978. Her first published work was the one-shotKatte na Yatsura [jp] (Those Selfish Aliens), which garnered her an honorable mention at that year'sShogakukan New Comics Contest.[7] Later that same year, she began her first serialized story inWeekly Shōnen Sunday;Urusei Yatsura, a comedic science fiction story. Takahashi initially had difficulty meeting deadlines, so chapters were published sporadically until 1980. During the run of the series, she shared a small apartment with two assistants, and often slept in a closet due to a lack of space.[13] During the same year, Takahashi publishedTime Warp Trouble,Shake Your Buddha, and theGolden Gods of Poverty inWeekly Shōnen Sunday magazine, a publication which would remain the home to most of her major works for the next twenty years.[citation needed]
In 1980, Takahashi started her second major series,Maison Ikkoku, inBig Comic Spirits magazine, which had an older target audience than her previous work. Because of the influence of theNew Wave movement of manga in the late 1970s,seinen manga, or comics marketed toward young men, became more open to includingshōjo manga aesthetics, or the aesthetics of comics marketed toward young women, and to hiring female manga artists.[14]Maison Ikkoku is aromantic comedy, and Takahashi used her own experience living in an apartment complex to create the series. Takahashi managed to work on the series on and off simultaneously withUrusei Yatsura. She concluded both series in 1987, withUrusei Yatsura ending at 34 volumes, andMaison Ikkoku at 15.[15][16]
During the 1980s, Takahashi became a prolific writer ofshort story manga. Her storiesLaughing Target,Maris the Chojo, andFire Tripper were all adapted intooriginal video animations (OVAs). In 1984, during the writing ofUrusei Yatsura andMaison Ikkoku, Takahashi began a series published sporadically inWeekly Shōnen Sunday calledMermaid Saga which ran for 10 years, until 1994. The series was partially released in twowide-ban volumes, with the complete story released as a set ofshinsoban, or special edition, in 2003.[17]
Another short work of Takahashi's to be published sporadically wasOne-Pound Gospel. Takahashi concluded the series in 2007 after publishing chapters in 1998, 2001, and 2006.[18] One-Pound Gospel was adapted into a live-action TV drama.[19]
In 1987, Takahashi began her third major series,Ranma ½. Following the late 1980s and early 1990s trend ofshōnenmartial arts manga,Ranma ½ features agender-bending twist. The series continued for nearly a decade until 1996, when it ended at 38 volumes.Ranma ½ and its anime adaptation are cited as some of the first of their mediums to have become popular in the United States.[20]
During the latter half of the 1990s, Rumiko Takahashi continued with short stories and her installments ofMermaid Saga andOne-Pound Gospel until beginning her fourth major work,Inuyasha. Unlike the majority of her works,Inuyasha has a darker tone more akin toMermaid Saga and, having been serialized inWeekly Shōnen Sunday from 1996 to 2008, is her longest to date. On March 5, 2009, Rumiko Takahashi released her one-shotUnmei No Tori. On March 16, 2009, she collaborated withMitsuru Adachi, creator ofTouch andCross Game, to release a one-shot calledMy Sweet Sunday. Her next manga series,Kyōkai no Rinne started on April 22, 2009. This was Rumiko Takahashi's first new manga series since her previous manga seriesInuyasha ended in June 2008. She concluded it on December 13, 2017, with a total of 398 chapters, collected in 40 volumes.[citation needed]
Urusei Yatsura,Maison Ikkoku,Ranma ½,Inuyasha, andRIN-NE are all published in English in the United States byViz Comics. The 1989 re-release ofUrusei Yatsura was halted after only a few volumes were translated, but a reprint in a 2-in-1 omnibus format began in 2019 .[21]
Rumiko Takahashi started a new manga series entitledMao inWeekly Shōnen Sunday issue #23 released on May 8, 2019.[22]
 | This section of abiography of a living persondoes notinclude anyreferences or sources. Please help by addingreliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourcedmust be removed immediately, especially if potentiallylibelous or harmful.(May 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
In 1981,Urusei Yatsura became the first of Takahashi's works to be animated. This series first aired on Japanese television on October 14, and went through multiple director changes during its run. Though the 195-episode TV series ended in March 1986,Urusei Yatsura was kept alive in anime form through OVA and movie releases through 1991. Most notable of the series directors wasMamoru Oshii, who madeBeautiful Dreamer, the secondUrusei Yatsura movie.AnimEigo has released the entire TV series and all of the OVAs and movies except forBeautiful Dreamer (which was released byCentral Park Media in the U.S.) in the United States in English-subtitled format, with English dubs also made for the first two TV episodes (asThose Obnoxious Aliens) and for all of the movies.
Continued cooperation ofKitty Films,Studio Pierrot, andStudio Deen in 1986 led to the adaptation of Rumiko Takahashi's second work,Maison Ikkoku, which debuted the week after the final TV episode ofUrusei Yatsura. The TV series ran for 96 episodes, 3 OVAs, a movie and also a live-action movie.
OVAs produced in the mid-80s:
OVAs produced in the early 90s:
All listed titles were eventually subtitled in English and released in the United States.Viz Communications has released the anime ofMaison Ikkoku,Ranma andInuyasha in English, in both subtitled and dubbed formats. Studio Deen also provided animation duties onMaison Ikkoku andRanma.
Ranma ½ was the last major series produced byKitty Films. The series was never concluded in animated form despite being 161 episodes and having two movies. Kitty Films discontinued work on the series due to turmoil in the company, and was continued by Studio Deen until 1996.
After Kitty Films,Sunrise was the first studio to adapt a major Rumiko Takahashi series. From 2000 to 2004,Inuyasha ran for 167 episodes and spawned four major films. The first anime ended before the manga did, thus wrapping up inconclusively. A second Inuyasha series in 2009,Inuyasha the Final Act, ran until March 2010 in order to officially conclude the story.
2008 marked the 50th anniversary ofWeekly Shōnen Sunday and the 30th anniversary of the first publication ofUrusei Yatsura. Rumiko Takahashi's manga work was honoured inIt's a Rumic World, a special exhibition held from July 30 to August 11 at the Matsuya Ginza department store in Tokyo.
The exhibit included a new half-hourRanma ½ andInuyasha OVAs and an introductory sequence featuring characters fromUrusei Yatsura,Ranma andInuyasha (starring the characters' original anime voice talents).
It's a Rumic World was scheduled to re-open inSendai in December 2008, at which time a new half-hourUrusei Yatsura OVA was scheduled to premiere. A special DVD release containing all three new OVAs was announced as coming out on January 29, 2010, with a trailer posted in September 2009. However, it is not known whether any of the new episodes will ever be released outside Japan.
Rumiko Takahashi Anthology, animated byTMS Entertainment adapts many of her short stories from the 80s. It features her storiesThe Tragedy of P,The Merchant of Romance,Middle-Aged Teen,Hidden in the Pottery,Aberrant Family F,As Long As You Are Here,One Hundred Years of Love,In Lieu of Thanks,Living Room Lovesong,House of Garbage,One Day Dream,Extra-Large Size Happiness, andThe Executive's Dog. Also, a TV series ofMermaid Saga was produced in 2003, animating 8 of her stories.
Many of Takahashi's works have been translated into English, as well as other European languages. Takahashi has said that she did not know why her works are relatively popular with English speakers. Takahashi toldViz Media in a March 2000 interview:
"Sure, there are cultural differences in my work. When I see anAmerican comedy, even though the jokes are translated, there's always a moment when I feel puzzled and think, 'Ah, Americans would probably laugh at this more'. I suppose the same thing must happen with my books. It's inevitable. And yet, that doesn't mean my books can't be enjoyed by English-speaking readers. I feel confident that there's enough substance to them that people from a variety of cultural backgrounds can have a lot of fun reading them."[10]
Artists that have cited Takahashi and her work as an influence include CanadianBryan Lee O'Malley on his seriesScott Pilgrim,[23] AmericanColleen Coover on her erotic seriesSmall Favors,[24] Japanese Chihiro Tamaki on her mangaWalkin' Butterfly,[25] Chinese-AustralianQueenie Chan,[26] and ThaiWisut Ponnimit.[27] Scottish rock bandUrusei Yatsura named themselves after her first work.[28] Matt Bozon, creator of theShantae video game series, citedRanma ½ as a big influence on his work.[29] Chinese-Canadian filmmakerDomee Shi listed bothRanma ½ andInuyasha as influences on her filmTurning Red.[30]
| Years | Name | Magazine | Total number of volumes | Circulation in Japan | Japanese publisher | English publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978–2015 | Rumic World (るーみっくわーるど) | Various | 5 | Shogakukan | Viz Media | |
| 1978–1987 | Urusei Yatsura (うる星やつら) | Weekly Shōnen Sunday | 34 | 35 million[43] | ||
| 1980–1987 | Maison Ikkoku (めぞん一刻) | Big Comic Spirits | 15 | 25 million[44] | ||
| 1984–1994 | Mermaid Saga (人魚シリーズ) | Weekly Shōnen Sunday | 3 | |||
| 1987–1996 | Ranma ½ (らんま1/2) | Weekly Shōnen Sunday | 38 | 55 million[45] | ||
| 1987–2006 | One-pound Gospel (1ポンドの福音) | Weekly Young Sunday | 4 | |||
| 1987–present | Rumic Theater (高橋留美子劇場) | Big Comic Original | 6 | |||
| 1996–2008 | Inuyasha (犬夜叉) | Weekly Shōnen Sunday | 56 | 50 million[46] | ||
| 2009–2017 | Rin-ne (境界のRINNE) | Weekly Shōnen Sunday | 40 | 3 million[47] | ||
| 2019–present | Mao (マオ) | Weekly Shōnen Sunday | 26 | 1 million[48] |
Works byRumiko Takahashi | |
|---|---|
| Major works |
|
| Other works |
|
