Rin-ne (2010)

[境界のRINNE]

Volume 6

Author/Artist: Rumiko Takahashi
Publisher: Shounen Sunday Comics

Synopsis:
Tsubasa's corrupted power stone draws the attention of Masato.

Story/Characters:
We kick off a three-chapter arc with Masato giving Tsubasa a grimoire to use in conjunction with his corrupted powerstone to curse people. Of course the object of the curse is going to be Rinne. Though the curses tend to be petty in nature, Tsubasa keeps trying to stop (namely out of fear of what Sakura will think of him if she finds out), but the grimoire keeps coming back to him. The running gag is how Tsubasa tries to be good but can't really manage it.

Next we have a delinquent ghost who looks identical to the student council president, causing all sorts of trouble for the latter. The ghost is actually that of the girl's aunt, her mother's twin sister who died back when they were in high school. Things get sorted out and we close on our usual gag ending.

While pursuing a damashigami, Ageha encounters the shirushigami Kain, a bookkeeper from the other side, who as the servicer of Rinne's debt really doesn't like our protagonist. His mother was one of the victim's of Sabato's con game and he blames Rinne by association. He breaks Rinne's scythe, then claims his Flame of Life and the Haori of the Underworld as a sort of repo thing. Kain gives the gang a day to give him the location of the Damashigami Company or else he'll be keeping what he took. An attempt to sort things out at Kain's office fails as people from the land of the living aren't supposed to be running around on the other side. Also, Rinne's spirit keeps on getting drawn to the Wheel of Reincarnation when a woman happens to save him. It's Kain's mom, who's still getting conned by Sabato, and it's revealed that Sabato used the money he conned from her to set up the Damashigami Company. Kain drugs the gang and locks them up so he can force Rinne to reincarnate. Sakura, the only one who wasn't drugged, wakes the others up and they find something that Sabato took from Rinne when he was a kid (to give to Kain's mom among a bunch of other stolen goods as tokens of his affection). They deliver the box to Rinne just as Kain knocks him into the Circle of Reincarnation, along with Sakura. However, the contents of the box was a tool known as the Ring of Judgment, which leads the wielder to offenders and what bigger offender do we have besides Sabato? Only Sabato isn't at the office but rather at Kain's place trying to scam his mom again. In the dust-up that follows, we discover two other functions of the Wheel of Judgment: the Shield of Justice, which defends the wielder from unjust attacks, and binding function (which might have gotten Sabato if he was any less slippery). Anyway, so long as Rinne has the Ring of Judgment, Kain's attacks can't affect him, earning him a reprieve, and we all get to celebrate over some deluxe sushi put on the tab of Kain's wastrel mother.

Art:
The art maintains the standard you'd expect. The comedic takes from the curse arc are pretty good. I also like the retro delinquent look of Ranko (which I think would've been a retro look even in-story if it takes place the same time the story was published).

Conclusion:
We seem to be moving into longer stories, which isn't a bad thing. Some people might like the more episodic format, but I prefer the greater development you get over a longer telling. We get a return of both Masato and Sabato plus a new antagonist in the form of Kain. It's all pretty solid and well enough worth a read.

Rating:
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