Rin-ne (2009)

[境界のRINNE]

Volume 1

Author/Artist: Rumiko Takahashi
Publisher: Shounen Sunday Comics

Synopsis:
A girl who can see spirits gets involved in hauntings and a classmate who is an impoverished (sort of) shinigami.

Story/Characters:
I was in Japan when Inuyasha ended and this series began. In fact, I have the issue of Shounen Sunday where the series made its debut. It was a couple years later when I got this volume and I haven't really made much effort to start collecting the series. Partially it was a matter of financial consideration, but honestly, the series didn't really grab me enough here to make it a must-buy. I haven't even bothered to check out the anime version yet. While I'll admit that Inuyasha was dragged out longer than it needed to be, the return to episodic comedy isn't all that compelling for me. When looked at with a critical eye, while Takahashi is good with comedy, her episodic series leave you feeling that you're mostly spinning your tires and the individual stories are often hit or miss. I'm interested in the world that's being developed. The huckster-like quality of the shinigami business is amusing, but neither Sakura nor Rinne have particularly strong personalities. I mean, it's kinda funny how blasé Sakura is about all the supernatural occurrences around her and Rinne's penny-pinching, but I'm not invested in them like I was with Ataru and Lum, Godai and Kyouko, Ranma and Akane, or Inuyasha and Kagome. It doesn't bode well, but I'm willing to keep going in the hopes that there will be something compelling about the series that makes me want to see it through to the end.

Art:
The art quality is at the standard you would expect from Takahashi, but as of this volume, there aren't any of the elaborate action sequences that you got from Inuyasha or even Ranma 1/2. There may be battle arcs in the future, but at this point the visual dynamism feels rather muted in comparison (but so does the narrative, so I guess it fits).

Conclusion:
While I think anyone who is as big of a fan of the works of Rumiko Takahashi will want this in their collection, I have to admit that I'm not as strongly hooked as I have been with her other series. I'm certainly willing to give it time to develop and grow on me, but at this stage, the best I can do is recommend giving it a read.

Rating:
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