63 Takahashi Rumiko $@9b66N1H~;R(B
Description
This article is from the Manga FAQ, by Steve Pearl starbuck@cybercomm.net with numerous contributions by others.
63 Takahashi Rumiko $@9b66N1H~;R(B
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Urusei Yatsura $@$&$k@1$d$D$i(B [aka Lum] - serialized on Shonen Sunday
1979-85, 34 volumes @ Y390, 15 wide-ban volumes @ Y680.
Ataru Moroboshi, the unluckiest boy in the world, is randomly selected as
Earth's champion to defeat an alien in a contest with the world at stake.
A complete lecher, he agrees when he finds the contest is tag and the
quarry is the beautiful alien princess Lum. After many humiliating misses
(no one told him Lum could fly), his long-suffering, unnaturally-strong
"girlfriend" Shinobu promises to marry him if he wins. He does, and
declares that he will be married, which the aliens take as a proposal. So
he ends up engaged to a jealous alien every boy desires, while chasing
every other girl in town, not to mention the galaxy.
The title is a pun. "Urusei" means "noisy/obnoxious" and "yatsura" is
slang for "people". But Takahashi wrote "sei" as "star", so that "Urusei"
could be read as "planet Uru". Thus, the title means both "Noisy people"
and "Uru-planet people".
See also: Urusei Yatsura homepage
<http://www.coe.uncc.edu/~tecardwe/uy.html>
Maison Ikkoku $@$a$>$s0l9o(B - serialized on Big Comics Spirits, 1987, 15
volumes @ Y500, 10 wide-ban volumes @ Y1100.
A romantic comedy/drama about the residents of an old boarding house,
centering on the relationship between Godai, a perennial ronin, and Kyoko,
the widowed manager who hasn't let go of her late husband.
See also: Maison Ikkoku homepage
<http://www.math.ufl.edu/~smg/maison.html>
Mermaid Series - 2 volumes, both Y1200, serialized on Shonen Sunday: Mermaid's
Forest, 1989; and Mermaid's Scar $@?M5{$N=}(B, 1993.
The story of Youta, a 500 year old "young man", and Mana, a 17 year-old
girl. After eating mermaid flesh, they both became immortal. (At least two
new stories have been published since the second compilation.) stories
Rumick World $@$k!<$_$C$/$o!<$k$I(B - published by Shogakukan, 1990, 3
volumes @ Y710.
The OAVs from this series include: Firetripper, about a girl who
experiences a timewarp after an explosion; Warau Hyouteki [Laughing
Target]; and The Supergirl.
Ranma Nibunnoichi $@$i$s$^(B1/2 - irregularly featured on Shonen Sunday, 1987,
35 volumes @ Y390.
Saotome Ranma is a martial artist whose training in China left him with a
curse: he transforms into female when splashed with cold water, and back
to male when splashed with hot. Other characters are similarly cursed
(turning into pandas, cats, etc). He is engaged to Akane, the youngest of
three daughters, and lives in her father's dojo (which he is supposed to
inherit). The romance between Ranma and Akane has shades of Maison Ikkoku,
but it's played primarily for laughs, and there are many parodies of
martial arts fiction cliches. A volume of Ranma 1/2 anime comics is
available: Eiga Ranma Nibunnoichi: Chomusabetsu kessen! Ranma Team vs.
Densetsu no Hoo
$@1G2h$@$i$s$^#1!?#2D6L5:9JL7h@o!*MpGO%A!<%`#V#SEA@b$NK1Q`(B - published
by Shogakukan, 1994, Y800.
See also:
o Ranma 1/2 Expanded homepage
<http://www.coe.uncc.edu/~tecardwe/ranma.html>
o Ranma 1/2 People & Places List
<http://www.princeton.edu/~qpliu/ranma_ppt.html>
One Pound Gospel $@#1% ]%s%I$NJ!2;(B - irregularly featured on Young Sunday,
1989-present, 2 volumes @ Y500.
A light drama about a nun and a boxer. (It remains unfinished yet - four
episodes have been printed on Young Sunday since volume 2, though they
haven't been compiled into a tankoubon yet.)
Takahashi Rumiko Masterpiece Collection: P's Tragedy
$@9b66N1H|;R7f:n=8#P$NHa7`(B - published by Shogakukan, 1994, Y980.
Contains most of Takahashi's recent short stories; the rest appear in 1 or
W. The stories included are:
1. P no higeki [P's tragedy]
Dad begs Mom to nurse a _real penguin, his company's mascot, for a
few days, despite the "no pets allowed" rule enforced by the stern
kanrinin (janitor) of their apartment building, who doesn't seem to
like pets at all..
2. Roman no akindo [Romantic merchant]
A love/proposal/wedding affair, held in an old house, involving two
"old" and "young" couples, whose protagonists somehow look like elder
Akane and Ranma, quarelling all the time..
3. POI no ke [Home of rubbish]
A housewife keeps trashing her husband's souvenir items from his
trips all around the world, bothering another family by putting them
day after day at the wrong "trash" spot right in front of the other
family's yard..
4. Hachi no naka [Inside the pot]
A housewife goes nuts when she realizes that the plants her neighbor
gave her to water are planted into flowerpots made of.. human bones
?? Might they be her neighbor's mom's, who just passed away ???
5. Hyaku nen no koi [A hundred years' love]
An old lady dies in a hospital but suddently comes to life again,
with unexpected ESP powers, to make things go smoothly between a boy
and his girlfriend, the nurse in charge of the old lady, in memory of
the old lady's own love who killed himself before her eyes, long
ago..
6. L size no shiawase [The happiness of large size]
When the mother-in-law of her husband comes to live among them, a
housewife realizes in horror that she's the only one to see a very
tall ghost spirit, named "zashikiwarashi", who is supposed to look
after households. Effectively, he will eventually prevent them from
making a big mistake in the purchase of their new house.. [PJ]
1 or W - published by Shogakukan, 1995, Y1100.
A compilation of 9 short stories (most dating from before 1990). The title
story is about a lazy kendo boy, a girl manager of the kendo club who
drowned and became a ghost, and an eccentric kendo teacher who has been
drowned and intercepted her body. Other stories include Slim Kannon and
Invitation to Takarazuka.
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My Books
