Rumiko Takahashi
 | This article or section is in a state of significant expansion or restructuring. You are welcome to assist in its construction by editing it as well. If this article or section has not been edited in several days, please remove this template. If you are the editor who added this template and you are actively editing, please be sure to replace this template with {{in use}} during the active editing session. Click on the link for template parameters to use.
This article was last edited by 216.49.97.50 (talk | contribs) 19 years ago. (Update timer) |
 | This article needs attention from an expert on the subject. Please add a reason or a talk parameter to this template to explain the issue with the article. |
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. |
Rumiko Takahashi (高橋留美子 Takahashi Rumiko, born October 10, 1957) is a Japanese manga artist.
Takahashi is one of the wealthiest women in Japan. The manga she creates (and its anime adaptations) are very popular in the United States and Europe where they have been released as both manga and anime in English translation. Her works are relatively famous worldwide, and many of her series were some of the forerunners of early English language manga to be released in the nineties. Takahashi is also the best selling female comics artist in history; well over 100 million copies of her various works have been sold.
Born in Niigata, Japan, Rumiko Takahashi showed little interest in manga during her childhood. Though she was said to occasionally doodle in the margins of her papers while attending Niigata Chuo High School, Takahashi's interest in manga did not come until later. During her college years, she enrolled in Gekiga Sonjuku, a manga school founded by Kazuo Koike, manga-ka of Crying Freeman and Lone Wolf and Cub. Under his guidance Rumiko Takahashi began to publish her first doujinshi creations in 1975, such as Bye-Bye Road and Star of Futile Dust. Kozue Koike often urged his students to create well-thought out, interesting characters, and this influence would greatly impact Rumiko Takahashi's works throughout her career.
Takahashi's professional career began in 1978. Her first published story was Those Selfish Aliens, a comedic science fiction story. During the same year, she published Time Warp Trouble, Shake Your Buddha, and the Golden Gods of Poverty in Shonen Sunday, which would remain the home to most of her major works for the next twenty years. Later that year, Rumiko Takahashi attempted her first full-length series, Urusei Yatsura. Though it had a rocky start due to publishing difficulties, Urusei Yatsura would become one of the most beloved anime and manga comedies in Japan.
In 1980, Rumiko Takahashi found her niche and began to publish with regularity. At this time she started her second major series, Maison Ikkoku, in Big Comic Spirits. Written for an older audience, Maison Ikkoku is often considered to be one of the all-time best romance manga. Takahashi managed to work on Maison Ikkoku on and off simultaneously with Urusei Yatsura. She concluded both series in 1987, with Urusei Yatsura ending at 34 volumes, and Maison Ikkoku being 15.
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. Most notable of these directors was Mamoru Oshii, whose Beautiful Dreamer, the second Urusei Yatsura movie, is considered one of his finest contributions to the genre.
During the 1980s, Rumiko Takahashi became a prolific writer of short story manga, which is surprising considering the massive lengths of most of her work. Her stories The Laughing Target, Maris the Chojo, and Fire Tripper all were adapted into original video animations (OVAs). After the end of Urusei Yatsura and Maison Ikkoku, Rumiko Takahashi took a different approach to storytelling and began the dark, macabre Mermaid Saga. This series of short segments was published sporadically until 1994, with the final story being Mermaid's Mask. Many fans contend that this work remains unfinished by Takahashi, since the final story does not end on a conclusive note.
Another short work left untouched is One-Pound Gospel, which, like Mermaid Saga, was published erratically. The last story to be drawn was published in 2001, indicating that there may be some possibility that Takahashi will return to conclude the series in the near future.
Her later successes with Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, Ranma 1/2, and InuYasha eventually made her a multimillionaire. She regularly makes Japan's annual list of highest taxpayers.
Takahashi has been criticized for overextending her stories so that they become repetitive, as well as for making her main characters look very similar to each other. Nevertheless, her works have been extremely popular all over the world for nearly two decades.
List of Works
External links
- Rumiko Takahashi, a fan-produced biography
- Furinkan.com The most information about Rumiko Takahashi in the world
- Rumiko No Sekai The most complete French website on Rumiko Takahashi mangas
- Rumiko Takahashi entry at Anime.com