Some views of Rumiko Takahashi animes

July 6, 2025

by Avi Green

I thought of taking a look at some of notable mangaka Rumiko Takahashi's anime adaptations, and how they were all worked out. Not all, but certainly some of them. Let's begin with the one that really propelled her to stardom.

Urusei Yatsura (1981-91)

This science-fiction comedy, which originally began as a manga series in 1978-87, was the first of the Takahashi adaptations, and it's pretty engaging. An alien race named Oni comes to Earth (or more precisely, Japan), and seemingly wants to take over, but they offer a challenge for a local to combat Lum, the lovely daughter of one of would-be invaders, in a match where the idea is to grab her horns in order to be considered the winner. The honor goes to Ataru Moroboshi, a teen jerk, who wanted to marry his other girlfriend, Miyake Shinobu, and now he's chosen to battle for earth's safe status. He wins against Lum by using a special distraction, but when he blabbers he'll be able to marry Miyake now, Lum thinks he means marrying her, and accepts what she takes as Ataru's proposal. Much to Miyake's displeasure, and she all but breaks up with him. Despite any misunderstandings, Lum falls in love with Ataru and moves into his house with him and his parents, the mother who says she "should never have had him".

This all leads to a whole lot of comedy hijinks as time goes by in episodes, including stories involving clones with question marks above their heads, Lum's young pyrokinetic cousin Ten, magic practice, as embodied, in example, by a Buddhist priest named Cherry and his niece, Sakura, who's also an instructor at the school where Ataru and Lum attend. And it's not just those two who're the focus. There's several other characters who get special spotlights too.

I'm pleased to say that as a story of its time, Urusei Yatsura does have plenty of laughs, and fortunately, very little here is in questionable taste. With a TV series running 195 episodes, at least a few movies and OVAs, it certainly made quite an impact in the time it was originally produced, and in 2023, there was a even a remake series produced, though it was limited only to what stories were originally considered more popular. So, if you can see the Urusei Yatsura franchise, enjoy it as much as you can.

Fire Tripper (1985)

An odd fantasy with time travel effects, the main star is Suzuko, seemingly an ordinary school girl in modern Japan who has strange memories of being in a house on fire when she was little. One day, she's walking with Shuhei, the son of a neighbor who was undergoing a medical operation, past a nuclear power plant in Tokyo when a gas explosion occurs, and they're both transported back in time to the feudal era. It's here that Suzuko comes to realize she was actually born in this past timeline, while Shuhei himself, who ends up in an earlier timeline and grows to teen years to match hers.

This was, in a manner of speaking, a precursor to Takahashi's 1994 manga Inuyasha, which was also adapted to screen, and while it's certainly one of the weirdest premises you'll find in anime, it manages to tell its tale well enough.

Maris the Chojo (1986)

A space-based adventure, it tells the story of Maris, a humanoid from the planet Thanatos, where inhabitants have 6 times the strength of ordinary humans. And because the planet was destroyed years before, the survivors have to wear special strength harnesses to prevent themselves from overexerting. Maris works as a trouble-shooter, and has been given the mission to rescue Koganemaru, the son of an intergalactic billionaire mogul who's been kidnapped by a rival of Maris' named Sue, and it all leads to a showdown with a form of wrestling match where the former must get out of her harness to really do combat properly against the latter, and save the day.

It's entertaining for a story set in deep space, and I think I noticed a reference to "Rumic World", which Takahashi used as a title for an anthology, in the dialogue and screenplay here.

One Pount Gospel (1988)

Based on a manga by Takahashi about a Catholic nun who encourages a boxer to make a more serious effort to battle for championship in the ring, this is pretty well done, mainly because it's not too PC.

Maison Ikkoku (1986-88)

The story of an old boarding house in a fictionalized Tokyo neighborhood called Clock Hill, populated by some pretty goofy people, and the romance developing between Yusaku Godai and Kyoko Otonashi, is even better than Takahashi's fantasy-themed tales. Godai was considering moving out, since he finds the buffoonish tenants unappealing, but Otonashi's arrival as the landlady convinces him to stay on. And so goes a charming look at how the twosome seek careers, he as a technology company employee, she as a tennis player, and how they relate to the other, much goofier boarding house tenants along the way.

As an anime produced in the late 1980s, based on Takahashi's manga, it's amazing how well it holds up today, both in terms of writing and animation quality. I'd recommend this even more so than Urusei Yatsura, and there were at least 2 more followups, a special hour long film produced as it was ending, and a 1991 OVA, which are well worth checking out as well. Studio Deen did a very good job in adapting this gem to the cartoon screen.

Inuyasha (2000-2009)

This is a more fantasy-themed tale with a premise vaguely similar to Takahashi's early 80s manga titled Fire Tripper, as a teenage girl in modern times, Kagame Higurashi, finds a portal to the past era of Japan, where she meets the titular swashbuckler, a half-demon, half-human whom she falls in love with along the way, and together, with the aid of several other characters, including some anthropomorphs, they proceed on a quest to regather pieces of a powerful jewel that emerged from Kagame's body when she first arrived in the era. Even then, Kagame does return to the present at times to deal with her school learning.

It's a very entertaining adventure, and boasts some of the best action scenes one could possibly expect in a Takahashi-penned tale.

Rin-ne (2015-2017)

A supernatural romantic comedy about Sakura Mamiya, a girl who can see ghosts, who meets Rinne Rokudo, a student who's a specialist in supernatural himself, and it's his job to guide spirits to where they could be reincarnated.

This too is a pretty engaging story, and another example of how Takahashi's talents went a long way in durability.

Well, that wraps up this item, and with any luck, I'll see what else in time I can write about when it comes to the works of notable manga illustrators.

Copyright Avi Green. All rights reserved.

Home FAQ Columns Reviews Links Favorite Characters Special Features Politics Blog Comics Blog Food Blog