Let's see what kind of exciting and interesting links we have today from our various contributors!
General Links
The Manga Bookshelf team focuses their picks of the week on Rumiko Takahashi.
Ash Brown of Experiments in Manga does a little bit of everything in this post, which also includes his plans for future contributions to the Feast. He has a brief look at the first InuYasha omnibus, Mermaid Saga, not quite the first half of Ranma 1/2, and also quick looks at the anime for InuYasha and also Urusei Yatsura.
Connie of Slightly Biased Manga, notes that a lot of Rumiko Takahashi fans are long-time Takahashi fans, and thus we tend to skew older. (I don't know all of the contributors to the Manga Movable Feast, but I am inclined to agree, based on what I know of the ages of my manga-blogging friends who are jumping into the discussion.) This is a great post summarizing her content relating to Rumiko Takahashi on Slightly Biased Manga. You can easily spend a good chunk of your day reading her thoughts on all things Takahashi! Connie's post also has some good summarizing of her thoughts on the various series, including the scandal of how Takahashi draws Ranma and Akane!
Maison Ikkoku
N of Cat Demon Spirits revisits Maison Ikkoku, after feeling he wasn't able to do it justice when he started up her blog. He makes some excellent points about the layers behind the comedy of Takahashi's books, especially in relation to characterization. His argument about the characters feeling so real is a recurring theme among fans of Ikkoku.
Cathy Yan, also writing for Manga Bookshelf, gives a really nice rundown of Maison Ikkoku, focusing primarily on the anime, but also touching on the manga as well. Be sure to take the time to read the very thoughtful comments section as well, it's worth it to extend the discussion.
One Pound Gospel
I was not a big fan of One Pound Gospel, and I explained why here, with a second post explaining some of the good things about the series. Linda of Animemiz, however, provides a very compelling argument against my feelings. Her point about the series possibly needing to be longer is well taken--Takahashi seems at her best when she's given room to spread out the story across more volumes. Linda also points out that this series got an anime *and* a live-action adaptation, so clearly there is a strong appeal. I agree with her assessment--read One Pound Gospel for yourself and see what you think!
Ranma 1/2
David Welsh, the very un-curmudgeonly Manga Curmudgeon, took some time to examine Ranma 1/2. I admit to being a bit shocked that this was David's first reading of the series. He makes an excellent point about Takahashi manga being like an old friend, a sense I definitely share about not just Takahashi but some of my other favorite creators as well. He also talks extensively about Takahashi's writing style and almost perfect sense of comic timing.
Someone has to defend what little honor Happosai has, and Khursten Santos at Otaku Champloo takes on this thankless task. Sure, Happosai is a disgusting old man, but...does he work as a character? Khursten explains the reasons why maybe we shouldn't be such a hater on the little guy who plagues Ranma 1/2's cast.
Urusei Yatura
Sean Gaffney (A Case Suitable for Treatment) is back with more on Urusei Yatura. He's looking at volume four this time and definitely making me want to try and find some of this early Takahashi series that I've never read.
InuYasha
Michelle Smith spoke a little while back about why she likes InuYasha, focusing on two volumes in the late 30s.
Rumic Theater
David Welsh has an older but still great post on Rumic Theater, which is similar to Rumic World, a personal favorite of mine. Oh how I wish David's words "this is still in print" were true today.
