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Is Takahashi Rumiko a failure at writing romance?

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Jan 3, 2021 11:08 AM
#1

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So I was watching Maison Ikkoku 66th episode and just wondered to myself, how come this mangaka stayed in the business writing mostly romantic comedies when she's so bad at it, of course only my opinion, that's why I made the thread, to hear other people's ideas and thoughts.
She wrote major works like:
Urusei Yatsura - very good as a comedy, fail as romance (and the main characters are a couple)
Inuyasha - good as a battle shonen, fail as a romance (it has some decent scenes but all the stuff with Kikyo and Kagome was not that good)
Fire Tripper - fail as a romance
Maison Ikkoku - good as a slice of life, huge fail as a romance (lame main dude who's scared of his shadow and gets owned by a random high school girl, that arc should've lasted at most 2 episodes) and it was supposed to be 100% romance

Didn't watch Ranma but I heard it's your regular harem comedy Takahashi style so nothing new here but I may be wrong. Anyways, how do you see the romance in Takahashi works? like it or hate it?
Jan 3, 2021 11:16 AM
#2
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I've only watched Ranma and Inuyasha from Takahashi Rumiko but indeed they don't feel like the most romantic anime. I don't know if it's right to say "failure at writing romance" but the romance part absolutely doesn't feel very important.

I was surprised how harem-ish Ranma was (watched it without having any previous knowledge about it) as the anime wasn't tagged as harem (the manga is). I see Ranma more as a comedic slice of life with martial arts, not really much at all about romance other than
Ranma is episodic though, so no wonder there's not like any big adventure or huge advancements with romance. //Edit apparently Ranma anime isn't even tagged as romance, manga is. Now I'm starting to wonder if the manga and anime are different because they have such different tags

For Inuyasha, I was quite young when I watched it, but even there the romance is kind of a side thing and the main thing is the adventure.

But in general I'm not a big fan of romance anime, so I'm fine with it and I didn't watch either of the anime for romance.
KarinaraJan 3, 2021 11:22 AM
Jan 3, 2021 12:10 PM
#3

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"Is Takahashi Rumiko a failure at writing romance?"

Of course but luckily for her people like trash, especially in romance.
Jan 3, 2021 12:14 PM
#4
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The romance in Inuyasha is perhaps the best humanity has witnessed albeit few recognize its beauty somehow.

Though, I have not seen any of her other works. Perhaps it gets better.
Jan 3, 2021 12:50 PM
#5

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i only watch anime with real, actual romance such as tsuki ga kirei
Jan 3, 2021 2:26 PM
#6

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She is not a failure at writing romance; she is a failure at writing long storylines. 1 Pound Gospel is a better seinen than Maison Ikkoku.
その目だれの目?
Jan 3, 2021 2:28 PM
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I liked the relationship between Ranma and Akane when I was child. Akane is one of the few tsunderes that I like.

Maybe she isn't the master of development, but it is thanks to her that animes like Nisekoi and Rent a Girlfriend exist on this day

Jan 3, 2021 2:30 PM
#8

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Maison Ikkoku was painful to watch at times, the story was stretched out so much with misunderstandings and the characters never talking to each other
Jan 3, 2021 2:53 PM
#9

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Not at all; Ranma and Akane's "romance" is shit but she definitely learned her lesson with Inuyasha...that was the main hook for me back when it aired on TV. I couldn't WAIT to see Kagome get closer to him with each episode. It was very exciting for me. xD

I was shipping them hard by episode 13. They're really cute. I have no doubt they really love each other...they weren't afraid to show it either.

I'll post a gif I made of them...



It really kills me that Kirara is also looking.

I've only read a little of Mermaid's Scar but the main couple seem rather cute. I wish I liked Rinne but the anime is so damn boring...but again, the main couple seemed cute to me.



Jan 3, 2021 3:02 PM

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Jun 2014
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Yes.

Rumiko Takahashi is one of the worst mangaka in history, and is also a failure at writing comedy, as there is nothing funny about her works at all.

Jan 3, 2021 3:08 PM

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In what world is she not one of the most famous and successful manga artists in history? Even if her stuff isn't as popular now as it was in the '80s and '90s, she still has more than enough money to retire and goof-off for the rest of her life if she wanted to. I'd call that a success.
Jan 3, 2021 3:10 PM

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Seiya said:
and is also a failure at writing comedy, as there is nothing funny about her works at all.




^If you're insisting that's not funny, sir, I respectfully disagree. xD



Jan 3, 2021 3:13 PM

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Chiibi said:
Seiya said:
and is also a failure at writing comedy, as there is nothing funny about her works at all.




^If you're insisting that's not funny, sir, I respectfully disagree. xD


Well, I never saw much of Inuyasha, but Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2 and Maison Ikkoku suck.

Jan 3, 2021 3:16 PM

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Chiibi said:
Seiya said:
and is also a failure at writing comedy, as there is nothing funny about her works at all.




^If you're insisting that's not funny, sir, I respectfully disagree. xD

I respectfully disagree. I follow Urusei Yatsura and Ranma 1/2 when I want comedy, not Inuyasha.
その目だれの目?
Jan 3, 2021 3:20 PM

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what do you think her intention was in including these romances and why do you think she failed? i don't really understand exactly. are the relationships too toxic and problematic? is there not enough drama and suspense surrounding them? just not very realistic?

i have only seen beautiful dreamer recently, and i watched inuyasha as a kid, so i'm just curious. i always felt that the relationships are more like random points of interest for the stories, rather than love or the dynamics of the romantic relationships being very central thematically

another way to look at it is that she wants her male protagonists to appeal romantically to young girls, unlike most shounen writers, since she's a woman herself. so she writes a romance into the story for the sake of appealing to girls while adding a cute female character for boy viewers, rather than because she's very interested in romance herself.
ohohohohohohoJan 3, 2021 3:29 PM
Jan 3, 2021 3:20 PM

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Seiya said:
Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2 and Maison Ikkoku suck.


I don't like those three very much myself....

@Lucifrost:

WELL, YOU IS WRONG. :)

I tried Urusei....it was friggin stupid....and Akane's so annoying; she ruins Ranma for me. :/

Inuyasha's great because I don't hate any character in it. lol



Jan 3, 2021 3:31 PM

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Chiibi said:
WELL, YOU IS WRONG. :)

That doesn't sound very respectful. :(

Inuyasha's great because I don't hate any character in it. lol

I hate Kouga. He is fortunately not a very important character.
その目だれの目?
Jan 3, 2021 3:35 PM
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I'm currently watching Inuyasha from the beginning since I wasn't able to watch all of it through Adult Swim when I was younger. I don't have any problems with the romance element in the series. I wouldn't say that Kagome and Inuyasha are my favorite couple in anime. But they have a cute relationship.
Jan 3, 2021 3:49 PM

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Lucifrost said:

I hate Kouga. He is fortunately not a very important character.


Oh yeah, I didn't like him either...but at least he's not in the main cast. xD I loved his relationship with Ayame though.♥



Jan 3, 2021 3:49 PM

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Kyoukai no Rinne was the most bland thing I've ever seen...I only continued to watch it because I was amazed at just how bland it was...The comedy...the "romance", the everything really,,,

I never consistently watched Inuyasha, but when I did the romance wasn't really a big draw for me...But I'm not usually a romance fan, so that doesn't mean much..

Aside from that, I'm not familiar with any of her other works since they never caught my attention,
Jan 3, 2021 4:02 PM

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FanofAction said:
Kyoukai no Rinne was the most bland thing I've ever seen...I only continued to watch it because I was amazed at just how bland it was...The comedy...the "romance", the everything really,,,

Rinne takes a little bit from every one of her previous shounen, but does none of it as well. Though that's fine for hardcore Rumiko fans, the series doesn't really deserve any greater than the score it has. I hope Mao is better.
その目だれの目?
Jan 3, 2021 4:52 PM

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Editor-san: Moshi-moshi Takahashi-san? Remember that story supposed to be 6 chapters? The readers liked it very much. You need to stretch it to 60 chapters!

Takahashi-san: 60 chapters?! Are you fucking nuts?! I can't do it!

Editor-san: Really? That's such a pity... cause you know... next time you need to publish something you might find it difficult to find any magazine willing...

Takahashi-san: Alright! Alright! Fine! But in the future no one will find me as good mangaka as Inoue-san or Adachi-san because of this shit!

Editor-san: Don't be like that! Why don't you wipe your tears in your yen bills.
Jan 3, 2021 5:38 PM

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yes, she's a hack that can only go through the motions with some comedy in between everything to make sure you don't pay attention to anything actually important
Jan 3, 2021 6:09 PM

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Nobita-X said:
Editor-san: Moshi-moshi Takahashi-san? Remember that story supposed to be 6 chapters? The readers liked it very much. You need to stretch it to 60 chapters!

Does that mean readers didn’t like Mermaid Saga? I wish that series could have been as long as 60 chapters. :(
その目だれの目?
Jan 3, 2021 6:17 PM

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She definitely has an issue at stretching out her stories, I love Inuyasha and most of its characters but just gave up on it after naraku gets beaten for the hundredth time but somehow finds a way to escape at the last minute. Since I was so invested in the characters though I just ended up checking their endings while not having to worry about a naraku. I personally don't see how ikkoku is a huge fail as a romance, it isn't unrealistic and the main lead do have a chemistry together, does godai get pushed around to much? Yes, but does the story emphasizes enough on his good points like his selflessness and understanding for others making me love rooting for him nonetheless? Yes. I can definitely see why some people wouldn't be a fan of her brand of romance but I see it more as a different type of romance not a failure.
Jan 3, 2021 7:25 PM
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Seiya said:
Yes.

Rumiko Takahashi is one of the worst mangaka in history, and is also a failure at writing comedy, as there is nothing funny about her works at all.

I have watched only Inuyasha upto 20 something episodes before dropping the show and can agree , the comedy was the worst I have ever seen , at times I had to remind myself that the show was trying to be funny
Jan 3, 2021 7:52 PM

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She's a bit hit or miss with me. I liked Maison Ikkoku, Mermaid Forrest, and Inu Yasha, but Kyokai no Rinne was just boring and Urusei Yatsura was primarily just annoying and the guy in it is a douche.
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Jan 3, 2021 8:08 PM
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Chiibi said:
Seiya said:
Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2 and Maison Ikkoku suck.


I don't like those three very much myself....

@Lucifrost:

WELL, YOU IS WRONG. :)

I tried Urusei....it was friggin stupid....and Akane's so annoying; she ruins Ranma for me. :/

Inuyasha's great because I don't hate any character in it. lol
unrelated but what anime is that gif with the blond girl from
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Jan 3, 2021 8:11 PM
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Chiibi said:
Lucifrost said:

I hate Kouga. He is fortunately not a very important character.


Oh yeah, I didn't like him either...but at least he's not in the main cast. xD I loved his relationship with Ayame though.♥
unrelated but what anime is that gif from
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Jan 3, 2021 8:16 PM

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Creat one that more successful than her. Prove your point by do it yourself, that you couldn't be like her. In addition, there is no romance shit that I could call wholefully convinced. Finally, it was done in the 80s, so obviously wouldn't truly fit nowadays.
SgtBateManJan 3, 2021 9:14 PM
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Jan 3, 2021 8:20 PM

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Dragonland04 said:
Seiya said:
Yes.

Rumiko Takahashi is one of the worst mangaka in history, and is also a failure at writing comedy, as there is nothing funny about her works at all.

I have watched only Inuyasha upto 20 something episodes before dropping the show and can agree , the comedy was the worst I have ever seen , at times I had to remind myself that the show was trying to be funny

I enjoyed all of Inuyasha and never found it to be particularly funny. You should watch Urusei Yatsura if you want to laugh, and Mermaid Saga if you want no comedy at all.
その目だれの目?
Jan 3, 2021 8:30 PM

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Hmmm....I agree with the romance aspect but I did enjoy Ranma

She's good at the enjoyment imo
Jan 3, 2021 8:37 PM

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I'd say yes however that doesn't make her a horrible writer just because of that. She's pretty much a hit-and-miss creator who happened to have more hits than misses.

What I like about her style is that she doesn't often make romance a center piece of her writing but more like an accessory to each characters' personalities. I genuinely liked Ranma 1/2 because of that despite it being more of a harem comedy than romantic comedy.

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Jan 3, 2021 10:00 PM
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Lucifrost said:
Dragonland04 said:

I have watched only Inuyasha upto 20 something episodes before dropping the show and can agree , the comedy was the worst I have ever seen , at times I had to remind myself that the show was trying to be funny

I enjoyed all of Inuyasha and never found it to be particularly funny. You should watch Urusei Yatsura if you want to laugh, and Mermaid Saga if you want no comedy at all.

considering how much of a bad experience I had with Inuyasha and how much I hate it , I am not at all reluctant to watch the original creator's other works , I avoid romance most of the times and started Inuyasha thinking that it doesn't really focus on romance which it thankfully didn't at least upto what watched of it and I don't have that much of dedication to watch a long show , so I'll pass
Jan 3, 2021 10:04 PM

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Lucifrost said:
Dragonland04 said:

I have watched only Inuyasha upto 20 something episodes before dropping the show and can agree , the comedy was the worst I have ever seen , at times I had to remind myself that the show was trying to be funny

I enjoyed all of Inuyasha and never found it to be particularly funny. You should watch Urusei Yatsura if you want to laugh, and Mermaid Saga if you want no comedy at all.


There's nothing funny about Urusei Yatsura. It's one of the worst anime ever made.

Jan 4, 2021 1:50 AM

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ohohohohohoho said:
what do you think her intention was in including these romances and why do you think she failed? i don't really understand exactly. are the relationships too toxic and problematic? is there not enough drama and suspense surrounding them? just not very realistic?

I am referring to the romance subplot, I am not saying that all her works are romance but most of them have that element. But the romance element looks bad, so to give you examples:
urusei yatsura has the main couple lum-ataru but man, their relationship is obnoxious, she always zaps him and he runs away from her to hit on other girls, they almost hate each other, it's a pain to watch and I like the weird comedy but the relationship between them annoys me.
Maison Ikkoku was supposed to be a full romance between this widow hot chick and this loser but it just doesn't look good, he loves her but never says a thing to her and he's in his 20s, how can a guy be that lame? and how the hell is she in love with him when all the time there are misunderstandings , one time he got drunk and took the woman by force into his room, what happened you ask, he fell asleep on top of her and then she left, she just forgot about it, we as watchers laughed and the episode ended. Now it's the 66th episode and the woman is jealous because a high school girl is making advances on the guy but the guy doesn't do anything, he just stays there and doesn't clear up the misunderstanding, he doesn't like the high school girl but he doesn't do anything against her, it's a pain to watch.

anyways, this wasn't a hate thread, I just said my impression of takahashi's take on romance and I'm just reading other users' thoughts on it. Some people might enjoy maison ikkoku romance and I wanna see why. In regards to comedy, she's the best in the business in my opinion, urusei yatsura and choujo are 10/10 in that aspect.
Jan 4, 2021 7:58 AM

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Dragonland04 said:
Lucifrost said:

I enjoyed all of Inuyasha and never found it to be particularly funny. You should watch Urusei Yatsura if you want to laugh, and Mermaid Saga if you want no comedy at all.

considering how much of a bad experience I had with Inuyasha and how much I hate it , I am not at all reluctant to watch the original creator's other works , I avoid romance most of the times and started Inuyasha thinking that it doesn't really focus on romance which it thankfully didn't at least upto what watched of it and I don't have that much of dedication to watch a long show , so I'll pass

Mermaid Saga is short and has no romance. I know I can't force you to watch it if you don't want to. I'm only saying that it suffers from none of the flaws you describe.
https://myanimelist.net/anime/620/Takahashi_Rumiko_Gekijou_Ningyo_no_Mori
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Jan 4, 2021 8:04 AM

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At least she can draw, there is one mangaka whose mc looks exactly the same in all her mangas.

Jan 4, 2021 10:00 AM

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I reread Inuyasha not that long time ago. I never really cared about her romance subplots, since I'm not into romance that much. I think at least in that work those two work better as characters compared to her previous works' mcs I'm familiar with, so their interactions felt more interesting and didn't only affect their relationship but also their character. But many times I needed to remind myself "Kagome is a teenager, Inuyasha is a teenager and this work is aimed at teenagers" since some of the forced drama was so silly and made my eyes roll.

I mean she's not the worst out there, but neither the greatest and I never had the feeling she writes her stories for the sake of romance. There're other reasons to like her works. Honestly my answer here really would be the same old "if you're looking for romance, don't look into shounen titles".

ChilliePeppers said:
In what world is she not one of the most famous and successful manga artists in history? Even if her stuff isn't as popular now as it was in the '80s and '90s, she still has more than enough money to retire and goof-off for the rest of her life if she wanted to. I'd call that a success.
I wouldn't really use financial success here as a point, since there are quite many works also in other mediums that were financially success but have stark divided opinions on their quality as an actual artistic creation.
Jan 4, 2021 10:03 AM

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Juralumin said:
At least she can draw, there is one mangaka whose mc looks exactly the same in all her mangas.


That's actually a REALLY common problem with many mangaka. xD



Jan 4, 2021 10:09 AM
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its really sad but anime only consumers have a rather skewed view of rumiko takahashi, i cant really blame you ,majority know her from inuyasha and just her works anime adaptation.
Jan 4, 2021 11:11 AM

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idk about that but ranma1/2 is one of the few animes/mangas that deserve the comedy tag

Jan 4, 2021 11:53 AM

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If you consider bland romance a failure, then go ahead lol.
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Jan 4, 2021 2:46 PM
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only watched Ranma and that one was not really a romantic comedy but only a slice of life harem-ish episodic comedy where romantic development wasn't really the intention of it, and for that matter it was good enough
Aug 22, 2022 11:49 AM

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I know it's an old thread, but I want to respond anyway.


Yes, Rumiko Takahashi is a failure at writing romance because she doesn't write romance. She writes stories about misunderstandings.

Her rom-com work always ends up being a story based around a misunderstanding between a two or more people. This misunderstanding could easily be cleared up in a single short conversation, but every time that conversation starts to happen, there will be something frustrating and ridiculous that happens, interfering with or straight up stopping the communication of ideas and preventing the misunderstanding from being cleared up. In the rare event that characters are left to have that conversation, one or more will be too stupid to completely understand the implications. This allows the story and characters to stagnate and the status quo is maintained. It allows the story to drag out, milking the franchise as long as possible.

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