Manga Review: Kyokai no Rinne

Title: Kyoukai no Rinne
Author: Rumiko Takahashi
Release: Weekly
Status: Ongoing
Genre: Supernatural, Shonen
Art: A
Originality: B
Story: A
Characters: A
Humor: A
Action: B

Impression: After ending an 11-year run with Inuyasha, Rumiko Takahashi continues to dabble in shonen and the supernatural and gives us a fresh new story using a concept that’s been done many, many times. It’s about a boy named Rokudou Rinne who is a Shinigami partially and has to work off the debt that his grandparents made and Mamiya Sakura, a girl who can see spirits thanks to an incident related to Rinne’s grandmother. Together they try and solve the problems caused by the spirits of the dead. So what is it that makes this edition of supernatural hotline concept that keeps the readers wanting for more? The characters, ideas and the humor are the answers to that question. I’m actually impressed that she was able to come up with such a likeable and original character for the lead. He’s dirt poor, a realist and quite sincere and Sakura is curious, supporting and slightly airheaded. So far I haven’t seen any indication of a romantic subplot between but Rumiko Takahashi is famous for romance so there’s probably going to be one eventually, possibly 60 chapters from the current one. The ideas are just as interesting if not more as I can’t help but love the irony of how Rinne’s supernatural tools use up money and how anytime he helps people it ends up putting him further in the red. The author has a talent for light comedic moments and this seems to be intended as mostly light story. I’m looking forward to new chapters.