Why Kyoukai no Rinne is Worth Watching

From the creator of InuYasha and Ranma 1/2 comes Kyoukai no Rinne, an anime/manga about a girl named Sakura who is able to see spirits and ghosts and a boy named Rinne, of human and shinigami heritage, who aids lingering spirits pass on from this world to be reincarnated. Airing from April 2015, there’s only 9 episodes out but this series is definitely one to watch and wait for.

If the name Rumiko Takahashi wasn’t enough to convince you then here are some other reasons why you should watch it:

InuYasha Nostalgia

Look familiar?

If, like me, you are reminiscent of InuYasha, you’ll easily find similarities between the characters. InuYasha and Rinne are half human boys who can travel across worlds and wield gigantic weapons in battle while Kagome and Sakura are kind high school students with the ability to see what others cannot( sacred jewel shards and ghosts). If you read the manga you may even see how the male and female protagonist of each series have similar facial features.

The Rinne equivalent of Shippo/Kirara happens to be a cat named Rokumon ( who is adorable and quite unlike Shippo in terms of arrogance). There’s also a love triangle.

Uniqueness

Yet despite these similarities, Rinne stands out on its own. While the characters may be rehashed, they’re not carbon copies either. Rinne’s patience and level-headed nature make him an interesting character. His relationship with Rokumon is lovely to watch. It’s also nice to see how Rinne and Sakura start off platonic and their love story isn’t too palpable.

Spin on Japanese culture

The series revolves around Japanese culture pertaining to ghosts and the afterlife. Up until watching Kyoukai no Rinne, I used to always picture shinigami looking like Ryuk from Death Note. The concept of samsara or circle of reincarnation, wherein we are all continuously being reincarnated in a cycle of existence, is interesting. Not to mention, the contract between black cats and shinigami!

Humour

Don’t expect the depth of InuYasha but rather relish the episodic adventures of Rokudou, Sakura and Rokumon involving ghosts and spirits. Kyoukai no Rinne is a humourous and light series, making it refreshing to watch while taking a break from, well, life. One of the funny things about the anime is Rinne’s money woes. The poor guy can’t catch a break and it makes me both laugh and feel for him. Yet despite being constantly ailed by financial worries, he’s not at all a Scrooge. Those moments when he forgets about the money and does what’s right show how endearing and admirable he is. Adding to the comedy is the sheer randomness!

Yes, that’s a huge chihuahua spirit.

Music

The opening and ending themes are nostalgic of 90’s anime which I love. You’ve got to appreciate when songs just click with animes. Even more so when they click with you.

InuYasha was my Childhood

I’m writing this as a twenty year old college student who’s just completed binge-watching the last few seasons of an anime that has and always will be incredibly important to me: InuYasha. Today I finally watched the very last episode and the journey across 192 episodes and four movies with InuYasha, Kagome, Sango, Miroku and Shippo that began at the age of seven has come to a bittersweet end. Towards the end, my heart felt like it would burst out of happiness, butterflies fluttered in my stomach and I could not for the life of me wipe that geeky grin off my face. I cried at the ending, it was perfect.It left me wondering what to do with my life as if an emotional apocalypse had occurred which, for me, is a tell tale sign of a good show or book. It’s world consumes you. That’s the beauty of it.

As I sat there on my bed, I thought back to when it all began. I remember I was introduced to the show by my neighbour and we would role play it in our backyards (she was Kagome and I was Sango). Suffice to say, I loved the show a great deal. But over the years, I’d forgotten about it, left off half way through the series and when I resumed it last year, it was if I’d never left. This left me wondering why things we associate with our childhood never leave us. InuYasha gave me the answer.

Source: Google Images

If you think about it, our hearts are like the Shikon Jewel. There is both good and evil battling within them. As children, our hearts are pure but as we dwell on this planet, growing older, they become tainted with worry and hardship. But that tiny ray of light from those days of playing hop-scotch and marbles is still there, shining ever slightly though we may not know nor remember. If you revisit parts of your childhood like a book or a show, that ray of light beams stronger until the whole is purified again and for that nostalgic, reminiscent period of time, it’s as if the darkness had never been. I think that’s why the things we connect with our childhood will always have a special place in our hearts, no matter how old or mature we believe we are. They’re safe little pockets to be tucked into. For me, InuYasha is one of them. While it may sound a bit over the top, I assure you it’s not. On scrolling through tumblr and reading KagoMay posts where people describe how they were first introduced to the show, many people resonated with this feeling. I think it’s only understandable if you watch it for yourself (which I highly recommend you do).

Source: Google Images

The characters are unique and heart-warming. InuYasha is one of those protagonists you’ll never forget. He’s hot headed, impulsive and moody but when coupled with that soft spot for his friends, love interests (Kikyo and Kagome) and Ramen noodles, it makes him endearing and badass all at once. He’s so multidimensional. Sango is my favourite female character with her amazing demon slaying skills and sense of moral righteousness.

Not only are they humorous but the characters are also troubled with their own pasts and their own individual challenges looming ahead of them which makes their journey even more intriguing. InuYasha’s life was always complicated what with his tragic love for Kikyo, his being an outcast as a half-demon and so much more and he comes to learn what it is to trust and rely on others, something he never quite understood before. Kagome struggles with the comparisons between her and Kikyo, attempting to assert her individualism and harnessing her own powers. Miroku’s wind tunnel curse and Sango’s troubles about her brother Kohaku are their own burdens to bear. I love how they all overcame their struggles together. One thing this anime teaches us is to keep fighting the demons (literally and figuratively) no matter how hard it is.

I’m aware of the shortcomings of the show but truthfully, I don’t mind. Yes, the fight scenes can get quite repetitive but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Contrary to popular opinion, I enjoy the fillers a lot. They’re a nice little does of humor after a couple of intense battle episodes.

So thank you to Rumiko Takahashi for creating InuYasha and to everyone involved in making the anime as brilliant as it is.

April 2015 Reading Round Up

Junk by Melvin Burgess

After reading Melvin Burgess’ Kill All Enemies I was interested to read more of his books. Junk was the title that clearly stood out. Skimming through Goodreads reviews, it sounded like the perfect read since my fascination is held by books of a controversial nature what with the drugs and teenage pregnancy. Besides it’s content, the fact that it’s UK YA had me sold. Junk is about two teenage runaways named Gemma and Tar who start a love affair with heroine while living on their own and with a few friends named Rob and Lily. The story is told from multiple characters points of view, in keeping with Burgess’ style and what I love about his books in the first place. The struggle with addiction feels real and investing to read in this way. One thing I’ll always remember from this book is when Lily is breastfeeding and still continued to take heroine, injecting the veins between her breasts. The description of the damage done to her other veins is good enough for drug abuse PSA. Junk is raw and unapologetic, though I must say I was waiting for even more serious consequences to befall the main characters, it still is an interesting read.

Verdict: It took me two days to read the book and that says it all. Grab a copy!

InuYasha Volumes 10- 24

Sango is one of my favourite characters in the series and I’ve always thought she and InuYasha are alike in demeanor so when they fight each other in the 10th volume, I found it interesting. Once the misunderstanding between the two of them is cleared up, she journeys with Kagome, InuYasha, Miroku and Shippo, the last to join the gang. Her emotional torment stems from the loss of her family and Naraku controlling her brother Kohaku. Apart from Sango, I was excited about Koga’s introduction and his recurrence across these volumes. Koga and InuYasha’s enmity is an interesting dynamic, always quipping with one another and fighting over Kagome. I like how they’re allies who refuse to admit it (or are in denial about the fact). The most interesting developments in these volumes is how InuYasha transforms into a full-fledged demon and loses all sense of reason, becoming a killing machine incapable of controlling himself. This leads to the discovery of why his father entrusted him with his sword Tetsusaiga. I enjoyed the little filler story arcs in these volumes like that of the monkey demons and Shippo’s love interest.

Verdict: These volumes delve deeper into the characters pasts and stories, peppered with the usual amount of action that makes it interesting.

*Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K Rowling

This is my favourite book of the series!  Check out my re-read post about it.

Verdict: Do I need to actually say it? READ!

* Re-Read Challenge

March 2015 Reading Round Up

It really was March madness in terms of reading this month despite exams! Here’s the round-up of all the books I’ve devoured:

*The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon: This is a unique, brilliant book that I find emotionally investing yet humorous as well. I read it as part of the Re Read Challenge so do check out my re-read post here!

Verdict: Give this one a definite read!

* Re-Read Challenge

Literary Theory: A guide to the perplexed by Mary Klages: Given that this book would not have made my reading list but for an entire semester of slogging through the contents of literary theory, I have mixed feelings about this one (with the negative ones tending to dominate more often than not.) Having this book as a textbook made me want to tear my hair out by the roots. However, I suppose reading it for information would be a more pleasant experience particularly the chapters on deconstruction, feminism, psychoanalysis and postmodernism.

Verdict: Read at your own potential risk.

InuYasha Volumes 4-9 by Rumiko Takahashi: There’s quite a lot of interesting things that happen in these volumes! Now that Shippo is tagging along with InuYasha and Kagome it’s funny to see the love-hate relationship between him and InuYasha, sort of like two brothers always fighting with one another. When Kagome returns to the modern world, she saves a girl ghost wreaking havoc upon her family, from the brink of hell and InuYasha sees exactly what she’s capable of. We also discover that the night of the new moon strips InuYasha’s of all his demonic power turning him mortal till the sun rises.

I’m glad that InuYasha and Kikyo’s misunderstanding fifty years ago is revisited when Urasue revives Kikyo though it puts Kagome in an awkward position. InuYasha and Kikyo’s unrequited love is beautiful. Yet for me, the best part about these volumes is the introduction of Miroku, a lecherous monk and Sango, a demon slayer and her demon cat Kirara. Now it’s odd how I could have read the earlier volumes when they weren’t around.

Verdict: These volumes have the most interesting developments!

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton: After having heard considerable praise for this book, I was interested to see what all the fuss was about. Immediately I understood.

Jessie Burton’s writing style is so refreshing to read, the likes of which are very rare. The book is written in a very poetic, lilting style that makes Nella’s strange world come alive and as a reader, I was always kept on the edge of my seat with the various plot twists interspersed in the narrative. I adore how the characters are complex and atypical. We have the protagonist, an 18-year-old mistress of the house Nella Brandt envious of the freedom and lax enjoyed by her maid named Cornelia. Nella’s husband Johannes and her sister-in-law Marin have odd ways of showing that they do in fact care about one another, something Nella always questions. The dynamics of the book are unique which is why I can understand as many as ten or so publishers fighting tooth and nail for the rights to it.

However, I did have certain issues with the book especially with a lack of closure or acceptance towards the end. There are some serious plot holes and I believe the back of the book misleads the reader into thinking it’s a mystery when it’s not actually quite so. That’s all I can say without spoiling the Miniaturist .

Verdict: Despite its flaws, I was so captivated by this book that I’d finish studying for my exams early just so I could curl up in bed and read it late into the night. Please grab a copy!

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If you’d like, read the next paragraph of my thoughts on ‘The Miniaturist’ but be warned it has SPOILERS:

My main source of disappointment is that Nella never uncovers how the miniaturist  is able to foretell events in her life or how she possesses the gift to craft such exquisite and eerily accurate miniature pieces. She merely finds out the miniaturist is her name sake but that is the end of the road when it comes to this mysterious stranger whose intrigue was crucial to the books appeal. Sadly it isn’t about the miniaturist at all which makes me question why the book is titled in such a way.