[BOOK REVIEW] Rin-ne Volume 11 by Rumiko Takahashi

Title:  Rin-ne Volume 11


Author:  Rumiko Takahashi

Genre: Horror / Adventure / Comedy / School


Year Published: 2009


Year Read: 2016


Series: Rin-ne #11

Publisher: VIZ Media


Source:  Library


Content Rating:  Ages 7+ (Some Scary Imagery)


Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

I was actually surprised by this volume!  Even though Rumiko Takahashi’s “Rin-Ne” series still continues to have Rinne and his friends go on hilarious and intense adventures in the world of the living and the dead, this volume actually introduced a dilemma that Rinne faces that I never thought would pop up so soon in this series!

In this volume, Sakura ends up eating a piece of candy that causes her to lose her ability to see ghosts and even though Sakura is happy about this turn of events, this also puts her in real danger as a group of evil spirits participate in the A-1 Grand Prix and Sakura is the target!  Other stories included this volume are Rinne and Sakura meeting up with an ice ghost who wants to eat a meal that she failed to eat years ago and meeting up with Shoma’s black cat by contract, Kurosu.

I must admit that this volume was much better than the previous volume, which was the tenth volume, since Rumiko Takahashi has actually added a twist to the series that I never would have thought would come this early on in the series!  I like the fact that Rumiko Takahashi explore the tumultuous event that would happen if Sakura lost her ability to see ghosts and how that would affect her life overall.  While we see that Sakura is happy with not seeing ghosts, it was a bit sad during the scenes where Sakura could not see Rinne and readers are able to experience how Rinne feels about the possibility of Sakura not being able to see him anymore.  But, the story that I was the most surprised with was the story with the ice ghost, as Rumiko Takahashi made the ghost look extremely similar to Oyuki, a character who came from Rumiko Takahashi’s previous work “Urusei Yatsura” and it was great seeing Rumiko Takahashi make references to her past works by introducing these characters in a visual gag that fans of Rumiko Takahashi’s works will easily recognize!  Rumiko Takahashi’s artwork is as usual creative to look at as there are many visual gags to Rumiko Takahashi’s past works that pops up in this volume, such as the ice ghost who resembles Oyuki from “Urusei Yatsura!”

A little warning for some readers: there are some scary imagery in this volume, including images of Rokumon turning into a demonic black cat that could scare some readers. So if you are not used to scary imagery, you might want to read this volume with some caution.

Overall, “Rin-Ne Volume Eleven” is a fantastic volume that really introduces new troubling situations for Rinne and the gang and I am definitely looking forward to see where this series is heading to next!

[BOOK REVIEW] Sukey and the Mermaid by Robert D. San Souci

Title:  Sukey and the Mermaid

Author:  Robert D. San Souci

Artist:  Brian Pinkney

Genre:  Mermaids / Folktale / Fantasy / African American / Family

Year Published: 1992

Year Read:  2008

Publisher:  Four Winds Press

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 6+ (Child Mistreatment)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“Sukey and the Mermaid” is an American folktale retold by Robet D. San Souci, along with beautiful illustrations from Brian Pinkney.  This book won the Coretta Scott King Award and was also the first book that I have read that originated in South Carolina. This book is surely to be an instant treat for the entire family and is surely to be a favorite among American folktales. 

Robert D. San Souci’s storytelling is magnificent as he narrates the story about a good-natured girl who finds a true friend in the mermaid.  The storytelling is interesting because I have never heard a story come from South Carolina and this is definitely the first folktale that I have read that came from South Carolina.  Another reason is that this story seems like to be a combination of “The Little Mermaid” and “Cinderella” as Sukey plays as an honest yet miserable girl who works hard to the bone and has a cruel step parent, in this case her step-pa and she finds a friend in a mermaid who lives in the sea.  Brian Pinkney’s illustrations are vibrant and rough edged and they give the book a calm feel when Sukey goes to the sea and a mysterious feel, such as having Mister Jones always having his hat tilted to cover his eyes.  The image that stood out from the rest of the images in the book was of the mermaid herself who has green and flourishing hair and a beautiful face to match.  Seeing the mermaid just makes anyone who reads this book shows comfort for her as she is shown to be a reassuring and friendly character in this book. 

“Sukey and the Mermaid” is a unique book about how true friendship can bring happiness to anyone and how dreams do come true if you believe in yourself.  This book is certainly a special one that both adults and children will cherish because of its creative plot and because of its ingenious moral.  I would recommend this book to children ages six years and older due to the book being considerably long and that might put off many young children who are not used to reading large books yet. 

* 1993 Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrator Honor  

  

[BOOK REVIEW] Rin-ne Volume 10 by Rumiko Takahashi

Title:  Rin-ne Volume 10

Author:  Rumiko Takahashi

Genre: Horror / Adventure / Comedy / School


Year Published: 2009


Year Read: 2016


Series: Rin-ne #10

Publisher: VIZ Media

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 7+ (Some Crude Humor and Violence)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

Here we go again!  Once again, Rumiko Takahashi’s “Rin-Ne” series continues to add on more characters in this series while also building up the world that the characters live in and I have to say that this series just keeps on getting more interesting as the story goes on!

In this volume, the first story continues from where the story in the last volume left off with Ageha being swallowed up by a giant mongoose spirit when she and Oboro get into a huge fight as Oboro tries to get out of being Ageha’s black cat by contract.  So, Rinne has to try to rescue Ageha while trying to patch things up between Ageha and her black cat by contract. Other stories in this volume include Rinne and Sakura meeting a ghost stuck on a train, meeting Kain’s black cat by contract Suzu after a huge misunderstanding, and taking care of a ghost who is haunting the house of one of Sakura’s friends.

Join in more fun adventures of this fantastic series!

Rumiko Takahashi continues to make this series fun to read as we get to see more adventures from Rinne and his friends and continuing seeing some world building as this series goes on. I was really interested in the storyline involving Ageha and Oboro since before that point, the only character who had a black cat by contract was Rinne, so it was interesting seeing Ageha actually have a black cat by contract of her own and see how her relationship with Oboro is much different and more tense than Rinne’s relationship with Rokumon.  I also enjoyed the fact that we continue to see Rinne develop relationships with other characters such as Kain and Suzu as it would make some pretty interesting storylines between them in the near future.  Rumiko Takahashi’s artwork is as usual cute and creative to look at as the images of the black cats are pretty adorable and some of the spirits that Rinne and Sakura encounter are creative to look at as they vary in appearances and shapes.

A bit of warning for anyone about to read this volume: there is a bit of crude humor in this volume as characters are constantly beating each other up, even though that has been around since the beginning of this series and is also a staple of Rumiko Takahashi’s works. Anyone who does not like that type of humor might want to read this volume with caution.

Overall, “Rin-Ne Volume Ten” is a great volume to read if you are a huge fan of the “Rin-Ne” series!  Even though, I wish that we actually have a volume that has continuity for this series, I am still enjoying these short stories that we are getting at the moment.