At 05:56 PM 4/13/97 -0700, Hayesman wrote:

David Thune wrote:

Kon ban wa Minna-san!

I just read the first part of Takahashi-sama's new epos, Inu-Yasha.
It's a bit slow but what I could see, it looks good, a little bit of
Fire tripper, with the time-thing and all.
What I wonder is, have any of you read it and if so, what do you think?

	I, too, have purchased Rumiko's new series.  I am a comic book 
Manga-ka (comic artist/writer) myself, so I speek with a professional 
oppinion.
	Inu-Yasha is a great book.  Unlike Rumiko's other stories, it 
starts out slow.  You don't have a "Bam", eyecather like her other 
series, for example: Bam!  A guy who turns into a girl, Bam!  a hot alien 
chick in a bikini, Bam!  An immortal guy getting captured by amazons in a 
forest, etc...  

Bam!  Time travel and a girl and a monster guy on a quest for a bunck of 
chunks of a magic rock!

If you ever played computer role-playing games, you'd understand.

	Rumiko's popularity allows her to do what almost no other artist 
has been able to do: start out slow in the first issue/issues.  The story 
progresses slowly, lending to much character development while leaving 
many questions to be answered.
	Two points should be made in comparing this work to other works 
by Rumiko Takahashi.  First, the main character is a girl, unlike all her 

I thought that the main character was the one whom the series is named after.

other major series where the main character is a male.  Second, the male 
lead bears a resembalance to other male leads in that he is flawed.  The 
macho martial artist, the discilpineless boxer, the lecherous pervert, 
have all been the male leads, in Inu-Yasha the male lead is flawed to the 
point of being downright evil.

If he was downright evil he'd be an antagonist, not one of the protagonists.

	Inu-Yasha, as I interprete him so-far, is corrupted to the point 
where he is possesed by demonic powers, traded his soul to the devil in 
exchange for power.  Maybe like SPAWN?

Possessed?  No, that's just his normal self.  Did you see the scans of his 
dad yet (I read this stuff on that web page)?  That's who he inherited that 
demon stuff from.

Other:
	Also, I just want to say one more thing:
	Do you think Rumiko Takahashi really CARES about us?  I mean, 
sure, she's devoted to her countries fans, but what about us Gaijin?  Did 

I guess most commercial artists focus on one or two primary markets.  Maybe 
Takahashi feels she can't focus on Japan and the U.S. and Australia and the 
U.K. and France and Hong Kong and Mexico and Italy and wherever else, so she 
just pays attention to Japan.

I also heard somewhere that she was really surprised people outside Japan 
like her stuff, since she thought it was too full of Japanese in-jokes.

she just sign some legal papers giving Viz the right to translate, then 
just give no more thought?  I mean, we are secondary.  A work of hers 
must get overwhelming fame before they even think of bringing it to other 
countries (at least in the past it did).  
	It's kind of a scary thought, but I'd like to hear some 
oppinions.

HAYES

P.S.  I'll still trying to get my book published.  I'll keep you guys 
informed.  I have so much Rumic influence in my work, you can't help but 
read it.

Good luck!