Rumiko Takahashi - Animation

Animation

In 1981, Urusei Yatsura became the first of Takahashi's works to be animated. This series first aired on Japanese television on October 14, and went through multiple director changes during its run. Though the 195-episode TV series ended in March 1986, Urusei Yatsura was kept alive in anime form through OVA and movie releases through 1991. Most notable of the series directors was Mamoru Oshii, who made Beautiful Dreamer, the second Urusei Yatsura movie. AnimEigo has released the entire TV series and all of the OVAs and movies except for Beautiful Dreamer (which was released by Central Park Media in the U.S.) in the United States in English-subtitled format, with English dubs also made for the first two TV episodes (as Those Obnoxious Aliens) and for all of the movies.

Kitty Animation, the studio that produced Urusei Yatsura with animation assistance from Studio Pierrot and then Studio Deen, continued their cooperation and adapted Rumiko Takahashi's second work, Maison Ikkoku in 1986; it debuted the week after the final TV episode of UY. The TV series ran for 96 episodes, 3 OVAs, a movie and also a live-action movie. Studio Deen also provided animation duties on Maison Ikkoku and Ranma.

Maris the Chojo, Fire Tripper, and Laughing Target were all made into OVAs during the mid-80s. Her stories Mermaid's Forest and Mermaid's Scar were also made as OVAs in Japan on 1991. They were all released, subtitled in English, in the U.S.

In 1989, Kitty Animation produced its last major series, Ranma ½. The series went through ups and downs in ratings until Kitty Animation finally went out of business. Ranma ½ was never concluded in animated form despite being 161 episodes and two movies in length. The TV series ended in 1992 amid internal turmoil within Kitty; Kitty and Studio Deen continued to produce Ranma OVAs until 1996.

Sunrise was the first studio after Kitty Animation to adapt a major Rumiko Takahashi series. InuYasha debuted in 2000 and ended in 2004. The TV series went on for 167 episodes and spawned four major films. The first anime ended before the manga did, thus wrapping up inconclusively. However, a second InuYasha anime series called "InuYasha the Final Act" debuted in Japan in the fall of 2009 and ended in March 2010, finishing the series.

Viz Communications has released the anime of Maison Ikkoku, Ranma and InuYasha in English, in both subtitled and dubbed formats.

The year 2008 marked the 50th anniversary of Weekly Shōnen Sunday and the 30th anniversary of the first publication of Urusei Yatsura, and Rumiko Takahashi's manga work was honoured in It's a Rumic World, a special exhibition held from July 30 to August 11 at the Matsuya Ginza department store in Tokyo. Several new pieces of animation accompanied the exhibit, including new half-hour Ranma 1/2 and InuYasha (Black Tetsusaiga) OVAs and an introductory sequence featuring characters from Urusei Yatsura, Ranma and InuYasha (starring the characters' original anime voice talents), which has become a popular video on YouTube. The It's a Rumic World exhibit was scheduled to re-open in Sendai in December 2008, at which time a new half-hour Urusei Yatsura OVA was scheduled to premiere. A special DVD release containing all three new OVAs was announced as coming out on January 29, 2010, with a trailer posted in September 2009. However it is not known whether any of the new episodes will ever be released outside Japan.

The latest Rumiko Takahashi TV animation adapts many of her short stories from the 80s. Rumiko Takahashi Anthology, animated by TMS Entertainment, features her stories The Tragedy of P, The Merchant of Romance, Middle-Aged Teen, Hidden In The Pottery, Aberrant Family F, As Long As You Are Here, One Hundred Years of Love, In Lieu of Thanks, Living Room Lovesong, House of Garbage, One Day Dream, Extra-Large Size Happiness, and The Executive's Dog. Also, a TV series of Mermaid Saga was produced in 2003, animating 13 of her stories.