The Wacky World of Rumiko Takahashi

It's a good thing we never listened.

"Too cultural," the critics said when Viz announced the English release of Takahashi's Urusei Yatsura comic. "She'll never sell in America... Takahashi's too ethnic." ^[1]

Tell that to the tens of thousands of fans who bought Viz's Lum * Urusei Yatsura comic. Or to the thousands of fans who wrote in and phoned to demand that we continue our Ranma 1/2 series (which we did earlier this year, with Ranma 1/2 Part Two). ^[2]

From the side-splitting adolescent lust and stupidity of Urusei Yatsura, the bizarre martial arts sex comedy of Ranma 1/2, to the high-powered tale of love, money and wrestling of Maris the Chojo... Since her works were first translated by Viz in 1989, Rumiko Takahashi has often bewildered and amazed, but she's always been a consistent bestseller among her English-speaking fans.

Animerica presents a unique showcase of the manga wunderkind by some of the people who've known her the longest- Viz Executive Editor Seiji Horibuchi in The Animerica Interview; ^[3] Gerard "The Trouble With Girls" Jones with insights on the perils of rewriting Urusei Yatsura and Ranma 1/2; ^[4] Animerica Editor Trish Ledoux talks with "the Highest Profile Otaku in the World," MTV video star and anime mega-fan Matthew Sweet (finding the true story on the tattoo!); ^[5] a special report from Japan's (maybe the world's) largest comic convention by "Ranma in America" author Christ Swett; ^[6] plus a handy pocket guide to the works of Rumiko Takahashi now available in English.

---

The Manga Wunderkind

Interview by: Seiji Horibuchi

Let the wackiness begin!

"I think I'm in love."

They all say it, meeting her for the first time. Soft-spoken and full of laughter, petite even by Japanese standards, it's easy to see why Rumiko Takahashi is one of Japan's most beloved många artists. What's not so easy is thinking of her as one of her country's wealthiest citizens. She's just so... cute. Interviewer Seiji Horibuchi tells us he "was pleasantly surprised when Takahashi personally opened the door. "I've spoken with, her several times over the telephone," Seiji says, "but this was the first time for me to meet her in person. She's just so... small. Not only her size but her voice, Gentle, polite, modest- not at all what you'd expect from someone who makes more annually than Joe Montana.

"I fell in love immediately." Takahashi was only 21 when she created Urusei Yatsura, the comic that would go on to sell over 22 million copies and establish her as one of the manga and anime world's premiere storytellers. The wacky-boy-meets-alien romantic comedy enjoyed a seven-year serialization in Weekly Shonen Sunday comic magazine and is currently available as 34 collected Japanese volumes as well as an English version by Viz Comics, released under the title Lum * Urusei Yatsura.

"Urusei Yatsura is a title I had been dreaming about since I was very young, Takahashi says. "It really includes everything I ever wanted to do. I love science fiction because it has tremendous flexibility. I adopted the science fiction style for the series because then I could write any way I wanted to." Takahashi began her comics career under the tutelage of none other than Kazuo Koike (Lone Wolf and Cub, Crying Freeman). ^[7] She says she's a big fan of Spider-Man, adapted for a Japanese version by noted critic of American comics Kosei Ono, illustrated by Crying Freeman and Mai the Psychic Girl's Ryoichi Ikegami. ^[8]



Takahashi's unassuming red brick home is located in one of Tokyo's more quiet neighborhoods. The manga wunderkind was watching a rerun of a soap opera-like samurai drama when our interviewer arrived. "The first thing I noticed when I entered was the huge HDTV, he admits. "The high-definition television set was the only visible sign that this was the home of one of the world's most successful comic creators." ^[9]

It was in 1977 that Katte na Yatsura ("Those Selfish Aliens"), the series which laid the early foundations for Urusei Yatsura, was nominated for Japanese mega-publisher Shogakukan's "Best New Comic Artist" award. ^[10] Her bestselling Urusei was published a year later at the encouragement of her Shogakukan editor. Ranma 1/2, described by Viz series writer Gerard Jones as "a bizarre-martial arts sex comedy," is currently being serialized in Shonen Sunday and has been compiled into 23 volumes to date. The Ranma 1/2 Graphic Novel is due to be released in English this May from Viz.

"I always wanted to become a professional comic creator," Takahashi says, "ever since I was a child. At first, my short stories were published in comic magazines, then I had the big chance to publish Urusei Yatsura." As you probably know, comics for girls are very popular in Japan. Most of girls' comics are created by women. Maybe that's why there are so many female comic artists here." According to some estimates, shojo or girls' comics make up 30% of the entire Japanese manga industry.

"Although she's shy, she's also very, very determined," Seiji says. "Takahashi definitely knows what she's talking about. I think it's because she loves what she's doing. Do you realize that with the help of her assistants, she creates over 100 original comic pages every month?

"With such a heavy work load, you'd think she'd be tired, but she was actually very refreshed... almost as if she were thriving under the pressure. She was very interested in hearing about her American fans, and is looking forward to meeting them." Although her schedule is among the most grueling in the manga industry, Takahashi hopes she'll be able to visit the US sometime in the future and see for herself what it is about her work that interests her English-speaking readers.

"Sure, there are cultural differences in my work," she says. "When I see an American comedy, even though the jokes are translated, there's always a moment when I feel puzzled and think, 'Ah, Americans would probably laugh at this more.'"

"I suppose the same thing must happen with my books. It's inevitable. And yet, that doesn't mean my books can't be enjoyed by English-speaking readers. I feel confident that there's enough substance to them that people from a variety of cultural backgrounds can have a lot of fun reading them."

No doubt about it, the thirty-something Takahashi is the darling of the manga and anime world. And with the easy availability in English of her works these days from companies such as AnimEigo, U.S. Manga Corps and Viz Comics, it's only a matter of time before her success in America equals her fame in Japan. ^[11] The English manga release of the heartwarming domestic comedy Maison Ikkoku from Viz this June should only add to her growing English-speaking fandom.

---

"I think she's definitely going to be an American superstar," Seiji says with conviction. "I just can't seem to get over how... well, how cute she is."

Since Viz first released Urusei Yatsura about five years ago, several different companies have published English versions of Japanese manga titles. Some of them have sold extremely well. But did you know, among all of them, it's your works which enjoy the most continuing, stable popularity?

Takahashi: Really? This is the first time I've heard about it.

Marvel's English version of Akira is a consistent rival in sales, but you definitely have more fan support, readers who follow you regardless of title. Slowly but surely, you're becoming a household name among manga fans in America. How do you feel about that?

Takahashi: It all just comes as a surprise.

You may have heard that in the U.S., comics aren't sold in regular book stores. They're sold in comic specialty shops. With superhero titles such as Superman and Batman crowding the shelves, manga titles don't get quite the same exposure, so many fans go to comic conventions to get hard-to-find comics. Your works are among the most frequently requested.

Takahashi: I've heard many animated versions of my manga titles are also available now.

Yes, English versions of the Urusei Yatsura TV series and films, as well as most of the Rumic World stories, are easily available. Any idea on why they're so popular?

Takahashi: I don't have any idea. Maybe if I could understand what aspects the readers like aout them...

In Japan, your works are big hits and enjoy great fan support. Those Japanese fans and American fans must have something in common.

Takahashi: Because I consciously feature Japanese daily life such as festivals and the traditional New Year's holiday rather often in my manga, I sometimes wonder if American readers understand what they're reading. Maybe they just like the comics because they're exotic.

I'm sure there are at least some readers without any background in Japanese customs. On the other hand, readers who are interested in manga are usually interested in other aspects of Japanese culture. For example, there are probably many readers who wouldn't find anything strange about a dinner scene where everyone sits on tatami of a traditional Japanese house. Do you think that mainstream readers, who aren't as familiar with the Japanese lifestyle, might be intimidated by too many cultural references?

Takahashi: Once, when I was drawing Maison Ikkoku, I received a question about it from an American journalist. ^[12] As you know, I created Maison Ikkoku to be a love story that could take place in the everyday world. I'm always curious about what attracts non-Japanese readers to my work so I asked the reporter's opinion. The reply I got was that Americans could empathize with the emotions being depicted in the comics. For example, the feeling when you fall in love, and you want to express it, but you can't... the reporter said that emotions are all the same, no matter which country you're from. I thought about this for a little while and said to myself, "Come to think of it, that's true."

Maison Ikkoku is a story which takes place under unlikely circumstances, especially from an American point of view. It's possible it may have elements difficult for American readers to understand. However, it's also true that the original Japanese comic already has it's own English-speaking fans. As a publisher, Viz is constantly searching for comics that might be popular in America. In the case of your works, I'd say that it's the attractiveness of the characters, the story, the artwork... probably a combination of all these.

Takahashi: In terms of art style, the portion of Urusei Yatsura published in America is all early drawings, very distinct and completely different from how I draw now.

There have been fans who've made a point of mentioning the evolution of your art style. Because the later stories have better art, they say, they'd rather see the later stories printed than the earlier ones. ^[13] But at Viz we thought it was important to include the first story where Lum appears, so we started from the beginning. The fans who worry about this sort of thing are more than likely to own the original Japanese comics anyway.

Takahashi: But where do they get them from?

At the many Japanese cultural centers across the country, it's easy to purchase graphic novels straight from their Japanese publishers. Many fans translate them on their own, sharing books among themselves. There are Urusei Yatsura fan clubs, and some people even put out their own dojinshi based on your characters. It's interesting that Lum seems to be as popular in America as she is in Japan. You speculated in a previous interview that her appeal to American fans might be the exotic elements of a cute girl from the Orient. Has that opinion changed?

Takahashi: Well, let's see. Is there a concept of oni in America?

I don't think so. The "devil" is a concept close to oni, but then that's a concept strongly associated with the occult. The oni is more of a mythological monster.

Takahashi: With its many elements, it's difficult to describe Urusei Yatsura in one word. Maybe a school comedy/romance with some science fiction and whatnot, based on a foundation of slapstick...? Add in the play on words such as the puns and the metaphors and the allusions... these aspects might be hard for the American readers to grasp. What does that leave us with as a reason for its popularity in America? The novelity of the characters?

Certainly, the comedy may have parts that are hard to understand, but owing to your artistic talent- that is the wonderful visuals- some of it does come through. For example, right before the punchline, a character's mouth will be wide open, nostrils all dilated. The reader can sense something is coming up. At Viz, we're working extra hard to translate the humor into English that goes well with the actions of the characters and the expressions in the drawings. One of the people working on our translations is Gerard Jones. he's a comic writer familar with Japanese culture, has a good sense of humor and is a very creative person, so the majority of your comedic intent gets across.

Takahashi: The majority of Japanese Urusei Yatsura fans have been high school and college students, not children. In some ways that's been a problem. But you know, I can also say it was very easy for me back then because the readers were my own age. I was happy that people from my same generation could enjoy my manga. I was also happy that there were so many male readers. Come to think of it, though, that's not so surprising since it was serialized in a boy's magazine. I was a little disappointed that it might have been too difficult for children. After all, I believe manga belongs fundamentally to children, and maybe Urusei Yatsura just didn't have what it took to entertain them.

Even in America, the age of the average reader is high... about 20, I'd say. Readers range even into their late 30s. For Ranma 1/2, also serialized in Shonen Sunday after Urusei Yatsura, did you consciously try to draw something aimed more toward children?

Takahashi: Yes, that was done on purpose. And also, I wanted it to be popular among women and children. Ranma 1/2 is popular among girls now, but it seems as though it hasn't grabbed the boys yet.

I see. So it's more popular among girls?

Takahashi: Yes. Let's see, it was around the time when the eighth graphic novel came out that the cumulative circulation had reached 10 million that I asked the editor if he could survey the readers. He placed a questionnaire postcard in the books. As it turned out, Ranma 1/2's fans were similar to those of Urusei Yatsura. Both series had a peak readership of 15-year-olds, but in the case of Urusei Yatsura, the distribution spreaded toward the higher-aged males. Conversely, with Ranma 1/2, it spread toward younger females.

In America, the vast majority of comic book readers are male, but I think that with Ranma 1/2 there a definite increase in female readers. In fact, in America, Ranma 1/2 is selling better that Urusei Yatsura. Issue One completely sold out by the time the fourth issue came out. It's evident that the number of readers is increasing.

Takahashi: Ranma 1/2 sells better in Japan as well. There are some pretty hardcore Urusei Yatsura fans out there, but among all the serials I've done so far, Ranma 1/2 is the number-one hit.

Is that so?

Takahashi: Yes. Even when you look at the sales figures, there's a remarkable difference between the two. For me, though, I'll just be happy if someone remembers reading Ranma 1/2 as a child, years after its serialization is over.

How long has it been since Ranma 1/2's serialization started?

Takahashi: Well, I don't remember exactly, but it's probably been five to six years.

Since there are so few female readers in this American market, it would certainly make us and the comics industry in general very happy if Ranma 1/2 could increase the number of women reading comics. In my opinion, the concept of a man changing into a woman and a woman changing into a man could be taken as an effort to enlighten a male-dominated socity. After all, Ranma never knows what gender he'll be next. Did you intend this?

Takahashi: It's just that I came up with something that might be a simple, fun idea. I'm not the type who thinks in terms of societal agendas. But being a woman and recalling what kind of manga I wanted to read as a child, I just thought humans turning into animals might also be fun and märchenhaft... you know, like a fairy tale.

So it's more that you never created the characters with a social agenda, but that they just happened to fit in with the zeitgeist?

Takahashi: Yes, in that sense, that's exactly right.

I hear the animated Ranma 1/2 TV series has ended.

Takahashi: That is so. I'm sad about it. It really was a fun show to watch.

Will there be new animation projects to follow?

Takahashi: There seem to be many, but nothing I can talk about.

Incidentally, did you know that a rock singer named Matthew Sweet is a big fan of yours? ^[14] He's even come to my office several times.

Takahashi: Um, yes. Even getting a tattoo... I hope it's not permanent (laughs).

Did you know that he made a promotional video using nothing but Urusei Yatsura animation footage?

Takahashi: I'm aware of it, yes.

Reportedly the song sold well and got a lot of airplay on MTV. It's probably one of the first times Japanese animation, although in a slightly modified form, was introduced to a major American TV medium.

Takahashi: I hear he also did it with Cobra.

Yes. But his tattoo is of Lum.

Takahashi: I heard a rumor that he started putting Ran from Urusei Yatsura on his other arm, but will he go all the way? (laughs)

In a previous interview you said that you often use Japanese folklore as a motif in your work. Do you ever receive inspiration from other media, such as contemporary movies or novels?

Takahashi: Well, I've always liked Yasutaka Tsutsui's slapstick novels. ^[15] I read them often. I've wished I could draw manga that was as absurd as that.

Could we say that Yasutaka Tsutsui has had a great influence on your work?

Takahashi: Yes, very much. I just happened to use folklore as a basis, but that's because it's easy to twist tales that everyone knows. As for movies, I only see them for entertainment.

Disney animation later influenced the story-oriented manga of the late Osamu Tezuka, which in turn became the basis of Japanese comics. Has animation ever influenced you?

Takahashi: Not in particular. But then, Tezuka saw Disney animation and created the manga of today, and we as a generation grew up reading that, so I very much think I'm in that school.

This is an open-ended question, but I'd like to ask just how busy are you? I'll bet American artist can't imagine what it's like to be drawing over 100 pages a month.

Takahashi: Isn't American comic production done in a division of labor? So the artist is infinitely talented in drawing, and the writer is infinitely talented in making stories...

Yes. In America, there are very few artists who both draw and write stories.

Takahashi: And so Japanese manga comes from a completely different form, where the artist does everything alone. It's not possible to excel in all tasks, but one can't succeed without a balanced combination of talents. In that sense it's difficult to strive for perfection, but the kind of perfection that is striven for by Japanese artists is different.

Are you ever dissatisfied with your stories?

Takahashi: No, I'm always fully satisfied (laughs).

It would seem that it takes a vast amount of talent to succeed as a manga artist in Japan.

Takahashi: I think so. If you can draw really well, but can't write a story, you'd have to become an illustrator. Even with the help of a good writer, if you can't come up with good layouts, you can't make it as a manga artist. You might become a wonderful illustrator but not a manga artist.

In America, comics aren't too high in status, the industry is small, and sales figures are noticeably lower than in Japan. Even people who are in comics purely for the love of it tend to move on to other, more highly paid businesses just as soon as their talent is recognized. In Japan it's manga that's the big-money business, so people with talent flock to it. If you've got the talent, it's definitely more financially rewarding to become a manga artist or manga writer than a novelist.

Takahashi: It's probably true everywhere, but people with talent go where the money is.

There must be a lot of people with great talent in America, too, and we'd like to give them a chance, within our limited means.

Takahashi: But don't you think manga is still looked down upon in Japan also?

There still probably are many people who hold biases agianst it.

Takahashi: But if we wait just a little more, the day will come when the only generation left is the one which reads manga (laughs).

A day when graphic novels of Big Comic magazine line the shelves of retirement homes...

Takahashi: Yes. Manga is entertainment, after all. And because it's a form of entertainment rather than a separate culture, it's inevitable for cultural elements to creep in. It depicts the world we live in. That manga is read in America... well, I think it's truly wonderful if it can make people laugh across all sorts of borders. I think manga is all about feelings, of being scared or happy or sad. In that respect, I think we might all be the same.

I'm happy and encouraged that in America, Ranma 1/2 has a different sort of readership than Urusei Yatsura.

Takahashi: If that's true, then there's nothing that makes me happier.

What kind of country do you think America is?

Takahashi: I've only stayed for a single night in Los Angeles. I was scared then. I felt the L.A. airport was frighteningly mechanical.

Some people might say that town represents America itself.

Takahashi: I tend to be short, so I was looking up at everything, and my eye-level seemed to be at the waists of the walking people (laughs).

Do you feel Europe suits you better?

Takahashi: I like the Latin people. I was supposed to go to an Italian comic convention this year but in the end, I was too busy. Spain and Italy are agreeable countries, don't you think? I wonder why, among all the counties of Europe, I feel so secure in those two places...?

There's a manga boom in Europe right now. It first caught on in Italy and then in Spain. We just signed a big contract there.

Takahashi: It's interesting that Japanese manga is getting accepted in the Latin countries of Europe first.

We'd love to interview you again next year after your travels through Europe. In closing, do you have a message for your American fans?

Takahashi: I'm grateful that you read my works, and it gives me encouragement to know that you enjoy them. My best regards to every one of you.

---

Footnotes

• [1] Though Viz is heralding their great foresight in translating Rumiko Takahashi's work and dismissing their unnamed critics here, they did struggle to publish Urusei Yatsura in English for many decades. Urusei Yatsura was published in North America by Viz, who are an American subsidiary of Japanese publisher Shogakukan (who own Shonen Sunday). When they were a small company, Viz obtained the rights for Urusei Yatsura and in 1989 gradually began releasing their own English translated version of the manga under the name Lum * Urusei Yatsura. They were released monthly as standard American-sized comic books, each with two chapters per issue. Since Urusei Yatsura was originally released in Japan at a rate of four stories per month, this meant American readers received it at half the speed of the original Japanese release. Although the series gained a strong fanbase early on, the series was put on hiatus after it's initial run of 7 issues. It returned years later serialized in Viz' own Animerica magazine where it was well recieved enough to be brought back into its own monthly comic book. Because of their long hiatus in America the series was renamed The Return of Lum * Urusei Yatsura (not having anything to do with the storyline itself). After getting about 1/3 of the way through the manga, The Return of Lum went into another hiatus in 1998. Viz simply were not able to market the series properly and no longer put any effort into promoting it. It had trouble keeping its audience among their more modern action-oriented titles. Two decades passed before Viz decided to try once more. In 2019 Viz committed to releasing the entirety of the series. They published the story in large-format books with fresh translations to get throught he old material and get into the later chapters where Takahashi's art style had matured and looks more familiar to fans of Maison Ikkoku and Ranma 1/2. In 2023 this edition finally reached its conclusion, marking the first time that the entirety of Urusei Yatsura was officially published in English.
• [2] Contemporary readers may be confused by what "Part 1" or "Part 2" refers to here. Viz initially released their manga in a comic book format with two chapters per issue. Every ten to twelve issues of the comic book releases were subdivided into "parts" which were arbitrarily divided every few storylines with a new "part" typically each calendar year. Confusingly, when the individual comic book releases were then collected into graphic novels the "part" did not necessarily align with the number on the graphic novel. If you have ever wondered why, decades after Ranma 1/2 was first released in English there are always 36 English volumes that collect 38 volumes of Japanese material it is an artifact of these earliest "part" divisions from the late 1980s.
• [3] Seiji Horibuchi (堀淵清治) is the founder of Viz. In 1986 Shogakukan gave him money to set up Viz (which is why much of Viz's earliest releases are Shogakukan manga). In 2003 Shueisha and Shogakukan joined their investment in Viz. Horibuchi is a major contributor in the success of manga in English.
• [4] Gerard Jones is an American comic book author who wrote Green Lantern, Prime and Justice League. Jones was credited as the handling the "English adaptation" of Takahashi's work (as well as Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama). The Trouble With Girls was his 1987-1993 comic book series from Malibu Comics. In 2018 Jones was sent to prison for six years for possession of child pornography. Though Viz has never commented on this, after Jones' arrest and imprisonment the releases of Rumiko Takahashi manga that had his name in the credits were all freshly translated and his name was removed. Takahashi manga (such as Mermaid Saga) that were released at the same time but were not handled by Jones did not receive new translations, hinting that the fresh translation was likely to remove his name. The article he wrote about adapting Takahashi's work can be read here.
• [5] Trish Ledoux worked as editor of Animerica and also worked on some of Viz's anime projects such as Ranma 1/2. She married Toshifumi Yoshida, the producer of the dubs of Maison Ikkoku, Ranma 1/2 and Inuyasha.
• [6] Chris Swett had some notoriety in early web forums for being an American publishing a dojinshi at Japan's Comicket which is the Ranma in America publication that is mentioned here. You can read a bit about him here.
• [7] In 1993, at these very earliest days of the manga industry in the United States, Kazuo Koike's work was already beginning to be known thanks to Viz's publication of Crying Freeman the following year in 1994. Lone Wolf and Cub (子連れ狼) had arrived in American consciousness thanks to the film adaptations that had become popular cult films. The manga had also been published in 1987 by First Comics.
• [8] The Ono/Ikegami version of Spider-Man (1970-1971) was also co-written by Kazumasa Hirai (平井 和正). Marvel Comics began releasing the manga version from 1997-1999.
• [9] HDTV sets would not be available in the United States until late 1998, five years after this interview. When this was published most American readers likely were not familiar with the term "HDTV".
• [10] Takahashi won honorable mention for the 2nd Shogakukan Newcomers Manga Award (第2回小学館新人コミック大賞) in the shonen category. The way the Newcomer Manga Award is structured is there is a single winner and then two to three honorable mentions that are unranked. In 1978 the winner in the shonen category was Yoshimi Yoshimaro (吉見嘉麿) for D-1 which was published in Shonen Sunday 1978 Vol. 26. The other honorable mentions in addition to Rumiko Takahashi were Masao Kunitoshi (国俊昌生) for The Memoirs of Dr. Watson (ワトソン博士回顧録) which was published in Shonen Sunday 1978 Vol. 27 and Hiroaki Oka (岡広秋) for Confrontation on the Snowy Mountains (雪山の対決) which was published in a special edition of Shonen Sunday (週刊少年サンデー増刊号). Oka would also publish later under the name Jun Hayami (早見純). Other winners in various Newcomers categories include Gosho Aoyama, Koji Kumeta, Yuu Watase, Kazuhiko Shimamoto, Naoki Urasawa, Kazuhiro Fujita and Ryoji Minagawa, Yellow Tanabe and Takashi Iwashige.
• [11] Rumiko Takahashi's work was widely licensed at the time, much as it still is. Animeigo was releasing the Urusei Yatsura anime at the time, US Manga Corp was releasing Fire Tripper, Maris the Supergirl, and The Laughing Target while Viz was releasing the manga of Urusei Yatsura and Ranma 1/2 with the Ranma 1/2 anime and Maison Ikkoku manga soon to begin.
• [12] It is our best guess that she is likely referring to her 1989 interview with Toren Smith. That interview was conducted two years after Maison Ikkoku had ended, but it is likely this is what is being referred to by Takahashi.
• [13] Though Horibuchi proudly suggests here they would not skip over chapters of Urusei Yatsura Viz did skip some which include chapter 11 "Eros" and chapter 14 "Still Water Run Deep". Viz also did this with Maison Ikkoku to move the story along faster during its first print run. Those stories for both Urusei Yatsura and Maison Ikkoku have long since been restored in subsequent releases but you can read more about this here.
• [14} Matthew Sweet's 1992 album "I've Been Waiting" features him showing off his Lum tattoo on the cover. His music videos for his song "Girlfriend" features footage from Space Adventure Cobra while "I've Been Waiting" features footage from Urusei Yatsura.
• [15} Yasutaka Tsutsui (筒井康隆) is a novelist perhaps best known to western audiences as the writer of Paprika which was turned into a film by Satoshi Kon. The Girl Who Lept Through Time (時をかける少女) is another well-known novel by Tsutsui.

---