By Rumiko Takahashi. Released in Japan by Shogakukan, serialization ongoing in the magazine Shonen Sunday. Released in North America by Viz.

This volume of Takahashi’s latest work has a lot of fun stuff going on within its pages. A ghost wants to be reunited with his Edo-period love, a swimming ghost can’t quite remember why she’s unable to pass on, and Rin-Ne’s rival Masato shows up, and is a shallow jerk. (No really, he even defines himself as such.)

As in previous Takahashi works, she’s good at giving her characters inherent flaws. The swimmer, for instance, comes across (in death and in life) as a vapid princess, and the pair of lovers that Masato is messing with seem incredibly quick to assume the worst about each other. The only two people that seem remotely sensible are our heroes.

That’s one of Rin-Ne’s flaws so far. I think maybe Takahashi got tired of hearing fans yelling about her angry violent heroines and unthinking jerk heroes, as Sakura is rather sweet and doesn’t leap to conclusions, and Rin-Ne (aside from his money fixation) is a pretty nice guy. There’s even little to no sexual tension between them so far. I expect that to change. It does mean, however, that she went a bit too far in the *other* direction. Rin-Ne and Sakura are bland.

To be honest, the same might be said for this volume as a whole. There’s nothing actually wrong with it. It’s laid out nicely, the story arcs are just long enough, the translation is fine. But you won’t remember any of it 24 hours after you read it.

I’ve been reading Rumiko Takahashi manga for almost 15 years now, between Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, Ranma 1/2, and her various shorts. You can tell I enjoy her work, as I continue to read it. But she’s fast-food manga. You don’t get any extra pizzazz. Maybe once or twice a series you get something utterly riveting (like the Herb arc in Ranma, or UY’s finale). But mostly, I don’t expect anything from Rumiko Takahashi other than the cliched Rumiko Takahashi manga.

I don’t go into a Takahashi manga asking if she’ll knock my socks off. I ask for some funny action with a dash of fantasy and some romance that drags on and never gets anywhere. I expect I’ll get that with Rin-Ne. It’s still a series worth picking up, as it reads fast and is enjoyable. But it’s not inspirational. The main problem is that, art style aside, there’s nothing here that she couldn’t have drawn in 2000. Or 1990, for that matter.