Why it's arrogant to say "MAO copying / reusing Inuyasha" ? - You need to know more about Rumiko Takahashi 💃🏻
(I just love this drawing because I almost hear the heartbeat by looking at this LOL)
Many youngsters, especially from the west, know Rumiko Takahashi because of Inuyasha. It's her most popular work in western countries but before that, she was already a living legend who created 3 "historical" works : Maison Ikkoku, Urusei Yatsura and Ranma 1/2. All were in different genres and brought impacts to manga history. - Lum in Urusei Yatsura was considered as the source of "Moe" culture. - Maison Ikkoku was one of the source of men's love-com, depicting the growth and love story with a widow. (Also, there was no widow main character in manga before!) - Ranma 1/2 wascone of the source of gender changing in Manga (of course there are some similar work before but Ranma 1/2 was the most popular one) Inuyasha was her most popular work globally but compared to her other works, it's not that influential 💁🏻♀️ Every time, she brings something new to her readers.
Even Rinne was not that popular but the dynamic was still new! (And she said Rinne was a work for her to relax and rest after all these year. but it's still cute! )
When it comes to MAO, Rumiko sensei mentioned that she is a big fan of Agatha Christie. That's why she want to try bringing Agatha's ways of depicting mystery into the manga. It's a new experimental work of her. (she's already 63 and still trying new things!) So at the very beginning, MAO was meant to be a new genre of manga. It consists of some eastern elements, like yin & yang and 5 natural elements but the story itself is a mystery. It is far from the adventure nature of Inuyasha! Of course I'm not saying that because she's an old master and awarded so people can't criticise the works. Or you have to like MAO. But judging a work as a "copy" or "lazy reuse" at the very beginning or not even reading is just too disrespectful to ANY CREATOR. Sadly, many people just throw out shits like that. Not to say, "love triangle", "time travel" and "rebirth" are all some common elements in novels, movie and manga. You can't say it's a "copy" or an "old trick" when it was just used once in MANY of her works! Added that, I have a lot of personal emotion towards her works because I personally consider her as a life model: a female worked so hard to shine in a male-dominated industry, especially in Asia. And she never stop her paces even she already had so many achievements! I want to tell everyone why she's that impactful! =)
