Rin-ne

Rin-ne
Cover of the first tankōbon volume of Kyōkai no Rinne, as published by Shogakukan on October 16, 2009.
境界のRINNE (Kyōkai no Rinne)
Genre	Romantic comedy, Supernatural
Manga
Written by	Rumiko Takahashi
Published by	Shogakukan
English publisher	Viz Media (North America)
Demographic	Shōnen
Magazine	Weekly Shōnen Sunday
Original run	April 22, 2009 – ongoing
Volumes	19

Rin-ne (stylized as RIN-NE),^[1] known as Kyōkai no Rinne (境界のRINNE^?, lit. Rinne of the Boundary, officially subtitled as Circle of Reincarnation)

in Japan, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It began serialization in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday manga magazine on April 22, 2009.[2] The series follows Sakura Mamiya, a girl who gained the power to see ghosts after an incident as a child, and her classmate Rinne Rokudo, a boy of mixed human and shinigami heritage who helps lingering spirits finally pass on to be reincarnated. The manga has been licensed by Viz Media, which was simultaneously releasing the manga chapters online in English as they were serialized in Japan[3] until March 17, 2011.

Plot

Rin-ne revolves around Sakura Mamiya, a high school girl who became able to see ghosts after she was "spirited away" for a week when she was a child, though she does not remember the details of the experience. Once in high school, Sakura wishes to be rid of her extrasensory perception, which is an annoyance to her. She meets a shinigami of sorts named Rinne Rokudo, a classmate of hers who was absent for the first month or so of school. His job is to guide spirits, whose regrets bind them to Earth, to the wheel of reincarnation so that they may be reborn. The wheel appears as a large red, spoked wheel revolving in the sky.

Release

The manga series Rin-ne is written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. The first chapter was published in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday manga magazine on April 22, 2009.^[2] The first two tankōbon volumes were released in Japan on October 16, 2009; as of December 18, 2013, 19 volumes have been released.^[4] The manga has been licensed by Viz Media,^[5] who published the chapters simultaneously online in English as they were serialized in Japan until March 17, 2011.^[3][6] Rin-ne was the first title to be released under Viz Media's Shonen Sunday imprint.^[7]

Reception

During the week of October 12–18, 2009, the first two volumes of Rin-ne ranked at No. 15 and 16 for the best-selling manga in Japan; combined, the volumes sold about 100,000 copies that week.^[8] The following week of October 19–25, 2009, the first volume ranked at No. 18 with over 44,000 copies sold, while the second volume ranked at No. 20 with over 41,000 copies sold in Japan.^[9] The third manga volume ranked at No. 11 for the best-selling manga in Japan for the week of March 15–21, 2010,^[10] and the English version ranked at No. 8 on The New York Times Manga Best Seller list in May 2010.^[11] The fourth manga volume ranked twice at No. 19 and 20 in June 2010 with over 76,000 copies sold in Japan.^[12] The fifth manga volume also ranked twice at No. 21 and 23 in September 2010 with over 71,000 copies sold in Japan.^[13] The sixth manga volume ranked at No. 29 for the best-selling manga in Japan for the week of December 13–19, 2010.^[14]

References

External links

• Rin-ne at Weekly Shōnen Sunday (Japanese)
• Rin-ne at Shonen Sunday (Viz Media)
• Rin-ne (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia