Rumiko Takahashi is a popular, and so it seems a legendary, manga writer and artist. She has also worked in anime on various series, including Inuyasha. Rumiko Takahashi’s Anthology is a thirteen episode series, with thirteen different stories and sets of characters, none of which have anything to do with another. (Except for maybe a cameo or two.) Each episode is based on a different short-manga of Takahashi’s creation.

Takahashi’s characters are not superheroes, aliens, demon monsters, or mecha pilots. They are just ordinary families who find themselves in an occasional extra-ordinary circumstance. A family is forced to care for the bosses pet. A schoolgirl believes her father is planning a family suicide. A father and husband thinks he’s 16 again after a bump on the head. An old lady returns from the dead to help save a romance. An out-of-work ex-executive must learn to relate to people when he gets a job in a bakery. These are just some of the story-lines.

The stories tread the line between comedy and tragedy. The characters are likeable and realistic, even when the plot challenges our imagination.

Rumiko Takahashi’s Anthology is worth a look. Just one look and you will be hooked.