Urusei Yatsura, Vol. 12

The hilarious manga classic featuring beautiful space alien princess Lum!

Beautiful space alien princess Lum invades Earth on her UFO, and unlucky Ataru Moroboshi’s world gets turned upside down! Will Lum become Earth’s electrifying new leader? Or will Ataru somehow miraculously save Earth from space alien onslaught?

Lum tries to encourage a Tomobiki High student to stand up for herself against some bullies and ends up facing off in the ring against the head of the Butsumetsu High delinquents. Good thing Lum has hidden strength to draw upon! Later, Mendo is called upon to save a fair maiden—by going on a date with her! But the peril Asuka faces is her own boy-phobia, so Mendo just keeps making things worse!

The spotlight on Rumiko Takahashi’s career began in 1978 when she won an honorable mention in Shogakukan’s prestigious New Comic Artist Contest for Those Selfish Aliens. Later that same year, her boy-meets-alien comedy series, Urusei Yatsura, was serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday. This phenomenally successful manga series was adapted into anime format and spawned a TV series and half a dozen theatrical-release movies, all incredibly popular in their own right. Takahashi followed up the success of her debut series with one blockbuster hit after another—Maison Ikkoku ran from 1980 to 1987, Ranma 1/2 from 1987 to 1996, and Inuyasha from 1996 to 2008. Other notable works include Mermaid Saga, Rumic Theater, and One-Pound Gospel.

Takahashi was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Awards Hall of Fame in 2018. In 2019, she won the Grand Prix at FIDB Angoulême. She won the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award twice in her career, once for Urusei Yatsura in 1981 and the second time for Inuyasha in 2002. A majority of the Takahashi canon has been adapted into other media such as anime, live-action TV series, and film. Takahashi’s manga, as well as the other formats her work has been adapted into, have continued to delight generations of fans around the world. Distinguished by her wonderfully endearing characters, Takahashi’s work adeptly incorporates a wide variety of elements such as comedy, romance, fantasy, and martial arts. While her series are difficult to pin down into one simple genre, the signature style she has created has come to be known as the “Rumic World.” Rumiko Takahashi is an artist who truly represents the very best from the world of manga. Many of her titles, including Mermaid Saga and her current series RIN-NE, are available in North America from VIZ Media.