One or Double

Viz Graphic Novel
Story and Art by Takahashi Rumiko
$16.95 US/$24.95 CAN
©1998 Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan, Inc.
Rumic Theater is a trademark of Viz Communications, Inc.
All rights reserved.

—by Eugene Cheng

The second volume in the RUMIC THEATER series, ONE OR DOUBLE contains nine stand alone stories to entertain the reader. There is a healthy cross-section of stories from various points in Takahashi's career. This volume compiles stories from Viz Comics' MANGA VISION series, volume three. The first volume entitled simply RUMIC THEATER collected the short stories in the first six issues of MANGA VISION and was published in 1996. Since then, Viz Comics' has published several other collections of Takahashi Rumiko's work under different banners. But now, happily, they have returned to collecting her works under RUMIC THEATER. Given the high quality of the stories in the first volume, one would have high expectations of ONE OR DOUBLE

The short stories collected in ONE OR DOUBLE are:

THE DIET GODDESS
EXCUSE ME FOR BEING A DOG!
TO GRANDMOTHER'S HOUSE WE GO
SHAKE YOUR BUDDHA
THE GRANDFATHER OF ALL BASEBALL GAMES
RESERVED SEAT
ONE OR DOUBLE
HAPPY TALK
WINGED VICTORY

This makes it a full 3 stories and 50 pages more than the previous volume. The stories are certainly more varied as well. There are several stories which were from Takahashi's earlier career, around the time when she was still drawing LUM * URUSEI YATSURA, judging by the dated art style.
An interesting way to view Takahashi's early works versus her more recent work is this: the early Takahashi storytelling style contains a ridiculous premise, ridiculous plot elements to keep the story afloat, and a bewildering, strangely touching (yet still ridiculous) conclusion. Her current style now begins with a mild, reality-based premise, with quirky-but-believable plot elements which flow with the story rather than push it, and ends with a satisfying, still-touching conclusion. In essence she has improved all aspects of the tale-weaving process. This much is evident in the newer stories collected in this volume.
Case in point, EXCUSE ME FOR BEING A DOG is one of her earlier stories and tells a brief story about a boy who will turn into a dog if his nose starts bleeding. (His father, by the way, is afflicted with the same lupine disease and will change whenever he laughs.) Shiro, as his name turns out to be, is recruited by a pretty girl from the Martial Arts club. He likes the girl; fights a would-be suitor in a match; wins, but gets a nose bleed in the process; girl finds out his secret; girl can live with it; the end.
THE DIET GODDESS is one of her newer creations, and tells a believable domestic story of a girl who yearns to lose weight in order to fit into a dress and dance with her dream date. The story, roughly the same number of pages, devotes much more time to developing the characters. The story is enthralling because of its ordinary-ness, extraordinary pacing and plot twists.
However, it's Takahashi's versatility that shines in the end. She is equally adept at creating wonderful sports-related stories as she is at domestic comedy. THE GRANDFATHER OF ALL BASEBALL GAMES has the depth to have been a long running series as good as ONE POUND GOSPEL. In fact, there are several sports stories within this collection, and each one is different. Takahashi tends to rehash old premises, but the finish always manages to stay fresh.
The older stories were interesting, but hardly worth the effort to read a second time. The newer stories were the ones that caught my attention. I dare say I enjoyed the stories in the first RUMIC THEATER best, but for roughly the same price, you can get 3 more stories in the second RUMIC THEATER volume. And there are more gems than not, so the odds are in your favor. Pick it up.