Seriously? There's a character in RIN-NE actually named "Ranko?" Ah, gotta love Takahashi.

(For those not in the know: it's the alias by which Nodoka Saotome knew her son's curse form.)

Ooh! Long skirt and everything! Yep, definite sukeban there.

Excellent chapter this week, I really enjoyed the 80s nostalgia factor. Ranko 's outfit is actually identical to the one Lum wore when she donned the afro with the syringes in it in UY vol. 8. It is strange to me that Takahashi is reusing "Ranko" and "Sakura" for names, she's usually very careful not to recycle names at all.

As a long time manga reader and Takahashi fan, I'm also curious if the old concept of doing an "English adaptation" has started to fall out of favor. I know Gerard Jones used to be the go to adapter for Takahashi, but understandably when you've got such a quick turnaround that's probably no longer an option. Anyway, that's just a personal curiosity of mine, not a comment on your great translations.

Keep up the excellent work guys, we certainly appreciate your hard work.

Even the way the spray paint hit the wall, it was quite a menacing Yoroshiku too. xD

Stories like these tend to be short, but they really pack a punch! I was thoroughly creeped out when Sakura observed Ranko was a ghost. And poor Rinne, resorting to eating edible grass as an afterschool snack. xD

Many of the Japanese names that sound so exotic to English-speaking people are actually quite common in Japan. Sakura is quite ordinary and recurs a lot in manga. Ranko may set off vibes to those of us who remember Ranma 1/2, but is still common enough to make the names of twins such as Rinko and Ranko plausible. Even Ranma's family name of Saotome was used earlier, in Maison Ikkoku. Takahashi can and does use uncommon (and possibly a few totally manufactured) names from time-to-time when necessary, but the use of relatively common names helps keep her stories grounded in daily life. ...For the most part!

Definitely got a kick out of the name Ranko -- especially since about three seconds before it came up I had actually been thinking to myself that the ghost looked a bit like female Ranma (mainly on those occasions where Ranma would put on a wig to mess with Ryoga or something like that). I know it's a common name and all, but the outfit (reminds me of the schoolgirl outfit Ranma wore in the Ryugenzawa arc), the attitude ("I said I was sorry, you idiot!"), and the fact that the character was apparently a teenager about twenty years ago (circa Ranma 1/2 era) all make me wonder if the choice of that name wasn't at least a *little* bit tongue in cheek...

Or maybe that's wishful thinking. ;) Ah well -- it's giving me a Ranma 1/2 craving anyway. Been awhile since I read any of that series...

Uh, Ranko isn't exactly "common." I mean, this is only the second character I've seen it used for, ever. Sakura, though? There's Haruno, Matou, Kinomoto, Kasugano, possibly one who took the name "Kino" and went traveling, and many others. It's like..."Jane" or something.