Rumiko Takahashi, Creator of Inuyasha, Just Earned One of France’s Top Honors

Rumiko Takahashi is one of manga’s most beloved creators, and their legacy speaks for itself. From Urusei Yatsura to Inuyasha, the artist has brought some of the medium’s greatest tales to life. Now, Takahashi has been gifted a major award for their contributions, and the prize came from France this week.

The news comes straight from Takahashi’s team as the group revealed the mangaka was gifted France’s Order of Arts and Letters. The artist was given the knight Order and was one of up to 200 recipients who can get the award in a year. So as you can imagine, Takahashi’s prize has manga readers geeking out.

After all, Takahashi’s win makes her the first female mangaka to get an Order of Arts and Letters from France. Other creators like Go Nagai, Akira Toriyama, Jiro Tamaguchi, and Katsuhiro Otomo have been given this honor in the past. Now, Takahashi has joined the list, and this French honor is just one of several dedicated to the artist.

After all, Takahashi was gifted a Medal with Purple Ribbon in Japan back in 2020 which is a major honor in her home country. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame inducted the mangaka with its 2016 class, and Takahashi was inducted into the Eisner Hall of Fame two years later following several nominations. In 2019, Takahashi went on to win the Grand Prix de la ville d’Angoulême before joining the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame last October. Now, Takahashi has another honor to add to their collection, and the celebration is more than deserved.

After all, Takahashi has been in the manga industry for decades and continues to uplift the medium to this day. In the past year, Takahashi has been introduced to new fans thanks to a new anime adaptation of Urusei Yatsura, and the mangaka is continuing work on their latest series Mao. Even after all this time, Takahashi is as sharp as ever, and her new French honor is the latest of many more to come. If you want to check out Takahashi’s work, Viz Media has published a number of their series in English which can be found in local bookstores. As for their anime adaptations, you can find Urusei Yatsura and more streaming on Crunchyroll right now!

Have you checked out any of Takahashi’s stories before now? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.