Ask Dr. Rin!

Ask Dr. Rin!
Cover of volume 4
Genre	Magical girl, Romance
Manga
Written by	Kiyoko Arai
Published by	Shogakukan
Magazine	Ciao
Demographic	Shōjo
Original run	2000-03-25 – 2003-06-21
Volumes	8
Anime
Directed by	Shin Misawa
Studio	Nippon Animation, NAS
Released	2001-04-05 – 2002-02-25

Ask Dr. Rin! (Dr.リンにきいてみて!, Dr. Rin ni Kiite Mite!) is an eight volume manga series by Kiyoko Arai about a young girl named Meilin Kanzaki who is endowed with Feng shui powers which allow her to read people's fortunes and give advice on how to receive good luck. She does this on a website under the pseudonym of "Dr. Rin." She loves her friend Asuka Yuuki, who is a star on the school soccer team. However, she constantly bothers him with her Feng shui advice when he doesn't believe in any of that.

Ask Dr. Rin! was serialized in Ciao and later adapted into a 51 episode anime series by Nippon Animation, directed by Shin Misawa and with music by Takanori Arisawa. It was broadcasted by TV Tokyo from 5 April 2001 to 25 February 2002.

Plot summary

Meirin Kanzaki is a 7th grade girl with the ability to use feng-shui divination. Secretly working under the pseudonym of Dr. Rin, she tries to help people in her school and elsewhere to solve their romance problems. She tries to keep this a secret from her father, since "Dr. Rin" is getting so popular that she's stealing some of his customers. She also tries to use her powers to help out Asuka, a boy who is her childhood and whom she has a crush on. Unfortunately for her, Asuka doesn't believe in fortune telling and tends to become disturbed when she tries to help him.

With the help of the hakke crystal, Meirin drives the dark forces away from Tokiwa, Banri, and Eddy - some of her friends - each of who turn out to be the reincarnations of three of the four celestial guardians (Byakko, Genbu, and Suzaku respectively. The other is Seiryuu). All but Asuka awaken from the sleep of their past lives. The Dark Witch uses this to her advantage by forcing him to awaken, but to the dark side.

The Dark Witch then slowly steals the Crystals (2 for each Guardian) that Meirin obtained when the Guardians awoke. They boosted her powers and allowed her to use strong feng-shui, but if she doesn't have enough crystals, it would tire her out easily. Asuka easily defeats the other 3 Guardians, sometimes 1 on 1, and several times all together. He renounces his feelings for Meirin, and torments her by flirting with the Dark Witch.

After the score being brought to three Crystals versus five Crystals, Meirin could not purify Asuka with so few crystals. So instead, they confront and she cures him. Then, with all 4 Guardians, the Dark Force chooses to set it's plan in motion.

The Dark Force creates a giant dark tower, and everyone except the magical people have memory of it not being there. Meirin convinces a few family members with a photo, stuck inside a journal with a hakke as a bookmark. They go up the tower, each fighting a dark guardian. As they rise to the top, it is revealed that the true mastermind was Meirin's brother, Kyoumi. He then shoves aside the Dark Witch, saying he preferred Meirin all along. This traumatizes the Dark Witch, and while everyone comes up injured, Meirin's sister wishes she could help, and she is awakened as the Light Witch's aid. She heals everyone, and the Dark and Light witch unite their powers to defeat the Dark Force.

They end up in a desert, and Meirin searches for Asuka and vice versa. When they unite, they see their past lives and they explain the reason Asuka hated occult things and couldn't awaken. In the past, Asuka the dragon loved Meirin the Light Witch, but it was forbidden, so instead of breaking his heart in a quick jolt, she sealed his memory and powers away. And instead of confronting his past life, Asuka had an inner reason he could not do it, because his love for Meirin was the seal, and his powers would only draw upon the Light Witch's power, which would be distorted from love.

And when they united in the sand storm, they brought inner peace and proved they could be united.

Then everything returns to normal, and Kyoumi apologizes to the family for shoving himself into their memories and leaves with the Dark Witch. Meirin then wakes up, and realized it was all a dream. Asuka then says "Maybe not. .."

Characters

Meirin Kanzaki (神埼 明鈴, Kanzaki Meirin)

Voiced by: Saeko Chiba

The main character, Meirin is a teenage girl with the power of feng-shui divination, an ability which her brother argues surpasses her father's. Most other characters tend to agree, if not through their actions then by flocking to her web-based divination service, for which she uses the pseudonym "Dr. Rin." Unfortunately, the online service costs her father, who does his own feng-shui divination service, many of his customers, and so she tries hard to keep her secondary identity a secret. The only other person who knows is her brother, Koumi, who helps her keep her service running. A bit ditzy by nature, Meirin is nevertheless pure-hearted in her pursuits, the most notable of which is Asuka Yūki. Throughout the series she is seen trying to aid him using her abilities, even at one point buying him pink boxers in desperation because she had a bad premonition that day about him and knew that pink was his lucky color for that day. None of this tends to be met with gratitude by Asuka, who doesn't believe in the occult, nor does he understand Meirin's fascination with it. Meirin also owns a special hakke crystal which her grandfather reveals was given to her in order to protect her. It activates when she or one of her friends is in trouble and unleashes the power of Shenlong, a dragon god.

Asuka Yuuki (結城　飛鳥, Yūki Asuka)

Voiced by: Takayuki Sorita

Asuka is the boy who Meirin loves to no end. While he has never stated that he loves her, his own feelings tend to jettison between protective affection and frustrated annoyance. The two are childhood friends, and their families are on very close terms as well. His frustration tends to show mostly when Meirin tries to help him her way, with feng-shui. Devoted to reality, Asuka constantly derides her well-intentioned efforts. He immediately hops to her rescue, however, once something threatens her, such as when Tokiwa starts stalking and threatening her in order to get her to go love him instead of Asuka. However, his lack of ability with magic can lead him to wind up in very dangerous situations once he does decide to confront enemies. A member of the school soccer team, Asuka is often seen with Shinagawa, his best friend, who is also a member of the soccer team. Asuka and Meirin met when they were little kids. Meirin was walking home when she was smacked in the face by a soccer ball Asuka had accidentally kicked at her. She says that from that moment she knew who she was destined to be with. He is the reincarnation of Seiryuu.

Takashi Tokiwa (常盤　崇, Tokiwa Takashi)

Voiced by: Yūto Kazama

Often referred to as Tokiwachi by the rest of the characters, Tokiwa is a transfer student who moved to Meirin's school apparently solely for the purpose of wooing her. He is seen as bright, popular (particularly with girls), and skilled athletically, however he can be seen as a little narcissistic. He is an enormous flirt and mostly fits the stereotype of a "pretty boy." Even though he insists that he only loves Meirin, he seems to delight in the attention that all of the other girls pay to him. Meirin, however, does not return his affections, a fact that drives him to increasingly violent acts that he manipulates through his powers as an onmyōji. With these abilities, he can divine the future using the forces of yin and yang as well as control shikigami, which are paper dolls that can become physical beings, like a person or a rat. Through this, he can create enormous problems, such as setting the school on fire or driving a bus Asuka was riding on off a bridge. While all this is going on, he sends Meirin e-mails promising more disaster to come and consistently signs them, "Your destined lover." He has also at certain points referred to a special "power" that Meirin has and he wants to obtain, casting into doubt whether his motives are truly about love. He has joined the soccer team, and uses that as an opportunity to compete against Asuka for Meirin's affections. He is the reincarnation of Byakko.

Banri Shijou

Voiced by: Yumi Kakazu

A boy who uses tarot cards. He is dressed as girl in school. Probably because Cynthia often take his body. He is the reincarnation of Genbu.

Eddy Tsukioka

Voiced by: Hidenobu Kiuchi

Eddy is foreigner who moved to Japan, but in spite of that, he speaks with an Osakan dialect. Eddy has bad impression with beautiful girl which has long hair since her mother (who is beautiful and has long hair, also his family) treat him badly. He is the reincarnation of Suzaku.

Yue Konishi (小西 侑英, Konishi Yue)

Voiced by: Junko Takeuchi

Yue is Meirin's classmate and one of her two best friends. She is a member of the school track and field team. She makes jokes often about being in love with Meirin. However, she really wants Meirin's dreams of receiving Asuka's love to come true, as evidenced from how upset she becomes when Meirin starts dating Tokiwa. Yue is generally seen as a very savvy girl with a cool head. Meirin likes to come to her for advice. Shinagawa has a crush on her, but will not actively say it to her.

Shūko Kasukabe

Voiced by: Kana Kouguchi

Shūko is Meirin's other classmate/best friend. In comparison to Yue, she tends to be more hyper and is noted for falling for cute guys quickly. She seems to have a little crush on Tokiwa.

Daisuke Shinagawa

Voiced by: Kei Watanabe

Shinagawa is Asuka's best friend and is usually seen in either his company, or on occasion Yue's, who he has a large crush on. At the beginning of the series, it appears to be one-way affection, however. He plays on the school soccer team along with Asuka and Tokiwa and often indirectly winds up mediating miniature fights between the two of them. He serves as comic relief in the series, taking the role of the less-capable, doofy best friend.

Keima Ōimachi

[[anime voice|Masaki Kitahara}}

A friend of Shinagawa's. He is a skilled goalie who has a "talent" for twisting his body into weird shapes.

Koumi Kanzaki

Voiced by: Eiji Moriyama

Koumi is Meirin's older brother. He helps her keep her Dr. Rin homepage up and covers for her around their parents. He has a grudge against his father for naming him "Koumi" using the kanji for "dumplings."

Tenshin

Voiced by: Junko Takeuchi

Tenshin is Meirin's pet monkey. Very fond of candy, Tenshin has caused a fair share of trouble for Meirin mostly in childish ways like eating her lunch. In one episode, Tokiwa possesses Tenshin with one of his Shikigami in order to lure Asuka into one of his traps.

Nanao (七尾, Nanao)

Voiced by: Masami Suzuki

A small, seven-tailed kitsune-shaped skikigami that belongs to Tokiwa. Nanao's name, in fact, means, "seven-tailed." She has helped Tokiwa develop his onmyō abilities since he was very young. Because of this, she has a slightly contentious relationship with her owner. She also apparently has a fondness for tofu.

Cynthia

Voiced by: Yuki Kaida

A small panda who is often seen with Banri in pictures.

Takoyaki

Voiced by: Tetsuya Yanagihara

A parrot who shows up frequently with Eddy. His name is the name of the dish takoyaki, which is a dish made with octopus that originated in Osaka.

Episode titles

1. The Rumored Feng-Shui Master! (ウワサの天才風水師!, Uwasa no Tensai Fūsuisha!)
2. Extracurricular Class of Heart-Pounding Love! (恋のドキドキ課外授業!, Koi no Doki Doki Kagaijūgyō!)
3. Love Panic with the Transfer Student! (転校生でラブぱにっく!, Tenkōsei de Rabu Panikku!)
4. Giant Crisis on the Bus with Shikigami! (式神バスで大ピンチ!, Shikigami Basu de Dai Pinchi!)
5. A Round of Crisis in a Girl's Feelings! (乙女心危機イッパツ!, Otomegokoro Kiki Ippatsu!)
6. False Lover (いつわりの恋人, Itsuwari no Koibito)
7. Decisive Battle After School! (決戦の放課後バトル!, Kessen no Hōkagu Batoru!)
8. Wake Up, Dragon God! Shinsenron! (目覚めよ龍神!シンシェンロン!, Mezameyo Ryūjin! Shinsenron!)
9. Papa's Epic Feng-Shui Battle! (パパの風水大作戦!, Papa no Fūsui Daisaku Ikusa!)
10. Cute Shikigami! Here Comes Nanao! (カワイイ式神!七尾参上!, Kawaii Shikigami! Nanao Sanjō!)
11. Shinagawa the Man's Love in Full Bloom! (オトコ品川ラブ満開!, Otoko Shinagawa Rabu Mankai!)
12. Mysterious! Tarot Labyrinth (不思議!タロットラビリンス, Fushigi! Tarotto Rabirinsu)
13. Invincible Friendship Rainbow! (無敵の友情レインボウ!, Muteki no Yūjō Reinbō!)
14. Special Love Ring! (愛の特設リング!, Ai no Tokusetsu Ringu!)
15. Victory is Pink, Pink, Pink! (勝利のピンク!ぴんく!Pink!, Shōri no PINKU! pinku! Pink!)
16. Heart-Pounding, Dangerous Live Broadcast! (トキメキあぶない生放送!, Tokimeki Abunai Namahōsō!)
17. Dreaded Meeting at School!? (恐怖、学校のカイダン!?, Kyōfu, Gakkō no Kaidan!?)
18. Last Trap of the Battle! (戦りつのラストトラップ!, Ikusaritsu no Rasuto Torappu!)
19. Time to Change Your Heart! (ときはなてユアハート!, Toki wa Nate Yua Hāto!)
20. Temptation of a Heart-Pounding Date!? (誘惑のハラハラデート!?, Yūwaku no Harahara Dēto!?)
21. Glittering Great Reversal of Star Trap! (星の罠きらめきの大逆転!, Hoshi no Wana Kirameki no Taigyakuten!)

Theme Songs

Opening theme

• "GO! GO! READY? GO?!" by Ai Maeda (AiM)

Ending Theme

• "Dare Yori (More Than Anyone)" by Ai Maeda (AiM)