The dog, meanwhile, is Soichiro-san, the pet of Kyoko Otonashi, the female lead of Maison Ikkoku, yet another Takahashi series.
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The Niigata connection runs deeper than that, though, because it turns out that not only is Takahashi fully aware that Inagaki Veterinary Clinic has a sign with her illustrations on it, she drew it specifically for them!
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Seen on Google Street View above is Inagaki Veterinary Clinic, located in the suburbs of Niigata City.
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She may be one of the biggest names in the manga/anime world, but Takahashi hasn’t forgotten her roots.