Rumikio Takahashi great mangaka or greatest mangaka?! LOL, no... I really don’t get people who think she is the greatest female mangaka of all time. I don’t hate her works like I do CLAMP because I do think her work has merit. In fact a lot of important merit, just not greatest of all time merit.
I can seriously argue she is not the greatest female mangaka of all time. I mean really?! Historically important?! Sure. Important to otaku culture? Hell yeah. But the best? Hell no.
Moto Hagio, Riyoko Ikeda, and many other members of the Year 24 Group? Yes, I feel that many of their works have a depth from other literary sources that more otaku influenced works do not have. Since their influences come from more outside sources where otaku works tend to come from inside the culture.
Not that these works are not interesting and can be intelligent in their own right but they start to really cause a catastrophic feeling. These otaku works are created by otaku for otaku and make otaku feel safe. This is their world and outsiders can't touch it. But much like with the gene pool you need outside influences or things start to get distorted.
When I read works like Glass Mask and Rose of Versailles there is a feel that these works are written for everyone and they are influenced by many works not just other manga. Works by Takahashi just don’t give me that feeling, they give me the feeling they are for Otaku. For every enjoyable and decent title like Otaku no Musume-san there are a ton of other samey generic title filled with Otaku tropes, so Otaku can in some can indulge in a dream life without having to really work on making their own life better.
Okay, I’ve kind of gone off the subject...Rumikio Takahashi’s early work is important and did help create otaku culture as we know it but lacks a quality it make it stand on its own anymore outside the culture.