Ranma ½ Director Guide

October 28, 2006

Written by Harley Acres

The original series, which was comprised of only eighteen episodes has often been praised for its lush animation, well-choreographed fights and introspective quiet pauses. The look of the series can primarily be attributed to three women, Atsuko Nakajima, the character designer and animation director, Asami Endo a vetern animation director from Urusei Yatsura, and Masako Goto, who went on to work on Kimagure Orange Road and Here is Greenwood.

Ranma ½
Episode Title	Director	Animation Director
1. The Strange Stranger from China	Tomomi Mochizuki	Atsuko Nakajima
2. School is No Place for Horsing Around	Takeshi Mori	Masako Goto
3. A Sudden Storm of Love... Hey, Wait a Minute!	Shigeyasu Yamauchi	Asami Endo
4. Ranma and Ranma? If It's Not One Thing, It's Another	Tomomi Mochizuki	Atsuko Nakajima
5. Love Me To The Bone! The Compound Fracture of Akane's Heart	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Masako Goto
6. Akane's Lost Love... These Things Happen, You Know	Shinji Kouboku	Asami Endo
7. Enter Ryoga! The Eternal "Lost Boy"	Takeshi Mori	Atsuko Nakajima
8. School is a Battlefield! Ranma vs. Ryoga	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Masako Goto
9. True Confessions! A Girls Hair is Her Life	Shinji Kouboku	Asami Endo
10. P-P- P-chan! He's Good for Nothin'	Takeshi Mori	Atsuko Nakajima
11. Ranma Meets Love Head-On! Enter the Delinquent Juvenile Gymnast!	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Masako Goto
12. A Woman's Love is War! The Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics Challenge!	Shinji Kouboku	Asami Endo
13. A Tear in a Girl Delinquents Eye? The End of the Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics Challenge	Tomomi Mochizuki	Atsuko Nakajima
14. Pelvic Fortune Telling! Ranma is the No. 1 Bride in Japan	Takeshi Mori	Masako Goto
15. Enter Shampoo, the Gung-ho Girl! I Put My Life in Your Hands	Takeshi Mori	Asami Endo
16. Shampoo's Revenge! The Shiatsu Technique that Steals Heart and Soul	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Atsuko Nakajima
17. I Love You, Ranma! Please Don't Say Goodbye	Shinji Kouboku	Masako Goto
18. I Am A Man! Ranma's Going Back to China	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Atsuko Nakajima

As I have often discussed here, the series was cancelled and replaced by the more popular Ranma ½ Nettohen. The series lost some of its lush designs as Masako Goto left the series and the episodes she had already animated (P-chan Explodes! The Icy Fountain of Love) were worked into Nettohen. Rather that have a core group of animation directors as with the original series, Nettohen had quite a few animation directors involved with the series.

Ranma ½ Nettohen
Episode Title	Director	Animation Director
1. Clash of the Delivery Girls! The Martial Arts Takeout Race	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Atsuko Nakajima
2. You Really Do Hate Cats?	Kazuyoshi Nakamura	Asami Endo
3. This Old Gal's the Leader of of the Amazon Tribe!	Shinji Kouboku	Atsuko Nakajima
4. Behold! The "Chestnuts Roasting in an Open Fire" Technique	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Masaki Kudo
5. Enter Mousse! The Fist of the White Swan	Takashi Kobayashi	Asami Endo
6. Cool Runnings! The Race of the Snowman	Kazuyoshi Nakamura	Atsuko Nakajima
7. The Abduction of P-chan	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Asami Endo
8. Close Call! The Dance of Death... On Ice	Shinji Kouboku	Atsuko Nakajima
9. P-chan Explodes! The Icy Fountain of Love	Tomomi Mochizuki	Masako Goto
10. Ranma Trains on Mt. Terror	Shinji Kouboku	Masaki Kudo
11. The Breaking Point!? Ryoga's Great Revenge	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Asami Endo
12. Danger at the Tendo Dojo	Chisato Shigeki	Atsuko Nakajima
13. The Abduction of Akane	Takashi Kobayashi	Masaki Kudo
14. Ranma vs. Mousse! To Lose is to Win	Kazuyoshi Nakamura	Asami Endo
15. Enter Happosai, the Lustful Lecher!	Shinji Kouboku	Atsuko Nakajima
16. Assault on the Girls Locker Room	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Masaki Kudo
17. Kuno's House of Gadgets! Guests Check in But They Don't Check Out	Chisato Shigeki	Asami Endo
18. Goodbye Girl-type	Takashi Kobayashi	Atsuko Nakajima
19. It's a Fine Line Between Pleasure and Pain	Kazuyoshi Nakamura	Masaki Kudo
20. S.O.S The Wrath of Happosai	Shinji Kouboku	Asami Endo
21. Kissing is Such Sweet Sorrow! The Taking of Akane's Lips	Takashi Kobayashi	Atsuko Nakajima
22. Bathouse Battle! We're in Hot Water Now	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Hiroko Kazui
23. Ranma Gains Yet Another Suitor	Saeko Ochaya	Asami Endo
24. Ryoga and Akane: 2-gether 4-ever	Shinji Kouboku	Atsuko Nakajima
25. Sneeze Me, Squeeze Me, Please Me	Kazuyoshi Nakamura	Hiroko Kazui
26. Rub-a-dub-dub! There's a Pevert in the Tub	Takashi Kobayashi	Asami Endo
27. I Love You! My Dear, Dear, Ukyo	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Atsuko Nakajima
28. The Witch Who Loved Me: A Japanese Ghost Story	Shinji Kouboku	Hiroko Kazui
29. Transform! Akane the Muscleman	Kazuyoshi Nakamura	Asami Endo
30. The Killer from Jusenkyo	Takashi Kobayashi	Atsuko Nakajima
31. Am I... Pretty? Ranma's Declaration of Womanhood	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Hiroko Kazui
32. Final Facedown! Happosai vs. the Invisible Man	Shinji Kouboku	Asami Endo
33. Les Miserable in the Kuno Estate	Kazuyoshi Nakamura	Atsuko Nakajima
34. Ghost Story! Ranma and the Magic Sword	Takashi Kobayashi	Azumaya Sugiyama
35. All It Takes is One! The Kiss of Love is the Kiss of Death	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Asami Endo
36. The Ultimate Team-up!? The Ryoga/Mousse Alliance	Kazuyoshi Nakamura	Atsuko Nakajima
37. Back to the Happosai	Takashi Kobayashi	Hiroko Kazui
38. Kodachi the Black Rose! The Beeline to True Love	Hideki Tonokatsu	Hiroko Inoue
39. The Last Days of Happosai?	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Atsuko Nakajima
40. Two Too-Violent Girls: Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung	Nodoka Yoshida	Azumaya Sugiyama
41. Ranma and the Evil Spirit Within	Tetsuya Endo	Hiroko Kazui
42. Enter Ken and his Copycat Kerchief	Shinji Kouboku	Asami Endo
43. Ryoga's Miracle Cure! Hand Over that Soap!	Mihiro Yamaguchi	Atsuko Nakajima
44. Fight! The Anything-Goes Obstacle Course Race	Nodoka Yoshida	Hiroko Kazui
45. Ranma Goes Back to Jusenkyo At Last	Yasunori Urata	Asami Endo
46. The Return of the Hawaiian Headmaster from Hell	Hideki Tonokatsu	Atsuko Nakajima
47. Enter Kuno! The Night Prowling Knight	Shinji Kouboku	Azumaya Sugiyama
48. Ranma Gets Weak	Nodoka Yoshida	Asami Endo
49. Eureka! The Desperate Move of Desperation	Yasunori Urata	Atsuko Nakajima
50. Showdown! Can Ranma Make a Comeback?	Hideki Tonokatsu	Azumaya Sugiyama
51. Ukyo's Skirt! The Great Girly-Girl Gambit	Shinji Kouboku	Asami Endo
52. Here Comes Ranma's Mom	Nodoka Yoshida	Atsuko Nakajima
53. From Ryoga, With Love	Yasunori Urata	”Yoiko Hibiki”
54. My Fiancee the Cat	Hideki Tonokatsu	Chi Isono
55. Blow, Wind! To Be Young is to Go Gung-Ho	Akihiko Nishiyama	Asami Endo
56. A Formidable New Disciple Appears	Shinji Kouboku	Atsuko Nakajima
57. Step Outside!	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Chi Isono
58. Ryoga's "Tendo Dojo Houseguest" Diary	Hideki Tonokatsu	Asami Endo
59. Happosai's Happy Heart	Nodoka Yoshida	”Azusa Shiratori”
60. Extra, Extra! Kuno and Nabiki! Read All About It	Yasunori Urata	Chi Isono
61. Ryoga the Strong... Too Strong	Shinji Kouboku	Asami Endo
62. Close Call! P-chan's Secret	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Atsuko Nakajima
63. The Egg-Catcher Man	Nodoka Yoshida	Chi Isono
64. Ranma and Kuno's... First Kiss!?	Hideki Tonokatsu	Asami Endo
65. Shampoo's Red Thread	Yasunori Urata	Atsuko Nakajima
66. Mousse Returns to His Old Country Home	Shinji Kouboku	Asami Endo
67. The Dumbest Bet in History	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Chi Isono
68. Kuno Becomes a Marianne	Hideki Tonokatsu	Atsuko Nakajima
69. Ranma, You're Such a Jerk!	Yasunori Urata	Chi Isono
70. Gimme That Pigtail!	Nodoka Yoshida	Asami Endo
71. When A Guy's Pride and Joy is Gone	Shinji Kouboku	Atsuko Nakajima
72. The Revenge of Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung	Yasunori Urata	Katsumi Hashimoto
73. Ryoga's Proposal	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Chi Isono
74. Genma Takes a Walk	Nobuaki Shirahata	Asami Endo
75. The Gentle Art of Martial Tea Ceremony	Nodoka Yoshida	Atsuko Nakajima
76. The Challenger is a Girl?	Shinji Kouboku	Chi Isono
77. Hot Springs Battle Royale	Yasunori Urata	Katsumi Hashimoto
78. Me Is Kuno's Daddy, Me Is	Nobuaki Shirahata	Asami Endo
79. The Matriarch Takes a Stand	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Atsuko Nakajima
80. A Leotard is A Girls Burden	Nodoka Yoshida	Chi Isono
81. The Mixed-Bath Horror	Shinji Kouboku	Asami Endo
82. The Frogman's Curse	Nodoka Yoshida	Atsuko Nakajima
83. Revenge! Raging Okonomiyaki...!	Yasunori Urata	Chi Isono
84. Ranma the Ladykiller	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Asami Endo
85. Shogi Showdown	Nodoka Yoshida	Atsuko Nakajima
86. Sasuke's "Mission: Improbable"	Nobuaki Shirahata	Yuka Kudo
87. Bonjour, Furinkan	Shinji Kouboku	Chi Isono
88. Dinner at Ringside	Hiroaki Gouda	Asami Endo
89. Swimming with Psychos	Nodoka Yoshida	Atsuko Nakajima
90. Ryoga, Run Into the Sunset	Yasunori Urata	Chi Isono
91. Into the Darkness	Nobuaki Shirahata	Myoichiro Unagihara
92. Nabiki, Ranma's New Fiancee?	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Tetsujin Saito
93. Case of the Missing Takoyaki	Nodoka Yoshida	Asami Endo
94. Ranma vs Shadow Ranma!	Shinji Kouboku	Chi Isono
95. Dear Daddy... Love, Kodachi	Yasunori Urata	Asami Endo
96. Enter Gosunkugi, The New Rival?	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Chi Isono
97. Ranma's Calligraphy Challenge!	Nodoka Yoshida	Yuka Kudo
98. The Secret Don of Furinkan High!?	Nobuaki Shirahata	Asami Endo
99. Back to the Way We Were... Please!	Shinji Kouboku	”Azusa Shiratori”
100. Ryoga Inherits the Saotome School!?	Nodoka Yoshida	Asami Endo
101. Tendo Family Goes to the Amusement Park	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Chi Isono
102. Case of the Furinkan Stalker	Shinji Kouboku	Yuka Kudo
103. The Demon From Jusenkyo Part 1	Nobuaki Shirahata	Asami Endo
104. The Demon From Jusenkyo Part 2	Yasunori Urata	Atsuko Nakajima
105. A Xmas Without Ranma	Shinji Kouboku	Atsuko Nakajima
106. A Cold Day in Furinkan	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Asami Endo
107. Curse of the Scribbled Panda	Nodoka Yoshida	Chi Isono
108. The Date-Monster of Watermelon Island	Takeshi Kabumoto	Yuka Kudo
109. Legend of the Lucky Panda	Nobuaki Shirahata	Chi Isono
110. Ukyo's Secret Sauce, Part 1	Shinji Kouboku	Asami Endo
111. Ukyo's Secret Sauce, Part 2	Nodoka Yoshida	Chi Isono
112. The Missing Matriarch of Martial Arts Tea	Shinji Kouboku	Asami Endo
113. Akane Goes to the Hospital	Kazuhiro Furuhashi	Atsuko Nakajima
114. Mystery of the Marauding Octopus Pot!	Takeshi Kabumoto	Chi Isono
115. Gosunkugi and the Magic Paper Dolls	Nobuaki Shirahata	Asami Endo
116. Akane's Unfathomable Heart	Takeshi Kabumoto	Yuka Kudo
117. A Teenage Ghost Story	Nodoka Yoshida	Atsuko Nakajima
118. Master and Student...Forever!?	Yusuke Yamamoto	Chi Isono
119. Tatewaki Kuno, Acting Principal	Shinji Kouboku	Asami Endo
120. Ranma's Greatest Challenge	Nobuaki Shirahata	Atsuko Nakajima
121. Nihao! Jusenkyo Guide	Nodoka Yoshida	Yuka Kudo
122. Pick-a-Peck o' Happosai	Shinji Kouboku	Chi Isono
123. From the Depths of Despair, Part I	Yusuke Yamamoto	Asami Endo
124. From the Depths of Despair, Part II	Takeshi Kabumoto	Atsuko Nakajima
125. Shampoo's Cursed Kiss	Nobuaki Shirahata	Chi Isono
126. Run Away With Me, Ranma!	Shinji Kouboku	Asami Endo
127. Let's Go to the Mushroom Temple	Nodoka Yoshida	Yuka Kudo
128. The Cradle from Hell	Yusuke Yamamoto	Chi Isono
129. Madame St. Paul's Cry for Help	Takeshi Kabumoto	Masahiro Yamane
130. Meet You in the Milky Way	Nobuaki Shirahata	Asami Endo
131. Wretched Rice Cakes of Love	Nodoka Yoshida	Chi Isono
132. The Dreaded Happo Mold-Burst	Shinji Kouboku	Yuka Kudo
133. The Kuno Sibling Scandal	Takeshi Kabumoto	Asami Endo
134. Battle for the Golden Tea Set	Yusuke Yamamoto	Masahiro Yamane
135. Gosunkugi's Summer Affair	Nobuaki Shirahata	Chi Isono
136. Bring It On! Love's Cheerleader, Part I	Nodoka Yoshida	Asami Endo
137. Bring It On! Love's Cheerleader, Part II	Shinji Kouboku	Yuka Kudo
138. Battle for Miss Beachside	Takeshi Kabumoto	Chi Isono
139. The Musical Instruments of Destruction	Masahiro Yamane	Yusuke Yamamoto
140. A Ninja Dog is Black and White	Nobuaki Shirahata	Atsuko Nakajima
141. The Tendo Dragon Legend	Nodoka Yoshida	Chi Isono
142. Boy Meets Mom, Part I	Shinji Kouboku	Yuka Kudo
143. Boy Meets Mom, Part II	Takeshi Kabumoto	Atsuko Nakajima

Asami Endo (Episodes directed: 47)

Endo actually directed dozens of episodes of Ranma ½ and did even more episodes of Urusei Yatsura too. While her Ranma ½ episodes do look good, especially those from the original eighteen episode run, a lot of her work tends to look washed out to me. Her characters don't always stick closely to Nakajima's designs and the animation just isn't as dynamic. To me, her episodes tend to look average with a few exceptional ones early on. I can't explain the inconsistency in her style from the first series into Nettohen, but because she directed so many episodes of Nettohen the mediocrity of her work tends to hang over it in comparison to the first series.

Masako Goto (Episodes directed: 7)

Masako Goto, along with Atsuko Nakajima and Asami Endo were the original animation directors when the series started. After the original series was cancelled Goto left, while the remaining episode she oversaw for the original series (P-chan Explodes! The Icy Fountain of Love) was reinserted into the Ranma ½ Nettohen series. Goto's style matched very closely with Nakajima's, it was a shame she left so quickly.

Katsumi Hashimoto (Episodes directed: 2)

Hashimoto easily wins the award for my least favorite work on the series. The quality of his episodes is well below par, his designs deviate heavily from Nakajima's character designs and the animation looks sloppy on his episodes. His work tends to be extremely simple when compared to the work of the other animation directors seen here.

"Yoiko Hibiki" (Episodes directed: 1)

"Yoiko Hibiki" was only responsible for one episode, "From Ryoga, With Love". Because this episode is primarily just a clip show of older episodes, "Hibiki" was only responsible for the new material that was used to link the clips together. For whatever reason the animation director chose to use this alias, the name Ranma used when he claimed to be Ryoga's sister. They did a very nice job on the episode, though at times the facial expressions got a little too wacky.

Hiroko Inoue (Episodes directed: 1)

Inoue is another good director who works well with Nakajima's designs. Nice, clean animation work from this single episode director.

Chi Isono (Episodes directed: 27)

Chi Isono is a talented director who, like the best animation directors, is able to work well with the established character designs and create a uniform look for the series. At times, Isono's designs have longer faces than Nakajima's, but overall his episodes have good animation.

Hiroko Kazui (Episodes directed: 7)

Kazui does a very good job with fluid movement and oversaw the animation for one of the best Nettohen fight scenes, a battle between Ranma and Genma in "Am I Pretty? Ranma's Declaration of Womanhood". Nice use of lighting and heavy shadows as well. Overall Kazui has a really consistent, nice-looking style.

Masaki Kudo (Episodes directed: 5)

Masaki Kudo is a decent animation director, somewhere in the middle in terms of quality when compared to the others. Her work doesn't quite rise to the levels of Chi Isono or Atsuko Nakajima, but her work does hold its own. She often shines but does not have the same consistency of some of the others.

Yuka Kudo (Episodes directed: 10)

Yuka Kudo is another favorite of mine, especially her work on "Sasuke's Mission: Improbable". Sasuke is one character whose design is very telling with some animators taking short cuts with his design. The fact that Kudo is able to make him look as good as Nakajima's design intended shows her skill. She also did an excellent job on the second Mariko Konjo episode.

Atsuko Nakajima (Episodes directed: 43)

Atsuko Nakajima is one of the few animation directors involved with the show from beginning to end. She was also responsible for the character designs, and consequently the episodes she is involved in tend to showcase some of the best quality of animation. I love the look of her episodes, and she is undoubtedly my favorite animation director on Ranma ½.

Tetsujin Saito (Episodes directed: 1)

Another one timer using what is most likely an alias (Tetsujin means "iron man"). His work is similar to Myoichiro Unagihara in that it stays very close to Atsuko Nakajima. More colorful palettes were being used by the time his episode was made along with the updated OVA character designs. Overall it is a good showing and a very good effort from this single appearance animation director.

"Azusa Shiratori" (Episodes directed: 2)

Similar in style to Nakajima though lacking her fluidity. Like "Yoiko Hibiki" this is another alias based on one of the characters from the series.

Azumaya Sugiyama (Episodes directed: 4)

Sugiyama's work varies quite a bit. In some episodes his work can be very clean and consistent with the overall look of the series, and then at other times it appears to be too simplified and loose. Sugiyama is another animation director who is not one of my favorites. His work, along with Hashimoto's is the poorest of the series. Thankfully they didn't director all that many episodes.

Myoichiro Unagihara (Episodes directed: 1)

Very good fluid animation is a hallmark of Unagihara. He draws Happosai well which some animators take short cuts on. He only did "Into the Darkness", but did some interesting expressions in that episode such as Akane getting angry with Nabiki. Like all the best animation directors he stays close to Nakajima, but adds some nice unique touches. Right around the time of his work is where the staff started to use what would become the OVA character designs.

Yusuke Yamamoto (Episodes directed: 1)

Extremely fluid animation is found in Yamamoto's only outing as animation director. His faces are similar to Nakajima's, but vary slightly in terms of length. His work is unique without being distracting and definetly looks different than anyone elses. The quality of his work is quite good and is comparable to the other animation directors from late in the series.

Masahiro Yamane (Episodes directed: 2)

Yamane's work is very similar to Chi Isono but with more angular cheekbones and faces. Yamane is the only animation director that also served as an episode director.

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