She's Finally Here!

Translation by: Harley Acres

The ever-popular Shampoo finally appears in the critically acclaimed Ranma 1/2! She's strong, cute, and just looking at her makes your heart race. What kind of girl is she?

Rhythmic gymnastics, skating/fighting pairs. Ranma Saotome (and female Ranma) are constantly skating and battling. As usual, whenever he gets wet, he turns into a girl, and just when it seems his feelings for Akane Tendo are starting to change, Ryoga joins the team. Ranma's days seem hectic.

Then, even more turbulence is stirred up by the sudden appearance of a beautiful girl named Shampoo. She came to Japan to kill female Ranma, the girl who once gave her the "Kiss of Death" and defeated her. However, due to a strange turn of events, she is defeated in turn by male Ranma. Even though it was a coincidence, Shampoo's defeat means that she might try to kill Ranma as well, however, instead the situation changes completely. Shampoo gives Ranma a passionate kiss...

Shampoo exudes a sweet aura, Akane is shocked when she witnesses the kiss, and Ranma is confused. What on earth will happen next?

Shampoo

Rei Sakuma
Born January 5th in Tokyo / Affiliated with Ookina Co., Ltd. / Major appearances include Kiki's Delivery Service (as Jiji), Anpanman (as Batako-san), Hamtaro (as Muffler-chan), and many others.

Playing Shampoo is an unexpected reward.

First of all, please tell us how you felt when you heard that Ranma 1/2 would be re-animated.

Sakuma: I had always thought it would be made into an anime again. That's partly because Urusei Yatsura was re-animated, but also because I thought that good works never lose their appeal, and it would be a shame not to make it into an anime. However, there are scenes like bath scenes, so I thought that some of the depictions might be difficult to depict in this day and age... (laughs). But now that it's being re-animated, I can finally enjoy it casually as a viewer! The previous series, Ranma, was broadcast over 30 years ago, when I was very young. At the time, I was so preoccupied with my own affairs that I wasn't able to just enjoy the show without worrying about things.

As a viewer, did you ever expect to play the role of Shampoo again?

Sakuma: I never thought I would. If it were to be made into an anime, I thought I'd be able to enjoy the series wholeheartedly, knowing that a new cast member would play Shampoo. I think it's natural for voice actors to change over the years. I've taken over roles inherited from my seniors, and I've also passed the baton to the next generation. This time, it was more than just a surprise; it was like an "earthworm in my ear". ^[1]

You were quite surprised (laughs).

Sakuma: I feel like I've gotten a great deal right now. I'm also happy to be able to meet the characters from Ranma and have a lively exchange with the main cast from back then in the dubbing studio... I never thought I'd get such a wonderful reward at this point in my life!

Is the dubbing done with all the cast members together?

Sakuma: We've finished the dubbing for now, but I was mostly recording with the main cast. Previously, the student voice actors and background noise actors all gathered in one studio and recorded as if they were competing for the microphone. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, recordings were dispersed, and even after things settled down, we started avoiding large groups of people as much as possible. So this time, I recorded with the members who were directly involved with Shampoo-chan, but connected remotely with the other cast members.

How was it working with the Ranma cast again after so long?

Sakuma: We'd kept in touch and met up in our private lives, so it wasn't like, "It's been so long!" I didn't feel that way, but once I got on set, I felt like, "This is it!" I have almost no memory of chatting enthusiastically in the recording booth back then. Everyone was new back then, and everyone around me and I were all preoccupied with our own concerns. Even after finishing my lines and returning to my seat, I'd be in a state of deep self-reflection, thinking, "I don't think it went well," or, "I wonder if it's okay to ask to record that part again?" Or, "There's still more recording to do, so I need to change my mindset," and try to motivate myself. But this time, I'd listen to someone's lines from outside the booth and comment, "That's impressive!" We'd talk not only about work, but also about our health (laughs).

What was the reaction of those around you when they heard Shampoo's lines this time?

Sakuma: When I asked everyone, "Did I really become Shampoo-chan?", they said, "It's amazing how much she's changed since back then," which was a relief. While I don't believe that means she hasn't grown since then... (laughs). Also, I was often told, "I'm so happy to hear Shampoo's voice." Even popular voice actors like Tomokazu Sugita, who joined the cast for this project, said things like, "I can't believe I got to hear Shampoo's lines next to me." ^[2] There were a lot of people on set who really liked Shampoo-chan.

Shampoo has always been very popular, both now and in the past.

Sakuma: I only found out in the last few years that she's still so popular. This was a show made in an era before social media, and by the time it was on air I'd gotten married, had a child, and was busy with my personal life, so I never had a chance to receive feedback. But a few years ago I heard that Shampoo had been included in some kind of popularity character ranking, and I was surprised, thinking, "That's amazing, considering it's such an old show!" ^[3]

The original author also enjoys the work

This time, Animage will also be publishing a licensed illustration of Shampoo.

Sakuma: Wow, it's so cute! Shampoo's hair looks like flowers in bloom.

It's fluffy and cute, isn't it?

Sakuma: Speaking of hair, I'm reminded of Rumiko Takahashi-sensei's words, "Akane's short hair is really difficult to draw." Akane's hairstyle isn't a uniform length like a bob, and it's really difficult to draw it cutely from different angles.

So you also get to talk with Rumiko Takahashi-san.

Sakuma: When we were recording the previous series, she seemed so far-removed that I wondered if she really existed. But for this one, she made time to eat meals with us and interact with us. We're all celebrating this opportunity together, creating the series together.

That's wonderful! So, were you able to approach the dubbing more calmly than back then, when you were overwhelmed with your own concerns?

Sakuma: That's true. However, I tried not to let that atmosphere come across during the actual recording. The characters are young high school students, and I had to convey the awkwardness and excitement of youth. But when I actually acted, the fresh feelings I had back then came flooding back, even without me even realizing it. The moment I said my lines, old memories would suddenly come flooding back, of where I was and what emotions I was feeling when I said them.

So your body remembered it. Wasn't it important that the original members were still together?

Sakuma: That's right, I remember how everyone really brought out the best in one another. By the way, for this production, even though we were all together, we sometimes recorded separately. We would exchange lines together through the rehersal, but for the actual performance, we recorded each person individually.

That's a setup that didn't exist in the past.

Sakuma: For example, in the fighting scenes, we say things like "Eeeeeh!" and "Gah!" at an incredible speed, and if we all recorded them at once, our voices would overlap and be hard to hear. But by recording separately, we could get each word clearly. What surprised me when I saw the broadcast was that, even though the scenes were supposed to have been recorded separately, the timing was perfect and each individual voice was distinct. The sound engineer's skills are incredible. I think the clarity not only of the pictures but also of the sound is a distinctive feature of this production. However...

But...?

Sakuma: Recording separately was a bit difficult for me. I know people might say, "It's because Sakuma's bad at it," but (wry smile). I'm the type of person who creates things by listening to the acting of the people around me. Especially in Ranma, there are a lot of talented, intense actors, so they bring out a side of Shampoo that you never expected.

In recent anime, the only thing everyone can come together on is often the rehersal.

Sakuma: We all rehearse together, so we can bring out our best, but in the actual performance, we have to recreate it by ourselves. Things like, "Where did Shampoo say 'Gah' at...?" would happen. "If we don't recreate it properly, the 'gah' part takes up a large portion of my mind, so to be honest, I prefer to record it together! (laughs)

Recording separately makes the voices more granular, while recording together brings out the natural acting. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Sakuma: That's right. Everyone else is so skillful and does a great job on their own, which is amazing. In this day and age, it's important to adapt.

Were there any other difficulties? In episode 10, there's a scene where Shampoo speaks Chinese.

Sakuma: That was definitely the most difficult part (laughs). Those who have seen the previous series will know, but Shampoo's Chinese at the time was just a string of random Chinese food names like "ramen, tanmen, char siu men" and "qīngjiāo ròusī!" (pepper steak). I underestimated things, thinking she'd do the same this time... On the day of the dubbing, I was told, "You'll be speaking Chinese here," and my mind went blank. To make sure I spoke properly, a Chinese actor named Seira Ryu from Aoni Production came and helped me.

That's amazing, you did it without any prior preparation.

Sakuma: It was really difficult (laughs). The way you use your mouth is different in Chinese to begin with. There are four basic Chinese accents called the "four tones," but they're difficult. She would say the lines next to me and I would repeat them, but even with careful instruction it's difficult to reproduce, and the lines were spoken at an incredibly fast speed... Even a slight mistake in the accent can completely change the meaning. After trying many times, I thought, "I might not be able to do this," but Ryu-san was so patient with me that I suppressed the urge to make noise and gave it my all. That was how that scene came together.

I'll have to watch the scene that Sakuma-san worked so hard on again.

Sakuma: It's a short scene, but please do check it out! (laughs)

A girl who is just honest and tries her best

What kind of character is Shampoo in your opinion, Sakuma-san?

Sakuma: Shampoo is an innocent girl who is straightforward with her emotions. For most of us, even if there's a delicious-looking snack in front of us, we first ask those around us, "May I have some?" But Shampoo is the type who, the moment she thinks, "I want to eat this!", puts half of it in her mouth (laughs). Looking ahead, some might see her as a scheming, devilish girl. But Shampoo simply does her best to get what she wants, and she has no desire to hurt or deceive anyone. So, I play her as a very pure girl, and I believe she's not a bad person at all. That said, when I look back at Shampoo's actions, I realize she's done some pretty nasty things (laughs).

It's true that even in episode 10 alone, she broke down the wall of a restaurant and trashed someone else's house, so it was quite a challenge.

Sakuma: From now on, she'll continue to do things that make you think, "That's no joke." But let's just turn a blind eye to that for now (laughs).

Shampoo follows the Amazon tribe's rule: "If the loser is a woman, pursue her to the ends of the earth and kill her, but if he's a man, marry him." She'll be making a strong appeal to Ranma Saotome, who defeated her, to make him her husband. What will be going through Shampoo's mind as she does so?

Sakuma: Although she has the rule that he must be her husband, I don't think she's pursuing him just for that reason. I think emotions blossomed the moment she lost. I don't know if those emotions were love or something else, though. She'd never met a man who could beat her before, so I think she must have had a shock the moment she was defeated. I don't think she would have fallen in love with Ranma this much if it was just a rule.

Shampoo's straightforward actions also had a big impact on Akane Tendo.

Sakuma: Shampoo is like a spice in that sense, isn't she? Up until now, we've had overly strong characters like Kodachi Kuno, and each time they introduced a new spice, it was fun to see them change things up, but I think Shampoo's appearance was the best example of that. I never expected that she would end up accelerating Ranma and Akane's frustrating relationship (laughs).

By the way, you once wrote on your blog that you "can't play a role unless you make peace with it." Did you make peace with Shampoo too?

Sakuma: That's right. I can't play any character unless I feel like I like them. Even if it's a villainous character, I'm sure there's some logic to it, some reason that led me to that point. I call "reconciliation" the act of accepting a character completely, including both their good and bad sides.

Is there any reason why you accept everything about her and fall in love with her?

Sakuma: If I don't accept her completely, it would be a lie. If I ever find myself thinking, "I don't really like this girl," or "I don't like her, but I'll say it in a cute way," I'm sure I'd end up hating myself for thinking that. That's why when I'm playing a character, I try to be her biggest ally. I've completely accepted Shampoo as someone I love. I fell in love with her in the previous work, and our love was reciprocated, but I think we've met once again and fallen in love with each other all over again.

So you act after becoming her best, understanding friend.

Sakuma: Actually, I don't think much about it when I'm acting... Of course, there are voice actors who carefully calculate and construct their lines, thinking, "She has this kind of personality, so she'll say this," but I can't do that; I just rely on my intuition. Once I accept her, I don't wonder, "Why does she do this?"

Have you ever had trouble understanding something up until now?

Sakuma: When I can't understand something, it's because my mind is racing. During the first dubbing session for the previous series, I was so nervous and overwhelmed with thoughts like, "What kind of set is it going to be?" and "How will everyone act?" I was overthinking things. But then, on set, we decided to change the endings of Shampoo's lines. In the previous series, we removed the "aru yo" ending. It was such a sudden change that my mind went blank, but it turned out to be a good thing. ^[4] I went in with a blank mind, and Shampoo's voice came out.

I can't believe Shampoo in the anime was born with a blank mind...

Sakuma: I think it's best for me to have absolutely no room for tinkering (laughs). Besides, Shampoo was already created in the original manga. All I have to do is lend my vocal cords; it's not that difficult. I mentioned this somewhere before, and someone said something like, "You're channeling Shampoo's spirit."

You sound like a psychic (laughs).

Sakuma: Yeah, it's kind of scary, right? (laughs) If I were to channel a spirit, I'd become like Shampoo-chan, but I'm the complete opposite of a lovely young lady like Shampoo-chan... By the way, when the director of the previous series asked me, "How did you actually create her voice?" I answered, "A straw."

A straw?

Sakuma: In the original work, Shampoo-chan is juice, and the viewers are the people who want to drink it, and I'm the straw that connects it. And it makes a sound, too (laughs). Because it's a straw, the juice is delivered to the person who wants to drink it, and I explained that the sound = my voice is being made along the way. Then he said, "You add spice to it, and it makes an even more delicious juice."

That's wonderful.

Sakuma: I was so happy when he told me that, and this explanation makes the most sense to me. Since a lot of it is grasped by intuition, even when asked to teach acting to younger people, I can't really teach them well...

That's why I think Shampoo is one of a kind. Hearing this much has made me even more excited to see what Shampoo does in the future.

Sakuma: Thank you. I hope Shampoo continues to be loved in the future. To those reading this interview, I'd like to say, "Please be gentle with me" (laughs).

(laughs). So, please give us a message for our readers.

Sakuma: I'm sure there are many of you who have been watching since the previous series. While I hope you'll feel nostalgic, I also have a strong desire to work together again. I believe a work can only exist because of the viewers, not just us cast and production staff. So, I hope that both long-time supporters and those seeing it for the first time can come together and enjoy this work, reaffirming that it's still as fascinating as ever. Also, in this day and age, it's very common for people to become timid out of fear of risk, whether in love or everyday life. But in this work, there are people who are far from timid and say, "Oh, ho ho." I hope that seeing them will give you a little courage. Of course, if this were to appear in reality as it is, many people would undoubtedly be angry with them...

Like Tatewaki Kuno, who has feelings for both female Ranma and Akane...

Sakuma: I'm sure he'd get a pretty harsh scolding (laughs). But I think that's an impulse that exists just a little bit in everyone's heart, like being instantly attracted to a wonderful member of the opposite sex like Tatewaki, or going straight for what you want like Shampoo. I've always thought that the characters in Ranma are like exaggerated versions of human emotions. We live in an age where we're always trying to hold back, so I hope that seeing these characters will make you realize that you don't have to hold back so much, and that you'll feel refreshed by identifying with these characters who let their emotions out so freely.

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Footnotes

• [1] Rei Sakuma uses a Japanese pun here, "an earthworm in my ear" (寝耳にミミズ/nemimi ni mimizu) is a pun on the idiom "water in your ear" (寝耳に水/nimimi ni mizu). Essentially having water poured into your ear would be startling, a bolt from the blue. Whereas having an earthworm in your ear would be even more frightening.
• [2] Tomokazu Sugita (杉田智和) is the new voice of Tatewaki Kuno, having replaced the deceased Hirotaka Suzuoki. Sugita had previously played Renkotsu in Inuyasha and a number of other high-profile roles such as Mikage Kagami in Ayashi no Ceres, Hideki Motosuwa in Chobits, Sumeragi Subaru in X, Gyomei Himejima in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Gintoki Sakata in Gintama, Escanor in Seven Deadly Sins, Kyon in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Joseph Joestar in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
• [3] She is refering to the Complete Rumic Anime Grand Poll hosted by NHK. Shampoo was ranked as the fourth most popular character in all of Takahashi's series and the highest ranked Ranma 1/2 character.
• [4] We have written an extensive article discussing what the removal of Shampoo's "aru" (ある) speech, which is the vocal tick manga often uses to indicate someone has a Chinese accent.

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