Rei Sakuma × Toshihiko Seki: Ranma 1/2 Anime Interview Behind-the-Scenes Stories of Recording Shampoo and Mousse's "Then and Now"

Translated by: Harley Acres

October 3, 2025 7:01
Mantan Web Editorial Department

The second season of the all-new anime adaptation of Rumiko Takahashi's hit manga Ranma 1/2 will begin airing on Nippon Television every Saturday at 12:55 AM starting October 4th. Ranma 1/2 is a hugely popular work by Takahashi, also known for Urusei Yatsura and Maison Ikkoku, which was serialized in the manga magazine Weekly Shonen Sunday (Shogakukan) from 1987 to 1996. A television anime adaptation also aired from 1989 to 1992, and the first season of this all-new anime, the first of its kind in over 30 years, aired from October to December 2024. The reappearance of Kappei Yamaguchi as male Ranma Saotome, Megumi Hayashibara as female Ranma, and Noriko Hidaka as Akane Tendo is also a hot topic. Shampoo's childhood friend Mousse finally appears in the second season. We asked Rei Sakuma, who played Shampoo, and Toshihiko Seki, who played Mousse, and who continued to play their voices, to tell us behind-the-scenes stories about the recording of the previous anime as well as the "completely new anime."

◇ Ranma 1/2 is a work that made me happy

What does Ranma 1/2 mean to you two?

Seki: Even before Ranma 1/2 was made into an anime, Rumiko Takahashi-sensei was an incredible presence in the manga world, taking it by storm. Looking back, I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to appear in Ranma 1/2. Being involved in Rumic World was a rare experience for me, and I was incredibly happy.

Sakuma: I wasn't originally a voice actor, so back then I didn't really think of myself as one. It was a time when anime was just one of many jobs I did. When I got voted into the voice actor popularity polls in anime magazines, it felt like I'd been given the title of "voice actor", and I was incredibly happy. Plus, getting to play such a cute role felt like stepping into another dimension. I'm the type who doesn't perform well when I get too fired up about something. Maybe it was actually good that I got into this without really understanding it. For me, work was something to enjoy; I wasn't aggressively pursuing it.

Seki: That's ideal.

Sakuma: I found out later, but Shampoo was really loved. ^[1] I'm glad I didn't know that back then. I would have gotten too big for my boots (laughs). Shampoo made me happy. Many popular voice actors have told me, "I loved Shampoo," and every time I hear that, it makes me feel a warm sense of happiness. It's a very important work for me as a voice actor, as it has left a lasting impression on me.

Seki: That's nice... It's rare to hear someone say, "I loved Mousse" (laughs).

Sakuma: There are a lot of Mousse fans too! In the previous anime, I never thought Mousse was cool (laughs). But this time, I thought he was cool from the start. Of course, Seki-san's voice is cool too, but he's cool. In the previous anime, I was so preoccupied with my own things that I didn't have time to look around, but watching it again, I think he's cool.

What was your most memorable experience recording back then?

Seki: The recording methods were different back then, and we had to glance at the person next to us and stop talking if we were about to overlap, but I clearly remember Shiba-san (Shigeharu Shiba, recording director) complimenting us by saying, "You guys are amazing." ^[2]

Sakuma: Nowadays, we often record separately, which makes the sound more three-dimensional and is great, but back then we all recorded together, and we had to keep our ears open to each other's breathing. Times have changed, and it's not a matter of which is better or worse, but I think there were things that were possible because we were working together. Back then, we were always nervous about making mistakes. If we were going well and then messed up at the very last moment, we'd have to start all over again. ^[3]

Seki: That's right. It's not a matter of which is better or worse, but the guilt you felt when you made a mistake was immense compared to now.

Was there anything that you were trained to do on set like that?

Seki: My concentration has improved a lot. It wasn't the same as on the set of Ranma 1/2, but I thought I might have overlooked something a little, so I mustered up the courage to ask, "Excuse me, can we do that cut again?" and the director told me, "You'll have to let yourself be embarrassed when it airs." That meant the director deemed it okay, though.

Sakuma: If the flow was good, sometimes we would just go ahead and do it.

◇ The impact of a new anime

What did you feel while recording for the new anime?

Sakuma: Maybe in the past I wasn't as aware of what was going on around me. If I made a mistake, everyone else would have to start over, so I was overwhelmed by the thought of causing trouble. In the new work, there are times when I can look at what's going on around me more objectively, and while I know everyone is amazing, I still think, "Oh, I see!" and that's what's interesting. What's amazing is how male Ranma and female Ranma appear to be the same person. Ranma is a man at heart, but Megu (Megumi Hayashibara, who plays female Ranma) seems to be having fun being a woman, and Kappei-kun (Kappei Yamaguchi, who plays male Ranma) also expresses himself freely, and yet they still seem like the same person. It's something they can do because they've been doing it for many years, and I feel like you're seeing something amazing.

Seki: It feels like you're becoming the character more than before. With this work, it's important not to rehearse too much, but to let the dialogue come out in the moment, and I tried to do the same this time, but I got a bit nervous at first. Let's do our best! I thought too much about it.

At the "Great Delight Anime Presentation" event held at Shinjuku Wald 9 (Shinjuku, Tokyo) on June 22nd, it was announced that Seki-san would be appearing as Mousse, and his surprise appearance on stage also became a hot topic.

Seki: Everyone knew, didn't they? (laughs). For some reason, they were very keen to hide the fact that I was appearing.

Sakuma: People also used to ask me, "Seki-san is in it, right?" but I would just go it with, by saying "and more." Like "And More-san" (laughs).

Seki: Maybe I should change my name (laughs).

What were your thoughts after watching the new anime?

Seki: I compared the first episode of the previous series with the first episode of the new one, and they're both really interesting and it's hard to choose. The new series is of high quality and I think it'll definitely be popular. I really like the use of colors. They're pastel-like and soft, and give a relaxing impression.

Sakuma: There are some three-dimensional scenes that make you think they're from the manga, and I was shocked when I first saw them. The staff really put a lot of effort into them.

Seki: That's right. They've put a lot of effort into it. The opening and ending are stylish and cool, and I'm looking forward to season two.

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Footnotes

• [1] Rei Sakuma had mentioned in another interview that she was not aware of how popular Shampoo was until she heard about how highly she ranked in a popularity poll decades after the anime ended. She was referring to the NHK's The Complete Rumic Anime Grand Poll, which ranked the series, characters, individual anime episodes and music of all of Rumiko Takahashi's works in 2019. In that poll Shampoo ranked #4 out of 150 characters, she was the highest ranked Ranma 1/2 character.
• [2] Shigeharu Shiba (斯波重治) was the sound director on Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku and Ranma 1/2 in addition to My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ/Tonari no Totoro), Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (風の谷のナウシカ/Kaze no tani no Naushika), and Patlabor: The Movie (機動警察パトレイバー the Movie/Kido Keisatsu Patoreibaa the Movie). We have a number of interview with Shigeharu Shiba on the site including, "The Blitz Broadcast is about to Begin!", "Main Staff and Cast Message", "Maison Ikkoku Music Box Interviews", and "Urusei Yatsura Music Box Interviews". Kappei Yamaguchi and Noriko Hidaka spoke about working with him in their interview, as did Megumi Hayashibara, and Saeko Shimazu, the voice of Kodachi in the 1989 anime spoke of him as well.
• [3] Rei Sakuma previously spoke about how the voices are recorded separately now compared to the original incarnation of Ranma 1/2 in 1989.

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