Manga Extras
Volume 20
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| The Making of Ranma 1/2, Part 20: Saffron | |
| Translation provided by: Robby Stine of Kanabits |
Ranma 1/2’s final arc, spanning two volumes. This time we ask about the powerful Saffron, and the series ending.
Q: What’s the origin of Saffron and company, the final villains of the series?
Takahashi: Well, this was to be Ranma 1/2’s final arc, so I was planning a story with girth. This may sound strange, but more than an epic battle, my ideal goal was to draw Akane in a wedding dress.
Q: Ranma and Akane become quite closer by the end. You could say Saffron and company’s purpose was actually to bring them together.
Takahashi: Yes, that’s basically it. Herb was the same. But, being the final arc, there weren’t a lot of laughs.
Q: Yeah, but everyone worked together to take down a strong opponent, and when Akane found herself in a pinch, it was exciting to watch them try to save her. Where did you get the idea for Saffron?
Takahashi: Birds and eggs. Adults and kids. It was from that kind of connection.
Q: Visually Saffron was quite flashy too. The beginning of the last chapter was color, wasn’t it?
Takahashi: Yes, it was.
Q: And it was pretty long.
Takahashi: They gave me 32 pages.
Q: The final arc in itself was long, after all.
Takahashi: The final arc of Urusei Yatsura I did in a single volume, so I thought I’d like Ranma’s to be about two. I think I even did a page estimate at the time.
Q: Being that this was the final arc, just how strong was Saffron?
Takahashi: I exaggerated his strength leading into things, so in my own mind I don’t think of Saffron as very strong.
Q: The ending feels like things wrapped up quite nicely, but at the same time not at all. It’s perfect. Like, “And they lived happily ever after…?”
Takahashi: Ranma’s transforming body never gets cured in the end. It feels like the problem driving everything never gets solved, so it makes you wonder if it was indeed a happy ending. But at the time, I think the idea of girl-type Ranma going away forever hurt too much. That’s why things ended the way they did.