Transcending Time

Translated by: Harley Acres

Wild personalities thrive in the Reiwa era!

Ranma 1/2, which returned last year as a completely new anime for the first time in over 30 years, will begin airing its second season in October. In the second season, a series of unique characters will appear, including Mousse, Ukyo Kuonji, Happosai, Cologne, and Hikaru Gosukugi, and the slapstick comedy will accelerate. We would like to take a closer look at the addictive worldview and over-the-top developments of the dense "Ranma World" filled with love and laughter.

Ranma 1/2 Season 2 Anime Work Guide
A series of unique characters appear

Last year, a new anime series of Ranma 1/2 began for the first time in over 30 years. While the setting is that the main character, Ranma, transforms into a girl when splashed with water, what makes the series exciting is the appearance of characters who are not easy to deal with. Here, we look back on the developments so far and introduce new characters who will stir up the story even more in the second season!

Interview and text: Motoki Kurata

A diverse cast of characters brings laughter and chaos to the story.

One of the defining features of Ranma is its combination of romantic comedy and martial arts. Protagonist Ranma Saotome and heroine Akane Tendo are both skilled in martial arts, and in the anime's first season, they engage in outlandish battles with their romantic rivals, including martial arts rhythmic gymnastics and martial arts figure skating. However, the series' enduring popularity isn't just due to its unpredictable battles. The outrageous personalities and portrayals of the characters who appear one after another captivate readers and viewers. For example, Tatewaki Kuno, who sometimes challenges male Ranma to a fight and sometimes courts female Ranma, unaware that male and female Ranma are the same person. Also, the complex, one-sided love affairs of characters like Ryoga Hibiki, who secretly has feelings for Akane but can only be close to her when he's in the form of P-chan the piglet, add humor and depth to the story.

Thanks to these repeated obstacles (!), Ranma and Akane slowly begin to become aware of each other. In the long-awaited second season, which has just begun, even more unique characters stand in the way of the pair. First of all, we want to draw your attention to Shampoo, who gave up her feelings for Ranma in the first season and returned to China. Now that she's back in Japan, she uses a "new weapon" to toy with Ranma. Shampoo's great-grandmother Cologne and childhood friend Mousse also make appearances, and then there's the appearance of classmate Hikaru Gosunkugi, who relentlessly pursues Akane, and Ukyo Kuonji, who claims to be Ranma's fiancée, and the course of their love becomes even more chaotic. Will the day come when Ranma and Akane's feelings are reconciled?

Season 2 of the TV anime Ranma 1/2
Based on the manga by Rumiko Takahashi (published by Shogakukan in Shonen Sunday Comics)
Director: Konosuke Uda
Series Composition: Kimiko Ueno
Voice Cast: Kappei Yamaguchi, Megumi Hayashibara, Noriko Hidaka, Akira Ishida, Tomokazu Seki, and others
Planning and Produced by: Shogakukan Shueisha Productions
Produced by: MAPPA
Produced by: Ranma 1/2 Production Committee
Currently airing every Saturday from 24:55 on Nippon TV
Nationwide broadcast on Nippon TV affiliates
Streaming exclusively on Netflix immediately after broadcast!

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Introducing Season 2! New characters with unique personalities

For My Beloved Shampoo, I'll Do Whatever It Takes!

1. Mousse (voiced by: Toshihiko Seki)

Mousse travels to Japan in pursuit of his childhood friend, Shampoo, whom he is devotedly in love with. While Shampoo completely ignores him, his unyielding will often elicits sympathy from those around him. After falling into the cursed spring of Jusenkyo, he is transformed into a duck whenever splashed with water. Furthermore, his extreme nearsightedness means he is constantly mistaking people for one another without his glasses. He is also a master of the hidden weapon technique known as "Swan Fist," and he views Ranma as a one-sided rival for Shampoo.

I've Been Training Hard to Make Okonomiyaki!

2. Ukyo Kuonji (voiced by: Kaori Nazuka)

Ukyo Kuonji and her father once ran an okonomiyaki stand, but her father gave the stand to Genma (Ranma's father), and in return, their parents secretly arranged an engagement between her and Ranma. When Genma broke his promise, she held a grudge against the Saotome father and son for abandoning her, and resolved to live as a man. She reunited with Ranma at his new school, and with the misunderstanding cleared up, she once again announced her engagement.

The Female Body is the Source of Life!

3. Happosai (voiced by: Kazuhiko Inoue)

He is the master of Genma Saotome and Soun Tendo and founder of the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts. Disgusted by his misdeeds and "disciple bullying," Genma and Soun imprisoned him in a cave, but a lightning strike broke the seal, and he reappeared before them. Acting on his own desires, he was treated harshly by Ranma, whom he chose as his successor, but he possesses overwhelming strength in martial arts.

Become Shampoo's Husband!!

4. Cologne (voiced by: Ako Mayama)

Shampoo's great-grandmother and a master of the Chinese Amazon tribe of martial artists. After Shampoo returned from Japan, she took her to Jusenkyo to train, and she was the one who caused her to turn into a cat when splashed with water. Following the rules of the tribe, she uses every trick in the book to ensure that Shampoo and Ranma's marriage is a reality. Over 100 years old, she always carries a cane, but she is agile. She currently runs a Chinese restaurant called the "Cat Cafe" with Shampoo.

Saotome You Fool, Saotome You Fool, Saotome You Fool...

5. Hikaru Gosunkugi (voiced by: Akira Ishida)

Akane's classmate. He has long had feelings for Akane, but upon learning that Ranma, a new transfer student, is her fiance, he harbors a grudge against him. He teams up with Tatewaki Kuno to try to find Ranma's weaknesses, but fails every time. His hobby is hammering nails into straw dolls. Even when Akane berates him for going too far, he is not broken, but rather happy that they were able to converse. He has a steely mentality. ^[1]

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Ranma 1/2 Season 2
Q&A From the Voice Actors To Rumiko Takahashi

Ranma 1/2 is a timeless masterpiece that remains relevant even in the Reiwa era. To commemorate the broadcast of the second season of the anime, we asked the voice actors to offer questions they would like to ask the original author, Rumiko Takahashi-sensei.

Interview and text: Motoki Kurata

Question from Kappei Yamaguchi
When will Akane learn to cook? I'm sure Akane thinks carefully about the presentation when she cooks, it's just that it doesn't come across... (wry smile). I loved the line Ranma said to Akane, "At least try a taste!"

Response from Takahashi-sensei
Akane likely possesses exceptionally keen dynamic visual acuity, which may conversely make her less adept at handling stationary ingredients and seasonings. Therefore, I believe placing ingredients and other items on a high-speed turntable during cooking might enable her to prepare delicious dishes.

Question from Megumi Hayashibara
What inspired you to come up with the idea that the characters' transformation when they fall into the "Cursed Springs of Jusenkyo," and that their bodies change depending on whether they are splashed with hot or cold water? For example, did you come up with the idea for "Jusenkyo" after seeing a puddle by chance, or did the idea just pop into your head...?

Response from Takahashi-sensei
The trigger for the gender swap was the most difficult to come up with during our planning discussions. Ultimately, the image of a public bathhouse's "male" and "female" curtains crossed my mind, and I arrived at the answer: hot water and cold water! ^[2] From there, the idea of ​​a cursed spring came to me without hesitation, and I firmly believed that the only country that could have such a spring was China.

Question from Hidaka Noriko:
In the Q&A from a previous issue (November 2024), you commented that you were exploring the possibility of Nabiki and Tatewaki Kuno getting together, and personally, I thought they would make a great couple. Even if it was just a matter of money (laughs). So, is Kasumi aware of Dr. Tofu's feelings? Or will she realize it someday? (Did Takahashi-sensei ever consider an ending where they become a couple?)

Response from Takahashi-sensei
It's highly likely she hasn't noticed. But since she doesn't seem to dislike him, if he asked her clearly, she might agree to date him. I hadn't really thought about the outcome.

Question from Rei Sakuma ①:
Mousse's unfortunate love story is both sad and funny, but will he and Shampoo end up together? Personally, I hope that it will be a natural progression, with her saying "I'm coming, Mousse," and the two of them walking together forever.

Response from Takahashi-sensei
I guess it's like Shampoo reigns supreme over Mousse, and if that's what makes Mousse happy, then I think it's a good thing.

Question from Rei Sakuma ②:
There's an anecdote about Cologne being a beautiful woman in the past. Will the Amazon tribe's Shampoo also eventually shrink like Cologne?

Response from Takahashi-sensei
Shampoo may shrink when she's about 300 years old, but if she can find the "Spring of Beautiful Drowned Girl" before that happens, she may be able to achieve eternal beauty.

Question from Toshihiko Seki:
I've heard that all the cute female characters that Takahashi-sensei draws have amazing figures, and are the envy of all women. Female Ranma in particular has a figure that is sexy yet not vulgar, adding a touch of elegance to the story. Is there anything you pay attention to when drawing her, and is there anything you use as reference?

Response from Takahashi-sensei
Before my debut, I remember imitating the groundbreakingly beautiful bust lines of Go Nagai-sensei's girls. Also, if I draw more "shyness" than necessary, it becomes vulgar, so I'm careful about that.

Ranma 1/2
(20 volumes)
Rumiko Takahashi
Shogakukan Shonen Sunday Comics Special
¥1,045 each (tax included)

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Footnotes

• [1] In the Reiwa adaptation of Ranma 1/2 Gosunkugi is introduced as he was in the manga. In the 1989 series his debut was long delayed until much later into the series. There were plans to introduce him at the same point he was introduced in the manga as evidenced from a song title in the original soundtrack being called "Darkness is Life! Hikaru Gosunkugi". It is impossible to find absolutely verifiable evidence, but in Japan it has long been suggested that edits were made due to the serial killer/kidnapper Tsutomu Miyazaki (宮﨑勤) being in the news at the time. Because the media exaggerated Miyazaki's anime fandom, some productions self-censored. Azusa Shiratori, a character who kidnaps P-chan, had her completed episodes shifted to later in the series which resulted in a continuity error caused by Shampoo's early arrival. It is genearlly believed that these sensitivites caused Gosunkugi's debut to be moved much later. Even in the Reiwa version Gosunkugi's habit of surrepticiously photographing Akane was seen as perhaps too provocative in the age of cellphones and men doing much the same to unwitting victims on crowded trains in Japan.
• [2] In the "Ranma 1/2 Memorial Interview" Takahashi recounts the story about the bathhouse curtain as well. She also mentions considering a punch to the face causing Ranma's transformation, which is a method of transformation she wound up using in Excuse Me For Being A Dog!. This series was released in 1985, two years prior to Ranma 1/2. She also discusses it in "Rumiko Takahashi - Long Interview".
• [3] Go Nagai (永井潔) is the very versatile mangaka known for Devilman (デビルマン), Cutie Honey (キューティーハニー) and Mazinger Z (マジンガーZ). Go Nagai's Harenchi Gakuen (ハレンチ学園/Shameless School) was highly influential on school set manga and was one of the earliest "ecchi" series. It is thought to be one of the first to feature gags like flipping up girl's skirts and peeping on phyiscal examinations. Takahashi has spoken about his influence on her "Festival d'Angoulême Interview" and "Rumiko "I'm Passionate About My Weekly Serialization" Takahashi vs Takako "I Want A Weekly Serialization" Takezawa".

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