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Ranma ½
Ranma ½
GenreAction, Comedy, Romance, Martial arts, Shōnen, Harem
Manga
Ranma ½
Written byRumiko Takahashi
Published byJapan Shogakukan
CanadaUnited States VIZ Media
Germany Egmont
Italy Star Comics
Spain Glénat
Sweden Egmont Kärnan AB
Finland Egmont Kustannus
Argentina Ivrea
Poland Egmont
Russia Sakura Press
Anime
Ranma ½ (TV)/Ranma ½ Nohetten
Directed byTomomi Mochizuki(season 1)
Koji Sawai (season 2 - season 5)
Junji Nishihara
Tsutomu Shibiyama (season 1)
StudioKitty Films, studio DEEN
Anime
Ranma ½ OAV
Directed byJunji Nishimura
StudioFuji Television, Kitty Films, Shogakukan Productions, Pony Canyon
Anime
Ranma ½: Big Trouble in Nekonron, China
Directed byShuji Inai
StudioFuji Television, Kitty Films, Shogakukan Productions
Anime
Ranma ½: Nihao My Concubine
Directed byAkira Suzuki
StudioFuji Television, Kitty Films, Shogakukan Productions, Pony Canyon
Anime
Ranma ½: One Flew Over the Kuno's Nest
Directed byJunji Nishimura
StudioFuji Television, Kitty Films
Video game
Ranma ½: Hard Battle
DeveloperAtelier Double
PublisherDTMC Inc.
GenreVersus Fighting
PlatformSuper Nintendo

Ranma ½ (らんま½, Ranma nibun no ichi) is a comedy anime and manga by Rumiko Takahashi about a boy named Ranma Saotome who was trained from early childhood to age 16 in the martial arts, and who becomes a girl when splashed with cold water (and is turned back into a boy with hot water) due to a magic curse.

The manga was serialized in Japan in Shogakukan's Shonen Sunday where it ran from 1987–1996. Takahashi has stated in interviews that she wanted to produce a story that would be popular with children. Ranma's main audience were boys from elementary to junior high school age. In western fandom, the anime is sometimes criticized for creating some internal inconsistencies compared to the manga, which was less popular in the United States. Another major complaint is the animated series padding out the original story excessively and lacks a strong ending, though the series in North America tends to be much more analyzed (overly so, according to some) than in the East.

Ranma was extremely popular among American otaku in the 1990s, and popularized many of anime's most common visual gags. The infamous 'cursed water' plot device has even come up in anime-themed custom role playing games as a quick transgender device. In fact, the anatomical logistics of the cursed condition were purposely glossed over by Ranma's creator to avoid making it too complicated or a detraction from its comedic effect. See Pregnant Ranma problem.

Storyline

On a training journey in the Bayankala Mountains (Bayan Har Shan) in the Qinghai Province of China, Ranma and his father, Genma Saotome, fell into the cursed springs at Jusenkyo (loosely translated, it means Springs of Sorrow). Each spring is associated with a story about someone or something that drowned in it hundreds or thousands of years ago, and anyone who falls in a spring is cursed to turn into whatever drowned in that spring whenever they come in contact with cold water, although they keep their original minds, personalities and skills in the new form; hot water reverts the cursed to their original form. Genma fell into the Spring of the Drowned Giant Panda, and Ranma fell in to the Spring of the Drowned Girl.

Upon returning to Japan, Genma informs Ranma that he has been engaged to a girl that he has never met when only a few blocks away from that girl's house. At the same time, Soun Tendo tells his three daughters that one of them is to marry Ranma (whom they have never even heard of) in order that the Tendo dojo might be carried on. When they first meet Ranma, they see him in his female form. This causes some confusion until Akane Tendo sees Ranma in his male form (after walking in on him in the bath) and finds out that he becomes a she upon application of cold water. The two older sisters push the engagement on the youngest sister, Akane, since she "hates boys" (due to the rude ways they treat her at school), "and Ranma is half girl." Thus begins the love/hate relationship between Ranma and Akane that lasts for the rest of the series.

This, combined with multiple suitors for both Ranma and Akane, many strange forms of martial arts, and the various curses of many of the cast members, makes this a bizarre series.

Manga

Japanese Publication

Ranma ½ began publication in September of 1987, appearing in Shonen Sunday 1987, Volume 36, following the end of Takahashi's previous major work Urusei Yatsura. From September 1987 until March of 1996, Ranma ½ was published on a near weekly basis with the occasional colorized page to spruce up the usually black and white manga stories. After nearly a decade of storylines, Ranma ½'s final chapter was published in Shonen Sunday 1996, Volume 12.[1]

Following publication in Shonen Sunday, the storylines are then grouped and published into small collections known as tankoubans. These are published several times a year, and color pages are converted to the normal black and white. Ranma ½ was eventually serialized into 38 of these volumes. In 2002, Shogakukan opted to republish these under a new format, the shinsouban. These were essentially the same as the tankoubans save for a different cover and the inclusion of the original colorized pages in Shonen Sunday.

In addition to the regular storylines, Ranma ½ has had several special releases. First, The Ranma ½ Memorial Book was published just as the manga ended in 1996. Acting as an endcap to the series, it collects various illustrations from the series, features an interview with Rumiko Takahashi,[2] and includes tidbits about Ranma: summaries of his battles, his daily schedule, trivia, and a few exclusive illustrations. Second, a Movie + OAV Visual Comic was released to illustrate the OAV episodes "The One to Carry On" (both parts) and the theatrical movie "Team Ranma vs. the Legendary Phoenix." It also included information on the seiyu, character designs, and a layout of the Tendo dojo. Finally, guidebooks were released for three of the Ranma ½ games; these included more than just strategies, also featuring interviews.[3]

United States Publication

Ranma ½ Volume 1, second edition (English)

VIZ Media, a company owned by Shogakukan and Shueisha, publishes the English version of the Ranma ½ manga. Viz started publishing the Ranma ½ in 1993 with subsequent volumes being relatively slow to come. Each graphic novel covers roughly the same amount of material as a tankouban, but Viz incorporated minor differences in grouping, making it likely that the final volume count will fall short of the Japanese number of 38. The publications will likely draw to a close in mid-to-late 2006, thus making the publication schedule span over 13 years.

On March 18, 2004, Viz announced that they would be reprinting a number of their graphic novels. This was more than just a simple reprinting, with each title slightly reformatted. The content remained the same, but the novels moved to a smaller format with different covers. In the case of Ranma ½, the covers shifted from a variegated style to a more uniform cover. In addition, the price dropped to $9.95.[4]

However, the title would still retain its "flipped", left-to-right format, like the first edition. The popularity of Ranma ½ among early otaku was such that several scanlations and manga summaries in various forms have existed for years before the completion of the official release.

Fandom

Ranma has been extremely popular in anime fandom since the early-middle 1990s, and for many was their introductory series. An enormous amount of fanfiction exists for the series — mostly due to the ease of writing in stories, and the quirky characters who allow for a lot of creative freedom; fictional crossovers in particular — potentially more so than any other anime popular in the United States and in the Philippines.

The majority of fanon for the series is infamous for being notoriously unreliable and sometimes outright contradicting plot points, albeit obscure at times and contradicting the original comic version.

Characters

Ranma ½ features a large and diverse cast of characters. The table that follows presents the regular characters, ie, characters that had recurring spots or story-arcs. Some characters may have featured more prominently in either the anime or manga, but all are present in both. For further reference, please see the minor characters article. Japanese names are in the Western order (given name, then family name). Rather than a straight alphabetical listing, the characters are grouped into loose affiliations with more prominent characters listed before supporting characters within individual affiliations. Portrait drawings are from the manga.

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Character Voice Actors
The Saotomes
File:RanmaCharacterRanma.jpg Ranma Saotome (早乙女 乱馬, Saotome Ranma) Voiced by: Kappei Yamaguchi (male) Megumi Hayashibara (female)
Sarah Strange/Richard Cox (male) Brigitta Dau/Venus Terzo (female)
The main hero/heroine of the series, Ranma is a 16-year-old with a crazy father, a curse that turns him into a girl with a splash of cold water, and three fiancées. He has but one goal in life: to become a real man again. Of course, as one of Japan's premier martial artists, trouble and insanity (and water) have a habit of raining down upon his life. Ranma is rude, oblivious, and the focus of most of the other characters' aggression.
File:RanmaCharacterGenma.jpg Genma Saotome (早乙女 玄馬, Saotome Genma) Voiced by: Kenichi Ogata (Japanese); Robert O. Smith (English)
Genma is Ranma’s father and turns into a giant panda when hit by cold water. He and Ranma have spent most of Ranma’s life on a training journey, at least, until that journey was interrupted by a dip in the Jusenkyo springs. Normally quite comfortable with his panda form, Genma lives in fear that his wife will ever find out about his transformation. Selfish and greedy, he tortures Ranma about his troubles day in and day out, saying "It's all for training, boy!" Even as he preaches this, Genma continues to lounge around the dojo.
File:Nodoka Saotome.gif Nodoka Saotome (早乙女 のどか, Saotome Nodoka) Voiced by: Masako Ikeda (Japanese); Lisa Bunting (English)
Nodoka is Ranma's loving mother. She hasn't seen him and Genma in over a decade though, when they left on their training trip. Genma made a contract with her to raise Ranma as "man amongst men", and if he failed, both he and Ranma would commit Seppuku. Now, because of Ranma's curse, they're constantly hiding from her as Ranko Tendo and Mr. Panda. She wants nothing more than to see Ranma again. Though a loving woman, Nodoka has some rather eccentric values, especially in regards to what she considers "manly" behavior. Eventually in the manga, she does meet Ranma and Genma and discovers their curses.
The Tendos
File:RanmaCharacterAkane.jpg Akane Tendo (天道 あかね, Tendō Akane) Voiced by: Noriko Hidaka (Japanese); Myriam Syrois (English)
Akane is the youngest daughter of Soun and quite a tomboy. Promised to marry Ranma when they were both but babes, she wants nothing to do with him after she was chosen as the bride against her will. She spends most of her time focusing on her training as one of the heirs to the Anything Goes Martial Arts dojo, but she takes time out to smack Ranma around for being a pervert. Unfortunately for Ranma, Akane always assumes it's Ranma's fault, even in situations in which his involvement is only peripheral. She has her passionate moments towards Ranma, however few they are.
File:RanmaCharacterSoun.jpg Soun Tendo (天道 早雲, Tendō Sōun) Voiced by: Ryunosuke Ohbayashi (Japanese); David Kaye (English)
Soun is the head of the Tendo household and one of the two families to practice Anything Goes Martial Arts. While he owns his own dojo, students are never seen and he has a large house that is in need of constant repair due to the fights that take place, usually between Ranma and Akane. Oddly he has no visible source of income and spends most of his time playing shogi (japanese chess) with his longtime friend Genma. Soun is just like all the other members of the family—except for Akane—and Genma in that he wants his daughter to say she loves Ranma already—or the other way around. He appears anxious to see this happen, barging in to announce his intentions to start planning the wedding if anything that seems romantic between Ranma and Akane is taking place. Soun somehow turns into a floating snake with a giant head (which is human) whenever one of Ranma's numerous suitors seems to flirt with him.
File:RanmaCharacterNabiki.jpg Nabiki Tendo (天道 なびき, Tendō Nabiki) Voiced by: Minami Takayama (Japanese); Angela Costain (English)
Nabiki is the middle daughter of Soun and quite the entrepreneur. In most stories that she plays a vital role, she attempts to extort money in some fashion from someone—anyone could be her victim. One of her most common methods is to sell clandestine photos of Akane or Ranma's female form. Rumored to be the one who is keeping the dojo afloat, Nabiki is also the oddsmaker for Ranma's fights. She has a somewhat sarcastic attitude that is a sharp contrast to her older sister.
File:RanmaCharacterKasumi.jpg Kasumi Tendo (天道 かすみ, Tendō Kasumi) Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue (Japanese); Willow Johnson (English)
Kasumi is the eldest of the Tendo girls, and the most traditional in the Japanese sense. She has graduated high school and spends most of her day looking after the Tendo household, cooking, cleaning, and saying “Oh, my!” at the various antics that take place around the house. Sweet, innocent, caring and somewhat oblivious, Kasumi is probably the only character who never gets hurt at any point in the series, if you don't count her temporary possession by a mischievous demon.
The Chinese
File:RanmaCharacterShampoo.jpg Shampoo (珊璞, Shān Pú) Voiced by: Rei Sakuma (Japanese); Cathy Weseluck (English)
Shampoo is from the village of the Chinese Amazons. Originally she came to kill Ranma (in girl form) since Ranma beat her while he was China. Under Chinese Amazon law, the two are engaged due to the fact that Shampoo was defeated—albeit accidentally—by Ranma in male form. The most physically affectionate of the fiancées, she spends her time as a waitress/cook for her great-grandmother’s Cat Café! Unfortunately, thanks to a Jusenkyo curse, she also turns into a small kitty, the one thing that Ranma fears most, when splashed with cold water. She makes most of her entrances by landing her bike on Ranma's head with a hearty "Ni hao!"
File:RanmaCharacterCologne.jpg Cologne (コロン, Ke Lun) Voiced by: Miyoko Aso (Japanese); Elan Ross Gibson (English)
Cologne is Shampoo’s great-grandmother and the leader of the Chinese Amazon tribe. She came to Furinkan to see what this “future son-in-law” was made of, but she ended up staying and opening a café so that she could aid Shampoo in winning Ranma's heart. Though an extremely old woman, she remains a dangerous martial artist who has taught Ranma numerous long-forgotten Amazon techniques. Unlike the rest of the cast, Cologne seems to prefer to sit in the background and watch the madness unfold. If she has a motive—whether it be to help Shampoo in her efforts or to aid Ranma in his battles—only then will she step into the fray.
File:RanmaCharacterMousse.jpg Mousse (沐絲, Mùsī) Voiced by: Toshihiko Seki (Japanese); Brad Swaile (English)
Mousse is a longtime friend of Shampoo, though she might not view it that way. He has been in love with her for most of his life, but she has refused to marry him on the grounds that he cannot defeat her in combat. He can't see very well without his glasses, often mistaking someone for something else! He comes to Furinkan in search of this “new fiancé” that Shampoo has, and he stays to attempt to woo his sweetheart. Now a worker at the Cat Café, he turns into a duck thanks to his own Jusenkyo curse. When in human form, his clothes hold weapons of drastic proportions; he has needles, chains, swords, and just about anything else imaginable under that cloak. In duck form, Mousse can hide knives in his feathers.
File:RanmaCharacterJusenkyoGuide.jpg --> Jusenkyo Guide Voiced by: Kouichi Yamadera (Japanese), Ian Corlett (English)
The Jusenkyo Guide turns up at odd points during the series. Though he speak in somewhat broken Japanese, he is very knowledgeable about subjects concerning all things Chinese, especially the Jusenkyo Springs. Although he seems to genuinely care about the well-being of the people he guides, most of them end up falling into a spring and getting to hear him recite a very tragic story. For this reason, he keeps a list that contains the names of everyone who has been cursed. He also has a daughter named Plum and remains uncursed despite the long period of time he has been there and the number of people he has watched get cursed.
The Kunos
File:RanmaCharacterKuno.jpg Tatewaki Kuno (九能 帯刀, Kunō Tatewaki) Voiced by: Hirotaka Suzuoki (Japanese); Ted Cole (English)
Tatewaki Kuno is an upperclassman at Furinkan High and was the big man on campus – at least until Ranma came along. Hailing from a very wealthy family, he is also captain of the kendo club and wields both his fortune and sword with equal ease. Given to spouting off Shakespearesque poetry, he is madly in love with Akane. He also falls for Ranma’s female half and never realizes that she is really his mortal enemy in girl form.
File:RanmaCharacterKodachi.jpg Kodachi Kuno (九能 小太刀, Kunō Kodachi) Voiced by: Saeko Shimazu (Japanese); Teryl Rothery (English) (Sylvia Zaradic (Season 6-7))
Kodachi Kuno is the sister of Tatewaki and attends an all-girls school. A champion of Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics, she is defeated by Ranma (female) and thus earns her hatred. She believes that the female Ranma is in love with male Ranma, with whom Kodachi is in love after he saved her from a fall, and thus a rival. Over the course of the series, she shows up with various plots to make him love her, usually through some sort of deviousness: paralysis gas in roses, sleeping pills in cookies, that sort of thing.
File:Principal Kuno.jpg Principal Kuno (九能 校長, Kunō Kōchō) Voiced by: Tateno Hitouchi (Japanese); Scott McNeil (English)
Principal Kuno is the long-absent principal of Furinkan High. Apparently off in Hawaii for quite some time, he returns rather suddenly and proceeds to make as much trouble as possible for the students. He is forever trying to discipline Ranma, especially in regards to his braided ponytail. Given to affecting Hawaiian speech and culture, he is also the long-lost father of the Kunos.
Furinkan Residents
File:RanmaCharacterUkyo.jpg Ukyo Kuonji (久遠寺 右京, Kuonji Ukyō) Voiced by: Hiromi Tsuru (Japanese); Kelly Sheridan (English)
Ukyo is the third of Ranma’s fiancées, though Ranma didn’t have a clue about that until she showed up one day looking for revenge. After sorting out the misunderstanding, Ukyo stays in Furinkan and opens up her own okonomiyaki restaurant. She sometimes dresses like a boy. She is quite competent in wielding her trademark giant spatula, making her a formidable opponent in combat. She also has smaller spatulas which she can throw like kunai blades. Ukyo is one of the few characters who regularly makes her entrance through doors rather than an open window or by smashing through the nearest wall.
File:Hikaru Gosunkugi.jpg Hikaru Gosunkugi (五寸釘 光, Gosunkugi Hikaru) Voiced by: Issei Futamata (Japanese); Michael Benyaer (English)
"Voodoo Spike" Gosunkugi is the least popular student in Furinkan and a student in Ranma's class. He's a painfully shy boy with few friends. Like many of the Furinkan students, he loves Akane and attempts to win her by doing away with Ranma through Voodoo magic. He also enjoys taking photographs on the sly and teams up with several other characters, notably Kuno, in various plots. Most of his parts were given to Sasuke, the ninja servant of the Kunos, in the anime.
File:RanmaCharacterTofu.jpg Dr. Tofu Ono (小乃東風, Ono Tōfū) Voiced by: Yuji Mitsuya (Japanese); Ian James Corlett (English)
Dr. Tofu is the resident chiropractor and well-liked by the residents of Furinkan. He is also a martial artist, though never seen practicing, and is quite competent at tending Ranma and Akane in their various scrapes. He is also madly in love with Kasumi and becomes quite dangerous (albeit unintentionally so) when she is around. The anime gives him a larger role than the manga does. He always seems to know what to do—until Kasumi arrives.
File:RanmaCharacterHinako.jpg Hinako Ninomiya (二ノ宮 ひな子, Ninomiya Hinako) Voiced by: Yumi Touma (Japanese); Janyse Jaud (English)
Hinako is a teacher hired by Principal Kuno for the purpose of reforming Furinkan High's many delinquents. Due to Happosai’s intervention when she was but a small child, she has an unusual metabolism. By sucking out her enemy's life force through a circular opening, usually that of a five-yen coin, she is able to alternate between two forms: an innocent child and a rather provocative woman. Though relegated to small part in the anime, she becomes a recurring character in the manga, falling in love with Soun. As a child, she is goofy, aloof, and acts absurd. In her adult form, she knows exactly how the person acts and tends to be a bit cold and morbid. Either way, however, she always knows what she's doing.
File:Konatsumanga.jpg Konatsu Kenzan
Konatsu is the cross-dressing Cinderella-like ninja waitress of Ucchan's. He is deeply in love with Ukyo and will gladly work for her for only five yen a week. He used to live with his evil stepfamily before Akane, Ukyo and Ranma helped him. Now he is currently living in Ucchan's with Ukyo. Even though his treatment there is similar to the slavery his stepfamily put him through, he will gladly prefer being treated like that by Ukyo.
Martial Artists
File:RanmaCharacterRyoga.jpg Ryoga Hibiki (響 良牙, Hibiki Ryōga) Voiced by: Koichi Yamadera (Japanese); Michael Donovan (English)
Ryoga is a childhood rival of Ranma's and is famous for losing his way thanks to a poor sense of direction. After spending years looking for Ranma, he finally finds him in China but gets pushed into a Jusenkyo spring and now changes to a small piglet. Given more fuel for his hatred of Ranma, he seeks him out and discovers Akane who thinks that little “P-chan” is quite cute. Of course, she doesn’t know that it’s really Ryoga, but that doesn’t stop him from falling in love with her. A physically strong martial artist, he spends his time getting stronger in an effort to take down Ranma—if he can ever find his good friend and nemesis.
File:RanmaCharacterHapposai.jpg Happosai (八宝斎, Happōsai) Voiced by: Ichirō Nagai (Japanese); Paul Dobson (English)
The very definition of a dirty old man, Happosai is the grandmaster and founder of the Anything Goes Martial Arts school. Genma and Soun were his original disciples, but they got fed up having to steal lingerie for the old letch and decided to try and finish him off. They were quite surprised when he showed up many years later to make them miserable and find a successor in the Art. Unfortunately for Ranma, he was the ancient pervert's choice. An incorrigible old freak, he is a strong martial artist with but one weakness: bras and panties. Happosai is so pervertedly addicted that he suffers from withdrawal if he goes without them for awhile. It seems he always either shows up at the most inconvenent moments or is behind most plots to inflict pain on Ranma.

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Trivia

  • The second ending song for the anime series, "Equal Romance", was reused as an ending song for the series "Di Gi Charat Nyo!".
  • Ranma makes a guest appearance in Volume 4 of the Case Closed (Detective Conan) manga. When Conan Edogawa and the Junior Detective League (Detective Boys) are looking up information in a bookstore, the Junior Detective League members are looking at Shonen Sunday which has an image of Ranma on the cover.[5]
  • Takahashi drew inspiration for Ranma ½ from a variety of real-world objects. Some of the places frequently seen in Furinkan are modeled after actual locations in Nerima (both the home of Takahashi and the setting of Ranma ½). In addition, links have been shown between the manga and people, paintings, and even films.[6]
  • Currently (as of August 2006) the show is being aired at night on Cartoon Network LA, dubbed into Spanish and Portuguese.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Ranma ½ (manga)". Anime News Network. retrieved April 25, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "Interview with Rumiko Takahashi from the Memorial Book". Ranma ½ FAQ. retrieved April 25, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Manga Summaries". Ranma ½ Perfect Edition. retrieved April 25, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "2004 Press Releases". Viz Media. retrieved April 25, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Ranma ½ (manga)- trivia". Anime News Network. retrieved April 25, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Miscellaneous - Inspirations". Ranma ½ Perfect Edition. retrieved April 25, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Further reading

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