Appare-Ranman!

Appare-Ranman!
Key visual
天晴爛漫！ (Appareranman)
Manga
Written by	Masakazu Hashimoto
Illustrated by	Ahndongshik
Published by	Kadokawa Shoten
Magazine	Young Ace
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	April 3, 2020 – present
Anime television series
Directed by	Masakazu Hashimoto
Written by	Masakazu Hashimoto
Music by	Evan Call
Studio	P.A.Works
Original network	Tokyo MX, AT-X, BS11, KBS, KNB, SUN TV, TVA
English network	Funimation
Original run	April 10, 2020 – present
Episodes	3

Appare-Ranman! (天晴爛漫！, Appareranman) is an original Japanese anime television series produced by P.A.Works, and directed by Masakazu Hashimoto. The series premiered on April 10, 2020. A manga adaptation by Ahndongshik was announced on March 4, 2020.

Plot

Set around the late 19th Century, near the start of the Meiji era in Japan. An eccentric inventor and second son of a respected merchant family, Appare Sorano, decides one day to set off on an adventure. However, the samurai Kosame Isshiki is tasked with keeping Appare's eccentric behavior in check. While trying to drag Appare back to Japan, Kosame accidentally strands them both at sea, until they are saved at the last moment by a passing American steamship. Now stuck in Los Angeles with no money and no easy way to return to Japan, Appare and Kosame decide to enter the "Trans-America Wild Race," where Appare gets the chance to build a custom automobile and Kosame gets the opportunity to earn enough money to return home. The two of them will have to work together while fighting off other rival racers, bandits, and other challenges as they try to win the race.

Characters

Appare Sorano (空乃 天晴, Sorano Appare)

Voiced by: Natsuki Hanae

The second son of the Sorano merchant family. Much to his family's dismay, Appare doesn't care much for social norms or inheriting the family business, instead spending his time inventing new gadgets and studying various scientific texts. He was inspired from a very young age when he got a copy of the Jules Verne novel From the Earth to the Moon.

Kosame Isshiki (一色 小雨, Isshoki Kosame)

Voiced by: Seiichirō Yamashita

The head instructor of his family's dojo and a samurai under Lord Kuroda. Kosame was tasked by his Lord with keeping Appare under control, but got dragged with him to America after a series of accidents. Despite being a strong samurai, he has PTSD from an incident in his past and has trouble attacking another person.

Hototo (ホトト)

Voiced by: Aoi Yūki

A Native American boy from a northeastern tribe whose family was slaughtered by a man with a snake tattoo on his neck. After being rescued from thugs in Los Angeles, he joins Appare and Kosame while hoping hunt down his family's killer.

Jing Xialian (ジン・シャーレン, Jin Shāren)

Voiced by: Sora Amamiya

A "chore girl" for an auto-racing team who dreamed of becoming a racer, only to be denied due to prejudice against women. She secretly drives the team's cars at night, and after meeting Appare, decided to enter the Trans-America Wild Race herself.

Al Lyon (アル・リオン, Aru Rion)

Voiced by: Sōma Saitō

A wealthy European from the family that owns one of the three B.I.G. auto companies, BNW. He seeks to win the Trans-America Wild Race to prove to his family that he should be the heir to the company.

Sophia Taylor (ソフィア・テイラー, Sofia Teirā)

Voiced by: Fumiko Orikasa

Al's self-proclaimed "chaperone" and assistant whose mother serves as a domestic maid to Al's family.

Dylan G. Ordene (ディラン・G・オルディン, Diran G Orudin)

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai

A top racer driving for Iron Motors in the Trans-America Wild Race and a skilled gunman. One of the "Thousand Three" outlaws.

TJ (ティー・ジェイ, Tī Jei)

Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita

Another of the legendary "Thousand Three" outlaws who decided to enter into the Trans-America Wild Race.

Seth Rich Carter (セス・リッチー・カッター, Sesu Ritchī Kattā)

Voiced by: Kazuyuki Okitsu

An engineer for the B.I.G. Boss conglomerate and an organizer of the Trans-America Wild Race.

Richard Riesman (リチャード・リースマン, Richādo Rīsuman)

Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda

Chase the Bad (チェイス・ザ・バッド, Cheisu za Baddo)

Voiced by: Tetsu Inada

Gil T. Shiga (ギル・T・シガー, Giru T Shigā)

Voiced by: Daisuke Ono

Production and release

On October 12, 2019, P.A.Works announced that they are producing a new original anime television series directed and written by Masakazu Hashimoto. Yurie Oohigashi is designing the characters based on the original designs by Ahndongshik, with Shiho Takeuchi handling mechanical designs, and Evan Call composing the series' music. Mia REGINA performs the series' opening theme song "I got it!" and the ending song is performed by Showtaro Morikubo. It premiered on April 10, 2020 on Tokyo MX. On April 17, 2020, it was announced that airings of episode 4 and onward were delayed due to the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On June 9, 2020, it was announced that the anime will restart on July 3, 2020 and the fourth episode will premiere on July 24, 2020.

No.	Title	Original air date
1	"Sunny (Appare), with Occasional Showers (Kosame)" Transliteration: "Hare, tokidoki Kosame" (Japanese: 晴れ、ときどき小雨)	April 10, 2020 (2020-04-10)
A colorful cast of racers sets off on the Trans-America Wild Race, a competition to be the first to drive their car from Los Angeles to New York to win a large cash prize. The show flashes back to one year earlier, where a samurai named Kosame Isshiki is tasked by Lord Kuroda to oversee Appare Sorano, an eccentric inventor whose latest contraption damaged the Lord's garden. In anger, Kuroda threw Appare in a jail cell with violent criminals, but Appare breaks out and quietly heads back to his room on his family's land. Kosame begs Appare to ask the Lord for forgiveness, but Appare ignores him, heading down a secret passageway to a custom mini steamship he has built. Appare says goodbye to his sister and heads out on his ship, with Kosame trying to drag him back, but Kosame accidentally hits the emergency throttle, stranding them both at sea with no food or fresh water. Miraculously, a large steamship passes by and rescues them, carrying them all the way to port in Los Angeles in America.
2	"In the Dark"	April 17, 2020 (2020-04-17)
Appare and Kosame set up in a storehouse near the Los Angeles port when the steamship captain informs them they'll be stuck there unless they earn enough money to pay for a trip back home. The pair have no luck finding jobs, until Kosame uses his sword training to earn some money on the street. Later that day, the two come across a racetrack where the B.I.G. Boss auto conglomerate announces a prize of $1.51 Million to anyone who can beat their racecar and win in the Trans-America Wild Race to New York. Appare decides to enter the race, and sneaks onto the racetrack later that night with Kosame to study the cars up close. Appare wanders onto the racetrack while looking for a lantern and nearly gets run over by another racer. The racer in question is Jing Xialian, a "chore girl" who was denied being able to race due to prejudice against women, and she fears being fired for racing a car without permission and breaking it while trying to dodge Appare. Appare responds that she shouldn't let other people dissuade her from racing, as he secretly fixes the car overnight. The next night, Kosame tries to confront some thugs who are beating up a child, but suddenly has a bout of PTSD and can't draw his sword. He is saved at the last moment by another gunman.
3	"DUEL"	April 24, 2020 (2020-04-24)
The thugs flee when they discover the gunman is Dylan of the "Thousand Three." The next day, the boy wakes up in the storehouse where Appare and Kosame reside. He tells them his name, Hototo, and that he came to the city from a tribe that lived in the northeastern US to find the man who killed his parents. Suddenly, Kosame is informed that the storehouse they are staying in was bought out by Al Lyon, a European driver who hopes to win the Wild Race himself to prove to his family he should be the heir to the BNW company. Appare proposes that if he can make a car to beat Al's in 10 days, they'll keep the storehouse, and offers Kosame's swords as collateral. After visiting Jing for spare parts, Appare returns as Al notices his segway, and the two raise the stakes to include Appare's segway against Al's BNW car. On the day of the race, Appare chooses a wasteland track on the outskirts of the city, and arrives in a large contraption with Kosame. Despite Al having the faster car, Appare slingshots Kosame to the finish line with a chunk of the car. Al lets Appare keep the storehouse, Appare gives his segway to Sophia, and the two races pledge to have even better cars at the official race.

External links

• Anime official website (in Japanese)
• Appare-Ranman! (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia