The fall anime series “Ranma 1/2” will begin airing on October 5, 2024. The first episode, “Ranma Has Come,” begins in the same way as the original. It was trending during the broadcast time, and with the same voice actors and dialogue as back then, it became a hot topic on social media with comments like “I’m glad I continued to love ‘Ranma'” and “I wonder how long I’ve waited for this day…”
*Due to the nature of this topic, the following text contains descriptions that may contain spoilers for those who have not yet watched the work. Please be careful when reading on.
“Ranma 1/2” is a fighting romantic comedy that was serialized in “Weekly Shonen Sunday” from issue 36 in 1987 to issue 12 in 1996 by Rumiko Takahashi, who is also known for “Urusei Yatsura,” “Maison Ikkoku,” “Inuyasha,” “Rin-ne,” and “MAO,” and is still immensely popular today.
The story begins when Saotome Genma and his son Ranma, who had been training in China, come to the Tendo family. However, what appears there is a giant panda and a cute girl. After training in China, Ranma has a strange constitution that turns him into a woman when he is splashed with water, and turns him back into a man when he is splashed with hot water. Ranma and his friends get involved with the unique people around them, and they cry, laugh, and sometimes fall in love.
The long-awaited first episode of the anime will begin airing on October 5, 2024. Since the announcement of the production decision of a completely new work, it has been attracting a lot of attention, and even the release of the preview cut of the first episode made it a trend on X (formerly Twitter).
The earliest broadcast was at 12:55 a.m. on Nippon Television, so despite the late time, many viewers were seen trying to enjoy the live broadcast, saying things like, “I’m sleepy, but I’m going to get up because happy times are waiting for me…” and “It’s finally starting! I’m so happy!”
Another big topic of conversation was that most of the voice actors from the original version were being reprised. Voice actors including Yamaguchi Kappei and Inoue Kikuko also expressed their joy at being able to reprise their roles in their own X-rated series.
Yamaguchi in particular posted a series of Ranma 1/2-related posts on October 5th. He drew illustrations and even sent out countdowns saying “x hours left.”
Incidentally, Yamaguchi participated in a watch party to watch the first episode with director Uda Konosuke, held in the official X space.
And so the first episode finally began airing! Viewers watching “Ranma 1/2” for the first time, as well as those who remember it from back in the day, were waiting in front of their TVs, and as soon as it began, enthusiastic comments were made, such as “I can’t believe how long I’ve been waiting for this…”, “This is my favorite anime of the fall”, and “Actually, this is my first time watching Ranma.”
The opening song is “Yukonkkyun” by ano. The dance shown in the video is the same as the original opening song “Ja Shrew ni Saseteide” and the video starts with the sound of a gong being struck, so it has been well received, with fans saying, “Isn’t this just too much of a tearjerker?”
The story begins with Tendo Soun, who is expecting something, just like in the original, saying, “How I’ve waited for this day…!” His state of mind is an opening that links directly with the feelings of the viewers who were looking forward to the original broadcast.
Soun is the father of the heroine, Akane Tendo. He was waiting for the protagonist, Ranma Saotome, who is to be the fiancé of one of the three daughters, to return from China. Some viewers were seen swooning over Akane’s strong lines as she broke the blocks and her Rumiko Takahashi-esque vibe, saying, “Ahh, this atmosphere is so nostalgic!”
And so the two finally meet. It is not Ranma who appears before Akane, her sister Nabiki, and Kasumi… but a cute red-haired girl with pigtails. Nabiki declares, “How is this my son?”, but she is none other than Ranma in his female form.
Despite her masculine tone, her cute appearance and supple movements have led to many people recalling the feelings they had at the time, saying things like, “No matter how many times I see her, female Ranma is just so cute,” and “It brings back memories of the feelings I had in my youth…I love her.”
The fan service scenes from the original manga and anime are still there.
Ranma may have a woman’s body, but he has a man’s heart. When Ranma bravely gets naked and heads to the bathroom, viewers are excited, saying things like, “There are too many bathroom scenes lol,” and “This is such a treat, thank you!!!”
This bath triggers Ranma to transform back into his original male form. In fact, while training in China, Ranma and his father, Genma, fell into the legendary training ground “Jusenkyo”, and when they splashed water on themselves, Ranma turned into a girl and Genma turned into a panda. When they splashed hot water on themselves, they returned to their original bodies.
The first episode ended with the successful introduction of Ranma and Ranma and the explanation of their physical constitutions. Kasumi, the eldest of the Tendou sisters, also talked a lot towards the end, and Kikuko Inoue’s voice was popular, with her unchanged “17 years old!! Too 17 years old, the best!”
Throughout the review, there were many comments in support of the returning voice actors, such as “It’s really great that the voice actors are the same even after so much time has passed,” and “Everyone’s acting has improved so much since back then!!”
Of course, the quality of the anime itself was also highly praised, with comments such as “I’m glad I’ve loved Ranma for so long…”, “I’m glad it stayed true to the original,” and “Reiwa Ranma is the best!!!”
第1話「らんまが来た」は、Netflixにて配信中。次回第2話は、10月11日0時55分より日本テレビにて放送予定だ。
■TVアニメ『らんま 1/2』作品概要
●放送/配信情報
2024年10月5日より、日本テレビにて毎週土曜日24:55～放送スタート！
日本テレビ系にて順次全国放送
放送直後よりNetflixにて独占配信！
●原作
原作／高橋留美子「らんま1/2」(小学館「少年サンデーコミックス」刊)
●STAFF
監督：宇田鋼之介
シリーズ構成：うえのきみこ
キャラクターデザイン：谷口宏美
総作画監督：谷口宏美、吉岡 毅、齊藤佳子、大津 直
メインアニメーター：内藤 直、青木里枝
POP アートワーク：北村みなみ
美術監督：大川千裕
色彩設計：垣田由紀子
撮影監督：加納 篤
編集：柳 圭介
音響監督：宇田鋼之介
音響効果：長谷川卓也
選曲：茅原万起子
音響制作：dugout
音楽：和田 薫
企画プロデュース：小学館集英社プロダクション
制作：MAPPA
製作：「らんま 1/2」製作委員会
●CAST
早乙女乱馬：山口勝平
らんま：林原めぐみ
天道あかね：日高のり子
天道なびき：高山みなみ
天道かすみ：井上喜久子
天道早雲：大塚明夫
早乙女玄馬：チョー
響 良牙：山寺宏一
シャンプー：佐久間レイ
九能帯刀：杉田智和
九能小太刀：佐倉綾音
小乃東風：森川智之
三千院 帝：宮野真守
白鳥あずさ：悠木 碧
ナレーション：緒方賢一
●MUSIC
オープニングテーマアーティスト：ano
エンディングテーマ：りりあ。「あんたなんて。」（VIA / TOY’S FACTORY）
（C）高橋留美子・小学館／「らんま 1/2」製作委員会
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