A creditless opening video for the completely new anime version of Takahashi Rumiko's smash hit manga "Ranma 1/2" has been released on YouTube. The video features the opening theme "Yukonkkyun" sung by ano, and features a large gathering of familiar characters including Saotome Ranma and Tendou Akane. The series was broadcast as a TV anime from 1989 to 1992, and this will be the first time it has been adapted for TV in about 32 years.
"Ranma 1/2" was serialized in the manga magazine "Weekly Shonen Sunday" (Shogakukan) from 1987 to 1996 by Takahashi, who is also known for "Urusei Yatsura" and "Maison Ikkoku." The video depicts the hectic daily life of Saotome Ranma, a high school martial artist who turns into a woman when splashed with water, and his fiancee Tendou Akane, and others. While training in the indiscriminate fighting style with his father, Genma, Ranma develops a unique condition in the Chinese town of Jusenkyo where he trains, turning into a woman when splashed with water and turning back into a man when splashed with hot water. When Ranma returns to Japan, he and his son stay with Genma's best friend, Tendo Soun, and by chance become engaged to Soun's daughter, Akane.
In addition to the theatrical anime, an original video animation (OVA) was also produced. A TV anime aired on Fuji TV and other networks from 1989 to 1992, and a live-action TV drama starring Aragaki Yui, Kaku Kento, and Natsuna was broadcast in December 2011, which also became a hot topic.
The new anime will feature the same voice actors as the original, including Yamaguchi Kappei as Saotome Ranma, Hayashibara Megumi as Ranma, and Hidaka Noriko as Tendo Akane. The anime will be directed by Uda Kounosuke, who has worked on "One Piece" and other films, and produced by MAPPA, which has worked on "Jujutsu Kaisen" and "Chainsaw Man." It will be broadcast on Nippon Television every Saturday at 12:55 a.m. starting October 5th.
◇Cast (titles omitted)
Saotome Ranma: Yamaguchi Kappei▽Ranma: Hayashibara Megumi▽Tendo Akane: Hidaka Noriko▽Tendo Nabiki: Takayama Minami▽Tendo Kasumi: Inoue Kikuko▽Tendo Soun: Otsuka Akio▽Saotome Genma: Cho▽Hibiki Ryoga: Yamadera Kouichi▽Shampoo: Sakuma Rei▽Kuno Tatewaki: Sugita Tomokazu▽Kuno Kodachi: Sakura Ayane▽Ono Tofu: Morikawa Toshiyuki▽Sanzenin Tei: Miyano Mamoru▽Shiratori Azusa: Yuki Aoi▽Narration: Ogata Kenichi
