It has been revealed that Yamadera Kouichi will play the Jusenkyo guide in the completely new anime version of Takahashi Rumiko's hit manga Ranma 1/2. 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. Yamadera, who appeared in the TV anime that aired from 1989 to 1992, will reprise his role as Hibiki Ryoga and the Jusenkyo guide in the new work.
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 series depicts the hectic daily lives of Saotome Ranma, a high school martial artist who turns into a woman when splashed with water, and his fiancee Tendo Akane, among 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 series will be directed by Uda Konosuke, known for "One Piece," and the anime will be produced by MAPPA, known for "Jujutsu Kaisen" and "Chainsaw Man." It will be broadcast on Nippon TV every Saturday at 12:55 a.m. starting October 5th.
