A completely new anime adaptation of Takahashi Rumiko's hit manga Ranma 1/2 began airing on Nippon Television in October. The series was originally broadcast as a TV anime from 1989 to 1992, and this is the first time it has been adapted for TV in 32 years. One of the show's great charms is the unique characters, including Saotome Ranma, Ranma, Tendo Akane and the rest of the Tendo family, as well as Hibiki Ryoga, Shampoo and Kuno Tatewaki. On the November 9th and 16th broadcasts, one of the most "strong" characters, Kuno Kodachi, made an appearance. We spoke to Shimazu Saeko, who played Kodachi in the 1989 anime version, about the recordings at the time and her thoughts on Kodachi.
◇Playing the role of Kodachi was a challenge - Memories of Inoue Yo
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. It depicted the hectic daily life of Saotome Ranma, a high school martial artist who turns into a woman when splashed with water, and his fiancee Tendo Akane.
Shimazu played Miyake Shinobu in Urusei Yatsura, which aired from 1981, and Kuroki Sayoko in Maison Ikkoku, which aired from 1986, and the role of Kodachi in Ranma 1/2 was her third time appearing in a work by Takahashi Rumiko. The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Ranma 1/2 is an event hosted by Kitty Films. Urusei Yatsura and Ranma 1/2 were produced by Kitty Films, and at the time, many joint fan club events for the two works were held.
"Before Ranma 1/2 was aired, there was a collaboration event with Urusei Yatsura which I hosted. It was also an event to introduce the cast of Ranma 1/2 to everyone, and I think there were fans who were seeing (Yamaguchi) Kappei, who played Ranma, and (Hayashibara) Megumi, who played Ranma, for the first time. At the time, I got a call like, 'Saeko, please appear (in Ranma 1/2)!' So I asked the audience, 'What should I do? What role should I play?' and they said, 'Shampoo!' I remember it well, as I thought it was funny that 'Shampoo' was the name of a character. I was actually cast as Kodachi (laughs). At the time, YAWARA! was also being produced by Kitty, and I was very impressed with the cast of Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2, and YAWARA! "There were many joint events for "Urusei Yatsura" and "Yawara!", with myself, Yuko Minaguchi from "YAWARA!", Kappei Yamaguchi from "Ranma 1/2", Megumi Hayashibara, and Noriko Hidaka as members, and we were touring all over the country. The Kitty events were a lot of fun, they were luxurious, and the audience was amazing."
Shimazu said that playing Kodachi was a challenging role. Previously, Shimazu had played Shinobu, who was known for her memorable cry of "Men are no good!" in "Urusei Yatsura", and Ayase Megumi in "Magical Angel Creamy Mami", but she reflected, "I thought the director and Kitty had thrown something at me on a different level, and I thought, 'I have to go there.'"
"The role of Kodachi was the highest level of excitement I've ever had. Even with Shinobu in Urusei Yatsura, there was probably no one else who could act like that at the time, so when Pierrot producer Ikukawa (Ikuji) heard my voice at the audition, he thought, 'This is an amazing new talent.' I heard that story 30 years later (laughs). Then I appeared in Creamy Mami as Ayase Megumi, the rival of the main character. Ayase Megumi wasn't an ordinary girl, either. So I think I had the image that I was OK with high-tension roles, but after I played Kodachi in Ranma 1/2, the roles I was given suddenly changed."
The role of Kodachi was chosen by request, not audition.
"When it was decided that Shampoo would be played by (Sakuma) Rei-chan, I thought she was perfect. I didn't think I'd be able to appear in Ranma 1/2, but one day it suddenly came up in my schedule. That's when I first saw the picture of Kodachi, and I thought she had a very strong personality, and was the type of strong-willed young lady or queen. So when she flies across the rooftops, it just makes me laugh. I thought, "That's the role for me!" and I was so happy."
Kodachi's first appearance in the anime was in an episode where she and Ranma battled it out in rhythmic gymnastics. The ring announcer for the battle was played by Inoue Yo, who Shimazu also co-starred with in Gold Lightan.
"From the beginning, I was a bit confused about whether it was okay to play such a high-tension character, but Yo, who was sitting next to me, said, 'Saeko, it's okay' (laughs). During the recording, I said, 'I've been playing a lot of roles like this recently, and I haven't had any peaceful family anime roles,' and Yo said, 'It's okay because you're playing a role that only you can play.' Those words from Yo have stayed with me. Yo's ring announcer was also wonderful. She's a wonderful senior that I still respect, and my favorite was Ran-chan from 'Urusei Yatsura.'" ◇Lessons from Sound Director Shigeharu Shiba: Newcomers and veterans alike should give it their all Kodachi is a strong and outlandish character, but he has a mysterious charm that makes you forget your worries when you see his crazy behavior. Shimazu says, "That's because Rumiko-sensei's original work is so wonderful. I think we must never do anything that would undermine the greatness of the original work."
"When we voice actors work on a work that is based on an original work, we approach our work with an image in mind, such as, 'What kind of voice will this character have, and how will they speak?' But what I value most is also the heart, such as, 'What are they feeling? What are they thinking?' The starting point for Shinobu and Kodachi's questions, 'Why are they like this?', is definitely their feelings. I thought we should never forget that."
She also says that she learned a lot from Shigeharu Shiba, who served as sound director for "Urusei Yatsura" and "Ranma 1/2."
"He usually has a calm demeanor, but he taught us to do our jobs well. I think he really trained us. When I was a newbie, I appeared in "Time Patrol Team Otasukeman," and I was the only newbie in the studio, and everyone around me was a veteran, so I felt nervous all the time because I had to absorb everything on set. However, around the time of "Ranma 1/2," the ratio of newbies to veterans changed, and there were a lot of young people, and few veterans such as Ichiro Nagai (who played Happosai), Shigeru Chiba (who played Sarugakure Sasuke), and Oniisama (Yoshitaka Suzuoki, who played Kunou Tatewaki). This created a friendly atmosphere among the newbies, so there were several times when Shiba spoke to the whole group. It was something I think we need to cherish even after we become veterans."
At that time, instead of checking the footage to be dubbed individually in advance as we do now, the entire cast would watch the footage together in the studio before recording.
"Mr. Shiba told me to watch from start to finish, even if my character is not there. Otherwise, I won't understand why my character is there and how my character affects the story. Even a little background noise is very important. For example, in a scene where everyone is attacked and runs away, the way they run away expresses the strength of the attacker and how much of a crisis there is, and the tension of the story increases. Mr. Shiba was someone who trained newcomers on the spot."
In such a strict recording studio, Yamaguchi, who plays Ranma, and Hayashibara, who plays Ranma, said, "The newcomers were of a very high standard."
"I think it was good because it was a high-tension production. It wasn't just the two of us, everyone around us was like that. My brother was also the type to stay excited even during the test, and I was the same, and we never slacked off. So it was important that newcomers couldn't slack off. I think both of them were giving it their all."
Continued in interview (2).
