Cast Interview - Kappei Yamaguchi (male Ranma Saotome) x Megumi Hayashibara (female Ranma Saotome) x Noriko Hidaka (Akane Tendo)

Translated by: Harley Acres

This trio have been supporting Ranma 1/2 since the original animation began airing in 1989.
They continued to provide the same voice acting in the new series that began last year, entertaining both old fans and new viewers.
We asked them to look back on the first season and talk extensively about the second season, which will feature even more outlandish characters.

Interview and text: Motoki Kurata Photos: TOWA

Yamaguchi: The first season had a nostalgic feel, but also many parts that felt fresh. Director (Konosuke) Uda not only based his work on the original manga, but also made the series with great care, respecting the anime from over 30 years ago. However, I felt he put a lot of effort into portraying Akane.

Hayashibara: It's true, this time Akane's feelings were portrayed very carefully.

Hidaka: Now that I think about it, during recording the director said to me with sincerity, "Akane is a difficult role, isn't she?" I still wonder what he meant by that...

Yamaguchi: I think that's because Akane is a surprisingly "normal" character. While she's surrounded by many popular female characters like Shampoo and Ucchan (Ukyo Kuonji) who could easily be heroines, Akane is, in other words, sensible. But even so, it's difficult to be a heroine.

Hayashibara: That's so true! That's definitely true. I just realized that now too.

Hidaka: I see. But when I heard that, I was surprised and thought, "No way! Akane was a difficult role? I had nothing but fun playing it!" (laughs).

Hayashibara: I love that cuteness about Non-san (Hidaka)! That's why she's perfect for the role of Akane.

Hidaka: What do you mean?

Hayashibara: Because, if by some mistake I had played Akane, it would have been a disaster. I'm sure her strong side would have been the only thing that stood out. It's precisely because Akane, like Non-san, has a cuteness that always brightens up those around her, that she's a strong-willed, yet lovable girl.

Yamaguchi: That really comes across in this new series. Her very existence is convincing beyond reason, like she's the heroine. I think that's because Nonko is a lovable character who's like a heroine in her everyday life.

Hayashibara: That's right. Akane's slightly rough personality, her occasional sulkiness, sulkiness, and insincere side - all of those things add up to what makes her so cute. Once again, I admire Noriko Hidaka-san.

Hidaka: What a great compliment! Today was a great day (laughs). But it's true that Akane really does have many different sides to her, and the director is trying to express Akane's cuteness by picking out all of those. That's probably why he said, "Akane is difficult."

Hayashibara: Speaking of which, it feels like the "love" part of romantic comedy is carefully expressed in this series. Of course, comedy is at the core, but the more the comedic elements stand out, the more I feel like I'm drawn in by the unexpected developments in "love."

Akane seems to have a soft spot for Ranma when he turns into a girl. (Hidaka)

Hidaka: That's true. On the other hand, by clearly showing the emotional turmoil of "love," the gags come to life.

Yamaguchi: That way of varying the pace is faithful to the original, and it's one of the reasons why so many people are drawn to Rumiko-sensei (Takahashi)'s work.

The difference in Akane's sense of distance towards male Ranma and female Ranma

Hayashibara: In terms of difficulty, it must be tough for Akane because she always has to deal with both male Ranma and female Ranma (hereafter referred to as Ranma/Ranma). ^[1]

Hidaka: I try not to change her acting, though.

Yamaguchi: This is just my impression, but I feel like Akane feels more comfortable when she's with female Ranma. It also seems like she's quite honest with female Ranma.

Hayashibara: That might be because their perspectives are different. Because Akane is taller when she's with female Ranma.

Hidaka: That's true. It's true that her way of speaking and attitude changes when she's with female Ranma. In the first season of the anime, there was a scene where Akane gave Ranma a piggyback ride, right? When Ranma got embarrassed and refused, Akane quickly doted on him, turning him into a woman and saying, "I guess it's okay if we're both girls," and then gave him a piggyback ride. Not only was her quick thinking impressive, but when I saw them talking as they walked while carrying female Ranma, I got the feeling that Akane was doting on Ranma, now that he was a girl.

Hayashibara: Sometimes she acts like an older sister to female Ranma, doesn't she?

Hidaka: That's right! On the other hand, when she's with male Ranma, she behaves without any reservations, just like she would with a male classmate (laughs).

Yamaguchi: Well, Ranma himself has the mind of an elementary school student. Like, he's mean to girls he likes (laughs).

Hayashibara: Akane is also Akane, and she's never honest no matter how much time passes.

Yamaguchi: But in the end, even though those two say their parents decided on their engagement, they end up accepting it.

Hidaka: That's right! When Ranma is getting friendly with another girl, Akane is filled with complicated emotions, like, "But he's my fiance! But I don't acknowledge it!!" (laughs).

Hayashibara: At the end of the first season, you think the romance between the two would develop a little, but the words that Akane, who had lost her memory, remembers Ranma saying were "She's not cute!" That was really bad (laughs).

Hidaka: I couldn't help but laugh. "Huh, those words really hit Akane hard?" (laughs).

Yamaguchi: The appearance of a rival in Shampoo towards the end of the first season was also a big factor. That brought the two of them a little closer together.

Hidaka: Shampoo is so cute. She can be violent at times, but she's very devoted to Ranma. Ranma seemed a little sad when he thought about her returning to China.

Hayashibara: Ranma is always at the mercy of all kinds of troublesome people, both men and women, but Shampoo is a bit different. She's just carrying the burden of her mission as a female warrior, and deep down she's a very pure and good girl. Ranma might have sensed that.

When Nonko plays the role, all of Akane's personality and behavior become adorable (Hayashibara)

Yamaguchi: That's true. And Ranma's a boy, so he wouldn't mind if a cute girl told him she liked him.

Hayashibara: That might be true. Oh, but no matter how cute she was, what if it was Kodachi (Kuno)? Wouldn't that still be a little creepy? (laughs)

Hidaka: Yeah! I can picture Kodachi's face right now, too. (laughs)

Yamaguchi: I think Kodachi is a nice guy. But... that girl's scary. (laughs)

Everyone is so straightforward that I want to support them all.

Yamaguchi: The first season ended at a great point, and I'm sure many people have been eagerly awaiting the follow-up. Now, the second season is finally here, and the extremely mysterious Hikaru Gosukugi makes his sudden appearance! I'm sure first-time viewers will be wondering, "Who is this guy?", but will quickly become captivated.

Hidaka: I love him! (laughs)

Hayashibara: He's the best character!

Yamaguchi: What's more, the new voice actor this time is Akira Ishida. ^[2]

Hidaka: (Issei) Futamata-san, who played him last time, has the skills to play a wide range of roles, and he was a perfect fit for Gosunkugi-kun, but I had the impression that Ishida-kun often played cool roles. It was funny to see him so seriously play the eccentric, almost perverted, Gosunkugi-kun.

Hayashibara: We saw something great.

Yamaguchi: Everyone was saying that on the set, too. "We saw something great" (laughs).

Hayashibara: I've also worked with Ishida-kun on many projects, and have had the opportunity to experience many great roles up close. It would be endless to list his representative works. Despite this, I feel like Gosunkugi-kun is my number one Akira Ishida character, and it's a bit troubling (laughs).

Yamaguchi: Hahahaha! And just as you're surprised by the impact of Gosunkugi-kun, Mousse appears next.

Hayashibara: He's a sad and unfortunate boy who is devoted to Shampoo but she doesn't pay any attention to him at all (laughs).

Hidaka: (Toshihiko) Seki-san is playing the role just like last time, and when I saw his full power in acting when Mousse turned into a duck, I gave him a heartfelt round of applause. I thought, "Amazing!"

Yamaguchi: It might just be my imagination, but doesn't Mousse look even more handsome in this version?

Hidaka: It's not your imagination. He's become so handsome. That made me think, Mousse probably doesn't realize he's good-looking. He's extremely nearsighted, so even if he takes off his glasses and looks in the mirror, his face probably just looks blurry.

Hayashibara: Maybe. He's been wearing those milk-bottle glasses since he was little. ^[3]

Hidaka: Right. That's why, even though he's always chasing after Shampoo, I think if he'd known he was good-looking, he might have lived his life very differently. I mean, with looks like that and a personality like Ryoga (Hibiki)-kun's, you'd be super popular, right?

Yamaguchi: Yeah, that's true!

Hayashibara: ..... Huh, really!? Ryoga's personality is also kind of... you know?

Everyone: (laughing)

Yamaguchi: I just said "That's true" because of the flow of the conversation, but maybe that's not true (laughs).

Hidaka: But while Ryoga is a character who's always a bit of a disappointment, Mousse is just pitiful. That's what makes him so appealing. He's "cute in his pitifulness" (laughs). His love for Shampoo is so unrequited that watching him makes you want to help him.

Yamaguchi: Don't you want to root for Ryoga?

Hidaka: Well Ryoga becomes P-chan and sometimes has a good time. But Mousse is a character who throws a ball with all his might and it bounces back and hits him, right? That's what's great about him (laughs).

Hayashibara: What's more, Seki-san, who is so earnest, voices Mousse so earnestly, which makes him seem even more pitiful.

Hidaka: That's right. That's right!

Yamaguchi: I see.

Gosunkugi-kun is very suspicious, but you'll be drawn in the moment you see him! (Yamaguchi)

Hidaka: Each and every character that Rumiko-sensei draws is truly unique. That's why I can't help but gravitate towards each and every one of them. And everyone lives their life according to their own beliefs, right? That's why I think no matter how silly the things they do, it still resonates with the viewers.

Yamaguchi: That's true. I recently reread the original work, and it didn't feel dated at all. In fact, at a time when gender issues are often brought up, I think the reason I can enjoy this setting, in which the main character's body switches between male and female multiple times, without any sense of incongruity is because of the greatness of Rumiko-sensei's work. ^[4]

Hayashibara: And although the story basically only features strange characters (laughs), at its core, there are serious aspects as well, such as the pure emotions of people falling in love with each other, and the sadness of suppressing your own feelings for the other person. So, after laughing out loud, you might suddenly feel sentimental. I think that's what attracts so many people, transcending time.

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Kappei Yamaguchi was born May 23rd in Fukuoka Prefecture. Voice actor and actor. Notable works include Inuyasha (as Inuyasha), Detective Conan (as Shinichi Kudo Shinichi/Kaito Kid), One Piece (as Usopp), and Death Note (as L/Ryuzaki).

Noriko Hidaka was born on May 31st in Tokyo. She is a voice actress and narrator. Her most notable works include Touch (as Minami Asakura), Inuyasha (as Kikyo), and My Neighbor Totoro (as Satsuki Kusakabe). She currently provides narration for programs such as Asaichi (NHK).

Megumi Hayashibara was born on March 30th in Tokyo. Voice actress and artist. Notable works include Neon Genesis Evangelion (as Rei Ayanami) and Detective Conan (as Ai Haibara). Regular radio program: "Megumi Hayashibara's Tokyo Boogie Night."

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Footnotes

• [1] A note of clarification, "male Ranma" and "female Ranma" are differentiated in Japanese by the way the name is written, though Hayashibara uses the term "male" and "female" referring to Ranma, however it is typically indicated by how the names are written in Japanese. Male Ranma is always referred to via kanji "乱馬" (Ranma), while female Ranma is always written, "らんま" (Ranma), in hiragana. Here it is translated as "male" and "female" to clarify this.
• [2] Akira Ishida (石田彰) is actually not a newcomer to Ranma 1/2 as he appeared in many episodes of the original series. His most notable character was Yutaro, but he voiced many unnamed background characters in the original series. He has been involved in many Rumic World projects including as Amari Nobunaga in Inuyasha and Kurosu in Kyokai no RINNE.
• [3] The reason glasses are shown to have spirals in them in Japan is because of the term "bottle bottom glasses" (瓶底眼鏡). The glasses are said to look like the "bottom of a cow milk bottle" (牛乳瓶の底).
• [4] For more discussion on Ranma 1/2 through the lens of a transexual Japanese we have translated the article "Why Ranma Is Special: Hypotheses and Gender Identity by Miki Nayuta (三木那由) for the Asahi Shimbun.

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