Ranma 1/2 Director GuideBy Harley AcresThe original series, which was comprised of only eighteen episodes has often been praised for its lush animation, well-choreographed fights and introspective quiet pauses. The look of the series can primarily be attributed to three women, Atsuko Nakajima, the character designer and animation director, Asami Endo a vetern animation director from Urusei Yatsura, and Masako Goto, who went on to work on Kimagure Orange Road and Here is Greenwood. As I have often discussed here, the series was cancelled and replaced by the more popular Ranma 1/2 Nettohen. The series lost some of its lush designs as Masako Goto left the series and the episodes she had already animated (P-chan Explodes! The Icy Fountain of Love) were worked into Ranma 1/2 Nettohen. Rather that have a core group of animation directors as with the original series, Ranma 1/2 Nettohen had quite a few animation directors involved with the series.
Asami Endo (遠藤麻未) (Episodes directed: 47)  Endo actually directed dozens of episodes of Ranma 1/2 and did even more episodes of Urusei Yatsura too. While her Ranma 1/2 episodes do look good, especially those from the original eighteen episode run, a lot of her Ranma 1/2 Nettohen work tends be more workmanlike. Her characters don't always stick closely to Nakajima's designs later and the animation just isn't as dynamic. To me, her episodes tend to look average with a few exceptional ones early on. I can't explain the inconsistency in her style from the first series into Nettohen, but because she directed so many episodes of Nettohen the mediocrity of her work tends to hang over it in comparison to the first series (it may have been budget issues, but that is wholly a guess on my part). Beyond Endo's work on Urusei Yatsura and her work handling key animation on the Takahashi OVAs Fire Tripper, The Supergal and Laughing Target, her other work includes acting as animation director for Magical Angel Creamy Mami (魔法の天使 クリィミーマミ) and key animation for Silent Moebius (サイレントメビウス). She would also work on Inuyasha as a key animator for episode 62 "Tsubaki's Unrelenting Evil Spell". Amazingly she also worked as a key animator on the first episode of the 2022 version of Urusei Yatsura also as a key animator. [1] [2] Masako Goto (後藤真砂子) (Episodes directed: 7)  Masako Goto, along with Atsuko Nakajima and Asami Endo were the original animation directors when the series started. After the original series was cancelled Goto left, while the remaining episode she oversaw for the original series ("P-chan Explodes! The Icy Fountain of Love") was reinserted into the Ranma 1/2 Nettohen series. Goto's style matched very closely with Nakajima's, it was a shame she left so quickly, though her departure is no surprise as she is married to Tomomi Mochizuki, the director, who also departed the show. [3] Goto worked as the animation director on a number of Chibi Maruko-chan (ちびまる子ちゃん) television series and films, many episode of Touch, as well as working as the character designer and animation director for Here is Greenwood (ここはグリーン・ウッド). Katsumi Hashimoto (はしもとかつみ) (Episodes directed: 2)  Hashimoto easily wins the award for my least favorite work on the series. The quality of his episodes is well below par, his designs deviate heavily from Nakajima's character designs and the animation looks sloppy on his episodes. His work tends to be extremely simple when compared to the work of the other animation directors seen here. He also worked on Yanbou Ninbou Tonbou (ヤンボウ ニンボウ トンボウ), an episode of Dino Girl Gauko (恐竜少女ガウ子) as well as chief animation director and character designer on Oi! Ryoma (お~い! 竜馬). [4] [5] [6] "Yoiko Hibiki" (響良い子) (Episodes directed: 1)  "Yoiko Hibiki" was only responsible for one episode, "Ryoga... Beyond the Pleasure and Pain". Because this episode is primarily just a clip show of older episodes, "Hibiki" was only responsible for the new material that was used to link the clips together. For whatever reason the animation director chose to use this alias, the name Ranma used when he claimed to be Ryoga's sister. They did a very nice job on the episode, though at times the facial expressions got a little too wacky. Hiroko Inoue (井上容子) (Episodes directed: 1)  Inoue is another good director who works well with Nakajima's designs. Nice, clean animation work from this single episode director, though there is little information about her other work online. Satoru Isono (磯野智) (Episodes directed: 27)  Satoru Isono is a talented director who, like the best animation directors, is able to work well with the established character designs and create a uniform look for the series. At times, Isono's designs have longer faces than Nakajima's, but overall his episodes have good animation. Isono's other work includes handling the chief animation direction and character designs for Akane Maniax (アカネマニアックス), key animation on Maison Ikkoku: The Final Chapter and the OVA Urusei Yatsura: Inaba the Dream Maker. [7] Besides his episodic work on Ranma 1/2 he also was assistant animation director on the first film and key animator for the OVA themes Koi da! Panic and Ranma to Akane no Baraado. [8] [9] Hiroko Kazui (数井浩子) (Episodes directed: 7)  Kazui does a very good job with fluid movement and oversaw the animation for one of the best Nettohen fight scenes, a battle between Ranma and Genma in "Am I Pretty? Ranma's Declaration of Womanhood" and key animation on the second film. She makes very strong use of lighting and heavy shadows as well and did good work on "Sneeze Me, Squeeze Me, Please Me" with scenes of Ranma spinning around as he runs towards lunch and Akane's angry munching in the movie theater (the movie on the screen is worth mentioning as well). Overall Kazui has a really consistent, nice-looking style. Her other work includes directing the Eureka Seven OVA The Flowers of Jungfraujoch and character designs for Adventures of the Mini-Goddess. [10] Masaki Kudo (工藤柾輝) (Episodes directed: 5)  Masaki Kudo is a decent animation director, somewhere in the middle in terms of quality on Ranma 1/2 when compared to the other animation directors. His work doesn't quite rise to the levels of Satoru Isono or Atsuko Nakajima, but his work does hold its own, with some particularly good work on "Assault on the Girls' Locker Room" which has fluid action animation and some nice water effects at the end of the episode. He often shines but does not have the same consistency of some of the others. He worked on the key animation for M.D. Geist (装鬼兵MDガイスト) and Urusei Yatsura: The Final Chapter and an episode of Yuuri!! on Ice (ユーリ!!! on ICE). [11] Yuka Kudo (工藤裕加) (Episodes directed: 10)  Yuka Kudo is another favorite of mine, especially her work on "Sasuke's Mission: Improbable". Sasuke is one character whose design is very telling with some animators taking short cuts with his design. The fact that Kudo is able to make him look as good as Nakajima's design intended shows her skill. She also did an excellent job on the second Mariko Konjo episode. Her other work includes character designs for Jungle no Ouja Taa-chan (ジャングルの王者ターちゃん), Full Moon o Sagashite (満月をさがして) and Kyou Kara Maou! (今日からマ王!) as well as the animation director on the Sailor Moon film Gekijouban Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Eternal (劇場版 美少女戦士セーラームーンEternal). [12] Atsuko Nakajima (中嶋敦子) (Episodes directed: 43)  Atsuko Nakajima is one of the few animation directors involved with the show from beginning to end. She was also responsible for the character designs, and consequently the episodes she is involved in tend to showcase some of the best quality of animation. I love the look of her episodes, and she is undoubtedly my favorite animation director on Ranma 1/2. Other than her work on Urusei Yatsura and Maison Ikkoku, she is the character designer and chief animation director on Bungo and Alchemist -Gears of Judgement- (文豪とアルケミスト～審判ノ歯車～), character designer on Six Gates Far Away Mon Colle Knight: Legendary Fire Dragon (劇場版 六門天外モンコレナイト 伝説のファイアドラゴン), character designs and chief animation director on Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto (坂本ですが？), and character designs and chief animation director on Komi Can't Communicate (古見さんは、コミュ症です。). Interestingly Nakajima also did some key animation on Inuyasha The Movie 4: Fire on the Mystic Island making her likely the only person to have worked on the anime for Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, Ranma 1/2 and Inuyasha in some fashion. [13] [14] Tetsuhito Saito (斉藤哲人) (Episodes directed: 1)  His work is similar to Myoichiro Unagihara in that it stays very close to Atsuko Nakajima. More colorful palettes were being used by the time his episode was made along with the updated OVA style character designs (appropriately enough he was a key animator on the Ranma 1/2 OVAs). Overall it is a good showing and a very good effort from this single appearance animation director. His other work includes key animation on Mermaid Scar and Inuyasha The Movie 4: Fire on the Mystic Island, New Dominion Tank Police (特捜戦車隊ドミニオン) as well as a number of You're Under Arrest (逮捕しちゃうぞ) and Bleach projects. [15] [16] "Azusa Shiratori" (白鳥あずさ) (Episodes directed: 2)  Similar in style to Nakajima though lacking her fluidity. Like "Yoiko Hibiki" this is another alias based on one of the characters from the series. Toyomi Sugiyama (杉山東夜美) (Episodes directed: 4)  Sugiyama's work varies quite a bit. In some episodes her work can be very clean and consistent with the overall look of the series, and then at other times it appears to be too simplified and loose. Sugiyama is another animation director who is not one of my favorites on Ranma 1/2. Her work, along with Hashimoto's is the poorest of the series. Thankfully she didn't direct all that many episodes. Her other work includes character designs and animation direction for the first Kyuukyoku Choujin R (究極超人あ~る) OVA and animation direction on many episodes of Jungle no Ouja Taa-chan (ジャングルの王者ターちゃん). [17] Myoichiro Unagihara (鰻原妙一郎) (Episodes directed: 1)  Very good, fluid animation is a hallmark of Unagihara. He draws Happosai well which some animators take short cuts on. He only did "Into the Darkness", but did some interesting expressions in that episode such as Akane getting angry with Nabiki. Like all the best animation directors he stays close to Nakajima, but adds some nice unique touches. Right around the time of his work is where the staff started to use what would become the OVA character designs. As this is the only credit Unagihara ever received on any project this is likely an alias for another animation director. Yusuke Yamamoto (山本裕介) (Episodes directed: 1)  Extremely fluid animation is found in Yamamoto's only outing as animation director. His faces are similar to Nakajima's, but vary slightly in terms of length. His work is unique without being distracting and definitely looks different than anyone elses. The quality of his work is quite good and is comparable to the other animation directors from late in the series. He worked on The Battle of Nekonron, China! A Battle to Defy the Rules!!, an episode director on Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (機動戦士Vガンダム) and one of the primary directors for Sgt. Frog (ケロロ軍曹). [18] [19] Masahiro Yamane (山根理宏) (Episodes directed: 2)  Yamane's work is very similar to Satoru Isono but with more angular cheekbones and faces. Yamane is the only animation director that also served as an episode director. A good bit of his credits are as a mechanical designer on such projects as Chouja Raideen (超者ライディーン), Super Robot Taisen OG: The Inspector (スーパーロボット大戦OG -ジ・インスペクター), and Justeen (ジャスティーン). He handled key animation on Grey: Digital Target (GREY デジタル・ターゲット) and Sol Bianca. He eventually changes the pronunciation of his name to "Rihiro Yamane" on later projects. [20] [21] |
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Footnotes
- [1] "Asami Endo." Sakugabooru. Accessed November 6, 2022. https://www.sakugabooru.com/ post?tags=asami_endo+.
- [2] "Endou Asami." AniDB.net. September 22, 2022. Accessed November 6, 2022. https://anidb.net/creator/10292.
- [3] "Gotou Masako." AniDB.net. April 18, 2022. Accessed November 11, 2022. https://anidb.net/creator/5091.
- [4] "Hashimoto Katsumi." AniDB.net. July 8, 2010. Accessed November 11, 2022. https://anidb.net/creator/15343.
- [5] "Katsumi Hashimoto." Sakugabooru. Accessed November 11, 2022. https://www.sakugabooru.com/ post?tags=katsumi_hashimoto+.
- [6] "Katsumi Hashimoto." Anime News Network. Accessed November 11, 2022. https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/ encyclopedia/people.php?id=47830.
- [7] "磯野智." Atwiki.jp. October 8, 2022. Accessed November 11, 2022. https://w.atwiki.jp/sakuga/pages/1857.html.
- [8] "Satoru Isono." Sakugabooru. Accessed November 11, 2022. https://www.sakugabooru.com/ post?tags=satoru_isono+.
- [9] "Isono Satoru." AniDB.net. January 8, 2019. Accessed November 11, 2022. https://anidb.net/creator/7944.
- [10] "Kazui Hiroko." AniDB.net. October 2, 2015. Accessed November 11, 2022. https://anidb.net/creator/6043.
- [11] "Kudou Masaki." AniDB.net. April 3, 2010. Accessed November 11, 2022. https://anidb.net/creator/5519.
- [12] "Kudou Yuka." AniDB.net. January 28, 2015. Accessed November 11, 2022. https://anidb.net/creator/6586.
- [13] "Atsuko Nakajima." Sakugabooru. Accessed November 11, 2022. https://www.sakugabooru.com/ post?tags=atsuko_nakajima+.
- [14] "Nakajima Atsuko." AniDB.net. February 13, 2015. Accessed November 11, 2022. https://anidb.net/creator/1419.
- [15] "Tetsuhito Saitou." Sakugabooru. Accessed November 11, 2022. https://www.sakugabooru.com/ post?tags=tetsuhito_satou+.
- [16] "Saitou Tetsuhito." AniDB.net. December 14, 2014. Accessed November 11, 2022. https://anidb.net/creator/3191.
- [17] "Sugiyama Toyomi." AniDB.net. February 14, 2017. Accessed November 11, 2022. https://anidb.net/creator/5368.
- [18] "Tetsuhito Saitou." Sakugabooru. Accessed November 11, 2022. https://www.sakugabooru.com/ post?tags=tetsuhito_satou+.
- [19] "Yamamoto Yuusuke." AniDB.net. October 17, 2022. Accessed November 11, 2022. https://anidb.net/creator/6520.
- [20] "Rihiro Yamane." Sakugabooru. Accessed November 11, 2022. https://www.sakugabooru.com/ post?tags=rihiro_yamane+.
- [21] "Yamane Masahiro." AniDB.net. May 20, 2022. Accessed November 11, 2022. https://anidb.net/creator/9863.
Harley Acres is an art historian and college professor. Alongside his brother, Dylan Acres, they have written extensive analyses on each of the animation directors of all of Rumiko Takahashi's adaptations including Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, Inuyasha and Yashahime and Kyokai no RINNE.
