Rumiko Takahashi and Gender: The "Fluctuation of Boundaries" Depicted by This Rare Manga Artist
By Yuri Hanioka
The masterpiece fighting romantic comedy Ranma 1/2 has been revived as an anime for the first time in 35 years. The author, Rumiko Takahashi, has been drawing characters with ambiguous genders since the 1980s, when the term "LGBTQ" (a collective term for sexual minorities) did not exist. Looking back at the characters that appear in her representative works, we consider the "fluctuation of boundaries" of sexuality that have changed over the years.
A unique protagonist who alternates between male and female roles
"I'm a man!"
Many fans were surely moved by voice actress Megumi Hayashibara's roar.
On October 5th, a completely new anime adaptation of Ranma 1/2 began airing. This masterpiece of fighting romantic comedy by manga artist Rumiko Takahashi has been revived as an anime for the first time in 35 years. It has been a big hit, as most of the main voice actors, including Kappei Yamaguchi, Megumi Hayashibara, and Noriko Hidaka, are continuing in their previous roles. [1] [2]
The protagonist of this work is Ranma Saotome. He is a 16-year-old boy who inherited the martial art of "Saotome School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts" from his father, Genma. However, while training in China, he was knocked into a cursed spring by his father, and developed a unique constitution in which "when splashed with cold water, he turns into a girl, and when hot water is poured over him, he turns back into a boy." Since then, Ranma has been going back and forth between "man and woman," and fighting a variety of eccentric rivals, sometimes violently, sometimes pointlessly. At the same time, he clashes with his fiancée, Akane Tendo, but the distance between them gradually closes.
Ranma 1/2 began serialization in Weekly Shonen Sunday in 1987. Its innovative premise immediately captured the attention of readers, but fans of its predecessor, Urusei Yatsura (serialized from 1978 to 1987), will no doubt have grinned in response. Ranma's cry of "I'm a man!" mirrors Ryunosuke Fujinami's catchphrase in Urusei Yatsura: "I'm a woman!"
A character who breaks down the "Showa era ideal man"
Ryunosuke may look like a "handsome boy" in a school uniform, but she's actually a girl. She was given a manly name by her father, who wanted a son to take over the family business, and she was raised as a boy. She uses the first-person pronoun "ore" in a rough tone and is strong, but she identifies as a woman. She dreams of sailor uniforms and bras, and despite her father's hindrances, she desperately tries to live life as a "normal girl."
Ryunosuke first appeared in 1982. This was before "gender equality" was publicly promoted in Japan, with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women being signed in 1985 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Law going into effect the following year in 1986. [3] Ryunosuke's father's insistence that "the successor must be a man" was not an exaggeration at the time (or even today). The pressure to be "masculine/feminine" was nothing compared to today.
Strong, tough, cool, and innocent. Ryunosuke subtly undermines this "Showa era ideal male image" by being a "girl." In fact, Takahashi revealed that "in the case of Urusei, I had a rule that a male character with a good face must have something ridiculous about them,'" but "Sometimes I wanted to draw a cool male character in a normal, cool way. (Omitted) one day it occurred to me that I could do that with female characters" (from Mangakabon Vol. 14 Rumiko Takahashi Book).
Ryunosuke, who was born as the most "orthodox handsome man (but female)" in Urusei Yatsura, is extremely popular with the girls. Her fiancé, Nagisa Shiowatari, who appears towards the end of the series, is also a graceful beautiful girl... but he is actually a man with a firm chest. He is loyal and lovely, dreams of starting a family with the person he loves, and is extremely tolerant; he is the "ideal Showa era woman," but just like Ryunosuke, he has managed to slip through the stereotypes of "masculinity/femininity" by reversing his "gender." [4]
Just as the main heroine of Urusei Yatsura, Lum, is an "invader," Takahashi's works, or "Rumic World," have one major theme of "crossing borders" (even in her debut work, Those Selfish Aliens, released in 1978, half-fishmen and aliens play an important role). Since the appearance of Ryunosuke, the concept of "crossing the borders of sexuality = fluctuation" has been depicted repeatedly. Moreover, this expression has changed little by little with each work, that is, with the times.
The creative impulse beyond the gender divide
"(About Ranma 1/2) I tried to create a ‘gender free’ character. From a man to a woman, from a woman to a man. I wanted to try something using that idea." (From an interview with Rumiko Takahashi in Rumic World 35 ALL STAR)Ryunosuke, who transcends gender, "brought new energy" to Takahashi, who was struggling with a lack of ideas for Urusei Yatsura. The realization that "gender is ambiguous, and it was fun to draw that," further stimulated Takahashi's creative desire (from "Da Vinci Special: Rumiko Takahashi").
The resulting series, Ranma 1/2, features characters who could be seen as continuing the legacy of Ryunosuke and Nagisa, but whose "sexual fluctuations" are freer and more unrestrained. At first, the protagonist, Ranma, stubbornly asserts that he is a man and will not act like a woman, saying, "[I'd give up] My life, yes, my manhood is another story!" and "I'd never wear women's clothes." But he gradually changes his stance to one where he's willing to dress up as a woman if it means winning.
"I made Ranma a type of character that puts a priority on winning the battle without worrying if her clothes come off or not. Moreover, depending on the enemy, she may use her "womanhood" as a weapon (laughs)." (From Mangakabon Vol. 14 Rumiko Takahashi Book)Just as Takahashi says, if it means "winning" and being "manly," female Ranma will dress up as a bunny girl or in lingerie. Her breasts are even exposed. "If I can go back to being a normal guy, I'll act like a cute girl," she says as she goes on a date with a man in a frilly one-piece dress, creating the height of ambivalence.
The more Ranma aims to be a man, the more he becomes a woman. And the more he displays his femininity, the more manly his mind becomes. The division between "masculinity/femininity" is transformed into an equation of "masculinity = femininity" by Ranma's free-flowing standards.
The first homosexual to appear in Rumic World
After 2000, the "sexual uncertainty" in Rumic World spread beyond individual characters to relationships. In Ranma 1/2, which was serialized until 1996, there were several characters with "ambiguous gender" such as Ranma, Ukyo Kuonji, a cross-dressing girl who "abandoned her femininity", and a cross-dressing boy who is in love with her, but they were generally heterosexual. The same goes for Nagisa in Urusei Yatsura. The usual pattern was "I thought he was homosexual, but in fact he wasn't." Takahashi herself said in 1984, "The basis is a relationship between a man and a woman. The element of man and woman is absolutely essential" (from The Time We Spoke Endlessly About the Things We Love). Towards the end of the series, Ranma falls madly in love with his rival Ryoga Hibiki due to an item called the "Fishing Rod of Love," but this is only temporary and remains within the realm of comedy. Basically, there are no men who like other men or women who like other women. The first to break this tacit understanding was Jakotsu, an enemy character in Inuyasha (serialized from 1996 to 2008). He is a man with a hairpin, lipstick, and a woman's kimono. In contrast to Ryunosuke, who was created by sliding the concept of "handsome" into a woman, Jakotsu was originally conceived as a woman (the voice actor for the anime version is a woman, Ai Orikasa). Takahashi had doubts, saying, "Isn't it strange that (the main character) Inuyasha is fighting to the death with a woman?", so he was changed to a man.
Regarding this character, Takahashi stated that "it was the first time for me to draw a boy who likes boys," (from X Account "Rumiko Takahashi Information"). When he first meets Inuyasha, his eyes light up and he exclaims, "How cute!" in a way that makes him look like a young girl, further highlighting the cruelty he displays immediately afterwards.
The changing nature of love
The story behind the creation of Jakotsu and his design are centered around "women." It can also be read as a homosexual depicted as a variation on "love between men and women."
However, in Kyokai no RINNE (serialized from 2009 to 2018), a character who "likes men in their male form" finally appears. He is Matsugo, a childhood friend of the protagonist Rinne Rokudo. A handsome man who has worked hard to improve his appearance and intelligence, he is not bothered by the feelings of his beautiful classmate Anju. He is completely devoted to Rinne.
There is a scene where he confesses, "I really do love you (Rinne)!", but Matsugo himself insists that his feelings are "friendship", and those around him point out that it is "love". In a world where they can achieve their dreams, he skips through a flower field together with Rinne in a tuxedo, and loudly proclaims, "Let's swear eternal friendship at the church!"
Matsugo and Rinne's slapstick comedy moves between a "classic romance" reminiscent of a girls' manga, in which a boy reunites with a childhood friend who once saved him, and a "bromance," a close friendship between two men.
What are border-crossers in the Reiwa era?
From the Showa era to the end of the Heisei era, the sexuality of Rumic World has changed little by little. [5] In each work, the sexual border-crossers energetically go beyond stereotypes to grasp the "image of who they want to be" and the "relationship they desire." Their rampaging about freely, with "themselves" at the center, rather than the common sense of the world, full of voluptuous energy.
On the other hand, it should be noted that they are treated as "gag characters" and "abnormal beings (perverts)". Whether it's Urusei or Ranma, everything is drawn based on the values of a bygone era. I'd like to keep an eye on how the new Ranma anime will update it after 35 years.
Rumiko Takahashi is currently serializing MAO in Weekly Shonen Sunday. She is a writer who has been at the forefront of boys' manga for 46 years and "never stops evolving." How will Takahashi portray a gender-border crosser who "will not be laughed at by anyone" appropriate for the Reiwa era? I look forward to the day when she easily "transcends" the expectations of fans and rigid views of gender. [6]
Footnotes
- [1] Kurata, Motoki. "Main Cast Interview - Kappei Yamaguchi (Ranma Saotome) x Noriko Hidaka (Akane Tendo)". DaVinci, Issue 367. November, 2024. Accessed November 11, 2024. https://https://www.furinkan.com/ features/interviews/yamaguchi5.html.
- [2] Kurata, Motoki. "Main Cast Interview 1 - Megumi Hayashibara (Ranma)". DaVinci, Issue 367. November, 2024. Accessed November 11, 2024. https://https://www.furinkan.com/ features/interviews/hayashibara2.html.
- [3] In 1985, Japan ratified the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women ("CEDAW"), which requires the eradication of all legal, political, social and cultural structures that prevent women from enjoying full equality with men. Writing for the Washington International Law Journal author M. Christina Luera wrote, "On July 8, 2003, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women reviewed Japan's compliance with CEDAW and concluded that gender equality is being achieved at a glacial pace in Japanese society. Japan's failure to achieve a gender equal society is largely the result of the Japanese government's rule by consensus. Under this system, social beliefs and practices dictate political action, and the government will not affirmatively act to change society in the absence of a social or political consensus. Effectively, Japanese leaders wait for social change to occur, and then adjust the law to conform to the new majority belief. Given that CEDAW's vision of gender equality does not have widespread support among Japanese, the government's approach to implementing CEDAW has been gradual, compromising and incomplete.
- [4] The Showa era (昭和時代/Showa jidai) is a historical period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) from December 25, 1926, until his death on January 7, 1989.
- [5] The Heisei era (平成/Heisei jidai) was the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Emeritus Akihito from 8 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019.
- [6] One aspect of sexuality that Rumiko Takahashi has explored in her MAO that is not mentioend here is the concept of "S", a complex not-quite-romantic, not-quite-friendship relationship that existed between women in the Taisho Era.
Yuri Hanioka is a freelance editor and writer. Graduated from Waseda University. In addition to gourmet food, travel, and manga, she writes photo articles for Weekly Bunshun that focus on women's achievements, such as "female rakugo performers," "female sumo wrestlers," and "female magicians." She writes interviews with authors of literary works for Bessatsu Bungeishunju.
