Main Cast Interview 1 - Megumi Hayashibara (Ranma)

Translation by: Harley Acres

Together with Kappei Yamaguchi-san, Megumi Hayashibara-san created two roles with different genders and appearances for the same character. How did the romance between her and Akane look from the perspective of "female Ranma"? We asked her about the changes she felt after playing Ranma for the first time in nearly 32 years in the TV anime, as well as her thoughts on the character and the series. ^[1]

If (male) Ranma wasn't Kappei, then I wouldn't be (female) Ranma either.

"Ranma 1/2 is one of the projects that has greatly changed my life," says Hayashibara, who plays the water-soaked Ranma, also known as "female Ranma." She adds with a laugh, "This work has made me mentally stronger, so much so that I've shed two or three layers of skin."

"This is a standard story that I've told many times, but when I was chosen to play Ranma about 35 years ago, I was still a newcomer, and I received a lot of critical letters from fans of the series who didn't even know me, saying things like, 'I would have preferred a different voice actor.' ^[2] At first I was really shocked. But since I got the role through an audition, I did what I could and focused on the role. After that, a few months after the series started airing, the number of supportive comments started to increase. Thanks to them, I now have the mental strength to withstand any criticism (laughs). And above all, the role has become one that is loved by so many fans across time, so in many ways I am full of gratitude to Ranma." Ranma hates to lose and speaks bluntly. That personality doesn't change even when his body becomes female. However, the coexistence and acting of [male] Ranma, played by Kappei Yamaguchi-san, and [female ]Ranma caused Hayashibara-san a lot of trouble at times.

All the characters are clumsy, and are both perpetrators and victims of other people's love. -Hayashibara

"Sound director Shigeharu Shiba would often tell me to be 'cute and dignified,' and I didn't know how to express those two things at the same time. ^[3] He also told me to 'borrow more from Kappei-kun,' so I just observed him and tried to imitate him. However, in the second half of the anime, Ranma slowly changes and even starts to enjoy being a girl, whereas in the first half, he seemed to have a strong feeling of 'I'm a boy'. Although there's only one character, Kappei and I created two roles together. That's why, when I heard that the previous cast would be doing voice tests for this anime, I said, 'If Ranma isn't Kappei, then I can't be Ranma either.'"

The recording for the TV anime Ranma 1/2, which is the first in about 32 years, "was a strange feeling."

"I was able to participate again with almost all of the same cast members, so I went in with the feeling of 'Okay, leave it to Ranma!' But the first dubbing session somehow felt like a dream. It was like I was reliving the experience with my old friends. Naturally, we were recording in a different studio than before, so the scenery was different to what we saw back then. It was both new and yet also nostalgic; it was a feeling that I can't really put into words." Differences from the past also emerged in the interactions between characters.

"Nowadays, both [male] Ranma and [female] Ranma exist within me as one. But back then, it felt like they each had their own separate roles. [Male] Ranma delivers many of the cool lines directed at Akane, while [female] Ranma is more of a comedian (laughs). ^[4] When [male] Ranma becomes a girl, she's shorter than Akane, and sometimes Akane's comforting attitude can get a bit irritating (laughs). But during this recording, when I heard Nonko-san (Noriko Hidaka) say, "I'm glad you're a girl," I thought, 'Whoa, she's insanely cute!'" This was a feeling that had nothing to do with [male] Ranma or [female] Ranma, but rather that he emerged as a single character."

In the first episode, Akane meets Ranma for the first time and asks him to challenge her to a sparring match at the dojo. As a result, Akane is shown the difference in their strength, but due to her inherent dislike of men, she blurts out the comment mentioned above.



"When I played Ranma before, I was desperate not to simply make her a strong-willed girl. But when I heard Nonko-san's voice, my feelings for Akane came straight out of me. The reason I couldn't express the character as 'cute and dignified' before wasn't because of my acting, but because of a problem in my heart. Now that I understand this, I'm once again grateful to Nonko-san for bringing out these emotions in me."

“This is how it's going to be” doesn't always work, and it's interesting that you can't predict what's going to happen next.

This anime is full of changes and discoveries that have come along with her career as a voice actor and from having time to digest the story. However, there is one thing that remains the same: the charm of the original work.

"It's simply fantastical. You never know what's going to happen next... Oh, of course it's a given that Ranma and the others will fall into the pond (laughs). Also, the way the story unfolds and the tempo of the dialogue are really satisfying. The way the scenes change so crisply is almost like a rakugo story. ^[5] I'm sure many manga artists are influenced by Takahashi-sensei. But even so, I feel that there's something unique about her that no one can imitate."

Hayashibara-san also says that "what is definitely needed in today's society is a worldview that makes you laugh without thinking about anything."

"All the characters do nothing but stupid things. And I mean that as a compliment (laughs). On top of that, various romantic elements are added to spice things up. In particular, the love between Ranma and Akane is clearly mutual, but it keeps readers and viewers anxious and never progresses. And yet it's so captivating. Other characters appear one after another with complicated or troublesome personalities... and I mean that as a compliment too (laughs), they rush ahead selfishly towards their own loves, and unrequited love chases are going on everywhere. What's more, none of the love comes to fruition, and because they're all clumsy and even get in the way, everyone becomes a perpetrator and everyone becomes a victim. There's no other work like this." By the way, when we asked Hayashibara-san about the outcome of the love lives of the characters she's interested in she said...



"The most heartbreaking is Mousse (Shampoo's childhood friend), who chases after Shampoo. She never pays him any attention, and he's always losing to his rival, Ranma. But I think his devotion is wonderful. That said, from Ranma's point of view, he's just a nuisance (laughs). On the other hand, Tatewaki Kuno, formerly played by (Hirotaka) Suzuoki-san, was more than devoted, he was a really creepy guy (laughs). Especially since he was always hounding me when I was [female] Ranma. My impression of him was so terrible, he was really the best. Needless to say, he was a senior whom I really respected." ^[6] Looking back on her co-stars in the 1988 version of Ranma, Hayashibara-san said, "Putting my own personal opinions aside, I think that those cast members were like gods."

"And now, more than 30 years have passed since then, and we're able to gather together again like this. Some fans may have strong feelings for the previous anime and may feel uncomfortable with the slight change in our voices. This time, the content makes use of the original manga, so I'm sure your impression will be different. However, we're grateful in this day and age that we can enjoy the old works through streaming services and other means. I can understand the desire to compare it to the past, but I hope you'll enjoy the new Ranma 1/2 and have the luxury of watching both, and I would be happy if you could love both of them."

---

Footnotes

• [1] For clarity's sake, 32 years ago would have been in 1992 when the original TV series ended. OVAs continued to be made until 1996 and then a special OVA was made tweleve years later to celebrate Rumiko Takahashi's 30th anniversary as a mangaka. However it was 32 years ago since the cast played their characters on a weekly basis for television.
• [2] Hayashibara wrote a manga series Ashita ga Aru sa –SWEET TIME EXPRESS– (明日があるさ –SWEET TIME EXPRESS–) about her voice acting career where she recounts a run-in with rude Urusei Yatsura fans.
• [3] Shigeharu Shiba (斯波重治) was the sound director on Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku and Ranma 1/2 in addition to My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ/Tonari no Totoro), Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (風の谷のナウシカ/Kaze no tani no Naushika), and Patlabor: The Movie (機動警察パトレイバー the Movie/Kido Keisatsu Patoreibaa the Movie). We have a number of interview with Shigeharu Shiba on the site including, "The Blitz Broadcast is about to Begin!", "Main Staff and Cast Message", "Maison Ikkoku Music Box Interviews", and "Urusei Yatsura Music Box Interviews". Kappei Yamaguchi and Noriko Hidaka spoke about working with him in their interview in the same issue of DaVinci as well and Saeko Shimazu, the voice of Kodachi in the 1989 anime spoke of him as well.
• [4] Kappei Yamaguchi expressed a similar sentiment in his interview in DaVinci.
• [5] "Rakugo" (落語) is a traditional Japanese comedic storytelling.
• [6] The original voice of Tatewaki Kuno, Hirotaka Suzuoki (鈴置洋孝), passed away in 2006 of lung cancer. His other roles included Bright Noah (Mobile Suit Gundam), Tenshinhan (Dragon Ball) and Inaba (Urusei Yatsura).

---