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Saeko Shimazu: Ranma 1/2 Interview (1) Behind the scenes of the "1989 version" anime recording - "The role of Kodachi was the peak level of tension"

Translated by: Harley Acres



A completely new anime adaptation of Rumiko Takahashi-san'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 major attractions are the unique characters such as Ranma Saotome, Akane Tendo and the rest of the Tendo family, as well as Ryoga Hibiki, Shampoo, and Tatewaki Kuno. On the November 9th and 16th broadcasts, one of the most "intense" characters Kodachi Kuno, makes her appearance. We spoke to Saeko Shimazu, who played Kodachi in the 1989 anime about the recordings in those days and her thoughts on Kodachi.

Playing Kodachi was a challenge - Memories with You Inoue


Ranma 1/2 was serialized in the manga magazine Weekly Shonen Sunday (Shogakukan) from 1987 to 1996 by Takahashi-san, who is also known for Urusei Yatsura and Maison Ikkoku. It depicted the hectic daily lives of Ranma Saotome, a high school martial artist who turns into a girl when splashed with water, and his fiancée Akane Tendo.

Shimazu-san played Shinobu Miyake in Urusei Yatsura, which began airing in 1981, and Sayoko Kuroki in Maison Ikkoku, which began airing in 1986, and her role as Kodachi in Ranma 1/2 was her third time appearing in a Rumiko Takahashi-san work. The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Ranma 1/2 is the 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. [1]

"Before the broadcast of Ranma 1/2, there was an event in collaboration 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 some fans who were seeing Kappei (Yamaguchi)-san, who plays [male] Ranma, and Megumi (Hayashibara)-san, who plays [female] Ranma, for the first time. At the time, someone called out something 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, Kitty was also producing YAWARA!, and there were many joint events held for Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2 and YAWARA!, and I was the one who was involved in Urusei and YAWARA!. [2] Yuko Minaguchi-san from YAWARA! and Ranma 1/2's Kappei Yamaguchi-san, Megumi Hayashibara-san, and Noriko Hidaka-san were the other members and we toured all over the country. The Kitty event was a lot of fun and quite luxurious, and the audiences were amazing."

Shimazu-san says that the role of Kodachi was a challenging one. Previously, she played Shinobu in Urusei Yatsura, with her memorable cry of "I hate men!" and Megumi Ayase in Magical Angel Creamy Mami (魔法の天使クリィミーマミ/Maho no Tenshi Kurimii Mami). Looking back, she said, "I thought the director and Kitty had thrown something at me on a whole different level, and I thought, 'I've gotta get there.'"

"The role of Kodachi was the absolute peak level role I've ever played in terms of tension. Even with Shinobu in Urusei Yatsura, there was probably no one else who could act like that at the time, and when Pierrot's producer (Yuji) Nunokawa-san heard my voice at the audition, he thought, 'An incredible new talent has appeared.' [3] I heard that story 30 years later, though (laughs). Then I appeared in Creamy Mami, playing the role of Megumi Ayase, the rival of the main character. [4] Megumi Ayase wasn't an ordinary girl, either. So I think I had the image of being okay 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 awarded by request rather than through having an audition.

"When it was decided that Shampoo would be played by Rei (Sakuma)-chan, I thought she was perfect for the role, but I never thought 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 got the impression that she had a very strong personality, and was a strong-willed young lady and queenly type. So when she flies across the rooftops, it just makes you laugh. I thought, 'That's the role for me!' and I was so happy."

The episodes where Kodachi first appeared in the anime depicted a battle between Kodachi and Ranma in rhythmic gymnastics. The ring announcer for the battle was played by You Inoue, who also co-starred with Shimazu-san in Gold Lightan (ゴールドライタン). [5]

"From the beginning, I was nervous about whether it was okay to go all out in my role because it was a high-tension character, but You-san, who was sitting next to me, said, 'Saeko, it's fine' (laughs). During the recording, I said to her, 'I've been playing a lot of these kinds of roles recently, and I haven't had any peaceful family-like anime roles,' and she replied, 'It's fine because you're playing a role that only you can play.' Those words from Yo-san have stayed with me. Yo-san's ring announcer was also wonderful. She's a wonderful senior whom I still respect, and my favorite role of her's was Ran-chan from Urusei Yatsura."

Advice from Sound Director Shigeharu Shiba: Newcomers and veterans alike should give it their all


Kodachi Kuno
Kodachi "The Black Rose" Kuno


Kodachi is a strong and outlandish character, but her crazy behavior makes all your worries float away. She has a mysterious charm. Shimazu-san says, "That's because Rumiko-sensei's original manga is amazing. I think we must never do anything that would negatively impact the greatness of the original."

"When we voice actors are working on a story based on an original work, we approach our process 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 character's heart, such as, 'What are the character's feelings? What are they thinking?' The starting point for both Shinobu and Kodachi, 'Why are they like this?', is absolutely found in their feelings. I thought it was important that I 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. [6]

"He's usually a calm person, but he taught me to do my job well. I think he really trained us all. When I was a rookie on Time Patrol Tai Otasukeman (タイムパトロール隊オタスケマン), I was the only rookie in the studio and everyone around me was a veteran, so I felt like I had to absorb everything on set and I was always nervous. [7] However, around the time of Ranma 1/2, the ratio of rookies to veterans changed and there were a lot of young people and not many veterans like Ichiro Nagai-san (who played Happosai), Shigeru Chiba-san (who played Sasuke Sarugakure), and Onii-sama (Hirotaka Suzuoki, who played Tatewaki Kuno). This created a friendly atmosphere among the rookies, so there were many times when Shiba-san would give everyone some firm words. I think that this is something that needs to be cherished even after becoming a veteran."

Back then, rather than checking the footage to be dubbed individually in advance as is the case today, all the cast members would watch the footage together in the studio before recording their lines.

"Shiba-san told me to watch from start to finish, even if my character isn't in it. Otherwise, I wouldn't understand why my character was there, or how my character affected the story. Even a little background noise is very important. For example, in a scene where everyone is attacked by something and starts running, the way they run shows the strength of the attacker and how much danger there is, and this increases the tension of the story. Shiba-san was someone who trained newcomers on the set."

Despite the rigorous conditions at the recording site, Yamaguchi-san, who plays [male] Ranma, and Hayashibara-san, who plays [female] Ranma, were "newcomers with a very high level of ability."

"I think it was good because it was a production that required a lot of tension. Not just the two of them, but everyone around us was like that. Onii-sama was the type to keep his excitement high even during the rehersals, and I was the same, so we never slacked off. So it's not okay for newcomers to slack off. I think we both gave it our all."

Saeko Shimazu: Ranma 1/2 Interview (2) - The inside story behind the recording of the character songs for the 1989 anime: "Everyone was having fun and working hard"



A completely new anime adaptation of Rumiko Takahashi-san'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 major attractions are the unique characters such as Ranma Saotome, Akane Tendo and the rest of the Tendo family, as well as Ryoga Hibiki, Shampoo, and Tatewaki Kuno. On the November 9th and 16th broadcasts, one of the most "intense" characters Kodachi Kuno, makes her appearance. We spoke to Saeko Shimazu, who played Kodachi in the 1989 anime about the recordings in those days and her thoughts on Kodachi.

Recording a character song is a battle that exceeds expectations - Masato Suga's amazing work


One thing that should not be forgotten about the 1989 anime version of Ranma 1/2 is the character songs sung by the voice actors. Many great songs were born, and the album Ranma 1/2: Hot Song Contest, which included the character songs, won in the anime category at the 5th Japan Gold Disc Awards in 1990, which was also a hot topic. [8] Shimazu-san says that the character songs left a strong impression on her.

"I remember that after the recording of the anime was over, we all went to the recording studio by taxi. When we were recording Kodachi's character song, "Let's Go to the Forest", the director, (Masato) Suga-san, was worried and asked me, "Is it okay to go this far?" but I said, "It's fine" (laughs)." [9]

"Let's Go to the Forest" is a nursery rhyme sung by Kodachi with high energy and her familiar loud laughter. The character songs for Ranma 1/2 were produced by music producer Masato Suga, of whom she states, "He was an amazing person. I had sung several character songs before Ranma 1/2, but his producing skills were outstanding."

"I thought it was great how they chose "Let's Go to the Forest" for Kodachi. I think "Black Roses for Valentine's Day" (Kodachi's character song) is the more traditional one. Nabiki's New Year's gift song ("I Love New Year's More Than Anything in the World") also has lyrics like "5,000 yen from dad", you don't see many character songs like that, do you? When recording the character songs, I think all the cast members exceeded the level that Suga-san had in mind for them to be "made like this". It's a battle that goes beyond expectations! If you listen to the character songs of Ranma 1/2 when you're feeling down, it'll blow you away, right? I'd be happy if people continue to listen to them now."

Ranma 1/2 is a fun work; both the "1989 version" and the new version are "powerful"


The universal appeal of Ranma 1/2, which has captivated the hearts of many for so long, has been carried over to this "completely new anime." In the new work, voice actors Kappei Yamaguchi-san as [male] Ranma Saotome, Megumi Hayashibara-san as [female] Ranma, and Noriko Hidaka-san as Akane Tendo will continue in their roles, while Tomokazu Sugita-san as Tatewaki Kuno and Toshiyuki Morikawa-san as Tofu Ono will join the cast as newcomers. Kuno Kodachi, originally played by Shimazu-san, will be played by Ayane Sakura-san. We once again asked Shimazu-san about the appeal of Ranma 1/2. [10]

"When I saw the promotional video for the new anime, I thought, 'Wow, this is fun!' It's a really fun work, not just with the high-tension parts, but also with normal scenes like eating dinner at home. The new work will be just as powerful as the '1989 version.' If you try to express the charm of the original [manga], it'll be powerful. Within that, there are serious parts and times when it can be explosive, so there are ups and downs. I'm looking forward to those differences as well."

She also shares her thoughts on Hirotaka Suzuoki-san, who played Tatewaki Kuno in the 1989 version, Hiromi Tsuru-san, who played Ukyo Kuonji, Ichiro Nagai-san, who played Happosai, and Miyoko Asou, who played Cologne.

"I'm very sad that Suzuoki-san and Tsuru-chan are gone, but I'd be happy if everyone remembers that they worked hard while having fun. They were two truly wonderful people. Suzuoki-san didn't write a single thing in his script. He had it all in his head. They were amazing people. Nagai-san and Asou-san were our great seniors back then, and their range of acting as seniors and their power which was on par with that of the newcomers was amazing. They also had their own character songs ("Fascinating Limbo Dance"). I'm very grateful to the fans who told me that the anime was great and the cast was great. Also, they said that Suga-san, who produced the character songs, was amazing. I'd be happy if everyone remembered that."

Shimazu-san described Ranma 1/2 as "a fun series," and Kodachi as "a really fun and lovable character." When she was told that Sakura-san, who will be playing Kodachi in the new adaptation, had said during recording, "I went in with the intention of laughing as loud as I could, just like my seniors," she cheered her on, saying, "Do your best!" and added, "I'm really looking forward to seeing how the generation that watched the works we starred in will play this role."


Footnotes
  • [1] These events included the "Shonen Sunday 30th Anniversary Jump Out! Ranma 1/2" and "Kitty Animation Carnival '89". Please see our 1989 news archive for details.
  • [2] Yawara! is the anime adaptation of Naoki Urasawa's manga of the same name. The series was produced by Kitty and Madhouse and ran for 124 episodes from 1989 to 1992. The joint event was the "Kitty Animation Carnival '89".
  • [3] Yuji Nunokawa (布川ゆうじ) was the founder of Studio Pierrot. We have many interviews with him during his days involved with Urusei Yatsura as well as a lengthy interview between himself and Urusei Yatsura character designer Akemi Takada (高田明美).
  • [4] Magical Angel Creamy Mami (魔法の天使クリィミーマミ/Maho no Tenshi Kurimii Mami) is an anime series produced by Studio Pierrot that aired from 1983 to 1984.
  • [5] Golden Warrior Gold Lightan (黄金戦士ゴールド・ライタン/Ogon Senshi Gorudo Raitan) is a 1981 to 1982 mecha anime produced by Tatsunoko Production.
  • [6] 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". Megumi Hayashibara spoke about working with him in her interview in the same issue of DaVinci as well.
  • [7] Time Patrol Tai Otasukeman (タイムパトロール隊オタスケマン), known as Rescueman in English, is the fourth series in the Time Bokan series of anime from Tatsunoko Production.
  • [8] The 5th Japan Gold Disc Awards (第5回日本ゴールドディスク大賞) were held in 1990. The soundtrack for Kiki's Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便/Majo no Takkyubin) won the previous year while the soundtrack of Nadia, the Secret of Blue Water (ふしぎの海のナディア/Fushigi no Umi no Nadia) won the following year.
  • [9] Masato Suga (須賀正人) produced music for series the Oh My Goddess (ああっ女神さまっ/Ah Megami-sama) OVA series. Writer of some of the Ranma 1/2 character songs Masakazu Yoshida ( 吉田正和) stated on his Twitter account that the success of the Ranma 1/2 character songs lead to the "song-first voice casting" of Oh My Goddess. Comments from Suga and Shimazu during during the release of "Black Roses for Valentine's Day" can be read here.
  • [10] Ayane Sakura (佐倉綾音) the voice of Kodachi in the 2024 adaptation discussed her excitement in playing the character but also how intimidating it was to step into Saeko Shimazu's shoes. That interview can be read here.


Cover

Mantan Web
Published: November 16, 2024
Interviewer: Mantan Web Editorial Department (MANTANWEB編集部)
Translated by: Harley Acres
Translation date: November 16, 2024
ISBN/Web Address: https://mantan-web.jp/ article/20241115dog00m200005000c.html & https://mantan-web.jp/ article/20241115dog00m200006000c.html
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