Kappei Yamaguchi x Noriko Hidaka Special Borderless Talk

Translation by: Harley Acres

A miraculous reunion born of love

The anime industry is booming with remakes of classic works these days, but the one that's currently garnering the most attention is Ranma 1/2, which has been announced as having a completely new anime adaptation for the first time in 35 years. ^[1] Needless to say, this series is popular, and with the announcement that the main cast will be continuing in their roles, expectations are only rising. We asked Kappei Yamaguchi and Noriko Hidaka about how they feel about this response, and to look back on their time with the series.

Ranma 1/2, a popular manga by Rumiko Takahashi, the manga artist known for works such as Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, and Inuyasha, will be broadcast as a completely new anime starting in October. Kappei Yamaguchi plays the protagonist, Ranma Saotome, who turns into a girl when splashed with water due to his training in China. Noriko Hidaka plays the heroine, Akane Tendo, the second generation heir to the Tendo Dojo, who has outstanding physical and fighting abilities. What are their thoughts about performing in this slapstick romantic comedy about a betrothal arranged by their parents? We also asked them about the appeal of the series, which is loved all over the world.

"I still love Akane-chan" - her acting and emotions have been enhanced

One of the highlights of this Ranma 1/2 is that, with the exception of a few, the cast is the same as the original anime from 35 years ago. At the new Ranma 1/2 anime announcement event, which was live-streamed on the series' official X account, Megumi Hayashibara, who plays female Ranma, said it was "a miracle in the industry."

Yamaguchi: I'm grateful to the staff for their bold decision. To put it bluntly, if I couldn't play the role of Ranma again, I didn't even want them to remake it while I was still alive.

Hidaka: It would be sad if my signature work were to be replaced by someone else as the times change. ^[2] That's why I simply wasn't going to be content with playing a character I'd played once before, so instead I re-read the original manga; I wanted to capture all the information I could and focus it into the project. I was able to approach the role with such a strong, positive feeling. However, as Megu-chan (Hayashibara) said, this is truly a miracle, and I think there are many people in the voice acting industry who are envious of us. They think, "Those people must be so lucky!" for being able to perform once again with the same colleagues in a production that they loved and enjoyed with all their hearts back when they were in their twenties.

Yamaguchi: Looking at the reactions on social media, I saw that young people and colleagues from younger generations were very happy, which also made me very happy. ^[3]

Hidaka: They're all professionals, but they went back to that time and sent me replies saying, "I'll definitely watch it!" The casting certainly reflects that era, but the production is handled by the currently popular studio MAPPA.

The cast members all have 35-year careers under their belts, so it is expected that the production will far surpass the original.

Yamaguchi: Thank you. I think the illustrations are closer to the original drawings of Rumiko-sensei. When I received the video as a voice test reference, I felt even more strongly that I wanted to do this. I was really inspired by the illustrations and thought, "I don't want to give the role of Ranma to anyone else."

During post-recording, I was inspired by the visuals and even more so by the other actors' performances. At the time of the orignal, I hadn't made my debut that long before, so I wasn't able to listen to the lines of others and respond to them, but this time, in the studio, it was as if we were all working together. I reacted to Nonko-san's (Hidaka) Akane in a straightforward manner and passed the baton to Hayashibara-san's Ranma. Hayashibara-san says, “I act by spinal reflex,” and I felt that was fine with me this time.

Since it had been 35 years since your last performance in this role, Hidaka-san, you said that at first you were very conscious of your own voice and acting back then. ^[4]

Hidaka: That's right. Usually during voice tests, there's only a draft of the script, but this time there were also animated scenes. There were many different settings, such as a scene between Ranma and Akane, a scene between Shampoo (Rei Sakuma) and Akane, a scene between Akane and P-chan, etc. I could feel the seriousness of the production team from the moment of that voice test. So when I rehearsed for the voice test at home, I voiced Akane for the first time in a long time. I re-read the original manga, and remembering what I had done in the past, I said to myself, "Akane-chan bounces back and forth about Ranma, she's hostile to Shampoo, but she was always kind to P-chan," and as I was adding her voice, I felt "I really like Akane-chan," welling up from the bottom of my heart. I was reminded once again of how important Ranma 1/2 is to me, and how much it means to me.

I didn't want to give the role of Ranma to anyone else (Yamaguchi)

Akane's a really important and big presence to me (Hidaka)

It seems that women's voices get lower as they get older, and some people have said that when they perform works that they were involved in when they were younger, they have to perform their own voice as it once was.

Hidaka: There are certainly people where that's the case. When I first started dubbing the role, I was a little worried about sounding different from how I sounded in the past... it's weird to say this, but I was a little worried about sounding like Akane-chan had gone through puberty. But as I did more and more dubbing for this role, I ended up focusing on the emotional movements of Akane-chan as depicted in the story, and concentrating on listening to the other actor's lines and responding to them, so gradually that worry went away. However, one thing I realized was that the rhythm of my life is slower than Akane-chan's. I used to have good reflexes, and I thought I had to consciously work hard to improve my speed to react immediately to things that suddenly come my way.

Yamaguchi: No, no, if anything, you've gotten stronger. For example, the line "Ranma, you idiot!" is more powerful than before (laughs).

Hidaka: Speaking of the shouting parts, when I first played Akane, I had only ever played heroine roles, but over the past 35 years I've played boy roles and many roles where I have to shout out special moves, so now Akane's voice, when she scolds or yells at Ranma, has more devastating power (laughs). That may be something different from before.

Yamaguchi: When we recorded the first episode, my turn was towards the end, so at first I was listening to everyone's acting, but everyone's "unchanged from the past" was so amazing that it felt like the bar was getting higher and higher. I listened while thinking, "Wow, that's amazing."

Hidaka: Also, there are a lot of scenes where I raise my voice or fight, so I thought of voice acting as a full-body exercise. There's a scene where Akane-chan goes to school and throws around the tough guys from the sports club who try to ask her out, one after another, and the day after recording it, I said my whole body hurt (laughs). Even though it's just using my voice, it really takes a lot of strength. I thought this was just me, but Megumi Hayashibara-chan also said that after the first episode, where she fights with her father the panda (Genma Saotome/Cho), and that she also woke up with a sore back in the morning. This was something that didn't exist way back when.

Yamaguchi: We were all talking about how, in order to do Ranma, we need to improve our basic physical strength.

Hidaka: It's not just the throat, it's the muscle strength and stamina of the whole body.

So that saying about your body being a temple is true.

Hidaka: I also get courage and power from the achievements of my seniors in various industries. For example, just going to a concert of Eikichi Yazawa-san and listening to his powerful singing voice gives me so much energy! ^[5] When I watch the live performances of people who are more senior than me, such as Shogo Hamada-san and Yumi Matsutoya-san, I am inspired by their dynamic performances on stage and think, "I have to work hard too!" ^[6] There are many wonderful seniors in the entertainment industry, so we look up to them and encourage each other, saying, "Let's work hard too!"

The way Rumiko Takahashi's work portrays men and women in accordance with the times is part of its appeal.

At the big presentation the other day, you said that people couldn't stop chatting at the studio during the recording, and it was often difficult to get started. Has the content of the conversations at the studio changed a lot from the past?

Yamaguchi: We still laugh at silly things (laughs). However, since everyone's gained a lot of experience and age, the feeling of happiness when we're in the studio is truly amazing. I'm always happy when I'm in the studio.

Hidaka: Right! Both Kappei-kun and Megu-chan were newcomers when they were working on Ranma back in the day, so they were in an environment with a lot of seniors, and there were a lot of tense moments between them. Even when they were talking to me, they were mindful about their seniors. But after 36 years, we've become like relatives, and we've gone beyond careers and seniority and become like a family.

Yamaguchi: Nonko-san's become like an older sister to me.

Hidaka: We've become a lot closer, beyond just my being his senior at work.

Yamaguchi: We completely accept each other and trust each other. So there's nothing to worry about in the studio; I just hope this fun time will go on forever.

Hidaka: Even when we're together on other sets, our sense of distance doesn't change, but when there are a lot of younger actors, we have to protect the atmosphere in the studio, so we can't just chat away... But since Ranma is a family, the studio feels like home, and I don't have to worry about anything. That's why I can concentrate on my acting, and even when we have to re-record, when we say "I'm sorry" or "It's okay, it's okay," I know that he's not just being polite, but that he's really saying it's truly okay. In that sense, there's a sense of security that I can't experience on other sets.

Yamaguchi: Once we get an okay take, I'll says, "Akane, that was so cute!" (laughs).

Hidaka: We compliment each other (laughs). But I feel that those sort of moments are really special.

It's a miracle to come across such a work.

Yamaguchi: That's true. For me, it was a miracle and I was lucky to come across this work so soon after my debut. I've always felt that this work was the root of the voice actor Kappei Yamaguchi, and now that I'm doing it again, I'm really savoring that feeling. "How lucky I was." I don't think I would have been able to come this far without this work, and I'm feeling it every day just how big a deal it was for me.

As for Hidaka-san, after playing Minami Asakura in Touch, was this a project that allowed you to challenge yourself to play a different kind of heroine than Minami?

Hidaka: That's right. Minami-chan has a tendency to not be able to express her feelings properly, which is why she is considerate, but she holds back what she wants to say, and she's a character who is always sad. But Akane-chan is a character who doesn't keep her feelings bottled up, and when she sees something, her mouth speaks before she thinks about it, so it feels great to play her. Also, my father was a karate teacher, and I used to wear a karate gi and go to the dojo ever since I was little.

Yamaguchi: You're the real Akane!

Hidaka: I think it was a role that I was born to play. I think that even at the audition back then, the sounds I made when breaking tiles and kicking were probably better than the other female voice actors (laughs). I feel like Akane was a fateful character in the sense that she's close to who I am, so I have a strong attachment to her. It's not just me, everyone involved loves their own characters, and we all love Ranma 1/2. The feelings of love that we once felt for the series have been something we've treasured, we have special memories of the series, even while Ranma 1/2 wasn't being produced, and now that we have come together again here, it feels like all the feelings of love that had been building up are spilling out of our hearts all at once. ^[7]

Nonko-san is like an older sister to me now (Yamaguchi)

The cast of Ranma is like a family (Hidaka)

Rumiko Takahashi-sensei's works are fantasy, but also have slapstick elements, and even heart-pounding scenes. I think one of the attractions is that they're filled with a variety of different elements. What do you think is the secret to her work's long-lasting popularity around the world?

Hidaka: There's a brightness that stands out in her work. It's funny enough to make you laugh your head off, so I wanted to convey the fun of the manga as it is, without taking away from the fun I felt when reading the original work by adding my voice. That kind of bright fun is present in Ranma. I'm sure Rumiko-sensei must have enjoyed drawing it herself, saying things like "This is so funny!" Also, the characters are incredibly strong.

Yamaguchi: They just keep coming out one after the other.

Hidaka: I'm impressed with how she comes up with such strange characters.

Yamaguchi: When you look at Rumiko-sensei's perception of the times, or rather the portrayal of the male and female protagonists, in both Urusei Yatsura and Ranma, it feels like they're adapted nicely for the times. In Urusei Yatsura, the image of men and women was from the Showa era, where "women should follow three steps behind men," but in Ranma, you can sense the historical background of a time when women had become stronger. The nature of each era is well depicted in the heroines and protagonists, and I think that this perception is one of the charms of her work. I think this is also reflected in her other works such as MAO, which is currently being serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday (Shogakukan).

Rumiko Takahashi-sensei's works are also popular overseas, and when it was announced that a completely new anime version of Ranma 1/2 would be made, I heard that the reaction overseas was tremendous.

Hidaka: That's right. I went to America in May for an event called "Animazement", and although it was before the announcement of Ranma at that time, some people cosplayed as Akane, and I received questions from people who loved Ranma during the talk session. When I went overseas for the first time, there was even someone who liked Akane's character song that I sang, "Yasashii, Ii Ko ni Narenai", and said to me, "I love that 'bakabaka song'!" (laughs). Even if Japanese people and people overseas have different sensibilities, Rumiko-sensei's jokes are universal.

Yamaguchi: Both myself and Nonko-san have always wanted to do Ranma 1/2 again. ^[8] The reason is that the previous anime didn't go all the way to the final chapter of the manga. That's why Rumiko-sensei's original ends with the words that the story goes into "overtime." It really feels like overtime for us is about to begin from here.



Hidaka described the anime adaptation of Ranma 1/2 as a "reward." "If you keep working steadily, someone will definitely watch it." The two continue to love the series, and fans all over the world continue to watch it. It may be that this feedback loop of love for the series has brought about the miracle of a completely new anime adaptation of Ranma 1/2.

TV anime
Ranma 1/2
Starts 10/5 on Nippon TV
Airs every Saturday 0:55-1:25
Exclusively available on Netflix immediately after broadcast
The manga of the same name by Rumiko Takahashi, which was adapted into a TV anime in 1989, is being made into a new anime for the first time in 35 years. It is a slapstick love comedy about the daily lives of Ranma Saotome (Yamaguchi) and Akane Tendo (Hidaka), who become engaged through a strange turn of events, along with the many other unique characters involved.

© Takahashi Rumiko, Shogakukan/Ranma 1/2 Production Committee
Original art by Hiromi Taniguchi
Finishing by Yukiko Kakita
Background by Minami Kitamura

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Footnotes

• [1] The remake of Urusei Yatsura was one such series that had ended earlier in 2024 shortly before the announcement of the 2024 Ranma 1/2 adaptation. Other remakes of the time include Kinnikuman (キン肉マン), Fist of the North Star (北斗の拳/Hokuto no Ken), Hell Teacher Nube (地獄先生ぬ〜べ〜/Jigoku Sensei Nube), Dragonball Daima (ドラゴンボールDAIMA) and Yaiba.
• [2] This was a legitimate concern as the cast of Urusei Yatsura had been replaced in the remake series that ran from 2022-2024.
• [3] Koichi Yamadera (Ryoga Hibiki) said he had many younger voice actors approaching him and asking if he was going to reprise his role as Ryoga. He said he had to play coy until it was officially announced.
• [4] This is not correct. It was 35 years since the original Ranma 1/2 anime had begun. The final OVAs were released in 1996 and a one-off special OVA was also released years later in 2008.
• [5] Eikichi Yazawa (矢沢永吉) is a Japanese musician with a lenghty career beginning in the 1970s. In addition to his domestic career in Japan he released a number of albums in the United States and even performed at Live Aid.
• [6] The sunglasses-wearing Shogo Hamada (浜田省吾) also began his career in the 1970s. Yumi Matsutoya (松任谷由実) is a singer and pianist who's career stretches back to 1968.
• [7] Additionally many of the cast worked together over the ensuing years. Kappei Yamaguchi and Noriko Hidaka played Inuyasha and Kikyo in Inuyasha, and the pair appeared together on May 25, 2022 at Noriko Hidaka's concert series where she sang songs from Ranma 1/2.
• [8] Around 2004 Noriko Hidaka and Kappei Yamaguchi hosted a Ranma 1/2 marathon of the OVAs and first two films on Kids Station, a Japanese animation network that shows old anime. At the time, the two mentioned their desire to play Akane and Ranma and again and hopefully see the series concluded.

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