Daisuke & Hiroshi

Daisuke (black hair with the part in the middle) and Hiroshi (shaggy light brown hair) are best friends, and some of Ranma's only admitted male friends.

Even though they often cheer Ranma on, they frequently comment to each other at how tired they are of Ranma always getting the attention of all the girls.

In the beginning they (along with most of the male students at Furinkan) seemed to like Akane. Later they demanded that Ranma tell them who the Pigtailed Girl was and what his relationship with her was. Daisuke and Hiroshi can best be compared to Ranma as Megane, Chibi, Perm and Kakugari are to Ataru Moroboshi in Urusei Yatsura or Sakamoto and Kobayashi are to Yusaku Godai in Maison Ikkoku, in that they are minor characters that make up the group of friends to the main male characters.

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The Meaning Behind the Name - 大介 & ひろし

Daisuke (大介) can mean "brotherly affection" plus "assistance".

Hiroshi (ひろし) has a few meanings. "Remain peacful, expansive, abundant, ambition, or great soldier." These two were probably given these names not because of puns or for any humorous reason, but to show they are just average characters. Both names are fairly common Japanese names. In the Ranma 1/2 Memorial Artbook Hiroshi is given the monier "Chapatsu" (茶髪) which is a reference to his hair color (tea-colored would be the translation).

In the 2024 anime adaptation they are given the names "Shingo" (しんご) and "Kiichi" (きいち) written in hiragana. These are fairly common names and without kanji no deeper meaning can be suggested (none is really intended with such ordinary names).

Voices: Takehito Koyasu The stylish Takehito Koyasu has played bigger roles than just Ranma's sidekick, Daisuke. He's also voiced Hotohori in Fushigi Yuugi, Zechs Merquis in Gundam Wing and Aya Fujimiya in Weiss Kreuz.

Sho Okumura Sho Okumura portrays "Shingo" as he is called in the 2024 adaptation of Ranma 1/2. His previous roles include mostly background voices at this stage of his career, but he also portrayed Gregory in The Vampire Dies in No Time and the Senka triplets, Takanami Senka, Makinami Senka and Sazanami Senki in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.

David Kaye David Kaye is one of the most frequently heard voices in English anime work. Besides Ranma ½'s Soun Tendo he is also Gundam Wing's Treize Kushrinada, Kim Kaphwan in Fatal Fury, Master in Maison Ikkoku and Sesshomaru in Inuyasha.

John Patneaude John Patneaude plays "Shingo" in the 2024 English adaptation. His other roles include Daelophos in Visions of Mana and Quatre Salision in The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak.

Koji Tsujitani Koji Tsujitani is another heavy hitter, but you would not guess it from his small role on Ranma 1/2. He replaced Hirotaka Suzuoki after his death as Tatewaki Kuno in the Nightmare! Insense of Spring Sleep OVA. His roles include Miroku in Inuyasha, Yakumo Fuji in 3x3 Eyes, Kubo in Otaku no Video, Ryu in Street Fighter II V and Bernie in Gundam 0080. He was married to Kumiko Wantanabe (who plays Shippo in Inuyasha) before his death.

JP Karliak JR Karliak plays "Kiichi" as he is known as in the 2024 adaptation. His credits include Morph in X-Men '97, Gawain in the Fate/Grand Order series and Kozo Fuyutsuki in Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Terry Klassen Terry Klassen is another frequently heard voice in the English language industry. His previous roles include Maison Ikkoku's Sakamoto, Dragonball Z's Krillin, and Hatchie in Inuyasha.

Yohei Hamada Yohei Hamada plays "Kiichi" as he is known as in the 2024 Ranma 1/2 adaptation. At this point in his career he is mostly known for background voices, but he has also portrayed Cedric and Bertrand in Octopath Traveler: Conquerors of the Continent and Manabu Kasse in Noblesse.