96-562: Ranma may refer to: Ranma ½ , a Japanese manga series Ranma Saotome , the title character in the Ranma ½ media franchise Ranma (architectural) , a type of transom found in traditional Japanese architecture See also [ edit ] All pages with titles containing Ranma Ramna Thana , a location in Bangladesh Ranna (disambiguation) Topics referred to by
192-581: A live-action television special was produced and aired on Nippon Television . Another anime adaptation produced by MAPPA premiered on October 6, 2024, broadcasting on Nippon Television and streaming on Netflix . The manga and anime series were licensed by Viz Media for English-language releases in North America. Madman Entertainment released the manga, part of the anime series, and the first two films in Australasia, while MVM Films released
288-519: A 70% growth in the U.S. market, in line with a 43% increase in overall manga sales in the United States the same year. On July 3, 2020, Funimation announced that they would begin streaming the original Naruto series on July 6. More content from Viz Media started to launch in their catalog such as Hunter × Hunter , Sailor Moon R: The Movie , and two Berserk films. On September 9, 2020, Funimation announced that they had reached
384-465: A January 2003 cover date. Based on the popular Japanese anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump , published by Shueisha , Shonen Jump is retooled for English readers and the American audience and is published monthly, instead of weekly. It features serialized chapters from seven manga series, and articles on Japanese language and culture, as well as manga, anime, video games, and figurines. In conjunction with
480-478: A boy when touching hot water. Throughout the series Ranma seeks out a way to rid himself of his curse, while his friends, enemies, and many fiancées constantly hinder and interfere. Ranma ½ has a comedic formula and a sex-changing main character, who often willfully transforms into a girl to advance his goals. The series also contains many other characters, whose intricate relationships with each other, unusual characteristics, and eccentric personalities drive most of
576-566: A co-venture with Del Rey . In 2005, VIZ Communications merged with ShoPro Entertainment, an American subisidary of Shogakukan and was renamed to Viz Media . Horibuchi became the new company's chairman. During the same year, Horibuchi started a related division, Viz Pictures, for releasing selected live-action films in the US to theaters and DVD. On December 17, 2008, Viz Media announced that starting on April 1, 2009, Warner Home Video (now Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment ) would be handling
672-413: A different time slot, running for 143 episodes from October 20, 1989, to September 25, 1992. The anime stays true to the original manga but does differ by keeping Ranma's gender transformation a secret from the high school students, at least throughout most of its length. It also does not introduce Hikaru Gosunkugi until very late in the series, instead, Sasuke Sarugakure , the diminutive ninja retainer of
768-567: A distribution partnership with Viz Media, with Viz Media titles being made available to stream on Funimation's website. The deal was made after select Viz titles were previously made available on Funimation. On May 9, 2023, Viz Media launched a digital manga service called "Viz Manga", featuring licenses from Shogakukan and Shueisha that are not published on the digital "Shonen Jump" service, and has simultaneous English releases of ongoing manga. On July 5, 2024, Viz announced on their social media channels that they had acquired RWBY following
864-687: A few exclusive illustrations. A Movie + OVA Visual Comic was released to illustrate the theatrical film Super Indiscriminate Decisive Battle! Team Ranma vs. the Legendary Phoenix and the OVA episodes The One to Carry On (both parts). It also included information on the voice actors, character designs, and a layout of the Tendo dojo. Additionally, guidebooks were released for three of the Ranma ½ video games; these included not only strategies, but also interviews. Two books including interviews with
960-550: A half years until it was canceled in August 1998. Pulp was a monthly manga anthology introduced by Viz in 1997. The magazine featured more mature titles, marketed at adults rather than teenage readers. Some of titles serialized in the magazine included: Uzumaki , Banana Fish , and Dance Till Tomorrow . The magazine was canceled in 2002. Shonen Jump is a shōnen manga anthology that debuted in November 2002, with
1056-523: A list of "lesser-known, lesser-loved classics," calling it "a solid action-comedy and a good, well-rounded example of the appeal of Ranma ½ " Hiroshi Aro admitted that he created Futaba-kun Change! based on Ranma ½ . Western comic book artists who have cited Ranma ½ as an influence include Canadian Bryan Lee O'Malley on his series Scott Pilgrim and American Colleen Coover on her erotic series Small Favors . Film director Makoto Shinkai mentioned that Ranma ½ served as an inspiration for
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#17327728271071152-423: A lower page count. The last monthly issue of the original format Animerica had a cover date of June 2005 (Volume 13, No. 6). Animurica was one of the first professional anime and manga magazines released in the United States, and one of the most popular in the 1990s. In 2004, it had a circulation of 45,000 readers, but low sales and high competition from Newtype USA resulted in the essential cancellation of
1248-421: A male this time. However, she was worried about writing a male main character, and therefore decided to make him half-female. According to Takahashi, the idea of making Ranma "just kinda popped into [her] head," and she looked for a way to make it possible for him to go back and forth between genders. It was then when she had a vision of a bathhouse's cloth entrance sign. She considered Ranma changing every time he
1344-410: A male-dominated society." Takahashi said that she does not think in terms of societal agendas and that she created the Ranma ½ concept from simply wanting "a simple, fun idea". She added that she, as a woman and while recalling what manga she liked to read as a child, felt that "humans turning into animals might also be fun and märchenhaft ... you know, like a fairy tale." In 2013, she revealed that at
1440-433: A monthly comic book format that contained two chapters each from 1992 to 2003, and had the images "flipped" to read left-to-right, causing the art to be mirrored. These were periodically collected into graphic novels. On March 18, 2004, after releasing 21 volumes, Viz announced that it would reprint a number of its graphic novels. The content remained the same, but the novels moved to a smaller format with different covers and
1536-415: A press release claiming that none of their current product lines would be affected. On April 2, 2012, it was announced that the senior vice-president and general manager of Viz Media Ken Sasaki would be succeeding executive producer Hidemi Fukuhara as president and CEO; Fukuhara will subsequently take up the position of vice-president at the end of the month. In Fall 2013, Viz began distributing titles to
1632-481: A price drop. Each volume covers roughly the same amount of material as the Japanese volumes, but retained its left-to-right format and had minor differences in grouping so that it spans 36 volumes rather than the original 38. The final volume was released in stores on November 14, 2006, thus making it Viz's longest running manga, spanning over 13 years. At Anime Expo on July 7, 2013, Viz Media announced re-release of
1728-645: A separate entity from Viz Media) opened a three-story entertainment complex in San Francisco called New People. The center piece of the complex is a 143-seat movie theater that screens anime and Japanese live-action films. The center also has a cafe, a store selling anime and manga related items, and clothing stores offering Japanese clothing items. Neon Alley was a streaming service dedicated to anime and related programming established in October 2012. After moving streaming content from its own platform to Hulu ,
1824-410: A total of 38 black and white tankōbon volumes from 1988 to 1996. They were reassembled in 38 shinsōban from April 2002 to October 2003. A Shōnen Sunday Special edition for all 20 volumes was published from 2016 to 2018. This edition included a series of interviews with Rumiko Takahashi called " The Making of Ranma. " North American publisher Viz Media originally released Ranma ½ in
1920-706: Is a classic, after a hundred episodes, the same jokes are just not funny anymore. THEM Anime Reviews ' Raphael See called the television series and the OVAs "one of the funniest things [he's] ever seen, anime or otherwise" and also praised the English dub as some of the best. However, he was much more critical of the first two films particularly for both using the same damsel in distress plot. Mike Toole of Anime News Network included Big Trouble in Nekronon, China at number 83 on The Other 100 Best Anime Movies of All Time,
2016-470: Is a fellow practitioner of Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū ( 無差別格闘流 ) or "Anything-Goes School" of martial arts and owner of a dojo . Genma and Soun agreed years ago that their children would marry and carry on the Tendo Dojo. Soun has three teenaged daughters: the polite and easygoing Kasumi , the greedy and indifferent Nabiki and the short-tempered, martial arts practicing Akane . Akane, who is Ranma's age,
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#17327728271072112-436: Is a franchise focus. Ranma goes to school with Akane at Furinkan High School ( 風林館高校 , Fūrinkan Kōkō ) , where he meets his recurring opponent Tatewaki Kuno , the conceited kendo team captain who aggressively pursues Akane, but also falls in love with Ranma's female form without ever discovering his curse (despite most other characters eventually knowing it). Nerima serves as a backdrop for more martial arts mayhem with
2208-560: Is appointed for bridal duty by her sisters with the reasoning that they are the older sisters and can dump the duty on her, and that they all dislike the arranged engagement and think Akane's dislike of men is the right way to express it to the fathers. At the appointed time, the Saotomes arrive in their new forms given by the cursed springs, confusing the Tendos, and ultimately leading to Akane seeing Ranma changing from girl form to boy form in
2304-517: Is because their sister company publishes the original novels. For Azumanga Daioh , Yen Press's license of the manga was a month before Shogakukan reprinted the manga in May 2009, resulting in a change of license holders from ASCII Media Works (when Yen Press announced the license) to Shogakukan (when Yen Press released it). The Yen Press edition is a newly translated and lettered version of ADV Manga's edition (taken from ASCII Media Works) as opposed to
2400-501: Is cast as the antagonist, the new original character Okamada. The all-girl pop group 9nine contribute " Chikutaku☆2Nite " as the theme song. It was released on both DVD and Blu-ray on March 21, 2012. The Ranma ½ Memorial Book was published just as the manga ended in 1996. Acting as an end-cap to the series, it collects various illustrations from the series, features an interview with Takahashi, and includes tidbits about Ranma: summaries of his battles, his daily schedule, trivia, and
2496-536: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Ranma %C2%BD Ranma ½ ( Japanese : らんま 1 / 2 , Hepburn : Ranma Nibun-no-Ichi , pronounced Ranma One-Half in English) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi . It was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday from August 1987 to March 1996, with
2592-552: Is often cited as the first tsundere character in anime and manga, Theron Martin of Anime News Network stated that Ranma ½ ' s Akane Tendo is closer to how they would later typically be portrayed in the 2000s. He also suggested that one could argue Ranma is an early example of a harem or reverse harem series, due to the main character attracting suitors in both genders. The series's publication in North America proved highly successful as well, being many Americans' first introduction to manga and its anime adaptation one of
2688-513: Is produced by MAPPA and directed by Kōnosuke Uda , with Kimiko Ueno writing the series' scripts, Hiromi Taniguchi designing the characters, and Kaoru Wada composing the music. Most of the original Japanese voice cast for the main characters will reprise their roles. In contrast with the original animation, the remake will censor some Chinese communist symbolism. The series premiered on October 6, 2024, on Nippon TV and its affiliates, with Netflix licensing it for streaming worldwide weekly after
2784-585: The shōnen manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Sunday issue #36 published on August 19, 1987, following the ending of her series Urusei Yatsura . From August 1987 until March 1996, the manga was published on a near weekly basis with the occasional colored page to spruce up the usually black and white stories. After nearly a decade of storylines, the final chapter was published in Weekly Shōnen Sunday issue #12 on March 6, 1996. The 407 chapters were periodically collected and published by Shogakukan into
2880-490: The Ranma ½ franchise. While most are fighting games , there have been several RPGs , puzzle games, and Pachinko slot machines. The most recent game is Pachislot Ranma 1/2 , released on November 5, 2018, for Pachinko . Only two have been released in Western countries. Ranma ½: Chōnai Gekitōhen was released in the US as Street Combat ; the characters were Americanized , having their appearances completely changed, and
2976-525: The "It's a Rumic World" exhibition of Rumiko Takahashi's artwork. Based on the "Nightmare! Incense of Deep Sleep" manga story from volume 34, it was shown on odd numbered days at the exhibition in Tokyo from July 30 to August 11, 2008. But it was not released until January 29, 2010, when it was put in a DVD box set with the Urusei Yatsura and Inuyasha specials that premiered at the same exhibit. It
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3072-407: The "difficult economic climate" was behind the magazine's cancellation, and that it would continue releasing the magazine's titles, as well as others, using the "Shojo Beat" imprint. In January 2009, Viz Media announced plans to launch a Japanese science fiction novel line called Haikasoru. The first novels were scheduled to be released in the summer of the same year, with four novels: The Lord of
3168-612: The 2016 animation film Your Name . Matt Bozon, creator of the Shantae video game series, cited Ranma ½ as a big influence on his work. The title of the fourth game, Shantae: 1 ⁄ 2 Genie Hero , is also a tribute to the series. Viz Media VIZ Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco , California , focused on publishing manga , and distribution and licensing Japanese anime , films, and television series. The company
3264-521: The 3-volume edition by Shogakukan. Yen Press has expressed interest in releasing the 3-volume edition although editor Kurt Hassler said he is not "sure this will be possible.", possibly because Shogakukan owns Viz and that they almost exclusively license their titles to them). In March 2010, Shogakukan began a partnership with Fantagraphics Books to issue a line of manga to be edited by Matt Thorn. In 2003, possibly in response to Shogakukan and Shueisha's co-ownership of Viz, Japanese publisher Kodansha formed
3360-651: The European and South American markets. When Shueisha became a joint owner of Viz in 2002, both Shogakukan and Shueisha began to release manga exclusively through Viz. Shueisha's deal with Viz may have been prompted by competition with Raijin Comics , a rival manga publisher created in 2002 by editors and artists who had split off from Shueisha, taking their properties with them. Some exceptions to this exclusivity exist, however: Shueisha permitted DC Comics 's subsidiary CMX Manga to license Tenjho Tenge (although it
3456-639: The Haunted Hot Springs and Super HxEros , and permitted Tokyopop to license Kodocha , Marmalade Boy , and Digimon Next and Manga Planet to license Silver Fang -The Shooting Star Gin- and allowed Kodansha USA to license the Battle Angel Alita manga in America. Shogakukan permitted Tokyopop to license Corrector Yui (even though Viz Media licensed the anime) and Yumi Tsukirino's Stitch! manga (because Tokyopop had
3552-524: The Japanese broadcast. The opening theme is "Iinazukekkyun" performed by Ano [ ja ] , while the ending theme is "Anta Nante" performed by Riria [ ja ] specifically for the anime. Viz Media and Hot Topic hosted the world premiere of the first episode on August 23 during Anime NYC . Earlier that same month, it was reported that the first 12 episodes of the anime were leaked alongside many other Iyuno localization company works. There have been seventeen video games based on
3648-455: The Kuno family fills a number of Gosunkugi's roles in early storylines but is a major character in his own right. The anime also alters the placement of many story arcs and contains numerous original episodes and characters not adapted from the manga. Viz Media licensed both anime series in 1993, making Ranma ½ one of the first anime titles licensed by Viz. The English dub produced for the series
3744-533: The Philippines. In 2014, it announced it would do the same in India with 75 Shueisha titles being released in that country; Viz titles had been distributed unofficially to that country prior to the announcement. On July 3, 2019, Viz Media partnered with Crunchyroll to distribute select Crunchyroll licensed titles on home video and electronic sell-through in the United States and Canada. In 2020, Viz Media saw
3840-628: The Sands of Time by Issui Ogawa , ZOO by Otsuichi , All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka , and Usurper of the Sun by Hōsuke Nojiri . In addition, the imprint released an expanded edition of Kōshun Takami 's Battle Royale . In 2010, the imprint release Project Itoh 's novel Harmony , which later won a Special Citation Philip K. Dick Award . The imprint is distributed to trade by Simon & Schuster . In October 2011, Viz Media launched SuBLime as an imprint for boys' love titles. The imprint
3936-537: The TV series for Blu-ray and DVD release in 2014. The show is streamed on their anime channel service Neon Alley since Autumn 2013. In September 2020, Toonami co-creator Jason DeMarco revealed that he had previously tried to get Ranma ½ aired on the American TV programming block, but "it's something we never were able to figure out, because, frankly, there's too much nudity." Madman Entertainment licensed some of
Ranma - Misplaced Pages Continue
4032-532: The Top 50 Anime, although the list was limited to series that were released in North America. It ranked 36th on TV Asahi 's 2006 list of Japan's 100 favorite animated TV series, which is based on an online poll of the Japanese people, up from the previous year's list where it ranked 45th. In November 2006, the New York Comic Con announced that it would host the first-ever American Anime Awards . Fans had
4128-451: The US and Japan. VIZ Productions' first film is the live action adaptation of All You Need is Kill , Edge of Tomorrow , starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt . Their second production was the American live-action adaptation to the supernatural thriller manga series: Death Note , which was directed by Adam Wingard and starred Nat Wolff , as the film's lead. Viz also has many partnerships with various authors and celebrities, perhaps
4224-551: The Year for its release of the fourteenth volume of the Naruto series. By 2002, Viz Communications kept some publications in the original right-to-left format, while in other publications it mirrored pages from Japan's right-to-left reading format to fit the Western left-to-right reading style. During that year Dallas Middaugh, the senior marketing manager of Viz, stated that the left-to-right version of Neon Genesis Evangelion outsold
4320-585: The Year" award in December 2002, and has continued to enjoy high sales with a monthly circulation of 215,000 in 2008. Shojo Beat was a shōjo manga magazine Viz launched in June 2005 as a sister magazine for Shonen Jump . It featured serialized chapters from six manga series as well as articles on Japanese culture, manga, anime , fashion and beauty. Viz launched related "Shojo Beat" imprints in its manga, light novel , and anime divisions to coordinate with
4416-408: The action scenes were hard to follow and noted that the mirroring to left-to-right format caused errors with the art. In their review of Viz Media's season five DVD box set, Anime News Network praised the Japanese cast's performance and the animation, but criticized the English version's slight script changes and minor voice actors while praising its main cast. They also remarked that while Ranma ½
4512-567: The branding would be retired in May 2016. Animerica is a quarterly anime and manga digest that initially started as a monthly magazine featuring reviews of anime and manga titles, as well as related works. After a preview issue was released in November 1992, the magazine's first issue was released in February 1993 with a March 1993 cover date. The magazine originally featured articles and reviews on manga, anime, and related media, as well as manga preview chapters. In 1998, Animerica Extra
4608-496: The cast of the live-action TV drama, and some select stories, were released in 2011. The music from the Ranma ½ TV series, films and OVAs have been released on various CDs . Four from the TV series, two from the first film, one from the second, one from the third film and OVAs, and three compiling the music by DoCo used in the OVAs. DoCo is a pop group composed of the anime's main female characters' voice actresses . Several compilation albums were also released, some composed of
4704-623: The chance to vote for their favorite anime online during the month of January 2007. Only the five nominees receiving the most votes for each category were announced on February 5. Among the 12 different categories, Ranma ½ was voted into the "Best Comedy Anime" category, and the Ranma ½ OVAs were voted into the "Best Short Series" category. A 2019 NHK poll of 210,061 people saw Ranma ½ and Ranma ½ Nettōhen named Takahashi's second best-animated work. Shampoo and Ranma were voted fourth and fifth place respectively in her characters category. Although Lum from Takahashi's first series Urusei Yatsura
4800-408: The chapter in the evening so as to finish it by dawn, and resting for a day before calling her assistants. They finish it in two or three nights, usually utilizing five days for a chapter. Takahashi purposefully aimed the series to be popular with women and children. In 1993, an Animerica interviewer talking with Takahashi asked her if she intended the sex-changing theme "as an effort to enlighten
4896-407: The chapters collected in 38 tankōbon volumes by Shogakukan . The story revolves around a teenager named Ranma Saotome who has trained in martial arts since early childhood. As a result of falling into a cursed Chinese spring during a training journey, he has the ability to have an instant sex change when getting wet, becoming a girl when exposed to cold water, and likewise changing back into
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#17327728271074992-399: The closure of its original parent company, Rooster Teeth —several months prior. In contrast to similar TV and film ratings, Viz also has set up certain "manga ratings" for their products based on their content. Despite its name, Viz's manga ratings were also used on licensed anime titles, though, in the later 2000s, they instead relied on local countries' rating systems. Viz Media
5088-632: The company will focus on films that focus on the "Japanese 'kawaii (cute) and cool' pop culture." In 2007, the division released seven films to theaters, including Train Man: Densha Otoko and Honey and Clover . DVD releases for all VIZ Pictures films are distributed exclusively by its parent, VIZ Media. Viz Pictures renamed themselves to New People and no longer shares office space or employees with Viz Media. Viz Media no longer distributes DVD and Blu-ray releases of their products. In August 2009, Viz Pictures (now known as New People and
5184-411: The cursed springs at Jusenkyo ( 呪泉郷 ) . The cursed spring causes any afflicted to assume the physical form of whatever drowned there hundreds or thousands of years ago whenever they come into contact with cold water, which reverts on contact with hot water but resumes with exposure to cold water. Genma fell into the spring of a drowned panda while Ranma fell into the spring of a drowned girl. Soun Tendo
5280-432: The distribution of both its new and existing catalog releases. Viz itself is still the licensor and will do all production, while tapping the distribution powerhouse that distributes the works of other major companies such as Disney XD , Adult Swim , and Cartoon Network . Viz president and CEO Hidemi Fukuhara stated that he believes the partnership will help the company grow its anime holdings more effectively. Distribution
5376-679: The exclusive rights to Disney manga in North America), Seven Seas Entertainment to license Dai Dark and Polar Bear Cafe and Digital Manga to license The Amazing 3 and the Himitsu Sentai Gorenger manga, Udon Entertainment to license the Infini-T Force manga (even though Viz Media licensed the anime), the now-defunct ComicsOne to license Wounded Man - The White Haired Demon , permitted Dark Horse Comics to license Crying Freeman (even though it
5472-424: The first Japanese animation shows to achieve popularity in the US. In an overview of the series, Jason Thompson called Ranma ½ "the direct ancestor of all comedy-action manga, like Sumomomo Momomo and History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi ", although noted that it was not the first, but only spanned the period when manga and anime sales were at their height. Relating it to Takahashi's other works, he summed
5568-643: The first two films in the United Kingdom. The Ranma ½ manga has over 55 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time. Both the manga and anime are cited as among the first in their respective media to have become popular in the United States. On a training journey in the Bayankala Mountain Range in the Qinghai Province of China, Ranma Saotome and his father Genma fell into
5664-558: The introduction of Ranma's regular rivals, such as the eternally lost Ryoga Hibiki who traveled halfway across Japan getting from the front of his house to the back, where Ranma spent three days waiting for him. Ryoga, seeking revenge on Ranma, followed him to Jusenkyo where he ultimately fell into the Spring of the Drowned Piglet. Now when splashed with cold water he takes the form of a little black pig. Not knowing this, Akane takes
5760-400: The license for the comedy series Ranma ½ , which became an instant hit. The company continued to see success when it expanded into the anime distribution market, began publishing Shonen Jump , an English adaptation of the popular Japanese magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump . It also acquired another huge selling title, Inuyasha . In the late 1990s, VIZ began making the push to move into
5856-503: The magazine and help it succeed where other manga anthologies in North America have failed. Shueisha purchased an equity interest in Viz to help fund the venture, and Cartoon Network , Suncoast , and Diamond Distributors became promotional partners in the magazine. The first issue required three printings to meet demand, with over 300,000 copies sold. It was awarded the ICv2 "Comic Product of
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#17327728271075952-457: The magazine's contents. Targeted at women ages 16–18, the first issue of Shojo Beat launched with a circulation of 20,000 copies. By 2007, average circulation was approximately 38,000 copies. Half of its circulation came from subscriptions rather than store sales . In May 2009, the magazine was discontinued after 49 issues, with the July 2009 issue being the last released. Viz stated
6048-403: The magazine, Viz launched new imprints for releasing media related to the series presented in the magazine, and other shōnen works. This includes two new manga imprints, an anime DVD imprint, a fiction line for releasing light novels , a label for fan and data books, and a label for the release of art books. Prior to the magazine's launch, Viz launched an extensive marketing campaign to promote
6144-536: The magazine. A one shot story based on Battle Arena Toshinden , illustrated by the game's character designer Tsukasa Kotobuki was published in the magazine as well. Manga Vizion , sometimes misspelled Manga Vision , is a manga anthology introduced by VIZ in 1995. It is believed to be the first manga anthology published in the United States. The premiere issue was dated March 1995 and featured three series: The Tragedy of P , Samurai Crusader: The Kumomaru Chronicles , and Ogre Slayer . It ran for three and
6240-467: The manga in a format that combines two individual volumes into a single large one, and restores the original right-to-left reading order (a first in North America for this series). The first 2-in-1 book (volumes 1–2) was published on March 11, 2014; the final (volumes 35–36) on March 14, 2017. On July 27, 2021, Viz released all 19 2-in-1 books digitally. Madman Entertainment publishes the two-in-one version in Australasia. Together with Spriggan , it
6336-484: The market. Seiji Horibuchi, originally from Tokushima Prefecture in Shikoku , Japan, moved to California , United States in 1975. After living in the suburbs for almost two years, he moved to San Francisco , where he started a business exporting American cultural items to Japan, and became a writer of cultural information. He also became interested in publishing Japanese manga in the United States, though he himself
6432-480: The martial arts rhythmic gymnastics champion (and Tatewaki's sister) Kodachi Kuno , and his second fiancée and childhood friend Ukyo Kuonji the okonomiyaki vendor, along with the Chinese Amazon Shampoo , supported by her great-grandmother Cologne . As the series progresses, the school becomes more eccentric with the return of the demented, Hawaii-obsessed Principal Kuno and the placement of
6528-445: The most famous being the cosplay film that debuted in the 2013 Tokyo Anime Festival with Kirata Uchiha, played by JadexRoyal. Winning multiple awards for the board including Masashi Kishimoto . Others include Full Moon, and Last Quarter. In November 2005, New People was officially formed as a sister company for releasing live-action Japanese films as theatrical releases in selected markets called Viz Pictures. According to Horibuchi,
6624-590: The music was changed as well. However, Ranma ½: Hard Battle was released in both North America and Europe unaltered. A live action television adaption of Ranma ½ aired on Nippon Television , in a two-hour time-slot, on December 9, 2011. Although it was initially reported that the special would contain an original story, the film does take its main plot from one of the manga's early stories with several other early scenes mixed in. The special stars Yui Aragaki as Akane, with Kento Kaku and Natsuna Watanabe playing male and female Ranma respectively. Ryōsei Tayama
6720-482: The opening and closing theme songs and others of image songs . Many of the image songs were first released as singles. By November 2006, it was reported that Ranma ½ had sold over 49 million manga volumes in Japan. Shogakukan has printed 53 million copies as of November 2011, and by April 2021 it had 55 million copies in circulation. The Ranma ½ anime was ranked number 17 on Anime Insider ' s 2001 list of
6816-709: The original magazine and its reformatting as a free digest. Game On! USA was a monthly magazine that focused primarily on Japanese-developed video games, with an emphasis on the import scene. It served as the American counterpart to Shogakukan's Game On! magazine. It was published in May 1996 and ran for 7 monthly issues before being discontinued that same year in November. The magazine had news and reviews and other articles about classic fighting games like Street Fighter , Samurai Shodown and Virtua Fighter . Two video game-based manga series, Super Street Fighter II: Cammy by Masahiko Nakahira, and Samurai Shodown by Kyoichi Nanatsuki and Yuki Miyoshi, were serialized in
6912-419: The piglet as a pet and names it P-chan, but Ranma knows and hates him for keeping this secret and taking advantage of the situation. Another rival is the nearsighted Mousse , who also fell into a cursed spring and becomes a duck when he gets wet, and finally, there is Genma and Soun's impish grand master, Happosai , who spends his time stealing the underwear of schoolgirls. Ranma's prospective paramours include
7008-412: The power-leeching alternating child/adult Hinako Ninomiya as Ranma's English teacher. Ranma's indecision in choosing his true love causes chaos in his romantic and school life. Rumiko Takahashi stated that Ranma ½ was conceived to be a martial arts manga that connects all aspects of everyday life to martial arts. Because her previous series had female protagonists, the author decided that she wanted
7104-507: The right to left format more easily than their parents. VIZ has censored some of its titles. Some titles, such as Dragon Ball , were published in both censored and uncensored forms. Based in Los Angeles , Viz Productions coordinates the licenses of Japanese material (manga, books, and film) to American film companies. Their goal is to involve the Japanese creators in the production and facilitate communication between all parties in
7200-475: The right-to-left version of Neon Genesis Evangelion on a three to one basis; Middaugh concluded that readers wanted "an easy reading experience." Akira Toriyama , creator of Dragon Ball , requested that his work, which was separated by Viz into Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z , be published in the original right-to-left format. Vagabond was printed in right-to-left to preserve historical accuracy. Middaugh said that younger readers of Dragon Ball adapted to
7296-407: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Ranma . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ranma&oldid=1168096181 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
7392-636: The series for release in Australasia , although their rights expired after releasing only the first four "seasons" as one series. Studio Deen also created three theatrical films; The Battle of Nekonron, China! A Battle to Defy the Rules! on November 2, 1991; Battle at Togenkyo! Get Back the Brides on August 1, 1992; and Super Indiscriminate Decisive Battle! Team Ranma vs. the Legendary Phoenix on August 20, 1994. The first two films are feature length, but
7488-608: The series up as "At the start, the fighting is minimal and it's almost a semi-serious relationship comedy, like Maison Ikkoku ; then it turns completely ridiculous; and by the climax, when Ranma fights the evil bird-people of Phoenix Mountain in an excessively long and un-funny fight scene, it's like a warmup for Inuyasha ." Reviewing the final volume of the manga, Anime News Network remarked that "Every dimension of Rumiko Takahashi's storytelling skills come into play here: comedy, romance and introspection, and of course, high-flying fantasy martial-arts action." However, they felt some of
7584-472: The setting of Ranma ½ ). In a 1990 interview with Amazing Heroes , Takahashi stated that she had four assistants that draw the backgrounds, panel lines and tone, while she creates the story and layout, and pencils and inks the characters. All her assistants are female; Takahashi stated that "I don't use male assistants so that the girls will work more seriously if they aren't worried about boys." In 1992, she explained her process as beginning with laying out
7680-509: The specialist comic market being averse to venturing into new territory. To counteract this problem, VIZ expanded into the general publishing business and began publishing various art related books in 1992. Into these titles, Horibuchi began publishing manga, calling them graphic novels so they would be carried by mainstream bookstores. The plan worked, and after several years, leading booksellers began to have dedicated shelves for manga titles. Sales also picked up when VIZ Communications acquired
7776-445: The start of Ranma her editor told her to make it more dramatic, but she felt that was something she could not do. However, she admitted that drama did start to appear at the end. She also sat in on the voice actor auditions for the anime, where she insisted that male and female Ranma be voiced by different actors whose gender corresponded to that of the part. Written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi , Ranma ½ began publication in
7872-437: The stories. Although the characters and their relationships are complicated, they rarely change once they are firmly introduced and settled into the series. The manga has been adapted into two anime series produced by Studio Deen : Ranma ½ and Ranma ½ Nettōhen ( らんま 1 / 2 熱闘編 ) , which together were broadcast on Fuji TV from 1989 to 1992. In addition, they released 12 OVAs and three films. In 2011,
7968-413: The third was originally shown in theaters with two other films: Ghost Sweeper Mikami and Heisei Dog Stories: Bow . Following the ending of the TV series, 11 original video animations were released directly to home video, the earliest on December 7, 1993, and the eleventh on June 4, 1996. All but two are based on stories originally in the manga. Twelve years later, a Ranma animation was created for
8064-479: The tub, much to her horror. It takes several more pages for the situation to be explained to Soun Tendo and his daughters. Both Ranma and Akane refuse the engagement initially, having not been consulted on the decision, but the fathers are insistent and they are generally treated as betrothed and end up helping or saving each other on some occasions. They are frequently found in each other's company and are constantly arguing in their trademark awkward love-hate manner that
8160-634: Was awarded the Manga Publisher of the Year Gem Award by Diamond Comic Distributors in 2007. VIZ continues to publish many titles, some of the most popular including: Dragon Ball , One Piece , Detective Conan (as Case Closed ), Bleach , Inuyasha , and Naruto which results a high success of the company as well as a large amount of the North American readers. Viz also received an award for Manga Trade Paperback of
8256-673: Was formed in collaboration with the Japanese publisher Libre and its parent company Animate to publish English-language boys' love manga for the print and worldwide digital market. Although the first slate of books announced under SuBLime are Libre titles, the imprint will potentially offer titles from other Japanese publishers in the future. In March 2016, Viz Media announced that they are collaborating with United Talent Agency on their live action projects based on anime series. On July 3, 2019, Viz Media announced that they had partnered with Crunchyroll to distribute select Crunchyroll licensed titles on home video and electronic sell-through in
8352-408: Was founded in 1986 as VIZ, LLC . In 2005, VIZ and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media, which is owned by Japanese publishing conglomerates Shueisha and Shogakukan , as well as Japanese production company Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions (ShoPro) . In 2017, Viz Media was the largest publisher of graphic novels in the United States in the bookstore market, with a 23% share of
8448-498: Was later re-licensed and re-released by Viz Media) and Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne , permitted Dark Horse Comics to license Gantz , Lady Snowblood , Shadow Lady , The Monkey King , and recently Yasuhiro Nightow 's Blood Blockade Battlefront and CLAMP 's Gate 7 . Shueisha also permitted Udon Entertainment to license The Rose of Versailles , Seven Seas Entertainment to license Hayate X Blade , and will later permit Seven Seas Entertainment to license Yuuna and
8544-522: Was launched as a manga anthology that eventually focused specifically on shōjo titles. It was canceled in 2004. VIZ changed the magazine's format in April 2005, with the new magazine really being two free publications of the same name. One is advertising-oriented and created specially for distribution at anime and manga conventions while the other is more general in scope and distributed through retail stores. Both versions have fewer and briefer articles and
8640-527: Was not a fan of Japanese comics until a visit to Japan in 1985 exposed him to Katsuhiro Otomo 's single-volume title Domu: A Child's Dream . His idea came to fruition after he met Masahiro Ohga, then managing director of Shogakukan , in 1985 and shared his vision. Shogakukan provided Horibuchi with $ 200,000 in startup capital, which Horibuichi used in 1986 to found VIZ Communications . VIZ Communications released its first titles in 1987, which included Legend of Kamui ; however, sales were mediocre due to
8736-421: Was previously licensed by Viz), New Lone Wolf and Cub (however, this is because Dark Horse has the original series ), The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword , and Mob Psycho 100 , and permitted Hachette Book Group 's subsidiary Yen Press to license Azumanga Daioh , Silver Spoon , Karakai Jōzu no Takagi-san , My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU , and Cirque du Freak (however for Cirque du Freak , this
8832-512: Was punched before deciding on water for initiating his changes. That decision led her to feeling that Jusenkyo had to be set in China, as it is the only place that could have such mysterious springs. She drew inspiration for Ranma ½ from a variety of real-world objects. Some of the places frequently seen in the series are modeled after actual locations in Nerima, Tokyo (both the home of Takahashi and
8928-559: Was recorded by The Ocean Group in Vancouver, British Columbia . They released the series on VHS from their own Viz Video label, and on DVD a few years later in association with Pioneer Home Entertainment . Their releases collected both anime series as one, separated episodes into what they call "seasons", and changed the ordering of many of the episodes. Viz themselves re-released it on DVD in 2007 using their own DVD production company. At Otakon 2013, Viz announced that they re-acquired
9024-467: Was the first manga published in Portugal, by Texto Editora in 1995. An anime television series was created by Studio Deen and aired weekly between April 15, 1989, and September 16, 1989, on Fuji TV for 18 episodes, before being canceled due to low ratings. The series was then reworked by most of the same staff, retitled Ranma ½ Nettōhen ( らんま 1 / 2 熱闘編 ) and launched in
9120-490: Was then released on DVD and Blu-ray by itself on October 20, 2010. Viz Media also licensed all three films, and the original 11 OVAs for distribution in North America (however they released the third film as an OVA). MVM Films has released the first two films in the United Kingdom, while Madman Entertainment released them in Australasia. A new anime adaptation was announced in Weekly Shōnen Sunday on June 26, 2024. The new anime remake series, simply titled Ranma ½ ,
9216-439: Was then transferred to Studio Distribution Services, LLC , a joint venture between WBDHE and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment . On February 20, 2009, Viz Media laid off an unknown number of employees in order to help be more streamlined to face the current economic climate. On May 11, 2010, Viz Media again laid off a number of workers, 60 this time, again in order to try to become more streamlined. This time they released
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