Rumiko Takahashi and Yui Aragaki Reunite after 14 Years for Their First Ranma 1/2 Conversation, Sharing Untold Live Action Stories including a 25 Centimeter Haircut and Childhood Fan Works

Aragaki Turns Reporter and Asks about Creation

――Ranma 1 2 is such a precious presence for you. Please tell us again how the work was born. Where did the concept come from?

Takahashi:
I wanted to do a story with gender switching and a school setting. I also wanted to do martial arts. I put in everything I wanted to do at the time and what I could not fully do in Urusei Yatsura because the worlds are different, and I felt I could do it here.

――When did the idea come?

Takahashi:
After finishing Urusei Yatsura I rested a little and did small jobs. Then the editorial department asked about starting a new series. We held meetings over several months from there.

――Aragaki san, how do you feel hearing this origin story?

Aragaki:
I always imagined you were constantly drawing, so I was curious when the next idea takes shape. I am lucky to hear it.

――Aragaki san also brought questions to ask as a reporter. Please go ahead

Aragaki:
There are so many charming characters, and more keep arriving as the story goes on. How do you create them?

Takahashi:
For example in Ranma 1 2 I thought of the setting that a person transforms when splashed with water, and then I considered fashion and hairstyles that would be flexible whether that person is a boy or a girl without needing to change clothes. That led to the idea of Ranma wearing a braid with a Chinese outfit.

Aragaki:
So that is why the braid.

Takahashi:
Shampoo has a bun hairstyle, the classic image of a Chinese girl. Akane, by contrast, was a character I truly struggled to define. She starts with long hair. After much thought about who she is, the story led to her cutting her hair. In Akane’s case I kept exploring during serialization.

The Akane Haircut Episode

――When did you decide she would cut her hair?

Takahashi:
I had drawn her as a boy hater without fixing the reason, and even I thought why is that. If there is no reason it is strange. As I pursued it, I thought she has a first love but that person likes her older sister Kasumi. So she keeps her hair long. From there I decided to cut it in one go. As you said, it felt like Akane was finally born after she cut her hair.

――Do you usually not lock things in before starting?

Aragaki:
That is amazing.

Takahashi:
If I had fully understood Akane at the start, I would not have needed to do that. I desperately wanted to understand her, and that is where I arrived.

Aragaki:
The result of thinking while drawing created that iconic scene. Amazing.

Takahashi:
It is not the usual method. Normally designs are finalized before serialization and left untouched. When I serialized Ranma 1 2 I was still young, so I felt I could try anything, and that I could not move forward unless I did this.

――I have heard the phrase the characters move on their own. Is this the same thing

Aragaki:
I have heard that expression.

Takahashi:
Not quite. It would be easier if they did. They do not move immediately after they are born. Characters grow as you probe how they would react to one thing or another.

Aragaki:
It is interesting that you still have to observe how they move even though they are born in your head.

Takahashi:
Ask any manga artist and you will not find someone whose characters move from the start. Everyone faces the characters and watches what they would say and what they would do. Once that solidifies to a certain degree, maybe then you reach the point where they move on their own.

Source : ORICON NEWS