Honto? This I gotta see to believe. A manga I have long held is impossible to turn into a live-action adaptation is finally getting that treatment, albeit via a SP and not a full dorama. Fresh off the precious and warm Zenkai Girl is Aragaki Yui, who joins my small but growing list of J-actresses I adore (the other being Maki and Haruka), and her next project will be a doozy. She’s just been cast as Tendo Akane, the fiesty, slightly sanctimonious, quick tempered daughter of a dojo owner and fiancee to one Saotome Ranma, the world’s most famous dual-gender martial arts wunderkind with a panda for a father.
If all of this sounds confusing, that’s probably because you haven’t read Takahashi Rumiko‘s famous Ranma 1/2. Cast as male Ranma will be Kaku Kento, who was most recently in Tumbling alongside Yamamoto Yusuke and my Daito Shunsuke, and also in the movie version of Paradise Kiss with Mukai Osamu and Kitagawa Keiko. He’s a cutie pie for sure and yet another promising J-actor with his star fast rising.
Playing the female version of Ranma (you know, when he encounters water) will be Natsuna. The two-hour long SP will be based on a new story not part of the canon manga or even anime universe, centering around Akane rather than Ranma. To be honest, Akane is one of the most annoying Takahashi heroines EVER, and really one reason I only like Ranma 1/2 but don’t love it as much as I love Takahashi’s other mangas. Character-wise, I adore Shampoo and I would have loved for her to get her cat paws on Ranma in the end. Akane should have ended up with Ryoga, her P-chan. Anyone agree with me?
The SP story will involve Akane’s father decreeing that the dojo successor must be a full man, so Akane and Ranma must travel to a mystic locale to find a cure for his gender-bending affliction. Honestly, the one way to make Akane appealing for me is to cast an actress I absolutely adore in the role. And Gakki fits that profile completely. I’m sold for now. Can’t wait to see how the chemistry translates onscreen between the bickering couple.
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I luurve this manga/anime! It's a riot! Who is going to be the perverted grandmaster (aka panty robber)?
I kind of like Ranma and Akane's interactions. Explosive but cute. Ryoga, on the other hand, being directionally-challenged, stirred up maternal instincts rather than romantic feelings. But I must say I would love to hug P-chan to bed too... I am so looking forward to this.
omo! Kaku Kento! Finally a new drama with him. When I watched Tumbling, I thought that he looked a lot like Lee Hong Ki. >< Yes I so agree he is a cutie. ^^
Who would have thought that Ranma 1/2 would be adapted to drama! I'm looking toward this. It looks exciting!
I don't think this is going to work, but let's see XD
I loved the manga (haven't seen the anime), and though Akane can be annoying, she can also be cute ^^
Shampoo is gorgeous, and Ukyo is cool...but Ranma loves Akane. There were some characters that were seriously annoying, and all those misunderstandings and hidden feelings or secrets could grate on my nerves at times, but Ranma 1/2 is just awesomely quirky and funny! ^^ I love it.
Hmmm...this could be entertaining in a so bad it's good kind of way but I'll just hope for the best...YamaNade came out alright and did what the mangaka refuses to. Ranma was not a fave for me though...I tend to never finish her mangas
Read Ranma a long time ago. Loved it although it got rather repetitive at the end. The outrageous transformations of people who had fallen into those springs were hilarious though.
My fave characters in this manga are the side characters - Saotome/Panda, Akane's father, Ryoga/P-Chan, such funny stuff! The comedic timing is fantastic. Ranma and Akane paled a little next to them.
Anyway, it could turn out to be a so bad it's good thing like what Hipployta said...or it could totally bomb...let's see how it goes.
Ah. I only watched Kaku Kento in Asuko March. Why did I finish that drama? Probably because I adored him in it :'). *sigh* Okay, and the fact that the girl was surrounded in a classroom of hot guys with her being the only girl. V_V.
I'm super excited for this! ^___^. I loved the manga when I was a youngin', but at that time there was no such thing as scanlations xD. So I only found volumes of it at the library.
^__^ I love gaki. I didn't realize it before, but I've seen all her works :'). So I'm definitely looking forward to this one ^^. Ah I wish they made a live action of Inuyasha.
I love this manga I've seen all the episodes ....... and would love to also include p-chan .. :)
Hmm, Ranma 1/2 is the last manga I thought would get a drama adaptation because it's so bizarre, so this should be interesting. Wish it was a long drama instead so we could get all the characters, but I guess something is better than nothing, especially since Gakky is in it. I can definitely see her being feisty Akane after being overly-ambitious Wakaba, so this should do well.
I totally agree with you- tried really hard to like Akane, but she's such a drab, moody, and violent character that it just got annoying. Ultimately I never finished the manga, but got pretty far with it.
Kaku Kento! Kaku Kento! Kaku Kento!
That is all.