March 26th
Ranma 1/2 Season 3 Trailer

The first trailer for Ranma 1/2 season 3 has debuted featuring footage from the Bakusai Tenketsu storyline. Konosuke Ueda is continuing to direct the series as he has done for the first two seasons. Some of the new staff coming on for the third season includes new chief animation directors Riko Kaneda (金田莉子) and Haruki Miura (三浦春樹) who replaced Takeshi Yoshioka (吉岡毅) and Nao Otsu (大津直).

The main animators will be Atsuko Ishida (石田敦子) and Yoshihiro Takeda (たけだ欣弘) who are replacing Nao Naito (内藤直) and Rei Aoki (青木里枝). Atsuko Ishida is a veteran who worked on the original Ranma 1/2 series in the 1980s and 1990s. Source: MAPPA YouTube Channel and Comics Natalie

March 25th
Yuki Kaji Discusses Playing Mao
Yuki Kaji gives his first interview on playing the titular role in the soon-to-debut MAO anime. He discusses the cast, crew and his chracterization of the 900 year old main character. Source: Hominis

March 24th
MAO Chapter 314
Mao, Kamon and Hyakka lure Daigo to the place where Byoki was sealed in order to exorcise the Goko Clan Master from Daigo's body. However, even after capturing their friend, exorcising him will not be an easy task. Source: MAO Online

March 21st
Anime Manga Explosion - MAO
NHK World has released a 30 minute special discussing the upcoming MAO anime that will be airing on their network in April. The program showed new footage from the series and featured interviews with Teruo Sato, Yoshihito Hishinuma and a number of animators, background artists and special effects artists working on the series. Additionally, new comments from Rumiko Takahashi were included as well. Source: NHK World

March 17th
MAO Chapter 313
Kamon is lured into a meeting with Yurako who is seeking to have someone kill Daigo due to the earth brand he is using to track her. Kamon weighs his options and then reports back to Mao. Source: MAO Online

Tsutomu Shibayama (1941-2026)
In sad news, Tsutomu Shibayama (芝山努), who served as director (監督/kantoku) on the first 18 episodes of the original Ranma 1/2 has passed away. In addition to his oversight on the original 18 episodes (pre-Nettohen) he also storyboarded episode 14. Source: Rumic World

March 13th
Masako Ikeda (1939-2026)
Masako Ikeda, who's voice was filled with warmth and elegance has passed away. She is perhaps best known as the ultimate anime mother, portraying the mothers of Ranma Saotome, Amuro Ray and Ultraman, as well as her iconic portrayals of Maetel and Reika Ryuzaki. Source: Rumic World

March 10th
MAO Chapter 312
Kamon finally shares with Nanoka his whereabouts on the night that the Goko Clan fell apart 900 years ago adding another piece of the puzzle regarding who killed the Goko Clan Master. Source: MAO Online

March 6th
Manga One Fallout and Rumiko Takahashi's Response
Japanese fans are praising Rumiko Takahashi's quiet response to the Manga One incident while George Morikawa (author of Hajime no Ippo) draws ire for the way he has responded. We have a translation of Japanese website Best T!mes's article on the topic. Source: Best T!mes

March 5th
Sunrise World Inuyasha, Yashahime and MAO Collaboration

Starting March 14th the six Sunrise World locations will be celebrating the upcoming release of MAO by highlighting the projects that Sunrise has crafted with Rumiko Takahashi (Inuyasha, Yashahime and MAO).

New color illustrations and character goods (keychains, acrylic standees, buttons and posters) based on the collaborative illustration by Yoshihito Hishinuma will go on sale at the venues in Tokyo, Yokohama, Hakata, Kyoto, Sendai, and Koshigaya. Each purchase over 3,000 yen will recieve a complimentary shitajiki illustration by Hishinuma (randomly distributed) of the characters Inuyasha and Kagome (Inuyasha), Towa, Setsuna and Moroha (Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon) or Mao, Nanoka and Otoya (MAO). Source: Sunrise World

March 3rd
MAO Chapter 311
Mao and Kamon finish off the fragrant wood ayakashi and Mao decides to confront Kamon regarding his whereabouts on the night that the Goko Clan master was murdered so many centuries ago. Source: MAO Online

March 2nd
MAO Release Date, Additional Cast and Ending Theme Revealed

At Anime Japan today, the MAO panel hosted a reveal of the entire cast as well as a new preview of the anime, which will debut Saturday, April 4th. The opening theme song has already been revealed as "𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐃" by 𝐊𝐢𝐬-𝐌𝐲-𝐅𝐭𝟐 while the ending theme was announced as "Juai" (Cursed Love) by TRUE.

Cast:
Mao: Yuki Kaiji
Nanoka Kiba: Natsumi Kawaida
Otoya: Momoka Terasawa
Hyakka: Hiro Shimono
Kamon: Toshiyuki Toyonaga
Shiranui: Kazuyuki Okitsu
Uozumi Funa: Motoko Kumai
Tenko: Yoko Hikasa
Sana: Risa Shimizu
Yurako: Reina Ueda
Byoki: Takashi Matsuyama
Source: MAOanimation on Twitter

March 1st
Urusei Yatsura Fanbook "Dancing Star" Overview

In this month's YouTube feature, we're looking through the Urusei Yatsura fanbook which features a number of interviews with Rumiko Takahashi, her comments on the characters and interviews with her former assistant Kuniko Saito, editor Makoto Oshima, mangaka Kazuhiko Shimamoto and Kazuhiro Fujita and friend and mangaka Atsuji Yamamoto, which are all translated and findable if you search "Dancing Star" here on the site. Source: Rumic World YouTube Channel

February 28th
The Manga One Incident
The above link is our full coverage of the ongoing "Manga One Incident." Yesterday, information was revealed that Shogakukan's manga reading app "Manga One" had, in 2022, re-hired writer Shoichi Yamamoto (山本 翔一) under a the name of Hajime Ichiro (一路一) after learning that he sexually assualted a 15 year old student at the school he was teaching at part-time in 2020. Manga One released a statement (seen below) that was widely criticized online as not providing enough information and context as to how Shogakukan allowed this to happen, who was responsible for re-hiring the author, and what steps would be taken to ensure this did not happen again. Today Rumiko Takahashi-sensei's works have been entirely removed from the Manga One app following the Hajime Ichiro/Shoichi Yamamoto incident. Please click the link for full information on the incident. We will continue to monitor this news as it effects the works of Shogakukan artists including Takahashi-sensei. Source: Manga One & Shonen Sunday Twitter Account

February 26th
MAO Volume 26 Sales
For the week of February 16-22nd MAO volume 27 debuted in the 19th position on the Oricon sales chart with a weekly total of 14,225 copies.

1.What Did You Eat Yesterday? #25 (きのう何食べた?) (3 days)
2.Don't Call it Mystery #16 (ミステリと言う勿れ) (13 days)
3.That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (転生したらスライムだった件) #31 (14 days)
4.The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent #11 (聖女の魔力は万能です)
5.Yona of the Dawn (暁のヨナ) #47 (3 days)
6.Yona of the Dawn Limited Edition (暁のヨナ) #47 (3 days)
7.Firefly Wedding (ホタルの嫁入り) #11 (4 days)
8.Tamon's B-Side (多聞くん今どっち!?) #14 (3 days)
9.Silver Mountain (シルバーマウンテン) #3 (5 days)
10.Chainsaw Man (チェンソーマン) #23 (19 days)
19.MAO (マオ) #27

Source: Manga Codex Twitter

February 24th
Shonen Sunday Speech Bubble Podcast to Host Rumiko Takahashi and Gosho Aoyama

Shonen Sunday's "Fukidashi" (Speech Bubble) Podcast will feature an interview with Gosho Aoyama (Detective Conan) on February 25th followed by Rumiko Takahashi on March 4th and then both mangaka will speak with each other on March 11th for their first co-interview. Source: @shonen_sunday X Account

MAO Chapter 310
Kamon, Mao and Nanoka get to the bottom of the cursed piece of fragrant wood that has been haunting the Kurozuka family for centuries. Source: MAO Online

February 20th
Rei Sakuma Wins Industry Award
At the 20th annual Seiyuu Awards, Rei Sakuma (佐久間レイ) (Shampoo in Ranma 1/2 will be receiving the "Kei Tomiyama & Kazue Takahashi Award" (富山敬・高橋和枝賞) for voice acting. Sakuma will be honored alongside Shichiro Kamio (神尾晋一郎) Source: @seiyuawards X Account

February 18th
MAO Volume 27

MAO volume 27 is in stores today. Source: MAO Online

February 17th
MAO Chapter 309
Nanoka and Mao become suspicious of Kamon, wondering if he murdered the Goko Clan Master, however now they must work a case with him as they investigate a cursed piece of fragrant wood that is compelling intergenerational murder within a family. Source: MAO Online

February 11th
MAO Opening Theme Revealed, News on Otoya's Casting

The opening theme song of MAO has been announced as HEARTLOUD by Kis-My-Ft2. More information on the anime will be released on March 2nd in a special stream to Youtube, where Otoya's actor will also be revealed. Toshiya Miyata of Kis-My-Ft2 released the following comment:

"We've been given the opportunity to perform the opening theme for the TV anime MAO. I've loved Rumiko Takahashi-sensei's work since I was a child, so I'm truly honored. A few years ago, I read the entire MAO manga in one go and was blown away by how interesting the story was and how cool the battle scenes were! I'm looking forward to seeing how beautiful, gorgeous and creepy the anime will be. I hope Kis-My-Ft2's music will make the production even more wonderful!" Source: Anime-MAO.com

February 10th
MAO Chapter 308
Mao and Nanoka stumble upon Byoki who wishes to know who killed the Goko Clan Master. As he whittles down the suspects, the only believable candidate is the last person Mao ever suspected. Source: MAO Online

February 7th
Ranma 1/2 Exhibition Announced

The "Ranma 1/2 Exhibition" has been announced, the exhibition will run from April 23rd through May 12th at Ikebukuro Sunshine City Exhibition Hall A. Tickets will go on sale March 19th. No word yet on what to expect at the venue. Source: Rumic World YouTube Channel

February 1st
Ranma 1/2 Fanbook "Great Joy" Overview

In this month's YouTube feature, we're looking through the new fanbook which features a number of interviews with Rumiko Takahashi, her comments on the characters and interviews with Kappei Yamaguchi, Megumi Hayashibara and Noriko Hidaka, which are all translated and findable if you search "Great Joy" here on the site. Source: Rumic World YouTube Channel

Rumic World's News Archive Can Be Found Here.

Rumic World, online since 1996, is owned by Harley Acres and Dylan Acres.
All series copyright Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan and Viz.