Salutations, Rumiko
Anime-lovers in
Singapore will fondly remember the days when another popular manga series,Maison
Ikkoku was shown on TCS 8 at 1.30am in the morning quite some time ago.
For those who stayed up to catch the romantic comedy which depicts the
story of a young man, Wudai who is in love with his care-taker lady, Xiang-zi
at Maison Ikkoku,I'm sure you would agree that Maison Ikkoku was a brilliant
manga which touched the hearts of many. For the uninformed, Ranma 1/2 was
created by the same person who created Maison Ikkoku - Rumiko Takahashi.
For
one to have the ingenuity to come up with the idea of the story of a boy
who turns into a cute girl when he touches cold water is really quite,
simply to say, brilliant. Personally, I have had the privilege of watching
the whole Ranma anime (7 series in all) and I have since been fascinated
with the fact that each character has a unique trait that makes him/her
exclusively distinctive and how Rumiko was able to narrate the story to
fit in perfectly. The introduction of new characters once in a while injects
life into the story and sets the stage for some extraordinary storyline.
Since the creation
of Ranma 1/2, Rumiko's popularity in Japan soared and her manga series
has since rivalled the likes of Dragonball and Sailormoon making her one
of the richest woman in Japan.
Subsequently, three Ranma 1/2 movies were made and they played to huge
crowds in the theatres in Japan.
Ranma music CDs
sold well, even in Singapore. Once, I wanted to buy a Ranma music CD which
comprises all the opening and closing songs of the anime series, so I went
to a shop which sold mainly anime and games accessories. I was told that
I would have to wait until stocks were replenished before I could get the
CD. I went again and finally managed to purchase the CD. About a week later,
a friend of mine who is also an anime lover saw the CD I had and wanted
to have it as well and so I went back to the shop with him only to find
that it was out of stock again.We asked when stocks would be replenished
again only to be told that it was out of stock again. We asked about the
next replenishment of stocks and was told that stocks were out even in
the warehouses. We will have to wait until new stocks were ordered from
Taiwan.
The immense popularity
enjoyed by Ranma 1/2 all over the world has shown me what a person with
great innovative skills can do - even if you are just an ordinary comic
artist in Japan. Before I end I would like to salute Rumiko Takahashi for
her extraordinary creativity, talent, skills and intelligence.
Ranma Fans, Unite!
The "insights"column
that was previously put up here has been taken off. Instead, I have felt
that since there are quite a substantial number of Ranma 1/2 fans in Singapore,
the idea of forming a local group centralised on Ranma 1/2 have occurred
to me. We might be able to form a mailing list, chat about the anime or
other stuffs, who knows maybe even organise group meetings. However, I
will need some feedback on this idea and see if the response is good enough
for a possible group formation. If you have any comments at all about this
idea or want to be part of the "founding commitee"of this
group, please drop me a mail at nuclearbomb@hotmail.com.
I'll get back to you as soon as possible. The amount of positive responses
that I get will play a big part in making this possible. Hope to hear from
you soon!
THIS MESSAGE WAS POSTED ON 28TH AUGUST, 1997
To My Music Cottage
To The A-Z Listing of Ranma 1/2
Back to my main page