Who voices Ranma in Japanese and English?

The Japanese casting of Ranma is one of anime's famous solutions. Male Ranma is voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi and female Ranma by Megumi Hayashibara, two of the most celebrated voice actors of their generation, and the cut between them at each transformation became part of the character's identity. Noriko Hidaka's Akane completes the central trio.

The supporting cast is a period honor roll: Minami Takayama as Nabiki, Kikuko Inoue as Kasumi, Ryunosuke Obayashi as Soun and Koichi Yamadera as Ryoga, among many others. The 2024 remake's decision to reunite the surviving cast, Yamaguchi, Hayashibara and Hidaka included, is a continuity almost unheard of across a 35 year gap, and it anchors the remake's claim to be a continuation of the tradition, not a replacement.

The English dub tells a different, more American story. Viz's dub, recorded with Ocean Studios in Vancouver, began with Sarah Strange voicing male Ranma before Richard Ian Cox took over the role and became its best known English voice, while female Ranma passed from Brigitta Dau to Venus Terzo. Akane was voiced by Myriam Sirois. The dub covered the TV series, films and OVAs across the 1990s and early 2000s releases.

Cast changes in the dub were commercial era realities, and they give English language Ranma a layered history that Japanese Ranma avoids. Collectors of the Viz video and DVD releases can hear the handovers happen, and episode guides document which cast covers which season block.

The remake's English dub was produced for the Netflix era with a new cast for a new audience. The Library's position is documentary: three dub and sub eras, each with its audience, and the Japanese dual lead, Yamaguchi and Hayashibara, as the through line that defines the character's sound.