Tsukikage Ran
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is an animated action comedy written and directed by
Akitaro Daichi is a Japanese anime director, producer and photography director. Career Daichi is a native of Gunma Prefecture and a graduate of Tokyo Polytechnic University. He originally aspired to be a stage photographer, but entered the employ of Tokyo A ...
, and produced by
Madhouse Studios is a Japanese animation studio founded in 1972 by ex– Mushi Pro staff, including Masao Maruyama, Osamu Dezaki, and Yoshiaki Kawajiri. Madhouse has created and helped to produce many well-known shows, OVAs and films, starting with TV anime s ...
. The television series follows Ran and Meow, two wanderers who face all sorts of antagonists in
Tokugawa Japan The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characterize ...
. The series started airing on WOWOW. Afterwards, it aired as ''Ran: The Samurai Girl'' on Animax Latin America and Animax Asia, which also broadcast
Bandai is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and Richmond ...
's dub across
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and
South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
. The series is licensed in
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by Bandai Entertainment.


Plot

''Tsukikage Ran'' comprises thirteen self-contained stories. The series follows characters Ran and Meow into a new town, where they encounter some kind of wrongdoing. Every episode climaxes with a sword fight featuring the protagonist, sometimes aided by Meow's martial arts prowess.


Characters


Main characters

; : :Ran is a ''
sake Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indee ...
''-loving '' ronin'' who goes "wherever the wind takes her". Ran's skill with the
katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...
makes her unbeatable, but like so many ronin, she is often broke and has Meow pay her (often considerable) restaurant tabs. It is a wonder how Meow always seems to have enough money, and where she gets it, while Ran often lacks it. Meow is quite generous to Ran and supports her daily necessities throughout the series. Unlike most Samurai, she fights with the katana one handed. :Even though Ran has a laid-back attitude, she is very sharp, perceptive, wise, and intelligent. She is kind, and has a good sense of justice. Ran cares about Meow and other people who are in need, although she usually does not have much interest in anything around her. Ran tends to say "utterly inexcusable" whenever she's annoyed. ; : :Meow is a Chinese
martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...
skilled in the style. Meow has a heart of gold, but she's extremely bold and not that bright--which means she's often butting into other people's business. Despite her recklessness, Ran respects her for her good intentions and kind heart, if not her wallet, and bails her out in the end. Meow respects Ran and looks up to her and is quite obedient to Ran, although she realizes she often has been taken advantage of by Ran and also dislikes Ran's attitude at times. Although not quite as skilled as Ran, Meow can handle herself in a fight. On contrast with Ran, who is usually of a calm and has cool composure, Meow is very cheerful and energetic, but very slow and flighty.


Other characters

;Tonto Sharakusai : :Tonto appears in episode 5. He is an ''
ukiyo-e Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surfac ...
'' artist looking for a beautiful woman to model for a portrait. Tonto and Meow are taken prisoners by the artist's patrons until Ran rescues them. ;Mei : :Mei appears in episode 9. She is Meow's childhood friend. Her parents' deaths led Mei to become an
opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...
dealer. In the middle of a fight with Meow, she is fatally stabbed by an opium-addicted swordsman. Just before her last breath she regrets for taking the wrong way in her life and admits that the way she dies is pretty good for her. ;Stephanie : :Stephanie appears in episode 10. This large, abnormally strong young woman is a foreigner with a strong interest in Japan and Japanese culture who usually fights with a
tree trunk In botany, the trunk (or bole) is the stem and main wooden axis of a tree, which is an important feature in tree identification, and which often differs markedly from the bottom of the trunk to the top, depending on the species. The trunk is the ...
that she uses like a quarterstaff. Convinced the country's population is made up of ''
samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
'', ''
ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enem ...
'' and '' geisha'', she travels to Japan in the hope of being trained in the way of the sword. After meeting her, Ran and Meow make several attempts to be rid of Stephanie due to her ability to eat twice as much as Ran herself, thus putting an even greater strain on their money supply. Later, after a chance encounter on opposite sides of a yakuza gang war, Stephanie challenges Ran to a duel believing that winning would make her a full samurai. Ran barely wins by getting a sleeper hold on Stephanie from behind. Afterwards, Stephanie decides to return to her home country to pursue her dream of becoming a samurai one day. Stephanie is notable in that, through sheer strength alone, she is only one in the series who nearly defeats Ran in a fight. ;Shiina Junzaburo : :Shiina appears in episode 13. He taught Ran swordsmanship and also introduced her to sake. At the time of the series, Shiina works as to the head of a martial arts '' dōjō''. He gets his arm broken by Ran and forced to give up the sword for Otsuta, a ''geisha'' who loves him. The title of episode 13, "She Hid A Romance In The Past", and Ran's remarks to him in the episode possibly imply that Shiina in the past was supposed to run away with Ran but had second thoughts, leaving Ran to leave alone. He feels extremely guilty for making Ran go alone.


Production

''Tsukikage Ran'' is inspired by '' chanbara'' series like 1965's ''Su-ronin Tsukikage Hyogo''. While it remains faithful to the genre, it is infused with Akitaro Daichi's distinctive style. The episodes were scripted by first thinking of a title and writing a plot about it. As many ideas were not used, director Daichi notes an unproduced episode where the protagonists "fight over ''
udon Udon ( or ) is a thick noodle made from wheat flour, used in Japanese cuisine. It is a comfort food for many Japanese people. There are a variety of ways it is prepared and served. Its simplest form is in a hot soup as with a mild broth called ...
'' or ''
soba Soba ( or , "buckwheat") is a thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat. The noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or hot in a noodle soup. The variety ''Nagano soba'' includes wheat flour. In Japan, soba noodles can be found i ...
''" noodles. The score was composed by Toshihiko Sahashi. The opening theme song ''Kazemakase'' ("Leave it to the wind" or "Carried by the Wind") is an '' enka'' ballad performed by
Akemi Misawa Akemi is a unisex Japanese given name. Possible writings Akemi can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *, "bright, beauty" *, "bright, fruit" *, "bright, sea" *, "bright, sign of the snake (Chinese zodiac)" *, "vermilion, b ...
. The ending theme ''Kazemakase 2'' ("Leave it to the wind 2") is performed by Reiko Yasuhara.


Staff

*Original creator and director: Akitaro Daichi *Directorial advisor: Hiroaki Sakurai *Character design: Hajime Watanabe *Chief animation director: Takahiro Yoshimatsu *Art director: Hidetoshi Kaneko *Director of photography: Hitoshi Yamaguchi *Music: Toshihiko Sahashi *Sound director: Kazuya Tanaka *Animation production: Madhouse *Production: Bandai Visual


Media


Episodes


Drama CD

''Kazemakase Tsukikage Ran CD-neta ni Tottoita'' (VICL-60545) is an audio drama released May 24, 2000 by Victor Entertainment. It features Ayako Kawasumi as the voice of Princess Tama.


Reception

Jacob Churosh of T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews gave the TV series 4 out of 5 stars stating, " It manages to be exciting and funny at the same time, and also offers an alternate perspective on the live-action samurai shows that seem to populate Japanese TV on a regular basis; in fact, it seems intended to parody them."


References


External links

*
''Animerica'' article
{{Madhouse 2000 anime television series debuts 2000 manga Anime with original screenplays Bandai Entertainment anime titles Madhouse (company) Martial arts anime and manga Samurai in anime and manga Television shows written by Yōsuke Kuroda