Ranma ½ began publication in September 1987, appearing in Shōnen Sunday after the ending of Rumiko Takahashi's previous major work, Urusei Yatsura. From September 1987 until March 1996, Ranma ½ was published on a near weekly basis with the occasional colorized page to spruce up the usually black and white manga stories. After nearly a decade of storylines, the final chapter was published in Shōnen Sunday 1996, Volume 12.^[1]

Following publication in Shōnen Sunday, the manga was then published in tankōbon form until 1996 the pages were published in normal black and white. Ranma ½ was eventually serialized into 38 of these volumes. In 2002, Shogakukan opted to republish these under a new format, the shinsōban. These were essentially the same as the tankōban save for a different cover.

In addition to the regular storylines, Ranma ½ has had several special releases. First, the Ranma ½ Memorial Book was published just as the manga ended in 1996. Acting as an end-cap to the series, it collects various illustrations from the series, features an interview with Takahashi,^[2] and includes tidbits about Ranma such as summaries of his battles, his daily schedule, trivia, and a few exclusive illustrations. Second, Movie + OVA Ranma ½ was released to illustrate the two part OVA "The One to Carry On" and the third movie, Team Ranma vs. the Legendary Phoenix. Finally, guidebooks were released for three of the Ranma ½ games; these included not only strategies, but also interviews.^[3]

United States publicationEdit

Viz Media, a company owned by Shogakukan and Shueisha, published the English version of the manga. Viz started publishing Ranma ½ in 1993 in a monthly comic book format. Because of the time needed to accumulate material, subsequent volumes became relatively slow to come. Each graphic novel covers roughly the same amount of material as a tankōbon, but Viz incorporated minor differences in grouping so that the English language version spans 36 volumes rather than the Japanese number of 38. Volume 36, the final volume, was released in stores on November 14, 2006,^[4] thus making it Viz's longest running manga, spanning over 13 years.

On March 18, 2004, Viz announced that it would reprint a number of its graphic novels. The content remained the same, but the novels moved to a smaller format with different covers. In the case of Ranma ½, the covers shifted from a variegated style to a more uniform cover. In addition, the price dropped to $9.95.^[5] However, the title would still retain its "flipped", left-to-right format, like the first edition.

OriginsEdit

Takahashi drew inspiration for Ranma ½ from a variety of real-world objects. Some of the places frequently seen in the series are modeled after actual locations in Nerima, Tokyo, both the home of Takahashi and the setting of the series. In addition, links have been shown between the manga and people, paintings, and even films.^[6]

MangaEdit

ReferencesEdit