A very common type of character in manga and anime, but the oldest ones, are those perverted characters like Master Roshi from Dragon Ball or Jiraiya from Naruto. And in Ranma 1/2, created by Rumiko Takashi, we have Happosai.
We recently had the announcement of the remake of Ranma 1/2 which as mentioned has a character of this type, Happosai. However, times have changed, will Happosai be in the remake of Ranma?
Fans worried about whether Happosai will be in the Ranma remake
Happosai is a short old man who steals women’s underwear and commits sexual harassment against the female version of Ranma, Akane and other female characters in the series, considering today’s times, fans fear that they will change the character’s characterization or even cut him from the story in this remake to avoid possible problems.
It is worth mentioning, however, that they will not cut the character, as Happosai appears in the remake’s visual and he carries his bag which normally contains panties stolen from the neighborhood:
However, this did not alleviate the fears of many fans that Happosai’s scenes would be heavily censored. Let’s check out some comments from Japanese fans about this:
“Happosai is not only annoying, he is also unpleasant. He scolds those who accuse him of being a panty thief, acting like the victim and getting angry. He has no awareness that he is doing anything wrong.”
“Plus, he’s one of the strongest characters in the series, so even when people try to stop him in earnest, they end up being defeated by his retaliation. Pantyhose Taro’s child abuse storyline was horrific. Pure evil ends up winning over good, which only increases viewers’ hatred quickly. He’s a character that causes stress.”
“It’s like Master Roshi in Dragon Ball, right? Total plagiarism.”
“No, it’s completely different. Master Roshi is a pervert, but deep down he’s a righteous person and a good mentor. Happosai is an evil sex offender from the root, and it’s a mystery how he managed to live in the Tendo household.”
“He was the only character in Ranma that I hated.”
“Happosai is a character that wouldn’t be missed if he didn’t exist. They could just remove him entirely. Pantyhose Taro’s backstory could be resolved with original anime material.”
“Happosai is hated because he does whatever he wants and almost never gets his comeuppance in the end. If he always ended up getting the short end of the stick, that would be redeeming. Charisma is important.”
Regarding Happousai, Rumiko Takashi shared the following about the creation of the character: “I wanted to introduce a master. Naturally, he turned out to be an old man. Since Ranma is a woman, I thought a perverted old man would be interesting.” She adds: “Happosai is strong when he tries hard, but as a person, he is terrible. I never wanted to write a master-disciple relationship that was beautiful.”
It seems that fans’ fears won’t end until the Ranma remake is released. Will Happosai have a different characterization? Will they cut him out of the story or will they keep the original?
via esuteru
