Unforgettable One Episode Character: Ranpa
Hey there, minna-san, how are you? Good? I hope so...
A couple of years ago Tash and I attended a con with Dave Wittenberg, Johnny Yong Bosch, Crispin Freeman and Grey Delisle as guests for the animation part of the line-up. I had planned on asking the male guests to sign pictures I'd printed of characters they had voiced; Dave=Shinobu in Here is Greenwood Media Blasters dub, Crispin=Zelgadis from Slayers and Kyon from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya for pastelmelody , and Johnny=Itsuki from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya for pastelmelody and Ranpa from Saiyuki Reload episode 4. (I got pictures signed by Crispin, didn't have time to get the others...)
I reckon Johnny would've stared at the image and wondered if he had voiced Ranpa in the past. I know, it's not often someone would get a request to sign a picture of a cameo character they had voiced. Thing is though, Ranpa is one of those one-off characters that stays in your memory for life!
To explain, in episode four of Saiyuki Reload, the Sanzo-ikkou arrives in a town where there used to be a lot of youkai, but the minus wave caused them to lose their minds and attack all of the human villagers. Ranpa was the only one not affected at the time, but he can feel it is starting to affect him. He doesn't want to let it win yet though, at least not until he had finished a painting he was creating for his human friend (and potential love interest) Rinlan. He struggles, even drinking vial after vial of what he thinks is medicine to keep him sane (it's just water...damn Ni Jenyi!) just so he can finish Rinlan's painting. He even begs for Sanzo not to kill him until his painting is complete. He still comes close to snapping, then one day, it happens. Still, he refuses to break his promise of creating the portrait for Rinlan and keeps going. He finally finishes it, but the minus wave has affected him. He's shot by Sanzo as he runs towards Rinlan.
Okay, after reading that, you can probably see why I am using my "sorrow and comfort" userpic. Ranpa has stuck in my mind ever since seeing that episode. No matter what, he wanted to keep his promise, and fought to keep his sanity until he had. He's one of those characters you can never forget and always find yourself fond of them. It may be an anime-only filler episode, but that one was one of the best without the humor.
That's it for now, minna-san. Ja ne!
A couple of years ago Tash and I attended a con with Dave Wittenberg, Johnny Yong Bosch, Crispin Freeman and Grey Delisle as guests for the animation part of the line-up. I had planned on asking the male guests to sign pictures I'd printed of characters they had voiced; Dave=Shinobu in Here is Greenwood Media Blasters dub, Crispin=Zelgadis from Slayers and Kyon from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya for pastelmelody , and Johnny=Itsuki from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya for pastelmelody and Ranpa from Saiyuki Reload episode 4. (I got pictures signed by Crispin, didn't have time to get the others...)
I reckon Johnny would've stared at the image and wondered if he had voiced Ranpa in the past. I know, it's not often someone would get a request to sign a picture of a cameo character they had voiced. Thing is though, Ranpa is one of those one-off characters that stays in your memory for life!
To explain, in episode four of Saiyuki Reload, the Sanzo-ikkou arrives in a town where there used to be a lot of youkai, but the minus wave caused them to lose their minds and attack all of the human villagers. Ranpa was the only one not affected at the time, but he can feel it is starting to affect him. He doesn't want to let it win yet though, at least not until he had finished a painting he was creating for his human friend (and potential love interest) Rinlan. He struggles, even drinking vial after vial of what he thinks is medicine to keep him sane (it's just water...damn Ni Jenyi!) just so he can finish Rinlan's painting. He even begs for Sanzo not to kill him until his painting is complete. He still comes close to snapping, then one day, it happens. Still, he refuses to break his promise of creating the portrait for Rinlan and keeps going. He finally finishes it, but the minus wave has affected him. He's shot by Sanzo as he runs towards Rinlan.
Okay, after reading that, you can probably see why I am using my "sorrow and comfort" userpic. Ranpa has stuck in my mind ever since seeing that episode. No matter what, he wanted to keep his promise, and fought to keep his sanity until he had. He's one of those characters you can never forget and always find yourself fond of them. It may be an anime-only filler episode, but that one was one of the best without the humor.
That's it for now, minna-san. Ja ne!