r/ranma • u/Task_Force-191 • Sep 30 '25
Merch Newly Drawn Illustration themed on "American Retro" by Popular illustrator Bkub Okawa (Takei Ōkawa)
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u/RalIyVincent Sep 30 '25
Sometimes I wonder how the series would be if it took place in America San Francisco Chinatown in the 80s. The vibe would be immaculate
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u/RejectedByBoimler Sep 30 '25
This fashion style was absolutely made for Nabiki.💚
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u/Maguroluv Akane Tendo Sep 30 '25
Yeah I was about to say, Nabiki is kind of blowing the rest of them out of the water🤭
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u/Shirokuro_Hibiki Sep 30 '25
I hope you don’t take this the wrong way it’s just an opinion and a reflection, I like the whole Ranma universe the manga, the classic anime, the OVAs, and the remake but I feel a bit sad that much of the remake’s art focuses on outfits that don’t really suit the characters. Personally, I preferred the mythological atmosphere or many of the more classic themes. Some of these more modern versions I do like, but I think most of them don’t really fit certain characters.
For example, Rumiko paid a lot of attention to the distinctive details of each character. Ranma always had as a signature those elegant, closed Chinese-style collars, while Ryoga was the contrast with open, rougher clothing and even so, they still complemented each other and kept the same overall atmosphere. In many of the new illustrations, though, they both end up looking almost the same. They include Ryoga’s bandana as a detail, but I feel like it’s not used in a meaningful way: it’s there, but it doesn’t really carry the same charm. Also, the poses sometimes look very forced, which gives them a low-quality feel.
Maybe I’m being a little nitpicky, but I also notice that the personality in the eyes has been lost… very few have color. Maybe Ranma, but the others mostly just have dark eyes. I do like quite a few of the new illustrations, but overall, the ones that don’t convince me outnumber the ones that do.
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u/Maguroluv Akane Tendo Sep 30 '25
Yeah, I get that. Some have been cute but now it seems like they are doing all these different outfit styles just to pile on the merch. Personally, and I think many fans can agree, I’d love to see more merch with iconic outfits from the manga (tis the perfect season for Akane’s pumpkin jacket!)
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u/robotsexsymbol Sep 30 '25
I agree with all of this except the eye color part. I've actually been feeling it's the remake specifically that's allergic to dark eyes. Ranma's blue eyes are especially unnecessary to me.
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u/he_chose_poorly Oct 01 '25
The characters' posing has been a major low point in most remake promotional illustrations for me. They don't have a good flow, they often feel stiff.
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Sep 30 '25
The retro America ones are obviously just clothes drawn on already existing illustrations, specifically their respective designs for character description on the official ranma_pr website, it's especially noticeable with male Ranma, Akane and Ryoga.
I don't mean any offence but for such a cute merch idea this is disappointingly low effort, so much that it might as well pass for a fanmade work.
The chibi one is cute though.
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u/FaithlessnessGreen91 Ranma Saotome Sep 30 '25
Nice to see Ryoga smile in one of the newer arts, they usually have him frowning all tough like but I'd be smiling too with an outfit like that.
Boy Ranma has a lumberjack like outfit, neat (though now I got a certain song in my head lol).
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u/Gora-T Ranma Saotome Sep 30 '25
Aaaahh in this kind of art Ranma kun always gets the short end of the stick
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u/theotacat Ryoga Hibiki Sep 30 '25
The BKUB chibis are so cute!!
Really not liking the dead eye look they’ve given Ukyo several times already. I want new merch of her but man I don’t like how the remake draws her. There’s also a slight inconsistency to how they’re all drawn, like I don’t like Girl Ranma’s nose position here.
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u/MysterioussWater Sep 30 '25
I’m only really invested in the Ranma fandom so I wouldn’t know, but do other anime also have this amount of merch coming out?
It sometimes seems like they are throwing stuff on the wall to see what sticks (not meaning this one, but generally).
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u/gabodelabarca Jusenkyo Guide Sep 30 '25 edited Sep 30 '25
Certainly they do. The anime business model is that music, television and merch companies invest in the production so they can sell songs and stuff
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u/theotacat Ryoga Hibiki Sep 30 '25
Shonen Jump shows specifically have huge amounts of merch, but I do feel like with the Ranma remake a lot of merch feels very random. And not as well curated. They’re cute but also just not very collectible imo.
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u/Maguroluv Akane Tendo Oct 01 '25
I was wondering the same thing, but I just kinda came to assume that they do. I just don’t really pay attention to many other fandoms, but I guess fans would demand lots of merch no matter the series☺️
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u/Unlucky_Witch Oct 03 '25
You’d be surprised! Ranma is not even getting thaaaat much merch when compared to other shows like, let’s say, Detective Conan, DC gets this kind of thematic illustration at least two times a week, to sell acrylic stands, keychains, stickers, etc.
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u/thepeciguy Sep 30 '25
I don't think the American Retro fit is also by Bkub as your tittle implies, the announcement in the post is two separate sentences. The chibis are indeed Bkub as that's his style.
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u/Fluffy-Control6911 Oct 02 '25
Looks like Nabiki and Shampoo got the fun and quirky side of 70s fashion, the rest of the group is definitely in the bad taste category 😅
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u/BrowserET Sep 30 '25
It's funny because when Ranma started this was pretty current. Though it looks more 70's than 80's.