Ranma 1/2 Season 3 Reveals October 3 Premiere and Cast Including Masako Nozawa

MAPPA's Ranma 1/2 anime adaptation has confirmed its third season for an October 3 premiere on Nippon TV, with streaming exclusively on Netflix immediately following each broadcast. The announcement arrived alongside a new key visual and five major cast additions revealed at the "Dota-Bata Martial Arts Fan Meeting" event on July 25.

Five Veteran Voice Actors Join the Roster

The Season 3 cast additions bring some of the most recognizable names in anime voice acting into Rumiko Takahashi's chaotic martial arts world. Masako Nozawa - the legendary voice behind Dragon Ball's Goku - will play the head of the Daimonji-ryu martial arts tea ceremony school, referred to as Iemoto and identified as Sentaro's grandmother. Jun Fukuyama takes on the role of Sentaro Daimonji, the school's successor.

Minami Tanaka has been cast as Tsubasa Kurenai, a former classmate of Ukyo known for an affinity for disguises. Two additional heavyweight voice actors round out the announcements: Mayumi Tanaka and Saori Hayami have both been confirmed for the season, though their specific roles remain under wraps for now.

Returning Staff and Cast

Director Konosuke Uda returns to helm Season 3 at MAPPA, continuing the creative team that has driven the rebooted adaptation. The core production staff remains intact, with Kimiko Ueno handling series composition, Hiromi Taniguchi serving as character designer and chief animation director, and Kaoru Wada composing the music.

The established voice cast also returns in full. Kappei Yamaguchi and Megumi Hayashibara reprise their roles as male and female Ranma Saotome, respectively, alongside the rest of the ensemble that has anchored the series since its 2024 comeback.

A New Key Visual Sets the Stage

The freshly revealed key visual features Ranma, Akane, Ryoga, and several new characters joining the fray in Season 3. The visual debuted at the fan meeting event, giving attendees the first look at how the incoming cast members will appear in MAPPA's modern art style.

The third season will continue adapting Takahashi's original manga, which ran from 1987 to 1996 in Weekly Shonen Sunday. MAPPA's reboot represents the first television anime adaptation of the property in roughly 32 years, following the original series that aired from 1989 to 1992. The modern version launched in late 2024 and quickly established itself as a faithful yet visually refreshed take on the classic material.

Broadcast and Streaming Details

Season 3 will air every Saturday at 24:55 JST - effectively Sunday at 12:55 a.m. - across the Nippon TV network beginning October 3. Netflix will stream episodes exclusively, making them available immediately after their Japanese television broadcast. This continues the same distribution arrangement that served the first two seasons.

The addition of Nozawa and Tanaka in particular signals the show's ambition to bring in characters from deeper into Takahashi's manga. Both actors are icons of the medium - Nozawa for her decades-long tenure as Goku, and Mayumi Tanaka for her equally legendary role as One Piece's Monkey D. Luffy. Their presence in Season 3 underscores the caliber of talent MAPPA continues to attract for this high-profile revival. Seasons 1 and 2 are currently streaming on Netflix.