Ranma 1/2 Season 3 Premieres October 3 with MAPPA and Dragon Ball Legend Masako Nozawa

MAPPA's Ranma 1/2 remake returns for its third season on October 3, 2026, airing Saturday nights on Nippon TV before streaming on Netflix worldwide. The new season adds several heavyweight voice actors to the cast, headlined by Masako Nozawa, the legendary performer behind Dragon Ball's Goku.

A Heavyweight Cast Expansion

Nozawa steps into the role of the Grand Master of the Daimonji tea-ceremony school, a formidable character whose introduction promises to escalate the series' signature blend of martial arts and absurd comedy. The casting marks one of the most high-profile additions to the remake since its 2024 premiere, given Nozawa's unparalleled legacy in anime voice acting. Her career spans over six decades, and her presence in any production carries significant weight with audiences across generations.

Jun Fukuyama joins as Sentaro Daimonji, the young and impulsive heir to the tea-ceremony school who pulls Ranma into the arc's escalating conflicts. Minami Tanaka rounds out the named newcomers as Tsubasa Kurenai, a cross-dressing character whose disguise-heavy antics fit squarely into the show's thematic core of identity and transformation.

Two additional cast members - Mayumi Tanaka and Saori Hayami - have been confirmed for Season 3, though their specific roles remain undisclosed. Mayumi Tanaka is best known as the voice of One Piece's Monkey D. Luffy, a role she has held since 1999, while Hayami has built an extensive resume across dozens of major anime franchises. Their involvement further underscores MAPPA's commitment to assembling elite vocal talent for the remake.

Kappei Yamaguchi and Noriko Hidaka return as Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo, respectively. Both actors originated these characters in the 1989 anime adaptation and have reprised them across all three seasons of the remake, providing a meaningful thread of continuity between the classic series and its modern successor.

MAPPA's Annual Autumn Tradition

Season 3 solidifies the Ranma 1/2 remake as one of anime's most reliable annual autumn events. Season 1 aired from October to December 2024, Season 2 followed the identical October-to-December window in 2025, and now Season 3 locks in an October 3 premiere for 2026. Director Konosuke Uda returns at the helm for the third consecutive year, ensuring creative continuity across the production's entire run.

Episodes air Saturday nights at 24:55 JST on Nippon TV, with Netflix making them available to its global subscriber base shortly after the Japanese broadcast. This release model makes the remake available internationally on Netflix shortly after its Japanese broadcast

Takahashi's Manga Meets Modern Production

The remake adapts Rumiko Takahashi's original Ranma 1/2 manga, serialized from 1987 to 1996 and boasting a total circulation of over 55 million copies. MAPPA's remake is a new adaptation of Takahashi's original manga, aimed at both longtime fans and viewers discovering the franchise for the first time.

The Daimonji tea-ceremony school arc ranks among the manga's most beloved storylines, blending Takahashi's gift for physical comedy with the kind of escalating absurdity that defines the series at its best. The casting of Nozawa and Fukuyama in pivotal roles signals that MAPPA is giving this material the production weight and star power it warrants.

Season 3 of Ranma 1/2 premieres October 3, 2026, on Nippon TV with same-day streaming on Netflix.