Ran^{[Jp. 2]} is a fictional character appearing in the Japanese manga series Urusei Yatsura, created by Rumiko Takahashi. The character made her first appearance in the 55th chapter of the series, which was first published in Japan in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday magazine on October 22, 1980. In Urusei Yatsura, Ran is portrayed as an alien with a bipolar personality who grew up as childhood friends with the Oni alien Lum, for whom Ran developed a one-sided rivalry after years of resentment towards her.

In the anime adaptations of Urusei Yatsura, the character was initially voiced in Japanese by Yō Inoue and then by Kazue Komiya in the 1981 TV series, and by Kana Hanazawa in the 2022 TV series, while Donna Bella Litton provides her voice in English.

The character of Ran was created by Rumiko Takahashi, author of the Urusei Yatsura manga series, making her first appearance in its 55th chapter, titled "Sports Festival Close Call", which was first published in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday magazine on October 22, 1980.^[1][2] Takahashi stated that, when creating the character, she was inspired by gaki,^{[Jp. 3]} which in Japanese Buddhism are the spirits of envious and greedy people who, as punishment for their vices in life, were cursed with an insatiable hunger for the life force of humans, an aspect that Takahashi embodied in Ran as the vampiric power to suck the youth and vitality out of people by kissing them.^[3][4]

Takahashi named the character "Ran" due to its double meaning – translatable as "orchid" and "civil war", respectively – both of which the author felt suited the character's bipolar personality;^[3] this, in turn, causes Ran's behavior to continually change, going from friendly and pleasant to cruel and aggressive in an instant.^[5][6] Regarding Ran's design, Takahashi portrayed her as a teenage girl with pink, curly hair resembling a cloud, which the author associated with the belief that a gaki has an insubstantial form. The author also incorporated features such as fangs and pointed ears into Ran's design to tie her into the image of an oni.^[3] For the character's clothing, Takahashi simply drew Ran in either a pink dress underneath a white apron or a silver bikini.^[7][8][9]

During a July 2022 interview, Japanese voice actress Kana Hanazawa commented on Ran's appeal, stating: "Ran is a girl with a split personality, one where she is in an extreme flirtatious mode and another where she is extremely demanding, so I think what's really charming about her is that you never get tired of watching her!" Hanazawa also spoke about her approach to voicing Ran, relating that her goal was for her performance to suit the character's personality, saying: "She has a reason for her flirting and anger, so I thought it would be good if she could be played powerfully while staying close to her feelings, I think."^[10]

Ran is considered to be one of the most popular Urusei Yatsura characters among fans of the series.^[5] In October 2019, NHK released the results of a popularity poll on the "Favorite Rumiko Takahashi Characters" list, with Ran ranked at 20th place.^[22] In August 2021, it was reported that a new perfume line produced by Fairytail Parfum would be launched next September, with each fragrance inspired by a character from Urusei Yatsura; Ran's perfume, which cost 1,320 yen, was described as "a feminine blend of flowers and berries with a romantic last note of sandalwood and vanilla".^[23] In April 2022, Dave Carl Cutler of Comic Book Resources ranked Ran 10th on the "Top 10 Rumiko Takahashi Waifus" list.^[24]

Cutler commented that while Ran's "selfish and petty nature" made her seem like a "boring" character at first glance, he noted that "it is that same pettiness that makes her shine", stating: "Nothing is as tame as simply nice. That is not what Urusei Yatsura is about. The whole show is about self-centered characters constantly causing mayhem because of their personality flaws. In that framework, Ran really shines. Ran's presence requires attention and many will be happy to give it."^[24] Danny Guan of Game Rant praised the character's dual personality and her relationship with Lum, writing: "[Ran's] two-faced demeanor that switches between adorable and vicious is a sight to behold, and her dynamic with Lum is one of the funniest in the series. Out of Lum's many childhood friends, her relationship with Ran is easily the most hilarious and ridiculous."^[5]

• List of Urusei Yatsura characters