Neo Ranga opens with a giant monster rising from the ocean and attacking tokyo. Sound familiar? Ok so this time around the giant monster, Ranga isn’t actually attacking. He seems to be making his way across the island looking for something. Ranga just happens to be crushing everything in his path as he moves along. What is he after, well of course the three hot anime babes on the dvd cover of course!
Getting a bit more serious, Neo Ranga follows the lives of three sisters, Minami, Ushio, and Yuuhi. Somehow through a strange twist of fate these girls have inherited the rule of an island kingdom who’s greatest treasure is an ancient god named Ranga. Ranga has been asleep for hundreds or maybe thousands of years. The girls, duped into the rite of acession, take on the role thinking of it as a cheap vacation. Things take a turn for the worse when a new (NEO) Ranga awakens and starts tromping his way through japan to meet his new masters.
Neo Ranga is the kind of release wher you pick up the box and just know its going to be good. The artwork on the cover immediately gets you thinking, What is this about? Who are these characters? Add in a trailer with music that pounds its way into your mind, and you find yourself bursting with anticipation. The series was done a bit different than the standard fare. Instead of the typical half hour timeslots Neo Ranga runs in shorter episodes about half that length. It makes little difference When you pick up the box set like I did, but I can imagine it might get a bit frustrating waiting a week to see the next short clip on the tv.
A few things did put me off in watching Neo Ranga. I was instantly taken in by the artwork on the cover. It was rather frustrating to find that those particular costumes were only used in a few minutes worth of the show. Most of the rest of the show had the characters dressed pretty much plain and ordinary. The timing of the show seemed to have gaps in it. Perhaps that was mostly just a sense I had from the shorter episode length. The show’s timeline spans over a year or more and that made it feel a bit choppy.
Neo Ranga didn’t have much in the way of unexpected plot twists, though the story wasn’t half bad. Some of the biggest turns were easily guessed long before they came to light in the story. Where the series really shined brightest was in its characters. Yuuhi in particular was of interest to me. The youngest sister and seemingly the most innocent from the outside seems also to be the deepest character and the one whom was the most intelligent, spirited and strong.
While there were as many things about The Neo Ranga Box Set that put me off as there were to grab me, I still believe it is worth a “buy it” rating. My reasoning is that the show has enough depth to deserve a second viewing. The show is a bit older so the whole set can be had for fairly cheap. Since it costs almost as much to rent as to buy a copy there really isn’t any reason not to put Neo Ranga into your collection. Overall Neo Ranga isn’t the blockbuster that many titles are. It has good music, a decent plot, and some memorable moments. If you plan on seeing it at all buy it. If you’re short on cash go for the blockbuster title now and pick up Neo Ranga later when money isn’t so tight.