Neo Ranga?

[One Vorlon]

How is Neo Ranga? I think I saw an episode or two years ago, but I don't really remember it. Is the show worth tracking down?

[Betenoire]

Cheap maybe. I bought the whole thing out of TRSI's bargain bin years ago and tried to watch it but it just felt like a slog. Never did finish it, not sure I even finished the second disc. There was something about it that just made it feel much, much longer than it was.

[Glorian]

Well, I actually really like the show, but that wasn't my initial reaction.

The first time I watched the show, back when the ADV thinpak first came out, I didn't quite enjoy it, although I did watch it through till the end. The pacing wasn't just slow, it felt a bit strange, and the show didn't really click with me, although it had something to it that prevented me from selling it.

It sat in my closet for a few years, and I decided to give it another chance (on a whim) four or five months ago. The second time around, I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. Something about the feel and pacing still feels odd, but in a way I liked on my repeat viewing. I think part of it is that my tastes have matured and broadened in the intervening years. Also, the show is supposedly in part a metaphor for the society of post-bubble economy Japan, and I think I picked up on a that aspect of the show a bit better the second time around.

So I liked it, and I think the show has some merit, but I'm also aware that it won't be everyone's cup of tea.

[Sly05]

It was a bit too slow for me though I never made it beyond the first volume so maybe it picks up later. Disappointingly, the outfits (or lack of them) from the covers and promotional art have no bearing on whats in the actual show.

[Otakufan]

...........Disappointingly, the outfits (or lack of them) from the covers and promotional art have no bearing on whats in the actual show.

Even more disappointing for me was that the op also never actually made it into the series as well and that looked like it would have been a heck of a lot of fun. :sweat:

Having said that, I actually quite liked the series, but it's definitely one of those series where your mileage will vary considerably !

It's a weird series, not the least of which is that every episode is only a quarter of an hour rather than the customary half and it also has a narrator just like Robotech. I quite liked that, but it could turn some folks off.

It's a bit low budget at times (I remember one spot where you could actually see some heads separated from their bodies) and no it wasn't intentional and the ending is rather silly. (Hell, it's really silly, but what the hey, that's not unusual for a lot of anime either!)

On the plus side, there's a very interesting storyline with three sisters who couldn't be more different. Especially the youngest one who's quite blood-thirsty at times and delights in scaring the beejusus out of her school mates by bringing Ranga to school with her, among other plot twists.

If you want something different from the usual fare, Neo Ranga definitely will fill the bill. I quite enjoyed it (loved the music) despite it's faults, but it's not gonna be everyone's cup of tea.

J. A.

[Hayate Kurogane]

Buy it for Yuupi!

This is one of those odd shows where one feels like the fanservicey aspect of the character designs came about as the result of a marketing mandate thought up by a faceless corporate executive, while the show itself actually attempts to adhere to a story with some depth and relevance. (See also: Divergence Eve, Daphne in the Brilliant Blue.) Though at least, as others note with some disappointment, rather than the girls inexplicably running around in their loincloths and tribal paint throughout the entire show, the outfits are seen more in the two opening sequences than in the show itself.

Now, having said all that, I was never entirely sure what the show itself was trying to accomplish. Ostensibly, the focus is meant to be on the strength of family bonds through trying times. I also once saw someone make a pretty good case for the show also being somewhat of an allegory for the Japanese recession of the '90s (more than just every hapless lead male in shows made in the late '90s complaining there aren't any jobs because of the recession, that is), though I unwisely did not save a copy and haven't seen the show in a while so I can't even begin to attempt to reconstruct it.

What's worth noting is that it's a pretty mild-mannered, low-key sort of show, for being a show that involves giant monster-like things running around. It's not really intended to be a genre deconstruction, even if it is written by Sho Aikawa, who took a couple of pretty decent stabs at working a strange deconstruction/parody hybrid for shows like Nadesico and Gad Guard. The music helps in terms of setting tone and atmosphere, though my memories of it may be slightly skewed, as I was on a real Kuniaki Haishima kick at the time, before I became disillusioned by the fact that he's a compulsive self-cannibalizer (though his recent score for the My Otome 0: S.ifr OVA was a pleasant surprise, if for no other reason than it didn't sound like he was just recycling his Gasaraki or Blue Gender themes again).

[Fencedude]

Buy it for Yuupi!

This!

Yeah, Neo Ranga's an interesting show, but its very, very hard to actively recommend.

But Yuuhi? God tier. Just...god tier. In everything.

[MitchH]

It's a weird show, for some reason they decided that their political-intrigue-and-social-commentary show was best-structured as a quarter-hour TV mecha anime. There was a lot of experimenting with the format in the early Oughts, I guess.

The show has a political "feel" superficially similar to that of Gasaraki - they're using the made-up Southern Seas kingdom as a proxy for reactionary social commentary and politics. Lots of stuff about ultranationalism, hostility to contemporary Japanese social and political decay. But it's nicely conflicted - the bad guys are even more reactionary than the "good guys", and the good guys don't even really have any principles beyond the basic, stereotypically anti-political shounen ideals. They're just sort of muddling along. (BTW, I hated Gasaraki, and never got more than a half-dozen episodes into that turgid mess, so YMMV.)

Fair warning: the ADV adaptation was apparently badly mishandled, which explains why the North American-released version can be opaque and confusing - half-assed translations applied to subtle political drama results in an end product which verges on gibberish at times.

[Hayate Kurogane]

Fair warning: the ADV adaptation was apparently badly mishandled, which explains why the North American-released version can be opaque and confusing - half-assed translations applied to subtle political drama results in an end product which verges on gibberish at times.

To clarify, the original translation (and by extension, the dub script) and subtitles for the original singles were badly mishandled. Some corrections were made to the subtitles for the subsequent collections, though not having owned any of the collections I can't say whether this was merely correcting some of the numerous grammar mistakes, or actually retranslating and fixing syntax errors, mistranslations, etc. Either way, the dub script is still what it is.

But yeah, this is definitely not the sort of show you hand off to an intern you just gave a staff position to, or a contractor whom you've never worked with before.

[jeezdamn]

I've had this show for quite a while-it's true that's its an acquired taste, I happened to like it. The premise while seeming to be a giant mecha show quickly show its true colors. The 3 sisters and the impact Neo Ranga has on their small town while getting the japanese military involved makes for an interesting mix of genres. In other words-it's a hard to define show.

[SMaxson]

I wanted to like Neo Ranga. I really, really, really did. I kept making excuses for the show: "Oh, it's just going through some hard times right now," or "Maybe if I were a better viewer, it wouldn't need to disappoint me all the time," and "I fell."

Eden's BoWy had the same effect on me, but it at least had catgirls and elfgirls, so I was able to derive at least some enjoyment from it. Neo Ranga just made me feel bad (admittedly, that was mostly because of the second season).

Get Brigadoon or Figure 17 instead.

And for the record, Ushio > Yuuhi.

[Fencedude]

And for the record, Ushio > Yuuhi.

Pft. No one is better than Yuuhi.

[ExcelGenerations]

It was alright. It starts off kinda slow but the ending was much better than how it started off. If you like decent shows then this is 1.

[touma]

If you like decent shows then this is 1.

I prefer indecent shows.:P

[Otakufan]

.......... Neo Ranga just made me feel bad (admittedly, that was mostly because of the second season).

Get Brigadoon or Figure 17 instead.



Neo is definitely one of those series where YMMV!

Lots of luck finding Brigadoon. I never could get anything beyond vol 2. I really liked what I saw of it though.

I highly recommend Figure 17. Like Neo Ranga, it's not your typical anime, for one thing each episode was designed to fit in an hour long time slot and each episode only came out once a month. And unlike Ranga, everybody who sees it seems to like it a lot.

J. A.

[touma]

Lots of luck finding Brigadoon.

Try eBay.
Right now somebody has all six volumes, new, for $20.01 with free US shipping. He ships to Canada but does not give the cost.
He claims to have more than 10 sets available.

[Fencedude]

Lots of luck finding Brigadoon.

Try eBay.
Right now somebody has all six volumes, new, for $20.01 with free US shipping. He ships to Canada but does not give the cost.
He claims to have more than 10 sets available.

Yeah, I got a set from him.

I still need to open them up and actually watch them, at some point.

[One Vorlon]

Lots of luck finding Brigadoon.

Try eBay.
Right now somebody has all six volumes, new, for $20.01 with free US shipping. He ships to Canada but does not give the cost.
He claims to have more than 10 sets available.
That doesn't entirely surprise me - there are several anime liquidators on eBay. Sometimes they have collections of singles*, other times its old runs of the box set, but you can pick up some good deals. Of course, you do have to doublecheck the authenticity, but the real stuff's there, too.




*sometimes the first run (even with art boxes), other times the cheap re-release.

[Dennis_Mullin]

Lots of luck finding Brigadoon.

Try eBay.
Right now somebody has all six volumes, new, for $20.01 with free US shipping. He ships to Canada but does not give the cost.

Shipping to Canada (and the rest of the world) shows as $24.99

[Isuzu Inugami]

Shipping to Canada (and the rest of the world) shows as $24.99

Gotta make up for the low price somewhere.... :sweat:



I still need to open them up and actually watch them, at some point.

YES YOU DO! :P

It's a great series, if rather bipolar in tone at points.

Of course, I still need to sit down and watch my copy of Neo Ranga, so the Great Cosmic Backlog all balances out, or something.

[Otakufan]

Lots of luck finding Brigadoon.

Try eBay.
Right now somebody has all six volumes, new, for $20.01 with free US shipping. He ships to Canada but does not give the cost.

Shipping to Canada (and the rest of the world) shows as $24.99

Ouch! Rightstuff's free shipping has spoiled me! :blush1:

J. A.

[Otakufan]

I still need to open them up and actually watch them, at some point.

YES YOU DO! :P

It's a great series, if rather bipolar in tone at points.

Of course, I still need to sit down and watch my copy of Neo Ranga, so the Great Cosmic Backlog all balances out, or something.

When it comes to anime, I don't think the great cosmic backlog ever balances out. Every time I clear two out of my backlog, another two or three magically appear. Sometimes late at night after a heavy evening of series watching, I swear I can hear my various boxsets sniggering behind my back.

Or......., maybe this is the cosmic backlog? In which case, I wish it would settle around 20 series, instead of always being around 80 to 100 instead. :sweat:

J. A.