Neo Ranga - A God Is Risen (Vol. 1) [DVD]

A giant monster rising out of Tokyo Bay to rampage in downtown Tokyo is practically a stereotypical cliche. However this show manages to add some extra life to the old cliche.Each episode is about 12 minutes long, so it is somewhat difficult to have the story unfold in a smooth manner. Nonetheless, this becomes a rather intriguiging saga of family troubles, mysterious conspiracies and the power politics of weapons of mass destruction.On the surface, it is the story of what happens when 3 orphan sisters (2 still school-age) become the beneficiary of their older brother's death. Their older brother had married into the royal family of an obscure pacific island nation (that had once been occupied by the Japanese in WW2). The islanders worshipped their own god that just happens to be a real, multi-storey monster. With the death of the royal family, Ranga decides that the 3 sisters are the new ruling triad, and goes to Tokyo to be with them. From then on it causes crises in National Security, local tourism, property values, and parking permits.

So i bought this for at the time it cost a penny...and...well I hated it...on most levels..I bought the first disk...I have been quite drawn to it for a year or two though. I really hate giving it a low review because i wanted to like it. And it's not like i had high expectation for it or anything. The series might get better but the first disk was so bad that i couldn't proceed spending my money on it. a few reasons why...-The episodes end right when you get into it.-When the next episode begins...it's not where the last left off...It cut out what was drawing me in.-It seems a little ...well way to jumpy.-Not the dubing or anything but just the dialouge was not to my likeing-It's as if they wanted to do nothing but make you want to ask questions just so you'd by the next one to "hope" that they will finally answer them.I'm really sorry for the fans out there...but normally i don't do this. but it's not as if i am being ignorant. or i didn't like one aspect...the story seemed choppy the characters seemed bland..but there are some good things.-I liked the opening...ALOT-i liked some of the design-I liked the idea of it...but this is really just what i saw from the first disk just keep in mind the series might get better...so don't let me keep you from a good anime because you might honestly like it everyone just has there own pref.

I have seen all 6 dvds and this was an enjoyable series. I wouldnt buy it unless you can get a good deal on it though. I bought mine used so it was worth it to me. I would however be dissapointed if I had to pay full price for this series since its not good enough to spend that kind of money on. Dont be fooled by the covers, the series has no such outfits or weapons for the characters I dont know why they used such missleading covers. Basically the series is about a giant god (Ranga) who is controlled by 3 sisters and is seen as a media icon, they have news broadcasts, TV specials and souveniers about Ranga. The city hates Ranga at one moment then they love him the next depending on what good or bad deed he does. There is a whole revival of ancient gods thing going on too, as you can guess Ranga has to fight the different revived gods. Dont want to give away any of the story, buy only if you can get it cheap.

Three sisters--Minami, Ushio, and Yuuhi--are sent a letter from their missing brother telling them to come to the tropical island of Barou, all expenses paid. When they arrive there, they learn that their brother married the last princess of the island. Both of them have died, leaving their only child, Joel, to inherit the throne. He's way too young to run the kingdom so the God of the island, Neo Ranga, has advised the nation to call in the sisters to run things. Of course, the three girls can't believe it, and want no part of it and decide to go home. In the process of trying to convince them to stay, the ancient god Neo Ranga, a skyscraper tall creature, is awoken and follows the girls, destroying all that stands in his way, including parts of Tokyo.For the moment, the girls seem to be able to control his actions, but what is he really? A military secret weapon? A heartless killer? A guardian of the girls? Is he an animal or plant? An alien? Most of the later episodes on this dvd deal with the city's reaction to having an incredible behemoth walking around like he's somebodys pet, stepping on cars or knocking chunks out of buildings, obeying the whims of 3 immature girls. It's pretty dangerous.The first couple of episodes on the dvd are just really bad. The animation is mid-80s style, whether intentionally, or due to budget, I don't know. They also work on the Pokemon level of anime with annoying characters. For example, Joel, the nephew, walks around with a large iguana on his shoulder and wears a bad Chuck Norris karate outfit. The music is even more discouraging. It was composed by a person pushing orchestra hit on his electronic keyboard. If you can survive the torture of the first few episodes, all of which consist of the military uselessly attacking Neo Ranga, the anime becomes more involved and a noticeable improvement in the quality of the story and the animation creeps in.The extras are rudimentary, with some production sketches, notes on the episodes, and clean opening and closings. I recommend this dvd with some reserve due to the low quality of the early episodes. Hopefully, volume 2 will be all good.