Search - Neo Ranga - A God Is Risen (Vol. 1) on DVD

The God never quite rises...

Zack Davisson | Seattle, WA, USA | 01/20/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

""Neo Ranga - A God is Risen (Vol. 1)" is a fairly mediocre anime, one that seems to be pushing a formula established by Neon Genesis Evangelion. Now, I have no problem with formulaic anime, so long as the variation on a theme entertains. However, this fledgling episode of Neo Ranga failed to capture me, and I have little interest in pursuing the series.The 15 minute episodes seems like a good idea at first, allowing quick viewing over breakfast without a long time commitment. However, ultimately the story does not advance in a logical enough manner with the short episodes. One minute, Neo Ranga is warring with the army and destroying Tokyo, the next episode, without much explanation, the army has decided to back off and Neo Ranga is a wacky tourist attraction giving the girls rides to school.The three sisters make for interesting characters, but again their personalities are not developed well enough, and they remain little more than one-note girls. It is possible that the story fleshes out more with the remainder of the series, and some of the illogical points link up, but with such a lackluster initial offering, it seems like few would stick around to find out."

Good but real missleading.

DJ-H-OS | NJ | 04/18/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"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."

GET YOUR MONSTER OUT OF MY YARD!

Sesho | Pasadena, TX USA | 06/04/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"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."