Neo Ranga is a 1998 anime by Sho Aikawa that mixes elements of family drama with social satire, as well as political and religious commentary, focusing on the Musashino area of contemporary Tokyo, and the trials and tribulations of locals in relation to the Shimabara sisters (Minami, Ushio and Yuuhi), three somewhat odd young women who live odd lives.
Oh, and there are monsters and mecha in there somewhere, too.
It was released in the US by ADV Films.
This show provides examples of:
- A God Am I: About half the cast at various points, but most notably Fujiwara as Ibuki.
- Angel Face, Demon Face: Neo Ranga's normal and berserk forms.
- Bait-and-Switch Credits: Both openings prominently feature the girls in tribal outfits, swinging swords and, walking in front of mass destruction. None of these ever really happen.
- BFS: A wooden variety in Ranga's blade.
- Big Word Shout: RANGAAAAAA, oh so much.
- Blob Monster: The Kyoshin Yoshino.
- Bond Villain Stupidity: Done by a group of mooks at the end of the first season.
- Christmas Special: A particularly grim one about the worthlessness of Christmas both to the heroes and villains.
- Clean Up the Town: Yuuhi and Ushio's initial goals after gaining control of Ranga, though their ideas and methods greatly vary.
- Combat Tentacles: The Kyoshin Salume, Hatsune, and Ranga himself exhibits versions of these at times.
- Covers Always Lie: The DVD and VHS covers depict the girls in somewhat revealing outfits — the same one from the Bait-and-Switch Credits above — and in somewhat suggestive poses. Again, none of these ever really happen.
- Do-Anything Robot: Ranga, though whether he actually wants to at the time is another matter.
- "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: The first opening and second ending are done by the sisters' voice actors.
- Free-Range Children: The Shimabaras and Hiromi.
- God Is Evil: Heavily implied, though the show itself often skirts around it.
- Humongous Mecha: Big ASE.
- Lonely at the Top: The effect of Ranga on to the Shimabaras (Ushio especially), who were already outsiders to a degree.
- New Job Episode: "Jobs in Television" is the most notable, though New Job Arcs appear fairly often.
- "On the Next Episode of..." Catch-Phrase: Usually plot relevant variations of "Therein lies Paradise" and "This field guide is a pack of lies."
- Promotion to Parent: Minami, the eldest sister, has had to raise Yuuhi and Ushio on her own.
- Powered by a Forsaken Child: All the gods, more or less. The
Squick factor varies. - Rage Against the Heavens: The final plot arc.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: Akasa, Tsao's most powerful Kyoshin and could easily be considered The Dragon. The Kyoshin Appa and Plutiwee could easily be considered Co-Dragons.
- Spoiler Opening: Both openings spoil events that happen at the very end of their run on the show, such as the girls' near execution, the Curiotes, and Ranga's ultimate fate.
- Those Two Guys: Female example with Ushio's friends.
- Title-Only Opening: For the first four episodes.
- Untrusting Community: One of the main concepts of the show.
- Yakuza: Yuuhi, the most cynical of the girls, at least once has used Ranga to attack the Yakuza. Ushio and Minami weren't happy, logically.
