Neo Ranga
Neo Ranga is a 1998 anime 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 three Shimabara sisters, three somewhat odd young women who live odd lives.
Oh, and there's monsters and mecha in there somewhere, too.
It was released in the US by ADV Films.
Tropes used in Neo Ranga include:
- Angel Face, Demon Face: Neo Ranga's normal and berserk forms.
- A God Am I: About half the cast at various points, but most notably Fujiwara as Ibuki.
- Authority Equals 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.
- 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.
- Berserk Button
- BFS: A wooden variety in Ranga's blade.
- Big Word Shout: RANGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, 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 and 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.
- Darker and Edgier: The second season.
- Do-Anything Robot: Ranga, though whether he actually wants to at the time is another matter.
- Fallen Angel: Ranga.
- Five-Man Band: Particularly prevalent in the second season, where they generally run around Japan in this group.
- The Hero: Ushio
- The Lancer: Yuuhi
- The Smart Guy: Minami, more for her common sense and knowledge of the community.
- The Big Guy: Haseoka
- The Chick: Mei
- Free-Range Children: The Shimabaras and Hiromi.
- God Is Evil: Heavily implied, though the show itself often skirts around it.
- Humongous Mecha: Big ASE.
- Kaiju: Ranga himself and the Kyoshin.
- Kill It with Water: The Kyoshin Minakata.
- Little Miss Snarker: Yuuhi.
- Lonely at the Top: The effect of Ranga on to the Shimabaras (Ushio especially), who were already outsiders to a degree.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Constantly.
- New Job Episode: "Jobs in Television" is the most notable, though New Job Arcs appear fairly often.
- "On the Next Episode of..." Catchphrase: Usually plot relevant variations of "Therein lies Paradise" and "This field guide is a pack of lies".
- Powered by a Forsaken Child: All the gods, more or less. The Squick factor varies.
- Rage Against the Heavens: The final plot arc.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Omodo.
- 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.
- The Kid with the Remote Control: Yuuhi and Ushio.
- 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.
- Victorious Loser: "Paradise has disappeared."
- When Trees Attack: The Kyoshin Hatsune.