Neo Ranga - S2

Summary: >

Having returned from Barro island, the Shibara sisters have retaken their home in Japan. The government has closed off the town, which is now considered a part of Barro. The Kyoshin continue to grow in power and influence over the Japanese government. What are they up to? And as confrontations with the Kyoshin continue, people start to wonder just what Neo Ranga truly is.

Thoughts: >

I watched the first half (24 episodes) of Neo Ranga, and liked it more than I probably should have. I didn't think the second half would accomplish anything great, but I had high hopes it would be ok. I struggled with what to say about the second half of Neo Ranga, and decided to separate it into its own review as it becomes one of the biggest disasters I've seen in anime. Yeah, it's that bad. So many things changed in season 2 that I double checked the dvd cover, then ejected the disk to check the label, and even double checked the menus on the dvd itself. No, the labels were all right... I was watching the right show...

Nothing in the second season makes sense AT ALL. It's sheer stupidity. I wish I were exaggerating. The last season left off with the three kings deciding to return to Japan. Season 2 picks up with them back in Japan, and even back in their house, but their town has apparently succeeded from Japan and become a part of the nation of Barro. It's impossible for that to make any sense, and it's never explained. Seriously, writers are PAID to figure this shit out, not just gloss over details. It only gets worse, because this kind of nonsense is par for the course in season 2.

The first season had three strengths (with varying levels of success): the human nature insight, the mysterious aspects, and the oddball fluff stuff intended for fun. In the second season all these fail big time. Sometimes point of an episode is to look at human nature, with the end dialog giving "the point"... except it didn't make sense. The mysterious stuff is a total disaster because lacks logic and coherency. Instead of trying to weave an interesting conspiracy, it simply throws in random things which never fit together properly. As for the fun stuff, Neo Ranga was often dumb in the first season, but occasionally worth it for a few laughs. It's the same in the second season, the difference is everything else is also dumb so it's not exactly like taking a break anymore.

After 15 episodes of stupidity, Neo Ranga decides to get serious by addressing the conspiracies it tried to invent. Unable to figure out what to do with the existing cast, the show keeps introducing new people from nowhere. The biggest disappointment is with Neo Ranga itself which develops all sorts of super powers that weren't even hinted at before. Heck all throughout the second season its been able to fly. It couldn't do that the entire first season, but does it all the time in the second (also never explained). Worse than that Neo Ranga stops moving like a giant monster, and the show totally loses its grip on scale. Ranga is no longer a mysterious giant monster, but instead becomes a giant mecha fighting like any other giant robot show. At the end it becomes a showdown of robots from space with characters that hardly existed before the last 10 (out of 48) episodes. The end plot is so bad it would take me another 20 paragraphs to explain why it is so wrong.

This is probably one of the most scatter brained train wrecks I've ever watched in anime. While this seems more like a rant than a review, it really is that bad. There are two decent points to the second season. Ushio takes an interest in a boy, and for an episode or two it feels like the first season again. There's also the Neo Ranga saves Christmas episodes, which is honestly so weird it's kind of worth watching. Mind you that these points aren't great, they're just okay. I like the first season of Neo Ranga, and I think it's worth checking out, but if and ONLY IF you can check your curiosity and not watch the second season. The first season wasn't completely conclusive but it ended well enough. The second half is catastrophe. Even though I talked about how dumb it is, I didn't even get through half of the stuff wrong with it. Do not watch.

Screen Caps: >