If you've read my other reviews on this series, Volume 1 and Volume 2, you'll know that the series revolves around a large being, Ranga, that resembles a robot of advanced design, yet appears to be sentient, and it's three young female controllers. As the series evolved, the monster went from being patterned a bit after Godzilla to something out of the Giant Robo series. In this third set of 8 episodes, the focus moves towards the political instability the situation creates. We learn a bit more about the shadow organization that has tried to alternately destroy and control the Ranga (Neo Ranga translates loosely into "new god") and their ability to marshal resources both governmental and private, to achieve their aims.

The later episodes here show an increasing number of other "gods" being used to fight the Ranga and the girls have less ability to protect those around them from, a variety of hostile forces. In an effort to truly protect the ones they care about, the gals move back to their island with Ranga with mixed results. This volume is the end of season 1, ending with a cliffhanger showing Ranga evolving once more in order to combat a clear menace to the people of Japan.

Okay, I've extolled the many virtues of the Neo Ranga series in past reviews and this will be no different. This third set of episodes show even more growth, not just on the part of Ranga but on the lead females as well. Rather than giving into their impulses to lash out and destroy, they learn to control their emotions more in order to minimize the damage they cause with Ranga. Personal growth in order to protect loved ones is a classic theme in anime as well as more mainstream literature but it goes beyond that as well. Some of the highlights here included the multi-layered look at how the Ranga impacts the community, both good and bad, and how the enemies will resort to manipulating a willing media into circumventing doing the right thing in favor of a spectacular story (i.e.: better ratings).

The story is also well thought out enough that it can be enjoyed by a wide variety of fans. Younger fans will like the fighting and situational comedy while older fans will appreciate the subtleties included on heavier matters too (which seemed to vary a bit from the English version to the original Japanese version-enough to make each somewhat unique).

The translator notes in the extras section provided enough background to appreciate some of the uniquely Japanese cultural aspects of the show as well. It would've been a lot easier to just gloss over some of those matters as other companies have done so I have to give the folks at ADV some credit in this regard. They've come a long way in recent years and seem to have learned from consumer input which will likely serve them well as other companies attempt to imitate their success.

I could ramble on about other aspects of the dvd but by this point, those who "get it" will have already ordered it and those who don't will have moved on to other types of anime. Along with RahXephon, Neo Ranga proves ADV is on the right track and providing some of the best anime on the market. I just hope they release season 2 as quickly as possible or I might go into withdrawal. I rate this one as Highly Recommended for all it's fine qualities, from the writing to the designs.

Picture: The picture was presented in full frame 1.33:1 ratio as originally released. The transfer was very clear with no problems.

Sound: The sound choices were the usual: English, Japanese with English subtitles, English with song subtitles. I noticed several differences between the subtitles and the English track which shows some thought was put into it.

Extras: Translator Notes which gave a brief overview of most episodes with regard to language and cultural issues. Production sketches which showed how some characters evolved over time. A clean opening and closing credits as well as some trailers to Neo Ranga and other ADV shows. The dvd cover was double sided too and the release included a fold out map of the Musashino Ginza district where most of the action took place (it was very helpful).

Final Thoughts: Neo Ranga 3: The Right Of Kings combines all the aspects fans have demanded in anime releases including lots of episodes, great material that's been carefully handled, social relevance, and cool looking designs with high end production values. Great job ADV!