Betterman is an epic 18-part science fiction saga brought to you by Sunrise and Bandai Entertainment. The basic premises of this highly complex story is fairly simple; teenage Keita Aono, a "tech geek", winds up becoming a driver in a two-person robot called Kakuseijin with his old childhood friend Hinoki. Their mission is to find the cause of various catastrophes attributed to a malicious entity known only as "Algernon." Working with the twin forces of Akamatsu Industries and Mode Warp, Keita and Hinoki also must contend with the mysterious Betterman - is he friend or foe?

Betterman First Night - Darkness
Class klutz Keita is late for school... again. Once there, he is startled to discover his new classmate is his childhood friend Hinoki. Meanwhile, at the underground amusement park Bottom World, there has been a slaughter. The team of industrial giant Akamatsu, headed by the man of the same name, and technology wizard Mode Warp, fronted by Miyako Asami, investigate the carnage. They call in their team of Hinoki and Cactus to use the super "neuro-node" robot Kakuseijin to survey Bottom World, but inexplicably, Cactus leaves the machine. Meanwhile, Keita crashes his bike and finds himself in Bottom World as well. Keita has a vision of Sakura, a psychic young girl who works for Akamatsu/Mode Warp. Rescued by Hinoki, Keito discovers he can use the Kakuseijin. Working together, Keito and Hinoki defeat a mechanical monster. However, the Kakuseijin's power is exhausted. When another monster attacks, a mysterious being appears and transforms himself into a dragon. What is Betterman up to?

Betterman Second Night - Voice
Betterman, in dragon form, attacks the Bottom World monster. In the wake of their battle, the Kakuseijin goes "off-line". As Akamatsu and Asami lower their command center to rescue them, Hinoki and Keita discover Cactus' body. Once retrieved, Keita learns that the Kakuseijin is driven by "Duo-Kinds" - two people who compliment each other perfectly. Asami wants to determine if Keita and Hinoki are such a pair, since they need a replacement for Cactus to fight Algernon. Meanwhile, Akamatsu and the others watch video of Betterman's fight with the creature and witness his vast arsenal of sonic powers.

Betterman Third Night - Sky
On board the latest "secret" aircraft, Asami explains about her theory of Betterman to Keita and Hinoki. It seems there is a highly adaptable organism that continually evolves - gets better, if you will. Its only instinct is survival. Meanwhile, at the command center, Sakura senses danger. The plane's lights go out, and our trio is attacked by crash-test dummies! Despite their best efforts, Asami, Hinoki and Keita are doomed, until Betterman, still in dragon form, arrives on the scene.

Betterman Fourth Night - Awaken
Safe at Mode Warp HQ, Asami realizes they were set-up - the dummies had been stolen from Akamatsu's company. Keito is proven to be a perfect Duo-Kind and given a transmitter to keep in contact with Hinoki and Mode warp. Back at school, Hinoki goes to the basement for supplies; however, a torch-wielding madman attacks her. Betterman, in human form, arrives, but there is an explosion. Keito finds out the school was originally an industrial waste facility, and goes to find Hinoki (who's lost in the basement maze of storage tanks and such.) He thinks he sees Algernon, but finds Hinoki. Unfortunately, robots attack them, again.

Betterman Fifth Night - Hell
Two new drivers, Kaeda and Yanagi, arrive from France with their neuro-node Tyran. Asami determines that the school's principal attacked Hinoki, and a computer cable hooked into the school's systems leads back to Bottom World. Keita teams up with Kaeda (who is psychic) in the Kakuseijin and reenters Bottom World to investigate. She senses danger, but the Kakuseijin collapses into a pit and loses contact with the command center. Hinoki and Yanagi get into Tyran to rescue them. Once in the depths of Bottom World, Tyran is confronted by a yet another mechanical menace. This tunnel monster scrambles Tyran's sensors, so Yanagi switches to manual and stops the marauder. He realizes that Tyran has been sabotaged, and that someone at Mode Warp is a traitor! Sakura senses the influence of Algernon is behind it. Meanwhile, Keito and Kaeda have lost control of the Kakuseijin, and their robo attacks Tyran!

And to think, there' still more 13 episodes. When I watched the first sequence, I thought I'd need a scorecard to keep track of all that's going on. Fortunately, the creators give us enough in each story to maintain interest without leaving us lost. Like a good novel, you want to watch the next episode because you want to know what happens next. Unlike some series, you really have to watch Betterman in sequence. While there is not an abundance of violence, it is for older teens and adults due to its' complexity and subject matter - the "Pokemon" crowd will be lost in the first five minutes.

Betterman is presented in a wide-screen aspect ratio, with options for English or Japanese language and English subtitles. The picture quality is excellent, and the sound is also very good (it's Dolby Digital, you know.) The animation is also top-notch; however, the images are darker than many other anime productions. I'm sure they used black cells ala "Batman: The Animated Series" to give the whole series a more appropriate mood. The DVD extras include a textless opening option, production artwork, trailers for other Bandai films, and Mode Warp character files. Don't be a cheater - wait until you watch the episodes before you read the files. They're very detailed and cover the entire series, and you don't want to spoil your fun of finding things out on your own, now do you? The DVDs have reversible covers (one holographic, one normal) and each includes a "collectable" character card.

I, for one, can't wait until next week when I watch the next set of Betterman. I hope you're as anxious as me to see what happens next.

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