Well, as I promised, here are the reviews of the episodes of the fourth Betterman DVD, and there's surprises galore waiting for you!

Betterman Fifteenth Night - Shadow
Kaeda has an awful nightmare, while a sympathetic Yanagi feels an "outside force" pressuring him. Keita and Hinoki take a break from Mode Warp and travel to a seaside town together. Meanwhile, Asami reviews all the information they have uncovered with the rest of the team. This leads into an intricate scientific discussion of Betterman's very nature. There is speculation to just how many Betterman there may actually be. At her former home in the town, Hinoki and Keita are surprised by the old man from several episodes ago who warns them of an impending shadow. Sakura realizes Betterman is protecting Hinoki, for reasons yet unknown. Yanagi has another nightmare and leaves the compound. Our Betterman - Lamia - meets another Betterman - Bodaiju - and they don't exactly see eye to eye on the state of things...

Betterman Sixteenth Night - Revelation As the two Betterman settle their difference as only they can, Yanagi and Kaeda investigate the visions they've been having recently. Sakura "sees" three shadows approaching - they are proto-type Tyron neuro-noids, stolen from Mode Warp. Asame calls Hinoki and Keita, but they are trapped in her house by an energy field set up by the old man. Yanagi and Kaeda are attacked by the three shadow Tyrons, and Kaeda is also psychically ambushed. There seems to be "shadow council" controlling the rouge Tyrons, because there are no divers within their shells. Kaeda and Yanagi manage to get into their Tyron, but it's three - to - one, and those aren't good odds for our heroes...

Betterman Seventeenth Night - Dream
Lamia drags himself to the shore, and tells his psychic familiar to be wary of the old man - Yakasumi. Akamatsu and Asami have breakfast, where they discuss the shadow Tyrons. Apparently, they were constructed with the central brain cortexes of humans. This may have caused them to become self-aware. Before they can analyze the situation further, the dead Cactus arrives. Hinoki and Keita find themselves trapped by clowns and dummies in their school. Bodaiju locates the sleeping Lamia, but before he can renew his assault, he is attacked by a plethora of monsters! All of our team find themselves trapped in Bottom World. They are trapped in a dream, and no one can wake up...

Betterman Eighteenth Night - Hunger
The team goes to a bio lab where the victims of Algernon are being kept. They examine the body of Cactus and find an Animus flower containing the Forte seed growing from his head! They then enjoy a lunch of steak and wine. Hinoki and Keita, camping with their class nearby (conveniently), receive an urgent message from Kaeda, and make their way to the lab. When they arrive, the place is deserted. However, they soon discover Sakura, and also discover all the crypts are open. Sakura tries to bite Keita, claiming she is so hungry. From the shadows others, including Akamatsu and Asami, come forward with the same idea of having Keita and Hinoki for dinner. Unbeknownst to all, the old man Yakasumi is watching. But where are Kaeda and Yanagi? And more importantly, where the heck is Betterman?

There are some things that are good about this volume, and some things that are bad. Yours truly made a bit of a faux pas when I said this was the complete series - it isn't. There are two more volumes coming in April to complete the epic. This is a good thing, because the story really slows down during these episodes. The creators took most of the time to expand upon the characters of Yanagi and Kaeda, as well as the relationship of Keita and Hinoki, but further insight into the others was negligible. The addition of the second Betterman opens up a whole new set of issues that need explaining, and despite the briefing in episode 15, we're still in the dark about a lot of things already. There's very little monster fighting as well, and we all know how I like monster fights. There also seems to be excessive "dream" sequences - in the context of the story (especially episode 17) they are appropriate, but to me it's going to the well one too many times. We've seen this - time to move on. In the grand scheme of the series I'm sure these stories will fit in well, but they seem to me to be like the middle part of a trilogy - necessary, but not particularly exciting. I don't know if I can wait two months to get the real conclusion, but I'll be there when it happens. I'll keep you posted.

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