Betterman - Metamorphosis (Vol. 2)

Rating:
Summary: The Best of the BETTERMAN Series
Review: Having watched all the BETTERMAN DVDs, I found this volume to be the best. If the creators of this anime had kept the show like this throughout, BETTERMAN would have been a little more enjoyable and easier to understand.

The story continues with Sixth Night: Echo. Asmai thinks there may be clues about Algernon in some ancient ruins in India. Of course, the team gets into trouble, only this time they are not threated by hacked robots, but a host of weird creatures. Luckily, Betterman is still keeping an eye on them, and he has some new tricks up his sleeve.

This volume is the best for several reasons, the first being the fact that it features some of the best action scenes I have seen in any anime. The battle between Forte and the Behemoth is easily comparable to anything seen on Eva, Gundam or Dragonball Z. There is also a really fun camero by Nebula later in the series. The animators have done a really great job with every detail of these scenes, from the visuals to the sounds. I also liked the newest character in the series, Chandy, a strange, seemingly superhuman girl who occasionally pops up to save Keita from danger. Plus, the plot in this second volume falters far less than it does in later episodes. I found this DVD to be the easiest to follow out of all six.

If you really like BETTERMAN and have not seen the five episodes featured on this DVD, you will be doing youself a favor by buying it.

Rating:
Summary: The Best of the BETTERMAN Series
Review: Having watched all the BETTERMAN DVDs, I found this volume to be the best. If the show's creators had kept doing what they were doing in this installment throughout the entire show, BETTERMAN would have been a little more enjoyable and easier to understand.

The story continues with "Sixth Night: Echo". Asmai thinks there may be clues about Algernon in some ancient ruins in India. Of course, the team gets into trouble after arriving at the location. This time they are not threated by hacked robots, but a host of weird, kaiju-style creatures. Luckily, Betterman is still keeping an eye on them, and he has some new tricks up his sleeve.

I consider METAMORPHOSIS is the best of BETTERMAN for several reasons, the first being that it features some of the best action scenes I have seen in any anime. The battle between Forte and the Behemoth awesome. There is also a really fun cameo by Nebula later in the series, in which it does battle with a tentacled monstrosity that looks like something right out of an H.P. Lovecraft tale. The animators have done a really great job with every detail of these scenes, from the visuals to the sounds.

Another nice addition to the show is the introduction Chandy, the cute and deadly forest godess, and her lizard familiar Poleto. The two seem to follow Keita around, and like Betterman, they have a nack for appearing just in time to save him (no one ever sees Chandy besides Keita in this volume: how she appears and disappears is a mystery). Needless to say, Chandy and many of the villians appearing in this second volume area a lot more engaging than the A-wall machines from the previous volume, AWAKENING.

Overall, the plot in METAMORPHOSIS falters far less than it does in later episodes. I found this DVD to be the easiest to follow out of all six, partly because it is the most entertaining. The show's script still suffers from filler dialog (much of which is almost pointless and makes little sense). As for the visuals; my only complaint is the goofiness of some of the character desgins (Keita) and the colors used to illustrate some of them. They just don't seem to fit the dark atmosphere of the show and stick out too much from the background. Even so, the show is still fun to watch.

If you really like BETTERMAN and have not seen the five episodes featured on this DVD, you will be doing yourself a favor by buying it. Many of the plot and script troubles sited in earlier episodes are still present, though they are marginal and subtract very little from the stories. The extras are enjoyable, providing information of the show's production and Betterman's abilities. There are some nice anime trailers as well, most noteably the preview for ESCAFLOWNE: The Movie and COWBOY BEBOP.

If you have not seen the episodes on METAMORPHOSIS, and you like BETTERMAN, by this DVD.

Rating:
Summary: a little weird but it is cool
Review: if you have never seen better man that you should definetely see it. It is one of the most unusal series you may ever see but at the same time it is one of the best it may seem at first that the plot does not flow well but at the end it really comes togther so pick this up (if you dare)j\k