Betterman - Finality (Vol. 6)

Rating:
Summary: "Better" than many say.
Review: "Betterman" is the type of anime series that is, essentially, a novel length story told over 26 episodes. Many negative reviews seem to be from viewers who were confused early on, became irritated, and then determined to dislike whatever came next. So much of what is going in the nature and structure of the work is missed. Watched carefully and with concentration, the "Betterman" saga is no muddle. It is exuberant and unrestrained, but isn't that a big part of what we come to anime to see? The dial gets turned to "11" without hesitantion. By the last episode of this final volume, all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. Mysteries unexplained from as far back as the very first episode are now made clear and we see one, complex, sprawling story has been set before us, a small piece at a time. In many ways "Betterman" is an old-fashioned horror/mystery much like H.P. Lovecraft's "At The Mountains of Madness" or "The Shadow out of Time". I recommend watching the complete series, a few episodes at a time, over a period of nights, and you may find the complete work worth your time and attention.

Rating:
Summary: "Better" than many say.
Review: "Betterman" is the type of anime series that is, essentially, a novel length story told over 26 episodes. Many negative reviews seem to be from viewers who were confused early on, became irritated, and then determined to dislike whatever came next. So much of what is going in the nature and structure of the work is missed. Watched carefully and with concentration, the "Betterman" saga is no muddle. It is exuberant and unrestrained, but isn't that a big part of what we come to anime to see? The dial gets turned to "11" without hesitantion. By the last episode of this final volume, all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. Mysteries unexplained from as far back as the very first episode are now made clear and we see one, complex, sprawling story has been set before us, a small piece at a time. In many ways "Betterman" is an old-fashioned horror/mystery much like H.P. Lovecraft's "At The Mountains of Madness" or "The Shadow out of Time". I recommend watching the complete series, a few episodes at a time, over a period of nights, and you may find the complete work worth your time and attention.

Rating:
Summary: Slipshot, with a somehwat redeeming ending...
Review: In this volume, the BETTERMAN anime series comes to a disappointing close. Considering how muddled previous volumes were, it's no surprise how the show ends. BETTERMAN, however, has a few qualities that may make it worth your time if you like action-packed anime and selfless heros.

It's Christmas time, and the Akamatsu team is celebrating. Shou gets dressed up like the Mad Hatter so he can marry Kaede, but the joy is short-lived because Hinoki gets kidnapped by the deranged moron Dr. Mamom. Naturally, Betterman and the Akamtsu team try to save Hinoki. Unfortunately, Mamom's unthreatening, badly done toilet paper mummies are still at large. To make matters worse, the root of the big "EVIL" they all have been tracking turns out to be right under their noses. As if the odds were not stacked high enough against them, Kankel is still lurking in the shadows and plans to destroy Betterman.

While the writers of this series managed to build towards an interesting climax, the show suffers from the two major inadequacies that have plagued it from the first episode. One is an incoherent story. While watching BETTERMAN, I got the feeling I was seeing a rough draft rather than a finished product. The plot is terribly disjointed, so much that I feel the creators of the series must have been scrambling to put the show together, resulting in one big mess that made little sense. The flashbacks and scientific babble used as futile attempts to tie up loose ends only made things worse.

The second big problem BETTERMAN suffers from is a lack of real villains. While some of the creatures that appeared in the first three volumes were not the most dynamic characters ever made, they were at least well-designed and interesting. Kankel, on the other hand, is the most pathetic villain I have ever seen in any anime. The Brahman makes Pikachu look like Darth Vader. There is nothing scary about these characters, and they are hardly worth noting.

BETTERMAN does, as I said, have its redeeming qualities. Betterman's fighting forms are well-done, although the one that appears in this final volume is lame. Yakasugi and Chandy were nice additions to the show. Hinoki comes out of her shell a little in this last volume (better late than never, I guess). It's a pity she did not receive more development earlier, but what we do get from her is enjoyable in this final volume (she's one of the few characters on BETTERMAN who's lines make sense nearly 100% of the time).

Indeed, Hinoki's otherwise listless attitude did little for the show. Hinoki seemed as if she had more potential, which was marred by her constant depression. In some animes, such as BIG O and COWBOY BEBOP, impartial characters can be likeable and even funny. This doesn't work for Hinoki, who is no Dorothy I might add. The only possible point to her sadness on the show was to give her a sort of "hold me" neediness for Keita's otherwise hopeless character to respond to at times: which actually does work and makes the relationship between them one of the show's few redeeming qualities. In light of this, the ending of the final episode, "Nothingness" made me raise my rating of this volume, but not the whole series in general.

In closing, I'd just like to add that I am totally surprised that the folks who brought us COWBOY BEBOP and other well-liked animes had a hand in making this sloppy, boozed up, seemingly pointless series. Overall, the final volume of BETTERMAN is only worth owning if you are sure you enjoy the episodes featured on it, or you are a hardcore fan of the series. The first two volumes of the series are worthwhile, especially METAMORPHOSIS.

Rating:
Summary: A slipshot, but none the less redeeming ending...
Review: In this volume, the BETTERMAN anime series comes to a disappointing, but not totally worthless close. Considering how muddled previous volumes were, it's no surprise how the show ends. BETTERMAN, however, has a few qualities that may make it worth your time if you like action-packed anime and selfless heros.

It's Christmas time, and the Akamatsu team is celebrating. Shou gets dressed up like the Mad Hatter so he can marry Kaede, but the joy is short-lived because Hinoki gets kidnapped by the deranged moron Dr. Mamom. Naturally, Betterman and the Akamtsu Team try to save Hinoki. Unfortunately, Mamom's unthreatening, badly done toilet paper mummies are still at large. To make matters worse, the root of the big "EVIL" they all have been tracking turns out to be right under their noses. As if the odds were not stacked high enough against them, Kankel is still lurking in the shadows and plans to destroy Betterman.

While the writers of this series managed to build towards an interesting climax, the show suffers from the two major inadequacies that have plagued it from the first episode. One is an incoherent story. While watching BETTERMAN, I got the feeling I was seeing a rough draft rather than a finished product. The plot is terribly disjointed, so much that I feel the creators of the series must have been scrambling to put the show together, resulting in one big mess that made little sense. The flashbacks and scientific babble used as futile attempts to tie up loose ends only made things worse.

The second big problem BETTERMAN suffers from is a lack of real villains. While some of the creatures that appeared in the first three volumes were not the most dynamic characters ever made, they were at least well-designed and interesting. Kankel, on the other hand, is the most pathetic villain I have ever seen in any anime. The Brahman makes Pikachu look like Darth Vader. There is nothing scary about these characters, and they are hardly worth noting.

BETTERMAN does, as I said, have its redeeming qualities. Betterman's fighting forms are well-done, although the one that appears in this final volume is lame. Yakasugi and Chandy were nice additions to the show. Hinoki is cute and comes out of her shell more as the show progresses. It's a pity she did not receive more development earlier, but what we do get from her is enjoyable in this final volume (she's one of the few characters on BETTERMAN who's lines make sense nearly 100% of the time). The ending of the final episode, "Nothingness" made me change my mind about this volume, but not the whole series in general.

In closing, I'd just like to add that I am totally surprised that the folks who brought us COWBOY BEBOP and other well-liked animes had a hand in making this sloppy, boozed up, seemingly pointless series. Overall, the final volume of BETTERMAN is only worth owning if you are sure you enjoy the episodes featured on it, or you are a hardcore fan of the series. The first two volumes of the series are worthwhile, especially METAMORPHOSIS.