There are approximately 487 students aboard the Liebe Delta, a giant space station that doubles as a training center for young astronauts. Stationed directly above the Geduld Sea, the Delta is in the midst of preparing for a routine Dive, a process so simple that it’s been handed off to the care of an elite class of students known as Zwei (albeit under the watchful eye of their supervisors). But then, something goes wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong. Before anyone can figure out just what is happening, the instructors are all dead and the station is being dragged deeper into the Geduld by another ship. Yet
...
when all hope seems lost, the outer walls of the Delta give way and reveal a mysterious black spacecraft known as the Ryvius within. Now floating aimlessly through space and with seemingly the entirety of the solar system chasing after them, the students aboard are forced to try and survive on their own without the guidance of adults. Allegiances form and crumble. People get closer and further apart. Friends become enemies and enemies become allies. With the powder keg of tension ready to explode, the crew of the Ryvius find themselves hurtling towards an unclear future with no end in sight.
Thus goes Infinite Ryvius (REE-VAI-US), a 26 episode sci-fi/mecha/psychological drama by Sunrise. It’s a quaint little show, often forgotten about when compared to its contemporaries despite its large cast of popular voice actors and well known production team, featuring Gorō Tanaguchi as head director (s-CRY-ed, Planetes, Code Geass), screenplays by Yōsuke Kuroda (also s-CRY-ed, Excel Saga, Gundam 00 and My Hero Academia) and character designs done by Hisashi Hirai (s-CRY-ed again, Gundam SEED, Fafner in the Azure and Linebarrels of Iron). The voice cast is made up mainly of recognisable and popular performers like Sōichirō Hoshi, Houko Kuwashima, Tomokazu Seki and Noboyuki Hiyama. It’s a pretty illustrious team all things considered. So why is the series so forgotten despite having such a recognisable lineup of talent working on it?
***
On the outside, Ryvius sets itself up as a hard sci-fi adventure story. Think Robinson Crusoe meets Foundation. However as the show goes on, it begins to introduce elements of psychological drama, romance and even horror elements to create a unique melting pot of styles. The series has often been dubbed ‘Lord of the Flies in space’ and while the two might share the same basic concept (a bunch of youths wind up isolated in a foreign land and have to survive for themselves), they’re both entirely different beasts in terms of messaging and style. The core of the story primarily revolves around Kouji and Yuki Aiba, two sparring brothers who could not be further apart personality wise. There’s also Aoi Housen, a childhood friend of both boys who acts as their unofficial caretaker, as well as the laid back and friendly Ikumi Oze and his equally bubbly girlfriend Kozue Izumi. Amidst the impressive number of side characters, there’s Airs Blue: a gang leader with his own machinations in mind for the Ryvius, Juli Bahana: a scholarship student who acts as an unofficial leader for Zwei and Faina S. Shinozaki: a mysterious young woman from Uranus who follows an equally mysterious religion. That’s not getting into the numerous other characters who populate the ship and contribute to proceedings. It’s a big cast, so big that a lot of the voice actors have to play double duty and perform as several different characters throughout the show. Typically a large cast can be troublesome when it comes to these kind of dramas as inevitably you won’t be able to focus on all of them, especially given the short 26 episode length. Ryvius thankfully takes the safe route and puts the lion’s share of focus on a select few characters, though most of the background cast do have distinct personalities and quirks. Because of this approach, the main cast are all developed well with (mostly) cohesive character arcs, particularly Kozue and Ikumi who are easily the standouts when it comes to growth and depth. Everyone feels appropriately human and down to earth with realistic quirks and problems. That in turn though also means you’ve got characters acting like teenagers (I.E. cocky, angsty, overly emotional, selfish, etc) so if that’s going to bother you then be forewarned.
If there’s one thing I love about the show, it’s just how alive the Ryvius feels. Almost every episode features these little moments that showcase the going’s on around the ship and how the crew are dealing with life aboard it. Little character arcs occur almost entirely in the background, such as one involving a girl in a monster suit who spends the entire show searching for its missing parts, or one showing off the ship’s thriving baggage carrier racing scene. You can often hear the varied conversations of random background characters in establishing shots, with people grumbling about their work requirements, relationship gossip, happenings around the ship, etc. Even in the show’s darker moments within the second half, they manage to blend in some light comic relief through these scenes. One example is a side story that is told through several episodes involving a guy using his girlfriend’s work points to gamble on the races, with predictably disastrous results. By having these little story beats happen in the background during arguably the show’s darkest arc, the team manage to get some much-needed relief from the oppressive atmosphere without compromising the main cast and how they act, as well as the increasingly morose nature of what is actually happening to everyone.
***
Now let’s not beat around the bush. This is a sloooooooowww show and I wouldn’t be surprised if first time viewers bounce off the first few episodes hard. While things are indeed happening and the plot is moving forward, most of it is delivered through extremely dry conversations that are heavy with technobabble and made up terms. Additionally, the direction in the early episodes feels messy and hard to follow at times with the focus jumping between multiple different ships full of similar looking rooms without clarifying just where and what any of them are. It’s only around episode 7 that things stabilise and the show finds its footing, though the alienating structure (at least for the dialogue) never really goes away. This is a hard sci-fi show through and through, with all the quirks and barriers for entry that plague that genre. While it never reaches the mindboggling heights of other shows in that style like Gasaraki or Betterman, it can be still hard to digest for some viewers, though the equal focus on character dynamics and relationships does mitigate this somewhat. The unusual pacing also comes back to bite the show in the ass in the finale, which while wrapping up everything in a coherent and satisfying fashion, also feels slightly rushed in places with plot twists and character actions that feel tacked on. Still, I found the show oddly bingable and wound up watching several episodes at a time, something I couldn’t say for a show like Betterman which despite sharing a similar style when it comes to delivering exposition and dialogue, was a lot more exhausting to keep up with.
Interestingly enough, this overwhelming approach to things can also be applied to the action scenes too. Despite technically being a Mecha anime, Ryvius takes a unique approach to the concept of piloting a giant robot by having it be moved not by a pilot in a cockpit but by a 25 person team constantly punching in data and code into a network of terminals just to get the thing to move. This means that the tension in the action scenes comes not from who has the better machine or who is the better pilot, but the coordination between the staff and their ability to work together coherently to protect themselves. Even the Vital Guarder mecha itself is strange and quite literally bound by the setting, connected by a series of strings like a puppet to a separate craft that detaches from the Ryvius. To give another example, the show makes a note that battles in space can be long and tedious affairs that often take hours, if not days, just to wrap up. While the show doesn’t go THAT far and have the fights stretch out over numerous episodes, there are noticeable delays in combat where the cast get up to get food, sleep or to socialise while the ship moves into place or gets ready to exchange fire. This sense of mundane realism is actually quite unique and it’s something that tends to be missing from most sci-fi shows. That being said though, it’s not to say that this is a super realistic and accurate watch as the mecha battles are more akin to your typical action anime with a serious disregard for the laws of physics. This even gets acknowledged by the show in a tongue-in-cheek way like with Kouji breaking into baffled laughter when he first sees the Vital Guarder in action or when the logical and no-nonsense background character Stein has a minor freak-out upon seeing a piece of tech that defies any and all scientific explanation.
***
If there’s anything Infinite Ryvius is known for then it’s the show’s wonderful OST, a diverse mix of orchestral spectacle, groovy hip-hop and RnB. Given the eclectic blend of sounds, Ryvius has two composers with the late Katsuhisa Hattori (probably best known for scoring the Crest/Banner of the Stars series’ and Argento Soma) handling the orchestral and atmospheric tracks while M.I.D. (who appeared to have only worked on this and nothing else) provided the hip-hop inspired songs. While some might turn their nose up at the inclusion of such music in a hard sci-fi setting, I find it fits surprisingly well and helps create a unique atmosphere while also emphasising the youthful elements of the series and the show’s cast. Fittingly, the more traditional pieces tend to play when the focus is on either the adults or the elite Zwei members while the funkier songs are often used in the scenes with the regular inhabitants of the ship, plus Blue’s gang, almost as if the show itself is using the music to further divide the various factions aboard Ryvius. Opening theme is ‘Dis-‘ by Mika Arisaka, which is rightfully remembered as one of the best OP songs of the 90s. A lovely urban styled number with a funky groove and one hell of a chorus. Closer ‘Yume wo Sugitemo’ (Over the Dream), also by Arisaka, isn’t nearly as good but it’s still a pleasantly pretty piano ballad that gets the job done.
The animation for the show is solid enough with some impressive action scenes, especially in the first half. Character movement can be a bit stiff in places but it’s nothing too distracting. Now, Hisashi Hirai is a divisive artist to say the very least in regard to how he designs his characters. People often say he uses the same base template for every character and just swaps the hair color for each one and while I think that’s an over-exaggeration, I can see where those criticisms are coming from. Ryvius is kind of stuck in the middle though as while some characters do look overly similar to one another, the use of cel animation helps give his designs a more natural, “human” feel which helps them stand out from one another, something which I feel was lost in his works come the digital era. The dark and somewhat murky color palette (grey, maroon, beige) that the anime goes for also helps his style look less artificial and copypaste, which in turn makes the limited usage of brighter colors (like on the character Neya’s dress for example) stand out more.
***
On the voice acting side, we have Tetsu Shiratori in arguably his most recognisable role as Kouji, of which he does a great job of capturing the boy’s inherent kindness but also his somewhat apathetic and detached persona. Sōichirō Hoshi plays Yuki and brings a fitting amount of piss and vinegar to the character. I’ve always preferred Hoshi’s more aggressive roles instead of his softer spoken ones so it’s a treat to get to hear him really go all out and sound as venomous as he does here. Houko Kuwashima voices Aoi and does an admirable job with the character as does Sakura Tange as Kozue (in one of her last roles before her near decade long retirement). Finally there’s Tomokazu Seki as Ikumi who commands a hell of a presence in the back half of the show while also showing the casual charm and likability of the character in the more relaxed scenes. When it comes to the rest of the cast, the other standouts include Noboyuki Hiyama who gives an effortlessly cool performance as Blue and Bin Shimada as Lucson, who despite approaching his 50s when voicing the role manages to give the character a boisterous and commanding yet youthful voice.
The dub, handled by Ocean Productions, is overall decent for the era though not without some downsides. Unfortunately the biggest one is Brad Swaile as Kouji, which is an issue considering he’s the main character. I’m usually a fan of his but he simply sounds too energetic and peppy here, compared to Shiratori who delivers a much more restrained and casual performance. This is especially apparent in the more emotional scenes where he sounds way too unfazed by things despite the chaos happening aboard the ship. Thankfully he’s the only one who seems miscast as pretty much everyone else fits into their roles well. I’m fond of Kirby Morrow’s take on Yuki, which despite also being notably different to Hoshi’s performance, still lands well with the character. The standouts of the cast are undoubtedly both Bill Switzer as Ikumi and Ron Halder as Conrad Viscuss, both of whom manage to capture the intrinsic depth of their characters incredibly well and honestly I’d say the dub is well worth watching purely for their performances alone.
***
Infinite Ryvius, despite its laborious pace at times and unwelcoming dialogue, is still well worth watching. The strong cast, intricate world building and unique approach to the genre, plus the wonderful OST more than make up for the rocky start. It’s not a show for everyone and it is definitely one with some notable flaws when it comes to pacing, but those willing to get lost in its setting will more than likely find something to love.
Infinite Ryvius is currently licensed by Sentai Filmworks who rescued it from Bandai, though they have yet to do anything with the license.
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May 14, 2025
Mugen no Ryvius
(Anime)
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There are approximately 487 students aboard the Liebe Delta, a giant space station that doubles as a training center for young astronauts. Stationed directly above the Geduld Sea, the Delta is in the midst of preparing for a routine Dive, a process so simple that it’s been handed off to the care of an elite class of students known as Zwei (albeit under the watchful eye of their supervisors). But then, something goes wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong. Before anyone can figure out just what is happening, the instructors are all dead and the station is being dragged deeper into the Geduld by another ship. Yet
...
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Show all May 3, 2025
Ao no 6-gou
(Anime)
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‘‘Today, today!’ each day I have waited for you and now they say you are strewn with the shells of Ishi River.’
Some time has passed since the great flooding occurred. At the hands of the once respected scientist Dr. Jung Zorndyke, the costal regions of Earth were swallowed by the sea leading to the loss of over a billion lives. After the floods came the ships, manned by mutated animal hybrids also created by Zorndyke and who are seemingly hellbent on killing as many people as possible. In an effort to counter these attacks, humanity lays its hopes upon the Blue Fleet and its ... state of the art submarines, being the only things that can safely traverse the endless oceans and strike back against the invading beasts. Aboard Blue Submarine No. 6, former pilot and now-full time nihilist Tetsu Hayami finds himself at an impasse regarding both the state of the world and of his own life; something that will prove even more complicated when he and his co-pilot Mayumi Kino encounter one of Zorndyke’s creations in the flesh. Acting as both a loose adaption of a 1967 manga of the same name by Satoru Ozawa (creator of another submarine centric series: Submarine 707) and as the debut work for Studio Gonzo, Blue Submarine No. 6 is an odd beast. In Japan, it’s practically been forgotten and only serves as a footnote in its production company’s history. In the States however, it gained a devoted cult following after airing heavily edited on the Toonami block where its (for the time) state of the art CG ships and action scenes thrilled whoever tuned-in to see it. As such, Blue Sub has kept a reputation as something of a low-key classic amongst anime fans that grew up in the early 2000s, but is it a show that can still stand on its own two feet today? At just 4 episodes of 30 minutes each (minus the finale which is 40), Blue Sub is concise and straight to the point. Stacked together, the whole thing is around 140 minutes, give or take, which means it can be easily breezed through in an afternoon. Because of that, it doesn’t particularly mess around with its story meaning there’s very little moments of actual downtime. Despite that, the show does not feel rushed or hectic and things progress at a steady pace without feeling lethargic either. On the flip side though, this does mean that some parts of the setting end up feeling a little undercooked in regards to the scope of the world and one or two story beats, but we’ll get to that. Our main character is Tetsu Hayami, a former submarine pilot who left the Blue Fleet after a particular incident and who now spends his days as a freelance diver, picking up whatever objects he’s ordered to off the seabed. He’s jaded, pessimistic and a bit of a dry asshole, though he does have his moments of selflessness and his growth from detached drifter who believes the world is doomed into a man who is determined to help change things for the better is handled well, especially given the brief runtime. Opposite him is Mayumi Kino, a hot headed young pilot who is hellbent on avenging the deaths of her family in the floods. Unlike Hayami, she’s a bit of a static character and doesn’t develop much throughout the run but she’s still fairly enjoyable to watch anyway and she provides a good counterpoint to Hayami. The Red to his Blue, so to speak. On the hybrid side is Mutio, one of Zorndyke’s experimental life forms who Hayami and Kino encounter in the first episode. Being a fish person, she is unable to speak properly and can only communicate in grunts and growls, meaning it’s up to the animation team to convey her emotions purely through the artwork, of which they do a very admirable job. Because of this (and her distinctive design), she’s one of the more memorable characters in the OVA despite only having maybe two words of actual dialogue, tops. There’s also secondary antagonist Verg, a psychotic man-shark who commands the mysterious Phantom Ship and who desperately wants his father Zorndyke’s approval and affection. He’s a completely ridiculous character with a crazy voice who frequently devolves into screaming tantrums when he doesn’t get his way, but he surprisingly winds up delivering some of the more poignant and emotional scenes, which you wouldn’t really expect from this kind of individual. The rest of the Blue Six crew mostly serve to fill up the background of some shots and lack any kind of character whatsoever outside of a few personality traits. The exceptions being Tokuhiro Iga, the well meaning and friendly captain of the craft and his vice chief Yuri Majakofski, a stony faced and cold man who holds a notable disdain for Hayami. The standout of the crew, albeit for the wrong reasons is Huang Mei-Ling, a 10 year old girl who works on the sub’s sonar systems and is implied to have some kind of ESP which allows her to ‘hear the songs’ of Zorndyke’s creations. None of this is really expanded upon or explained much, leaving me to question just what was the point to begin with, especially when it has next to no impact on the story. Of course the main selling point for the anime at the time was its state of the art, cutting edge CGI vehicles and machinery. The submarines of Blue Fleet and the bio-ships of the Hybrids are both rendered in glorious 1998 CG and it’s aged about as well as you could expect. While the ships themselves look fine enough, it’s with things such as fighter jets and the Hybrids’ Whale Aircraft Carriers (or whatever the hell they are) where the animation begins to show its age. There are also moments where the ocean is computer rendered instead of actually drawn which makes several scenes look like PSX FMVs. It’s understandable given the era and the power of the tech at the time, but in HD on modern setups, it doesn’t look anywhere near as good as it once did. Despite this, the animation itself is fluid and energetic with plenty of dynamic movement and cool shots to even things out. Action scenes are directed decently well, which is impressive given the limitations of having a majority of the combat take place underwater. On the human side, characters are expressive and lively, though there are some cases where the animators seem to overcompensate when it comes to facial movement (particularly with Kino who looks like she’s got a nervous twitch in some scenes because of it). Character design is done by Range Murata, who would later gain wider recognition with his work on Last Exile. While the designs for the human cast aren’t anything to write home about (with the exception of Blue Fleet scientist Dr. Morinami who looks downright freakish), the real fun comes from the Hybrid side, which features an array of strange looking beasts from gigantic, muscly shark-men, a race of nymph-like fish-women to a village of feline tribespeople in the finale. It’s always interesting to see what bizarre creatures will appear next and it makes the scenes set aboard the Hybrids’ Phantom Ship all the more intriguing, given the wide array of unique faces in the background of each shot. This even extends to their fighter crafts which are often ramshackle yet totally alien in appearance, helping give the setting an appropriately apocalyptic feel. Now despite the lean pacing, there are some side plots that add little to the overall story and feel undercooked and underdeveloped. As mentioned prior, there’s the case of Huang whose ESP abilities go unexplained and underdeveloped. There’s also a side plot invoking Hayami’s friend and former co-pilot Katsuma, whose story I won’t be going into too much detail with due to spoilers, so I’ll just say that despite his side-arc getting some form of pay-off, the character and his circumstances as a whole feel like a massive missed opportunity which could’ve been used to much greater effect than what it was in the show. I’m aware some of these ideas get expanded upon in the two tie-in video games released around the same time, and while this does create the impression of an expansive and lived-in world, it also makes the setting feel slightly undercooked all things considered. Voice performances are all around decent. Hozumi Gōda gives a fittingly pessimistic and detached performance as Hayami, as does Takeshi Wakamatsu as Zorndyke who really does sound like a man who has completely given up on everything. On the flip side, Yukana sounds a little too sweet at times as Kino (especially given her thorny exterior) though she delivers an excellent performance in the finale where she gets to really let loose and give it her all. Showtaro Morikubo voices Verg and completely devours the scenery at every chance he gets, which is helped by the strange pitch shifting effects put on his voice. It’s appropriately unhinged and psychotic sounding and fits the character well, even if it can be a little grating in spots. The side cast is stacked with a surprising number of veterans, of note being Hōchū Ōtsuka, Jūrōta Kosugi, and the late, greats Hirotaka Suzuoki and Unshō Ishizuka filling out the roles. Of interesting note is Ayaka Saitō as Huang, who would’ve only been 10 years old when recording her lines. For a child actress, she does a surprisingly commendable job and manages to capture the fear and anxiety in her character well, even if it seems like she’s being fed the lines in some spots. English performances are also mostly on point which is typical for an early 2000s dub. The cast are mostly unknowns with only a few credits to their names but Michael Granberry does a solid job matching Gōda’s performance as Hayami. Pamela Weidner voices Kino, though unlike the rest of the cast I’m not huge on her performance as she brings a nasalness to the character that makes some of the more dramatic scenes a little grating. Other than not, no real complaints. Music is performed by jazz-funk act The Thrill who provide a suitably energetic and dynamic score. Action set pieces are typically set to frenzied and bombastic tracks that blend well with the chaos happening on-screen. While it can feel a little jaunty and unserious in comparison to the high stakes battles, the intensity and overall energy of the performances provide a solid counterpart to the action. Despite this I am willing to admit that stylistically the sound does seem at odds with the gloomy tone of the show as well as the griminess of the setting. Thankfully though it’s not all jazz focused as there are also plenty of smoother and more atmospheric pieces to even things out. The show lacks an opening theme but does feature a decent jazz-pop tune that plays over the credits, a song called ‘Minasoko ni Nemure’ by The Thrill ft. singer Yukarie on vocals. Gratuitous usage of engrish aside, it’s a pleasant groovy number with a pretty gnarly guitar solo and some nice vocals. Again, up to you if it fits the mood or not but at the very least it’s relatively easy on the ears. Overall, Blue Submarine No. 6 is a show that has shown its age in places, but it manages to counter that with a likeable and well handled cast, a unique concept and some great action sequences. What’s more, the earnest explorations of themes such as misanthropy, environmentalism and communication provide something more stimulating for those who are looking for a show to properly engage with. Does it hold up as a timeless classic like some might say? No, but then again it’s rare to find things like this that actually do. Regardless, this one is still more than worth your time and attention. Blue Submarine No. 6 is currently licensed by Discotek Media and is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Show all Apr 14, 2025 Recommended
Keita Aono is your average teenager. He’s 17, he likes playing video games, he’s a military nut and he’s just crashed his scooter into an abandoned subway terminal. After regaining his composure, he discovers he’s at Bottom World, a brand new underground amusement park that is set to open that very same day. But something is… strange. The lights are off, the place is seemingly abandoned and something is very very wrong with the animatronics. After being chased down by the park’s mascot, Keita comes face to face with a giant bipedal robot called a Neuronoid. As it turns out, the pilot is his childhood
...
friend Hinoki Sai. Scrambling into the second cockpit to escape the danger outside, the pair find themselves cornered before being saved by a mysterious transforming being that Hinoki seems to recognise. His name is Lamia - Betterman! Now employed as a pilot for the manufacturing company Akamatsu Industries and their backers Mode Warp, Keita finds himself in the midst of a battle against a mysterious disease known as Algernon, one that is seemingly the cause of a recent outbreak of mass murders and suicides across the world. But how does this illness relate to Betterman? And more importantly, how does Betterman relate to Hinoki? From there on out, things get weird. Very weird.
Betterman as a show is primarily known for two things. 1. Its connection to the Brave Series anime King of Braves GaoGaiGar, sharing the same world and many of the same production staff. 2. For being labelled as an Evangelion clone by the wider community. In reality, it’s barely connected to GaoGaiGar and it’s barely got anything in common with Evangelion outside of both of them being really fucking weird. No, Betterman is so much more than that. In fact it’s so different that it’s almost indescribable (it’s a hell of a lot goofier too). A surrealistic fever dream that mixes aspects of mecha, horror, superhero, psychodrama, dark fantasy, comedy, sci-fi and mystery into a truly one-of-a-kind concoction. Now, whether or not it succeeds in mixing those separate genres together is really in the eye of the beholder, but Betterman deserves props for at least trying something different. There really isn’t anything quite like it, for better or for worse. Now on the surface, Betterman has a relatively simple premise. The manufacturing company Akamatsu Industries and the shady research organisation Mode Warp are working together to uncover the mysteries of Algernon, a type of virus (Mutation? Natural development in the body? Physical being? Who knows.) that causes those infected by it to descend into homicidal insanity. As such, reports of mass murders and suicides have become common place with large scale terror attacks by those infected now an increasing threat to humanity. So, in order to combat whatever is thrown their way, the two groups have developed the Neuronoids: giant mecha that are controlled by a pair of pilots known as Dual Kinds. With me so far? By using a strange luminescent liquid known as Linker Gel, the Dual Kinds are able to move the robots as if they were their own bodies, albeit with a strict time limit. At the same time, there’s Lamia - a being known as Betterman to those in Mode Warp. By consuming a variety of strange seeds, Lamia is able to transform himself into a series of different gigantic monsters in order to fight off the numerous threats brought about by Algernon. For some reason though, he seems to be shadowing Hinoki and Keita and protecting them at all costs. Oh and there’s also Sakura, a strange young girl who lives at Akamatsu Industries and has the power of telepathy through the use of the Limpid Channel, a flow of consciousness represented by a glowing dot on the user’s forehead. To manage the extreme influx of thoughts that endlessly bombard her, Sakura spends most of her days strapped up to a large chair known as the Manage Machine that doses her with Ritalin and other sedatives (she has “extreme ADHD” according to the show) and which allows her to streamline and focus her abilities. You got all that? Now most of this is brought up in the first couple of episodes and it isn’t even covering the numerous other bits of technobabble that get thrown at the viewers (Dual Impulses, Break Synthesise, G-Set, I could go on). If you haven’t figured it out yet, Betterman is one of THOSE shows. Ones that smother you under piles of esoteric gibberish, cryptic remarks that may or may not mean anything and vague background elements that are actually vital to the plot. As such, your enjoyment of Betterman entirely hinges on your ability to put up with such things. If you’re adverse to that kind of writing, then this is probably the single worst show I can think of for you. If you DO like that sort of stuff, then… I still don’t know how to recommend it considering how tonally strange it can be. It’s a show that’s bound to put you off in one way or the other, be it the body horror, the comedy, the mecha or the psychological drama. But, for the enlightened few that enjoy all of those disparate styles and genres, you’re in luck. Betterman definitely feels like a show that was made to appeal only to an extremely niche group of people (in this case I’m assuming the director) and that in turn is one of its biggest selling points. But it is also one of its main detractions. As said prior, your enjoyment of this show hinges on your tolerance for esoteric bullshit, of which Betterman has plenty. Though beneath the chaos and confusion of its overall plot and setting, there is a fairly simple thematic core about overcoming trauma and fear, something basically everyone can connect with in some way. Interestingly, for a psychological anime, the characters are sort of all over the place when it comes to development and getting to know them. The star of the show is more or less Hinoki as she’s the one who gets the lion’s share of attention and development. A moody young woman with a ridiculous multicoloured hairdo and a dark past that switches from cold indifference to haughty angst at the drop of a hat. While she’s mostly pretty reserved, the show does a good job in detailing her growth as she gradually comes out of her shell and opens up to those around her, while also exploring the trauma she’s carrying around with her. For the rest of the cast we’ve got Shigeru Akamatsu, CEO of Akamatsu Industries, team dad and owner of an impressive mustache. There’s Sakura who usually speaks in cryptic riddles and ominous forewarnings and spends most of her days hooked up to the Manage Machine (and occasionally piloting one of the two mecha). Miyako Asami, the go-between for Mode Warp and Akamatsu Industries. Team technicians Yamajii and Ri-chan and finally there’s Shou Yanagi and Kaede Kurenai, an esper couple who pilot the Tyran mecha and who have their own assorted neurosis and emotional damage to sort out. It’s a varied and interesting cast, particularly Shou who is probably the most emotionally fucked up next to Hinoki. Most of them get their mini-arcs that explore their past and have them grow as people, but even the characters who lack much in the way of progression can still be enjoyable to watch. Asami for example is pretty much the show’s designated exposition dumper, always ready to technically and scientifically explain the strange happenings that the cast are put through. While she does receive some character development, it’s fairly minor compared to the rest of the cast. Despite that, she winded up being my favorite character next to Akamatsu. A smart, forward-thinking and practical woman who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. In simpler terms, even its lesser developed characters are fun to watch which is always a good sign for a show like this. But then there’s Keita. As our main character and audience surrogate, Keita has a lot of work to do in order to fit in with the other characters. Unfortunately the show doesn’t really commit to that. Keita is the comedy relief of the cast, which is a problem as he’s also the lead character. He’s nerdy, easily scared, a bit of a lech and completey out of his element, frequently failing to impress Hinoki and frequently the victim of slapstick gags. As such it feels like he was transported in from a completely different show, one where things are far less grim and considerably more goofy (dare I say, GaoGaiGar). It’s understandably a bit of a mood killer when something shocking or dramatic happens and Keita reacts like a gag manga character, full of exaggerated facial expressions and prone to over the top freak outs. While this DOES help elevate the tension in some cases, it often ends up killing the mood in various others. He also doesn’t really get much development or have much of a character arc, outside of a completely insane side plot about his piloting abilities that I won’t get into here. That’s not to say Keita is a bad character. He can be fun to watch and his genuine love for Hinoki is quite touching. Plus it helps to have some lighter elements in the show to keep it from being completely and utterly depressing, but that also comes at the cost of an uneven tone that frequently bounces from comedic and silly to bleak and morose, often in the same scene. He’s definitely the weak link of the cast which is a shame as most of the rest of the characters are fairly on point. Animation wise, the show looks solid for the era. While there are some instances of reused footage (mainly when it comes to the Neuronoids transforming), the art is consistent and visually pleasing with a memorable and unique style. Some episodes are visually worse than others but the animation never totally collapses on itself like some other shows of the era (cough Lost Universe cough). While the budget is clearly much lower than GaoGaiGar’s, the staff make good with what they have and manage to use the show’s lack of expenses to pleasing effect. Slow panning shots and live action footage are occasionally used in place of more traditional animation which adds to the creepy and surreal atmosphere the anime gives off. Interestingly, Betterman was animated in widescreen, a rarity for the time period. In fact, I think it might actually BE the first widely seen TV anime to be done like this, though the original broadcast and DVD release were letterboxed. Like GaoGaiGar, the show also uses elements of CGI and digital coloring in some scenes. This can be a mixed bag however as while some scenes have stood the test of time, others have aged terribly and look downright garish on modern setups. Betterman’s biggest issue though is that it’s dark. Too dark. As in, I can’t see what’s going on half the time. While the lighting in certain scenes improves over time, the first half of the show can be outright hard to watch in some cases because of how visually dark everything is. This is especially noticeable in the first 8 episodes which mainly take place in dimly lit locations. Cranking the brightness up on your monitor isn’t going to help either as this shit is baked into the animation cells. The question is, how much more black could this possibly be? None, none more black. On the audio side of things, we’ve got an excellent OST by Kohei Tanaka returning from GaoGaiGar. In sharp contrast to the triumphant soundtrack of that work, Betterman’s music is far more moody and atmospheric. Dramatic string parts, clashing drums, blaring horn sections. In many ways it’s instrumentally similar to GGG’s music though flipped on its head. Darker and more intense, which I suppose is fitting of the show and its strange relationship with GGG. Opening theme is ‘Yume no Kakera’ (Fragments of a Dream) by Wuyuntana, an accomplished Mongolian throat singer who had previously starred as Sharon Apple in Macross Plus. It’s a gentle and rather haunting little piano ballad, ill fitting of an opening theme. Even weirder is the animation that goes along with it, consisting of scuba diver footage with images of the show’s cast superimposed on top. It feels fittingly low budget and cheap, though I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t intriguing and strangely hypnotic. Ending theme is ‘Chin ~ Requiem’ by ※-mai-, which is actually the stage name of the show’s director and series planner Yoshitemo Yonetani. That’s right, the director sings the closing theme. And he does a pretty damn good job to be honest, providing a fittingly demented vocal over a pulsing techno-industrial track. Voice acting in the sub is mostly on point. Takehito Koyasu plays Lamia and gives a cool and mysterious performance fitting of the character. Kyōko Hikami does a nice job as Hinoki as does Shinichiro Miki as Shou. Elsewhere Houko Kuwashima plays Asami, one of her first major roles after Martian Successor Nadesico (and also pulls triple duty voicing the Super Soldier Chandi and Hei-chan, one of Akamatsu Industries’ technicians). Junko Iwao gives Sakura the typical ‘creepy mysterious girl’ voice that’s common with these kind of characters, though there are moments she gets to drop the act and do something different. The strongest performance outside of Koyasu comes from Chafurin who gives a gruff but warm portrayal of Akamatsu himself. The weakest performances come from Yuko Minaguchi as Kaeda, who gives her character a rather air-headed and ditzy sounding voice that makes the character come off like an idiot at times (though that may have been intentional) and, unfortunately, Kappei Yamaguchi as Keita. While he certainly brings a lot of energy to the role and his voice definitely fits the character, his shrillness and constant screaming becomes grating after a while. Considering Keita spends most of his time shrieking like a banshee, this naturally becomes a pretty big issue. Yamaguchi’s performance isn’t actually poor from an acting standpoint, he’s a very talented seiyuu after all. It’s just that Keita’s endless yelling means he’s forced to make the most annoying sounds possible, episode after episode. You can see why this is a problem. The English track was taped at Ocean’s Blue Water studios with their b-team and is serviceable for an early 2000s anime dub. Matttew Erickson voices Keita and while his voice fits the character, he also tends to strangely enunciate some of his lines to the point of making Keita sound like he’s never spoken to another human being before. Everyone else does a mostly decent job, though of note is Jonathan Love as Lamia whose performance of the character notably contrasts with Koyasu’s. While the original Japanese was deep and mysterious, Love’s rendition is higher pitched and more twee sounding which ends up slightly changing the tone and vibe of some scenes, though not to the point of distraction. In comparison his performance as Shou is more in line with the original Japanese so it evens out at the very least. Overall the dub isn’t bad though it’s hardly mindblowing either. It gets the job done and for a show as batshit insane as this, that’s kind of a necessity. Betterman isn’t a show that you can just sit down and casually watch. It’s a dense, cryptic and unrepentantly strange anime that demands your full attention to crack whatever the hell it’s trying to say. Combine that with its strange mix of genres, messy tone and incredibly loaded plot and you’re left with an anime that appeals only to a niche subset of people. However if all those things DO actually appeal to you, then this is a truly distinctive experience with a lot of heart and soul buried beneath the haze of strangeness. It might not be perfect, but there’s nothing else like Betterman. Pros: - Unique, one of a kind premise - (Mostly) likeable and varied cast - High quality action scenes - Interesting blend of horror, sci-fi and action - Strong OST Cons: - Enjoyment of show hinges on tolerance for complex and oblique storytelling - Second half is noticeably more cluttered with erratic pacing - Very slow pace and lack of a centralised antagonist for most of the run can turn off some viewers - Show is visually way too dark Betterman is currently licensed by Sentai Filmworks who rescued it from Bandai Entertainment when they went under. They haven’t done anything with the license though and it is still currently OOP and expensive.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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