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		List Price: $29.98		Label: Bandai Salesrank: 109556 Released: June 4, 2002
		Our Price: $18.00
		Used Price: $2.25
		MPAA Rating: Unrated Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
A deadly virus has attacked humanity with vicious intent! At the forefront of the battle is the enigmatic Akamatsu Industries - Disguised as a heavy machine factory in Tokyo, this clandestine organization uses neural enhanced weapons known as Awakeners to battle the virus. But will the combined efforts of this secret organization and the mysterious warrior Betterman be enough to save Tokyo? Contains 5 complete episodes!

Description of Betterman - Awakening (Vol. 1):
The first five episodes of this 1999 TV series play like a cross between Evangelion and Generator Gawl, but without the metaphysical overtones of the former or the rambunctious high spirits of the latter. In 2006 nerdy Keita Aono discovers he and his childhood friend Hinoki have the natural abilities to pilot Akamatsu Industries' giant "neuronoid" robots. Their foe is a mysterious monster (incongruously named Algernon), whom they battle in a subterranean amusement park and their high school basement. Despite the aid of the oracular Sakura, the mecha meet with only limited success. Keita and Hinoki have to be saved by the rainbow-haired title character, a.k.a. "Lamia," who transforms into an 18-foot monster that shatters foes with sonic waves. The story takes some improbable turns--such as when an army of robots appears on a previously empty airplane--that the Lain-style editing tricks can't disguise. Rated 13 Up: Violence. --Charles Solomon

Betterman - Awakening (Vol. 1) Reviews:
Bland
2004-08-07 - I think this show is alright. The show has a formula, it's pretty much the same structure every episode. Each time an enemy falls, a new one pops up. I've been watching every episode since the first (I'm on the 26th episode) and many things are still unclear. The plot is constantly changing, and not necessarily in a good way. It's pretty random. I don't care much for the characters; Sakura annoys me a lot. She whispers warnings but no one seems to hear her. She just seems so useless most of the time. Anyway, this show is only mildly interesting. I got bored halfway through, but I continued to watch. This DVD is pricey, as most are. It's much more than it's worth. I wouldn't buy the DVDs, but then again I'm broke. Watch if you can do it cheap or for free, not if you have to pay a significant amount.

Buy this DVD only if you have time and money to waste
2004-06-11 - A typical episode in this (not just this volume but the entire Betterman) series runs something like this. Some of the main characters talk in order to fill in the gaps from previous episodes. Why couldn't this stuff be shown on screen? Either it's too boring or the writers and animators were too lazy to show us.

This is followed by some of the main characters getting into trouble. When it looks like the end for them, one of three things will happen just in the nick of time: one of them will suddenly remember an amazing dowsing ability they somehow forgot they had, someone will show up in a mecha, a betterman will show up. Either way they're rescued. Why didn't they just call this series Deus ex Machina?

The series has too many characters, main or otherwise. Some come and go in a single episode, only to be mentioned during a later episode's expository. Unless you're keeping a scorecard, you're never going to remember who they're talking about.

There are more than one betterman. What's their motivation? Don't know. How do they always know to show up at just the right moment? No clue.

Worst episode: Dream. Note to writers: The dream sequence is the lamest dramatic cliche, used only by lazy hacks totally lacking in originality and creativity. It can't even begin to work unless I care about the characters, and this series has given me no reason to do so. This episode uses it multiple times, and by this point I'm totally numb to any trouble the characters may be in. Look, they're really in trouble this time! Oh thank God it was only a dream! I was really worried for a minute.

When voice actor Matthew Erickson's Keita tells Hinoki he'll always be by her side, I can't help but hear Erickson's Jinto from Crest/Banner of the Stars saying the same thing to Lafiel.

When I hear Sakura's moanful premonitions I think of Mr. Spock mindmelding with the Horta. "Pain! Agony!" Not anime, but what are you gonna do?

Finally I have to wonder, is Betterman really "better"? Sure he can turn into a grotesque monster by eating the seeds of a flower that grows out of the face of dead people. Yum yum. But does that really make him better?

"Betterman"...more like "I've seen better, man"
2003-11-20 - **REVIEWING IT AS A WHOLE SERIES**

Hajime Yatate is one of most top leading creators in the anime industry, best suited for the mecha-action genre. He gave us animes like 'Cowboy Bebop', 'The Big-O', 'Mobile Suit Gundam'...and on this review, "Betterman", an anime that hybrids mecha-action with the knowledge of genetics. I'll be frank: "Betterman" ain't Yatate-san's best work.

"Betterman" deals with an obligatory virus that kills people and monsters that lurk in the shadows, so a secret organized alliance goes to investigate and exterminate these problems using 'top-of-the-line' robots made for combat. The main characters are 'Keita', the cowardice nerd with an electronic-fetish, and his childhood friend 'Hinoki', a generic hot chick with an ugly neon-mixed hairdo who has some serious self-esteem issues, along with a bunch of sub-characters that almost no one's going to care about. Though their roles are strong, they wouldn't succeed in many battles against half-screened monsters if it wasn't for the help of the mysterious guy who could transform into an enormous, metallic demon named, yep, Betterman; I always ponder that the mystery dude and Hinoki are connected somehow, because he almost has the same ugly hairdo as she does.

The series is interesting when it come to what it is. Though it follows the mecha genre, it does have some horror-quality to it because of some of the Silent Hill-type, psychological scenes it contains. Story-wise, it's convoluted. If you can't pay attention to the whole thing, you'll be just as confused and lost as I was, as the characters spend a lot of time theorizing, explaining, and yapping about how to create different species through genetics, the history on the virus and the birth of monsters like Betterman, stuff that'll guarantee you to be mind-boggled. Even if you paid attention to the series entirely, you'll realize that it has problems. The series' consist of plot holes, imbalance plot structure, and it'll leave many questions unanswered when the series ends.

The art and animation of the series are on the so-so side, but what's more aggravating is that the series is very dim. I can hardly see what's going on in certain scenes, and how can I enjoy a battle between a robot and a demon IF I CAN'T SEE EITHER OF THEM?! The dubbing is a mixed bag, as the characters' voices ranges from loose to forced acting; I mean, hearing them laugh is a shivering experience.

"Betterman" is by no means a bad show, but if Yatate want to create something that's at the top of league as his other creations, he needs to think of a 'better' anime, a 'better' production, and a 'better' outro; the guy who's singing the outro sounds like he had flu while being constipated.

It's a must-buy for hardcore anime fans who wants a bit of a psychological feel on the mecha-action/horror variation, but others might want to pass on this one. It's a decent anime at best, but overshadows from even greater ones.

a great anime dvd
2003-02-19 - I have just started getting into anime a couple of weeks ago and i have been watching this show on tech tv every night thhat it is on. i love the characters alot and overall i think that it is very suspensful and is easy to get into it. that part in awakening when that flopping body was moving around freaked me out i love this anime show:)

All in All a Very Pleasing Series. Give it a try.
2002-10-25 - This is a very good anime in the lines of Evangelion mixed with horror. What is so surprising about the show is how truly creepy and even scary it can get. The third episode would have to be my favorite, at least out of this bunch, because of its Twilight Zone feel to it. Another surprising aspect of the show was the fact that a major story arc was actually completed within the first 5 episodes, this rarely happens in anime. There are still some down sides to the series. One of these is the character designs, Keita Aono is really to nerdy looking and, strangely enough, all the girls have extremely large breasts. I am used to both aspects within an anime, but not in a horror. These strange character designs keep me from truly feeling the horror in every strange situation. Another serious problem is my inability to relate to any of the characters, at least within the first 5 episode. Then again, I would buy the series just for the closing theme song.