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- Region：Japan
- Type：TV
- English name：Betterman
- Official name：ベターマン
- Chinese name：进化战记
- Premiered：April 1, 1999
- Status：Finished Airing
- Tags：Science fiction / Combat / Robot war / Source original
- Original author：矢立肇 / 米たにヨシトモ
- Director：米たにヨシトモ
- Scenario：山口宏 / 竹田裕一郎 / 北嶋博明
- Storyboard：飯田馬之介 / 樋口真嗣 / 杉島邦久 / 長岡康史 / ワタナベシンイチ
- Co-director：山田弘和 / 南康宏 / 杉島邦久 / 米たにヨシトモ / 佐藤育郎
- Studios：SUNRISE
- Producers：ビクターエンタテインメント / サンライズ
- Family：King of Braves GaoGaiGar
- Rating：16+
Betterman
Keita Aono is an ordinary high school student who loves to chat with his friends about military technology and the girls in their class.
One day, Keita is surprised and delighted by a new transfer student in his class, his childhood friend Hinoki Sai.
But when Keita tries to catch up with Hinoki after school, he accidentally wanders into Bottom World—an underground amusement park whose opening was canceled due to an unexplained tragedy.
As Keita explores the area, he eventually finds Hinoki in the cockpit of a strange robot.
She is here on behalf of Akamatsu Industries, a company contracted with the secretive international organization Mode Warp to investigate strange cases of violence worldwide.
After joining Hinoki in the robot, the pair attempt to defend themselves against the various attractions of Bottom World, which have come to life and become violent.
However, they are unable to escape until a man with transforming powers—dubbed "Betterman"—joins their struggle.
Faced with an enemy he does not understand and a slew of mysterious new technology, Keita joins Akamatsu Industries in a fight against a force they call "Algernon."
Tags
PV EpisodesTiles view / List view
Main EpisodesTiles view / List view
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EP1 - Darkness
Keita Aono goes to school one day, and his class happens to have a new student. That student is a girl named Hinoki Sai, Keita's childhood friend. Later, Keita gets himself lost in an amusement park where many people have mysteriously died. Keita catches up with Hinoki, and the two are attacked by a large monster. Who will save them? The being known as Betterman.
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EP2 - Voice
Keita learns more about the Akamatsu Corporation and the mysterious figure Betterman.
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EP3 - Sky
Keita, Hinoki, and Asami fly overseas, but everyone else on the plane mysteriously disappear. Keita and the gang get attacked by possessed crash test dummies.
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EP4 - Awaken
The day Keita Aono was reunited with an old friend was also the day that his life would be changed forever. With Hinoki Sai by his side, he's piloted a robot and fought with rampaging monsters, nearly dying in a plane crash along the way. And she's only been back in his life for a weekend.Keita's never been much of a student, but school suddenly seems like the safest place to be right now. Things are apparently back to normal. He wipes out on his scooter and all the girls are ignoring him. Unfortunately, Hinoki is one of them.Though confused and insulted by her behavior, it's not long before he's deep in nerdy conversation with Ushii, his friend from homeroom. Though initially they talk about planes, their discussion turns serious when Ushii informs Keita that several students have vanished without a trace.Have the weird occurrences from the weekend spilled over into Keita's school as well?Maybe, but Keita has other things on his mind, like memorizing the Kakuseijin operations manual and tracking down Hinoki to ask her why she ignored him before class.Meanwhile, Hinoki has her own problems. Asked by a teacher to get some paper from the supply closet in the school basement, Hinoki instead finds a man wearing a welder's mask and armed with a blowtorch heading her way.
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EP5 - Hell
With the attacks becoming more frequent, Akamatsu Industries and Mode Warp are going to need all the help they can get in the battle against Algernon. With that in mind, talented Head Divers Shou Yanagi and Kaede Kurenai are summoned from Mode Warp France, and they've brought with them the Tyran, a Kakuseijin-like neuronoid.After his previous experience at Bottom World, it's the last place Keita ever thought he would find himself. The link between the recent incident at his school and the amusement park where Keita's affiliation with Akamatsu Industries first began is too strong to ignore, however, so here he is again.This time, though, it's the beautiful Kaede, and not Hinoki, operating the Kakuseijin with him. Unlike her fellow team members, Hinoki -- bitter about losing her position -- is slow to heap praise upon Kaede and her unique ability to predict when an object is approaching. All the flirting going on between Keita and Kaede isn't helping matters, either.Is there a hint of jealousy in the air? Whatever her reasons for being angry, Hinoki needn't worry about being out of action for long, because the Kakuseijin has apparently been hit and all transmission has been lost. She and Yanagi board Tyran to search for their missing friends, but it isn't long before the Akamatsu Industries command center loses contact with them as well.Tyran has apparently been tampered with, leading Yanagi to believe that the enemy is among them, his or her mind warped by Algernon. If he's right, the list of suspects may have just shrunk considerably, because Tyran comes under attack... by the Kakuseijin.
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EP6 - Echo
The saboteur has been apprehended, but Mr. Akamatsu has little to be happy about. Not when the person behind the malfunctioning neuronoids was Heichin, one of his best employees, and a close friend as well.The sight of Heichin institutionalized and babbling incoherently has Akamatsu visibly shaken, but he won't have much time to think about it. That's because following the trail of Algernon has led his team to the Ajanta Caves in India, supposedly home to a giant creature known as the Behemoth.The disappearance of the Mode Warp investigative team that preceded their arrival seems to support the myth, but this will be a particularly difficult mission for Hinoki regardless of whether the Behemoth exists or not. The Ajanta Caves are where her father, mother, and brother mysteriously vanished four years earlier.Almost as mysterious are the giant lizard and strange girl that Keita sees outside the cave, but it's the Behemoth that scares off their guide. Miyako, Kaede, and Yanagi press forward anyway, but each is soon overcome by hallucinations of people from their past.Separated from his friends, Keita also sees something -- the Behemoth -- but unfortunately for him and Hinoki, it's no illusion. Even the appearance of Betterman -- usually a welcome sight -- does little to help the situation, as he is shockingly defeated, torn apart by the elephant-like creature.If Betterman couldn't defeat the Behemoth, how likely is it that any of them will make it out of the caves alive?
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EP7 - Forte
Recap of Episode Six.Traveling to India to investigate a possible connection between Algernon and the mystical Ajanta caves, the Akamatsu Industries team instead finds yet another threat: the monster that supposedly dwells there.The team quickly learns that the Behemoth is no myth, as all but Keita and Hinoki succumb to its hallucination-inducing cry. But nothing is as frightening as what Keita sees, and what he sees is all too real. Betterman, who's no match for the monster, is quickly overpowered and appears to have been killed in battle.With the caves crumbling around them, Keita and Hinoki find themselves deeper and deeper from the surface, which means they're closer and closer to death. They finally regain consciousness after their fall, but the Behemoth is still out there and in pursuit.Despite the darkness and the mazelike caverns, Keita and Hinoki stumble upon the rest of the team, who by now have snapped out of the trance that led each of them to the same part of Ajanta. Though Keita is thrilled to be reunited with his friends, there isn't necessarily safety in numbers, especially since the Behemoth was too strong even for Betterman.However, there may still be a slim chance for survival, as Betterman wasn't killed, just critically wounded. Right in front of him is the opportunity to assume his strongest form yet, but will he be able to reach out for it before it's too late?
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EP8 - Poison
Barely clinging to life, Betterman somehow manages to reach out for the seed that lets him mutate into Forte: his strongest form yet. He again takes on the Behemoth -- with greater success this time -- enabling the Akamatsu Industries team to escape the crumbling Ajanta Caves.Everyone manages to make it out alive, but the trip has taken its toll on Sakura Akamatsu, who upon awakening from a strange dream finds herself in a hospital bed surrounded by her friends. Keita decides to pay her a visit after school, but Hinoki, acting rather peculiar, opts not to join him.His visit is a short one, however, as a nurse whisks Sakura away for some more treatment. Before she goes, Sakura makes Keita promise that he'll stay until she gets back, but what was a simple trip to the bathroom will make him wish that he hadn't given his word to her.Opening the wrong door on the way back to her room, Keita stumbles upon shelves filled with jars of fingernails. Taking exception to his strange discovery is a nurse armed with long razorlike nails, and she of course begins to chase him. He manages to escape, freeing Sakura along the way, while also meeting up with Hinoki, who's had an apparent change of heart about visiting her ill friend.Hinoki doesn't say much before collapsing, bloody scratches running the length of her back. Standing behind her is an army of nurses, each armed with poisonous fingernails.
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EP9 - Aqua
Trouble seems to follow Keita everywhere he goes, and the hospital where Sakura is receiving treatment is no exception, as he is pursued by medical staff brandishing razor-sharp nails filled with a deadly toxin.Rescuing Sakura, the two find themselves at the foot of a pool filled with bodies in floating capsules. They also bump into Hinoki, who originally decided not to join Keita at the hospital but changed her mind in time to suffer deadly scratches across her back. Worse still, those responsible are standing right behind her.They've run out of poison, however, and summon from the pool the creature responsible for supplying it. Betterman comes to their aid and destroys the monster, but Keita, Hinoki, and Sakura are doused with the toxin it produces in the process.Betterman uses his remarkable healing abilities to save them, but both hospital staff and body-filled capsules disappear through a hole in the wall, one barely the size of a single person. How they were all able to escape so quickly is a mystery, but where they ended up, aboard a giant freighter, isn't.All radio contact with the three vessels sent to investigate the ship has been lost, prompting Akamatsu Industries to get involved. The company is at a disadvantage, though, as Yanagi has mysteriously disappeared, meaning Akamatsu can only operate one neuronoid at a time. What will that mean for Hinoki and Kaede when they get into trouble underwater while aboard Tyran? Keita thinks he has the answer.
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EP10 - Worms
After all that's happened to them lately, the employees at Akamatsu Industries are relieved to find themselves back at headquarters with nothing dangerous to do. Yamajii and Li-Chan, however, find that something as simple as enjoying a meal uninterrupted is impossible, as they are approached by a strange figure.It simply turns out to be an old man, one who without saying a word hands Li-Chan a gift: a sweet-smelling bell, then leaves just as suddenly as he arrives. That sweet-smelling bell will soon be more useful than she ever could have imagined.Though most of the staff has gone home, Keita, Hinoki, and Akamatsu are still around late into the night, waiting for information concerning their last mission. Ordering noodles makes the waiting seem less agonizing, but not for the deliveryman, who upon stepping outside is devoured by what is later revealed to be thousands of worms.A power failure inside interrupts their meal, but they rapidly lose their appetite when the backup generator reveals worms pouring in from every opening. Forced to head for the neuronoids with the intention of killing all the worms simultaneously, they instead find the robots completely covered by them. Additionally, members of the Mode Warp team working on the neuronoids have apparently shared the same fate as the deliveryman.Once again retreating, Keita, Hinoki, and Akamatsu find themselves trapped in a room they believe to be safe, until worms start creeping in through an air vent. Just as the end seems near, the door opens, but it's only Li-Chan, who's returned to the office to pick something up she's forgotten.The worms have also disappeared, apparently scared off by the bell she's wearing around her wrist. Its power to ward off the worms is only effective in small spaces, however, and they eventually return, still hungry.Escaping through an air duct seems like the perfect idea, until it collapses, separating the group. Since there's only one bell, those worms may just have another meal before the night is through...
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EP11 - Nebula
Even the most successful company is bound to have a few missteps along the way, and Akamatsu Industries is no exception. The only difference is that Mr. Akamatsu will be eternally grateful for one failure in particular. The invention -- a device that can replicate and mass-produce any scent -- bombed commercially and was simply taking up space in his warehouse until Akamatsu surmised that it could be used to defeat the horde of man-eating worms that had invaded his headquarters.Though his plan worked, the adventure is apparently Akamatsu Industries' last as a subcontractor for Mode Warp in the hunt for Algernon. His employees are scared to death by all they've seen, and Miyako Asami no longer wants to place them -- specifically Keita and Hinoki -- in danger.She's informed Akamatsu that two new head divers have already received their training, and all that's left for him to do is turn over the neuronoids to Mode Warp. Asami won't have time for any teary farewells, however, as she's off to consult with Dr. Umezaki, an old acquaintance, hoping to find some answers concerning the nature of the creatures they've recently encountered.Umezaki instead seems more concerned about talking about Betterman, something that shocks Asami but is still not as shocking as what he'll show her at his laboratory. The Akamatsu Industries team receives a shock of its own as well, as Sakura reveals that Asami is going to be killed.
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EP12 - Dragon
Though it's set to part ways with Mode Warp, the Akamatsu Industries team still can't make contact with Miyako, so it'll have to stick around a little while longer. Escorted by a special-forces team provided by Mode Warp, the Akamatsu Industries team heads for Dr. Umezaki's laboratory: Asami's last known destination.On the way to the lab, what appears to be a dragon attacks the Mode Warp aircraft, killing everyone onboard, including the two replacement head divers. The dragon, actually a mass of insects, then turns its attention toward the Akamatsu Industries vessel, forcing it down in the wetlands surrounding the laboratory.Luckily, most of the team seems to have survived. Kaede, Sakura, Keita, and Hinoki climb aboard the two neuronoids while Akamatsu, Li-Chan, and Yamajii huddle tightly around the device that helped kill the worms back at headquarters. Yanagi, however, is still unaccounted for, and the search for him is interrupted by a massive swarm of insects.Meanwhile, Asami awakens to find herself imprisoned by Dr. Umezaki, who turns out to be the mastermind behind the creatures disrupting the search for Algernon. She doesn't know why he has strayed so far from his original research -- developing new food sources -- but she does discover that her friends will soon die, and that she'll soon become a mindless drone forced to obey the evil doctor's every command.
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EP13 - Nectar
Although Dr. Umezaki was supposed to be developing alternative food sources at his laboratory, he instead seems to have devoted all his energy to creating an army of insects. Whether she likes it or not, Miyako Asami will be joining the doctor in his research, thanks to one particular insect capable of turning her into a zombie as soon as it crawls into her mouth and up to her brain.Fortunately, Shou Yanagi stumbles upon the place where she is being held captive and grabs the bug without a moment to spare. Miyako's mind may be intact, but the pair still has to make their way out of the laboratory, something a chance encounter with the Tyran could help them achieve.There won't be any time to thank Kaede and Sakura for saving them, however, because the insects are in hot pursuit. Keita and Hinoki know just how they're feeling, as the worms that attacked Akamatsu Industries have reappeared, and have the Kakuseijin all wrapped up.Even Betterman is having a difficult time landing a single blow against the insects he's battling.When all else fails, a little trickery comes in handy, and the Kakuseijin, Tyran, and Betterman all emerge victorious. The Tyran, however, loses its footing and falls into the surrounding swamplands, where it's sucked down into a whirlpool.Waiting for Yanagi, Asami, Kaede, and Sakura beneath the surface is the laboratory from which they've just escaped.Keita and Hinoki set out to find them, and they do. They unfortunately also encounter a strange scent that leaves the entire team laughing uncontrollably and unable to think clearly. Sounds like a job for Betterman, but Dr. Umezaki has trapped him as well, with the intention of dissecting him...
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EP14 - Soul
Though they've managed to defeat Dr. Umezaki's army of insects, the Akamatsu Industries team is lured back to his laboratory, where they are overcome by a sweet smell that affects their ability to think clearly. Betterman won't be coming to the rescue, either, as he's imprisoned in a tomb of mushrooms, awaiting dissection by the doctor.The good doctor, however, failed to take into account the existence of a second Betterman, this one a female named Lume. She has apparently defeated by the doctor's creatures as well, but not before destroying the giant flower that was the source of the mind-altering scent.Freed from its spell, the Tyran and its crew set out to investigate what has happened in the laboratory above them. They don't get very far, however, as they are attacked by King Behemoth, the largest of Umezaki's creatures. With Tyran quickly defeated, the monster turns its attention toward the Kakuseijin. Out of fuel, Keita and Hinoki flee, but encounter Dr. Umezaki, an equally frightening sight.The doctor reveals to them that he was a good friend of Hinoki's father, a good enough friend to go looking for her family in the Ajanta Caves when word arrived that they were missing. Though his search failed, Umezaki did find the Animus flower, the source of Betterman's power.What does he plan to do with that knowledge? Keita and Hinoki know, but the information will be of little use to them, as Umezaki orders the King Behemoth to finish them off once and for all.
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EP15 - Shadow
Temporarily put out of action when the Kakuseijin runs out of fuel, Keita finds an interesting way to pass the time -- by asking Hinoki out on a date. Perhaps her mind was still clouded by the effects of Dr. Umezaki's giant pheromone-producing flower, but Hinoki actually agrees to it, assuming they manage to survive all of the horrors contained within the laboratory.They survive, as does the rest of the Akamatsu Industries team, and do in fact go out. While riding the train to their first stop, a noodle house, Miyako Asami briefs the others on what they've learned so far. All of their recent troubles, the man-eating worms, the hospital, and the Ajanta Caves, had one thing in common: Dr. Umezaki.Far from the disturbing news, Keita and Hinoki have finished eating, and he's looking to set the right mood. They head off to explore some caves, but they only serve to remind Hinoki of her family's disappearance. She then leads Keita through the woods to an empty house, one that belonged to her family after they moved away from his neighborhood.After comforting his distraught friend, Keita finally makes his move, only to be interrupted by a strange old man: one who bears a striking resemblance to the person who gave Li-Chan the bell that helped ward off the worms. What is the man up to? If it's a situation that requires Betterman's help, Keita and Hinoki are out of luck because their hero has his hands full with another of his kind.
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EP16 - Revelation
Shou Yanagi, once again plagued by nightmares, disappears for a second time. He eventually turns up at Akamatsu Industries, where he crashes a truck carrying the Tyran through a garage door, nearly running over Mr. Akamatsu in the process. What's gotten into him? Mr. Akamatsu isn't sure, but Kaede knows, and she intercepts him along the road and jumps into the truck.Yanagi's dreams call him to an abandoned factory, where he and Kaede are attacked by three neuronoids, the three shadows from across the sea that Sakura has predicted would strike. They are actually three malfunctioning prototype neuronoids that ModeWarp was set to dismantle. Instead, they were stolen from ModeWarp France's headquarters, and no one quite knows how the thieves did it.They should be useless, since they have no pilots and little fuel. Here they are, however, fighting the Tyran and showing no signs of slowing down. Who or what is operating them? Yanagi knows, but isn't too pleased with the answer.Betterman, meanwhile, is having his own difficulties. Another of his kind, a being called Bodaiju, doesn't think Betterman is being true to his original mission. He thinks Betterman is spending too much time protecting Keita and Hinoki when he should be fighting something called Kankel, and he takes it upon himself to destroy his rival. Unfortunately for Keita and Hinoki, Bodaiju seems to have accomplished his goal.
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EP17 - Dream
Keita and Hinoki, still on their date, stand on the beach in the town where Hinoki grew up. Keita must be doing something right, because Hinoki closes her eyes and puckers her lips. It's the moment Keita has been waiting for, but halfway through their kiss he realizes that he's kissing his best friend, Ushii.He pulls away and runs off, but Ushii chases him. What can save Keita from this unexpected predicament? Just one thing: his alarm clock. Keita wakes up -- alone -- and heads off for school, where his classmates have been replaced by the crash test dummies that had tried to kill him. Before he can get too frightened, he again wakes up, this time with his head on his desk.Keita isn't alone in experiencing horrible nightmares. Hinoki and Mr. Akamatsu suffer from them as well. Yanagi is familiar with their troubles, as he's plagued by visions of his dead brother whenever he closes his eyes. He may have finally figured out the source of his anguish -- or is he trapped in yet another dream?Where does the dream end and reality begin? And who has cast this spell over the Akamatsu Industries team, robbing them of their ability to tell the difference? Whoever it is, the spell is very powerful. Even Betterman isn't above falling victim to its power.
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EP18 - Hunger
With their nightmares finally behind them, Keita and Hinoki are enjoying some much-needed relaxation on a school outing deep in the woods. Meanwhile, the rest of the Akamatsu Industries team is learning about the latest advancements in transplant technology at a nearby biomedical facility.The team takes a break from its studies for a steak lunch. Maybe they've consumed too much wine, but the team members soon begin to act very peculiar -- so much so that Kaede sends Keita and Hinoki a distress signal.When the pair arrive at the facility it's completely abandoned. That doesn't mean Keita won't be his usual cowardly self: He abandons Hinoki after being scared off by what turns out to be a pile of laundry.Thanks to Keita's cowardice, he and Hinoki find Sakura. She's lying on the floor next to the table where the team ate lunch, and she doesn't look good.Keita carries Sakura toward an exit. This proves to be a mistake. It's not that Sakura is too heavy; it's that she suddenly has a strong desire to eat him. Keita drops Sakura before she can sink her teeth into his neck, but it isn't long before he and Hinoki are surrounded by hungry zombies, several of whom used to be their allies!
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EP19 - Mirror
The Akamatsu Industries team manages to overcome the effects of the gas that had turned them into man-eating zombies, but they may never fully understand what happened, since the man apparently behind it all has disappeared and it's still unclear what his motives were and who he worked for. One thing is certain, however: Kaede was the intended target.When the Superhuman Federation calls Akamatsu headquarters looking to make her a job offer, the team quickly puts two and two together. According to Miyako Asami, the unwanted caller is a research and development company with some high-profile clients, and someone with Kaede's abilities can only help them with their expansion plans.For the Superhuman Federation, taking Kaede away from the team is just business, even if that means manipulating the neuronoids or causing the group to suffer through horrible nightmares.While the Akamatsu team heads off to ModeWarp to gather information and plot its next move against this new threat, Keita and Hinoki are putting the finishing touches on their school's funhouse. Keita does too good of a job on the house of mirrors, however, and is unable to find his way out. Hinoki can only shake her head at his stupidity, until she herself is trapped.Their Akamatsu teammates, meanwhile, experience mirror difficulties of their own -- mirror images that attack their deepest insecurities. Is the Superhuman Federation again making itself a nuisance, or is it something much worse?
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EP20 - Trap
After all the nightmares and hallucinations, not to mention being turned into cannibalistic zombies, the Akamatsu Industries team is ready to take action against the Superhuman Federation, the organization they suspect is behind their recent troubles.Even the overly logical Miyako Asami is so fed up that she leads the charge to the Superhuman Federation's headquarters before all the facts are even in from ModeWarp's investigation.Kept out of the action are Keita and Hinoki, left behind by Mr. Akamatsu, who had concerns for their safety. The pair isn't much safer where they are, however, as the noise Li-Chan hears from outside turns out to be a police raid. Li-Chan, Yamajii, Keita, and Hinoki barely manage to escape by crashing through a wall in their truck, but they still may be in better shape than their friends, who by now have infiltrated the Superhuman Federation building.It isn't long before they encounter a series of traps, however, just as Sakura had predicted. Overcoming every obstacle placed in their path, the Akamatsu Industries team finally reaches its destination: a room occupied by Dr. Mamon, CEO of the federation.They arrive at his headquarters with the intention of ironing out their differences, but the doctor has no intention of negotiating, and things quickly spiral out of control. What secret does Kaede, the object of Mamon's affections, hold in her hair clip? Only one that could signify the end for her friends.
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EP21 - Death
Weaving their way through an assortment of traps, the Akamatsu Industries team finally makes it to the last in a series of rooms, the one in which Dr. Mamon has been awaiting their arrival. Dr. Mamon has stopped at nothing to recruit Kaede to his organization, the Superhuman Federation, but only now does the team learn the real reason why.Kaede is the final piece of the puzzle needed by the doctor to unleash Brahman, a creature he refers to as the next step toward a stronger human race. Standing in the way of his evil plan is the mysterious figure that has come to our heroes' aid on more than one occasion, beginning with the worm attack.He is identified as Priest Yakusugi, the most powerful of humans. He is apparently no match for Brahman, however, as the fight takes to the sky above the Superhuman Federation building. Throwing Yakusugi through a wall, Brahman moves in for the kill, only to be tied up in knots by Lord Pakila, the most powerful of the Somniums, the race of beings to which Betterman belongs.All this unexpected interference does not sit well with Dr. Mamon, and he and his organization flee -- with Kaede -- through an unused subway tunnel to the abandoned center of the city. Keita, Hinoki, Yamajii, and Li-Chan show up with the neuronoids just in time to continue the chase, but can the group save their friend before it's too late?
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EP22 - Life
Although he succeeds in unleashing Brahman, Dr. Mamon's plans quickly go awry. With Kaede still under his control, he's forced to retreat to the uninhabited center of the city. One person who won't be joining the chase is Lord Pakila. After he destroys the doctor's creation he's killed by Kankel, a strange being that has been hunting and murdering the Somniums.However, the Akamatsu Industries team is still in pursuit, and it soon finds Kaede. She has managed to free herself, but not before she helped Dr. Mamon transform himself into a second, more powerful Brahman. Priest Yakusugi appears again, but he's also killed in battle as well. He has spent most of his 120 years traveling the world to root out evil, but that task has now fallen to Akamatsu Industries.The team starts its mission in an abandoned underground factory as Yakusugi's violent confrontation with Brahman collapses the earth beneath the factory. After all these months of fighting, the pressure finally hits Keita. He has a nervous breakdown while at the controls of the Kakuseijin. His timing couldn't be worse, as Brahman sees them and begins a devastating attack.Keita recovers in time to perform some of his best fighting yet, and Brahman is defeated. Further help arrives from ModeWarp in the form of additional neuronoids, but they turn on the people they're supposed to assist.Betterman has seen enough. He comes to the rescue. Kankel is right behind him, and the ensuing confrontation leads to the death of yet another Somnium.
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EP23 - Offering
It's Christmas, and for the first time in a long while the Akamatsu Industries team is in good spirits. However, if it had not been for Betterman, none of them would have made it to the holidays. Keita had managed to defeat Brahman, but the team still had its hands full: The four late-arriving neuronoids dispatched by ModeWarp to assist with the rescue operation had turned on the team instead.The neuronoids proved to be no match for Betterman, but Kankel, slayer of the Somniums, was a much more formidable opponent -- and was standing right behind him. Seeme, Betterman's constant companion and advisor, had sacrificed herself so that Betterman could continue to protect Keita and Hinoki.Thanks to Seeme's selfless act, Betterman had time to mutate into his Aqua form and wash the team to safety. That was several weeks ago, and the only liquid the group is interested in this day is the booze at the Akamatsu Industries Christmas party.A special announcement by Kaede and Yanagi makes the party even more joyous.The evening gets even more exciting for Keita, who convinces Hinoki to accompany him to his house. His parents are away, and he seizes the opportunity to attempt a kiss. This scares Hinoki out of his bedroom, down the stairs, and into the arms of a familiar but most unwelcome foe.
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EP24 - Departure
Christmas enables the team from Akamatsu Industries to do something they haven't been able to do in a long time -- have fun. While most of them are sleeping off the effects of a hangover from a wild bash the previous night, a masked man who turns out to be Dr. Mamon is taking Hinoki from Keita's house.The team, thinking the doctor had been killed by Keita while in the form of Brahman, is caught off guard, and can only stand by helplessly as the villain makes off with Hinoki after a confrontation with Betterman. Taking the abduction particularly hard is Keita, who just a short while earlier swore to Hinoki he would never leave her side or let anything happen to her.Though Brahman disappears into thin air, Sakura is able to determine that Hinoki has been taken to a diamond-shaped island. That island, it turns out, is ModeWarp headquarters, with which Miyako has lost all contact, thanks to the spread of Algernon.Making matters worse is that ModeWarp's parent company has ordered the destruction of the infected compound, which means the team has only eight hours to find and rescue Hinoki before a United Nations bombing raid commences.ModeWarp is in shambles and completely deserted by the time the group arrives, save for the 12 battle robots similar to the ones the team recently faced. The team is unfortunately going to be shorthanded regardless of whether it manages to survive this initial assault, because the deadly effects of Algernon have reached one of their own for the first time since Cactus went crazy.
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EP25 - Memory
The search for Hinoki leads the Akamatsu Industries team to ModeWarp headquarters, where the group instead finds 12 irate robots blocking its path. The neuronoid carrying Keita, Sakura, and Mr. Akamatsu is quickly surrounded and shot down, but Yanagi, Kaede, and Miyako manage to defeat what they believe are all the machines.There's one more, however, and Miyako is separated from her friends during the attack and plunges down a deep shaft, presumably to her death. The last robot, meanwhile, is finally beaten, but there's little time to savor victory as Kaede starts laughing uncontrollably: a sure sign of Algernon. She then triggers an explosion that destroys her neuronoid, killing Yanagi, herself, and their unborn baby.Though Sakura and Mr. Akamatsu are nowhere in sight, Keita has managed to survive the crash and awakens to find himself in a pool of linker gel -- the substance that powers the neuronoids -- at the bottom of ModeWarp headquarters. Only a few feet away from him is Hinoki, resting motionless on a table. Keita only has time to take a couple of steps toward her before Dr. Mamon jumps out from behind her.Making his entrance shortly afterward is Betterman, but the doctor isn't shaken in the least, because everything's going according to plan. Mamon needs Betterman to continue the research started seven years earlier by ModeWarp's parent company, an experiment that sought the development of the perfect human. Mamon turns himself into Brahman, and even Betterman's seed of Nebula may not be enough to overpower him, especially when the creature draws its strength from the vast quantity of linker gel that surrounds them.
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EP26 - Nothingness
KEITA AND HINOKI BATTLE TO THE BITTER END.
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