Okay, the Earth had a rising number of diseases and naturally occurring phenomena which was partly to blame on ecological reasons and partly due to the rise in a substance known as Algernon. We are told this is a naturally occurring process and that the rise of the Bettermen was partly due to this. They are superior genetically than mere men and a task force was created to utilize a newly discovered substance, Linker Gel. This substance was developed to power the new technology used in manufacturing and running Neuronoids. Only a small group of people can pilot the machines due to a genetic code in their DNA. They are called Dual Kinds and it is believed that they were being bred to create an army.

Anyway, a newly developed form of life, one that potentially possesses the key to immortality is killing off members of the research team. Upon the dead bodies grows a special flower that the Bettermen (which are not single beings) eat to sustain their lives and powers. The new life form decides that the Betterman would provide the perfect host bodies from which to finally achieve immortality as it will allow them to have complete control over their cellular structure. Of course this means the Bettermen are now targets. In all, it's still convoluted but at least the series wrapped up with a decent understanding of what went on previously. It would've been nice if some more exposition had taken place during the show (you can take a mystery too far) but in all, it was a pretty good, if slightly disappointing, ending.

Picture: The picture was presented in 1.85:1 ratio widescreen and looked good. It was very dark but that was intentional to create the mood.

Sound: The soundtrack was presented in a choice of Japanese stereo with English subtitles or English. I preferred the Japanese track but the English track was also clear and crisp. The music was very well done with an appropriately eerie score.

Extras: The extras included a production art gallery, another volume of the Mode Warp Files (which gave a lot of background detail to help understand the show), some trailers, credits, a double sided dvd cover, and a paper insert that detailed the Mode Warp project. The case also included a glossy character card featuring Shigeru.

Final Thoughts: This is one of those series where you really have to watch it in linear fashion which I was not afforded the chance to do. I will seek out the earlier volumes I missed and update the reviews as able but if you're reading this, hopefully, you've decided to watch all the episodes together. I liked the show somewhat but rate this one as Recommended since the ending was a bit too clear cut and not what I was hoping for.