Dennou Boukenki Webdiver (電脳冒険記ウェブダイバー) is an anime with mecha that alternate between vehicle modes for speedy transport and fighter modes that takes the various forms of warriors, animals and even mythological creatures! It aired between April 6, 2001 and March 29, 2002, produced by NAS and TV Tokyo and animated by Radix.
In the year 2100, children across the globe; known as Web Divers; can upload their consciousness into a shared network; a cyber park called Magical Gate; to play with one another. However, a mysterious virus infected the Magical Gate, causing the children to stay trapped within. The virus even brainwashes the Web Knights, who are guardians of their respective areas, into following Deletloss.
Kento was in the Magical Gate along with his friends Aoi and Jean, as well as his younger brother Kaito. They managed to escape the invasion except for Kaito. Thanks to the model kit he built earlier, Gladion, a surviving Web Knight, is able to contact Kento and partner up with him to fight Deletloss. Kento accepts his offer, hoping to rescue his brother as well as the trapped children within the hacked cyberland.
Webdiver also has a toyline produced by Takara. Just as how Kento plugs his Gladion figure into a system to Web Dive and battle, you can plug Gladion into a TV screen to play a shooting game. Further releases can combined with Gladion to augment his performance.
In commemoration of its 20th Anniversary, the series is getting a new story, The Return of the WEB Knight (WEB騎士の帰還). What format this story will be in is currently unknown.
Webdiver contains examples of:
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Initially Deletloss is thought to be a sentient computer virus, but as it turns out, Deletloss is later revealed to be an extradimensional horror from another dimension.
- A Boy and His X: The main characters are Kento, a forth-grader, and Gladion, his partner robotic gladiator. Both fight together to restore the Magical Gate.
- Cosmic Horror Story: An Eldritch Abomination taking form of a sentient computer virus who destroyed planet now aims for earth as his target.
- Do Not Adjust Your Set: A benevolent example toward the end of the first season, where the assistant robot Calon tries to contact everyone online to help them track Gladion and Kento, who were almost lost fighting one of Deletloss' monsters.
- Humongous Mecha: A Web Knight towers over a kid many times over. To compare, the cockpit Kento is usually in is about the size of the head of Gladion.
- The Internet Is an Ocean: Implied, with the term Web Divers, who upload their consciousness into a shared network; a cyber park called Magical Gate; to play with one another. The opening animation does feature the protagonist literally diving into a sea to symbolize this.
- Lotus-Eater Machine: One early episode has Kento trapped into a "reality" where Magical Gate only exists as a (non-cyberspace) arcade center and everyone seemingly survived, living idyllic life. Kento, naturally, sensing that something is not right.
- Lovecraft Lite: As for idealistic Shonen Mecha series, the Eldritch Abomination big bad is defeated without any (seemingly) phyrric victory.
- Mythical Motifs: The majority of Web Knights have their Fight Modes based on various mythological creatures.
- Plant Aliens: A million years ago, the Earth was inhabited by a race of plant-hybrid humanoid aliens. They're annihilated by Deletloss to almost nothing, although part of it survived well into the present day as the Web Knights and a fairy-like being near the end of the series.
- Transforming Mecha: Web Knights can alternate between Fighter Mode and Vehicle Mode.
- Trapped in Another World: The second season has the kids being digitized and trapped in a part of Magical Gate that resembles a post-apocalyptic version of their town.
